Mav Meets… Daisy Hare one of our Senior Account Directors

What do data analytics, social algorithms and being ‘a safe pair of hands’ have in common? They’re all part of the day job for Daisy Hare, a Senior Account Director within The Maverick Group’s Hub. When she’s not crunching numbers, she’s building relationships both in and out of the agency, making sure our clients (and our people) feel happy and supported. We spoke to Daisy to find out a little more about her role, how she keeps innovating, and her sage advice to budding account managers.

You’ve been at The Maverick Group for a year now – what do you love about the agency?

This one is an easy one for me – the people! Working at Maverick is like being part of a big family.. everyone is so supportive and it really is a fantastic team, I feel very fortunate. There is some incredible talent at Maverick, enabling everyone – both junior and senior – to learn from experts within their field which is invaluable.

What are you most proud to have worked on since you’ve been at Maverick?

I could list a few major projects that we have delivered in the past 12 months and I must say that I am proud of each and every one of them. I think this is actually the key to my role – taking pride in all of the work that we deliver (otherwise I am doing something wrong) and this is down to being supported by such a strong team across the Group.

In September, we delivered the Online Shopper Survey for our client at DHL eCommerce. This year, was the second edition of the Shopper Survey (link here) which surveyed the shopping habits of over 11,000 online shoppers across 23 countries. The survey provides valuable insight to eCommerce businesses into shopping trends within these markets in the form of a major global report, a European report and 16 country guides – it’s a whopper of a project and I feel very proud to have been part of this.

Given the competitive nature of advertising and marketing industries, what do you think sets Maverick apart from other places you have worked, and our competitors?

Maverick is unique in the way we have multiple business units, offering specific services in a model centred around our “Hub” – AKA client services. This enables us all to pull in experts from across the group amongst all services which means that we can truly offer our clients end to end solutions tailored to their needs. There are no gaps in Maverick and we can seamlessly offer all services which I have not experienced in previous roles- there are normally business and knowledge gaps.

As a Senior Account Director in the Hub, you play a pivotal role in client relationships. Can you share some insights into your approach for building and maintaining strong connections with clients?

Be calm and honest! I know that this sounds remarkably basic, but I do believe that offering your clients a safe pair of hands is invaluable to them, someone that they can rely on. Trust is not given, it is earned and so building that confidence not only in myself as their client services point of contact but also in my team is paramount – delivering high quality work on time but also being an approachable team member that they feel able to really lean on and be honest with is what will build that trust – to be seen as an extension of their internal team.

I also spend time getting to know my clients and I love those thoughtful little things you can do that really make a difference – a little birthday gift or helping a client find a hotel in the never-ending train strikes… it goes a long way. Oh, and of course celebrate the wins together!!

With the constant evolution of marketing, how do you ensure that you and your team stays ahead of the curve and delivers innovative solutions to our clients?

As I mentioned before, we are very lucky that we have a group of true experts within their field working at Maverick. This means that each individual is passionate about what they do and are self-driven to explore new innovations within their area of expertise, allowing us to offer ideas and services to our clients that are ahead of the curve. For example, our Digital Lead has a lot of experience in experiential engagement and AR which we offer to our clients to set them apart from competitors and push those boundaries beyond the expected.

Measurement and analytics are crucial in evaluating the success of marketing campaigns. How do you approach data-driven decision-making, and how do you use insights to refine and optimise ongoing strategies?

In practical terms, data-driven decision making is an output of the continuous use of analytics tools and systems to gather data against our campaigns. The key is in not just collecting data from the campaigns but in the understanding of what that data is telling us which is something that we are looking at in a continuous cycle of measurement and analysis. This enables us to adapt strategies and campaigns quickly and efficiently based on the analysis of data so that we can constantly improve and learn from the data that we collect. This agility to adapt and move quickly on what the data is telling us and what we are learning from it leads to the success of a campaign.

We know that you also have a love of all things social, with the busy day job, how do you stay ahead of the latest trends and changes in the social media landscape, and are you able to bring these ideas into the agency?

Social is unique in that it is evolving at such a rapid pace and it is a full time job to keep up with the latest trends, platform developments / attributes and algorithms! However, I spend time that I can carve out in the day to read articles, attend webinars and delve in to trending topics on platforms to stay up to date as there are so many opportunities for our clients to use social to extend their reach and power up their campaigns. I am getting more and more involved in supporting other accounts across the Group with social as it is a passion of mine and the results can be astounding for clients. Watch this space!!!

For anyone who wants to get into client services, what advice would you give them?

• Keep it simple! Don’t over complicate things – your client and your team will appreciate this.
• If you don’t understand something then ask… I remember in my first 2 months at Maverick, I won an award for asking so many questions, and I am proud of this!!
• Cheesy, but be yourself! It can sometimes be tough, but it isn’t personal and if you remain honest and calm (this can be easier said than done), you will build trust not only in your client but also in your team.
• Find yourself a mentor. It doesn’t matter how senior you are, there is always someone that knows more than you do and can support you.

Who is your favourite Maverick and why?

Dick Fosbury – played within the same rules, but lead the way for the others to follow. Ha!

Does Daisy’s job sound interesting to you? If you’re keen on joining The Maverick Group’s ranks – whether in the Hub client services team or one of our other business units – make sure to keep an eye on our job postings on LinkedIn. Or, if you’re a brand champion wanting to experience a bit of Daisy’s particular brand of good old-fashioned, honest work, get in touch with us here.