ALLISON BABKA COLORFUL STORYTELLER, EDITOR, CONTENT PLANNER
ALLISON.BABKA@GMAIL.COM
A LITTLE ABOUT ME:
AS A TAKE-CHARGE JOURNALIST WITH A MARKETER’S HEART, I LIVE FOR ASSEMBLING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES THAT GET PEOPLE TALKING. I WORK WITH WRITERS, DESIGNERS, VIDEOGRAPHERS, SOCIAL STRATEGISTS AND DEVELOPERS IN MEDIA AND AGENCIES TO CREATE THE BEST POSSIBLE NARRATIVES WITH AVAILABLE RESOURCES. ALLISON.BABKA@GMAIL.COM
Hi. I'm Allison. When I decided at age six that I needed to become a professional storyteller, I had no idea where my career would take me. But after countless stories and strategic agency projects, I wouldn't trade my swervy path for anything in the world.  My love: Getting to the heart of why a person, business or idea is awesome and helping people discover new things to adore. Secondary loves: Quirky skirts, karaoke, caramel and vegetables.
ALLISON.BABKA@GMAIL.COM
MARKETING ALLISON.BABKA@GMAIL.COM
SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY: BE A BILLIKEN "Be a Billiken" was different from any of the university's student recruitment campaigns that had come before it. For the first time ever, all stakeholders -undergraduate admission, financial aid, academic leaders, alumni relations, student development and marketing -united for one message, one look, one goal. As the creator and guardian of the brand voice, I was in charge of developing all messaging and project-managing the web portal, commercials, videos, radio spots, social media marketing, informative collateral and campus experiences. The brand experienced steady growth since its introduction in 2008, and my efforts directly helped the university welcome its then-largest freshman class in history in 2011.
STANDING PARTNERSHIP: CRISIS/REPUTATION E-BOOK For a local agency, I wrote a substantial portion of a well-received e-book about crisis communications and reputation management. Standing Partnership already blogs frequently, but the agency wanted to expand its reach to current and potential clients alike by increasing its content marketing to include downloadable e-books full of good information.
HLK/MONSANTO: MULTI-PLATFORM DIGITAL SERIES While at HLK, a full-service digital agency, I was one of the lead digital brand stewards for a major Monsanto cropmanagement solution system. For the #CompeteForClean campaign, I contributed significantly to a series of videos that highlight how regional farmers tend their fields, what problems they face, how they use Monsanto products to combat issues and what tips they might have for other farmers. I prepared interview questions, researched products, made shotlists, directed the videographer and compiled scripts for our video editors. I also directed designers on images and quotes for digital use, wrote email copy highlighting the videos, and wrote posts for Monsanto's many social media properties.
"DAD ALWAYS SAID IF YOU TAKE CARE OF IT, IT USUALLY TAKES CARE OF YOU." -- #DELTAPINE100
HLK/MONSANTO: DELTAPINE COTTON For Deltapine, Monsanto's award-winning brand of cotton seed, I devised ways to share the brand's history with the public and provide cotton farmers with information they could use in their fields while appealing to their fierce pride in their crop quality. For this multi-platform project, I headed up Deltapine's twice-weekly, members-only blog that was geared towards the brand's most influential farmers, worked with videographers and designers on visual content and footage scripts for Deltapine's various digital properties and collaborated on tactics to celebrate Deltapine's storied 100-year history.
STORIES
ALLISON.BABKA@GMAIL.COM
TRAVEL CONTENT When editors ask me to write about what makes a region great, I'm all in. I love highlighting interesting towns, fun landmarks, local resources, places to eat, things to do and souvenirs to buy -- all to help readers create memories and small businesses to earn revenue. For summer 2018, I'm working on a feature package about what Springfield, Missouri, has to offer. Some of my other favorite local-flavor projects include: • SXSW prep tips and live reporting from Austin, Texas • 50 things to do in St. Louis • St. Louis video tour for prospective university students • Hotel wedding tips • "Best of St. Louis" shopping/dining guides
LIFESTYLE CONTENT Ask me to create content that helps readers live their best lives, and I'll show you a happy Allison. Beauty, fashion, wellness, weddings -- I love it all. A few favorite moments include: • talking to Missouri natives who sold their homes to permanently live in vans, buses and RVs • learning about why it's important for yoga instructors think through accessibility issues • interviewing an award-winning pastry chef about her craft • collaborating with a hotel on multiplatform sponsored content to increase their its revenue • working with brands and staff on St. Louis Fashion Week content
QUIRKY CHARACTERS I'm drawn to interesting people -- the quirkier, the better! That's why publications know they can count on me to share stories about folks who have, uh, unconventional hobbies and interests. Favorite feature story topics include: • the people who collect vast amounts of New Kids on the Block, Pez, grape soda and '70s cereal items • the world-champion air guitarist who now hosts competitions nationwide • the local musicians who transform into their favorite national acts for a festival every year • the chef who adores Harry Potter • the businessmen who turned their 1977 Airstream into Missouri's first mobile barber shop
SAY HELLO!
ALLISON.BABKA@GMAIL.COM
LET'S CONNECT In just about every medium and for virtually every purpose, I've written about dozens of subjects -from pets to health supplements, "Star Wars" to tech. Long copy, short copy, editorial copy, marketing copy, bring it on! Along with ongoing work for a variety of publications and agencies, I'm currently developing a new annual magazine and seven cityspecific guidebooks for Venture Cafe, a global innovation/entrepreneur network, serving as the project's editorial director and writer. • allison.babka@gmail.com • Twitter & Instagram: @ambabka • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ambabka • Portfolio: behance.net/ambabka ALLISON.BABKA@GMAIL.COM