Structuring Thoughtful Marketing Campaigns

Being a trailblazer is an essential quality for leaders because it allows them to be pioneers in their areas of expertise. Leaders can point the way, take risks, and change the environment. They have a vision for a different future, a faith that turns their dreams into reality, and a determination that cuts through barriers and obstacles.

Michelle Majkrzak, Director, Digital Marketing & Media, Avnet Americas, is often referred to as a trailblazer by her past and present employers. The reason is simple: she has never shied away from a challenge in the workplace, pushing herself to think outside the box and approach each project with a fresh perspective to figure out where she can make an impact.

She supports and encourages independent work, but teams must heavily lean on collaboration for a department like marketing to run smoothly. “It is important to me to foster a safe environment where the team knows I will listen to them and let them know that their thoughts, feelings, and vision are valid and worth talking through,” explains Michelle. “I feel that it is important to hear their perspective on how to approach a project best as well as how they feel it will make an impact. I encourage individuality and manage each person’s personality, traits, and characteristics.”

Not being afraid to bring a strong personality onto the team, Michelle increases the bench strength of others, bringing out emerging qualities in them that they didn’t know they had or were capable of. This fosters an environment of learning the job and people, which ultimately benefits the team.

Being a pioneering leader, Michelle has always encouraged her team to make decisions, act on those decisions, and learn from them. She does not micromanage but instead motivates the team to find the solution to any problem they face because she believes that every individual can simplify a complicated situation and succeed. “I have found success in certain milestones, but I realize that once I reach those goals or milestones, the definition of success changes. I think success lives in a state of transition because it will always shapeshift, so to speak,” she says. “Success is such a fluid concept as it means different things to different people and if you have found success, wouldn’t you just keep moving the bar to redefine your next step in success?”

With this brilliant mindset, Michelle is taking the company's marketing department to new heights. Avnet is a global electronic components distributor with extensive design, product, marketing, and supply chain expertise for customers and suppliers at every product lifecycle stage. For the past 100 years, Avnet has helped its customers and suppliers worldwide realize the transformative possibilities of technology. Its culture was founded on new ideas and emerging technology. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Avnet is a top 3 global distributor of electronic components, with FY21 revenue of $19 billion. Avnet serves more than 300 suppliers and 100,000 customers worldwide, with operations in more than 300 locations and 140 countries in North America, Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA), and Asia-Pacific.

The mission of Avnet is to help customers transform their ideas into intelligent solutions through the power of technology. “My team is instrumental in nurturing this mission by structuring thoughtful marketing campaigns that consider the user journey – what brought them there and why are they seeking the information,” elucidates Michelle. “We aim to provide value to anyone interacting with our campaigns, by way of education on specific product applications, interactive experiences, or providing thought leadership content to leave the reader both satisfied with the content as well as offering them a new perspective to question the way they thought something was.”

Avnet has been in business since 1921. From its humble beginnings as a radio part distributor to now a global leader in technology, Avnet has always remained steadfast in anticipating the next wave or big thing, then leaning on its rich history and learnings to propel itself forward, staying relevant and cutting-edge the entire time. “Avnet is here to stay and will continue to work towards a world where technology solutions are seamless and accessible to everyone. As for me, I will continue to work on myself and develop the skills I deem critical for managing a team and driving success from the output of that team,” concludes Michelle.