Meet Simge Okut | Brand Strategy Leader

We had the good fortune of connecting with Simge Okut and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Simge, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I’m from Turkey (now Türkiye) and I’d say my background and upbringing has been crucial to who I am today. Reflecting back, I always pinpoint three things that have helped shape the person I am:

1. Diverse environment: I grew up in a city that was diverse in race, ethnicity, thought, lifestyle, politics and religion. I consistently learned about different perspectives and beliefs through my peers in school and sometimes even got into heated arguments as we formed our own opinions. But, we always ended up on the same playground all together and it taught me how to develop my own perspective, communicate it, yet respect others for how they think as well. Of course there were differences we couldn’t always overcome, but learning from so many different backgrounds opened my mind up to different realities. Flash forward to now, I think this is one of the most important pillars of working in advertising. My role as a brand strategist requires me to have deep audience knowledge and my upbringing allows me to relate and empathize with customers I otherwise might not have been able to.

2. Academic curiosity: My parents are professors, I lived on-campus professor housing and was surrounded by niche experts. During the summers, I attended countless seminars my parents were teaching or visited my aunt in her late-night microbiology lab sessions. Our dinner table would be filled with research papers and my parents would have late night conversations about their book chapters or grading papers. The academic rigor of questioning everything and diving deep into topics instilled the importance of curiosity in me from a young age. It is truly the most important part of being a good strategist and it is a hard one to learn later in life. The academic principles of curiosity and deep research guide what I do today, every day.

3. Moving often: Ambiguity is one of the hardest things to adapt to, yet due to my parents’ relentless itch to learn new things, live in new places and work globally, we moved back and forth between the US and Turkey many times. By the time I was 18, I had already lived in five different cities. This meant five different schools, making new friends, learning new systems and acclimating to new spaces over and over again. But it turned me into a chameleon – being able to adjust to any environment without fear. Now, on my 8th city, I feel that adaptability is a key characteristic of mine. And you know what is coming, this too, of course is important for my job. I’d go so far to say that adaptability has become crucial for any job! Our industries, tools, expectation are constantly changing and I think being adaptable is the key to thriving.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’d describe my career as a mix of curiosity, persistence, and a lot of storytelling. It required unexpected pivots but at the end, it feels like everything lined up just how it was supposed to. I am sure it will take more twists and turns as time progresses, but at this point in my career I have a lot more trust that whatever comes will eventually lead me to interesting learnings and opportunities.

How I got to where I am today first required a couple degrees 🙂 I double majored in political science and advertising in college with a minor in Spanish at The University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. At the time, I thought I wanted to do more political work, but then fell in love with creative advertising. I was watching Mad Men at the time so jury is out on its impact.

I also got a Graduate Certificate in Big Data from the University of St. Thomas and completed my Global MBA at the George Washington University. Both of these degrees prepared me to think about combining creative strategy, data analytics and business strategy together.

Studying advertising, I was immediately drawn to brand strategy. I didn’t even consider other roles. I had always been curious about people, enjoyed random conversations and was a serial learner. I liked studying, reading, researching – I like to call myself a “lifelong type A- student”: very organized with a side of creativity. It was a difficult dream to chase after because most people don’t actually become strategists right after college. It is a craft that needs to be fine-tuned and the expertise truly comes with time. There was an added element of needing to be deeply culturally in-tuned so I didn’t see many immigrant women like myself in positions I was hoping to hold.

This will sound fun (and it certainly was), but I really spent a lot of time watching, listening, reading consuming content. I tried to catch up on movies and books that shaped a lot of the US culture. I asked a lot of questions to people around me to understand the nuances of life here that can’t be understood with written reports. I kept myself updated on the news and didn’t shy away from conversations surrounding it. I signed up for variety of experiences and immersed myself in different rooms. The more I felt comfortable taking on risks, the more I gained recognition in my work.

