The Guides to New Marketing Roles

No matter where you are on your marketing career journey, starting a new role comes with its frustrations and challenges. You may find yourself asking:

Where do I begin?
How do I evaluate my team?
What does the transition period look like?
How long will it take for me to get in the groove?

We’ve all been in this position before and will likely be in it again. But don’t let the overwhelming emotions or fear of the unknown get to you!

At Setup, we help marketers fill the gaps on their team. Whether that be through agency search or recruitment efforts, we know what it’s like to search, find, get acclimated, and meet expectations in a new role. Because of this, we’ve thoroughly researched and held interviews with marketing leaders who have shared similar concerns to compile three new guides with step-by-step outlines to help marketers who are new to their role achieve their goals.

In these guides, marketers will receive a breakdown of their role, including a list of job requirements, suggestions on how to build their new team, and tips on how to fill gaps. Basically, everything to equip you to feel confident to take charge of your role on the first 30-60-90 days and beyond.

The first of the three guides in the series is the Guide to a New Role | Marketing Director.

The Director of Marketing is responsible for implementing the company's overall Marketing strategy and works closely with the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). The Marketing Director’s key responsibilities include:

Maximize Revenue + Marketing ROI
Marketing Campaigns (from concept to creation) - Driving Conversion
Campaign Analytics - Maximum Visibility

The guide (which is free to download) launches into how to effectively use SWOT to get a leg up on the competition, how to acclimate into an already existing culture and evaluate the team, and how to manage and work alongside stakeholders.

Guide to a New Role | Director of Marketing

The second guide in the series is the Guide to a New Role | VP of Marketing.

The VP of Marketing is responsible for overseeing the marketing strategy and marketing goals for the company. They deal with positioning and overall communication in the market with a central focus on the customer. VPMs work closely with Sales and Business Development to oversee all research efforts.

They have a multitude of responsibilities, but their focus is mainly on the following:

Market Positioning - Maximize Market Share
Integrated Marketing and Communications (IMC) - Unified Approach
Overall P&L (Profit and Loss) - Maximum Revenue

The third guide in the series is the Guide to a New Role | Senior Marketing Manager.

The Senior Marketing Manager is responsible for positioning the company’s products and services, as well as overseeing all marketing campaigns and content.

They have a number of responsibilities, but they focus mainly on the following:

Market Research and Goal Setting - Positioning Products and Services
Project Management - Improving Productivity, Timelines, and Collaboration
Content Creation - Educating and Engaging Customer

Guide to a New Role Senior Marketing Manager

Subscribe to stay updated as we continually launch new resources that will elevate your current marketing campaigns and organize your marketing strategies, and check out our other templates, interactive PDFs, and guides here.

Blog

Client vs. Agency Side Marketing: Understanding the Different Career Paths

Marketers graduating from college often ask me whether they should pursue client- or agency-side opportunities for their initial job out of college. I tell them that in the long term, it is always best to get experience with both, but initially, a stint on the agency-side provides more opportunities to learn about different marketing roles, industries, and experiences than the client-side.

Joe Koufman, Founder and CEO of Setup, the matchmakers bridging the gap between agencies and brands, and Andrea Striebel, the VP of Marketing for Floor & Decor, share their thoughts on agency- vs client-side careers.

My Journey in Navigating the World of Agency Growth: It's Not Just Business, It's Personal

After over 20 years in the agency marketing world, Rhonda Beckmann, the SVP, Growth of Setup, shares her advice about what it takes to work in sales. In my career, I have discovered what separates the everyday salesperson from top-tier growth talent. It's not always a strategy that can be articulated, as most are just being their authentic selves. However, these inherent qualities are what make them stand out:

5 Takeaways from Conversations with Marketing Leaders

Over the past couple of months, I’ve been on a journey to connect with as many marketers as I can and chat with them about their personal experiences working in the industry. I have walked away from every conversation with new insights and perspectives on ways that I can tackle my own career, and I want to share some of the overarching themes with you here. Here are my 5 takeaways from conversations I've had with some top marketing leaders.

