GBK Employee Spotlight: Nick Costanza
GBK Employee Spotlight is a series designed to surface the stories of the amazing individuals across our team and what makes them tick.
This month, meet Nick Costanza, who recently joined as a Senior Research Manager in our Chicago office. After studying business and operations, Nick has spent the past 5 years focused on marketing strategy, research and insights – from campaign evaluation and advertising copy testing to piloting new research solutions. Let’s learn more about him.
Tell us a bit about yourself, your prior career and how you got started at GBK.
I grew up on the East Coast and studied business and operations at the University of Delaware, where I graduated with honors. Shortly after school, I moved to Chicago and worked as a Research Manager for MetrixLab for around five years – helping clients across technology, retail and other categories.
My role at MetrixLab allowed me to build a strong foundation across research areas including campaign strategy, advertising copy testing and optimization. I also piloted a number of research solutions to help clients solve for marketing or sales gaps they were facing, or better understand customer needs and preferences.
I’m thrilled to join GBK and have really enjoyed my first few weeks working with the team. In addition to GBK’s focus areas, which align well with my skill sets, a big reason I took the job is I was looking for a consultancy where I could continue to learn and stretch further in my career. GBK’s deep expertise and leadership across analytics, data, customer insights and marketing strategy stand out, and are a big reason why the firm is sought after by Fortune 100 clients.
What will your role at GBK focus on, and what are you most looking forward to?
My role gives me the opportunity to work with a range of different clients, applying my core strengths, while also learning and applying new research and analytical frameworks to help clients solve problems.
What are some of the biggest challenges marketers and brands face in terms of effectively applying research and insights?
Obviously the current environment with the Covid-19 crisis is difficult for every individual, leader and marketer. The rapid pace of change in 2020 has been unlike anything we’ve seen and there’s no past precedent or framework that companies can apply to model what’s going to happen next.
Some brands and companies have applied customer insights and research to help pivot and launch new offerings. Others are taking a less strategic approach to their marketing during the pandemic, or are reluctant to seek out new data on customer behavior, when they don’t know what the “new normal” will be.
Another ongoing challenge for companies is being able to efficiently apply customer insights and data to optimize their marketing and make decisions quickly. Part of success here comes down to having the right team and resources in place, but it also requires discipline around finding new areas for efficiency.
What are your hobbies outside of work?
One of the things I enjoy in my spare time is creative writing, from short stories to other ideas I have. Maybe someday I’ll work on a novel or blog, but for now it’s just a way to get my creative juices flowing and my ideas out.
I also enjoy traveling with my family, trying new craft beers, as well as long distance biking, running, hiking or other sports to get some cardio in. I’m also involved in my local church, and my faith is an important part of my life.