JANEL LABAN
Skills
Creative & Editorial direction | Social media content and strategy | Audience development | Content concepting, planning, production and distribution | Interior design and lifestyle expertise | Editing | Writing | Ideation |Trend Spotting | Data-driven editorial | Brand tone of voice | Project management | Team leadership
Experience
IKEA
Creative Lead / Catalogue 2.0 special digital project, IKEA Communications: April 2020 – May 2020
Created a complete editorial plan and strategy for a quick turnaround delivery of complete, plug and play social media and digital content to be provided to the markets within a single month timeframe. Lead the teams that produced and delivered to the editorial plan, on time and on budget, a package consisting of 30 remixed and reimagined stories for IKEA.com based on the upcoming catalogue content, complete with over 200 social media assets and an OOH package.
Creative Lead / Catalogue Core Team, IKEA Communications: February 2019 – Present
Creative Consultant / Catalogue Core Team, IKEA Creative Hub and IKEA Communications: November 2017 – February 2019
Member of the core creative team producing the IKEA catalogues, with a focus on overall concept and communication direction for the print production, with a special focus on editorial planning, digital content and social media assets.
Apartment Therapy
Executive Editor & Editorial Department Lead: December 2007 – September 2017
Editor: March 2006 – December 2007
Led the creative process for all editorial concepts and content ideation and oversaw the planning, creation, publication and distribution for 500+ stories per month, including 50+ original house tours along with special editorial projects.
Developed a diverse editorial calendar - annually, monthly, weekly and daily - to support ad sales goals and create audience growth goals. Concept and execute new and ongoing features to meet those goals, on time and on my department budget.
Responsible for growing the Apartment Therapy brand editorially, across platforms, in audience, revenue and engagement into one of the largest, most popular independent publications about home, design and lifestyle. Created and grew the large, highly engaged and active followings on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to support brand- and audience-building to reach traffic and engagement goals.
Built, led and supported a team of ten staff editors and over one hundred freelance writers and photographers.
Provided a deep understanding of what inspires and informs people when it comes to modern life at home; ensured a balance of up to the moment stories based on design and lifestyle trends mixed with stylish evergreen service content.
Created a personal, daily destination community experience for readers while maintaining a mass audience and reach for advertisers and partners.
Books
Apartment Therapy’s Complete & Happy Home (2015)
The most comprehensive and complete home book from Apartment Therapy, featuring every aspect of design and decorating from floor plans to paint, specific rooms to style approaches, with the goal of setting up and living well in a place you love.
Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Design Solutions (2008)
This groundbreaking book featured 40 homes decorated by real people. Each home profiled includes floor plans, detailed resource lists, and "how I did it" explanations from the renters and owners who created fresh and entirely original interiors.