kelseymaciejewski
associate digital strategist
What is your background?
I went to the University of Illinois in Urbana/Champagne and I studied advertising. They actually had an advertising major!
How long have you been working at Kelly Scott Madison (KSM)?
I've been here for a year, but throughout college I interned in marketing departments. Like last summer, I interned in a media department at a creative agency. So it was like a full service agency. It was kind of cool. Then I moved jobs to KSM.
What led you to work in this industry?
I think it's just the strategy. I was in a marketing class in high school and our teacher had us pick apart ads from magazines that we brought into class. I think it really intrigued me how certain things were worded and how they would try to target certain people. It's sounds really creepy, but just the strategic thinking behind it. I like the creativity of it, but by no means am I a copywriter or an art director. So, the strategy is a good mix of the art and science of it.
Do you think there is a set of characteristics that define people in this industry?
Yes. I heard the saying "Work hard, play hard" so many times in college and people will tell you that about advertising. I definitely believe it now that I'm here. You have to have a certain amount of grit, we call it, and be able to get down, work hard, and finish. There is a lot of deadlines and a lot of unexpected client demands that will just pop up. No day is the same, so you need to be adaptable and be able to do your work. Definitely communication. Communication is a really big one here. You work in teams usually and then, of course, your communicating with clients, so you have to be a good communicator.
Why do you think someone would choose to be in advertising/media as opposed to another field?
I think what attracts people to advertising is that it's kind of a business atmosphere with a lot of fun. It's not like working at an accounting firm where you have to dress in suits every day. It's a more relaxed and fun atmosphere. That's what first attracted to me to advertising rather than any sort of other business field besides the work.
What are some of the tougher parts about working in this industry?
It's definitely the unexpected client needs that for me have been tough. You think you have your day planned out and are like "alright, I'm getting out of here at 5" and then something will come up. It can come up in the morning or like at 4:30 before you leave. It's tough to get used to that. A client wants their needs to get done especially when they are asking specifically for it. I think that it's pretty tough being able to adapt to that and the change of schedule.
What is your day-to-day as an Associate Digital Strategist?
There's so much that we do, and KSM's really different from a lot of media agencies with digital in that we're trained on all platforms. So, the associate role will do social, display, programmatic display, search, and even billing. If you were at some of the bigger agencies, your kind of trained in only programmatic and search so your kind of pigeonholed. Day-to-day could be a wide variety of things. Generally speaking, it's like Facebook posts, optimization for new campaigns, and search and display. That's usually what associates are doing. You’re in the weeds rather than the client communicator. It’s a lot of execution.
How do you keep sight of the larger picture when planning a strategy?
That’s definitely something I struggle with because the associate role is so executional and your dealing with so much data. Once in a while you just have to step back and think about overall client goals. I’ll have all of this data in front of me, but is it achieving what they ultimately want to achieve? If it’s an awareness campaign, is it achieving that? Think about basic goals when your boiling it down because there is so much that goes into a campaign.
How easy is it to adapt to a strategy as a campaign rolls out and things change? Has it become harder in a more digital world?
I feel that sometimes it can be a little difficult because in digital things change every day. For example, Google can announce a change in their search copy, that they’re extending it. Something like this wouldn’t necessarily change the whole strategy, but it might change the budget. Maybe there is something cool that the client wants to try and if they’re really adamant about it, you’ll have to work it in and readjust your strategy. The pace with which things change kind of makes it a little bit difficult.
Besides data, do you draw insights in any other way when planning a strategy?
We do. One way comes from historical campaigns that we have worked with. Other than that we use our tools like Google AdWords, which has a keyword planner, or ComScore to see where our audiences are on websites. Maybe when considering a budget, we do either do direct or programmatic buying. If they have a lower budget, we do programmatic so we can access premium inventory for less money.
What advice would you share with people looking to go into the ad industry?
Be adaptable to everything. Your team will change or your clients will change. The landscape of the industry changes so often, like in digital things are happening every day. We’re getting new clients and losing clients. It’s just the nature of the ad industry. People come and go. There’s always new people and your team might change. You have to be able to adapt to all of that. The people that you work with and the type of work your working on, you need to not be upset when those things happen and you need to expect it. It can be an exciting thing to, you keep it fresh, work in new verticals, work with new people who know different things.
What are somethings that excite you about your work and the work that your seeing out there?
I think it’s so cool to see the things you do on a screen. It sounds so stupid, but when I’m watching TV, even if it’s for another team’s client, I’ll be like, “Oh yeah, look at that, that’s our client!” It’s exciting to see the brands your working on out there and makes me excited to tell people about it. It’s my work coming to life.
Do you have any insider tips?
You have to keep a positive mindset if you want to work in advertising because things move so fast. People can get really busy. I don’t want to say it’s a thankless job because it’s definitely not, but sometimes you’re doing all of this work and it feels never ending. You get down in the trenches. I’ve definitely had those weeks were its like busy day after busy day after busy day and you think no one is noticing, but I promise you people are noticing and know that you are busy and that you’re working hard. You have to learn not to expect a pat on the head. It’s just the nature of the job and you’re going to get busier and have more responsibilities. Keep it positive and know that your works matters. It’s the same in any industry.