Programmatic Account Specialist @ Publicis Media with Lekh Puthran

In his year one, Lekh’s been working as a Programmatic Account Specialist at Publicis Media, a full-service media agency where he manages programmatic display advertising campaigns for global brands. Some of the things that Lekh and Blair discuss include the "101's" of programmatic advertising, how to get started in programmatic advertising (hint: free certifications help); and, approaching the job search like a B2B marketing funnel.

About Lekh Puthran

Lekh works in programmatic advertising at Publicis Media where he manages programmatic display advertising campaigns for global brands. He likes to explore places, ideas, and opportunities. Having lived/studied/worked on three different continents, Lekh has garnered a keen sense of appreciation for the different work cultures across the globe. Outside of work, he loves to bike in the summer and dream about finding new trails to bike during the cold days of winter.

The Highlights and Hottest Takes 🔥

How Lekh Got the Job

Lekh was curious about two fields of digital marketing: 1) Martech or 2) programmatic advertising. He “played the numbers game” by reaching out to people on LinkedIn to try to connect for information interview to learn more about both:

“Not everybody you connect with will choose to speak with you. It’s like a lead funnel from total people reached out to, to the conversion of who you get a conversation with.”

After having some conversations and doing research, Lekh decided to focus on getting a job in programmatic advertising. His co-op search took 3.5 months, and “to be honest only two companies interviewed me.” But one of them was Starcom and he got the job.

Mistake Made

Not following chain of command. It’s easy to make a mistake in programmatic advertising because everything is automated. Get feedback and approval from seniors to help refine strategy. More for risk management vs. micro-management.

Lesson Learned

Be a team player. In programmatic advertising you need to collaborate with multiple departments to plan and executed a campaign. While it’s important to expect efficiency from your colleagues, you do need to be ready to help somebody out if a department is lagging.

Pro Tip

Invest time in getting free certifications if you’re interested in getting into programmatic advertising. Specifically, Google Display & Video 360 (DV360) and Amazon DSP. These will help you stand out in the job search process and increase your chances of getting the first interview. 

Segments

Lekh's Year 1ne @ Publicis Media | 0:58-26:03

Publicis Media is a full-service media agency that’s part of Publicis Groupe, the global advertising and public relations company, where Lekh manages programmatic display advertising campaigns for global brands.

Programmatic advertising uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate how you target the audience and sell advertising. The promise of programmatic is:

“To deliver the right ad to the right audience on the right platform.”

A typical day involves: building and launching paid advertising campaigns using programmatic Demand-Side Platforms (DSP's) and optimizing existing campaigns to improve performance based on the objective. Microsoft Excel is an essential tool for data manipulation, analysis and reporting. 

“There’s a lot of math and Microsoft Excel in programmatic advertising!” 

Lekh started as a Programmatic Account Coordinator which involves doing more analysis and building reports using MS Excel, checking the "health" of the campaign based on campaign pacing of the budget over a month. There's not much input into the campaign strategy/planning in this role. Then the Programmatic Account Specialist figures out the audience to target, picks the publisher(s) and builds out the campaign. 

Getting to Day 1ne: The Job Search | 26:04-48:13

Had interest in two fields of digital marketing: 1) Martech or 2) programmatic advertising. Lekh reached out to people in the field via LinkedIn to learn more about these two fields, to see what they’re looking for in junior people. Eventually he focused on programmatic advertising.

"It’s a lead funnel (a numbers game) from total people reached out to, to the conversion of who you get a conversation with."

While it's a numbers game at the top of the funnel, Lekh was still upfront with what interested in doing and why reaching out to them specifically. Interested in programmatic but tough to find relevant information about this. Can you tell me more about programmatic is? What certification(s) to stand out in the hiring process? 

Lekh discovered that Martech was more technology-driven. Martech and IT goes hand-in-hand. It’s technology to manage marketing communication on your owned media platforms–website, email, mobile app, text. He believed that growth here seems limited in short term because more experienced people working in this so they’d have an edge. Programmatic advertising is newer so better growth prospects:

"Martech is relatively old compared to programmatic ad tech."

The hardest part of the job search for Lekh was not hearing back from a prospective employer, and the rejection. His co-op search took 3.5 months, and to be honest, only two companies interviewed him. It's discouraging when you’re not considered for an interview for a role you’re truly interested in and feel like you’re a fit for. 

Things I've Learned in Year 1ne | 48:13-53:29

Not following chain of command stands out as the main mistake. It’s easy to make a mistake in programmatic advertising because everything is automated. Get feedback and approval from seniors to help refine strategy. More for risk management vs. micro-management.

Re(Sources)

• Connect with Lekh Puthran: LinkedIn
• Brands/organizations: Starcom Worldwide | Publicis Canada | Publicis Groupe
• Marketing and media tools: Microsoft Excel | Google Display & Video 360 | Amazon DSP
• Connect with The Year 1ne’s host Blair Smith: LinkedIn | Website

Credits

• Created and Produced by Blair Smith
• Hosted by Blair Smith
• Mixed and Mastered by Ray Harripaul

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