Experiencing New Things

Welcome to my first official blog!

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At the end of last month, I was in search of a hands-on mentorship opportunity centered around Brand Development. I simply looked up brand development agencies in Columbus Ohio and called the very first agency on the list. I was sent straight to voicemail. I continued on others on the list and honestly forgot about the first one. The next day I got a call from the first company I called asking for more information on my mentorship inquiry. After some back-and-forth communication, they agreed to a virtual mentorship. It consists of video calls with all of their departments learning about what their jobs and day-to-day consists of.

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The agency is called Ologie. They help colleges, universities, schools, and businesses “build their reputations, recruit new students, and gain philanthropic support. We do this through a digital-first mindset, targeted marketing strategies, and emotional storytelling - all working together to drive tangible results and change lives” They have been a part of the branding of major schools such as the University of Michigan, The University of Kentucky, Stanford University and Purdue University to name a few. To learn more about Ologie check out their website by clicking the Logo. To see their Perdue Case Study click the Perdue Photo. With Ologie I would like to discover the different positions within a brand development agency, what I like and dislike about them as well as deciding if it is something that I could see myself doing as a career in my future.

So far in the first three weeks that I have been working with Ologie, I have learned about three different studios (what they call departments). The first one that I have met with was Client Engagement. The job of client engagement is to obtain the clients. Most of the time they are sent an RFP which stands for Request for Proposal. They do also go and search for clients but that is less common. When they receive an RFP they must decide if the client is a “good client”. Now what makes a good client? Ologie looks for 5 basic things they look for: Budget, Creative freedom, complexity/uniqueness, time, and credibility. The client must have the budget required for all of the services they are requesting. Ologie likes to have as much creative freedom as possible when doing work for a client. The reason is that in order to do their job to the best of their ability they need to be able to come up with out-of-the-box ideas. Ologie wants each of their projects to be a possible case study. I have linked two of them for you to take a look. They want clients that will make their portfolio as diverse as possible. The agency works with many clients at once and when deciding whether or not to take on the client they must decide if they have the ability to finish the work by the desired deadline of the client. Finally, they want to know if the client is credible and will improve their reputation. Once they decide to take on the client they hand off the reins to the teams (a few people from each studio working together to create the brand). Personally, I have decided that this is my least favorite part of their job. I do not think I could work in Client Engagement because I like to see the progression of projects and see them from start to finish.

I then met with the Project Management (P.M.) studio. PMs are the leaders and organizers of the internal teams. Their job is to decide how long each aspect of the project will take. From start to finish they have everything planned down to the second. I am a fairly organized person but these people are on a different level or should I say schedule? They work on around 6-10 projects at a time. They ensure that their teams do not burn out by doing daily temp checks. These check-ins are just to see how the team members are feeling and if there is anything they can do to help their team. I am very much a people person so I could see myself in this aspect of the job. When one of their team members believes they cannot meet a deadline they express their concerns with their P.M. who communicates with their Account Manager who communicates it with the client.

This week I talked with an Account Manager (A.M.) who discussed his role as the voice of the client. When the internal is unable to meet a deadline the P.M.s inform the A.M.s. The A.M.s talk to the client and explain why they cannot meet the initial deadline. The guy I was talking to told me about how most clients are often accepting of the bad news because they want the best possible outcome. That is only a small part of their job. They spend most of their time on calls with their clients, discovering what they want, expectations, etc. I could see myself in this position because I love talking with people and I am not afraid of confrontation.

To be honest, when I first meet these mentors it is a little awkward. I am not always sure what questions to ask. I have the ability to talk to anyone about anything so the awkwardness does not last too long. I am ready for next week and to meet their Marketing team. See you next week!