Pourya Shafiei
I translate complex data into actionable insights, revealing patterns that shape consumer behaviour, guiding brands toward meaningful engagements and sustainable growth. In short: I decode the complex, so your brand doesn't have to.
With 10+ years of experience in Brand, Campaign, Web and Communication Strategy.
My Work
SaaS, Healthcare, Retail, Government, Arts, and Culture—creating strategies that engage, driving targeted results from one continent to the next.
My Arsenal
SEO, Design, Analytics, CRM—I wear lots of hats, so I juggle lots of tools.
My Resume
Massive Media Inc
Brand Strategist
September 2022 - March 2024
Delivered tailored campaigns, brand, SEO, and web strategies across multiple sectors, leveraging data for optimization and strategic growth.
Madxaar Creative
Creative Strategist
January 2022 - May 2022
Created cross-sector brand and campaign strategies, improving brand narratives and digital presence with a multicultural lens for diverse market entry.
Premidnight
Founder
January 2018 - July 2021
Created Premidnight to spotlight Dubai's nightlife through a web app designed for use on the go, overseeing content, web, UX/UI design, and backend CMS.
Kaynouna Music Festival
Strategist
April 2017 - June 2021
Collaborated on brand and campaign strategies, creating a narrative that blends music, spirituality, and community. My work included brand, campaigns, content, and community engagement.
Papyrus LLC
Marketing Manager
August 2014 - June 2021
In Dubai, I boosted our customer base by 70% through strategic marketing, overhauled inventory for better cost and demand alignment, and applied data-driven insights to refine sales and operations
Artology Creative
Account Executive
January 2014 - January 2015
I led project coordination, linking our creative team with clients, and managed projects end-to-end. My role also involved client engagement at key art events like ArtDubai 2015.
Leo Burnett MENA
Strategic Planner (INTERN)
March 2013 - June 2013
I contributed to strategic brainstorming, provided research-backed insights for campaign strategies, and developed social media tactics to boost campaign visibility and engagement.
AI + Automation
Since the start of 2021, I've been playing around with AI. No, I'm not a developer by trade, but what I lack in code, I make up for with curiosity. From creating language models that mimic a brand's tone and voice with ChatGPT, to data analysis with Google Bard, streamlining processes and even creating custom chatbots.
Below is an example of ChatGPT API in action, simulating me as an AI assistant. It's powered by a make.com connection that creates Webflow CMS responses using ChatGPT 3.5.
AI Automation at Work
Ask about my career, personal life,
and see a practical application of AI
in creating personalized dialogues.
Submit your question, and hit 'generate' to get a response.
*This setup is using a free integration made solely for my portfolio, imagine what we can do with a team and a budget!
The Analytical
Brand Strategy Process
From Insights to Impact: My Four-Step Journey.
Discover
Insight Generation
Our journey begins with a dive into what your brand really stands for.
Through workshops and speaking to the people involved, I peel back layers to find out what makes your brand pulse. This stage is all about detective work—gathering insights on business goals, understanding the competition, and tapping into the mindset of your audience. It sets the foundation for the strategic narrative that is yet to come.
Define
Strategy Formation
With our insights in hand, the strategic roadmap takes shape.
It's a lot like connecting the dots.
We then translate those nuggets of information into a plan that marries your brand’s vision with your audience's needs. Pinpointing the right messages and channels becomes our goal here, making sure that every touch resonates and engages your audience.
Develop
Creative Execution
Here, strategy meets design know-how.
I work closely with designers to bring life into ideas, making sure each piece of content not only aligns with strategic goals but also maintains brand relevance.
This step is where the magic happens, transforming insights into narratives and visuals that speak directly to the hearts and minds of your audience.
Deliver
Measure + Optimize
Launching is just the beginning.
I keep an eye on performance, ready to optimize and adjust strategies in real-time. Growth is about staying dynamic, learning from every interaction, and continuously sharpening our approach.
This ensures that our brand not only keeps up but leads in an ever-evolving marketplace, making every connection count.
FAQs
Got questions? I've got answers!
If I'm to talk about my North Star in both work and personal life, it's my dad. An entrepreneur at heart, he often said, "Success is an ocean made drop by drop." These words resonate with my approach to any job – steady, impactful, and always accumulating value.
I've always been drawn to advertising—the way a simple message, when struck right, can resonate through people's lives. Later on, this fascination led me to dissect award-winning campaigns, diving into the 'why' and 'how' of their resonance-as part of a research assistance job in the American University in Dubai. It was my early research into campaigns that tickled my curiousity and got me in this path.
Absolutely. My toolkit is packed with campaigns of all scales, from wide-reaching international launches to hyper-local projects. I'm the strategist who maps out the campaign's journey, ensures every touchpoint is an experience, and never loses sight of the bigger picture – or the finer details.
Yes, workshops are where collaboration turns into strategy. I've facilitated sessions on brand building, communication strategy, and consumer journey mapping, turning group insights into actionable roadmaps.
Data informs, clarifies, and sometimes challenges our preconceptions. My philosophy is to use data as a tool, not a crutch. It should inform every decision but never stifle creativity. By understanding and analyzing data, I can anticipate trends, understand behaviours, and tailor strategies that are relevant and effective. The goal is always to strike a balance between what the data tells us and what we know about human nature and consumer behavior—melding the quantitative with the qualitative for strategies that are as human as they are data-driven.
Brands are stories in the making, and I've been both author and editor. From sketching brand identities to rebranding established names, my strategies are about creating a brand that doesn’t just exist but lives and breathes in the market it aims to conquer.
One defining moment was undoubtedly the journey with Premidnight. Imagine handling every piece of a project—from conception to execution—where I tapped into the entire spectrum of my skills. This wasn't just about leading a platform; it was about embedding myself within the community, meeting with the people, listening, and adapting. Through Premidnight, I brought a vision to life, creating a digital ecosystem that was a true reflection of Dubai's vibrant and diverse nightlife culture. And it's not just a tale of the past—Premidnight's story continues, and you can witness it yourself here.
AI is changing marketing, bringing a new level of precision to our strategies. My approach is one of cautious optimism. I'm enthused by the potential of AI to enhance our work, particularly in personalizing customer experiences and streamlining processes. However, we're charting new territory—navigating legalities, ethics, and learning curves. It's a dynamic space that demands our attention to detail and a commitment to responsible innovation.
Moving from Tehran to Dubai at age seven was tough. As a child faced with a new language and lifestyle, I became an observer, decoding the unspoken language of diverse communities around me. In classrooms teeming with over forty nationalities, I discovered that stories and cultural nuances were universal keys to human connection. This early exposure to a melting pot of backgrounds didn't just teach me to communicate—it ignited a fascination with what drives people, what they value, and how these factors shape their decisions. Today, as a creative strategist, I draw on this cultural understanding to craft brand narratives that resonate across different audiences.
Alongside my professional journey, I've had a little buddy who's always been with me: my 10-year-old Pomeranian mix, Henry. He's been with me from Dubai to Vancouver, adapting to new scenes as smoothly as he switches from couch to adventure. This little guy is a daily reminder that adaptability and loyalty go a long way, values that I carry into every project I tackle.