Early in my career I worked with a creative director whose favorite mantra was “say yes now, freak out later”. She emphasized the importance of diving in to take risks before letting our fears get in the way. I’ve continued to adapt her mindset in my work (and my life), and I think that’s what I’d want people to know about me. I like to say yes to challenges, opportunities and new experiences and find a lot of value in the discomfort of the learning curve. It’s a little cliche, but success really is not a linear line and the new ways of failing along the way really makes everything more rewarding at the end.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’ve been lucky to be semi-bicoastal between LA and NYC so let me give you some of my favorites between both cities! I love having friends visit and building itineraries for them so I can spend hours putting this together.

For NY, I like to create a combination of great food and entertainment. I also prefer to leave room for spontaneity because my favorite part of the city is there is always a chance that your plans will change as the day goes on depending on what you hear and who you meet.

For breakfast, we have to do bagels one morning and that will absolutely be at Apollo. This will then easily lend itself to wondering the streets of Soho and West Village and shopping vintage or cruising art galleries. We would probably have a good martini at Dante and head to the Whitney Museum. For dinner, I would take them for a good Thai at Sappe or “Fiaschetteria Pistoia” for fresh pasta. We would end the night with bar hopping in the area.

Assuming our second day is Saturday, we would have a hearty Turkish breakfast spread at Rana Fifteen and digest it walking in Prospect Park. Then, we would automatically get close to the Brooklyn Museum and enjoy some art there. Then, we would grab lunch and coffee at my personal favorite, Caffe De Martini. Heading over to Williamsburg, we would then have some wine at Sauced, eat incredible Chinese food at Birds of a Feather, get a drink custom made by the bartender at Fresh Kills and dance the night away with percussions at Bembe.

On our final day, knowing that we will likely have a slow day, we would start with a delicious pancake at Vinegar Hill House in Dumbo, grab some coffee and walk through the flea market, then make the trek to Central Park for some fresh air and beautiful trees. After some rest, we would go to the MET and enjoy the last days of their rooftop. We’d get an amazing burger at JG Melon and awe at the gorgeous streets of Upper East Side. We would end our carb fueled day at Lil’ Frankies and head over to Close Up for an intimate jazz show to cap the weekend.

For LA, my itinerary would be a little less detailed but I have a few favorites that I try to do every time I’m there:

I could drink the dirty chai with oat milk at Dam Good Coffee every day, it is unmatched.

For lunch, I have this rotating circuit of spots I love – Yuko Kitchen when I’m feeling something light and fresh, Bluey’s for comfort food, Destroyer when I want Scandinavian, Sonoratown for the best tacos, and Tartine when I need my bakery fix.

When it comes to drinks and nightlife, Covell is a great wine spot, Bar Stella for a date night, Short Stop if we want to dance and play pool, get the best margaritas at Las Perlas, and enjoy a sunset view at Elephanté.

Dinner spots here are next level – Barrique for those special nights, Met Him at a Bar for the perfect pasta, Little Fatty when I’m craving Asian fusion, Republique when I want to impress visitors, and Bacari or Tsubaki for those perfect LA nights where dinner turns into hours of conversation.

What makes LA special is how you can mix urban adventures with outdoor living. I love hunting for treasures at estate sales (it’s addictive!), getting my steps in at the Culver City stairs, wandering around the cool shops in Silver Lake, catching up-and-coming comedians at local shows, and of course, hitting the hiking trails. And because it’s LA, we’ve got to spend some time at Manhattan Beach and maybe even take surfing lessons with friends visiting!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This is a hard one to answer because I have been lucky to receive the support of so many people throughout my career. They say it takes a village and it really, truly did (and still does). But if I have to choose one person right now, it would be one of my best friends Sim LeCompte. We quite literally held each other’s hands and dragged each other to advertising clubs, meetings, networking events and classes throughout college. She has been my accountability buddy and sounding board for 14 years now and she is still a trusted confidant. We used to read each other’s job applications and we have maintained the kind of friendship that also inspires us to push ourselves professionally. She has helped me through multiple career moves, city changes, presentations, job offers, and many other milestones I’m probably shamefully forgetting.

What’s beautiful about her support is that she has also always given me professional advice keeping in mind who I am – so it has never felt completely uncomfortable to follow. I feel so lucky to have been so seen and recognized by her and her impact on my success is invaluable. Shout out Sim, I appreciate you!

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simgeokut/