Bianca Fernandez by no means thought she’d be on actuality TV—then got here an Instagram DM from somebody engaged on a brand new promoting competitors present, NBC’s On Model with Jimmy Fallon.
“I bear in mind calling my mother and being like, ‘Do you suppose that is legit?’” Fernandez advised ADWEEK. “‘But additionally, if that is legit, how good is that this for me?’”
It was so good, in reality, that she received all of it. On the present’s Season 1 finale that aired Oct. 31, Fallon and his co-host, Bozoma Saint John, introduced Fernandez because the present’s first Innovator of the 12 months. Together with a money prize of $100,000, her idea for the ultimate consumer, Therabody, might be produced as a business.
“It’s fairly surreal,” mentioned Fernandez, a Gen Z marketer based mostly in New York. “Going into the expertise, I had really no thought what to anticipate, however I did know I actually needed to win, and I knew based mostly off of what was described to me that I’d have a shot if I gave it my all and didn’t maintain myself again.”
She embraced that ethos all through the season, typically changing into the mission lead on campaigns comparable to making a viral drink for drive-in QSR chain Sonic and including a “spicy take” thought to Captain Morgan’s Tremendous Bowl marketing campaign. Whereas on the present, she even proclaimed her intentions to make the Forbes 30 Beneath 30 Listing.
However success wasn’t simple. Fernandez famous there have been “a whole lot of strain cooker moments” all through the season, with among the most irritating occasions not even making the ultimate reduce. As an illustration, when assembly with graphic designers, contestants had equal however restricted time—what Fernandez described as simply “minutes”—to show their concepts into campaigns, generally in a single day.
As if that weren’t sufficient strain, every little thing was on the contestants, with Fernandez saying NBC made certain to advertise equity so the behind-the-scenes creatives didn’t impose their very own technique whereas translating contestant concepts into pitch shows, even when these concepts went awry.
The finale introduced on added challenges as Fernandez and fellow finalist Ryan Winn needed to create and shoot a complete business for Therabody, basically by themselves and in an equal however “insanely quick period of time,” in accordance with Fernandez.
