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. 

Name:

Jeff Reitzen 

Job title and company:

GM of Simplixity DR, a division of CPXi 

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

CPXi is a global digital media holding company that connects consumers with brands by providing multi-screen messaging, leveraging display, social, mobile and video advertising at scale.

What are the company’s unique selling points?

CPXi has grown quickly and is now a major player within the crowded online advertising landscape, serving hundreds of billions of ad impressions in more than 65 countries every month. Unlike other companies, CPXi has created a sector, CPX Incubator, which identifies and supports startups that share a common vision with CPXi; with resources and guidance.

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

In the fall of 2013, CPXi acquired AdReady. The acquisition brought CPXi one step closer to top global brands by combining its industry leading media buying and execution solutions with AdReady’s comprehensive platform for programmatic creative and media placement.

Duration in current role:  

Nine years

Where are you based?

I am based in New York at the CPXi corporate headquarters office. CPXi has global offices in Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Seattle, Turkey and Spain.

Previous performance marketing-related Co’s you have worked at:

I started at CPXi as the first employee coming from a freelance web development background with a focus in performance marketing.  This is the first major marketing company I’ve worked for. 

What are your main job responsibilities?

My main responsibility is bringing in high-quality performance advertisers and then ensuring we are servicing the client in ways that meet their expectations. CPXi typically buys display media on a per impression basis and then allows direct response advertisers to pay us on a lead or sale. This takes a lot of risk off of our advertisers and allows them the benefits of an experienced full service media buying team with none of the costs associated. However, we spend a lot of time optimising and closely monitoring our ROI throughout the client’s lifespan on the network, so this keeps me busy. 

I also manage CPXi’s private affiliate network Affiture. Affiture launched two years ago in response to some of our closest industry contacts wanting to work with our many direct advertiser relationships. CPXi has been in business for so long that we have accumulated a strong stable of campaigns from clients that know and trust us, so this was a no-brainer. Our volume with these clients has justified the highest rates and newest product offerings the industry has to offer, so we were able to scale the network to $6 million within its first year of existence with the help of a very smart and dedicated team. 

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

The first thing I do is drink all of the coffee in the office. Then every Monday we hold executive meetings and cross-department reviews. Much of what CPXi does involves collaboration between our multiple divisions so this is key to make sure we are proactively on top of all current initiatives. I will also catch-up on weekend emails and review the prior weeks highs and lows with my staff.

In the afternoon I will review new lead pipeline activity for the week and new accounts that came in the previous week. We launch a lot of new campaigns each month and those touch a lot of hands and departments throughout the process. It is important to track each step of the way to ensure no one has dropped the ball and our advertisers are realising their maximum potential throughout our systems.

I also review my upcoming meetings for the week and look through minutes and tasks expected to be completed by my team.

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

Who takes a lunch hour?? But on the train into the city, I read AdExchanger, Business Insider and industry LinkedIn/Facebook groups. When I have nothing to read I try and figure out why I lost so much money in the stock market the day before on Google finance, wsj.com and fool.com. 

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

  • Never burn a bridge. Many of my biggest clients come from relationships I have had within the industry and they trust me because I always try to be upfront and do right by them.
  • Work hard and don’t expect recognition for it. Eventually you will be recognised.
  • Pick your boss. If you don’t like your boss, you have a job and not a career. 

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

CPXi has grown a great deal over the past few years and continues to show enormous potential. We were recently named to Forbes’ America’s Most Promising Companies list. So I anticipate in three years an expanded version of some iteration of my current role.  

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

This is a tough question…I talk a lot and find very embarrassing moments extremely funny so people in my office know things about me that they probably wish they didn’t. However, I do have a 19-month-old son, who I am grooming to be an entrepreneur. His specialities include sharing, saying bye-bye, walking into walls and tables and finding that hysterical, terrorising a beagle that’s going through a mid-life crisis, eating everything and loving mommy.

 

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