'Out of house' and agency positions
Account Management
Account managers ‘project manage’ the campaigns developed for
clients, they ensure the campaign is delivered in the way the
client requested and manage costs effectively. They are responsible
for ensuring client briefs are adhered to and that the account
director can sign off on the completed work. Typical tasks include;
writing clear briefs outlining the campaign for the various
creative and production teams, presenting a strategy to the client
for meeting their marketing aims, coordinating the implementation
of that strategy, communicating frequently with clients and
monitoring the campaign process.
Account Directors
Account directors oversee marketing planning for clients either
in a specific sector or across industries whilst also focusing on
business development. They are expected to have a solid
understanding of all areas of marketing especially brand strategy,
positioning and consumer insight as well as knowledge of the
clients industry. Account directors have responsibility for
overseeing a number of client campaigns and lead the account
management teams. They spend much of their time gaining new
business and managing client relationships.
Daily tasks could include; liaising with clients, managing
members of the account team, managing workflow internally,
brainstorming ideas, event management as well as budget planning
and control.
Marketing management
Marketing managers oversee the marketing planning and marketing
activity for their organizations brands, products or services.
Within a large organization a marketing manager may be responsible
for only one or two product or service areas however in many small
to medium organizations they would oversee marketing planning
across all areas of the business. The marketing manager reports
directly to the director of marketing.
Essentially the role of the marketing manager is to ensure the
organization is communicating effectively with the consumer as well
as other stakeholders. Therefore the role often involves deciding
on, and implementing a communication strategy based on customer
research and market analysis. The role is varied; marketing
managers must be capable of undertaking research, analyzing
behavior and industry trends and be creative and persuasive when
planning their marketing communication campaigns. They also spend
time evaluating the impact of these campaigns to assist future
strategic planning.
Common tasks may include;
- reviewing a market research report
- deciding on a plan for marketing a new product
- contacting the media
- meeting with product developers or sales teams to discuss how
to best market a product or service
- briefing advertising agencies
- analyzing sales figures and pricing strategies
- managing budgets
- presenting campaign ideas to directors
- reporting on the results of campaigns to management
- overseeing a team of marketing assistants and related
staff
- ensuring databases are maintained
- designing / proofreading promotional material.
Most marketing managers need 5 – 7 years of experience in a
marketing officer or related role. The role demands the ability to
multi task, lead others, communicate effectively, think
strategically and adapt to changing organizational needs.
Brand management
Brand management is a fundamental function of the marketing
department of product based industries. Most medium to large
consumer goods companies hire dedicated brand managers who take
full responsibility for a brand or portfolio of brands owned by the
company. They answer to brand directors in large organizations.
Their work involves:
- product positioning
- target market identification and analysis
- forecasting
- budgeting
- category & competitive analysis
- pricing analysis
- marketing strategy development.
Brand managers work closely with product development teams to
ensure new products meet consumer needs. This may involve
commissioning research into market segments and consumer behavior
the results of which informs the development process. Once a
new product has been developed the brand manager will analyze the
competition, identify marketing opportunities and then formulate a
strategy for effectively communicating the brands benefits to the
consumer.
Brand managers often work across the full marketing mix and
therefore need to have an understanding of all areas of marketing.
They would normally be responsible for overseeing the development
of consumer marketing materials including PR, advertising,
packaging, online, retail and promotional materials. Responsibility
for implementing campaigns for individual brands may then be given
to assistant brand managers however in smaller teams the brand
manager may have responsibility for the whole process.
Assistant brand managers may manage their own brand marketing
plan and take responsibility for evaluating sales trends and
competitor activity. They may also have responsibility for the
coordination of internal and external creative agencies.
Opportunities for assistant brand manager positions are open to
graduates usually with a few years of marketing experience.
Direct marketing
Direct marketing managers and officers are employed by
organizations who communicate marketing messages on a ‘one to one’
basis with identified current or potential customers. They
are responsible for developing, implementing and evaluating direct
marketing to assist the overall marketing aims of the
organization.
After the target market has been identified by market
researchers, direct marketers decide on the best way to communicate
directly to these consumers. They use databases of consumer
information and regularly search and update this information to
ensure their emails, brochures and other communication tools reach
the target market. As such, the role requires the ability to work
confidently with database programs and to analyze quantitative data
to gain meaningful insight into the best channels for communicating
with consumers.
Direct marketers need to be creative in coming up with new ways
to speak directly to the intended user of a company’s products or
services. Increasingly internet and email communication is being
more commonly used and it is thought to be more timely and cost
effective than traditional mail outs. Direct marketers need to be
both creative and analytical and enjoy problem solving.
Market research
Market research analysts design, conduct and evaluate research
projects in order to understand a market for a particular product
or service. Within large companies this work is done within a
marketing team on behalf of the employer. However, many market
researchers work for consultancies or agencies who undertake market
research projects for clients. The data they collect is used by
companies and organizations to gain further insight into who their
target market is, what their needs are and how they view their
products or product concepts. Market research also assists
marketers to make decisions on all elements of the marketing
strategy e.g.; price, promotion, positioning etc.
A variety of methods are used by researchers to collect data on
a company’s target market, these include:
- focus groups
- surveys
- observational studies
- interviews
- online forums.
The job involves deciding on and implementing a research project
in consultation with the marketing team or the client and updating
them on the progress of the project. Market researchers are then
responsible for planning the research including designing
questionnaires, hiring and training interviewers and perhaps
conducting interviews or focus groups themselves. They must
organize the data received from such activities using spreadsheets
or statistical software and then present the research results both
in writing and often in person to a client or manager.
Quantitative research
Quantitative research is concerned with collecting factual
information often from large samples using electronic data
collection. Surveys and questionnaires are the most common method
of collecting this data.
Quantitative research tasks could include designing and managing
a survey of 2000 teenagers to find out at how much money they are
willing to spend on downloading music or monitoring the times of
the day when a website is viewed most frequently.
Qualitative research
Qualitative research does not tend to use structured questions
as it is concerned with observing and analyzing consumer attitudes
and behaviors. Typical qualitative research activities could
include; arranging a focus group to record consumers’ views on a
new product or test the effectiveness of a new promotional
campaign. Qualitative researchers may also conduct in depth
interviews with a targeted group of consumers on a specific
topic.
Market researchers may decide to specialize in either
quantitative or qualitative research methods however a solid
understanding of the techniques used in both fields is often
expected. A successful market researcher needs technical research
skills and numerical ability as well as an understanding of human
behavior and motivations.
Market researchers may also specialize in a particular industry
or sector e.g. FMCG’s, healthcare, public sector or business to
business markets.
Within a consultancy or agency most researchers will start their
careers as Research Executives and then move on to the role of
Senior Researcher and finally; Account Director.