Question

Topic: Career/Training

Help Transitioning From Acct To Strategist

Posted by Anonymous on 8/14/2011 at 7:35 PM ET 250 Points
After several years as an account manager at various NY advertising agencies, I have decide to refocus my career and looking to become a brand strategist. However, I am having a bit of difficulty gaining some traction. While I have substantial strategic experience within my role as an account manager and am deeply passionate about this discipline, I do not have the traditional experience similar to other brand strategists, e.g. I do not have an MBA nor was I a strategic planner at an agency.

Therefore, I would like to hear from seasoned brand strategists and HR professionals about any advice you can share about how I can get noticed and get an opportunity to communicate why I am an ideal candidate to consider despite a slightly unconventional resume.

Thank you,
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 8/14/2011 at 8:50 PM Accepted
    Dear David,

    Start a website, set it up in Wordpress, and focus your opinions and content on branding. Make your blog entries 500 to 1,000 words in length.

    Then read those entries and record them. Turn those entries into podcasts.

    Then, comment on other brand-related blogs. Find blogs written by people you respect and admire and offer thoughtful, well-written comment and opinion on their posts. Use your real name, tell people what you think, be original, and create original content.

    Use link exchanges to build your SEO, set up Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter accounts and connect them to your blog. Post other content on these sites. Buy a small video camera and make short, sharp, well-produced video talking head posts and submit them via social media and Tubemogul.com.

    Comment on THIS forum. Again, use your real name, and gain a reputation for telling people what you think, not what they want to hear.

    On other people's blogs, offer to write guest posts in exchange for links. When you comment on other people's blogs, in the NAME section, put your name AND a link to your website. Comments have other boxes for e-mail address and website, so fill those in too. But by filling in the NAME box with your name and www.davidprince.com you attache your name TO your website, which will then show up in the comments stream, rather than just your name.

    Keep doing this for several months. Then, assemble the top 100 posts you've written and compile them into a book. You'll self publish this book but it will still be more than most brand strategists have put together and you use THIS as social proof. Through www.lulu.com you can print on demand and have something you can give to prospective employers or leave behind, again, as social proof.

    If this is your fream, keep at it. Do NOT quit, even when the BS rains down. And it will.

    Here's a list of blogs related to branding.

    https://www.invesp.com/blog-rank/Branding

    https://www.blogs.com/topten/top-10-branding-blogs/

    https://www.blogs.com/topten/10-great-marketing-and-branding-blogs-youve-ne...

    I hope this helps. And if you need advice or help with a book design off forum, click my name above and you'll find my e-mail address.

    Keep in touch if you'd like to, and if not, good luck to you (well, good luck to you anyway). Keep slugging.

    Gary Bloomer
    Princeton, NJ, USA
  • Posted on 8/14/2011 at 9:20 PM Moderator
    Being a brand strategist (and making a living at it) is challenging even when you do have the credentials. Without those credentials it will be even more challenging.

    Gary has given you some good places to start, but even if you do them all -- and do them well -- it could take years before you can generate enough business to pay the rent.

    Most small business owners don't think strategy is worth paying for, and most large business managers already have established brands and don't think they need a brand strategist. That leaves start-ups -- and they usually don't have much money to spend, even though they have the greatest need.

    I know it's odd, because a great brand strategy can payoff for a marketer for years/decades, and you'd think they all recognize the importance of investing in a solid brand positioning. But it just isn't so.

    You might want to read Rasputin for Hire. There's an entire chapter in the book about the most common client misconceptions and objections (to consulting generally), and this one is right up there on top of the list for marketing consultants. (Book available at: https://bit.ly/k3Z7m . The link is for MarketingProfs members and has a special offer with a free report with comments and advice from 5 experts on this forum.)
  • Posted on 8/15/2011 at 12:10 PM Accepted
    David,

    My take is that both Gary Bloomer and mgoodman wrote you great answers. To add a couple of footnotes to them:

    1) Book/blogs: I would emphasize an E-Book sold at Amazon.com and Book Nooks (Barnes & Noble) and also off its own website -- naturally with embedded videos. Consider doing video interviews for your blogs and your book. You publish the video transcript at article sites, with links to the videos.

    Leverage the book to public speaking engagements - also at universities.

    2) Consulting: Consider performance based billing. That can be a real help with skeptical customers. You get a small x percent to cover expenses and a BIG Y percent based on results, i.e. a percentage of future revenues.

    3) Focus: Brand strategy is too broad. You need to focus. In order to do that, do NOT concentrate on your own expertise. Concentrate rather on the customer's (branding) problems.

    The best way to find out what those are is to ask. Conduct a survey or poll of some kind and see what surfaces. Let us say "W," "X," "Y," and "Z" problems surface about aspects of marketing, branding, advertising and sales. To help decide your focus, after you have the poll results, ask yourself the following five questions:

    1- Is the customer feeling pain, urgency or passion about W, X, Y, or Z or is it a relatively low priority?

    2 - Is he pro-actively looking for solutions NOW? And if so, WHERE is he looking for them? With what kinds of agencies, with what search terms on Google?

    3- Does he have few options for a solution?

    4 - Is this market niche large enough (and with deep enough pockets) to be worth pursuing?

    5 - Is solving this problem -- and dealing with the people who have it -- going to be enjoyable for me?

    When you can answer (1) through (5) with yes, and know where and how the customer is looking for solutions, you have your focus.

    In short, do not think of PICKING a market niche where you can "sell yourself." Think rather of FINDING a market "hole," where people are looking to buy a solution NOW. Based on your experience, you then create a solution to solve this problem.

    Now you market your (branded, of course) solution. You are no longer selling your expertise as such ("award winning designer of gold plated mousetraps"), but the solution ( "get rid of mice FAST").

    Regards,
    JH
  • Posted on 8/15/2011 at 1:29 PM Author
    Wow, thank you all for your tremendously thorough responses.

    Gary, the links and suggestion to start a blog and ultimately publish the top posts along with words on encouragements.

    mgoodman, you make some great points and perhaps I should focus on start-ups that could use the brand strategy help.

    J Hamilton, I appreciate the extensive feedback. I particularly liked how you presented the solution-based benefit as opposed to expertise. This might help me market myself and how I can help their organization.

    Ultimately. I am really hoping to transition into a branding agency (Wolff Olin, IDEO, Interbrand, Landor, etc- there are many others). I believe they might provide the best opportunity for me to grow and hone my skills. I dont expect it to be an easy transition but one that I am confident I will succeed at- even if/when the "BS rains down".

    Thank you all for your help
    David Prince
    davidwprince@gmail.com
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