Uprising: Mara Conway Compares Art Directing to Choreography

Mara Conway is an art director at the LA-based, independent creative agency, RPA. Having worked there for six years, she’s helped shape projects for the likes of FreshDirect, American Honda and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Her poster work for the RPA Concert Series recently won her a Gold ADDY.

Away from the office, Mara is a co-founder and design lead for the social platform, Dancers Anonymous, which was created as a safe space for dancers to share their stories and struggles with mental health and body image. Mara, with a dance and choreography background herself – she was a Disney cast member at one point – tells LBB that the performing arts is where she first found a true sense of identity and self-expression.

“I trained in all kinds of dance from a young age – ballet, modern, jazz, Irish dance, etc. – the whole nine yards! I was in a pre-professional ballet company in high school and was a championship level competitive Irish dancer,” she says. “I stepped away from the dance world in college but have recently been getting back into classes and have loved reconnecting with the creativity and community of the dance world.”

Above: Mara's 'Minke' poster for RPA's Summer Concerts

“And yes! I was a Disney cast member in college,” she adds. “It was an awesome experience! I worked at the ‘Indiana Jones Adventure: The Temple of the Forbidden Eye’ ride where I heard endless jokes because the deity of the temple also happens to be named Mara.”

A big believer in the importance of curiosity, Mara has always surrounded herself with an array of creative and educational pursuits – be it reading, museums, photography or crocheting. “Anything you expose yourself to can be inspiration for future work. Your experiences are filed away into your subconscious and all of that becomes a part of you.”

For instance, Mara believes her dance background made her a stronger art director today. “Art directing a campaign isn’t dissimilar to choreographing,” she says. “When choreographing, you’re using all the elements of movement, costumes, lighting, props, music, etc. to effectively communicate a story to an audience – just like how you combine various components to art direct a campaign to tell a story.”

She continues, “Before I knew about layouts and hierarchy I knew about formations and spatial awareness. Honestly, dance is design, but 3D! And a presentation or pitch is much like a dance competition. You put in all this time and preparation, and you get one shot to put your best foot forward. Also, I owe my ability to stay calm under stress to many many years of going on stage and smiling through the pressure.”

Instilled with a strong work ethic from her Italian and German immigrant grandparents, Mara was certain growing up that she wanted to pursue a creative career in some form, but didn’t discover her current vocation until college. After taking an ‘intro to advertising’ class, she found something which combines all the things she loves – design, film, strategy, production – making it “the perfect crossroads” of the disciplines that fascinate her.

At Chapman University, she went on to study public relations and advertising, competing on the National Student Advertising Competition team. This experience was her first taste of an agency setting - operating in ‘departments’ and creating a unified campaign together. “We competed against other southern California schools, and it was fascinating to see how other teams treated the same brief. It was a great example of seeing how different agencies pitch the same client brief.”

A pivotal campaign that helped build her confidence early on was one she made while attending The Book Shop School for Ads. ‘How Are You Really?’ was a spec ad for WhatsApp; a campaign tackling mental health that involved print ads and a docuseries, asking people, ‘How are you REALLY?’. 

“I got to see first-hand the power of work that tackles an important topic like mental health,” says Mara. “Before working on this campaign, I was more focused in the world of web design art direction, but after building out my portfolio with this WhatsApp campaign I was able to make the switch to focusing on more traditional 360 campaign art direction. Working on this campaign led me directly to working on the team I work on today!”

 After several internships, Mara got her break at RPA in 2018, having previously heard about the agency, and met them at a senior year career fair. In the six years since, what’s kept her at the agency, she says, has been “the people, the people, the people!”

“When I first started at RPA, one of my biggest cheerleaders/mentors was my ACD at the time, Leo Arroyo. He really helped me navigate agency life and he was a huge supporter and advocate. Starting off can be intimidating but he was kind, fun, and kept it real! I try to take a page from Leo’s book and pay it forward with mentoring newer creatives today.”  

Discussing those formative early days at RPA, Mara remembers the excitement of seeing her projects go live for the first time – even if it was just a small social media story. “It was a rush to see a project go from a seed of an idea to a live asset. It’s awesome to have tangible evidence of your hard work.” However, she did initially struggle with feeling like an ‘atypical’ creative personality. 

“Lots of creatives are loud and out there, and that’s just not me so I had doubts as to whether I’d succeed in this career,” she shares. “I’ve learned that any personality can truly thrive, and what I once worried was a negative trait is actually a huge asset.”

Mara’s accounts thus far have been a mix of utilities brands – TXU Energy, Southern California Edison (SCE) –  and more traditional direct-to-consumer names like American Honda – and while “every client comes with unique challenges,” she says that all projects boil down to a common goal: understanding the brand’s needs and challenges, and finding a creative solution. 

“I love getting to be creative every day. That moment when you nail an idea and feel like you solved a problem is the best!” 

A recent campaign she’s especially proud of is FreshDirect’s ‘Real Food That’s Real New York’, giving iconic New York imagery a foody twist. Pairing OOH around the city with three films, Mara and her creative team positioned FreshDirect as not just another grocery delivery service but, rather, New York’s grocery delivery service.

Above: Mara in front of the FreshDirect OOH

“FreshDirect has been a part of the New York City landscape since 2002. But as their target demo grew older, it was time to reintroduce the brand to a younger audience – one that craved (pardon the pun) to be in the know about authentically ‘New York’ experiences… reminding everyone that great, healthy, farm-to-kitchen fresh food can be a part of ordinary life in the big city.”

“The project wasn’t originally scoped for out-of-home deliverables,” she reveals, “but we created some assets that our clients liked so much they went forward with a large OOH media buy around New York City (MTA train ads, MTA digital ads, wild postings, etc.). The OOH featured iconic New York symbols like a Yankees hat, the Statue of Liberty and a yellow taxi all made from FreshDirect produce. It was a great reminder that if you have a good idea that goes above and beyond the initial assignment it doesn’t hurt to present it.” 

Looking at the broader industry, Mara is excited about diving into the world of AI – “an incredibly important and powerful tool moving forward” – as well as any high-level work that can provide her with inspiration, “Whether it’s nerding out over a beautiful branding system or being in awe about a small insight.” 

On the other hand, she identifies room for improvement regarding female representation in adland, having previously volunteered at the LA chapter of SheSays, an advocacy and mentorship charity, providing support and networking events to over 4,000 women in the creative business.

“It was awesome to see so many women in the industry come together and support one another. I’d love to see more women in leadership positions moving forward within the industry!” 

Motivated in all her ambitions by her family and friends – be it her art directing or community building for Dancers Anonymous and SheSays – Mara continues to not only feed her curiosity with a wide range of creative interests, but is dedicated to doing so in a way that helps those around her, and the next generation too.

“Paying it forward feels good! I like the idea of creating environments and resources that would have been helpful to younger me.”