Natasha Banta McDermott: 1990s Content Strategy – Episode 14

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Natasha Banta McDermott began her content-strategy career in 1997 at Clement Mok’s Studio Archetype. Mok, who had been the creative director at Apple in the 1980s, put content right alongside design in their clients’ web projects, creating some really cool opportunities for Natasha and her content team.

Natasha and I talked about content strategy, creative collaboration, and team building in a visionary agency at the dawn of the dot-com era.

(Sorry about the scritching noise in parts of the audio. I think Natasha’s mic was rubbing against her sweater. I barely noticed it during our conversation, but it’s a little distracting at points in the recording. Unfortunately, it’s the kind of sound that you can’t really edit out in post-production 🙁 ).

Natasha’s Bio

Natasha Banta McDermott is a strategist with nearly 25 years’ experience in the print and online world. She helps clients explore and articulate big ideas. The bulk of her experience has been in content strategy, translating business objectives, brand strategy, and user needs into holistic content strategies that inspire, motivate, and engage. She’s a storyteller at heart, and understands that strategy and storytelling are inextricably linked.

Before becoming an independent consultant, Natasha co-founded Storyhouse Partners, a communications consulting company that helped clients define their vision and brand through clear and compelling user experiences, including content and design. She ran several hands-on client workshops, focusing on content development and strategy. She helped attendees see the bigger picture first, then worked with them to create user experiences and content that aligned with and supported the brand.

Prior to Storyhouse, Natasha was a director of content strategy at Sapient Corp., a large consulting firm, and collaborated on projects with designers, business strategists, and information architects. Natasha started her career as a writer and editor at Sterling’s Magazine Group before joining Addison Wesley Longman Publishers where she was an assistant editor and a writer.

Her client list includes Consumer Reports, EMC, Ford Motor Company, Exxon-Mobil, Visa, TravelChannel, Global Giving, PeopleSoft, Sustainable Conservation, Janus, WageWorks, and Wells Fargo. As an independent consultant, she has worked with a variety of agencies, including Razorfish, Sullivan, Huge Media, and others.

Natasha holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Skidmore College.

Video

Here’s the video version of our conversation.