Rachel Zarrell Email & Phone Number

Leading priority content initiatives for the hybrid cloud + AI campaigns, overseeing strategic execution for a global audience of millions.

Launched a consultancy to partner with agencies on projects across content strategy, audience development, social content creation, creative direction, and copywriting.A few project highlights: Led a strategy team to build an email program and influencer campaign for a network of political orgs; executed a brand guide and content toolkit for a new social platform; provided creative support for Spotify’s Culture Next global trends report (built across digital, video, and print) and… Show more Launched a consultancy to partner with agencies on projects across content strategy, audience development, social content creation, creative direction, and copywriting.A few project highlights: Led a strategy team to build an email program and influencer campaign for a network of political orgs; executed a brand guide and content toolkit for a new social platform; provided creative support for Spotify’s Culture Next global trends report (built across digital, video, and print) and social/experiential activation strategy for Vistaprint Show less

New York City Metropolitan Area

Spearheaded a new content division of BuzzFeed’s eCommerce business, leading a strategic approach for shoppable video that saw a 140% increase in YoY revenue and many millions of digital interactions. I oversaw the creative team and strategy for shareable, shoppable content, plus new channel launches, for social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. This included hundreds of pieces of content, many of which were partnerships with internal Creators and external… Show more Spearheaded a new content division of BuzzFeed’s eCommerce business, leading a strategic approach for shoppable video that saw a 140% increase in YoY revenue and many millions of digital interactions. I oversaw the creative team and strategy for shareable, shoppable content, plus new channel launches, for social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. This included hundreds of pieces of content, many of which were partnerships with internal Creators and external influencers.Using data metrics, cultural trends, and social storytelling, I pioneered a creative vision and cross-functional process that included a new affiliate workflow for all video teams.Evolving our new direction, I designed new creative products that made us a quasi-agency to our brand partners, connecting them with consumers through UGC-style videos for Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Clients like Walmart and 3M loved our creative approach of “ads that don’t feel like ads.” So did audiences. Show less

Greater New York City Area

As Senior Creative Director, I led creative strategy for a multimillion-dollar interactive video partnership with Eko.Promoted from CD in 2020, I led a bicoastal team of directors and producers, plus creative development with vendors and influencer talent, to produce dozens of innovative choose-your-own adventure video experiences.Simultaneously, I helped conceive and produce ambitious multimedia branded campaigns for BuzzFeed’s enormous global audience, including a video for… Show more As Senior Creative Director, I led creative strategy for a multimillion-dollar interactive video partnership with Eko.Promoted from CD in 2020, I led a bicoastal team of directors and producers, plus creative development with vendors and influencer talent, to produce dozens of innovative choose-your-own adventure video experiences.Simultaneously, I helped conceive and produce ambitious multimedia branded campaigns for BuzzFeed’s enormous global audience, including a video for TBS’s "Snowpiercer" series.Leveraging audience insights and trends in our content approach led to videos with an average 61% completion rate; branded videos had over 200M impressions and nearly triple the completion rate of an average branded video (7% vs 18%) One favorite project was leading creative for Camp by Walmart (link below), an interactive virtual summer camp created to engage audiences during the global pandemic, with a team of 40+, dozens of episodes produced almost entirely remotely, and featuring Head Counselor Neil Patrick Harris. Show less

Greater New York City Area

I built progressive parenting brand Playfull as its creative lead and brand strategist, launching and guiding the creative vision for the BuzzFeed/NBCUniversal partnership that garnered 1 billion video views and over 2 million fans in its first year.As creative lead and supervising producer of hundreds of hours of content across multiple platforms, I:- Managed a team of producers and writers in developing new high-impact creative formats for reaching millennial parents on social… Show more I built progressive parenting brand Playfull as its creative lead and brand strategist, launching and guiding the creative vision for the BuzzFeed/NBCUniversal partnership that garnered 1 billion video views and over 2 million fans in its first year.As creative lead and supervising producer of hundreds of hours of content across multiple platforms, I:- Managed a team of producers and writers in developing new high-impact creative formats for reaching millennial parents on social media- Led the channel launch for the brand’s first original series, Mom In Progress, which earned 20 million views in its first 2 seasons- Owned our sponsored partnership with AT&T and supported additional partnerships with Subaru, Walmart, and others- Supported the development of multiple Today Show segments- Helped oversee a TV commercial for the brand that ran during the Olympics Show less

Greater New York City Area

Bringing in ~50 million viewers per month — or 40% of MTV’s total online traffic — I helped triple digital viewership with new creative formats reacting to the news cycle, like social-first news hits and sketches, that differentiated MTV’s digital storytelling.

Greater New York City Area

I co-founded BuzzFeed Motion Pictures New York, guiding creative concepts that drove hundreds of millions of views and 10x growth on social platforms. I designed new formats and advised the team that created social-first content that shaped culture and drove conversation — like the exploding watermelon on Facebook Live.

Greater New York City Area

Promoted to create and manage BuzzFeed’s first social news desk, I led a team of writers in a consistent, creative approach to generate high-traffic, highly shareable news stories. I often led the company in traffic, delivering over 350 million views across 800+ stories, and launched the first News Fellowship for recent graduates.

Greater New York City Area

I transformed breaking news into compelling stories that generated 7% of the company’s total readership as both a digital content creator and manager of weekend news team assignments, editing, and updates.

Greater Boston Area

A writer and homepage manager for the region’s largest news portal, I wrote breaking stories, local news, and features. My work included contributing to digital coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing, for which the paper and its associated websites were awarded a 2014 Pulitzer Prize.

Greater Boston Area