Our Biggest Takeaways from Pepperpalooza ‘23

Pepperpalooza is our annual agency-wide get together and growth fest. It’s a time for us to reflect, learn, and align for the year ahead. We just wrapped our 2023 event which featured a variety of sessions led by guest speakers and redpeppers alike. We made all kinds of discoveries, from how to infuse design thinking into our processes to our individual Enneagram types to new ways to leverage AI. 

Here are the most impactful and inspiring pieces of knowledge from this year’s event that we’ll carry forward:

For The Work

AI is going to expand all of our worlds in the next year in really exciting ways...and, as always, this is the raddest group of creative humans I have ever gotten the pleasure to work with. Being together is so energizing.

Carly Nealy, Account Director

As Marketers, we should always have the "voice of the customer" in mind. The Design Thinking framework champions prototyping, which keeps you in touch with consumers. Prototyping can be a great tool to validate if you're solving the target audience's problem.

Richard Roberts, Digital Media Buyer

There's always more than one way of doing something!

Rachel Mignogna, Scoping Manager

For the Team

I think the biggest takeaway for me was how important it is to feel like we're part of a community at work. It makes such a huge difference when we feel supported and connected to our coworkers.

Yessenia Gonzalez, People Generalist

My biggest takeaway personally was how great of a group of people make up redpepper; I got to interact and do activities with people I don't normally talk to on an everyday basis and everyone was just super nice and fun to be around.

Mario McDonald, Staff Accountant

The emphasis on putting in the individual work so that you could show up as your best self and putting in the team work so that everyone can work as their best selves was very inspiring for me. I also appreciated the part in Tim's presentation where he clarified that while we are not a family, our leadership understands that applying the same principles that help a family function healthfully can also be applied in a professional setting to help a team function healthfully.

Jen Kuczynski, Media Director

At Pepperpalooza, I had the opportunity to connect with my teammates in a way that isn’t always possible from behind a Zoom screen. During our “walkie talkies” and Enneagram workshop, I learned about my teammates’ values, unique passions, and how they handle seasons of stress and growth. These moments throughout the day were a valuable reminder to myself of just how rewarding and supportive it can be to bring my whole self to a team and to choose to view my teammates through that lens.

Katie Cox, Associate Project Manager

For Everyday Life

Being independent is not in competition with having extremely meaningful relationships. 

Jesse Spear, Sr. Marketing Manager

I loved at the beginning of Xavier Payne’s presentation, he said one of his most consistent check backs is if it would make the younger version of himself happy/proud. I think it's a great sentiment to keep in mind when making all kinds of decisions, and trying to stay authentic and true to yourself along the way.

Riley Collins, Studio Director

Stop treating things as so important. Find your perspective and determine what matters to you in life, not just in your career.

Drew Beamer, Associate Creative Director

Lead with Love.

Rachel Mignogna, Scoping Manager

I liked Tim's quote - "Being independent is not in direct competition to having extremely meaningful relationships." I have strived really hard to be an independent, self-sufficient single woman, but I'm learning that leaning on friends or my coworkers for support does not take away from my independence. It does not make me weaker.

Katie Delaune, Copy and Content Writer