THE GRADUATE S GUIDE TO CARAT: REDEFINE YOUR MEDIA CAREER.

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1 THE GRADUATE S GUIDE TO CARAT: REDEFINE YOUR MEDIA CAREER.

2 REDEFINE YOUR MEDIA CAREER Starting a career in media has never been so exciting. Join Carat and you'll discover an industry where new digital technology is rewriting all the rules: Each year, more old marketing models become obsolete. Every month, people find new ways to experience and interact through media. Day by day, brands find it harder and harder to connect with consumers. To the world's leading marketers, media has never seemed so complex. But where some see challenges, we see opportunity. In this new era of media, Carat is changing the game. We are redefining the value of media to build our client's businesses. We create communications ideas and make them happen across every possible channel - from social media to TV to on the ground brand experiences. And, as Media Agency Of The Year (2012 Media Awards), we've been having great success from doing so. We're growing and need talented, flexible and openminded graduates to be our next generation of leaders. We want bright sparks who can quickly understand everything going on in media and marketing communications, then help our clients exploit these developments. We're looking for people who thrive on creating fresh and effective approaches in a dynamic working environment. Are you interested in media and advertising? Do you expect to get at least a 2:1? Are you motivated and enjoy working within a team? If so, then Carat might just be the place for you... PAGE 01

3 Welcome to Carat, Ireland s leading independent media agency. Based in central London, we think we re a special place to work, with a fun, fast-paced environment. We asked our recent grads how we should write this guide. After all, who could be better qualified to comment? They suggested that we give you a real view of Carat from people just like you. So we kept the corporate blurb to a minimum and devoted most of this book to the real, uncensored words of our graduates. So you can see what Carat s like inside. OUR GRADUATE S GUIDE Who are we looking for? Well, it doesn t matter if you have media experience or not. We re looking for the next superstars of our business. Bright and enthusiastic grads who can change the future of media communications. If you re ambitious and talented, we will develop and reward you every step of the way. PAGE 02

4 REDEFINE THE VALUE OF MEDIA Once upon a time, media was a small kingdom. What few communications channels there were TV, radio, cinema, press, outdoor were wellknown and easy to navigate one approach the mass-marketing model worked for all. We're now in a new era of media. From iphone apps to Facebook, there are now many more channels and many more marketing models. Bought media is just one part of the puzzle. Owned media (an advertiser's own websites, sponsorships and publications) and earned media (the conversations people have about a brand on social networks for example) are just as important. Planning a campaign starts with an idea instead of an ad. These ideas can be of incredible value to clients. Devising them and making them happen is what we do here at Carat. We create and execute media plans that harness bought, owned and earned media and make them all work in perfect harmony. We specialise in understanding and exploiting every media opportunity there is. Carat is redefining the value of media to build our clients' businesses. Since we were founded in 1985, Carat has grown to become the world s largest independent media specialist and the market leader in digital advertising. Owned by the global marketing giant Aegis plc, the Carat network is more than 4,800 people in 63 countries worldwide with 60 of us here in Dublin. We see you as the future of Carat. We aim to offer more graduate places than anyone else in media or advertising. Join Carat and you ll be joining an award-winning agency that creates and delivers round-breaking media solutions for big brands. PAGE 03

5 THE VALUE OF INTEGRATION Carat is an integrated media planning & buying agency. We have the widest range of specialist media services and are the best at linking them all together. We get to see the big picture, acting as the hub of our clients marketing activity and leading collaboration with other agencies creative, PR, direct marketing, sales promotion, web-build and so on. We do the basics of bought media better than anyone else: planning and negotiating advertising opportunities on TV, cinema, radio, newspapers and magazines. But that s just the beginning. We lead the world in digital media. In Ireland, we do more paid-for search marketing and search engine optimisation than most other media agencies. We specialise in everything from social media to mobile advertising. Having outstanding specialism such as these is nothing without the ability to bring them all together into a powerful communications plan. That is what Carat does best. We are uniquely structured into six business groups which plan campaigns across all media. Instead of the media silos of many other agencies, this integrated structure enables us to execute truly groundbreaking campaigns. As a graduate within one of our business groups or specialist implementation teams, you will be exposed to an incredible breadth of knowledge and expertise. The training on offer and opportunities to learn and develop within our talent framework are second to none. We are also long-standing market-leaders in media research. We have our own award-winning quantitative and qualitative techniques, which enable us to understand consumers and their changing media habits the best. PAGE 04

6 ACHIEVING REAL BUSINESS SUCCESS If you join us, you ll be joining an agency that is leading the media industry. We won more than 20m of new business last year, making us one of the top-performing Irish agencies. This year has also been a huge success continuing where we left off in 2011 with success in winning Littlewoods and St Vincent De Paul. Last year we won 8 digital and SEO briefs, so it is little wonder that Carat was ranked the world number one for digital and diversified services by the independent benchmarking group RECMA Carat also leads the industry in how we make money from new and non-traditional media opportunities such as digital, search and econometrics. More than 30% of our income now comes from this area more than any other agency. PAGE 05

