In this installment of career highlights, we sat down with the Senior Vice President of Account Management Direct, Meredith Jacobsen, to learn more about her role and the Account Management team.
What does your role encompass?
As the Senior VP of Account Management, Meredith is responsible for ensuring all digital media programs are executed and that the return on KPIs are successful for clients. This includes developing messaging and measurement strategies including frequency, audience segmentation and keeping an open dialogue with the client so to modify programs quicky and respond in real-time to changing needs.
The Account Management department at Epsilon helps bring together the “5 families” that support client strategies. The “5 families” are the departments Account Management works the closest with including, sales partners (which include client and business development), analytics, operations, product, creative and media.
Meredith’s team also works in lockstep with other Publicis Groupe agencies, particularly the Growth Media Solutions team, who are experts in Epsilon’s solutions and services. Outside of Publicis, her team works with specific vendors and other client partners.
What is your role like day to day?
The Account Management role is both collaborative and independent. What personally attracted Meredith to this role was the mix between creative brand solutioning, which requires using the more creative part of her brain and the ability to “geek out on numbers and be more of a math nerd.” Having expertise on where market trends are headed to help clients navigate it, a core part of Epsilon’s DNA, makes the role dynamic.
Since personalization is at the core of the Account Management team, the team sits at the center of Epsilon’s messaging strategy. What makes the role at Epsilon unique is it’s not just about executing a vision but having a point of view on individualized user experiences and what drives that action at the individual level. There is a greater emphasis on your ability to have a defined point of view on brand and creative engagements.
A role in Account Management requires a variety of skill sets. Strategic and creative thinkers thrive, as do those who can work against deadlines and with a variety of personalities. While the team’s tech stack includes Tableau and Salesforce, there are 6 proprietary Epsilon platforms that need to be leveraged for the job and finding tech usage interesting is a drawing factor for those looking to get involved in Account Management roles.
Career journey
This role is a completely different career path than what Meredith had initially envisioned herself pursuing, which speaks volumes to the magic of the career exploration journey. Having studied international relations, she began a career in international relief aid for nonprofits and was on a path to becoming an attorney.
In an unexpected twist, it was when she met someone who worked in this space that she realized she found this work very compelling as she thrives on the intersection between technology and people and being able to add value to an organization. Ultimately, Meredith’s career journey’s twists and turns landed her at Epsilon, and we couldn’t be happier.
Looking to go on a career exploration adventure of your own? Epsilon has plenty of openings that you can check out on our careers page. Who knows, perhaps you’ll surprise yourself and end up in a role you never imagined!
