MediaVest

Willy Franzen — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:00:11 +0000

Who builds brands? If you asked 10 people in marketing that question, you’d probably get 10 different answers. If you asked someone from MediaVest, he or she would say, “We do!” MediaVest is a marketing and communications firm that works with some of the world’s biggest brands – Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart, Continental Airlines, and many more. MediaVest certainly can’t take all of the credit for building those brands, but they can take some of it. MediaVest has seven core competencies, and they are Research, Insights, and Analytics; Strategic Communications Planning; Investment and Activation; Brand-in Entertainment; Digital Connections, Print Investment; and Out of Home. These areas of expertise are all part of MediaVest’s unique process that delivers value to clients.

Vest Yourself in MediaVest

Ok, that all sounds good, but what does it really mean? What does MediaVest really do? They work with the big dogs. Everyone is trying to build a brand, but the game changes when you reach a certain size. I spend every day trying to brand myself and One Day, One Job. I never have a shortage of things to do or areas to invest in because my general brand awareness is pretty low. I have a lot to gain. Companies like Coca-Cola and Procter and Gamble don’t have a lot to gain. They are already at the top of the branding world, but not only do they want to do better, but they must continue to work hard to maintain their brand positions. MediaVest helps the big dogs manage how they appear in different forms of media.

We got a tip from a MediaVest employee that they’re still doing a lot of entry level hiring despite the economic fears, and MediaVest’s Jobs page backs that up. If you’re looking to start a career in media or marketing, MediaVest is a great place to look. It appears that most of their entry level hires are for the
Junior Associate position. There are six types of Junior Associate jobs that they are currently hiring for – Connections, Digital, Activation – National Broadcast, Activation – Local Broadcast, Activation – Print Investment, and Connections Research. There are descriptions for each on the link above, and all of the jobs are located in New York City. Beyond the Junior Associate positions, there are also a few other jobs that aren’t explicitly identified as entry level but that are probably good fits for new college grads. These include Administrative Assistant, Media Planner, Broadcast Negotiator, and Coordinator, Media Research and Analytics. These jobs are also located New York City, and you can apply for any of MediaVest’s open jobs through their online application form.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s the word on MediaVest? Let us know in the comments.

MindShare

Willy Franzen — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:56:34 +0000

When we’re researching companies and looking for great entry-level jobs, we love to look over client lists. You may never have heard of a company, but if brands that you respect are hiring the company, then you know they must be worth considering. For instance, if you saw that a company’s clients included Nike, American Express (we respect them even if their Careers site is horrendous), Volvo, Rolex, Ford, and Playstation, you’d probably be pretty interested in learning about the company’s employment opportunities, right? Well that’s just a small sampling of the companies that entrust their brand and media presence to MindShare.

Understanding Brands, Markets, Media… and Other People

Despite our being hugely impressed with MindShares website and client list, we’re still a little lost on what exactly they do. Maybe that’s because they do a lot as “the global media network.” They say that their “specialist services have been created to respond to market changes and, in some cases, to change the market.” Those offerings include “econometric modelling, research and insights, digital solutions, sports and entertainment sponsorship consultancy, and brand-driven creative campaigns.” These apparently go along with MindShare’s core services, but we can’t seem to figure out what those are. Our best guess at a short description is that MindShare is a marketing consultancy; however, they do a lot of things and have over 6,000 employees so that’s probably a bit narrow (look at all the tags we used for them).

The good news is that MindShare realized that they have a problem. In April they announced a restructuring that will draw together their services offerings “in a simplified framework to deliver a new, comprehensive marketing services offering.” Many companies ignore identity issues because they can coast on reputation. Their customers know who they are, and people in the industry know who they are. It doesn’t present much of a problem, unless you’re trying to hire entry-level talent. A new grad who hits MindShare’s website might be intimidated and inundated with all the information. The content on the site is fantastic, but it’s also a bit overwhelming. We’re glad to see that MindShare is working to present a clearer, more unified message about who they are. What it comes down to is that MindShare is a company that is all about understanding brands, markets, media, and other people, which is really cool, but those of us who aren’t familiar with MindShare need to be able to understand them too.

Share Your Mind

MindShare truly is a global media network, which means that they offer entry-level jobs all across the world. We’re only going to focus specifically on their opportunities in North America, but new college grads who want to see the world should look at MindShare’s career offerings in Europe / Middle East / Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

MindShare does a great job of listing what experience is needed for jobs, and whether or not a position is well suited to a new college grad. Positions that are listed as entry-level include Assistant Media Planner, Assistant, National TV, Assistant Media Planner – MindShare Interaction, and Financial Associate. There is also an Emerging Media Specialist job that doesn’t say it’s entry-level, but doesn’t say it requires experience either. We’d imagine that a new grad who is a social media guru would be perfect for the job. All of these positions are available in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City except the Financial Associate position which is NYC only. To apply send a cover letter and resume to hr.chicago@mindshareworld.com for Chicago, la.careers@mindshareworld.com for Los Angeles, and mindshare.recruitment@mindshareworld.com for New York and all other locations. MindShare looks like a really cool company to work for, so they’re definitely worth a little more research.