Recruiting In-House Digital Advertising Talent

Transcription

1 October 2015 THE MARKETING EXECUTIVE S GUIDE TO Recruiting In-House Digital Advertising Talent Advertising Automation Software

2 The advertising industry is in the midst of a sea change, and the signs are all around us. In 2015, agency discontent from brands reached a boiling point as household names like L Oreal and Coca Cola put $27 billion worth of contracts under review. Reuters cites several reasons fueling this shift that older, more traditional methods of advertising are giving way to social and mobile; that marketing developments are outpacing agency expertise; and that brands demand more transparency from their partners. In fact, 62% of CMOs plan to take more of their agency business in-house, ranking cost savings, media buying transparency, marketing agility, and data control as top priorities. At Nanigans, we have seen a steady stream of interest in our advertising automation software from ecommerce and retail, gaming, and other internet and mobile brands looking to scale their customer acquisition and retention efforts on social and mobile channels. These digital-first companies recognize that first-party data is extremely valuable when put in the hands of capable in-house marketers, who collaborate directly with internal sales and creative teams. There s a lot of intellectual property that we want to keep internal. And that s made a lot easier when we re internal. We really get the inside scoop and we re able to take action on that, and that s key. KATHY O DOWD Programmatic Buying 64% of marketers report that first-party data drives the highest increase in customer lifetime value. SOURCE: EMARKETER WHAT S INSIDE? What defines an in-house digital marketer What to look for and where to look Tools for the interview process Tips for retaining in-house talent The key to in-house advertising success Nanigans Advertising Automation 2

3 While the benefits of in-house advertising are clear, marketing VPs and other decision makers may be unsure about what to look for in a qualified candidate, or even where to find the right in-house talent. According to the VP of Digital Services at Experian, the competition can be fierce: Every company with a link in the chain of ad tech is looking for talent, including agencies, publishers, data consultancies, technology companies, and mobile startups. They are all focused on the same small pool of candidates, particularly in major markets like New York and Silicon Valley. The problem will get even worse as more brands start going direct with their programmatic efforts. CONVERSATIONS WITH TOP GROWTH MARKETERS MEGHAN KELLY KEVIN HSU JANELLE STETTLER DAE SON SARAH WEISS BREITENOTHER Read more Read more Read more Read more Read more With an open-minded recruiting approach and the knowledge of the testing culture that keeps in-house talent engaged, marketing executives worldwide are recruiting great talent and retooling their teams for the future. Based on conversations we ve had with all-star inhouse digital marketers in 2015 and our experience working with them since 2010, this ebook contains tips on outside-the-box skill sets to look for, suggestions on the responsibilities an in-house candidate might take on, and ways to ensure retention of top digital talent. LET S GET STARTED Nanigans Advertising Automation 3

4 CHAPTER 1 What Defines an In-House Digital Marketer The job description of an in-house digital marketer can be very dynamic based on your company s size and goals. If you re in the lead generation space, you may need someone with a wide portfolio of skills, from paid search to website optimization. If you re advertising a gaming app, a mobile marketing specialist would be more valuable. If you re an ecommerce company with five products you might need an outside-the-box thinker who can iterate endlessly on creative; whereas if you re a company with 5 million products, a more strategic and methodical candidate might be preferable. Of course, what you re looking for is also going to depend on the DNA of your company. If your product is design-focused, you will need someone who not only understands numbers, but also can think creatively. If it s an entirely performance-driven company, a statistics degree may be all you need. Programmatic is still a nascent industry, and it can be hard to find seasoned vets. If you re hiring someone with little professional experience, you may want to de-risk your hire by looking for candidates with an ecommerce, statistics, engineering, or MBA background. If you do find someone who s more of a veteran in the space, their education is less relevant; you re just looking for data proficiency and the ability to look at strategy from a high level. There is always a new challenge to solve, an opportunity to explore and research, testing to be done, and endless opportunities for analysis. I would say that brainstorming and implementing new ideas to scale or improve efficiency are common themes. JANELLE STETTLER Social Media Marketing Manager PRO TIP Fresh graduates with transferable skills may be less expensive labor, but you ll have to invest more resources in training. However, candidates with intrinsic analytical skills and a willingness to get their hands dirty with data may not require too much hand-holding. Nanigans Advertising Automation 4

5 Regardless of position and experience, there are common traits that all successful in-house digital marketers share HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN TESTING In-house marketers are constantly asking, What would happen if and using analytics as a magic 8-ball. TENACITY Once data has revealed whether a campaign is a dud, what s the new approach? If it is successful, what does iteration on similar themes and audiences look like? A DRIVE FOR HITTING GOALS This is nearly impossible to train; it requires someone that enjoys numbers and never-ending challenges. CREATIVITY Testing only works if you have plenty of variables to play with, and sometimes outside the box ideas lead to the bestperforming campaigns. EMPATHY A fascination with consumer behavior and recognition that these are real people behind the numbers is key. PASSION Digital growth professionals love getting the big-picture view of the advertising industry by reading publications like AdWeek, Digiday, and AdAge. It allows them to receive inspiration and avoid creative isolation. COLLABORATIVE SKILLS In-house marketers don t exist in a silo; the best consistently sync with outside team members to ensure branding unification and alignment of business goals. Nanigans Advertising Automation 5

