Jitter Garcia, 32, is the senior director of event marketing for Univision. She's based in New York.
What I do:
I have the privilege of leading the event marketing team tasked with bringing the Univision story to life. We create memorable experiences that form emotional connections to the brand and strengthen relationships with our audiences, including clients, media, the local community and employees.
Why I love my job:
I love that in my job I’m encouraged to explore and bring out my creativity and passion and infuse it into the events that I create. I am also so grateful to lead a group of experience makers who all have incredibly diverse backgrounds, personalities and talents that make up one phenomenal team.
My career journey:
My experience has always been working on the brand side. Working at Dow Jones andThe Wall Street Journal was my first introduction to the events world, and I was the only events person on the marketing team—having little experience before that. I was on my own, and it was tough but also amazing to get that kind of experience. Eventually, I landed on a team at Discovery Channel and later at Univision, which made me love the events world even more.
And now leading the team at Univision is a different experience altogether in that my responsibilities shifted from being in the weeds on planning to focusing on the company’s overall client event strategy and how to find a balance between delivering a business message and entertaining our audience through every touchpoint. I have tried to create an environment that encourages them to inspire and challenge each other, which I found to be so important in my own career.
My greatest career accomplishment:
Early in my career, I was tasked with creating the event strategy for the newly inaugurated WSJ+ program—the subscriber loyalty program at The Wall Street Journal. I was only a couple of years out of college, and it seemed like a daunting challenge. I’m very proud to say that the events strategy I implemented became the blueprint for the global events strategy—a version of which is still in place today.
As well, the 2019 Univision Upfront has a special place in my heart as it was the first large-scale event that I led the charge on as the newly appointed head of event marketing.
How I helped my organization during COVID:
Navigating the new era of events in a post-COVID world has been challenging for everyone. Understanding and communicating the importance of engagement to internal stakeholders, even in a virtual setting, was key to developing a successful strategy while in-person events were (and continue to be) in flux. From there, we were able to pitch and execute creative programs that went beyond the screen and delivered high-touch experiences even while being remote.
The time I averted a complete event disaster:
When I was producing an event at Discovery, the furniture that was delivered for the awards gala was not at all what I ordered. Altogether it looked a little tacky, and I was distraught because my boss was not thrilled at all. Two hours before doors opened, I ended up being inspired to repurpose the side tables to be the center tables and the center tables to become seating benches, and I made a few other edits. By the end of all my rearranging, it looked like a totally different space fit for the celebrity gathering that it was. I’m happy with how it turned out—but phew, that was stressful.
My most memorable event experience in the past year:
Being able to finally gather safely with my team to celebrate and toast each other after producing the second virtual upfront sticks out in my mind as one of my favorite memories from the past year.
Best advice I’ve ever received:
Don’t take anything personally.
Impressive stats I’m responsible for:
Leading the Change, one of our flagship events executed annually at Univision, is typically a highly produced, exclusive event about empowering the industry to lead the change in organizations required to invest in inclusive marketing strategies. While the pandemic had us pivot and change the format to virtual, the beautiful silver lining was that we were able to reach a much larger audience of four times more people than we typically would have—that’s a 300% increase from 2019 to 2021. The virtual event was still high-touch and engaging, and was able to capture the spirit of the in-person event through innovative executions like a four-course dinner complete with tablescapes, dinnerware and florals delivered to attendees’ doors.
What’s next?
I’m excited to be bringing back Univision’s in-person upfront this May after two years of being virtual. Being a central growth partner to brands, our annual upfront is the event that helps us bring this to life in a big way. Additionally, we have the privilege of working on other crucial events that support the company’s growth and transformation like the work that my team just executed on that memorialized a historic moment for the company—the launch of the biggest Spanish-language streaming brand, ViX.
What I do outside of work:
To release my stress I love to read, work out and go dancing. I’m also proud to be a Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board member for Event Marketer magazine and a Product Advisory Board member for The Vendry.
Dream vacation:
The Maldives. I love a vacation where you sit on the beach and soak up the sun.
Favorite icebreaker line:
Go-to karaoke song?
Connect with Garcia on LinkedIn.
“Connect x BizBash 40 Under 40” is sponsored by VDA, an experiential marketing and event design agency based in Massachusetts that specializes in custom live, virtual and hybrid experiences.
