Cristina Jerome on Choosing Impact Over Optics And Building a Life You Love Off Worque

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube

What makes a successful branded event? It really depends on who’s asking. Executives would measure whether the event drove leads that advanced the bottom line. Marketers may check ad campaigns for the event against key performance indicators. Public relations leaders would track press coverage and brand equity gained from the event. As for the event’s host, who could blame them for measuring success by how many people showed up? That's because today's digital media landscape often rewards appearances over substance. Highlight reels from this hypothetical event would end up online, and someone's job depends on how they perform.

That's why for too many brands, virality beats quality every time.

Community leader and visionary marketer Cristina Jerome has a different approach with her wellness company Off Worque, a nonprofit social club for creatives and industry professionals who are ready to decenter work from their identity. She’s proven that choosing impact over optics is the only way to build real community at in-person events that turn Off Worque event guests into advocates of their own mental health.

Cristina Jerome is a DMV based community leader and marketer who prides herself on mastering talent, entertainment, and brand marketing. After spending 10 years in marketing (Westbrook with Jada Pinkett Smith, HBO Max with Issa Rae, Camille Rose, Topicals, she pivoted into the wellness space, feeling mentally burnt out and wanting community outside her usual work circles. Her non-profit social club Off Worque helps creatives, industry professionals and entrepreneurs find community outside of their workplaces and cure burnout through events, workshops and insightful conversations.

In this episode, we dive into how Cristina’s move from Los Angeles to the D.C. area inspired a pivot away from heavily branded events that felt misaligned with Off Worque’s mission. We explore how shifting focus to community drives impact that transcends the bottom line for in person events, and online. We also explore the consequences of choosing impact over optics.

Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or watch on YouTube. And if this resonates with you, send it to someone you know who needs to start betting on themselves.