6 The best digital marketers are not only excited to uncover insights through data, but they re also eager to share their analysis with other teams and are receptive to cross-functional collaboration. Here is one example of how in-house advertising teams can (and should) work cross-functionally. IN-HOUSE DIGITAL ADVERTISING TEAM SALES PRODUCT / DEV ANALYTICS BRAND / CREATIVE Sync on new product launches, share successful selling tactics, and gather customer insights to support revenue growth Identify technology solutions to reduce friction in the marketing funnel, and work together on strategic technical marketing integrations Crunch the numbers and extract important performance insights by sharing data resources Ensure advertising efforts align with brand marketing, and collaborate on new creative strategies to improve performance Nanigans Advertising Automation 6

7 CHAPTER 2 What to Look For and Where to Look CORE DUTIES OF AN IN-HOUSE DIGITAL MARKETER 1 Seek and test new advertising opportunities 4 Measure key performance indicators 2 Analyze performance metrics 5 Pace against monthly goals 3 Iterate on top performing creatives Regardless of whether you re looking for a jack of all trades or a specialist, it s important to cast a wide net. Here are some traditional and outside-the-box recommendations for where to source in-house digital marketers. Traditional Track Paid search Display advertising Media planning/buying marketing Mobile-focused agency Affiliate marketing Outside-The-Box Investment banking Computer science Partnership management (customer relations) Management consulting Graphic design Statistics Nanigans Advertising Automation 7

8 At Nanigans, we ve found that natural interest in the paid advertising industry or a passion for understanding customer behavior can sometimes be more important than an educational background in data or statistics. Keep an open mind when you review applicants. Some of the best candidates and people I ve worked with have a background in writing, or in English, or in history. You might go, How is that possibly related? But what I ve learned is, the history and English majors tend to see the whole picture. Because when it comes down to it, analytics is really just telling a story with numbers instead of words. You can look at numbers all day and you really do but unless you can tell a story about what s happening, it s just numbers. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING MANAGER Leading Ecommerce Company Nanigans Advertising Automation 8

9 CHAPTER 3 Tools For Vetting In-House Digital Marketing Candidates It s common knowledge that hiring is critical to the success of a company. In the case of in-house advertising, it s arguably even more critical than your average hire. This person is not only managing a substantial portion of your marketing budget, they are also acting as the voice of your company as they engage and re-engage your next best customer. From customer retention to driving new user revenue, the ideal candidate is well-versed in ways to align advertising strategies with your business goals. From cover letter keywords to a post-interview take-home assignment, here are some tried and true methods for surfacing this aptitude and ways to evaluate candidates with non-traditional backgrounds as well. Keep in mind that you may need to adjust the criteria to ensure that it applies to your business goals and strategies. WORDS AND PHRASES TO LOOK FOR IN A RESUME OR COVER LETTER Whether you re reviewing cover letters yourself or working with a recruiting department, a short list of keywords can help speed this part of the candidate evaluation process along. A/B testing Lead generation NON-TRADITIONAL: Ad exchange New user revenue Business development Ad servers AdWords Demand-side platforms Direct response Display Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn Landing page, website optimization Paid online advertising, social media, search Performance Programmatic Retargeting User acquisition Web analytics Digital Economics Finance Marketing Project management Strategy Technology Nanigans Advertising Automation 9

10 PHONE SCREEN CHECKLIST Phone screens are a crucial part in the interview process, as they determine whether your team will invest time in getting to know a candidate in person. If you find yourself checking off four or more boxes, you know you have a strong applicant. CAMPAIGN MANAGER PHONE SCREEN CHECKLIST Experience managing projects or campaigns (bonus if they are on paid digital channels) Ability to adhere to a budget or other limitations Previous success measuring and meeting business goals Creative and analytical ability to maximize resources Ability to be successful at the company FIRST INTERVIEW EXERCISE After the candidate has successfully passed the phone screen, here s a way to find out how they think about data, in terms of performance, testing, and the iterative process. Ask the candidate to bring a set of data with them to the interview something they ve worked on before. During the interview, ask them to walk you through the following: What was the project? What was your hypothesis? What were the results and how did performance compare to your hypothesis? If the test did not return the expected results, how did you adjust? If the test was successful, how did you scale the campaign? Nanigans Advertising Automation 10

