Career Profile Part 6
| Name: Annette Zwierzchowski
Position/Title: Gatorade Account Executive for the East & Southeast Region
Company Name: The Promotion Network, Inc
Company's web address: Not yet available.
Company Description:
Small advertising agency with some 60 employees. Based in Dallas, the company boasts additional offices in Chicago and Manhattan. Clients include Gatorade, Oreo, ESPN, and Phillip Morris among others. The agency develops a superior product, and maintains a casual, family-oriented work environment.
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Job Description:
The Client Service division is comprised of around 30 account service representatives who act as liaisons between the client and the entire team of people involved in developing and executing a given promotional campaign. We all work very closely to develop point-of-sale (POS) materials which will reach our target market effectively by encouraging the purchase of the product. We also ensure that the promotion effort is in keeping with the overall brand-image strategy.
I develop and execute region-specific promotions in the East and Southeast for Gatorade by analysing and defining regional needs. I provide strategic background and direction to TPN's creative team, and I work with that group to develop "big ideas," translate them to paper, and to manage their presentation. I obtain any needed legal approvals to run promotions (ensure that sweepstakes comply with all state rules, for instance). I am the prime mover in executing the specific program, chiefly by ensuring timely production of all materials according to Gatorade standards. Upon completion, meanwhile, I evaluate the program's effectiveness and its success.
Overall, I ensure that all POS materials that we create properly represent the Gatorade image, and that they communicate the brand's message effectively. I also keep close tabs on timelines to make sure that promotions hit the stores on time.
I interact extensively with several different teams: creative, production, legal, and the client (in this case Quaker Oats). It is up to me to communicate objectives and strategies to everyone clearly, and to answer any questions they might have.
The "perfect candidate" for my position would be someone who could work well with several different personalities, juggle several assignments at a time, and who is extremely well-organized. In addition, the person would have to have a sincere interest in sports, and to understand what excites people when it comes to sports, action, and Gatorade.
Career Path:
After college, I worked for a temporary agency, primarily filling support-staff positions while diligently pursuing a position at Leo Burnett. After some nine months, I was finally hired by Burnett as an assistant buyer and planner on the McDonald's account. I was promoted to buyer and planner after ten months, and remained in that role for a year and a half. Then, Burnett sent me to Warsaw to work on the Proctor & Gamble business. After six months in Poland, I was dispatched to Scandinavia to help pursue new business opportunities for the company.
Returning to America, I worked as a media supervisor on the Phillip Morris account for just under a year before I decided it was time for a change. I wanted to work in a more "creative" environment, rather than the numbers-oriented, analytical one that was Leo Burnett. The account executive position at TPN provided just such a creative opportunity, as well as substantial client contact and travel. I accepted it without hesitation.
I have been at TPN for six months, and I love my job. I don't think that many people can honestly say that; however, I am one of the lucky ones. I intend to remain on the Gatorade account, developing promotions for my regions that will boost sales volume and simultaneously communicate the brand's young, active image to the target consumer.
Career Challenge:
I am now planning promotions for the 1998 season in my regions. We have already received objectives and strategies from the regions, and have begun to "brainstorm." The next step is to present ideas to the creative teams to see where they can take them. It will then fall to me to present all of the potential ideas to the client, receive feedback, and begin developing suitable materials. I must soon organize my thoughts on paper in as much detail as possible.
Educational Background:
B.A., Univ. of Illinois (Rhetoric & Advertising)
Favorite Course:
History. I am fascinated by the degree to which people have remained so much the same even as the world has markedly progressed.
Best Course for your Career:
Those that required me to work with teams to complete projects. If you can work well with others, you are sure to succeed.
