How Alyson Gaiser Built a Career in Advertising from Brandcenter to AKQA

Alyson Gaiser is currently a Senior Strategy Director at AKQA. She graduated from the Brandcenter at VCU in 2018 with a Master’s in Branding / Strategy and has held positions at Saatchi & Saatchi, R/GA, and GSD&M in addition to AKQA since graduating.

We recently reached out to Alyson to ask about navigating her early career—her time at Brandcenter, her decision-making in changing early career positions, and what lessons she has for the upcoming generations of emerging ad professionals. 

Questions

GS: How did you end up in advertising? Did you always know you wanted to be a strategist?

Before getting into advertising I was actually pursuing a PhD with plans to become a professor. I had always loved the idea of getting paid to learn and write, and so initially it seemed like the perfect fit career-wise. But after a couple of years it started to feel less and less right for me. I did some soul searching to try and pinpoint what exactly was causing things to feel off, and eventually figured out that I was craving a creative outlet. I still loved research and writing and so I knew I didn’t necessarily want to lose those things, but I started to look into careers that would allow me to apply research in a more creative way. Eventually I talked to some friends who worked in advertising and they were the ones who introduced me to the world of strategy. As soon as I learned that was even a career path, I knew that would be the perfect fit for me.

GS: How did you end up at the Brandcenter at VCU? Do you feel the program prepared you to enter the industry?

My friends who worked in advertising ended up recommending Brandcenter to me as soon as I told them I wanted to pursue strategy. I’m really thankful they did, because Brandcenter not only provided me with the foundational knowledge I needed for a new career path, it also prepared me with the “soft skills” needed in the world of advertising (things like presentation skills, working in cross-functional teams, navigating competing deadlines, and working with live clients).

GS: What exactly were you looking for in a job when you left Brandcenter? How did that change over time?

I knew coming out of Brandcenter that I was more than ready to jump into the world of advertising, but I also knew there was so much more to learn. Each agency has their own style and way of doing things, and I wanted to soak up all of the knowledge I could in those early years of my advertising career so that I could grow into the best possible strategist. Every agency I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of has taught me something new about strategy and made me better in some way. 

As the years have gone on, I’ve never stopped prioritizing growth. The only thing that’s changed is what areas I’ve tried to focus on. Early on in my career I focused more on building up my skills as an individual contributor (things like how to write the most compelling creative briefs or how to navigate new research tools). Now that I’m further in my career I’ve found myself thinking more and more about how I can grow not only as an individual contributor, but also a manager and a department leader. It’s no longer just about what I can contribute, but about how I can inspire and empower my teams.

GS: In my experience, starting a new position can be stressful! Did you find it difficult to move companies? How long did it take for you to feel settled?

Candidly, the first time I took a new job I thought I had made a mistake. I was being thrown into a new environment with new people and new ways of working, and so a lot of the muscle memories I had built up from my previous job no longer applied. That’s a really uncomfortable thing to deal with and made me question if I was even cut out for my new role. I eventually realized that the discomfort I was feeling was completely normal and something that goes away as you develop new muscle memories with your new agency. I would say it takes about 3 months before you start to feel truly comfortable in any new role.

 For anyone out there who has recently switched jobs, know that any discomfort you’re feeling is completely normal.

GS: Have you been able to lean on your Brandcenter network, whether other alumni, faculty, or staff, while navigating your career post-graduation?

​​I’m still friends with a lot of people from my graduating class, and I’ve reached out to the faculty and staff at various points in my career for advice. I think advertising can be a particularly tricky industry to navigate at times because it’s constantly evolving, and so having a network of people to lean on who are navigating the same things you are is incredibly helpful.

GS: What one piece of advice would you give to the next generation of emerging talent in the ad industry - the people searching for their first jobs?

There is no perfect job. Rather than prioritizing perfection, look for the agency who can teach you the things you want to learn and help you grow in the ways you want to grow.

GS: What’s an exciting project that you’ve worked on recently?

It’s admittedly hard to choose just one as there have been a number of incredible projects I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of. I would have to say that one of my favorites from this past year was getting to create the brand identity for the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center. This is the first ever National Training Center for U.S. Soccer, and so it felt like I was getting to create a part of U.S. Soccer history. The logo was recently revealed, and the full brand identity will get revealed when the training center opens in 2026.

About Alyson Gaiser:

Alyson leads brand and creative strategy at AKQA where she works with clients to create work that’s as inspiring as it is effective. Over the course of her career she’s built brand identities from the ground up, led major repositioning efforts, created Super Bowl spots, and worked with clients to build full 360-campaigns for some of the biggest product launches.

She’s worked with clients across a broad range of categories including sports, gaming, automotive, luxury goods, tech, alcohol, banking, QSR, CPG, and B2B. In addition to the traditional strategy deliverables, she has also led workshops and given presentations on advertising and strategy for clients and other institutions.

Prior to AKQA, she worked with a number of incredible agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, R/GA, and GSD&M.