Job Responsibilities
1. Managing Relationships (External and Internal) Not quantifiable because this
is
ongoing although it is the most important part of the job.
2. Marketplace Analysis 10 hours
3. Managing Projects workflow 20 hours
4. Managing budgets and billing 5 hours
5. Looking for and managing growth within brands 10 hours
6. Presentations 2 hours
7. Writing (Proposals, creative briefs, senior management briefings, etc.) 8
hours
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Job Requirements
Although an MBA is not necessary to be successful in this business, if you want
to
move to upper management it will be critical. The reason is plain, the higher
you go
the less your job will become about client interactions and more about managing
your own company in the marketplace. Additionally, your clients will respect,
value
and ask for your input since many of them will have MBA's and it puts you "eye
to
eye" with them.
If you are thinking of an MBA, look for a school with a good marketing
reputation.
Also, as you progress, don't look to just take what you know (e.g., marketing).
Take
Finance classes and data mining classes to get a rounded perspective on
marketing.
If you are taking undergrad classes, art classes will help you immensely with
understanding creatives in agencies and help you earn their respect because you
will
understand their processes and hence won't overpromise to clients. Art classes
will
also help you assess good work against creative strategy. This is very
important
because there are a lot of fun and cool ads out there that say absolutely
NOTHING
about the product, and if you can't sell the product, at the end of the day, you
will
never make it.
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Uppers
- Brainstorming
- Research
- Uncovering missed facts or insights
- Presenting good creative that matches strategy because it is like slam
dunking a basketball
- Watching market share or dollar sshares climb for your clients
- Going toe to toe with a larger agency (or any agency really) and walking away
with the account
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Downers
- Missing a typo that gets printed (nothing is more aggravating and can cost
more to
an agency
- Client perceptions about quality work. Just because an agency is bigger does
not
mean it is better at creative.
- Having to let someone go for any reason.
- Having to be let go (in this industry, it is said you will change jobs and
average of 8
times either by your own choice or your employers). Make sure as you continue
to
move along your career path you save your pennies.
- Understanding that as you get older, this industry may not want you. It's
true.
Clients perceptions can include the thought that fresh ideas come from the
young.
Make sure you have a career path laid out, and that you check it often. If you
get
behind, fix it or develop exit strategies to move to more stable industries.
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Lifestyle
- Work hours depend on the agency and the account. The larger the account, the
more hours, particularly with a new account or one approaching a major product
intersection (launch, re-branding effort, etc.)
- Travel also depends. Typically it will be between 15% and 25% in a typical
year with a large client, and that can go up or down depending on account
activity.
- Dress code should always match your client. A lot of new hires coming out of
college don't understand that looking cool doesn't always mean wearing flip
flops, tinted glasses, or "clubbing clothes" to a client meeting. Take a look at
the people who hired you and that you are responsible to answer to. If they wear
a suit, you do too. If they wear a bathing suit to work, you may be a lifeguard
or your client is Hawaiian Tropic.
- Client trips mean dinners. Always pick up the tab. And don't match your
clients drink for drink. Clients are different. They are the client. You are
not. You can go a lot further by being the one who makes sure the client gets
back to the hotel alive than by being remebered as the person that was naked in
public. This is an exaggeration, but you would be surprised when the clients who
appeared to be drunk are pulling you aside to talk about your assistant,
creatives (because they think they live by a separate set of rules sometimes), or
another brand consultant's behavior. Ginger Ale looks like rum and coke and will
get you home with respect and more business (drinking clients spill all kinds of
useful information about upstream work, plans and other divisions gossip).
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Compensation
It depends where you are geographically, the accounts you manage and the size of
the agency.
For example, a mid-size agency working on large accounts in the midwest will
typically earn an AE about $55-$65 thousand base per year with about 3-5% bonus
(again at the discretion of the employer).
Check out online salary wizards and ask around at other agencies.
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Advice to Jobseekers
- Look around you. Don't think the agency world is where people who wear black
with tinted yellow glasses hang out and brag about their big accounts. A lot of
really
successful people in this business look like nerds.
- Read. Alot. trade publications (for your industry and more importantly,
your
client's industry) have lots of useful information that will provide you with
tools for
success.
- Stay young inside. Note, I said inside. Feeling young and noting young
trends will
help your longevity in the business. Being 40 and dressing like you are 20 is
pathetic, and is noticed by everyone.
- Follow people. understanding how and why people buy will keep you focused on
what you do - creating tools that reach out to consumers and speak to them
personally.
- Be a flounder! Keep one eye on your current job and another on your next
job.
- Keep your resume up to date! This is important for two big reasons. First,
it will
help you get out there if you are ever fired or quit. It takes time to update a
resume
and make it look great. Second, it is a great way to remember all the great
things
you have done. There are going to be days that just plain suck. Having a
document
with your key successes can be a reminder that there will be other opportunities
for
you and that you have made a difference!
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