Hitting the End Zone with a Clear Message

September 1, 2018

UM-Dearborn grad Ranae Heuer says putting your team first unleashes the creative spirit best.

Ranae Heuer

When it’s the Super Bowl, you huddle with your team and put out your “A” game. In this case, A is for advertising. The team is Huge Detroit. And the all-star QB is Heuer (’01 MBA).

Heuer, who’s the managing director for Huge Detroit, and her team produced the 2018 Rocket Mortgage commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. You know the one — Keegan-Michael Key cuts through the jargon to simplify the message.

That resonates with Heuer’s communications style: Fashioning messages that are clear, authentic and relatable — in an eye-catching way, of course.

Heuer knows the ins and outs of the business — her undergrad focused on television work, her first job was in direct mail and she worked her way into New York City’s digital marketing scene. And she has advice on how to succeed in the field.

“Do your research. Stay up on the latest technology. Do what you can to remove internal constraints so your team has the space to be creative,” said Heuer, whose team size has doubled since NYC-based Huge asked her to lead their Detroit office. “Clients matter. Revenue matters. But your people are your biggest asset. Put them first so that they can do good work, which ultimately makes clients happy.”

And that’s why she’s the one who calls the plays.