” What is the one thing that sets you apart most from the competition?”
I pride myself on coming into each day with a positive, optimistic attitude about the day. A positive attitude reflects confidence in your work, which is reassuring to clients who often don’t fully get PR.
“The Ultimate test of a finished Account Executive is ability to write a sound marketing plan.”
Clients expect their agency counterparts to know their business. It isn’t about becoming the product manager. It isn’t about line extensions. It’s about bringing your communications expertise to the specific objectives of the business. It’s about bringing new thinking that works within the realities of your client’s brand and budget. This is where the role of an Account Executive comes in picture.
Building relationships with clients entails open and honest communication. A great account person maintains the trust of the client and a deeper understanding of what works and what doesn’t work for its business.
Our interview today is with such a Account Executive with specialization in PR – Meet Deepika Subbaih.
As an Account Executive at Maven Communications, Deepika works closely with senior management to implement strategic plans and public relations campaigns for the agency’s clients. With experience in marketing research, content creation, and business development, Deepika offers a diverse skills set to her position.
Through Drexel University’s cooperative education program (co-op) Deepika gained experience through internships with PJ’s and Coffee social media marketing firm, where she was responsible for maintaining client relationships and developing and implementing their digital strategy, and Glenmede Trust Company, where she spearheaded a business development distribution campaign.
Deepika completed her last co-op at Maven in the Spring/Summer of 2015 before starting full-time in January 2016. During her time as a co-op, Deepika gained experience with traditional and social media writing, which inspired her Drexel Communications Senior Project in which she successfully launched and ran a food blog.
Deepika received her Bachelor of Science in Communication from Drexel University with a focus in Corporate and Public Relations.
Sharing some of her Public Relations Strategies, it’s truly an honor to host Deepika Subbaih in our Agency expert interview series:
1. What do you enjoy the most about your role as an Account Executive?
I love that no two days are the same! Each day there are different scenarios, client needs and concerns that require attention. This provides for a fast-paced environment that always keeps me on my toes. It also provides for a great learning environment; I learn something new, or pick up on a different approach to situations each day.
2. What is the one thing that sets you apart most from the competition?
The Public Relations industry is filled with a plethora of smart and talented individuals, but it’s easy to get stressed out. I pride myself on coming into each day with a positive, optimistic attitude about the day. This not only provides for a more pleasant work environment, but transfers over to any client relationships that you keep. A positive attitude reflects confidence in your work, which is reassuring to clients who often don’t fully understand Public Relations.
3. What do you believe to be the most important task you do on a daily basis? Why?
An important task is being responsive and attentive to emails. Whether it’s a reporter, a client, or a colleague, I try to get back to emails within an hour. In this industry opportunities come up last minute and deadlines often need to be met for these opportunities as soon as possible. Staying on the grid ensures that we won’t miss a media opportunity or an important project from a client.
4. Which project would you say has been the most intricate or challenging that you have worked on?
Drafting byline articles has been one of the more challenging aspects of my position. When drafting a byline article, we speak with th e client to gather their thoughts on the particular subject and then transform those insights into a 1,000-word (on average) piece. These articles can often be time consuming and challenging if you’re not well versed on the subject. While it can be difficult to learn various industry jargon, I’ve learned a lot about our clients and their work by writing these pieces.
5. What is the most important piece of advice you would give to your clients?
The more advance notice we are given the better! We are often working against tight deadlines, so the earlier clients can share information with us, the earlier we can begin to strategically plan out the tactics.
6. What do you believe has been your greatest career accomplishment? Why?
While I’ve only been in the field for a year, a large accomplishment for me was transitioning from simply implementing strategy to participating in the creation of strategy. This skill has allowed me to better serve clients as well as assist my teammates at Maven Communications in a larger capacity.
7. What advice would you give to someone looking to get into this role?
Join a professional association, such as the Public Relations Society of America, and take advantage of their offerings. Many associations provide learning events, networking opportunities, job listings, and mentorship in some capacity.
Today we got to know a few Public Relationship Strategies to boost up your client relationships from the expert – Deepika Subbiah. Going forward there are many more specialists that we want to chat with. We will resume our discussion with another expert in our next post.
Until then, Happy Marketing!!
