Melissa McKay’s passion for marketing can be traced back to her pre-professional days. Originally from Minooka, IL, Melissa earned a B.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications at Illinois State University. It was there where she flexed both her creative and analytical skills by working closely with local businesses to support website content and drive in-store foot traffic. She landed her first job at Starcom Worldwide in Chicago and her career took off in a few different specialties before joining Booyah in 2015. Melissa’s expertise ranges from planning, buying, and leading a team across digital and linear media. At Booyah, Melissa has held a few different roles, starting off as a media strategist, then leading the agency thought leadership for the media channel. Now as a Vice President at Booyah, Melissa leans in to her communication skills for business development in order to improve a client’s go-to-market plan. “Finding that right mix of ads for our clients’ audiences is never a one-size-fits-all thing.”
No day is the same for Melissa. Luckily, she thrives in this dynamic environment and embraces change with a positive, can-do attitude. She’s always ready to assess her methods or invent new ones in response to a situation. Melissa values communication and curiosity as tools for problem-solving, and her expertise lies in her analytical understanding of the technology that feeds the company’s ecosystem. She’s always learning (studying best practices, keeping abreast of shifting trends, staying updated on industry partners, researching new tools), and finding ways to share that knowledge with others— an educational spirit aligned with the agency’s culture: “I’ve learned more in my time at Booyah than I have anywhere else. There’s a close-knit, family feel here. We’re all different, but we share values and learn from each other.” When Melissa is not developing strategic plans for clients, she can be found spending quality time with her husband and daughter, gardening, hiking, or skiing.