By her 26th birthday, Alex had been to 26 countries. She certainly doesn’t plan to stop there.
In fact, with her savvy analytical skills as a Senior Account Manager, it’s likely that she’s planning the perfect schedule and fine-tuning the details for her next trip right about now. After creating killer marketing strategies, of course.
What does Alex need to get it all done?
“Self-help books, good food and a white noise machine at night,” she said.
Back to the Bay Area
While Alex is eager to add more countries to her list, the one city that she keeps coming back to is her hometown: the San Francisco Bay Area.
She originally left home to study marketing at the University of Arizona. During that time, she studied international branding in England.
After graduating, Alex worked in staffing and procurement in Scottsdale. But it wasn’t long before she was desperate to get back to her marketing and hometown roots.
“I was so lucky Brafton gave me the opportunity to do both,” she said.
Alex is now a rising star on the account management team at Brafton’s San Francisco office, working predominantly with West Coast clients in tech spaces and renewable energy industries.
As a point person for clients, Alex translates their needs and preferences into engaging yet flexible marketing plans.
“Sometimes plans change, and that’s why we closely monitor metrics to keep us on track,” she said.
Alex does her part to give back and make positive change in her beloved community as well, working as a student tutor through Reading Partners in San Francisco every week.
“I took a comprehension course when I was young and hated it,” she said. “But reading and comprehension are the building blocks of any future job.”
“Oh man, what day of the week is it?”
While Alex jokes about the hectic day-to-day responsibilities of managing accounts, she dives into each and every project with the same tenacious spirit.
“My schedule revolves around my clients. I am an extension of their marketing team, so their deadlines are mine,” she said.
Perks of working so closely with these clients? Alex gets the inside scoop before new launches, corporate mergers and startup acquisitions hit the market. Yes – that does mean she gets to demo client products before the rest of us do.
When she isn’t trying out innovative technology, Alex is working on augmenting Brafton’s abilities to guide and support companies. When one of her clients was approached by several social influencers, she worked with the Director of Social Media to spearhead an entirely new project.
“We built out which influencer personas would be best to market for each brand, how to reach out to them, how to educate them, how much to spend,” Alex said. “It’s an exciting emerging product.”
Calling on her team
With such initiative and creativity, Alex is no stranger to watching positive results and encouraging feedback roll in. However, she’s quick to thank her teammates for making her experience as a Senior Account Manager that much better.
My schedule revolves around my clients. I am an extension of their marketing team, so their deadlines are mine.
“When you sign on with Brafton, you get a small team that helps you with editorial, design, video, social media and technical support,” she said.
Much like her white noise machine helps her catch some zzz’s, these teammates make every working day an experience to look forward to.
“The people make it worth it to work here,” Alex said. “And they put up with me all day, which is a lot to ask.”
Working up a sweat
While you can reach out to Alex for all things marketing and strategy, you can also find her at the gym, where she loves taking different workout classes.
“Never consistently of course – nobody ever does – but I’ll try anything twice!” she said.
Her words of wisdom take on a similar tone of dedicated efforts. She encourages aspiring and fellow marketing professionals to keep working at being the expert professional that clients need.
“Know your stuff,” she said. “Continue reading and learning about the changes in the industry and learn from the content you like to read.”
Alex’s students at Reading Partners are privy to the same advice.
“I challenge them to do anything they normally love to do without being able to read or comprehend,” she said.
That way, the students understand that reading is key to reaching goals and following their dreams – whether it be learning another language, becoming a doctor or going to space.
With that kind of talk, maybe Alex’s next destination will be space? Regardless, she’s going places.
