IPG Mediabrands

Pros: I appreciate the collaborative teams and fantastic learning opportunities, especially in digital marketing and media planning. We gain exposure to big clients and impactful campaigns. The hybrid model offers good work flexibility.
Cons: It's a very fast-paced agency, so busy periods can be intense. Sometimes, internal approval processes feel slow, which impacts quick turnarounds. Clearer paths for career progression would be helpful.
Advice to Management: Focus on streamlining some of the internal approval workflows to enhance project agility. Also, providing more structured guidance on career progression paths, especially for high-performing individual contributors, would be greatly beneficial for employee retention and motivation.

Pros: I learned a ton about media buying and ad tech as a Media Planner. There are some truly inspiring senior leaders in the New York City office. It's a solid place to get agency experience.
Cons: Direction from management often feels inconsistent. There's a noticeable lack of clear vision, which makes client pitches tougher than they need to be. Middle management often feels unsupported by senior leadership.
Advice to Management: Focus on developing middle management and ensure a consistent message from the top. Clearer communication about the overall company direction would help everyone, especially with client pitches.

Pros: The best part was definitely the people; my team in the New York office was supportive and always willing to help. I also appreciated the hybrid model they had, giving us some flexibility with WFH days. For a big media agency, the benefits package was pretty decent too.
Cons: Work-life balance is a real challenge here, especially for Media Planner roles. During big ad campaign cycles, it's common to work well over 40 hours a week, sometimes 50-60. Client demands can be intense, which means less personal time.
Advice to Management: Try to better manage client expectations and distribute workloads more evenly across teams. It would really help with employee burnout, especially for junior-level staff.