Employee Spotlight: Joe Farren, Senior Managing Director at Applecart
Joe Farren brings over 25 years of experience helping Fortune 500 brands, global trade associations, and public institutions enhance their reputations and global communications strategy. Prior to Applecart, Joe led Porter Novelli’s DC office and served in senior leadership roles across Weber Shandwick, Waggener Edstrom (WE), and CTIA. He most recently served in the administration of former Maryland governor Larry Hogan as Chief Strategy Officer in the Maryland Department of Labor, where he crafted first-in-the-nation policies that increased economic opportunity for thousands of workers. To read his recent blog, “The Brave New World of Public Affairs”, click here.
Tell us about what you did prior to joining Applecart:
I’ve had the pleasure of being involved in politics, public policy and corporate public affairs for several decades. Just prior to joining Applecart, I served in the administration of Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and had the privilege of helping craft several landmark workforce policies, including the initiative to eliminate the 4-year degree requirement for thousands of state workers, which has now expanded to 17 states. Prior to that I served in executive roles at several leading, global communications firms and started my Washington, DC career as the spokesperson for the mobile phone industry at CTIA.
Why did you decide to join Applecart?
Applecart is the first and frankly only tech solution I have encountered that finally answered a nagging question I could never satisfactorily provide to my clients. In my former life I would often hear; “Hey Joe, this campaign sounds great but we really only care about these 150 people… can’t we just reach them?” Now having a data-supported answer to that question is a game-changer and quite honestly as a public affairs practitioner, it’s a helluva lot of fun watching the needle move for my clients.
What is your favorite Applecart use-case?
The consultant in me really loves digging-in and working with a client to tailor their content to the specific political interests of a particular decision maker network. It’s really satisfying when you review the performance of a campaign that just perfectly matched the needs and urgencies of a particular moment.
What should people outside of Applecart know about Applecart?
Well first off, we have a ton of fun doing what we do and our founders have done a terrific job bringing together a cross-section of people and skill sets that just melds really well. Second, on top of our unparalleled Decision Maker Marketing product, our clients also get the benefit of working with some highly experienced, talented communicators and public affairs strategists who have a real knack and love for solving complex public challenges.
Give us your best fun fact:
I created an objective 6-prong criteria to judge and crown the greatest rock and roll band of all time.
