Fast 15: Katie Duke
by May 14, 2018 2:27 pm 2,249 views
Katie Duke received the experience she needed to be successful after spending more than four years at public relations company Mitchell in Fayetteville. In her time there, she primarily worked with Bentonville-based retailer Walmart.
Duke transferred her knowledge of working with the large client account and applied it to her experience at Acorn. Now, she’s working to develop her experience over the next five years.
The Conway native moved to Northwest Arkansas to attend the University of Arkansas and fell in love with the area. While still in college, she started work as an intern at Mitchell.
In 2011, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in advertising and public relations. She was drawn to Acorn as she started to see a shift in public relations to influencers. Blending public relations and advertising, influencers write blogs and create social media content that’s presented to a specific consumer in the appropriate place, at the right time.
In 2015, she started as sales manager for Acorn and assisted the vice president of sales. In May 2016, she moved to director of client services and started to grow the team from three to nearly 10 employees. The growth has allowed the company to improve client retention and efficiently recruit influencers, Duke said. Acorn works with more than 100 brands, including General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly-Clark and Mattel.
In January, she became vice president, client services, and works with clients on strategy, builds on the growth of the team and keeps current on social media trends. She works with influencers, follows social media leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and communicates with partner agencies to remain up-to-date.
Duke considers the client roster Acorn has developed as the highlight of her career and how the team continues to work with clients, providing them with the best results.
She has been a volunteer for the Junior League and Chi Omega Advisory Board and serves on the planning committee for the fifth annual A Vintage Affair for MS, which will be hosted in 2019 at Sassafras Springs Vineyard in Springdale. In her free time, she attends spin class, completes home improvement projects and goes to Razorback games.