When you think of marketing, you might picture the pop-up ads that appear on your favorite website, the emails you regularly receive from a local clothing store, or even the big, bright screens in Times Square. While these are all examples of marketing and advertising in action, these methods don’t work without a solid strategic foundation.

Have you ever wondered where marketing strategies come from? Good ideas don’t just come out of nowhere—they’re brought to life by talented, detail-oriented people working behind the scenes. At Brafton, these professionals are our secret weapon.

As a senior content marketing strategist, Natalie Kimmel helps steer the ship in the right direction, guiding creative projects toward our clients’ ultimate goals. And in today’s landscape of fierce competition and high customer expectations, having Natalie on your team ensures that initiatives are implemented in the most ingenious and effective way possible—all while having a lot of fun.

How Natalie Caught the Marketing Bug

As an ambitious person who thrives on challenges, Natalie earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Dayton in just five years through an accelerated program. During her senior year, she landed a position as a graduate assistant at UD Magazine. In this role, she gained hands-on experience in creating editorial content and creative storytelling. She wrote feature articles, conducted interviews, and learned how to craft stories that would resonate with alumni, current students, and the university community as a whole.

«It turned out to be an accurate glimpse into what I would do throughout my career: helping organizations tell their stories in a way that truly resonates with their audience,» she said.

Although she enjoyed giving free rein to her creativity through editorials and interviews, what really interested her was the psychology of understanding people and their motivations. «I like trying to get inside their heads, understand their challenges, and find out what questions they’re asking themselves at 2 a.m.,» she said.

This motivated her to explore a career in marketing. She landed her first job as a content strategist at The Learning House, a company that manages online programs for higher education. Although she was unfamiliar with this area of marketing at first, she quickly found her stride. She fell in love with the idea that she could attract people by being genuinely helpful and showing up where they naturally look for answers, rather than being pushy or interrupting them with traditional advertising.

«This approach seemed much more authentic and valuable than the direct advertising tactics that people often associate with marketing,» she added.

She then delved deeper into the world of higher education as a content marketing manager at Wiley, working specifically with their academic services division. In this role, she oversaw the digital content experience for about 20 college and university partners, each with different audiences, brand identities, and competitive landscapes. She was also responsible for creating microsites to host each partner’s online programs.

A pivotal moment for Natalie came during the creation of this website. Before launching each project, she held a formal meeting with professors and department chairs. These individuals were experts in their fields, but they often struggled to clearly communicate why their academic programs were important to prospective students. This process created a ripple effect that continued to influence her work long after she left that job.

«Through these conversations, I learned to ask the right questions to uncover genuine value propositions and competitive advantages that weren’t immediately obvious,» she said.

The skills she gained during those interviews have helped her effectively onboard new clients at Brafton today. With this experience under her belt, she has mastered the art of translating clients’ technical expertise or industry knowledge into concrete strategies that generate real impact and support key business objectives.

Contribute Your Expertise to Brafton

Natalie joined Brafton in 2022 as a content marketing strategist and was quickly promoted to senior CMS, a reflection of her hard work and dedication to meeting clients' needs.

Although there isn’t necessarily a typical day in the life of a strategist, her job involves planning, creating, and executing content strategies that will be relevant and useful to client audiences. Rather than simply throwing a bunch of ideas onto a blog and seeing what sticks, Natalie takes a deep dive into every brand she partners with, closely examining target audience demographics, SEO optimization opportunities, competitor analysis, and performance tracking. This information then guides her project recommendations, making her a vital resource for our team.

Although the CMS plays a vital role, Brafton's content could not produce positive results without all departments working together like the spokes of a wheel,in the right direction. And Natalie loves working with such a diverse and talented team. «We work with people from all over the world, and I think that’s a truly incredible part of what we do,» she said.

Our account teams are made up of people from all over the world, from UX strategists in Canada to designers based in Brazil and project managers based in London. This international collaboration brings together diverse perspectives and innovative ideas, fueling creative solutions for our clients.

«Despite the distance, I am constantly amazed by our ability to collaborate on matters such as strategy development, campaign execution, and the implementation of highly complex projects,» she added.

Natalie's Best Tips for Strategic Marketing

So you want to improve your brand’s content strategy. Natalie shared her two key takeaways that all marketers should know:

• Building Trust Through Relevance: It’s not about selling a product or a solution; it’s about helping customers make a purchase by giving them exactly what they need, when they need it. Start by asking, «What do they really want, and what do they need to feel confident in their decision?» rather than «What do I think they want?» because user behavior and data-driven audience insights should consistently be used to inform marketing strategy and optimize the digital experience—not your assumptions.

• Differentiation is essential: Work with clients to help them find a better angle or a unique perspective that sets their content apart. It’s not enough to cover the same topics as everyone else. You need to bring new ideas, specific expertise, or a unique point of view that makes people stop scrolling and pay attention. That’s where the magic happens in content strategy.

How to Implement This Approach in the Future

With relevance and differentiation in mind, how should this change your approach to content writing? Here are five ways to incorporate Natalie’s process into your own strategy:

1. Make decisions based on audience data, not assumptions: Before you create anything, take a close look at who your audience is—including what keeps them up at night and their biggest problems. Let that information guide the topics you cover.
2. Map the content to the buyer's journey: Relevance isn't universal. Be sure to align your content with specific stages of the customer pipeline, from awareness to decision-making. This ensures that you're always delivering the right message at the right time.
3. Developing a distinctive brand voice: Differentiation often starts with how you say things—not just what you say. Develop a tone and language that are unique to you and resonate with your customers.
4. Offer original ideas and thought leadership: Don't just repeat what already exists. Use your team's expertise, exclusive data, or unique experiences to create content that adds something new to the conversation.
5. Experiment with new formats and storytelling styles: Cut through the noise by exploring creative ways to convey your message—from interactive guides and data infographics to customer testimonials and short animated videos.

Beyond Marketing: The Jet Set and Home Makeovers

Once the day is over and the work is done, you’ll find Natalie planning her next big trip to add to her long list of travel adventures. Her next vacation? Paris for New Year’s—her third visit. She’ll enjoy some croissants and stroll along the Seine as she rings in 2026. Since it’s one of her favorite places in the world, she even named her cat Soleil.

She also spends a lot of her free time redecorating her space. If you’ve had the pleasure of meeting Natalie online during work hours, you already know how beautiful her home is (or you might have thought it was just a flawless Google Meet background). Her favorite spot for treasure hunting in Louisville—where she lives—is Mellwood Antiques. Some of her recent finds include a red shelf, crystal bowls, several oriental rugs, and ginger pots. Stunning finds, if we do say so ourselves!

Whether she’s rearranging her furniture or putting the finishing touches on a project proposal for her clients, Natalie always approaches every task with creativity and imagination. Now, follow her advice on content strategy—or check out your local thrift store for a new trinket to add to your collection.