Day in the Life at Mintz + Hoke: Client Service Edition
Client Service. Two words with several meanings. It's fostering and maintaining internal and external relationships, bringing a high level of consistency and balance to everything, and always embracing the gray. It's what our Client Service team does every day. And they'll tell you all about it below.
First, hear from Ben Cadwell, Director of Client Service, who will be celebrating 10 years with us in November!
When people from outside the advertising industry ask what you do, how do you describe your role?
I try to keep it pretty simple to start—I work directly with clients to help them develop and implement marketing strategies. From there, I can get into the countless areas of what the role entails and the types of work we do.
What does the first hour of your day typically consist of? Are you reading the news, meditating, journaling, etc.?
I try to avoid my phone, email, social media, etc., as much as possible and spend that first hour with my 3-year-old daughter when she wakes up (usually super early) before I get going with coffee and preparing for the day by looking at my schedule and catching up on the news.
Out of all the Mintz + Hoke core values—Inspire/Be Inspired, Embrace the Gray, Always Bring a Gift, Honor Respect, and Own It—which one resonates with you the most and why?
I think all our values are honestly spot on for us as an agency and our history, but they also resonate a lot with me personally. If I had to pick one, it would be Own It. I feel passionate about the importance of the role each of us plays in our respective areas and holding ourselves and each other accountable for everything we do and create to deliver the best for our teams and our clients.
How do you embrace our Immersively Different philosophy in your day-to-day efforts?
Every day I try to stay immersed in our client’s businesses and learn about what is happening in their world, industry, and community and how that impacts their customers. Through daily conversations, monitoring industry news, social media, and more—there are several ways we can stay absorbed in their world.
If you could give one piece of career advice, what would it be?
Ask questions, be curious, and be proactive.
Where do you find inspiration?
Between coworkers, family, and friends, the people I have around me are what inspire and challenge me to be better on a daily basis.
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Next is Emily Brewer, Account Director and Mintz + Hoker of almost three years.
When people from outside the advertising industry ask what you do, how do you describe your role?
I tell them I’m a waitress in the advertising world. The creatives are the chefs, cooking up the magic, but I’m on the front lines ensuring communication is clear and our clients are happy. And think about going to a restaurant—the food could be amazing, but if the waitress gets your order wrong, the whole experience falls flat.
What does the first hour of your day typically consist of? Are you reading the news, meditating, journaling, etc.?
Oh, man! That’s a loaded question these days. The first hour of my day typically consists of feeding and changing my son, Jack, maybe a little tummy time (for him, not me), and if I’m lucky, I get him down for a nap so I can shower before work
Out of all the Mintz + Hoke core values—Inspire/Be Inspired, Embrace the Gray, Always Bring a Gift, Honor Respect, and Own It—which one resonates with you the most and why?
Embrace the Gray. We work in a subjective field where there’s very seldom a right way or wrong way to do things. You need to be brave enough to make decisions but willing to pivot when things inevitably change.
How do you embrace our Immersively Different philosophy in your day-to-day efforts?
I remember to focus on our customer’s customer—to make sure they are at the heart of everything we do. Sometimes that can mean pausing for a beat, asking questions, or even pushing back if something seems off.
If you could give one piece of career advice, what would it be?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions or say, “I’m not sure, but let me find out.” Nobody wants to work with someone who thinks they have all the answers anyway.
Where do you find inspiration?
This sounds like a cop-out, but honestly, anywhere. Client Service means you’re involved in the whole process—strategy, creative, measurement, right down to budgeting. I’ve been inspired by campaigns I admire, as well as an organized spreadsheet.
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Now hear from Michelle Ormsby, an Account Director who has been with us since October 2021.
When people from outside the advertising industry ask what you do, how do you describe your role?
I tell them I work in a senior client service role at an advertising agency. I build relationships with clients and understand the ins and outs of their businesses. And I act as the conduit between the clients and our internal teams to ensure everything we deliver to the client is on brand, on strategy, on time, on budget, etc.
What does the first hour of your day typically consist of? Are you reading the news, meditating, journaling, etc.?
I am NOT a morning person, so my first hour is usually waking up, checking my phone (terrible, I know), getting ready for the day, doing a little 5-minute meditation, drinking coffee and starting work!
