From UNI to Amazon, Evan Seuren leveraged UNI to turn creativity into a career
From UNI to Amazon, Evan Seuren leveraged UNI to turn creativity into a career
For Evan Seuren ('15), creativity has always been part of the equation.
Growing up in West Des Moines, Seuren spent his free time drawing, painting and playing music. At UNI, he found a way to combine that creative side with his interest in business, pursuing a marketing degree with an emphasis in digital marketing and a minor in graphic design.
Today, Seuren is a senior account executive with Amazon Ads in Seattle, where he leads enterprise relationships and works with major brands to develop advertising strategies across Amazon's growing digital ecosystem.
But his path to one of the world's biggest companies wasn't always clear.
When I got into school, I didn't really know what I wanted to do yet. But I knew that whatever my career path was going to be, I wanted to be an idea person.
That search led him toward marketing and advertising. As a student, Seuren was heavily involved in Pi Sigma Epsilon — a fraternity focused on sales and marketing — serving in leadership roles and gaining experience in networking, professional development and sales competitions. He also became involved with the American Advertising Federation, serving as creative director for a national student advertising competition.
One class, taught by Associate Professor Emma Wilson, gave him an early taste of digital marketing. Students built their own websites and competed to generate the most page views using promotional tools such as Google Ads and social media. Seuren won the competition in his senior year.
"I walked into my first job knowing the basics of digital advertising," he said. "I was able to get my hands dirty in the classroom environment."
After graduating in 2015, Seuren landed an internship with Razorfish, a global advertising agency, by reaching out directly to employees on LinkedIn. The internship led to a full-time position in Seattle, where he worked on social media strategy for major brands.
A year later, he made another move, joining Amazon Ads as a campaign creative manager. That role helped Seuren realize where he wanted to take his career: While he enjoyed the creative process, he discovered he was most energized by working alongside decision-makers to develop ideas and strategies.
"Creativity isn't necessarily just putting a pen on paper," Seuren said. "It's building something with people."
Based in Seattle, Seuren now leads Amazon Ads' relationship with T-Mobile, leading a team managing T-Mobile’s investment in Amazon’s media canvas - from Amazon.com to Prime Video shows and movies, Thursday Night Football, Twitch, programmatic media across the digital ecosystem with Amazon DSP, and more. Over the years, he's worked with many brands including Pokémon and Snapchat, helping clients navigate the rapidly changing digital advertising landscape.
For Seuren, the journey from UNI to Amazon is a testament to the value of combining different interests and experiences.
"I think UNI punches above its weight class in its business school," he said. "What I learned at UNI got me to where I am. It gave me the tools to find a career."
Photo by Tada Images.
