Jamie Cox
“While I empower businesses to increase sales, what truly stands out is the transformation I bring to my clients' brands. Through our collaboration, they gain a deep understanding of their audiences and effective strategies to engage them.”
What do you do professionally?
I make brands less boring! As a brand strategist, I help businesses build brands that create meaningful connections with their customers. Through my custom discovery process, clients gain clarity on what makes them and their business unique and why their customers should care. Together, we build a brand roadmap so they can understand their audience, size up the competition, and find their unique positioning within the market.
I believe branding is better when you work with others—so in 2022, I founded Strange Salt, a better-for-you-brand agency and creative collective that brings creative talent together to build brands for businesses that challenge the status quo.
Tell me about your path to get where you are today. How did you get into this type of work?
I began my career as a social media manager. While studying art management and studio art (with a detour through music business) at Indiana University-Bloomington, I took a contract role managing social media at a media production company. I eventually landed a role as a marketing coordinator at a tourism agency in Middle Tennessee, where I managed creative efforts and social media.
I loved working in tourism but was at odds with how we approached marketing and sales, and even operations. We were all siloed, each overwhelmed by our community’s rapid growth, independently championing various short-sighted tactics. I saw an opportunity to think about our outreach more strategically and holistically. After partnering with a local marketing agency on a rebrand to better align our team and community, I moved to a new role as creative director at another marketing agency. In that role, I supported B2B clients to address challenges similar to those I observed in my previous role.
In the early days of the pandemic, I left that role to build an independent practice as a brand strategist. I wanted more autonomy over the projects I worked on. It is important that my work both aligns with my values and honors my belief that brand-building requires understanding the business as a whole, not just its marketing function.
What is your professional superpower?
I have a unique ability to draw connections between seemingly irrelevant or unrelated pieces of information. By listening first and making space for candid conversations, I’m able to unearth the true essence of a brand and craft a compelling narrative that resonates with customers.
How has that superpower contributed to your professional success?
My clients already have the elements necessary to create a compelling story, but they struggle to weave these elements into a narrative that resonates with their customers. As a brand strategist, I serve as a mirror reflecting the core aspects of their story. By emphasizing their existing narratives and connecting them through the insights I uncover, I've successfully crafted over 30 brands since launching my business in 2020.
If I were to ask your clients and colleagues what it’s like to work with you, what would they say?
My clients would say I helped them see their business differently and understand the potential of their brand.
The people I’ve worked with would say I’m fun to be around and incredibly dedicated to the work I do. I hope they’d say they can be themselves around me—that I foster a sense of belonging and community where people feel safe to be themselves and share their thoughts, feedback, and perspectives!
What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of founding Strange Salt! While growing any business is rewarding, creating one that supports other independent workers in their growth is an entirely new and exciting adventure. Strange Salt has helped me grow my own practice as a strategist—opening me up to new ways of thinking and doing things—and has helped me work with many creatives I’ve admired for years.
Describe the business impact you’ve driven for your clients and/or organization.
I’m proud to share that my work empowers businesses to increase sales and conversions, but what truly stands out is the transformation I bring to my clients' brands. Through our collaboration, they gain a deep understanding of their audiences and effective strategies to engage them. Because of our work together, their teams are more aligned and equipped with clear directives to propel them forward.
What person or organization do you most admire professionally and why?
Because so much of my work involves researching—audiences, competitors, trends, and more—I spend hours looking at other creators and organizations! One I always come back to and think of fondly is Omsom, founded by sisters Vanessa and Kim Pham. Yes, I love their product, but I also believe they’ve done a beautiful job of building a brand that knows what it is and what it isn’t. Their bold language and bright palette will attract the right people and repel the wrong ones. I even did a breakdown of what we can learn from Omsom in a recent Substack.
In what ways are diverse perspectives good for business?
Diverse perspectives help us envision a future that may not have been on our radar. Diversity of thought allows businesses to consider alternative paths, innovative solutions, and emerging trends that we might have otherwise overlooked or not even imagined.
Is there anything we didn’t ask that you wish we would have? Or anything else you’d like to add?
How can people work with me? If you’re interested in building a brand that’s anything but vanilla, check out Strange Salt. And, if you’re interested in hosting a branding workshop for your community or organization, I’d love to talk! You can learn more at jamiercox.com.
Contact Jamie
LinkedIn Website Strange Salt Email: hello (at) jamiercox (dot) com
Email hello (at) trovecommunity (dot) com or contact us for an introduction.
