A day in the life of the embedded marketer

Being an ‘on demand’ marketer during this pandemic has been challenging – particularly now that we’re being told to work from home again – but retaining a sense of balance when it comes to client work is key.

Much is made of the new normal. The gig economy and the more agile nature of teams working together.

Integrated. Aligned. All pitch wordporn used by agencies and marketing services companies to create a halo of simpatico and mutual love.

But some of us live and breathe it. When I set up my shop back in 2019, it was on the back of a couple of years of real ‘shift change’ conversations. The thirst for ‘in’ and ‘mid housing’, and penchants for great connectivity between media planning and actual client activation.

As my consultancy means going in and being that ‘marketing director on demand’ it is an interesting immersion, even more so now in-person engagements are back on the menu.

Being an ‘on demand’ marketer can be just what it says on the tin. Demanding. You are not in the team, but an expectation that you are the team. Deadlines like busses, coming at once for various clients and with all different planning cycles. Having had majority of business tenure in lockdown, these have become notification-driven relationships, with Teams, Zooms and emails and comments below in red dictating the interaction.

Queue November 2021 – and with 2 and ½ years of this seeming limbo world under my belt, predominantly lockdown-blighted, What can I share?

The pandemic has been a weird one, and has been a big shaper of client output. Weekly Zoom meets on a Monday afternoon with the junior marketing manager, with a bi-weekly check-in with the CEO on Wednesdays.

Start the day strong

A massive pro of being in ‘the office’ is overhearing your clients’ engagements with their clients and colleagues. It gives you an anecdotal feel of what they are selling, the product story internally, and of course the culture.

Then come the obligatory catch-up slots. Previous weekly Google meets or Teams meetings are now in person, hanging by their desk or on the sofa in their breakout area. However some things are easier over video call. Perhaps a little more robotic (in a good way), and objective focussed, in person can capitulate to the moment of relationship building and interpersonal joy and joviality rather than the cold hard stuff of video links. This is an important distinction.

Breaks and lunches – the little things

Moments of pure happenstance of being there to add value to conversations that they would not necessarily have the desire or recall to surface on a sanitized video call. Albeit hovelling down a pasty or burrito you picked up from their recommended local eatery.

Building in-person relationships, a seemingly antiquated art of business engagement, is here to stay, and no digital transformation will surpass this. With more relaxation and a pint in hand comes free flowing conversation, and a chance to amplify your position, albeit further provocation or agreement (the former can be odd in person when you have been used to being the 2D advisor for almost two years)

Afternoon and next steps

You come away, feeling exhausted (probably due to our overall lack of social fitness), and a sense that there is a lot you need to achieve, and much more pointed feedback or action points to work on.

Things that came across and little asides/anecdotes that you can synthesise into your actions and next steps. When recapping with client once you’re no longer on site – it feels like you’ve got in at another level.

With more comprehensive insight, however, does have its unintended consequences. For example, you get pulled into more granular things you wouldn’t have usually done/wanted to/be scoped to do.

Maintaining balance and reminding yourself of the limits of client scope is key. With potential further lockdowns, they also present a chance to reset these relationships.

So what?

It is important to realize the big benefit of conversations in person, both the human touch and the micro points and anecdotes that get lost in WiFi translation.

But also – some considerations and watch outs for those heading back to client sites: doing more of my kind of work:

• Get in front of your clients ASAP (Omicron strain permitting). They are dying to meet you and vice versa for sure. Get on that whiteboard, buy that pint and scribble that diagram in front of them. Introduce yourself to teammates who would otherwise be enigmas, and really get under the clients’ business skin.
• It is easy to get waylaid – try not to confuse extra granular insight with necessary additional works. Your thirst for in person relationship building and curiosity can get the better of you; be mindful of the overall objective.
• If put in the spot, there is seldom a share screen to refer to or a pause to rely on, be sharp and ready to respond – prior online research and insight gathering helps.
• Set boundaries. It is ok if you’re doing other work for other clients if that is the nature of your business. Even in person, be sure to set parameters and agreed times of conversation to ensure the tail doesn’t wag the scheduled dog. You’ll struggle to fortify against people popping to your desk, but be sure to bucket each enquiry to a key area to remain focus. The key goal, after all, is likely client growth, so ensure they know your role.

In closing, it is important to identify things that may not change i.e. more of the same (especially if further lockdowns/restrictions are afoot) but we can equip ourselves better in these instances.

Simon Akers is a marketing consultant, media strategist, and founder of Archmon, a performance and growth marketing consultancy