Employee spotlight: Mark Nelson

We recently had an opportunity to catch up with Mark Nelson, President of EWI’s Retail Division, to discuss all things retail. Mark joined EWI in 2011 as an account executive and stepped into a leadership role in 2017. Since then, he’s helmed the retail division through a series of rapid-fire changes in the retail landscape. Read on to learn more about Mark, his team and what makes them tick.

You’ve led EWI’s retail team during a pivotal time for retail — during the explosion of ecommerce during COVID and now through a shift toward more experiential retail. What’s that been like?

In very broad strokes, it used to be when people would go to retail, it was very transactional. For example, I’m a runner, and I have favorite running socks I can get at REI or wherever. A lot of times, I just order them online, because I know exactly what I’m going to get, and I don’t feel like getting in my car to pick them up. With the rise of omnichannel, a lot of that strictly transactional business has moved online.

But omnichannel is more than just transactional. It’s a set of consistent experiences that go across both digital and in-person. And customers have come to expect that kind of approach from the brands they want to interact with. Now when people go into a store, they want to have an experience with the brand. They want to associate and connect on a much deeper level than they ever used to. And the experience needs be compelling and give them some kind of value. Because otherwise, they would just go online.

So it’s been exciting to see those changes happening, because it’s opened up opportunities for the retail team to do what we do best — create experiences and environments that build the connection between brand and customer.

What sets EWI apart from other agencies that specialize in retail spaces?

When I think about what differentiates us, I think of trust.

One of the things I hear consistently from our clients is, “If we could take your team and replicate you, we would. Because you’re the only partner or supplier or vendor — or whatever term they use — that we can always rely on.”  The best thing we can do for our clients — and also one of the best things we can do for ourselves — is set clear expectations and follow through.

We’re not a bureaucratic red tape company. We can move and adapt quickly as projects morph and change — which happens a lot when you’re building out an experiential retail activation. We’re privately owned, and that gives us freedom to do things for our clients without big paperwork headaches and unreasonably delayed timelines.

We always seek to win trust and think long term. So if we only do one project with a brand, that’s a failure in my mind.

How does EWI tailor its approach for different kinds of projects?

We put the same level of effort into everything we do, but we also execute a range of different kinds of projects — from one-off experiential spaces to massive retail buildouts across multiple locations.

Take the work we’ve do for T-Mobile and Hyundai for example. Those clients couldn’t be more different.

T-Mobile uses immersive, high-touch digital experiences to engage customers in their Signature Stores. Each buildout we do immerses guests in the T-Mobile brand and highlights certain products or key partnerships, and these installations are usually active only a few months. In these cases, most of what we are doing for them is highly custom. Every detail is intentional and bespoke, and that demands a high-touch, one-off approach to design and fabrication.

On the other hand, when we’re doing Hyundai dealership showrooms, that’s a very different challenge with different goals. The goal there is more about consistency, scalability and longevity. Hyundai customers should be able to walk into a dealership anywhere in the country and get the same consistent, high-end brand experience. These components have a lifespan of many years, and in some cases, we’re doing 30–40 installs a month. That kind of project requires us to think quite differently about what we are delivering.

So these different types of projects make work exciting. From construction management to data reporting and analysis, different kinds of projects keep us engaged. Because no one wants to do the same thing every day.

How does EWI’s culture influence your results?

When I look at our team, we’re wired to win. And a big part of that is our culture.

We tend to wear a lot of hats in my group, and we all pitch in as necessary to get the job finished correctly, no matter what your job or official title are. I’ve done installs where all of us are laying on our backs with drills and a light, putting something together at 2:00 in the morning. In general, the words “that’s not my job” aren’t part of our vernacular.

As I mentioned before, trust is important. A lot of companies claim that they are “family organizations” — particularly after COVID and the advent of work from home. But this is the first company I’ve worked for where they really live out that kind of trust — and they have for decades. My kids are in college now, but when they were younger, if I had to leave at 3:00 on a Thursday for a swim meet, that was never an issue — even back then. We trust our team enough to get their stuff done.

So, it’s not a surprise to me that our team is so strong, or that we keep winning “Great Place to Work” awards. And that people come to EWI and stay. That doesn’t happen in a lot of companies anymore. I get resumes from people that hop from job to job every few years as they try to climb the career ladder. And that’s fine for them, but that’s definitely not how it is here.