My Biggest Lesson: Kevin Miner

Kevin Miner is an Austin-based manager of digital strategy within the customer experience department at RPA. He works with some of RPA's biggest clients, including Farmers Insurance, TXU Energy, ampm, and on new-business pitches. Despite a specialisation in digital and social, Kevin's experience and background extends to brand, connections, and creative strategy. Kevin loves RPA's People First mindset and collaborating closely with the Agency's brilliant creative teams. 

There are quite a few events, lessons, or moments of growth that have had a significant impact on my career: however, I’m going to focus on a positive moment of encouragement that had the influence a lesson born out of a mistake can only dream of. When I was a summer strategy intern at R/GA Austin, I learned that I will be far more accepted, effective, and successful if I embrace all aspects of who I am (especially the quirky stuff). Sure, 'be yourself' may sound like tired and cliché advice, but it is something that is far easier said than done. And for me, this moment of realisation came by way of a creative brief that I made into a rap.  

When I graduated from LSU in 2018, I naively expected to fall right into my first 'big boy' job. I quickly learned that my best opportunity was a strategy internship 430 miles away in Austin, so I moved there with no real plan other than hustle my ass off and hopefully lock down a full-time job. The internship was going smoothly for the first month and I was growing as a strategist, but I was operating from a mindset of 'don’t mess this up' rather than thinking about what I could bring to the table.

When it was time for me to write a creative brief for the summer-intern project, a pro bono campaign for the Central Texas Make-A-Wish Foundation, I had this idea to rap it. Throughout college I made music and freestyle videos, which I posted frequently to social media, and I thought that recording a brief could be an excellent way to breathe some life into the project and have fun. After all, the stakes were low considering it was an intern project - to be clear, I would not recommend showing up to your big brand-campaign briefing with an mp3 of garage-band files. 

When I ran this idea by the creative directors Keli Hogsett and TJ Walthall, they were stoked and even started suggesting ways to build on it. Seeing the excitement and encouragement from two of the most respected and influential leaders in the office was all the assurance I needed. The brief went over better than anyone expected and it was eventually shared with all of R/GA Austin, which showed me that something that made me so nervous to do (literally being myself) was what resonated most with my co-workers.  

That experience gave me a quiet confidence I now carry in my current role. It taught me the value of tactfully colouring outside the lines, the importance of understanding the unique value you can add, and how to encourage and allow others to embrace their strengths. 

Over the years my understanding of this lesson and experience has evolved to encompass something a little bit bigger. I participated in a course at RPA called RPA Up (shoutout Rebecca Mendelson and Laura Small for organising it) and in one of the classes we talked about the importance of having a personal brand. Especially in the day and age of hybrid work where so many of us are muted with cameras off, I believe it’s increasingly important to have an understanding of what your personal brand is and a recognizable presence within the workplace. 

PS

I don’t think I have the file of that brief anymore, but here is a rap video that I made with clients while we had some down time on a business trip which they later posted to their TikTok channel.