Life At Nexxen with Danielle Wolf

This month for Life at Nexxen, we spoke with Danielle Wolf, Director of Sales, West Coast. Danielle took us through her advertising career journey from media agencies to Nexxen, her most prized wins, and what she does in her free time.  

How long have you been with Nexxen? 

Almost three years in September. I was working for Tremor prior to the rebrand. 

Did you think of working in ad tech in college or is it something that you discovered as you started your career journey? 

I majored in Advertising in college. My big sister in my sorority was working at the agency Starcom and encouraged me to interview for a job. The rest is history, progressing into ad tech came naturally as I matured in the industry. I wanted to get into sales and programmatic was the new frontier. 

For those first roles that you had, were they sales-focused or in another area of the business? 

I was on the agency side doing digital investment for about eight years. I was working as an Associate Director there before I moved into sales. 

What do you enjoy the most here in your role at Nexxen? 

I’ve been so lucky to work with awesome coworkers. Everyone is very supportive, positive, and always makes the time to talk through things. I’ve learned so much under my SVP, Sarineh. She’s instilled a lot of support and encouragement during my time at Nexxen.  

What do you enjoy the most about working in sales in this industry? 

Working in sales allows me to work independently, in a very strategic capacity. I love meeting all the amazing people in our industry both personally and professionally. I also enjoy seeing the success of my persistence and hard work through business wins.  

What was your first hard lesson learned when you were starting in your career? 

Be persistent. Don’t let the losses get to you and continue to grind. And always bring value to your clients by customizing your approach to their needs. 

Ad tech can be complicated, so I do my best to simplify things for clients. Anytime someone meets with me, I ensure that the value we bring, specifically how we can benefit them, is very clear.  

Is there any other advice that you would give on how to simplify things to make sure the client understands? 

Putting yourself in the client’s shoes. From my agency experience, I’ve learned to be clear on how will we make their lives easier?  Be an extension of their team, supportive, and strategic. Think beyond, not only what’s best for us, but what’s best for the clients has been key to my success. 

Since joining the company, what is your most proud accomplishment? 
Last year I cracked two hard-to-win new business accounts that grew to $4MM in revenue. 

Moving into more your daily routine, do you have any rituals to start or end the day?  
I keep a to-do list which helps me stay productive throughout the day, and take good notes so I don’t let anything slip through the cracks in terms of client deliverables or asks. 

And for how I unwind, I love to spend time with my husband (I’m newly married). And I’m expecting a baby in November, so I’m getting everything ready for that. I also love to do pilates and dance classes.  

What kind of dance do you do? 

It’s called “Heels,” a hip hop in heels dance class. If you’ve heard of the dance studio Playground, they have videos of “Heels” classes. 

So you’re based in LA, and it’s summertime. Do you stick around LA in the summer or do you try to go somewhere else? 

This year is a little different with the baby coming pretty soon. But usually our big trip is actually around Christmas, when we visit my husband’s family in South Africa.