blog: 
My Breakthrough into the Marketing Field
by Heather Bowman on 11.1.2011 in Company News 1
My name is Heather Bowman, and I’m a Senior Account Manager at Brighton. I’ve been in the marketing and advertising industry for close to 14 years, but for much of that time my primary focus was experiential marketing. I entered the experiential marketing field as a sophomore in college when I became a field representative for KBA Marketing, now named DraftFCB. I thought it was the “coolest” job—ever. My job entailed going to bars, concerts and large events to distribute promo materials and products, and I was getting paid for it.
I never thought I would actually enter the marketing field after graduation. I thought it was just a fun job to get me through college, or, in actuality, provide me with “bar money.” I graduated college with a psychology degree and a minor in music and began to pursue my master’s and doctoral degrees in child and adolescent psychology. While pursuing my graduate degrees, I continued to work in the marketing industry full time and soon realized I was going to school for the wrong specialty. I decided to switch gears and pursue a master’s degree in marketing while continuing my career in the same industry.
When I came to Brighton, it was a bit of a change. My responsibilities now lean more towards advertising than experiential marketing, but it has been a great and smooth transition, allowing me to utilize my skills from previous experience.
Marketing and advertising are fun industries to work in, but they aren’t for the weakhearted. Nothing is predictable, and you can expect anything and everything to be thrown at you at any time. Each day in the life of an account manager is different, and you can always expect surprises and last-minute deadlines. I think that’s what I love most about my job: it is always changing, there are always challenges, and you can make a big impact on products and services that people use.
Another important aspect of working at Brighton is that we have FUN! We enjoy our jobs because we are passionate about what we do. I love a challenge, so the agency life has always been the way for me from the very beginning. Work hard, play hard! If you had asked me 11 years ago where I would be right now, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you. So remember, keep your options open, because you never know when the best opportunity will be at your doorstep. What do you think, is Brighton right for you? Hear more about us!
Your story highlights why I love to work in the marketing field, Heather. In every decent-sized agency, you’ll find people of all different backgrounds. There are marketing majors, psychology majors, liberal arts majors, and today there are even science and math majors! In addition, many who work in marketing are very creative and have passions that they pursue outside of work, like music, dance, visual art, and more. The diversity of backgrounds, life stories, and creative skills you’ll find inside of a marketing agency makes the experience of working for one very rich.
I’d love to hear more about your work as an account manager. The title of account manager means different things in different agencies, and I’d be interested to hear about the unique challenges that you face in your role at Brighton.
Thanks for sharing your story, Heather.