Top 5 #MotivationalMonday Tweets to Brighten Your Day

Setup’s Business Development and Marketing Associate, Alexis Quarcoo, has an ongoing series on her Twitter account, @Alexisfromsetup, called #MotivationalMonday where she highlights her favorite motivational quotes from previous guests featured in the CMO Spotlight Series. Check out this list of some of her favorite quotes (in no particular order) from marketing leaders in the CMO Spotlights that will give you a burst of motivation for the week and brighten your day:

6 Benefits of Mentoring Young Marketers

Setup CEO and Founder, Joe Koufman, recently won the Jana Ferguson Mentorship Award at the 66th AMY Awards, which is the American Marketing Association - Atlanta Chapter annual celebration of the finest marketers in Atlanta and the Southeast. This award led to Koufman reflecting and sharing the reasons why mentorship is so beneficial.

The Guides to New Marketing Roles

Stepping into a new marketing role can be challenging. Luckily, we’ve researched and collected information from interviews with marketing leaders who were once in your shoes to give you a step-by-step outline of what to expect and how to achieve your goals. Check out our free guide on New Marketing Roles, starting with Guide to a New Role | Director of Marketing!

The Marketing Career Path | Advice for the Marketing Professional #3

In this Marketer Musings segment, the following mashup presents marketing leaders sharing advice that they wish they had known as a younger marketer, as well as advice they would give to current marketing executives in executive, CMO, or VP roles similar to their own.

This Advice column features marketers from Danone, Del Taco, RE/MAX, and more.

10 Leadership Values from CMOs

In this Marketer Musings segment, the following mashup presents marketing leaders sharing the values that they demonstrate to their team and look for in team members.

Which values do you exemplify as a leader? Which do you prioritize in your organization?

The Marketing Career Path | Advice for the Marketing Professional #2

In the Setup CMO Spotlight series, marketing leaders share their journeys, leadership styles, and advice.

37 Inspiring Lessons for your Career, 5 at a Time (Part 3):

For the past year, Setup CEO and Founder, Joe Koufman, has highlighted some of the lessons he has learned from people in his network.

One of the recurring themes/lessons we have taken away from his admirable network is: Attitude Matters. The following people positively impacted everyone around them, leading to successful and meaningful careers.

A Marketing Matchmaker’s Guide to Networking Conversation Starters

In the spirit of our Marketer Matchups relaunch, Setup’s marketing matchmaker service for 1:1 networking connections, we wanted to give you ways to start networking conversations for when you return to events.

The Marketing Career Path | Advice for the Marketing Professional

In the Setup CMO Spotlight series, we interview an array of marketing leaders who have done it all. In these recent interviews, marketing professionals shared advice that they wish they had known as a younger marketer, as well as advice they would give to current marketing executives in Chief Marketing Officer and other roles similar to their own.

37 Inspiring Lessons for your Career, 5 at a Time (Part 2)

At Setup, networking runs through the veins of the organization. For the past year, Setup CEO and Founder, Joe Koufman, has highlighted some of the lessons he has learned from people in his network.

The following lessons are centered around building, maintaining, and shaping one’s “tribe.” According to Seth Godin, tribes are “founded on shared ideas and values. Tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change.”

37 Inspiring Lessons for your Career | 5 Lessons at a Time (Part 1)

At Setup, networking runs through the veins of the organization. Each staff member is enthusiastic about forming and maintaining relationships. This is largely due to the fact that we are founded by a business matchmaker who values connection above all else.

The following is a series highlighting the people and lessons that led to our CEO founding Setup.

Becoming an Asset in the Hiring Process

“Nobody gives a sh*t about your resume,” Joe Koufman, CEO and Founder of Setup blatantly stated in an interview with Hard Corps marketing.

What does this mean and how can job seekers best stand out?

Asking for Referrals

We’ve all heard that in a job hunt, who you know is more important than what you know. Without a personal referral to pass your (hopefully visual) resume along to the key person, your chances of landing a job could be slim. So where does that leave the job seekers who want to be endorsed by valued associates or colleagues?

Campaigning for your Dream Job

You’ve tried to contact your dream employer for months; you sent LinkedIn requests and emails, reached out to the C-Suite, sent your portfolio to a few employees in the right department, and maybe even landed a meeting or two, but none of these encounters led to a job offer. By now, you’re ready to move on, because you’ve tried everything, right? But have you actually done EVERYTHING you can?

Inspiring Resume Designs That Will Help You Get An Interview

Traditional resumes are typically a laundry list of past jobs, but they rarely tell the story about what the candidate COULD do for the potential employer. In the highly competitive job market, a visual representation of competency and experience told in a creatively stimulating format can make all the difference in getting noticed.

