Work Diaries: Bridget Dolan, Managing Director of YouTube Shopping Partnerships, leads the first-ever Coachella Live Shopping activation
Apr 22, 2022 – [[read-time]] minute read
Featured today: As a Managing Director at YouTube, Bridget oversees YouTube's shopping business strategy globally, partnering with brands and creators to help them grow their businesses on the world’s largest video storefront.
Me and Mark at the Team Seas beach clean-up
Thursday
9:00 am: First, coffee! Then the first team meeting welcoming the YTPP (YouTube Product Partnerships) group to my team after a YouTube business reorg! This crew works together so seamlessly and happily, that there were smiles all around.
12:00 pm: Attended a Shopify meeting with our Google and YouTube crews - getting smart on all things Shopify before my two-day offsite in L.A. next week!
6:00 pm: While heading to the airport, I take a quick call with our APAC team to talk through one of our potential shopping partnerships, making sure we are aligned in every element before we decide how to move forward together.
9:00 pm: Landed in Palm Springs. Stop at CVS to buy sunscreen, salty snacks and self tanner - the Coachella essentials! I head to the hotel, unpack and crash.
Today’s highlight: Meeting with one of my favorite creators - Mark Rober! He remembered meeting me at a Team Seas beach cleanup event Susan hosted last summer, and to meet IRL, was, like, a big deal. Getting to help creators like Mark is such an inspiring part of the job!
The Team
Friday
9:00 am: I checked in on our first-ever Coachella Live Shopping activation, and due to some last minute exclusive drop merch additions, we did some troubleshooting to make sure everything was working in every possible country. It’s amazing to see how well the cross-functional team comes together when there is a problem. Such a creative, problem-solving crew!
10:30 am: Conducted an interview for a Project Manager candidate in the car while driving to pick up my festival parking pass. Got my first glimpse of the artists (when I accidentally stood in the artist line and someone asked me what time I was playing… gulp!) and everyone there was so happy to see each other. Plus, the outfits are so inspired!!!
12:00 pm: Headed to get ready, which took me all of 15 minutes but my 16 year old daughter, Evie, took two hours! Snacked on Bugles while I not-so-patiently waited for her to use all her best YouTube makeup skills. Once we were fully sunscreened, bronzed, curled, accessorized and shimmery we finally made our way to the festival!
2:00 pm: Quick check in with the cross-functional team on our Shopping feature, which made exclusive Coachella, Billie Eilish, BROCKHAMPTON and Flume merch available to fans watching the livestream for the very first time. The team finds a way to make it work! Down to the wire, but users will never know.
3:00 pm: I arrived and met my Fashion & Beauty SPM (Strategic Partner Manager) team at the YouTube Artist Lounge to watch our Head of Fashion & Beauty, Derek Blasberg, interview celebrity hair stylist Chris Appleton. I also got to chat with top YouTube creator SSSniperwolf and her sister before Derek interviewed her, too. Then, I had an exciting Emma Chamberlain sighting right as we took our team photo (she is captured in the background - yay)!
6:00 pm: I hitched a golf cart ride through the park to get over to the other side to meet up with my daughter, then we went to dance like (millions of people) are watching to Black Coffee and then Baby Keem.
10:45 pm: Evie runs into Charli D’Amelio and her whole family and friends out in the wild of the festival. She is beyond excited, takes a selfie and thinks NOTHING could be more exciting. Meanwhile, I was watching Daniel Caesar on the main Coachella stage along with Justin Bieber!
12:00 am: Harry Styles blew us all away with his showmanship (and fantastic Dior outfit), and I watched my daughter fall madly in love with watching live music right before my very eyes. Flashback to my first concert: seeing George Michael in Wham!
Today’s highlight: Got to bed at 3am after braving 2+ hours of traffic out of the parking lot. Still worth it!
Larray crowning Kristen Titus
Saturday
9:00 am: Woke up and ran to get coffee, then checked in with the team text chain. They were getting ready for a day of shooting YouTube Shorts content with Derek.
3:00 pm: Took a fun photo with the YouTube Music team and then shared a golf cart with other YouTube executives to the YouTube Shorts Compound. We met with creators “glamping” there to hear their YouTube origin stories and feedback about Shorts, and they got crowned at the festival, which was surreal and fitting.
