Without realizing it, there is another thing that we consume daily. Can you guess what it is? It is advertisements. They are messages intended to inform or influence people who receive them. So, advertising as a means of communication with the users of a product or service is around us without us noticing it. Once we think more of it, there are more media to get the messages through, may it be television, print media, radio, or internet. So who is behind all of the existing advertisements? It is advertising agencies. To have more insight of this industry, we want to introduce you to Rekha Hamdilla, Account Manager of LOWE Indonesia. You can call her Rekha.

Rekha and Prasetiya Mulya

As a young high school student, Rekha has envisioned herself studying business or marketing after she graduated. She has her father as her role model who has finished his master degree in business. Looking up to him, Rekha set her heart to study business in a higher institution. With the end in her mind, she began searching for business schools. Her acquaintance with Prasetiya Mulya was from her junior high school mate who was already enrolled in our school. She was told that it is a good school. She looked for more information and became convinced when she found out one of her cousins finished her master degree in Prasetiya Mulya. The school’s reputation of its graduate program was one of her considerations.

Without hesitation, Rekha enrolled herself in 2007. She didn’t face any challenges adapting to campus life. Despite her interest in business, she chose marketing as her concentration. Once she discovered what she learned in business management, marketing was more appealing for her.

Four years in campus must have given her plenty experiences. Rekha definitely has her perspective on her learning years. “What I like most about going to Prasetiya Mulya is on how hard it emphasizes on teamwork. Many projects were done in team. I believe it is a very useful skill. Working with different people with different character teaches us to see our competencies and others’ too. We will begin to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the team members including ourselves. We can also absorb our friends’ knowledge. I can say that teamwork skill is a necessity in the working world.”

Rekha was pretty active in campus. She took part in some of the events such as community development. Though she is petite, Rekha was playing for the school’s basketball team. From all the experiences, business plan is the most memorable one for her. “I decided to take business plan as my final assignment. In a team of five, I was leading the team with the title of CEO. The process was unforgettable. Our product was a fashion item, duffel bag for men and women. We also produced bags for cyclist since fixie bikes was a thing back then. The end to end process was time consuming and gave us valuable lessons. First of all, we learned to find partners starting from a product designer, material supplier, the tailor to the stores to market the products. Then we understand that if we have good product, it will be easy to sell. We distribute our products in stores that sell expensive goods but I didn’t expect the acceptance was high. Our product was also featured in magazine. The feeling that our creation is highly appreciated is indescribable.”

Majoring in Marketing surely plays a big role in Rekha’s career especially since she is working in an advertising agency. She explains that the way of thinking differs between her colleagues and clients who have marketing background with those who don’t. She perceives the subjects she learned in campus very important at work. “Our thinking logic helps. In this industry, I am expected to understand the client’s business model beside the company’s. With marketing background, we won’t mess up basic marketing concept. So the lessons in campus that we may think as simple can be very important at work.”

Paving Her Career in Advertising Agency

Rekha’s master plan in her life is working in marketing field and having her own business. Both of these plans are being executed. She started with her career in LOWE Indonesia. She told us that her resume was given to the company through Career Development Center and at the same time she got the career opportunity from her friend. Rekha received the call to take the ‘innerview’. She told us that the first recruitment step where she had to take the psychological test to see her compatibility with the company’s nature. Once she passed, she went to two interviews with two supervisors. The final stage was interview with HR and the negotiation part. Just like when she began her study in campus, Rekha didn’t face any adaptation problem.

Rekha explained that most employees work long hours in an advertising agency. It is tensed with tight schedules. On the other hand, team work is very solid and the work requires collaboration between divisions. Rekha has no trouble blending because she has been used to this type of environment. She begins to speak up her mind better and also presenting to internal or external clients.

She started her career as Account Executive which is under the Account Management department. The nature of her work is basically sales because the team is the gate to the company’s revenue. Not only they sell but they run the business, manage the day to day work, and scheduling the projects. The team is responsible to deliver the material of the projects. “Being a part of the account management team, I learn that we are responsible to deliver the project starting with preparing the timeline and team allocation to closing in finance. When I started as an Account Executive, I must be detail oriented. If I have to break it down, I was responsible making quotation and making sure to send the invoice. I prepared the presentation prior meeting the clients. The material must be checked and revised by respected persons. I took notes of clients’ feedback and conveyed them to the team. I also worked with media agency so it means I must understand about media placement. I was also responsible to understand  the steps for each projects and communicating it to other parties. Many to supervise being an Account Executive. We’re the first person the client looks for if they have information or concerns.”

Rekha fell sick one day but she stood back up stronger. She worked hard and smart. Every action will bring result. Rekha was well appraised: she never missed her projects and she has good communication skill. The company itself has its talent mapping. One day, she was promoted as Senior Account Executive (SAE) for Paddle Pop global brand. It is an achievement to be appointed a global brand. She became the global hub because she managed the brand globally. Her clients are based in London, Singapore, Turkey, Russia, etc. Rekha explained that the responsibilities are basically the same. The difference is the expectation. As an SAE, Rekha must contribute more with deeper knowledge. She was required to have more advance thinking and being strategic in terms of taking the next step.

