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I’m Alex, Performance Strategy Director here at KINESSO UK&I, working on a mixture of new business and existing direct clients. I joined this team back in 2021 for a wider digital media challenge but have been with the company for seven years this August in different capacities within the Client Success and Search teams.
The wonderful thing about my job is that there is no typical day, every day there is something different and challenging – but in a good way. As my dear colleagues would be first to point out, I am not one to sit around bored, so this Performance Strategy team is a perfect way to feed my passion for knowledge, cross-team collaboration, and doing cool things.
I didn’t use to be, but now I’m a solid Monday-in-the-office person (and not just because it’s when we have a rotating schedule of food pop-ups for lunch on these days). (Ok it started that way; we love food in the Strategy team.)
Sometime shortly after 9:00AM*: Because Mondays are mostly relatively chilled transportation-wise, I rock up to our stunning Bailey office after the morning rush. Our floor usually takes a min to wake up after a weekend so it’s an ideal day to come in. There are usually some tunes by KINESSO resident DJs Carlota, Dave, or Emma (read: a Bluetooth speaker and collectively fabulous tune choices) and a recap of our take on the latest album drop, pop culture event, or how some of us were accidentally twinning in fit choices but didn’t tell our MD for Media Seun about it.
*Thank you to our flexible working structure, Mediabrands, because sometimes the trains have plans of their own and peak hours are anxiety-inducing.
9:40AM: A quick call with our Global Head of Analytics, Chris, about a top-secret project (read: upcoming functionality so watch this space) and how it could factor into an ongoing testing plan I’ve been working on for our direct clients. Our experimentation framework is key for making sure our proposed tests ladder up to business goals, and presented in a way that all parties can understand and unlock the value of.
10:00AM: By now I’ve combed through the to-do list I made the previous Friday and reassessed priorities based on incoming Teams messages or emails. Time to head over to the concourse with the team for the weekly huddle to hear about the company focus and events for the week ahead, key housekeeping, shoutouts, and a Q&A all in 20 minutes or less.
10:25AM: Head back to my desk and check for any urgent emails from clients and channel team members. Then I open the document needed for my next meeting and comb through it for any notes and amends to mention ahead of time.
11:00AM: Check-in with my colleague Dina about an upcoming client presentation to ensure we’re aligned on the narrative. It’s the first time we’re presenting this type of testing plan to the client, and something I’ve been working on with several people in the business to adapt and refine.
Last Monday at this time I was running through an integrated social presentation with colleagues, and the following Monday looks like (for now) the time will be focused on a new business pitch. See, every day really is different!
11:35AM: Chat with Lala from our Client Success team about our weekend and tacos, but also regarding some client performance stats and arranging a check-in with the wider team to see if additional support is needed to get remaining priority actions implemented.
11:50AM: The team join the lunch queue for the CallyMunchy pop-up and go through our rating system of fav pop-ups (I said we like food) and the squabbling begins when our top choices don’t align. This is followed by a hot girl walk that Emilie in my team has been leading to ensure some fresh London air and help prevent an afternoon slump. Yes, we go to Blank Street nearby for a matcha and I don’t care who knows it! #NotASponsoredAd.
1:00PM: A fortnightly check-in on an internal project to refine our approach to integrated social led by the wonderful Deolu, Social Partner at KINESSO UK&I. With so many elements of media, content, and experience fitting into this space and new developments from media owners dropping regularly, it’s another fav project to work on.
When I don’t have this meeting, I’m checking in with account teams on our ongoing strategic client projects to see if we need to change directions based on increased demand for a product due to warm weather or investigate performance after the rollout of a new Google algorithm update.
1:35PM: Run through of a prospective client brief with my partner in strategy, Maithri. We are a double act on certain clients and new business opportunities as her major strengths, as it were, are my minor and vice versa. This partnership enables us both to take on new challenges outside of our original comfort zone and share practical knowledge on the go.
2:00PM: Department meeting to highlight any new existing client opportunities, flags from the Client Success team, any support needed, and general new business updates. This gives our team based in both London and Leeds the space to chat through key project types coming up.
2:46PM: Meeting ends early, so I use this time to check in on a client document for a new targeting strategy for a product of theirs. The Programmatic and Paid Social teams have a handle on what’s marked left to input, so I make a note to check back later in the week with Maithri to add our contributions.
3:07PM: As Co-chair of the Mediabrands Open Women’s Network (OWN, as it’s affectionately called in the network) I check in with the network on our planned activity. I next follow up with Talent team on when to promote our updated Menopause policy with guidance for managers and check in with the other network leads on support needed for upcoming events. This year’s focus is on cross-network collaboration so all of us volunteers in this side hustle known as Open are more in tune with each network’s priority months such as Pride and South Asian Heritage Month, and how we can support each other.
The OWN Monthly Awards nominations close soon so I post in our Teams channel to remind people to nominate a woman or non-binary colleague or themselves for a chance to win the crown this month. This started to spotlight employees’ contributions on a wider scale where they might be overlooked. Winners are announced in our end-of-month newsletter and on LinkedIn, so you’ll have to check who won!
3:24PM: Work on a few slides ahead of a new business pitch internal kick-off meeting for the following day. Our new business team is made up of lovely humans with mythical powers of organisation, knowledge, and attention to detail so it’s always an adventure working together.
3:53PM: As I had a meeting moved to the following day, I turn my attention to upcoming quarterly business reviews or QBRs. I start by reviewing what the performance was in the previous quarter and the key actions suggested for the current quarter. Then I scan back through our Teams chat for any flags regarding activation, budget, or test ideas for Q3.
The craft team are experts in their field, and our Client Success team’s middle name is ‘Finesse’ with a strong gif game, so crowd-sourcing suggestions for solutions in Q3 is as informative as it is fun. This client is equally involved in these meetings, which is fantastic, and tomorrow we’re finalising the structure and responsibilities for the presentation.
5:08PM: A quick chat with our Head of Talent Development Cat about where a potential new program could sit, and then turn to the pre-work assigned to me before our coaching session later this week.
5:30PMish: It’s time to pack up my stuff and head to the trains and flip between extending my Duolingo streak and TikTok on the platform and on the train. If I’m in the middle of a thought or urgent request, I’ll stay a bit longer to get the insight out, so it doesn’t haunt me in the middle of the night like Kronk figuring out how to find Kuzco in the Emperor’s New Groove.
