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Graduate case studies

Graduate case studies
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Ed - 
Client Service Manager

Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

About the job

Main responsibilities

In my role within Spotify, I work with brands to advise how they can use Spotify's advertising capabilities as part of their marketing plan. This could be anything from simple media buys up to working with events and talent to do something really special!

Typical day

In my day-to-day, I'm usually busy talking to brands and working on ideas for how they can partner with Spotify to build music into their marketing plans. This means going to meetings, organising brainstorming sessions and also handling day-to-day admin and operational needs.

What do I enjoy about my job?

Above all, I enjoy solving problems. I love it when a brand comes to me with no idea how to align with music, and I'm able to advise on how to do this!

Challenging aspects

The job, and the industry in general, is very people-centric. A lot of what you will do turns on the strength of your professional relationships and how skilled you are at starting and maintaining these relationships. The upside of this is that it means that what I do is inherently sociable, but it can come with some challenges in understanding navigating people's knowledge levels, emotions, biases etc.

Why did this area of work appeal to me?

First of all, on a personal level I'm a huge music geek, so working in an environment where music is central to the company culture is heaven for me. Secondly, on a professional level I've always been fascinated by brands, marketing and advertising, so being able to bring my two interests together in a single job is really appealing.

Skills/qualifications I use in my job?

My degree in philosophy gives me a great grounding in critical thinking, and this is absolutely invaluable. Being organised (spinning plates!), strategically-minded and self-motivating are all traits that are very valuable in what I do.


Career information

Brief history since leaving University

Since leaving Sheffield, I did work experience at a handful of advertising agencies before landing a graduate role at Walker Media (since renamed Blue449) where I learned about digital media and advertising. From there, I went on to do five years at Mediacom, the largest media agency in the UK, where I worked on brand campaigns for VW, Audi, Tesco, Lucozade and others. I decided to make the move across to Spotify six months ago and couldn't be happier!

Aside from the IPA Foundation certificate (a necessity to work in advertising in the UK), I've done no further qualifications.

Where do I see myself in the future?

My ambition is to be a leading figure in influencing how brands and music come together.


Advice to students

My piece of advice to students

Perseverance and resilience are important traits, especially getting into anything to do with music or the creative industries. They're very sought-after roles, and so the number of applicants for any given job can be huge.



Send Ed a question about their career.


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Last updated: 04 Nov 2018