From Agency to In-House: A Career Evolution with King Living

Maryam Esfahani brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective to her role as Omnichannel Lead at King Living.

After spending seven years working in advertising agencies, she made the move to an in-house role at King Living. Initially moving into a Campaign Manager role, she quickly progressed to Brand Campaign Manager before taking on her current role at the beginning of 2024.

“I really enjoyed working agency side,” explains Maryam. “I was always open to moving client side and then the role at King Living came up. Initially it was a maternity leave cover but from the first interview I could see the vision of what King Living was wanting to achieve. I could also see the role I could play in that and the career potential.”

Maryam joined King Living at a time when the team was rapidly expanding and has fully embraced the career opportunities that have come from the business growth. She shares how her agency experience translates into her role at King Living and insights into her work to transform the digital landscape of the business.

Maryam is pictured with Chief Digital Officer Leonardo Alvarez, Head of Omnichannel Michael Canil, and Digital Project Manager Scott Edmonds.

Connecting the dots

At a high level, Maryam and her team are responsible for ensuring that the King Living digital strategy aligns with the overall brand experience. Effectively this means bridging the gap between online and offline channels. This becomes more complex when considering that there are multiple regional websites in line with the brand’s global growth.

Maryam’s role is one that requires a lot of collaboration across the business. That includes working with IT for managing the website platform, commercial for overall strategy, marketing for campaign alignment and customer service to reflect the customer journey.

“A lot of people use eCommerce to explain what I do,” she says. “But omnichannel captures the concept that the website is just one touchpoint the customer has with us. Changes to one of those touchpoints – such as the website – can have a domino effect on others.

Ultimately, we want to take the customer on a complete journey. A lot of what I do is connecting the dots between each touchpoint to ensure the digital channels are reflective of the entire experience.”

Mayram is pictured with Bondi Junction Showroom with team member David Hawkings.

A balancing act

A project Maryam is currently working on is replatforming the King Living website. The goal of the project is to align the online experience with the King Living immersive showroom environment. This will ensure that customers receive a consistent and high-quality experience no matter how they interact with King Living.

“We want the website to be an extension of our showrooms,” she explains. “We want it to be a tool for our consultants and our customers. It’s not just about showcasing the range of products but also about telling the story of the King Difference and our values as a brand. It’s also about giving customers access to information when and where they need it.”

This involves not only revamping the website’s design and functionality but also incorporating features that mirror the in-store experience, as well as interactive tools that help customers explore the unique King Living offering.

Lessons from agency land

During her seven years working in advertising agencies, Maryam managed diverse client portfolios, from global beauty brands to consumer goods. She became adept at simultaneously balancing multiple client needs, often under the pressure of tight deadlines.

“Working in agencies, I was on the ground working hard with lots of clients,” she recalls. “You’ve always got multiple client briefs on the go at the same time. It’s ever changing, and it never stops.”

This experience proved invaluable in her transition to an in-house role at King Living. Instead of managing different client briefs, Maryam is now coordinating across different departments to deliver a cohesive omnichannel experience for King Living customers.

“I still look at King Living and each individual department as clients” she says, drawing a parallel between her past experience and her current role. “When I’m working across departments, what I’m working on might only be 5% of their day-to-day work. I’m really mindful of that when I’m building relationships.”

Maryam believes that the vertical integration model provides a world of opportunity and that agency experience lends itself particularly well to this.

“Every day I use the skills I developed working agency-side,” she adds. “There’s a lot of opportunity to move around the business, which is really enticing. Plus, there’s a great culture. Everyone is approachable and very proud of the work they do. It’s so great to see the results of our work coming to life.”

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