Is she really an American marketing manager like Emily in Paris?
Oz Marketing meets Ermista, who was born and lived in Korça during her early childhood but grew up in the USA, where she developed her interesting career in the field of Marketing.
Ermista has 12 years of professional experience in the field of business, focused on the packaged food industry as well as a great success in brand development and product innovation. She tells us about the challenges, innovations, and experiences created in the United States.
How did you start your career? What was crucial at the beginning of your career?
With an education in chemistry, at the beginning of my career, I was very far from marketing. My passion for marketing started while I was working on product development as a food chemist. I began to develop the need to understand the passion of consumers for different brands, especially for packaged foods. This was the moment where I decided I wanted to continue my education with a master’s in Marketing and Strategy. Thus began my transition to brand marketing, a path that has been filled with innovative and attractive products, with local and national celebrities, as well as with the engagement of social media and the press.
What do you consider to be the greatest achievements in all your professional commitments?
I have been fortunate to work in the Super Bowl campaigns for PepsiCo, which is the customer with the highest number of retail sales. The Super Bowl is considered the biggest stage of the year in the United States and Pepsi sponsors performances by artists like Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, and others among them. Being part of the planning and execution of Super Bowl programs is one of the most fruitful experiences of my career, which has taught me a lot. It definitely takes a lot of work in order to create marketing programs of this level, the results of which come on the day of the event, when you have the opportunity to see the appearance in the world's largest stores and brands presented and included in the most accomplished advertising of the year.
What are the biggest challenges you have faced in the field of marketing?
The biggest challenge has been the big shift in consumer behavior, especially last year. Marketing is no longer a linear process. Social networks have transformed the way we perceive traditional marketing. Information is available at all times, which pushes us involved in marketing, to be ahead of the customer anytime and anywhere. This change has made us even smarter. The days when all you had to do was produce an ad, buy a TV, and print an ad are over. To be successful in marketing, you need to think in a comprehensive way. This means that brands can be accessed from any device, electronically, by ordering and delivering the product, to the respective stores, and through social networks. We are wherever the customer is.
What should we keep in mind if we work on the marketing of a small or medium-sized company?
Digital marketing allows small and medium-sized businesses to reach an audience, which could not be accessed through traditional marketing. I think digital marketing is a fantastic tool for increasing brand awareness, consideration, and sales. A company no longer has to spend millions of dollars to invest in marketing. Digital marketing enables auction bids for advertising placements and distribution channels that serve to target the audience quickly and efficiently. A clear brand identity is also crucial for the development of a small and medium company where the creation of a logo and a mission are considered very important. Being attractive to the eyes of consumers is the key to their growth.
What is it like to work with one of the biggest marketing names in the USA and the world?
Working with big companies serves you a lot of opportunities, mainly because they have already created a "cult audience" and have big budgets. On the other hand, the experience of being an observer is very difficult. In one of my last campaigns, I worked with 8 different marketing agencies and 3 legal teams to be sure of the information that consumers had about the brand. In addition, we had to make sure we were conveying the right message, we were increasing customer engagement, which resulted in the growth of the brand as a whole. The legal teams made sure that the influencers and channels used were appropriate and in line with the company's mission. Creating a program for a company of this level of growth and development requires 6-8 months of work and hundreds of dedicated people. Despite the fact that such companies have large budgets, the work done from behind is very difficult.
How do you balance your career and personal life?
I can not say that I managed to find the perfect balance. Being a mother in career of two three-year-old twins during a pandemic in which I worked from home was quite difficult. My goal is to be close to my children during the most crucial moments of the day. Lunch and bedtime have become my favorite moments that I spend with my family without interruptions. After the kids are asleep, I go back to working at the computer until the early hours of the morning. The balance between work and family life has become quite blurred over the last year, so I try to balance them by not using the phone over the weekend to make sure family time will not be interrupted.
Is life in the USA the same as what we see in American movies or series?
Like everything else, the marketing career has been romanticized by American series which show only the best side of the medal. Sometimes the reality is shooting an ad at 3 am, in the middle of nowhere because it is the only moment where talent can be intertwined with the ideal place. Repetition of marketing campaigns, deciding what is the best approach and editing presentations for stakeholders make up the bulk of our work. At certain points, we are collecting reports and analyses in terms of ROI, which accounts for 60% of the work as a whole. The series definitely does not show the real work that happens behind the scenes and the difficulties that arise along the way.
Do you see yourself as "Emily in Paris", a typical millennial, or is the reality different?
"Emily in Paris" is definitely a romanticized version of an influencer. Although I have worked with many well-known influencers, my reality is very different. On a daily basis, I run end-to-end marketing of a brand or product. Running a marketing plan goes beyond managing social media. Although I like to think that I am "cool", as Emily is portrayed in the series, my day is spent working with partners on information, innovation, design, various offers, creative agencies, electronic and digital advertising planning, and analyzing previous programs. But, I do not think there is any problem in dressing Chanel occasionally to feel the power of fascination and inspiration.
Special thanks to Business Magazine for the interview. Read the story in Albanian here.
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