Featured on Oct 10, 2011

Anna Kuhn

"Simple is beautiful."

Bio:

Hi, I'm Anna. I analyze data to tell stories and solve problems. I have lots of identities...Digital strategist. Data consumer. Ocean lover. Analytics trailblazer. Dubstep listener. Circuit bender. Behavior analyst. Breakfast eater. Vogue reader...but mostly I just like to make things make sense.

Currently I help companies and startups figure out their digital analytics strategies, freelancing as logika.cc. In my career, I’ve designed and standardized agency-wide digital Analytics & Accountability programs for APCO Worldwide, Burson-Marsteller, and RocketFuel Studios, and developed dozens of similar strategy and analytics approaches for Fortune 500 corporations, CPG companies, non-profits, media, and cause organizations including Hormel, Celestial Seasonings, Jennie-O Turkey, SPAM, the New York Stock Exchange, Exxon, and many others.

They’ve all had a few things in common:

Approaches are 30% “analytics,” 30% business strategy, 30% brand story and 10% surprise!
Reports don’t contain numbers, they contain insights…
…and unless those insights are actionable, they don’t matter.

In a prior life, I was the in-house Digital Business Analyst for RocketFuel Studios, a digital media, entertainment, and publishing consultancy in SoHo. Prior to RocketFuel, I worked for the digital arm of Burson-Marsteller as lead strategist for the Hormel Foods account. There I spearheaded audience growth across the company’s digital brand portfolio and introduced various emerging mediums to Hormel including e-commerce, mobile, and CRM strategy. Prior to Burson, I worked as a user experience strategist with various clients across the Government, Cause, Energy, and Healthcare industries in Washington, D.C. first with Virilion, then with APCO Worldwide.

Title: Analytics Trailblazer, Freelance Digital Strategist
Age: 25
Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Contact: logika.cc

Your about.me page says that you consider yourself a Brooklyn dweller. What are some of your favorite spots to hang out in Brooklyn?

I adore Coney Island in the winter, strolling the "banks" of the Gowanus canal, taking random classes at 3rd Ward, Union Pool's fire pit on subzero nights and alternating between Duff's and The Charleston as Sunday afternoon office space.

What resources do you tap to stay on top of what’s happening in the Digital field?

Even though I'm far from a developer, I love Hacker Daily and Alistapart to keep my head spinning a little and to make sure that world is always on my radar. UXBooth, Informationisbeautiful.net, Smashing Magazine, and then, of course, techmeme, NYT Technology, Wired, Gizmodo, Gigaom, and TechCrunch keep me pretty up to date. From a human perspective, all the digital events that happen seemingly every night across the city are a great way to keep minds and ideas mashing.

What’s the biggest professional difference to you between working at an agency or studio and doing this type of work as a freelancer?

The freelance world often feels like there's more integrity of work. Working with other people who have a personal stake in accountability and the caliber of what they produce is refreshing. Especially collaborating with other freelancers and tiny studios, the end products often tend to be stronger and smarter than the ambiguous faceless masses of code that *can* be put together in a larger agency environment. Annnd...the freedom to choose what you want to work on :)

Digital Strategist