Experience
2020 – Present | Editorial Copy Director | Urban Outfitters
My current role at Urban Outfitters continues and expands the work I started with the brand over a decade ago. As Editorial Copy Director, I manage a team responsible for crafting, championing and caring for the UO brand voice across its many customer touchpoints. My goal in this newly created position is simple: I hope to elevate the impact that language and storytelling have in evolving the Urban Outfitters brand.
PS - For the whole long list of things my team actually does at UO, click here.
2018 – 2020 | Associate Creative Director | 160/90
For a little under two years, I worked as a copy-side ACD at 160/90, a branding and advertising agency in Philadelphia. I had the opportunity to work for both consumer and higher ed clients, writing everything from video scripts, social media language and print pieces to full brand concept and branding guidelines decks. I built partnerships with account managers, pitched work to clients and collaborated with an open pool of writers and designers. I learned a lot in a short time, expanding my skillset and rising to the challenge of a fast-paced agency environment.
2013 – 2018 | Global Senior Manager, Editorial Copywriting / Senior Editorial Copywriter | Urban Outfitters
For a number of years, I was responsible for directing brand language at Urban Outfitters. Digital, print, marketing, activations and branding across multiple platforms—if you’ve shopped at Urban Outfitters in the last decade, you’ve likely interacted with my work.
As a lead writer and the owner of the UO brand voice, I did my best to honor and evolve an ongoing conversation with millions of customers. In no particular order, and certainly leaving a few things out, I wrote: high-concept fashion editorials, emoji joke subject lines, app and website wayfinding, campaigns big and small, blog posts long and short, push notifications, POS display wording, large-scale program rollouts, social media messaging, beacons, catalogs, experiential signage, lists, headlines, tag lines, punch lines, puns, poems, product names and packaging language.
I helped create and launch UO's mobile app, UO Rewards loyalty program and In-Store Pickup program. I worked with UO's CRM, Analytics and Development teams to streamline backend processes and improve digital creative performance. I always prioritized collaboration across departmental barriers, and I was well regarded for my ability to translate complex ideas into customer-friendly language.
In my years at UO, I managed a small team and a lot of projects. I pitched and presented work in meetings. At one point I even wrote a talk show monologue for an all-company quarterly meeting. Parts of it were actually pretty good for a fake talk show monologue at a corporate sales report presentation.
2007 - 2013 | Senior Copywriter/Copywriter | Urban Outfitters
I began my career at Urban Outfitters writing product descriptions. A lot of them. Everything from dresses and sneakers to cosmetics and furniture. Women’s product, men’s product, home décor. I turned out extra volume to help launch UO’s Beauty and Vintage Finds collections.
I also started fielding requests to contribute to Marketing campaigns, store signage and promotional materials, Operational messaging and all sorts of miscellaneous projects. My work was well received, and I was promoted from Copywriter to Senior Copywriter, taking over the responsibility of managing Marketing copy needs for UO Direct. My involvement grew as our Marketing program developed, with emails, promotional campaigns and e-comm site language updated weekly.
With the encouragement of a new Creative Director, our Editorial & Content Director and I hatched a plan to expand my position and restructure the Marketing copy process. I moved to UO’s Creative Department in the newly created role of Senior Editorial Copywriter.
2004 - 2006 | Writer / Content & Traffic Coordinator | Music Choice
My first real writing job. I spent a year or so writing short form, onscreen content for 16 music video channels. Tight deadlines, high word counts and a whole lot of unguided research. There’s a chance my work is still occasionally flashing below a picture of Bob Seger or Stealers Wheel in some neglected corner of your cable channel lineup.
Eventually, I was promoted into a Content & Traffic Coordinator role, scheduling advertising and marketing content and working on one of the very first systems designed to monetize on-demand video. A good opportunity to try something new, and a chance to work with some great people, but my heart wasn’t in it. I left to tour the country in a rock band. True story.
2004 - Present | Freelance writer
Over the years, I’ve taken on a variety of freelance projects. Working independently or in the service of an agency, I’ve written global e-comm copy and product design language for adidas, in-app copy for Jawbone and marketing language for Rastelli Gourmet Market. I helped Pizzeria Vetri execute a full rebrand and site refresh, and I provided digital and experiential brand language for &pizza. I’ve also dabbled a bit in journalistic content, contributing to the Urban Outfitters blog and publishing a long-form interview for the independent journal Kindling Quarterly.
Education
Bachelor of Arts, English Rutgers University 2003
Master of Arts (Candidate), English Rutgers University N/A
Contact
Web: ddevesa.com
Email: dave@ddevesa.com
Phone: (215) 913-8093
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ddevesa