Among the creatives I have the pleasure to work with, and have had the pleasure to know since moving to New York, is Corinne Daldorph. Daldorph knows more than most about the ups and downs (sometimes more downs) people face when moving to this city. I admire her for constantly rolling through the punches; how no obstacle is a deal-breaker for her.
Originally from Sweden, Daldorph moved to New York two years ago with nothing but determination and a dream. Ever the creative, she has worked in this industry since she was 18yrs old. Her start was with her own film production company, which she began while studying Social Studies-Media and Journalism. After working for herself for 2yrs, she dissolved the company and took a break from school to travel the world.
When she returned to Sweden, she started her studies again as a Digital Media Creative at Hyper Island and started working for a start-up called Framkalla as an Influencer Marketing Strategist. That was her first position at an ad company, and where her interest in deep diving into data and social listening grew. When she completed her program, she made the move to NYC. She quickly got an internship at Annex88 as an Integrated Strategy intern, and after 6mo she was offered a Junior Strategist position. After holding that position for 5mo, she transitioned to an Art Director role.
Photograph by Brandon Thomas Brown
As Art Director, Daldorph has worked with brands like adidas Originals, Y3, W Hotel, Moncler, Hugo Boss & more. She talks to me about why she made the transition from Strategist to Art Director, consumer and corporate responsibility as it pertains to data mining, and how she describes the ad world.
Since moving to NY, what has been the greatest lesson you’ve learned so far?
Life (she says as she laughs). I actually spoke to a friend a couple days ago and he said that I’ve grown both on a professional level and a personal level. And I think he’s right. I have seen my growth. I have been faced with so many challenges. Living in NY, every situation is different from the day before and the day after: this city can either build your character or it will take it away.
As a former strategist & social listener, what would you say are some problems you’ve seen in the ad world as it pertains to data?
I think with the way technology has evolved now, pretty much every one has access to social listening tools, but not everyone uses the information responsibly. We’ve gotten to the point that people don’t know what information they are giving people access to, and they don’t know to what extent that information is being used. Who will actually say that they read the Terms of Use Agreement. The scandal with Cambridge Analytica is a good example of this, and we are only aware of that because of the leaks. I don’t even know if people realize that data mining is still happening; I don’t know if they even care.
So, based on what you just said, do you think that the responsibility is on the consumer to know or on the companies and how they use the information?
Both. I think consumers are absolutely responsible for the information they put out there, if the company is using it the right way. By that I mean, when companies are transparent that they will be using the information, then consumers are the ones responsible in choosing to share. Like when apps have a prompt saying they will access your personal data, photos, etc, click ‘accept or ‘decline’. It is wrong when companies secretly go behind consumers backs and abuse and manipulate the information shared (e.g. Cambridge Analytica). I think we, as a society, should be more aware of data mining, and caution kids growing up with these apps.
When did you transition to the role of Art Director and why?
I transitioned a year ago into the creative field. In full transparency, that was always the plan. I have always said my mind is in strategy, but my heart is in creative. With that said, before I moved to NY I was mainly in the creative industry—either creating concepts or in film, but I was also the person making excel sheets and conducting research. I like to say of the way I think is structured chaos. So when I moved here, it was important for me to understand strategy because strategy informs creative. There are a lot of creatives that want to do something because it is cool, without understanding why it is they’re doing it.
How would you describe the ad world?
Honestly, I am sure I am burning a lot of bridges by saying this (she laughs), but it is filled with a lot of nepotism, and, unfortunately, can at times, shed light or give credit to the wrong people.
What do you mean by ‘wrong people’?
Ad agencies started with mainly white men trying to get business from other white men because that is how the world was structured. And not much has changed since. We’d like to believe it has changed, but unfortunately it has not. Even though there are a lot of qualified women in this field, a lot of qualified POC, there isn’t an equal representation in leadership roles or pay. With that said, I do feel and think that there are a lot of people now that are trying to change this industry in an effort to mirror an accurate depiction of society.
Do you plan on staying in advertising?
No. My plan is to move into film, or wherever my heart takes me. I don’t want to limit my creative vision. I think all human beings are meant to explore who they are and want to do. One of my biggest fears is being stuck and not evolving. No one should ever feel stuck.
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Interview by Rahel Tekle