Account Strategist @ Aber Group with Laurel Astridge
Laurel and Blair discuss why it’s important to ask the question as an intern, how everybody is a math person; and, how Sephora sparkles while Bubly “Bublé’s” as our favourite brands that do great marketing.
About Laurel Astridge
Looking at Laurel’s resume, Princess Party Host may stand out the most. But when it comes to fitting into a glass slipper, she identifies with being a digital media marketing professional, a performer, and a public speaker. Laurel has been a music teacher for five years, the Laurel Musical blog founder for over 10 years, a social media specialist in her community for two years and for the past two years has worked in online advertising at Aber Group…where she’s looking to sprinkle her magic one headline at a time.
The Highlights and Hottest Takes 🔥
How Laurel Got the Job
Laurel did targeted requests for “coffee chats” using LinkedIn. She focused on one question around starting in advertising agency vs. brand/client-side marketing. She created a 5 Reasons Why I Should be an Internpresentation as part of her application for an internship at Aber Group.
“Sometimes you have to just believe in yourself.”
Mistake Made
Deleting a campaign. But it ended up being a great learning moment…“If something looks unfamiliar or you’re not sure, ask a question.” (They were able to recover the campaign…phew…and don’t pick daily budget, pick lifetime budget!)
Lesson Learned
More analytic and quantitative than I imagined. “I love numbers. I tell people I went from music teaching to being a main character in Microsoft Excel.”
Pro Tip
Presentation is a performance. “You’ve got a 30 minute deck and you’ve got to wow people by the end of it. You’ve got to hit the right notes at the right time during it.”
Segments
Laurel's Year 1ne @ Aber Group
2:20 | Introduction from Laurel
3:25 | Overview of Aber Group
5:55 | Working as an Account Strategist in advertising
9:20 | “The beauty of advertising”
11:35 | Talking about the Laurel Musical blog
14:50 | Becoming a “math person”
18:20 | How to stand out as an intern
23:00 | What’s on your mind in marketing right now?
Getting to Day 1ne: The Job Search
27:55 | Getting hired at Aber Group
30:55 | Networking with one specific question
33:50 | Advertising agency vs. brand/client-side marketing
38:00 | Hardest part of the job search
41:15 | Reflecting for self-awareness
42:25 | The “What’s your favourite brand?” question
Things I've Learned in Year 1ne
45:55 | Mistake made on deleting an advertising campaign
48:40 | Lesson learned on "being more analytic and quantitative than I imagined"
50:25 | Pro tip that a presentation is a performance
Re(Sources)
- Connect with Laurel Astridge: LinkedIn | Website | YouTube | Pinterest
- Brands/organizations: Aber Group | George Brown College | Khan Academy | Sephora | Bubly
- Marketing and media tools: Google Ad Grants | Meta Business Suite | Google Ads | Yahoo DSP | StackAdapt | Google Analytics | Microsoft Excel | ChatGPT
- Connect with The Year 1ne’s host Blair Smith: LinkedIn
Credits
Created and Produced by Blair Smith
Hosted by Blair Smith
Mixed and Mastered by Ray Harripaul
Sponsor(s)
N/A for this episode...Interested in being a sponsor of The Year 1ne's Show? Drop us a line via email 😀
Laurel Astridge
Account Strategist / Performer
Looking at my resume, Princess Party Host may stand out the most. But when it comes to fitting into a glass slipper - I identify with being a digital media marketing professional, a performer, and a public speaker. In 2016, I graduated from Western University with an Honours Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance and embarked on a non-linear career path. While being a music teacher for five years, a Laurel Musical blog founder, and a social media specialist in my community. I started a George Brown College Digital Media Marketing Post-Graduate Diploma in 2021 to pivot my path. After an internship at The Aber Group, I completed my graduate diploma and was promoted to Account Coordinator. I am now Account Strategist looking to sprinkle my magic one headline at a time.