Marketing Career Advice

Setup™ CEO - Joe Koufman published a series of blog posts designed to help #JobSeekers prepare for and find their perfect next position.

The Marketing Career Path : From Entry-Level to Chief Marketing Officer

While the number of jobs in the marketing field will continue to increase over time, today’s marketing landscape does not guarantee that a recent marketing graduate will obtain an entry-level job in marketing. To say that there is a “conventional career path” to become a marketing executive would be a stretch, but there is a rough outline of what one could expect when climbing the career ladder.

3 Awesome (Free) Tools Every Job Seeker Should Use

Unlock certain “superpowers” when searching for your next gig by utilizing these 3 free tools.

3 Tips for Building a Strong Online Personal Brand and Footprint

A strong online presence could be a deciding factor for a position you’ve applied for, or a position you don’t even know exists. Building an online personal brand is more important than ever, so it is crucial to not let others define you.

Ask yourself: Are you taking charge of guiding and cultivating your personal brand perception? Are you emphasizing your subject matter expertise and your glowing personality? When the potential employer Googles you, what will they find?

Honing Your Interviewing Skills

Getting a call for your first interview is half the battle in the job hunting process, but that phone call is only the beginning of a new phase of the search. Interviewing for a job entails a lot of work: research, careful consideration, practice, and preparation, because you've put in the hours and effort to reach that first interview, you don't want to blow your chances!

#AsktheExperts - 5 Tips for Marketers Who are New to a Role

Congratulations - you landed your next gig! And, like anything new, you’re probably experiencing a range of emotions - both good and bad.

No need to worry, we’ve all been there before.

Whether you’re hired as the new VP of Marketing or Marketing Manager, we collected expert advice from marketing leaders to prepare and guide you in your next role!

What advice would you give to marketers who are new to their role?

SPARKsouth - Navigating a Digital Marketing Career

SPARKsouth, is an annual conference designed to connect college students with digital marketing professionals who can help highlight different paths to digital marketing careers. This year’s event was sponsored by Nebo Agency, the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, Setup™, Simpli.fi, and 22squared.

The conference exposes attendees to multiple marketing career paths by offering three distinct conference tracks - brand, agency, and entrepreneur - with a career development break out room. An entire day dedicated to mentoring and developing students’ professional skills and mindsets, SPARKsouth gives marketers at every level the opportunity to connect.

Agency 101: The Agency-Client Relationship for Beginners

When a client hires a marketing agency, the agency becomes a part of the team. However, when an agency begins to work with a client, there can be a disconnect between the two teams. What are common disconnects and how can both the agency and client-side marketers work to avoid them?

The Different Types of Marketing Agencies

There are a number of paths a marketing executive can take when determining who and what will guide a marketing strategy. Choosing a marketing agency partner can depend on multiple variables including team capacity, capability, and situation. Though the rapid growth and evolution of marketing has blurred the lines of different “agency” types, it's still helpful to note the key differences between them.

The Different Roles within Marketing Agency Departments

Just like how a marching band has multiple sections to sound good, a marketing agency has multiple departments to function properly. Navigating the different roles and purposes of each department can get confusing and overwhelming, however.

Here is a simple breakdown of some typical agency departments (and the roles within) for those interested in working in/for a marketing or advertising agency.

Perfect Interview Questions to Fill Empty Marketing Roles

Hiring a new candidate for a marketing role can be challenging. Sourcing qualified candidates and then assessing both their capabilities and compatibility with the team can be difficult. It is imperative to ask the right questions to ensure that the person is the best fit.

Setup™ provides essential questions hiring leaders need to ask when hiring a new marketing candidate.

Three Key Networking Lessons For Any Professional

Because AgencySparks exists to connect brands and marketing agencies, networking is a crucial part of the business. Anyone looking to grow in their career should spend ample time connecting with others. Connections from various aspects of one’s life often end up having career impact in the least expected ways! Here are three key lessons that will help anyone looking to become a better networker…

Marketing Career AdviceSetup - marketing matchmakersSeptember 6, 2022guide, new marketing role, marketing career path, Marketing Career AdviceComment

The Guides to New Marketing Roles

The first of the three guides in the series is the Guide to a New Role | Marketing Director.

The second guide in the series is the Guide to a New Role | VP of Marketing.

The third guide in the series is the Guide to a New Role | Senior Marketing Manager.

Navigation

For Brands

For Agencies