Jake Rosen    

Describe what you do.
I'm data nerd who believes all strategic communications platforms and campaigns should be data-driven. More specifically, I serve as the social and creative lead for the west region of FleishmanHillard, and I help lead social media and social/digital analytics for the firm.

Where are you from/hometown?
Washington DC

Where are you based now?
San Francisco

In what area of marketing/PR do you see the most innovation?
How measurement is used for more segmented content and creative. Social and digital data, and universal profiles across all channels and devices have opened up the door to deeply segmented content that appeals to smaller subsets of target audiences rather than universal audiences. Currently, the heart of innovation is the applications of this data to the artistry of storytelling and creativity.

How would you describe the communications/PR industry's level of innovation?
Lagging the others. I think PR and communications overall lags behind marketing innovation ever so slightly, but that is a good thing. PR and communications is intended to be focused on quality relationship development, so by virtue of spending more time on each individual's wants and needs, innovation will move just a bit slower.

What is most important for the PR industry to do to foster more innovation?
Disrupt the agency business model

How do you define innovation?
Innovation is a nebulous term, but I believe it is as broad idea that there is always a better way of doing something.

Most innovative PR/comms campaign you've seen in the last 12 months?
#OptOutside from REI

What brands and/or agencies are most innovative when it comes to marketing/PR?
I'm always impressed with YouTube, Google, BBDO, REI and Dove.

Describe a moment in your career that you would consider 'innovative.'
I recently helped a client derive a spectral analysis algorithm that normalized enough non-normal data to accurately detect a specific emotion based on unaided social conversation. The innovation came in the idea that we would create a list of specific influencers and individuals to understand how their emotional response changed over time towards the brand and would adjust our strategy based on that. The algorithm is the easy part. The innovation was  in re-framing the business strategy around this new KPI.

Something — not PR/marketing related — that is innovative.
Anti-gravity treadmills. It is amazing to think that because of innovating on an existing technology, people can run even when injured.

Please give our readers an idea of something that can inspire innovation — this can be a book/movie/podcast/activity/article.
I think innovation happens everywhere, but particularly at the intersection of multiple things. Most of my innovative moments happen when I have 14 thoughts at once, am playing with my son and listening to radio in the background.

Least favorite time of day?
When I have to go to sleep.

Most innovative place in the world? This could be a city, a venue, a neighborhood, etc.
My current city of San Francisco.
 
#FirstSevenJobs
1. Garden center cashier
2. Babysitter / Petsitter 
3. Stringing lacrosse sticks at a sports store
4. Bartender
5. Spanish wine bartender
6. Public relations on Capitol Hill
7. Social and tech agency