5 Questions with Claire O’Leary, MSPC Senior Content Strategist

MSPC senior content strategist Claire O’Leary develops and creates digital content for several B2B and healthcare technology clients including Evolving Solutions, Medisolv, and Vizient.

Before coming to MSPC, Claire was a staff writer at a trade publication where she won several regional and national awards.

In today’s edition of 5 Questions we get to learn more about Claire:

Describe your perfect day

Sipping a perfect cup of coffee on the back porch (I dig light roasts), followed by a trail run with friends and a breakfast beer at the trailhead. Next up: a big brunch, a long nap and time with family and friends.

What has been your favorite MSPC project and why?

Oooh—can I list two projects? The first was our 2018 redesign for IBM Systems magazine. We started the project soon after I started at MSPC. It took more than six months to complete, but we landed on an overhauled content strategy that more closely aligned to reader needs. Art Director Mike Novak took it from there, crafting a design that made the most of a narrow color palette and tight brand standards.

The other is the Catalyst* we did for Evolving Solutions. They came to us in a pivotal moment during their transformation as a company, and we were able to leverage that in their content strategy.

*Catalyst is MSPC’s highly collaborative five-step business analysis providing a strategic road map of 18–24 months with specific recommendations for content marketing success.

How did you end up here?

I started my writing career at a small trade publication for the events industry, but I’d seen the great work that MSPC has produced at the Minnesota Media + Publishing Association Excellence Awards. I’ve always loved working in B2B, and after I talked with Senior Content Director Evelyn Hoover the first time, I knew this was where I wanted to grow my career.

Recommended read: An article, a book, etc.

I’m a big track fan, and I was more than a little disappointed that the Olympics were postponed until 2021. Photographer David Bracetty started a project in 2016 called “4 Years Ago.” He set up a portrait studio in the mixed media zone at the 2016 Olympic Track Trials and took portraits of athletes on a white background as they made their way from the track to drug testing. The stark contrast between the elation of third-placers holding their little American flags and fourth-placers who wouldn’t even look at the camera is amazing.

This year, Bracetty contacted the athletes he photographed to reflect on how their lives have changed since that moment. Some lost contracts and retired; some won Worlds medals. As a content geek, I love the project because it combines audio, visual and written storytelling into this perfect braid.

What’s a cause that you are passionate about and why?

I love encouraging women and girls to participate in outdoor sports—especially trail running and cycling, where we’re vastly outnumbered by guys. It’s empowering to stretch your body’s limits, but there can be so many barriers to entry, including equipment and an exclusive culture.

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