Do I Qualify?
Christena Garduno's avatarPerson

Christena Garduno

CEOMedia culture

Dallas, TX

Member Since March 2024

Skills

Leadership
Advertising
Marketing Strategy

About

I have been an essential member of the Media Culture team since the business was founded as Koeppel Direct more than 25 years ago. I spent my career building the company from the ground up — leading with forward-thinking vision for the agency and taking on any role, from accounting to media buying to new business. My dedication to making Media Culture a strategic, analytical, and trusted partner to clients brought growth and continued competitive success as the surrounding industry has experienced rapid change. Along the way, I received recognitions, including an Echo Award for my work with Turbo Tax.

Published content

19 steps to craft a compelling brand story that converts audiences

expert panel

It's your delivery that truly counts. Implement these tips if you want prospective customers to take action regarding your brand. Whether you are marketing a product to build on the momentum of your latest campaign, or delivering a well-thought-out pitch to a venture capitalist for additional funding, storytelling is an essential part of the process that will elevate your company's growth potential and credibility in the marketplace. Below, 19 Fast Company Executive Board members each offer their best tip for developing a storyline that will make a strong impact and get people excited about your business enough to take a significant call to action that will reflect on quarterly growth.

15 ways to strengthen brand community through customer engagement

expert panel

With every step your business takes, it's essential to keep your customers, team, and industry associates informed, engaged, and connected to foster brand alliance and future growth. To keep a community thriving in any industry, company leaders need to create multiple opportunities for their stakeholders to engage. Whether it's through a customer online forum that supports the end users of the brand's products and services, or through virtual and in-person networking events that allow colleagues in the community to socialize and sound off on the latest hot business topics, people usually gravitate toward the spaces they feel most welcomed and connected. Below, 15 experts from Fast Company Executive Board each weigh in on how business leaders can work to create a more vibrant community centered around their company's mission and vision for future long-term success.

8 ideas to increase your YouTube channel or podcast performance

expert panel

Apply these suggestions to strengthen your social media following while remaining authentic and credible. In a digital marketing world, where content is king, one of the biggest challenges YouTubers and podcasters may face is how to keep their channels fresh and interesting. With the potential short attention spans of today's viewers, social media posting is not only about picking the right time and day to share updates with target audience members and current followers—it's also about finding a way to connect with people, authentically, every time you show up.   Showing people the real version of you, unfiltered, may captivate them a few minutes longer and encourage them to focus on the message you are trying to convey. You never know whose life you can positively impact by crafting a well-thought-out piece of content that keeps them coming back for more.  Suppose you are a content creator trying to grow your audience. In that case, eight leading experts from Fast Company Executive Board have additional ideas to share with you to help boost your brand's authenticity, demonstrate personal influence, and gain even more credibility among your followers.

8 strategies for leading with authenticity, empathy, and resilience

article

Fast Company Executive Board member Christena Garduno shares leadership lessons shaped by over two decades in the marketing industry.

Thinking about an adjunct teaching position? 16 factors to consider

expert panel

With the right structure, sharing business knowledge in the classroom can benefit seasoned working professionals and their students. Here's how to stay organized and energized while mentoring the next generation. If you are a business leader who is extremely passionate about your 9 to 5 duties, you may want to consider using your positive influence to encourage future professionals through an adjunct professorship role.  One of the biggest challenges—whether teaching in person or online—is how to avoid burnout from working all day and teaching after hours. But when it comes to managing work responsibilities and personal lifestyle, the experts from Fast Company Executive Board have got you covered and know how to strike the right balance. Here are 16 tips to make the experience less stressful and more rewarding.  

9 tips for business owners searching for brick-and-mortar real estate 

expert panel

Business owners must carefully evaluate key factors to ensure their brick-and-mortar locations are set up for long-term success. For any business owner, securing the right real estate for a brick-and-mortar location is a critical decision that requires careful consideration of several market factors. Decisions made during this process can have a long-lasting impact on a business’s success.  Below, Fast Company Executive Board members offer valuable tips to help you make informed decisions when selecting a physical location for your business. From understanding current market trends to evaluating the long-term potential of a location, here's how these key elements can make or break the success of the business. 

Company details

Media culture

Company bio

Since our founding in 1995, Media Culture — formerly known as Koeppel Direct — has existed at the forefront of change in the performance marketing industry. And as technology and media consumption has evolved, so have our capabilities. We’ve developed leading analytic capabilities, expanded our proven, nimble brand response and demand generation approaches across a variety of channels, and built a track record of success. And through it all, our clients have remained priority #1.

Industry

Marketing & advertising

Area of focus

Advertising
Marketing
Analytics

Company size

11 - 50