Young Marketers Rising event: getting young people on the DMA agenda

The DMA

Before joining the DMA Agencies Council, I admit I didn’t really understand what the Direct Marketing Association offered me. I knew about the awards, but I’d pretty much assumed its other activities were aimed at C-Suites and agency heads. Not something that would be helpful to a mere ‘junior’ like me. But receiving an invite to join the Agencies Council as part of the ‘Fresh Perspectives’ hub showed me that younger marketers were on their agenda too.

Our first job seemed obvious – help people like us feel involved with the DMA and connect them to the industry around them. We wanted to create an event for those of us who are still getting to grips with our career; an occasion that provided inspirational advice as well as a chance to meet others at the same level.

The event

A fantastic rooftop location and free food and drink can go a long way to getting people to an event, but the sizeable turnout on a rainy day suggested we were right to think people were crying out for more events like this. And our gut feelings were further backed up during Shaun Bailey’s introduction, when two thirds of the audience admitted to never having engaged with the DMA before.

Once the speakers started we were given an invaluable insight into two totally different journeys in the marketing world, both as interesting no matter where you imagine your future taking you. Vikki Morgan from social agency ‘Things with Wings’ showed us that having passion and commitment to your specialist interests can help you find your way no matter where your job role takes you, and her advice on networking and keeping contacts gave us the resolve to make the most of opportunities like this one.

The guys from new gaming craze ‘Linkee’ taught us that the skills you learn in the advertising industry can actually set you up for a whole range of other industries. Despite very different career paths, both talks left me with one key lesson: absorb what you can, make the most of this industry, but be flexible – you never know what opportunities might come to you, so be willing to grab them with both hands.

By the end of the night, after a few glasses of wine and a great burger, I could feel positivity towards the DMA buzzing in the audience, with many expressing a real desire to get more involved in the councils. Not bad for our first event, and definitely enough reason to start planning the next one.