In September 2017, Rekha is promoted as Account Manager based on her performance and her brand portfolios. Prior to this, she handled Paddle Pop global with one of LOWE’s big clients which is Sarihusada (SGM). She begins another learning journey because the brand that she manages has many variants and it is the market leader. Rekha also grows the project in digital media which she supervises. She admitted that people is expecting more out of her. Her responsibilities grow and she has now to be able to become a decision maker and mentor for the juniors.

Since graduation, Rekha continues giving her service to LOWE Indonesia. She likes working in that agency because she develops her strategic thinking. It is about balancing details and strategies though sometimes it feels like a burden to be detail oriented. “Working in an advertising agency means that we have to manage people and expectation. Teamwork is above all so we have to learn how to maintain relationship with internal and external team by understanding them. What we need to keep in mind is giving the best output. No matter how hard the project or client is, there is always the good side. For me, I learn to get along with many types of people and sharpen my empathy. Knowing a lot of people is also a way to absorb knowledge. It’s about winning the battle not by making people do what we want but by making them realize to work wholeheartedly.”

In addition, Rekha feels that her work is very dynamic. She told us that she faces and solves different problems every day. The opportunity to learn is big. She has been learning about FMCG but she has the chance to learn other industry. Rekha has also been loyal because she perceives the company having clear career path. “Career path is clear as long as we perform. We need to keep in mind that we will eventually be promoted if we contribute to the company. We can learn from the company but we have to contribute and perform to build our career.”

Rekha re-emphasized how big the knowledge she learned in campus for her career. The product that she sells is creative material. Advertising, brand management, and consumer behavior are impactful for her. She explained that her work at first start from strategic thinking and ideation. Then it will turn into storyline or storyboard (creative development) before its final form as advertisement that eventually seen and consumed by the people.

Rekha’s Point of View towards Advertising Industry

Rekha finds this industry interesting because it is highly related with creative industry which she perceives will never die and will always grow. It is proven with the growth of technology with social media and all. People working in this industry are expected to stay updated because different placement means different strategy. It is also interesting because this industry creates advertisement being consumed by the public with different reactions.

The business will run as long as they have clients. For big agencies, such as LOWE Indonesia, some clients are given from the global alignment. Yet it doesn’t mean that they don’t plan to develop the business. They look for new clients and projects through pitching process. Account management team is responsible to see how much the prospective clients will invest and how much they can gain while the company also gets the profit. An advertising agency also acted as consultant because different campaign answers to different problem. An agency can’t just agree on what the client asks them but they have to be able to give best advice. It is because they aim to build long term relationship, and in the end grow the business.

The competition in advertising industry is bigger now. Many local agencies are growing. In addition to this situation, clients are minimizing their budget. It means once an agency gets a project, they are expected to give the best output. “Currently, clients are having cost efficiency when the competition is bigger. Some companies even have their in-house creative agency. Or media agency is making production with station. It is why LOWE emphasizes that creativity is not instant. We want to advise our clients not only providing them our service. We have to know the business problem and the business knowledge of our clients.”

With the growth of technology, the work culture in advertising agency becomes faster and more efficient. They maximize the use of technology to help their work, including faster communication with other divisions and clients. The people in advertising agency are very open and updated. With unpredictable working hours, they have to adapt with it. The positive side is they are very close with one another and they can speak up their ideas in a good manner.

If we talk about advertising industry, the career opportunity is big. For future graduates from business management or marketing, account management team would be suitable because it is about running the business. This industry is very open to fresh graduates. “LOWE now has its management trainee program. MT will be rotated in different positions. From there, management will see which division is most compatible with their passion.”

No matter where we work, challenges are ready to come our way. If you are thinking to start your career in the advertising industry, you must know that the competition is high and there are more stakeholders. It is about exceeding the standards and expectations. This industry needs talents with good communication skill and confidence, who are open to feedback, who can work under pressure, and who has good social skill, also willing to always learn new things.

Rekha’s Words of Advice

Having to work over five years, Rekha realizes that she has bigger responsibility now. “When in campus, it is mostly about us. But when we work, we have to perform. We have to minimize mistake. It is our credibility. So it is bigger responsibility when we have many stakeholders.”

To succeed in career, Rekha perceives the importance of initiative. We can’t be someone who only takes order. Learn to take part in your team. Therefore, maximize your experience in teamwork through projects and organization. Having initiative means we are smart and we can communicate better.

At the moment, Rekha doesn’t have any plan to move to the client’s side. She still wants to learn other brands and other industries. She also aims to get higher position. Rekha is also running her business as a party planner that she also plans to grow. Looking at her targets, it is no wonder that she holds on tightly to the importance of continuous learning. She believes that she can never stop learning. “No matter how long we have worked or how old we are, never stop learning. Find many sources and also learn from others. It is important because people are always expecting more and more from us. My advice would be always give more than what you are asked for. Therefore people will notice you more.”