Catalyst Employee Spotlight: Mary Connelly

You can have the best data and most sophisticated tools, but it doesn’t mean anything without great people. Fortunately, at Catalyst, we have no shortage of great people. From Search Associates to Search Directors, and from Project Managers to Managing Partners, each member of the Catalyst team is committed to maximizing client business results and making Catalyst a world-class agency. Read our Employee Spotlight series to meet some of the team members responsible for making Catalyst an all-star agency partner and a great place to work.

Meet Mary

Name: Mary Connelly

Title: Group Director, Search 

How long have you worked at Catalyst?

I have worked at Catalyst for almost 13 years. 

How long have you worked in search and what type of clients have you worked on?

I have worked in search for 13 years and I have worked with pharmaceutical, CPG, automotive, manufacturers and magazine clients.

How did you get your start in search?

I came out of the pharmaceutical industry and was originally hired as a project manager for pharmaceutical clients. I gradually worked my way up to account manager, and beyond, and expanded beyond pharmaceutical clients.

What do you like most about working at Catalyst?

Sounds cliché, but I love working with such a bright, hardworking group of colleagues. I love that I have the opportunity to learn something new every day.

What has been your greatest achievement or success in search?

I got an opportunity to prove our team’s expertise with a client on a small test & learn. We drove such great sales results that we were awarded the entire business after the test! 

In your opinion, what is the most important search trend or change for 2021?

The most important trends are beyond new ad formats & tactics on each digital channel. I think the two most important trends in 2021 are the quest for better attribution tools and new privacy regulations. Instead of making decisions on the last click model, we need to have a deeper understanding of how each consumer touchpoint contributes to the overall result through attribution and measurement tools. We than can reallocate budgets/tactics accordingly. Secondly, with new privacy regulations coming, the industry will have to find new and innovative ways to connect with consumers as they move through their path to purchase. There is still a lot of opportunity available as we head into 2021 for businesses to leverage their own first party data to build long term relationships with their existing customers as we plan for expected privacy changes in the future.

If you had to give one recommendation to an advertiser who wants to use search or social marketing to achieve business results, what would it be?

I would recommend that you should continue to share business priorities and results with your search/social teams. That information is a great springboard for generating ideas to drive results and to give the teams as much time as possible to execute with excellence.

Share a fun fact about yourself

I was an All-Star defensive end on my college powderpuff football team and got the winning safety. I sound like an aging football star repeating old tales of glory!