5:00 pm: Toasted to the Golden Voice and YouTube teams at a happy hour celebrating a successful, 10-year relationship and fantastic livestream experience. I chatted with the Coachella team about how well our Shopping features were landing, and we decided to add even more exclusive merch items to the livestream for the second weekend. Let’s go YouTube Shopping!!
9:00 pm: Watched BROCKHAMPTON in their second to last show ever! Checked out the in-person merchandise and the line was soooo long that we decided to wait until tomorrow. See - this is one of the perks of buying directly from the YouTube livestream….no crazy merch lines!
10:00 pm: Megan Thee Stallion’s performance was a highlight - amazing dancing and we were close to the sign language translator, which was mesmerizing! People were videotaping the signer because she was so emotive. What a super cool, inclusive feature!
Today’s highlight: Billie Eilish! Her show was outstanding and it was mind blowing watching her connect deeply with her fans.
In the Artist Lounge
Sunday
1:00 pm: Arrived at the Artist Lounge and discussed with our Live Chat team how and when we would promote the merch on the livestream today. Derek and the Fashion & Beauty team planned to leave the Artist Lounge to film Shorts out in the festival.
3:00 pm: I customized a Coachella sweatshirt on the grounds because we needed proof that this was real as we headed back to our normal lives. But we are going to be so *extra* when our exclusive Coachella YouTube livestream merch arrives!
5:00 pm: One quick splash in the pool at the hotel! This is where I realized why so many people wear sneakers or boots to the Coachella festival - my feet looked like I was wearing striped dirt sandals when I finally took my shoes off!. Newbie mistake #432!
8:00 pm: Flight home to rejoin the rest of my family, and reality! Exhausted, happy, grateful and did I say exhausted?
Today’s highlight: Looking back at Weekend 1 of Coachella, I realized how truly lucky I am to have this dream job with my incredibly talented team, and get to work with so many passionate people. Our first-ever live music merch partnership was a HUGE success.
The L.A. office
Monday
7:00 am: This Monday just hits different. I wake up the kids, hear about my eldest’s super fun prom night, and my youngest’s bad cold. I bribe everyone out of bed with some healthy breakfast options, but also a plate of bacon – Because sometimes that’s my secret mom move.
8:00 am: Calls with APAC and EMEA to start off the week and ensure we are all synced on key elements for some exciting, upcoming projects. I’m so thankful to have global partners who are committed to aligning on the best paths forward for YouTube Shopping’s success and advocating for their countries’ unique needs. The ability to test innovative elements in different markets is a huge competitive advantage for us.
9:00 am: Catch up with the team to get ready for our Shopify partner offsite in L.A. tomorrow, and prep for a feedback session with Cristine from Simply Nailogical. She will join virtually to talk about her fantastic experience so far with Live Shopping, as a pro who now livestreams every Wednesday and Saturday selling her own nail polish line.
12:00 pm: Our stellar PR team sends me this interview that David Katz, our VP of Product for Shopping, and I did for INSIDER. I'm so happy to get more people talking about how we are fueling the Creator Economy with Shopping as the next foray into creator monetization!
3:30 pm: Sent Evie off for her final driving lesson before she takes the test this Thursday. I think I’m more excited than she is for her to get her license!!! #momfreedom
5:00 pm: Unpack, do laundry, charge devices, try on long forgotten “work clothes” that have hung in my closet like abandoned costumes for two years, then re-pack and get ready for a trip to L.A.! Setting up 1:1s with all my L.A. teammates and folks flying in, and looking forward to some quality in-person time. Plus, I get to go to the famous Spruce Goose office - can’t wait!
10:00pm: Finally getting to bed before 3:00am feels great. And I can’t wait to see the rest of my team IRL tomorrow!
Today’s highlight: My Google Cloud husband, Pete, cooks a yummy dinner (chicken meatballs in pita pockets) for the five of us and we all have so many fun stories to share! Life feels really normal again, and we are all filled up with having fun in-person experiences that we’ve been missing so badly. I’m not sure I realized how leaving and doing our own individual things could make us feel even more connected as a family when we are back together.