Moving the Needle: Juie Shah

At DDB, our people are the heart and soul to our agency. We believe that the inclusivity of thought and background leads to when we, as a company, are able to be the most authentic and creative. Thus, allowing creativity to be the most powerful force within our business; it has the power to make people laugh, cry, think, alter their behaviour, create change for the world, and impact culture.  

Juie Shah is a group strategy director at DDB Chicago. Originally from Mumbai India, she grew up in rich cultural diversity and was surrounded by a fascinating environment of socioeconomic, cultural, religious and gender differences - perfect habitat for birthing curiosity about the human condition. She moved to America for graduate school and found herself to have a natural connection to the field of consumer insight and strategy. In her last seven years at DDB she has worked on multiple accounts spanning Insurance, Telecom and QSR. Over the last four years she has been a leading strategy efforts for the US Army and is working on an extraordinary assignment to reintroduce the oldest brand in America to the youngest generation of Americans. As a lifelong learner Juie is passionate about design, equity and the intersection of the two disciplines. She makes it a point to give time to young immigrants and young women trying to break into advertising.

1. Name, Title, Office, Link to LinkedIn Page  

Juie Shah, group strategy director, DDB Chicago  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/juieshah/

2. What is your personal mantra?   

It’s personal but borrowed. I love Ross Gay’s year-long grand experiment in wilful gladness. He quotes: “Delights are strewn about this world like quiet, inappreciable dew-drops, waiting for the sunshine of our attention to turn them into gold.” My personal mantra is to chase delight in all its shapes and forms.  

3. How did you wind up in advertising?  

I am a product of two artist parents that allowed me to experiment with their marketing material at the age of 13. I was extremely curious about what drives people to their art and would write poetry, design visiting cards and make posters to don the walls of exhibition spaces. I went on to study Integrated Marketing at North-western and was introduced to Consumer Insight and Storytelling (by my two favourite professors Michelle Weinberger and DDB’s Bob Scarpelli) and the magical intersection of the two spaces destined me to a strategy role. I joined DDB in 2016 and I love being here every day.  

4. What is a piece of creative that you worked on that particularly moved you?  

Very early in my career I worked on a campaign for State Farm called 'The Following' for their volunteerism initiative. The insight was so simple, yet so powerful – 70% of Americans wanted to volunteer but only 25% do. The work was centred around bridging the gap between intention and action and to date continues to be work that I’m proud of but also an insight that stuck with me personally. I am also incredibly inspired by Army’s work that is revealing possibilities and pushing youth to 'Be All You Can Be'.  

5. What does your daily routine consist of? 

My routine is a constant work in progress but if I were to use the footwear metaphor, first I put on my shoes and move my body, then I put myself in the consumer’s shoes and think about their wishes and wants, and finally I kick off my shoes and fuel my soul. 

6. When do you feel the most powerful?   

I feel the most powerful in a collective flow. Nothing is more energy giving than being in a room with shared ideas and the shared intent to manifest those ideas into reality.

7. Which of the DDB Four Freedoms is the most important to you and why? 

‘Freedom to Be’ is my favourite freedom mostly because I think it is the enabler of the other freedoms. Leaning into who you are is the best filter to navigating chaos, fear or failure.

8. What is one source of creative inspiration you draw from outside of work?  

My biggest source of creative inspiration is experiencing nature, the vastness of nature is such an un-limiter of ideas. I also practice Indian classical music and sometimes in the middle of a song I find the solution to a long-standing strategic challenge. I don’t know how seemingly unrelated neurons fire together but I’m glad they do.

9. Who are your creative heroes? 

My creative heroes are my parents Rupa and Sujay Shah. They’re both Bonsai artists and have worked to cultivate environmental consciousness in India for the last 35 years. As a creative, I try to channel them, not only in my passion for my craft, but also the ripples that the craft can cause in the universe. I hope that someday my craft can lead people to dream up a different world like they do.

10. Wishes or aspirations for the advertising industry?   

If I were to gaze at a crystal ball, I suspect that as consumers we are moving from being constantly connected to wanting to be inter-connected. The product market is over-saturated, the advent of AI has unprecedented applications, and a lot of rational needs are well taken care of. The fulfilment of core needs puts emphasis on unmet needs and a white space I see is a deeper emotional need to connect more meaningfully. My biggest dream and aspiration is to move brands to facilitate true connection and become co-signers of a new era of community building. 

11. How are you moving the advertising industry forward?  

Moving the industry forward sounds like a large and daunting task. Personally, two things I take seriously are people & systems. I am extremely fulfilled by mentoring young people, especially women and immigrants who are trying to break into advertising. I work with Omniwomen and Adcolor, and also mentor students from Northwestern University which is my Alma Mater. I also don’t think people can thrive unless the system is built to help them thrive and I am working with my agency leadership to create a system that helps strategists at all levels find their voice. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to reimagine conventional practices and foster an equitable growth environment while addressing personal biases rooted in lived experiences.

12. What has been your most measurable impact?   

Getting to be a part of the team that reintroduced the US Army to Americans has by far been the most exhilarating experience of my career. The effect of this work is not just increasing youth’s confidence in the Army, and in America, but also in themselves. 

13> Lasting words to leave us with:

Do they have to be mine? I love this quote by George Saunders: “Find out what makes you kinder, what opens you up and brings out the most loving, generous, and unafraid version of you, and go after those things as if nothing else matters. “