OXFORD

ADVERTISING, MARKETING + PR
ADVERTISING, MARKETING + PR
Emma Foster
Product Manager –
Website, Long Tall Sally
University College, MPhil
Economics, 2008
WHAT: My role at Long Tall Sally
(which is the global leading retailer
of specialist tall womenswear)
is to optimise the website user
experience for our customers and
continually to improve website conversion
– that is the proportion of visitors to
the site who make a purchase. We are
currently replacing our ecommerce
platform, and for the last year I have been
project managing the new website launch.
WHY: I’ve always worked in analytical
roles as that’s where my strengths lie,
but I really enjoy the fashion business - I
love that it’s a creative environment, even
though I’m on the commercial side. It’s
also been immensely satisfying to be so
much involved in such a major project
and to see it all finally coming together.
The website is a crucial part of the
business, so there is a lot of responsibility
to deliver the best possible experience
for our customers. I’m not a developer
by any means, but there is still so much
that I can think about and get involved
in – user experience, functionality, look
and feel, even the data structure. We are
tantalisingly close now, and I can’t wait to
see the reaction to the new site from
the customers.
CAREER PATH/SHIFTING FOCUS:
When I started at University, I
certainly never expected to be
doing what I’m doing now. My
undergraduate degree was in
Physics, then I tried Economics, then
I took the more typical post-Oxford
route into strategy consulting, and
now I work in fashion retail and
ecommerce. I’m a long way from
where I started, but it’s important to
know that you can change your mind
occasionally.
TOP TIPS: If you’re not yet sure
what you want to do, try talking
to as many different people as
possible about their careers – it may
surprise you what seems more or
less interesting once you start to
investigate.
John Musson
Account Manager, Brainlabs
Digital
Trinity College, MA
Mathematics, 2015
WHAT: As an account manager I have
a very varied role, from building client
relationships to managing their accounts,
working with our programming team
to training graduates. My main focus
revolves around understanding both my
clients’ needs and the digital advertising
marketplace to allow me to best
optimise their campaigns. This gives me
opportunity to use the analytical skills
gained from my maths degree while
still interacting with other people on a
regular basis.
WHY: It’s incredibly exciting being in a
company that is growing as quickly as
Brainlabs, which has nearly doubled in
size since I joined less than a year ago.
It gives you a lot of responsibility and
autonomy very early on which allows you
to develop skills at an amazing rate - I’m
now training the most recent graduate
intake!
And then there’s the company culture
– all the Brainlabs quirks – Mario Kart
in the office, company outings (recently
including a room escape and Crystal
Maze), after-work yoga, free lunches,
oh and an accolade as the Best PPC
Agency in Europe at the European
Search Awards this May.
ADVICE: I think the type of company
you want to join can be at least
as important as the sector. I never
expected to go into advertising but
I wanted to work for a company
that was small, with stimulating
work and intelligent people. Equally,
others may prefer the structure and
opportunities presented by being part
of a larger company - it’s up to you,
but make sure you think about it.
GETTING IN: As most of our hires are
straight out of university we focus
a lot more on attitude than skills; a
bright, positive person who is keen
to cooperate with others will get
on much better here than someone
who knows odd nuances of PPC
advertising.
64