Marcha Johnson

As part of the Innovative storytelling team I identified and prototyped use cases for emerging technology, conducted peer learning sessions where I demonstrated use cases of emerging tech that can improve backend workflows for data and editorial teams as well as prototyped, validated and shipped new storytelling formats to increase key metrics such as time on site and pages per session

• Led research and prototyping for fashion and luxury vertical, validating AI-powered tools for Cosmopolitan and ELLE’s horoscope and style communities. Outcomes included validated product-market fit and actionable insights (qualitative and quantitative) that shaped design, user experience, and product requirements, as well as business opportunities ripe for further discovery.
• Prototyped, tested, and launched new immersive storytelling templates for Oprah Daily, Esquire, ELLE, and Town & Country, resulting in almost double (x1.7) the key metric for pages per session.
• Collaborated with experimentation team to design and prototype features in order to conduct A/B tests, including GPT-integrated article recommendations for Cosmopolitan to measure impact on time spent on page, and alternative article layouts for Esquire and ELLE to assess impact on scroll depth and pages per session.
• Co-led internal prompt engineering learning sessions to assess workflows across teams and identify ways AI could be leveraged to improve efficiency.

As part of the Innovation team, I track, identify, develop and execute initiatives deploying emerging technologies and partnerships that fuel firm's innovation offerings and client services. Clients include McDonald's, Mattel, GM, IBM, Essity

• Developed Weber Shandwick Futures platforms and prototyped bespoke experiences using emerging technologies (e.g., DialogFlow, GCP) to enhance client engagement and pitch solutions that drive their innovation.
• Managed internal Discord community of interdisciplinary specialists, tracking developments in the metaverse, gaming, and emerging tech trends to inform firm’s platform strategy.
• Collaborated with senior leadership to produce an internal trends report, tracking culture and social media signals to shape clients’ social strategies.
• Contributed to biweekly Media Genius newsletter, sharing insights on innovators reshaping communications and digital landscapes.
• Designed and co-led research initiatives with external thought leaders, including The Institute for the Future and Douglas Rushkoff, exploring future online behaviors, communities, and innovations in finance, health, and gaming.

One of four merit scholarship recipients and member of the inaugural cohort of NYU and Weber Shandwick's Master-In Residence Fellowship Program

• Integrated cloud services, sensor and IoT technologies with chat bot and voice experiences
• Developed POVs in collaboration with UX lead to define optimal user experience for custom client chat-bot applications and voice experiences for internal distribution across UX, dev and account teams
• Designed and prototyped HIPAA compliant Alexa voice experience for health care client to present proof of concept to key stakeholders to demonstrate organization capacity to establish/drive business in voice experiences

• Planned and ran classroom coding and design workshops for classes with up to 75 students
• Supported faculty with integrating digital media production into their course curriculum

• Interview artists for editorials for project releases, review music
• Coordinate and develop artist press kits, coordinate press tours for project releases
• Managed CMS, updated webpages and published weekly editorials