How To Become A Trend Cultural Content Planner Has A Career Plan Here.

Joe La Puma, who worked as a shop assistant in Long Island's famous sports shoe shop Finish Line, worked in the highly respected youth culture magazine Complex for two years, and finally found her dream job as an online editor of the magazine.

In the past 12 years, La Puma has gone through the complex pformation of Complex from a print magazine to a global brand and a growth oriented media company focusing on fusion culture.

Today he has become a senior vice president of content strategy.

"Sneaker Shopping" is the most famous program launched by La Puma for Complex in 2015. It is also the world's leading content report on sports shoes, with an average of more than 3 million views per episode.

Since 2017, the series has grown by nearly 50%. In this program of over 100 episodes, the artists and athletes involved include Ronaldinho, Michael B Jordan and boasting.

La Puma is also the host of the Complexcon sports shoes selection committee as a sports shoe fan. This is the third street culture conference held in Long Beach.

What do you think makes you stand out at the beginning of your career?

I have always been good at establishing harmonious relationships with my colleagues, which is just as basic as discussing products with customers in Finish Line store.

You work in such a product driven field, but you are not bound to the product.

People want to talk to you as a real person - not just about products.

I have a good mentor in Complex, who helped me shape my career and become a leader like me now, especially in terms of personality traits.

I am not talking about the personality of an Artiste, but the individuality you can talk to others.

As an intern in Complex, I have to be more shy, but I am always with people who can help me and educate me in the company.

What impressed you deeply in your early career?

The most important lesson I learned quickly is that it is not easy to work in the fashion industry.

It's not just about picking products that everyone thinks will be cool and talking about them.

My first task in Complex is to help lifestyle editor choose a watch for a page.

I don't know what he's looking for - I can only query every brand from TIG house, Rolex to Urban Outfitters and Swatch, which is a completely strange field for me.

When I first came to Complex, it was like, "Hey, I know what's cool, I understand."

But this is much more difficult than I expected.

In the past, I had a mentor. He was my Finish Line manager. He kept up with the pulse of fashion and taught me which brands should be the foundation of fashion and street clothing.

But editing what readers want to read is a process.

One mistake I made in my internship career was to distinguish a good product from a lower level product, not everything that consumed everything, and put everything at the same level.

But if you are a fantasy intern, everything looks cool.

In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge in the street fashion industry?

This is a crowded space. It is always changing.

You can say that NBA is now a street wear.

Lebron, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are all wearing street clothes that we have been wearing for many years. Now, with the integration of everything, you are not only competing with other fashion publications, but if you are a fan of Lebron, you want to know what kind of sports pants he wears and know, so everyone will understand.

The question is how you separate yourself from the perspective of content and tell the story in an authoritative manner.

In your opinion, what does content planning mean today?

Content is constantly changing. With the change of content strategy, you must be well prepared for adjustment.

Every day, the way of consuming content is changing.

Some people just get news by watching Instagram and snack snack.

On Twitter, you can see 140 character news.

Others read long hours on their way to and from work.

We must be prepared to serve them.

Joe La Puma Puma image source: Complex Networks

Content strategies can be adapted to provide services to content consumers on all these different platforms - identify areas that you are best at, and then make them stronger and more attractive.

Through Sneaker Shopping, we only talk about sports shoes.

That's why this program has such excellent performance and development track.

Sports shoes and sports shoes on the wall are only the starting point for dialogue.

For artists or athletes, this is a comfortable environment where you will not be interrogated by gossip.

These questions are very simple, but everyone has different answers. That's the meaning of this program.

So what's the impact of street culture conference Complexcon on your content planning?

We have conversations with leaders of culture, but we learn from them as much as they learn from us.

We want to tell readers about our feelings in music, pop culture and fashion, but we also need to recognize the direction of development in this field, and who is attracted to the audience, whether it is a brand or an artist.

You must always stay ahead - you must see what is happening at your edge.

Complexcon is a direct contact with consumers, discussing what is in fashion.

People used to look at me and say, "Oh, you like sports shoes. What is that?

Is it a hobby?

Is it like exchanging baseball cards? "In 2008, when you asked me what I was doing, I explained that to you.

What do you think is the main reason for your career success?

This is a mixture of products and a personality that attracts audiences.

I grew up on the "Sneaker Shopping" program. Before Complex, I stayed in a sports shoe shop for several years.

But if you test every pair of sneakers I've had in the past thirty years, I will make mistakes.

You can have a lot of knowledge, but if you don't have tools to talk and build a harmonious relationship, you will have a hard time in the video camera and the media space of our sports shoes.

I never want to stay on the honor that we have built this platform, it is moving forward and people appear every week.

You must be enthusiastic about your work, especially if this is your dream job as a young college student.

What advice do you have for new people at the beginning of their career?

I hate it when people say, "pretend to be successful." you didn't pretend.

If you have a medium, you want to start writing and following.

Maybe it's not a platform like Complex, but once you start your own business or work in a company that inspires you, you can prepare for it.

When I was young, I tried to practice. I didn't have these opportunities.

Now you have the tools.

You can really understand this culture.

The biggest gain I got from Jonah Hill's interview was that he didn't learn hip-hop and skating from the Internet.

He really experiences everything in life.

But now, you can also study it.

If you do your homework, pay attention to publications and learn from them, you can prepare for this industry in a very sophisticated way.

What do you think are the essential elements in this industry?

You must work hard.

In this industry, if you get an internship and stick to it for a year, you will be hired anyway.

But if you carry on in this industry and you do well, it will work for you.

I worked for two years for free, and insisted on it.

You just need to believe in hard work and become a student of the job you want, which is good for you.

If this is a passionate job, remember this.

When I was a college student, I cut out the page of Complex and hung it in my dorm.

This is your direction.

Yes, there will be a long night, there will be pressure, you may have to go through, you may have to sacrifice some personal time, but this is what you want.