Out of all the Mintz + Hoke core values—Inspire/Be Inspired, Embrace the Gray, Always Bring a Gift, Honor Respect, and Own It—which one resonates with you the most and why?
I would say Embrace the Gray because I used to have a very black/white, right/wrong way of looking at situations, but my time at M+H has taught me to relax some of that rigidity. There isn’t only one way to do things, or one way of thinking, etc. It’s something I’m still working on but making progress!
How do you embrace our Immersively Different philosophy in your day-to-day efforts?
I find myself asking A LOT of questions. I try not to accept answers at face value but instead, keep asking until I understand thought processes and intentions. It’s not helpful to generalize how we believe people think or feel. We really need to get in their heads and understand their motivations to be effective marketers.
If you could give one piece of career advice, what would it be?
Lead with a mindset that you can figure anything out. It’s okay if you don’t know how to do something or have never done it before. Just find the right people and ask the right questions. If you work hard enough at it, eventually you will figure it out, and then it’s on to the next thing!
Where do you find inspiration?
I’m inspired every day by my colleagues at M+H. I value the relationships I’ve built and am grateful to work for a full-service agency to learn from each of the disciplines. Each week we have an agency meeting led by one of the teams, and I learn something new and different during every one!
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Caitlyn Wells, Mintz + Hoke Senior Account Executive of a year and a half, shares her insights.
When people from outside the advertising industry ask what you do, how do you describe your role?
I still don’t think my family understands what I do, but if someone asks, it's usually something along the lines of telling them that I help clients, big and small, tell their stories through advertising
What does the first hour of your day typically consist of? Are you reading the news, meditating, journaling, etc.?
Typically, the first hour of my day consists of chasing my son around the house while trying to get myself ready for the day, hopefully with a Starbucks iced shaken espresso in hand.
Out of all the Mintz + Hoke core values—Inspire/Be Inspired, Embrace the Gray, Always Bring a Gift, Honor Respect, and Own It—which one resonates with you the most and why?
Embrace the Gray resonates with me most because so much of what we do isn’t black and white. While we have processes and plans in place, projects always take on a life of their own, and learning how to ideate and bring smarter, more unique solutions to the table is what sets Mintz + Hoke apart.
How do you embrace our Immersively Different philosophy in your day-to-day efforts?
I think I embrace it most often by asking questions to understand the “why” behind requests and projects. Often what people ask for and what they actually want are two different things, so diving in a little deeper beyond the initial ask is very helpful.
If you could give one piece of career advice, what would it be?
You don’t have to know all the answers—no one does. We’re all learning along the way.
Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration when I step outside my normal routine and environment and go on trips. It helps me see things in a new light, allows me to meet new people with different backgrounds and experiences, and introduces me to things I may not have seen before.
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Finally, our friend and Account Executive Julie Jarvis, who has been with us since January 2021, outlines her day for us.
When people from outside the advertising industry ask what you do, how do you describe your role?
I first ask if they’ve seen Mad Men, and then say I would work in Don Draper’s department—managing client relationships and projects, research and strategy, lots of presentations and calls, and anything else that may come up in the day-to-day on our accounts.
What does the first hour of your day typically consist of? Are you reading the news, meditating, journaling, etc.?
My first priority of the day is tending to my puggle Waffle. She acts as my assistant (even though she sleeps during most of her meetings), and once she is situated for the day, I start with my to-do list. I have my to-do list color-coded by the client, and it’s my road map for the day and the week. I then respond to emails, put through change orders, and try to catch up on the advertising-related newsletters I subscribe to.
Out of all the Mintz + Hoke core values—Inspire/Be Inspired, Embrace the Gray, Always Bring a Gift, Honor Respect, and Own It—which one resonates with you the most and why?
Embrace the Gray resonates the most, probably because I struggle with it the most. I like things to be very black-and-white, but things are constantly changing in our industry and society, which forces us to get comfortable with uncertainty.
How do you embrace our Immersively Different philosophy in your day-to-day efforts?
I'm always asking a lot of questions and being curious. The only bad question is the one you don’t ask.
If you could give one piece of career advice, what would it be?
Take advantage of different opportunities when you can, but also establish boundaries early on to maintain a work/life balance.
Where do you find inspiration?
My TikTok For You Page.
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Thank you for allowing us to share a Day in the Life at Mintz + Hoke with you! If you’re interested in seeing what the other departments had to say, visit our News and Ideas page!