7 Within each of our business groups, planners devise powerful media plans through a broad understanding of all media. They draw on the expertise of our specialisms in performance, broadcast, digital activation, search, sponsorship, print, social and mobile. These specialisms are centres of excellence for the implementation of a particular medium. ROLES AND SPECIALISMS During selection, you ll choose to be a planner or a specialist in one of the above areas. Once you have established your career, you can change discipline and broaden your experience. Whatever you choose, you ll be getting involved with clients. Planners live our clients brands listening to their needs, taking briefs, creating media strategies and coordinating with our specialists, our group companies, as well as external agencies such as creative agencies and PR agencies. Our specialist search team is the biggest of any integrated agency, conducting natural and paid-for search engine marketing and optimisation strategies for major clients. Our print and broadcast specialists implement clients media plans by negotiating advertising space in TV, national and regional press, magazines, radio and cinema. They receive wide training across media markets and work closely with trading counterparts at media sales houses to deliver innovative, best-value media solutions. Sponsorship specialists provide association marketing solutions across a variety of media, experiential and event platforms. With several blue chip clients actively engaged in sponsorship programmes, they offer bestin-class service. Our performance specialists experts are dedicated to clients who use advertising to drive a direct response such as calling a phone line or visiting a website, working for advertisers, such as Littlewoods, who are changing their business models all the time. Our digital activation specialists implement cuttingedge solutions across a broad range of digital activity including everything from playlists to flash annotation of video- on-demand. Our search and mobile specialist teams are growing fast and manage exciting campaigns for clients such as adidas, Guinness, Lucozade, GM and Smirnoff. Finally, we provide market-leading research and evaluation services to clients. Our specialists perform multi-media marketing evaluation; quantitative and qualitative consumer insight; research consultancy and media insight, all to show clients how their communications are working (or not!). PAGE 06

8 MY CARAT PAGE 07

9 B.Sc (Economics & Finance), UCD Pg.Dip (Advertising & Digital Comms.), DIT. THE GRADUATES GUIDE TO CARAT: REDEFINE YOUR MEDIA CAREER DANIEL MURPHY GRADUATE, PLANNING When I first left college I spent two years working as a Fund Accountant, however, I had always had an eye on a career in advertising and decided to make the move last year while completing my post-grad. What I like about my role in the planning department is that I get to work on media plans across such varying accounts, all with their own budgets and objectives. In this role you get to learn a lot about strategy and I don t think there is any more you could ask for when starting out in advertising. The office is a busy place but there is also a strong social side to things. It s certainly a fun place to work as long as you re prepared to put the work in too. My time so far here in Carat has been very rewarding and I d recommend it to anyone considering their next move after college. PAGE 08

10 I landed in Carat with a thud as an intern, after briefly trying (and failing!) to make it as an TEFL teacher. I never could have imagined how a three month internship could have turned into working on some of Ireland s biggest brands, helping to coordinate the internal and external marketing comms. of the agency, dreaming up engaging Facebook posts, dabbling in HR with our staff ezine and that s just Mondays! Ba-dum-tsssh. VICKY BA (Hons.) English, Media and Cultural Studies SHEKLETON GRADUATE, MARKET RESEARCH In all seriousness, I read recently that graduates now have to be comfortable with the fact that working in media can and will take you anywhere and the journey is far from linear. It s about giving everything a shot, and opening yourself up to possibilities beyond your job title. For those willing to do so, Carat is a fantastic company which identifies peoples strengths and develops them accordingly. I couldn t imagine working anywhere else. PAGE 09

11 After studying a Masters in Marketing, I knew it was the area where I wanted to pursue my career, the hard part was deciding where and how to go about doing that. Having had some experience working client side, agency experience is something that really appealed to me. I heard a lot of positive things about Carat so I decided to apply for a role and was lucky enough to be appointed as a planner. CLAIRE ALLEN GRADUATE, PLANNING B.Sc (Commerce with Italian), UCC M.Sc. (Marketing), Smurfit. Working as an Account Executive in Carat has given me the opportunity to work across a number of different accounts, giving me an insight into a wide range of categories and industries. I have gained a strong understanding of a variety of media platforms in the relatively short time I have spent in the company. This has allowed me to take ownership of a number of different projects which I have worked on. Carat is a young and lively place to work and I have met some really great people since starting here. PAGE 10

12 CHRIS Bachelor of Business Studies, M.B.S Masters of Marketing, DCU. CASHEN GRADUATE, PLANNING I still remember the day I knew I wanted to work in Carat. Ciaran Cunningham (CEO) gave a talk as part of a marketing series that a few of our class would go to on Monday evenings. Such was the impression that was left, I went straight up afterwards to ask was there any jobs to apply for. I didn t think that wearing cotton bottoms and a beanie hat left me with any chance, but thankfully the guys saw past that and I started in Carat shortly after. Everyone who starts their first job wants a challenge, and every single day in Carat presents that. The best thing is no two days are the same. I ve had the fortune to work on everything that you could hope for as a graduate; the biggest brands, great people and work you can see real results for. You could be working on an econometric project one day and the next brainstorming a strategy for a client. I learned quickly that working in media will bring you into areas you could never imagine when you start out! Being part of the team in Carat means that you won t be allowed to stand still (though you won t want to!). They will give you every opportunity to develop, be it training or on-hands experience. I feel part of the big family here and we all work hard, play hard. There is nothing like working in media, that much I know! PAGE 11

13 LABOURÈ O REILLY GRADUATE, PLANNING B.Sc (Hons.) Business and Management, DIT M.Sc. Advertising, DIT My first step after a year of travelling and working as a Marketing Assistant / Retail Manager was to apply for a position in Carat. Having studied Media Planning during my M.Sc. in Advertising, I had some knowledge of what type of role to expect. What surprised me however, was the sheer level of responsibility I was given from day one. In the most positive way, my first six months was an absolute rollercoaster ride; working across a number of accounts, attending client and supplier meetings, and learning new skills every day. A year and a half in to my role, I am managing National and Regional campaigns for large brands, running weekly client meetings, and participating in New Business pitches. The role allows me to gain expose to every element of the Communications process, from being briefed by clients, to understanding consumer insights, to creating media schedules, and to eventually hearing and seeing the ads I planned across various media. Being a Media Planner in Carat is genuinely a very rewarding and exciting role. PAGE 12

14 CARAT IRELAND 16A The Crescent Monkstown County Dublin T: