Scott Fasser, '91
Founder and Chief Digital Strategist, Brand Digital, Inc.
UW Degree: M.B.A., 1991, Business Administration
Other Degree: B.A., 1987, Economics and History, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX
Home town: Houston, TX
High School: Stratford High School
When were you at the UW?
1989-1991
Why did you go to the UW?
I wanted to do something different, and I had some close friends in the Pacific Northwest. My best friend was going to the Jackson School, and I had another friend in Portland, so I decided on the UW.
Where did you live while at the UW?
Alki and Wallingford.
Campus activities:
I was in the Green Business Society and participated in a Study Abroad program in Copenhagen in fall of 1990. I also did several volunteer consulting assignments with non-profits to gain some experience.
Did you work while in school?
I worked at Cucina! Cucina! on Lake Union, waiting tables throughout school. It was a fun and energizing place to work, and I made pretty good money for working only three or four nights a week. There's a lot of salesmanship that goes on between a waiter and a customer, so it was good training in that area as well.
What was your first job out of college, and was it in your degreed field?
I worked at Rabanco Recycling as a business analyst and then assistant general manager. I found the job through a posting at the graduate business center.
At Rabanco, we had a small management team, which meant that I got to use every discipline I'd studied in business school, such as operations, finance, stats, and contracts. That sort of opportunity is fairly rare because most graduates go straight into a more focused position.
What was your next job?
After four years at Rabanco, I went to Sierra Online, the largest publisher of PC games. I came on as the assistant to the founder and chairman, Ken Williams. At the time, I didn't have a clear preference on whether to apply my M.B.A. toward accounting or marketing. Ken said, "Do you want to be the one who counts the money or makes the money?" and that really stuck with me.
Between Ken's direction and my affinity, I pursued the marketing side at Sierra Online, where I started product managing the "non-traditional" products like video cards and Palm Pilot accessories. I also built up the research department. Sierra was the first company to combine pictures, stories and words in computer games with such products as Mystery House, Leisure Suit Larry, King's Quest and the Red Baron series.
What got me really into online was creating the business plan for and launching their new online game service - WON.net (World Opponent Network). That was during the Internet boom and we had the funds to try anything, so I experienced a lot of wins and a lot of losses during that time.
I moved on to senior product management and marketing positions with Avenue A and Amazon.com, before starting my own digital marketing consulting firm, Brand Digital, Inc. (www.branddigital.net)
What were some of your responsibilities as a product manager?
At Avenue A, I helped define, launch and sell the Consulting Group (now the Customer Insight Group) and their Web analytics tool, Vital Signs. It was my first in-depth experience with using direct marketing principles and approaches to communicate to customers online. I learned the real power of data and how it can improve your bottom line.
At Amazon, I developed cross-selling strategies aimed at getting people who were buying books and videos to also shop our non-media product lines. I did a lot of testing with specific ad copy, formats and placements for individual customer segments. We played with the top tabs, pop-ups, search-driven ads and contextual ads.
What do you do with Brand Digital?
I help Web sites increase their efficiency by determining how to better receive customers and turn the visit into a sale. I do a lot of high-end, multivariate Web site testing, seminars, and consult with small businesses to deliver a Web site that best serves their goals. For instance, I'll test two different versions of a home page to see which generates a better response using live data, then work with Web designers and developers to create the optimum configuration.
What do you find most challenging about your work?
All the things that I don't know. There are so many interactions on the Internet as far as someone going from point A to C that influence their behavior and choices. If I'm not selling enough iPods, what's the solution? I really don't know until I analyze the flow, measure, start making changes and then test options to see if the changes improved the process.
I have to learn the business that someone's in and see what triggers certain actions and behaviors to figure out how to best approach their particular business problem.
I've also found that there's still a major lack of understanding in big business on how the Internet works and how it can help them. There are some basic strategies that still aren't being utilized. Perhaps it's that the Internet is still pretty new, or maybe it's that the leadership they have is just not as aware of the Web as today's generation. The good part is that it means there's still a huge market to be tapped at both the big and small business level!
Has networking been an important element in your own career development?
Yes, I've always focused on networking, and it's helped me a great deal. One of my big gripes I had in business school was that they didn't actually teach you how to network, and there wasn't an expectation that you would contribute back to the school. That's part of the reason why I volunteered. I have my 15-year reunion coming up, and I can say that the networking opportunities have improved a great deal in the last several years. There's now better outreach and a more subtantial networking framework.
Why do you volunteer as a Career Connections contact?
I wanted to stay connected and give back. When I was in school, I appreciated when I able to ask someone about a company, discipline, field of study or even just how to do something.
I also volunteer as an M.B.A. Class Agent for the reasons I described; I want to make sure that there's an expectation to stay involved. The people coming through the business school now are maybe a little more tech savvy, but basically the same type of person as in my class. We're all business people, and we all got our M.B.A. for many of the same reasons. I'm glad that people are choosing to remain involved. We had about 40 people come to the 10th reunion from all over: Oregon, California, Denver and North Carolina. We're hoping for a bigger turnout for the 15th.
Do you have any advice you'd like to offer to students and alumni?
If you have a strong and specific idea of what you want, people will help you achieve it. The least effective interaction style is when someone is vague about what they're hoping to get out of the encounter. For instance, it's not going to help someone to call me up and say, "I saw you used to work at Amazon. Can you get me a job there?"
They should first research the company, have the types of jobs or positions they are interested in narrowed down, then meet with me and ask for specific suggestions on how to achieve their goal. If it's just an informational interview on what it's like to do what I do, that's fine, too; just be clear about expectations. Do your homework, and you'll get a lot more out of resources like Career Connections.
***
Thank you!