Stacie Brockman has many titles attached to her name. In her introduction alone, she was labeled as a content creator, *slash,* a social media strategist, *slash,* a co-founder of Métier Creative. Her title collection testifies that gone are the days where a person was defined by a single skill. Instead, Brockman encourages the next generation to embrace their “slashiness” as she redefines the world of fashion advertising with a down-to-earth attitude to match.
You may have heard of Brockman during her past life as the managing editor of The Covetur, a fashion platform that started by delving into the various wardrobes of different people. Nowadays, she is one of “the women behind the brands you love,” at Métier working to rethink the heritage brands we adore, while also building the voice of new startups like Ouai haircare. The company covers everything from brand development to logo and packaging design to content production and social media strategy.
In their lifetime, they’ve seen a frantic frenzy of established brands trying to keep up with the demand of inclusivity but failing to be authentic in the chase. “I think it’s really apparent when it seems that there’s this contrived list of things that they want to make sure is touched on for the sake of appealing and not being insensitive or being discriminatory.” When Brockman works with brands, she stitches inclusivity into their DNA, not checking diversity off a list of required elements to avoid backlash. To her, this is the difference between being “tuned in vs. tone-deaf.”
The modern process comes naturally to the Métier team, a group of all-female, multifaceted women, ranging from ages 21 to 37. Brockman describes it as “a mix of the babysitters club meets the United Nations of cool,” each with their own Métiers (trades, professions or skills). The group doesn’t have to try too hard to relate to this generation, simply because they are this generation. “There are a lot of brands right now who are trying to play catch up to something that is our normal. Like, it’s not shocking to me that I have a friend who’s transgender.”
There is no doubt that social media has played an instrumental role in establishing this millennial perspective. So, Brockman seeks to harness the power of the digital age. “We are teaching ourselves in real time, which is making us truly the most powerful generation.” In the marketing realm, social media has led to the rise of influencer marketing. Brockman sees influencing as a universal trait, “I’m an influencer. You’re an influencer. Every single person here is an influencer.” Instead of jumping straight into the influencer pool, a brand should first establish its roots. “A brand’s success isn’t based on the trill of the moment today; it’s based on finding a community that’s going to carry your brand to the next step,” and that means finding real customers that “are in it because they share the same values that you have.”
This philosophy is beneficial not only to corporate brands but to real people as well. The bottom line? Find your values. While technology is extremely beneficial, social media has created a rise in self-consciousness. Brockman wants to see, “people giving themselves more breathing room to be a human.” Humans make mistakes, “reality is: we all mess up,” but what matters is how you come back. “Every single thing that I’ve ever f-ed up, I will never do again. It’s the best learning curve.” If you think mistakes aren’t for me, I’m a perfectionist, Brockman admits that “being a perfectionist is not going to help scale the company.” The fact of the matter is “we have to get rid of this weird fear of failing.”
While Brockman believes we should leave behind the stigma surrounding failure, moving forward, we should grow in our abilities. We are no longer in an age where we have to find our thing and stick to it for a lifetime (that’s real commitment). Instead, “start as one thing and pivot into another thing. Be a graphic designer but also be an illustrator but also be in photography but also do this. I think that’s the best part of where we are in the world right now because you can never have too many slashes.”
Finding your “slashes” is important. Brockman went to school for journalism where she realized she hates writing, but what she did discover was that she “loved telling stories.” It all comes down to being “a product of your own life;” and, in the end, never losing motivation because “you can’t train people to be thirsty.”
Written by Hannah Harris
Photo by Jordan Vescio