Over the years with the progression of technology, online platforms, and the evolution of brand-driven social media networks, one thing has become certain – digital marketing is here to rule!
Consequently, a vast number of individuals globally are pursuing their career in this industry and digital marketing skills are in major demand. Men and women alike are making it big in the field and are leaving a mark in the digital world.
Likewise in Pakistan, digitization has witnessed a massive growth in the number of women making a career in this field alongside men.
There are a number of females who have fought their way to the top of the digital ladder and are crushing stereotypes weaved around working women in Pakistan. However, their experience across the digital marketing landscape remains unheard.
We interviewed four female leaders, employed at East River Digital Agency and encouraged them to share their success stories with our readers.
For women, becoming a leader in the digital marketing world can be quite a challenge. However, these boss ladies at East River Digital are playing a major role in accelerating the agency and have proved to be valuable organizational assets.
Mother of Accounts- Mariyem Abdi
Working at East River for quite some time as the Head of Accounts, Mariyem’s managerial responsibilities include looking after a team of account managers.
She looks at each person’s expertise in a particular area, their leadership skills and how they work under pressure and manage situations.
How has the progress of digital marketing in Pakistan helped you evolve in this industry?
Mariyem: Digital marketing was a fascinating but abstract concept when it was first talked about and implemented in Pakistan. Since then, I have seen a tremendous amount of change. It has evolved so brilliantly and helped me curate the perfect ideas to execute with our campaigns that I do not have to think twice about the possibilities that this field provides me with.
Share with us one achievement that you think is the highlight of your digital career.
Mariyem: When I first started at the company, I did get very lucky with my targets for the year and it came as a complete surprise when I managed to go beyond those expected targets especially when it came to Candi Biscuits. You know how you plan something but then realize that the sky is the limit? That is what East River has enabled me to envision and strive to accomplish. It started with bringing on board UniFoods (Good Goodies) and Sugarie, to L’Oreal and most recently Engro Foundation.
Other than the accounts, my other achievement to date is my team. How I managed to find the right people for the right job; like the right fit to my account team puzzle. These people help me achieve great things every day.
Where they any gender stereotypes you faced in your career? If yes, how did you overcome them?
Mariyem: In this industry, I’ve somehow been very blessed to not come across such inconveniences.
How has East River helped you evolve as a professional?
Mariyem: Seeing how the position I manage is the very basis of managerial work, the role of a leader has been prominent throughout. I’ve developed various attitudes with time and been able to curate the right type with the particular group. Leading has been my strong point, for I now know what it means to lead successfully.
Meet the Content Queen- Amina Baig
Amina is a fine art major who has spent six years in the print industry and fell into digital advertising completely by chance, where she has been happily working and learning for the last 6 years.
How has the progress of digital marketing in Pakistan helped you evolve in this industry?
Amina: The beauty and complication of digital is that it is always evolving, and therefore everyone in the industry has to constantly be on their toes. You have to keep up with the trends, keep learning, and keep a supremely open mind; a good example of this is how we execute Butterfly Breathable’s objective of educating young women on menstrual hygiene management. The idea is to keep it short and fun for the target audience: so we run a monthly comic titled ‘The Adventures Of Uterus And Butterfly’, which conveys the message but is engaging and relatable. It’s really easy to evolve when these are the hazards of your chosen occupation.
Share with us one achievement that you think is the highlight of your digital career.
Amina: My greatest achievement has to be adapting to the quick, seemingly breezy tone of digital content. Coming from the copy-heavy world of journalism, condensing information, sentiment and wit into a five-word line has been a challenge and a half.
Were there any gender stereotypes you faced in your career? If yes, how did you overcome them?
Amina: I have been fortunate in always having worked for organisations that are respectful and non-discriminating towards all their employees. That said, there will always be that one person who thinks that you aren’t serious about your career because you are a woman. How do you deal with people like that? You don’t pay attention to them or let them take away from your efforts and contributions at work.
How has East River helped you evolve as a professional?
Amina: East River is a very energetic agency. We work hard, we work fast, and there is a very tangible push toward constant learning. I’ve learned how to think fast and be ready for anything.
A tete a tete with the Creative Mastermind- Anosha Aslam
Currently working as a Creative Director, Anosha is trying her tryst for the first time in the digital advertising industry. However, she has been in the advertising business for around 8 years.
How has the progress of digital marketing in Pakistan helped you evolve in this industry?
Anosha: Digital is the future, it is the tomorrow of everything. It’s growing rapidly even in Pakistan, so after working a little on traditional I wanted to evolve my experience into digital marketing and know more about it. It has been a good learning experience.
Share with us one achievement that you think is the highlight of your digital career
Anosha: That would be winning the pitch for Loreal, the brief was extensive and detailed and I think we all worked really well together and we pitched some unconventional ideas which was the best part about it!
Where they any gender stereotypes you faced in your career? If yes, how did you overcome them?
Anosha: Actually no! Never. In fact, wherever I have worked I have seen more women at the workplace than men and that too in Pakistan! So, fortunately, I have never experienced that.
How has East River helped you evolve as a professional?
Anosha: As I mentioned before this is my first time at digital and it’s all so new and exciting. I think this journey has taught me a lot about the other side of advertising which I didn’t know about. So yeah now I can safely say that I know another medium of advertising.
Media Maestro-Quratulain Rashid
A former creative manager, at a well-known rigorous event & PR agency, Quratulain stepped into East River after realizing her love for Digital Marketing.
As a Communication Strategist, she leads the Digital PR department. With a background in creative strategy and a slight fetish for numbers, she encouraged her team to focus on a more analysis & insight-driven approach when creating digital PR plans.
How has the progress of digital marketing in Pakistan helped you evolve in this industry?
Quratulain: It’s intense being a part of the progress because quite honestly most of us cannot even fathom how much further it’s going to go. I was fortunate enough to enter the digital marketing field at exactly the right time, I have seen the constant evolution and chosen to keep evolving with it by consuming information faster, and by creating, if not discovering, new avenues of partnership.
Share with us one achievement that you think is the highlight of your digital career.
Quratulain: Honestly, there are too many to list down. I’d definitely like to share two of them if I can’t share all. The first one, a campaign very close to my heart, is the re-launch of MilcoLu, the biscuit brand.
It was one of the first bigger campaigns we did; with months of planning, a limited budget in hand, and a team that would just not quit, we were able to amplify it on a scale which we were definitely not anticipating.
The second one, I understand is quite possibly a little vain, but it would have to be my position in the organization: at 26, I am the youngest Head of Department at East River.
Were there any gender stereotypes you faced in your career? If yes, how did you overcome them?
Quratulain: Have you heard the saying, “a woman is a woman’s worst enemy”?
Our society is such that, as women, we have ingrained in ourselves the inability to accept another woman’s accomplishments more often than naught. Just out of university, I faced this at the start of my career, it was disheartening, but I chose not to give the situation the attention it was begging for.
How has East River helped you evolve as a professional?
Quratulain: My professional strengths have evolved exponentially in the time I have been at East River. I started out as a Community Manager, went on to Sr. Community Manager, and from there, with the support of my organisation, have set up and lead the Digital PR department.
This has followed through with expanding my skill-set of Digital Media as well as Strategy. Apart from this, East River has shown me an ideal setting of what the future of most organisations will be, almost 50% of our workforce is female with five out of seven female department heads. It gives me hope as a woman, and as a professional who believes in an inclusive workforce.
These women have truly left us inspired by their stories of hard work, determination, and passion.
Stay tuned to Brandsynario for more updates.
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