Meet Courtney Floegel of SparkPoint Studio in Downtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Floegel.

Courtney, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
If you were to ask me where I’m “from,” I couldn’t give you a clear (or short) answer. At the age of 24, I’ve moved ten times, each being to a new city in a different state. In May of 2017, I obtained my Bachelor’s of Business Administration from the University of South Carolina with majors in both Finance and Marketing–it should come as no surprise that the next logical step for me was to pick up and move across the country to Phoenix, Arizona to embark upon my journey as a young professional businesswoman. In my mind saw my future in a high-rise office wearing my favorite stilettos with a briefcase in hand. Nobody told me that it wouldn’t be quite so glamorous.

In my first year “adulting,” I launched my very first blog, NOVEL THOUGHTS, as a creative outlet from my mind-numbingly dull 9 to 5 finance job. In 2018, my blog (and fate!) connected me to the amazing team at SparkPoint Studio, a PR & marketing firm that specializes in promoting female storytellers, where I now am the team’s digital marketing specialist. I am lucky because I love & am passionate about the people I work with, the clients I work for and the work I get to do each & every day.

Has it been a smooth road?
While my journey may seem like it makes sense in hindsight, I promise it didn’t always feel like it would. There were times before I started my blog & before I shifted industries that I’d never climb out of the hole I felt trapped in. My greatest strength has always been feeling a need to do better and having the drive to get there. Better at school, better at work, better overall… I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied.

This was my driving force when I was at my lowest and what continues to drive me to do better even after a huge accomplishment. I stay humble but hungry for more always.

Tell us more about your work.
SparkPoint Studio is a female-founded & female-led agency and delivers all your story needs®. Our story begins with what you won’t find here: just PR, just social, just content, just branding, just marketing, just ads, or just web. Instead, you’ll find it all at SparkPoint Studio—and not via outsourcing and agency partnerships, like the traditional model.

As the team’s Digital Marketing Specialist, I work closely with clients and influencers to strategize, coordinate and execute multifaceted promotional campaigns all centered around books & authors. From social media to in-person curated experiential marketing events, there’s never a dull moment in the digital sphere.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Some view books & publishing as a dying industry, but I beg to differ. If you think about it, in this day and age of apps and technology, books are one of the last tangible things you can buy–and not just to enjoy, but to decorate your home with.

I think people would be shocked to find out that social media is changing the way people consume books too. For the first time in years, in 2019 print book sales have surpassed e-book sales, and I think that sites like Instagram and Facebook are partly to thank. Instagram (and specifically the sub-community #bookstagram) has changed the way that books are created and marketed–specifically by focusing on the design aspect. The days of “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” are over, and rightfully so. After all, if a bad book can have a good cover, there’s no excuse for a good book to have a bad cover!

I challenge you–next time you’re at Barnes & Noble, check out the books closest to the front of the store. You’ll probably notice a pattern of similar bright yellows, oranges and reds, plus some gorgeous cover art. That is the new age of books, and they’re here to stay.

Contact Info:

• Website: courtneyfloegel.com
• Email: courtneycflo@gmail.com

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