For the past two years, I have worked as an Account Manager and then Senior Account Manager at MBuy, a boutique advertising agency out of Chicago. We execute full-funnel media plans for clients across the tourism, healthcare and CPG industries. I have been able to grow so much personally and professionally at this job. I have learned how to work with so many different types of people as clients and co-workers. I have discovered the importance of having research and rationale behind every decision I make, how to create brand-specific media plans that will deliver on client goals. This role has given me the freedom to be creative and test new and innovative ways to reach consumers. I truly love developing marketing strategy and I plan to continue to grow in this discipline throughout my career.

Research

To begin the process of creating media plans for clients, I conduct extensive target market research to identify our primary and secondary audiences and begin to understand their characteristics and media consumption habits. I also investigate our client’s competitive position, looking for opportunities and threats within our industry.

To gain these insights, I have used platforms such as MRI-Simmons, Kantar, Adara, Datafy, Adara, Epilson and more, as well as leveraging client 1st party and historical data.

Media Planning and Buying

Once the research process is completed, our team creates a media plan that is designed to maximize our client’s budget and achieve their business goals. Our planning decks begin by detailing our audience, targeting and creative strategy, accompanied by the research and rationale behind these recommendations. We then go into a deep dive of each channel in our media mix to demonstrate what channel-specific KPIs we will be monitoring & how it fits in the larger puzzle. I find formulating these marketing plans extremely rewarding, as it allows me to combine research and creativity to create a media-strategy that will have a different impact on my client’s business.

Optimizations and Reporting

Although our media plans are backed by extensive research, you never truly know who a campaign will perform until it launches. To ensure we meet client goals throughout the flight, I continuously optimize the campaign, following performance. By shifting budget to more efficient channels, A/B testing creative and targeting segments, and experimenting with new channels and strategies, we can consistently give our clients the best chance at achieving long-term ROI.

Another important part of my role at MBuy is creating biweekly, monthly, quarterly and end of campaign insights and decks for clients. This process allows me to immerse myself in the data, evaluate the effectiveness of our campaigns and make recommendations for the future.

Channel Experience

I have had extensive experience planning, buying, optimizing and reporting on Connected TV, Online Video, Mobile, Rich Media, Digital Audio, Social, Native, Display, SEM and Out of Home advertising campaigns.

Client Communication

I have served as my clients’ primary point of contact throughout my time at MBuy, answering any questions they may have, hopping on phone calls to discuss strategy and leading weekly status calls to discuss all current items.

I have learned the importance of making clients feel heard and that our team should function as an extension of their business. It is rewarding to build a true partnership over time and play an important role in their success.

Client Spotlight

For the past two years, I have had the privilege of being a strategy lead and primary point of contact for a state government’s CoOp tourism program. This initiative allows various cities and points of interest throughout the state to apply for funding for digital marketing campaigns. We created packages that contain different channel combinations at various budget levels, allowing every potential partner to have an option that could work for them. In fiscal year 2023, we had 35 total partners opt-in with over $3M in total Ad spend.  

This client has been a unique challenge. Generally, we can focus on one client and their business goals. This CoOp program essentially tasked us with servicing 35 different clients, all with unique targeting parameters, budget levels and conversions. This required our team to create numerous processes for research, campaign setup, optimization and reporting that could be applied across all clients, while still allowing their distinct needs to be met.

I am extremely proud of the work we have done with this client. We have contributed to making 2022 and 2023 the state’s best years of tourism in its history. In addition, we received an ESTO Award Finalist selection for our work with this program.

Leadership

As I have expanded my role at MBuy to a Senior Account Manager, I have been tasked with managing and mentoring three junior employees. This includes leading numerous knowledge-sharing sessions, creating their roles and responsibilities and giving them performance evaluations. I believe we have all learned a lot working with each other and I want to continue to grow as a leader.

New Business

An important part of my job at MBuy is to help with RFP submissions to try and secure new clients. I have had the privilege to lead numerous RFPs across multiple industries. We have won some and lost some, but I have gained invaluable insight into how to tailor our offerings to meet different client’s needs and convince them we are the best option.

Sizzle Reel

I was tasked with creating our company's sizzle reel to present our offerings in a concise and engaging video to help obtain new business. I worked with our marketing manager and a video editor to create a script and storyboard and went through 8 revision rounds until we landed on something we were happy with. Check it out below: