Sara Moorthy Was Working With Data in Advertising Before It Was Cool

Talking about data management and measurement back in 1995 was a very different conversation from today. But Sara Moorthy has been working in the industry long enough to see it all, from commercials to print ads to direct mail. Beginning with building websites back in the '90s, then starting her own agency, Chautauqua Communications, in 2006, and now as managing partner and evp at marketing technology firm Leavened, Moorthy has been in the analytics field for more than 25 years. “The amount of data [we use] has changed, but I don't think the process in which we use it has changed that much,” she said. "What are the KPIs? What are the right metrics and measures? [These questions} haven't changed in the 25 years that I've been working." Moorthy is a problem-solver at heart, making the ever-changing landscape of the marketing world an ideal fit. This enthusiasm can be traced to her college days, too. "I noticed that all my marketing professors thought I had a natural affinity for the discipline," said Moorthy, who graduated from Pepperdine University with a master’s in business administration and international affairs. Prior to this, she studied organizational behavior during her undergrad at Indiana University. However, actually forging a career in the field wasn't smooth sailing. As both a woman and a person of color, Moorthy struggled due to lack of representation. After Chautauqua Communications was acquired by R2C Group in 2008, she stayed on as a managing partner, and there were times Moorthy's ideas went unheard in boardrooms, only to be reiterated by her white male colleagues and readily accepted by executives. It was an emotionally draining experience at the time, but Moorthy said it also helped build her confidence in her skills. In recent years, companies have begun consciously hiring diverse talent. Even now, however, the challenge remains: "How do you represent yourself so that you can get your communication and thoughts across," Moorthy said, "but still have ownership of who you are and why your point of view is valid?" After R2C, Moorthy moved on to freelancing with GoPro and Symantec as a marketing and analytics consultant. Then R2C came calling again in 2017 for Moorthy to be a co-founder of Leavened, a company under the R2C umbrella. "I liked the idea of seeing what other opportunities there were for starting something new," she said. Leavened works with clients such as Chewy, Consumer Cellular, Lending Tree and Freshly using a proprietary optimization tool. “Not using [personally identifiable information] or cookie-level data to get insights into cross-channel marketing is the biggest opportunity for us,” she said. Big mistake Moorthy isn’t one to shy away from the things that make anyone in the advertising world successful: hard work and innovation. However, she often underestimated how far she could rise in her career as a minority woman. Lesson learned Moorthy knows the value of surrounding herself with the best team and lives by the mantra "hire people smarter than you." How she got the gig Moorthy was freelancing with GoPro and Symantec as a marketing and analytics consultant when she was approached by R2C's private equity firm that previously acquired Chautauqua Communications to be a co-founder of Leavened in 2017. Pro tip “Don't limit yourself ... If someone in the boardroom is not listening to you, that's OK," Moorthy said. "You have to kind of shake it off and move on.”