Our ‘Profile: A Day in the Life of’ feature takes a look at some of the global professionals working across performance marketing. It aims to shed light on the varying roles and companies across the flourishing industry. This week we head to Norwich to meet Mike Parfitt, account director at OMG UK. 

Name:

Mike Parfitt          

Job title and company:

Account director at OMG UK

In one sentence, how would you describe what the company does?

OMG is an international performance marketing company helping clients drive more sales and more valuable customers, optimising ROI and maintaining compliance.

What are the company’s unique selling points? 

OMG are different because we are the only network in the UK specialising in finance, insurance and utilities. We are able to offer clients a market leading rewards platform enabling them to optimise word of mouth referrals, exclusive promotions and incentives for cross-sales and ‘win back’ campaigns. Also everyone here is very excited about our growth internationally! We now have offices in Poland, India, Australia and Brazil.

Within the last six months/year, what stands out as the company’s major milestones? 

OMG’s launch in Brazil last year was a key milestone and extended our reach into to 4 continents. This expansion was recognised by the Sunday Times where we were ranked 7th in the HSBC Track 200 Fastest growing independently owned international businesses

In the UK specifically, we’ve doubled the size of the OMG tech team in the last year and this has meant increased investment in our technology and platform, and has already produced enhanced reporting, and mobile app tracking, with much more planned in this area over the next few months.

On a personal level, the last year has been great in terms of delivering significant growth for my clients – not just beating their volume targets but more importantly increasing the value of those sales. One client in particular stands out because we were set very high targets for 2014 and over delivered by 79%. We implemented a tactical incentive strategy which enabled the client to enhance their product and create bespoke offerings for affiliates. It is a real buzz when the work we do has such a significant impact for our brands.

Duration in current role:

I have been an account director for 2 years 4 months

Where are you based?

OMG’s UK base is in Norwich but much of my time is spent either in London or around the UK meeting with clients and publishers and at industry events.

Previous performance marketing-related companies you have worked at:

Before I joined OMG 4 years ago, I spent 6 years at Carat London as an Account Manager planning and buying Above The Line campaigns for adidas, Reebok, Guinness and Kellogg. The two roles do have a lot in common but coming from an environment where nobody knows for sure whether ad spend actually results in sales, it is refreshing and exciting to see your ideas and hard work visibly impact campaign performance minute to minute.

What are your main job responsibilities?

In the main my role is to ensure that our client’s campaigns are maximised and we’re exceeding their objectives. I head up a team of account managers and so directing and developing them is key, along with coordinating input from the wider OMG team, like our developers and our publisher account managers to make sure our clients are getting the best from every aspect of PM. My role also involves keeping up to date with innovations and new trends, so I work with industry bodies; I am involved with the IAB’s Performance Marketing Council, as well as attending events, and then using this insight internally, to help shape and evolve OMG’s proposition and offering.

Take us through what you get up to on a typical working Monday: 

I get in early and use the quiet time before the stampede to review and plan the priorities for me and the team for the week ahead. Once the team are in we have a meeting to go over their plan for the week discussing any issues or risks as well as areas of opportunity – there’s always lot’s to do so being focused is really key.

Straight after this I head off into a commercial meeting attended by Account Directors and OMG Senior Management. In this meeting we discuss performance KPIs and progress with strategies, as well as go over and share any key insights and updates around market trends or hot topics. It can be a pressurised environment but it also a great place to find solutions to problems!

Next on the agenda is to check in with my clients – this might be to discuss key issues or generally see how things are going. I think it is important to not only understand my client’s business and objectives but also to understand them as people too. I find that a lot of people rely on email as a key communication channel but you can often get more out of a 10 minute call than a whole day of emails.

I usually get a couple of hours in the afternoon for project work. This can range from developing programme growth strategies, going over client presentations with the account managers or preparing case studies to showcase successful work. Recently this time has been spent creating award entries for the PMAs. We have high hopes for our entries this year!

What top three websites can you be found browsing during your lunch hour?

I don’t spend a great deal of time on any one site and instead dip into sites relating to my interests. Spotify and Traxsourse for music, BBC and the Guardian for news and sport, Marketing Week and Linkedin for industry info. That’s 6 I know…

What are your top three tips for someone looking to get their hands on a job like yours?

Be passionate and hardworking: I believe to be a successful account director you need to be fully immersed in a client’s business, have a detailed knowledge of their sector, competitors and publishers while also keeping your finger on the performance marketing industry pulse and the opportunities that exist within it. This is a big ask but it is made much easier if you have a passion for the industry and a strong work ethic.

Play to people’s strengths: It is important to know the skill sets of the people around you in the business and use them tactically to get the best results for your client. Sounds easy but is a skill in itself!

Focus: Set realistic daily goals and stick to them. 

Career-wise, where do you see yourself in three years’ time?

I have designs on a client services director role but who knows….as long as the role enables me to have a direct, positive effect on a client’s business I will be happy.

Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?

My uncle is Rick Parfitt from Status Quo*

(* this may or may not be true)