Account Executive

This week blog I decided to write about my summer internship.

This past summer, I flew back home to visit my family in Thailand and got a chance to intern at an image marketing company where I worked as an Account Executive. Account Executive (AE). The AE position is a dream career position for many Thai people. However, I'd like to end some misconceptions concerning what being an AE is really all about.

First, as an AE, you have to distinguish whether you work for an agency or for an organization (corporate). The company where I interned was an organization.

An agency can be divided into different areas of expertise such as Advertising, Public Relations (PR), Event and Media.  The areas of focus of the different types of agencies are varied. The difference between working in oranizations and agencies is that the agency has a variety of clients, in which case it helps to learn and better understand the overall industry.

For the corporate, the structure of the organization can be divided into 5 areas: Account Management, sometimes called Client Services, Media Planning & Relations, News Monitoring, Finance, and Human Resource.

AE falls into the account management area. The main duty of account management is to oversee customer communications by taking the customer’s problems and planning high-level resolution strategies. Some agencies might have a strategic planning division that directly does strategic planning. Because this position serves to contact the customer directly and needs to advise clients continuously, it is necessary for those who are in this position to develop good client relations with an attitude toward service, patience, and problem solving.

After the plan is created, it is indispensable to send a message to the audience through the media. Access to the media is another important element. The media relations division is primarily responsible for establishing contacts and relations with the media.

A good PR person reports news related to corporate customers such as competitors and industry news as well as other related news that might affect the client’s business.  A good resource for the PR person is the clipping department which has the primary responsibility for monitoring news which is then reported by AE to the customers.

This is a summary of what I learned by working as an intern Account Executive throughout my summer in Thailand.  It was a valuable experience and added to my portfolio of resources.

iTunes U

iTunes U is a section of iTunes for educational institutions to host podcasts. It allows students to download lectures 24/7. The audience does not necessarily have to be students. It could be anyone around the world. Everything on iTunes can be downloaded free of charge. You can download it to your iPod and listen to lectures on the go.

Even though I have limited personal experience with iTunes U, I find it to be very interesting with a good deal of potential. Not only can you download content you’re your specific institution, you can also download information and data from other institutions as well.  DePaul University is represented on iTunes U as well as many other Chicago based institutions. You can not only download or listen to lectures from iTunes U, you can also make use of links to educational sites and such tools as Blackboard, etc.

According to one of apple's news, iTunes, itself, has had 300 million downloads. iTunes U is a new learning format that is starting to gain in popularity among students. I think iTunes U could be a powerful learning tool due to the fact that most students are now looking to take at least one online class.  With the advances in today’s technology, online classes are a great convenience.

As far as iTunes U is concerned, I am certain that more universities will realize its potential.  These universities will upload more content on iTunes U providing more course selections because as we all know—everyone has access to iTunes U.

Facebook 50

With the development of technology and the increase in online users, social media marketing is the new trend. Many businesses are looking at social media sites as marketing tools for brand advertising. It is an inexpensive way to promote their business. And once their ads are online, they will spread like a wildfire of information with an almost unlimited potential for customers.

With more than 350 million users, Facebook is the most talked about social media site. I’m sure we all have an account on Facebook, or know someone who does.  Not only do some of us have a Facebook site but maybe we are somewhat addicted to the use of the site. How difficult is it, while we’re online, to constantly be checking for comments and to see what someone might have written on our wall?

When it started in 2004, Facebook was simply a place to connect with friends. Now it is serving many businesses and professionals as a marketing channel. There are many advantages to using Facebook. You can announce upcoming sales and promotions. You can receive comments and feedback from your brand’s ‘fans’ or buyers. For example, Pizza Hut has created an order application that allows you to place your order online from Facebook.

There is an interesting site The Big Money.com  that ranks the top 50 companies that are making the best use of Facebook. The top 3 on the list are Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and Disney. The ranking is based on various metrics such as the number of Facebook fans and the frequency with which the companies update their sites and the ability the companies exhibit in engaging their fans.

Facebook is doing so well and has become such a part of the fabric of life that the movie “The Social Network,” which will be coming out shortly, is all about the founding of Facebook.