Skip to main content
Brand Collective podcast logo

About Trae Watlington

Head of Integrated Strategy for AT&T Business at BBDO Worldwide

Branding used to mean something very different to Trae, having grown up with a family who owned farmland in his native state of Texas. This “son of a preacher and a teacher” observed countless great examples of emotional intelligence at home. Since then he has found creative ways to lead teams to success simply by treating people how he would want to be treated. When he’s not spending quality time with his wife and children, Trae can likely be found having a blast at a Garth Brooks concert.

Trae Watlington

BBDO x Trae Watlington: Emotional Intelligence

Episode Summary

Our featured guest is Trae Watlington, head of integrated strategy for AT&T Business at BBDO Worldwide.

We may have Matthew McConaughey to thank for Trae Watlington’s contributions to advertising and branding. After seeing a movie where the actor portrayed an ad executive, Trae realized that advertising might just be the coolest job out there (he’s not wrong). He later went to school for advertising and public relations but then his career unexpectedly changed direction. Despite interning at agencies of all sizes in his early post grad years, Trae later landed a branding position that brought all of his favorite parts of advertising together. Now, Trae has come full circle and continues to infuse innovation into building brands from scratch, renovating existing brand architectures, and everything in between with the help of integrated strategy! Get excited because this episode is more than just alright, alright, alright. 

Key Takeaways:

  • We discuss the blurred lines between branding and advertising into today’s multi-channel marketplace. 

  • Trae teaches us about integrated strategy and why its key for making branding and advertising successful. 

  • Want to keep cross-departmental yet interconnected goals moving forward smoothly? Trae tells us how. 

  • We gab about how emotional intelligence plays into branding both on a business and on a personal level. 

  • We learn how Trae brings humanity into his leadership style.