11 FIRST INTERVIEW EVALUATION After the interview is over, it s important that you capture your thoughts and impressions of how well your in-house digital candidate aligns with the key outcomes and ownership areas of the role. Below are some sample criteria to help your team assess and agree on a candidate s suitability and potential for success. When interviewing candidates, scoring each candidate on these attributes helps remove bias from the process and move from qualitative to more quantifiably measured candidate evaluations. Interpersonal skills Cultural fit Business acumen Growth potential Project management ability Strengths Technical, analytical acumen Weaknesses SECOND INTERVIEW TAKE-HOME EXERCISE Further appraise a candidate s analytical capabilities and strategic reasoning with this take-home assignment, which they can present in person or virtually in the format of their choice. Campaign Management Take-Home Assignment Prepare a direct response ad campaign launch plan for a hypothetical company of your choice. Consider the following factors: The goal of the campaign is to acquire new users via Facebook ads. You have $50K to spend over the course of one month. The client has a Facebook page, but has not yet leveraged paid media. How would you propose to structure the campaign? Which ad types would you leverage? How would you approach creative? How would you define your audience using the different targeting options available on Facebook? What would you track? How would you allocate budget? What are some of the optimizations you would make throughout the course of the campaign? What other factors would you consider? Please be prepared to discuss the reasoning behind your approach. Nanigans Advertising Automation 11

12 CHAPTER 4 What Keeps In-House Digital Marketers Happy The field of performance advertising is competitive, and top in-house talent is in demand. How can you keep your star digital marketers fulfilled in their positions? Regardless of whether your new hire is looking to become a director of user acquisition or a product manager down the line, they are more likely to feel valued if they have a stake in the marketing strategy or a hand in shaping the company s vision. Here are some other factors to consider that can go far in boosting retention of top-notch in-house digital marketing talent: The chance to scale and invest in their team Easy access to the necessary tools for success Fluidity of skills within teams Working with other really smart people A large company with a startup feel The wiggle room to read, analyze, and learn The liberty to run with an idea or execute a campaign on the fly Collaborating directly with product and creative teams; having them in close proximity allows quick and easy execution Lack of red tape when it comes to being provided product or creative resources. Every company has creative guidelines, but digital marketers want to push out crazy, eye-catching ads that also speak to customers Being part of an innovative company in an even more innovative industry Selling a great product that they can be proud to a part of I heard a saying during a talk by an ex- Googler: Data is waiting for its Scorsese. It was so well put. We re amassing mounds of information and we need creative people and clean user interfaces to make sense of it. No matter what industry you re in, this is the coolest thing going on right now. If you re motivated by cutting edge stuff, this is definitely the place to be. DIGITAL MARKETING ANALYST Leading Ecommerce Company Nanigans Advertising Automation 12

13 WHAT TOP IN-HOUSE DIGITAL TALENT WANTS FROM MANAGEMENT 1 CONFIDENCE AND SUPPORT Faith from leadership in the effectiveness and potential of investing in digital marketing channels, from social media and display advertising to retargeting. 2 LEARNING AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES Regular opportunities to learn about what s impacting the entire marketing funnel, adding weapons to their marketing arsenal and improving their professional resumes along the way. 3 HIGH VALUE ON CREATIVITY A clear indication that creative ideas and innovative new approaches are a core value driving the business forward. 4 HANDS-OFF ATTITUDE Freedom to approach meeting (and exceeding) company goals through whichever new strategy is most effective without being held back by excessive processes or red tape. What attracted me to this position is that it s at a larger company than where I came from, but at the same time it still has that startup feel. Freedom is extremely important I m not just siloed into one thing; I m able to meet with many different teams and spread my ideas. To keep learning and to stay creative: I think that s really important. MEGHAN KELLY Customer Acquisition Nanigans Advertising Automation 13

14 CHAPTER 5 The Key to In-House Advertising Success As we ve covered in previous sections of this ebook, in-house digital marketers are extremely valuable assets to any company. They are a rare mix of datadriven and creative, curious and methodical, and their instincts can mean the difference between a poorperforming campaign and sky-high ROI. The right advertising automation software arms these skilled marketers with the tools they need to meet and exceed your company s user acquisition and retention goals. With the ability to create global direct response campaigns in minutes, your staff is free to scale and optimize performance based on real-time reporting and predictive lifetime value insights. When in-house digital marketers are equipped with the best software software, they are empowered to use their firsthand brand knowledge and industry expertise to make quick decisions and seize opportunities on the fly a competitive advantage that is crucial in an increasingly digital world. It s like that old adage, if you want the job done right, do it yourself. That s so important. You know the process. If something happens, you re going to know first, and the last thing you want to do is write an or have a conference call with your advertiser. When everything s in-house you can do it yourself and react quickly. DAE SON Digital Media Nanigans Advertising Automation 14

15 The industry moves so quickly that you need a dedicated team doing this all day long. It s impossible to keep up with new developments and opportunities for growth otherwise. For marketing executives who are concerned about product changes and market volatility, partnering with a seasoned company like Nanigans makes good business sense. You re not just paying for business intelligence reporting, workflow automation, and predictive optimization; you have a pool of knowledge to tap, across our product, analytics, account management, and product specialist teams. Ready to equip your in-house advertising team with the best software for the job? Get in Touch with Nanigans Today Nanigans Advertising Automation 15

16 Nanigans advertising automation software powers the world s leading in-house performance marketing teams. Offered through a subscription model, Nanigans software features programmatic media buying, predictive revenue optimization, and real-time business intelligence across today s most valuable social and mobile channels. Contact Us nanigans.com 60 State Street 12th Floor Boston, MA marketing@nanigans.com , Nanigans. All Rights Reserved.