About Vera Bradley, Inc.
Vera Bradley, Inc. operates two unique lifestyle brands – Vera Bradley and Pura Vida. Vera Bradley is a leading designer of women’s handbags, luggage and travel items, fashion and home accessories, and unique gifts.
Founded in 1982 by friends Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller, the brand is known for its innovative designs, iconic patterns, and brilliant colors that inspire and connect women. Pura Vida, based in La Jolla, California, is a digitally native lifestyle brand with a differentiated and expanding offering of bracelets, jewelry, apparel, and other lifestyle accessories.
Jesse's Bio
It’s been a journey so far for my early career. I graduated with focuses in Finance and Accounting – ready to dig into budget sheets, financial statements, and quarterly forecasts. During my time in finance, I developed a newfound respect for all-things data.
With this change, I pivoted my career path to a data-focused role with Vera Bradley within the CRM and Marketing department. Throughout my time with Vera Bradley, my role has changed and grown in a variety of ways, including managing a small team and overseeing the Email and Text programs.
My primary focus is leading a customer-centered, data-driven marketing plan, with an emphasis on testing, lifecycle journeys, and a striving to always optimize.
Outside of my career, I have a beautiful wife who is out of my league, two wildly entertaining kitties, and a golf swing that needs some work but is showing great promise depending on who you ask. Excited to continue to grow my career in marketing!
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Also, it goes without saying, but leverage Iterable’s support team and get familiar with the knowledge center - most of your answers will be there!
Interview
When and how did you get your start in marketing?
My marketing journey began with Vera Bradley in 2021 as a CRM Analyst. My affinity for data led me to the role, and it organically grew to become a vital piece of the company’s marketing program, supporting multiple different communication channels and championing a new focus on leaning into the data to make informed decisions.
What brings you joy in your role?
My team is the highlight of my experience at Vera Bradley. The people I work with are constantly helping me grow in a variety of ways. They challenge me daily to become a better learner, better leader, and better teammate, and I am so appreciative to partner with such a valuable group of colleagues.
What tips, tricks, or pieces of advice would give a new Iterable user?
Start simple and optimize forward. Iterable has a plethora of features to leverage and it is easy to become paralyzed trying to integrate all of the functionality into projects when you start. Instead, start from the most basic use case and then optimize based on needs. Also, it goes without saying, but leverage Iterable’s support team and get familiar with the knowledge center – most of your answers will be there!
What are some Iterable features that have made your job easier? Or have been game-changers for yourself and your team?
A unique aspect about our team is that none of us are experts in HTML code. While this may seem to be a shortfall, we have become extremely efficient using Iterable’s drag-and-drop functionalities as a stop-gap measure while we develop a better understanding of the capabilities of HTML and CSS. Our first achievements in coding? Building and leveraging snippets for Dynamic content – another great feature of the platform.
What’s one thing that can instantly make your day better?
Spending time with my friends and family. I value my career and love to grow in that area, but my close relationships are great reminders of the “why” that drives me as a person.
If you weren’t a marketer, what would you be?
When thinking about my life up to this point, I place a huge importance on education and those who work their tails off to grow our youth into successful thinkers. If I wasn’t a marketer, being a teacher is a close second despite its ever-growing list of challenges.
