Last month marked the 10-year anniversary at Location3 Media for Senior Vice President Samantha Bedford. We sat down with Sam to discuss this milestone in her career and find out what she’s looking forward to for the next 10 years.
Location3: How did you land your job here and what was your title when you first started?
Sam: I used to work at a company called ForwardSLASH, in Cape Town South Africa. I was predominantly responsible for digital media planning and buying for online casinos. [CEO] Andrew Beckman knew my boss Richard de Waal, and Rich connected with Andrew so that we could run some buys through Location3 Media for our clients. I was Andrew’s day-to-day contact at ForwardSLASH for two years, and we got to know each other through that connection. I mentioned to Andrew one day that I was thinking of moving back to the UK, and he mentioned coming to the US and working for him at Location3. So began the long journey to get my visa so I could move to the States. During that time Andrew had also moved from New York to Denver. I started working for Andrew from my parent’s place in Cape Town while we were waiting for my visa. I started at Location3 as an Account Manager.
Location3: What was the office like 10 years ago?
Sam: We had such a great spot – it didn’t feel much like an office because it was Andrews’ apartment on the first level and the office on the top level. One thing I loved about it was that I could arrive by cab with my laundry and Alex would help me out (I was still learning how to do laundry at that time). It was a ton of fun, we BBQ’d on the deck at lunch time during summer, we had a pool table in the office and got to take a break playing pool…I even beat Alex every now and then. On holidays where there were fireworks displays we would party on the deck. It was an extremely close-knit family with one goal in mind: to grow Location3 Media and make it a success, and have fun doing it. The hours were extremely long but for at least my own professional growth it paid off. I am thrilled with where my career has gone and 14 years later I am still passionate about the digital space.
Location3: What has been your biggest personal accomplishment at the company?
Sam: Wow, tough without sounding arrogant, here’s the list: Defined and developed our PPC program, optimizations and best practices. Helped develop some of our current key staff members like Erik Whaley, Jared Schroder, Anne Baum and Justin Peereboom (obviously they have all gone on different paths through their own development and growth but it was great to have been a part of it at the beginning). Studied web analytics after hours and built that area up so that we could offer that for our clients. Got things going again with display. During all that I worked on our initial efforts at attribution with Dr. Hayder at DU and Leo Chen about two years ago. And most recently getting Location3 Media to buy into tracking everything in one technology (MediaPlex) so that we can build out that attribution model even further and utilize the data to better help with our display targeting and creative delivery. I also teach Google AdWords at Boulder Digital Arts, so it’s great to use all those years of knowledge and give it back to a community that is focused on growing small businesses.
Location3: What has been the biggest company-wide success?
Sam: Hiring the staff that we did, they are what make us successful. I feel that we can bring in as many clients as we like but without solid expertise running campaigns those client’s won’t stay long. It’s what makes us stand out from competitors, great staff and an undying passion for this industry and to see our client’s businesses become successful.
Location3: Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Sam: Still passionate about digital media and turning my son William into a digital junkie
Location3: What has been your fondest memory?
Sam: Completely not work related, but because of this adventure of giving up life as I knew it in South Africa to come to the States where I only knew Andrew, and had only visited once, I have met the two loves of my life, my beautiful son William, and my husband Charles. So even though I come from the gambling industry and know my odds, this gamble certainly paid off. In all honesty was not much of a risk, Andrew is a wonderful person and someone I admire and trust, and I knew he would take care of me in this “strange” land!
Check back next week for our chat with President Alex Porter who also just passed the 10 year mark at Location3.