Marketing within the (m)adtech sector

Marketing within the (m)adtech sector is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a specific audience through the delivery of a product and/or services offering. Marketing covers a variety of channels including internal marketing (values and culture), brand aesthetics and design, sales support, partner marketing, event management, virtual events and webinar management, social media, editorial and communications, press, awards and product marketing. It is arguably one of the most varied functions within a business, and can be an exciting place to focus a career in.

In this article, we explore the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ in applying for a role in product.

What do Marketing do?

Here at Silverbullet, we have both corporate marketing which sits across the two divisions of the business, as well as product marketing. Although similar, there are differences between the two.

Corporate marketing looks after the strategic side of the over-arching business, and is positioned to educate the market on the services, product, why we exist, why clients should care, and why we are worth investing in.

Product Marketers are the experts on a specific product (or suite of products) who help to identify the perfect market, the buyers involved, what they care about, and how to map the product solutions to meet their needs.

Both roles very much work in tandem, and have various cross-over points, but will typically attract different personas.

Why does marketing exist?

Marketing acts as the glue, if you like, for the entire business, and is a department that typically works behind the scenes to support all other departments. The marketing division is responsible for providing the sales team with a toolkit of everything they need in order to sell the product and/or service. They are responsible to help the client services teams nurture existing clients through events, case studies and press. They are key in supporting the senior teams who may be talking to investors or building a new business strategy. And they take the technical brains of product team and turn it into easy-to-understand documentation to bring that product to life.

How to apply for a role in marketing.

Marketers are nimble creatures with the ability to spread themselves across a wide organization. Some businesses will have marketing experts who solely look after events, or press, or partners. However, here at Silverbullet we have a small team who look after everything, and so you need to have an agile personality in order to work with our team.

• Understand the company you’re applying for. Marketing, very much like any other skillset, can be applied to different industries and businesses. Each business will do things slightly differently, and each industry will have an individual set of needs and challenges. Get yourself up to speed on the market; explore addressable markets, industry trends in the news, competitors and interesting headlines. Some handy publications to explore include: Digiday, Adexchanger, ExchangeWire and Campaign.
• Organizational skills are key. Due to the scale of projects, you can be working on at any given time, organizational skills are key for any marketer. One week you will be planning an event and the next week a social media campaign. Marketers need to love a good ol’ ‘to do’ list, a spreadsheet, and a calendar.
• Identify what area of marketing you’d like to specialize in. As we’ve discussed, marketing covers a whole spectrum of skills, and so its always a good idea to know what areas you excel in, as well as areas you would like to improve at. This will help those interviewing you understand areas you can make immediate impact in, and those where you may need additional training or support.
• Have a good understanding of Microsoft Office, social platforms, emails systems or CRMs. Each company will have a different set of tools and software’s that you will need to get familiarized with, but the bare essentials should include proficiency in Word, PowerPoint and Excel, a good understanding of social media (particularly LinkedIn), and experience or some level of understanding of a CRM system or email tool.
• Teamwork and no ego. Marketing is a huge teamwork functionality as it sits across so many other departments. Ideal candidates need to be great at teamwork and should be able to approach each situation with no ego. There will often be times where you need to work alone, however you will often need the help of others to help you get there, so it’s vital to have various trusted touch points throughout the organization.
• Nimble and agile. With all the best intentions set in place, things always change direction and marketing typically have to react quickly. The right personalities for a marketing role should be nimble and agile, showing professionalism when business directions change. Marketing are often the people teams go to for help or support when faced with new challenges so these people need to be one step ahead.

An exciting future.

Undertaking a sales role in adtech and martech is a really exciting career – especially during a time where the digital revolution is changing and adapting as we step out of the pandemic. You have the opportunity to make a difference, and to be part of a client’s journey as they seek to transform their digital marketing strategies. So why not explore our open opportunities today.