Job Feature: Kameron Backstrom, Marketing Asset Manager at Apple

How did you hear about the position and what was the interview process like?
A recruiter from Apple reached out to me asking if I was looking for opportunities and I told him I was. At the time I was a contractor at HBO Max and I was looking for something full-time with benefits. He was super kind and walked me through the job position and what the role was/what it entailed. The interview process was awesome and super smooth. I talked to the Manager of Business Affairs (my eventual boss) and a few other key members on the team. I was able to negotiate my salary and they were more than willing to meet those conditions.

What past experience do you think helped you land your current role? 
At Blizzard and HBO, I worked as a Digital Asset Coordinator and Specialist respectively, so I knew exactly what I was going to do at Apple. Asset management is all about organization and stakeholder management and both of these places allowed me to flex those skills. Here at Apple, I am doing that to a larger extent with a much bigger team.

What tasks does your job entail?
The focus of my job revolves around being a project manager and liaison between the Business Affairs team (my team) and our production team within the App Store to support campaign and marketing ads. A lot of my work is independent but I do rely on many other stakeholders (clearance managers, producers, etc) once my part of the process is complete. As the asset manager, it’s my job to track down and source assets we can use for any and all of our ads. At Apple, we use a ton of project management tools to stay organized and have a source of truth including Wrike, Radar, and Workfront. We only use email and Slack for communication and outreach to external partners. A big portion of my time is dedicated to reaching out to all of our third-party developers to get assets for our marketing campaigns which I really enjoy.

What are the skills needed to be successful at your job?
For Asset management, DAM (Digital Asset Management System) experience is the most critical. So much of my work involves tagging, organizing, and moving assets around and each system has its own way of doing that. Apple, HBO and Blizzard all used house-built systems so I got experience that way. Other than that, project management systems like Monday.com and Wrike are also pluses.

Who do you directly report to and does anyone report to you? 
I report to the Manager of Business Affairs (under the umbrella of Apple Business Affairs) and starting this summer I will have an intern (Marketing Asset Intern).

Do you work from home, office, or hybrid?
My office is in Culver City and my normal hours are 9-5!

How many vacation days do you get per year? 
I get a total of 14 business days for PTO.

What do you do to help your work/life balance? 
My fiancee and I love to travel so planning trips is a great way to have a healthy balance. In 2023 alone we are going to Europe twice, Hawaii and Memphis. Outside of work, I love to watch movies, work out and play golf!

Have you been promoted at your current company and what do you think factored into your promotion? 
I haven’t been promoted (yet) but I am hoping by the fall of 2023 I can take the next step. Having an intern over the summer will be a great first step in this process.

What is your favorite part of your job? 
My favorite part of the job is being the front-facing representative of the App Store within the App Store’s Marketing. I work with all of our 3rd part app developers which includes everyone from Disney, Amazon, and Clash of Clans to Pokemon and Nintendo. I am the first point of contact they talk to and while it’s a large responsibility, it’s something new and fun every day. I also love talking to all kinds of devs from around the world. Some have 5 TOTAL people working at the app and others have thousands of employees. The diversity is what makes each day so great.

What has been your proudest moment at your job? 
The proudest moment at my job was entirely reworking our processes and workflows for our requests to our app developers. When I first started we were asking our developers for tons and tons of assets and I was able to streamline that process and make things so much easier for them and for us. I decreased our asset request count by 72% which was such a win. It took almost 4 months to get this effort off the ground but I led the charge and it paid off in the end. That will stay on the resume for a long long time.

What’s the biggest lesson(s) you’ll take away from this job? 
Even at the biggest company on Earth, it’s still run by people which means mistakes can happen and things can take forever to change and improve. Most people think of Apple as the most organized and efficient place but sometimes Apple can be super slow and convoluted which shows all companies and places will have this issue – it’s not just small companies.

Any advice for people who want to work at your company or in your general field? 
Organization and relationship management are by far the most crucial aspects of this field. People can hound you for assets/names/information etc. but being able to stay calm and manage people is what can prepare you for success. A lot of people think asset management is sitting on a computer looking for assets but it’s so much more than that and creating a workflow that people can tap into is a recipe for massive success.

Have you worked anywhere else in the past? 
I have worked at Blizzard Entertainment and HBO Max before landing at Apple.

If people want to connect with you and learn more, how can they reach you?
LinkedIn

Last Fast 5 with Kameron Backstrom

• Last tv show/movie: The Super Mario Bros (movie) and Succession (TV Show)
• Last book: The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger
• Last concert: Coachella (2019)
• Last restaurant: Sugarfish
• Last vacation: Europe (Spain and France)

Thanks for sharing, Kam!

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