dentsu

Pros: Some team leads are genuinely supportive. As a Media Planner, I learned a lot from a few direct managers who truly cared. Plus, the hybrid work model is a nice perk for agency life.
Cons: Upper management often feels out of touch. There's a clear disconnect on strategy, especially for junior roles. Decisions from the top sometimes don't make sense on the ground in our advertising agency.
Advice to Management: Focus on better communication between senior leadership and individual contributors. Listen to the teams doing the actual client work. Improve clarity on company vision and how it impacts day-to-day operations for everyone, especially in an advertising agency setting.

Pros: Working as a Digital Marketing Specialist here means you're always learning new things in the fast-evolving ad agency world. The team in the New York City office is genuinely collaborative and supportive. There's a strong emphasis on sharing knowledge and helping each other out, which makes tackling tough client work a lot easier.
Cons: The company culture can feel pretty demanding, especially during big campaign launches or pitches. While the team is great, work-life balance isn't always a priority for a large corporate agency like dentsu. Expect to put in extra hours sometimes to meet tight deadlines.
Advice to Management: Try to implement more consistent measures to protect employee work-life balance, especially in the digital marketing teams. Acknowledging and rewarding efforts outside of just hitting targets would really boost morale and reduce burnout in our fast-paced industry.

Pros: The health benefits here are pretty solid, which is a big plus for a big corporate agency. They offer good work-from-home flexibility, which helps when you're a digital marketing specialist in the advertising industry. It's nice not to be tied to the NYC office every single day.
Cons: The pay for digital marketing specialist roles feels a bit low, especially for New York City living. The 401k match isn't super competitive either, which is a bummer when you're thinking long-term. Raises are also pretty modest year over year.
Advice to Management: Management should really look at adjusting salaries for key roles like digital marketing specialists to be more competitive with other top agencies, especially for the high cost of living in cities like New York. Boosting the 401k match would also be a huge morale booster.

Pros: I liked the team dynamic; it's a supportive environment, which helps a lot when projects get hectic. The hybrid work model in the New York City office gives some flexibility. For a big media agency, the overall benefits package is pretty solid.
Cons: The work-life balance for Media Planner roles can be tough. There are definitely periods of long hours, especially during pitch season or campaign launches. You'll often find yourself working past 6 PM, which can be draining.
Advice to Management: Managers need to protect their team's time better. Try to distribute the workload more evenly and avoid last-minute fire drills where possible. It would really help with employee burnout.

Pros: The health benefits here are pretty solid, definitely a highlight. For a big corporate agency like dentsu, the 401k match is also decent. As a Digital Marketing Manager, the insurance options felt pretty comprehensive.
Cons: Honestly, the base salary isn't always competitive for the New York City office, especially for more senior marketing roles. It's tough when you see what other ad tech industry companies offer. Annual raises are often minimal, so don't expect huge jumps.
Advice to Management: Really look at increasing base salaries for key roles, especially within the ad tech industry. Regular market adjustments for pay would go a long way in retaining talent, particularly in competitive markets like New York City.

Pros: As a Media Planner here, you get to work on some really big campaigns. It's a large corporate agency, so there's always new business coming in which feels decent for project flow.
Cons: Honestly, job security isn't its strong suit. There are constant rumors, and unfortunately, layoffs happen quite often across the advertising industry, even here in the New York City office. It makes long-term planning tough for us.
Advice to Management: Communicate more openly about company strategy and reduce sudden layoff rounds to improve employee morale and job security for agency roles.

Pros: There's a lot of diversity, which is great. You meet people from all backgrounds, especially working in the New York City office. For entry-level advertising roles, it's a decent place to learn the ropes.
Cons: The culture can feel very corporate and hierarchical. It's tough to make your voice heard as an Account Coordinator, and sometimes you just feel like a cog in a big machine. Work-life balance can be a real struggle with long hours.
Advice to Management: Management should really focus on empowering junior staff. Create clearer pathways for growth and recognize contributions more. The culture would improve a lot with better support and less micromanagement across teams.

Pros: Healthcare is pretty solid here. As a Media Planner, the base salary was okay. They do offer some good wellness perks.
Cons: Bonuses aren't great for the workload. Annual raises can feel pretty small. It's tough in this New York, NY market.
Advice to Management: Look at competitive bonuses for agency roles. Retention is key in this advertising industry. Fair compensation helps with employee morale.

Pros: The hybrid work model does offer some flexibility, which helps with commuting. My team is generally supportive, and we try to cover for each other when we can. It's good exposure to major advertising campaigns.
Cons: Work-life balance here is often challenging; expect long hours and weekend work, especially around campaign launches. As an Account Executive, client expectations can be relentless, making it hard to disconnect. You don't always get that 40-hour week.
Advice to Management: I'd suggest setting clearer boundaries for client communication outside of work hours. Empowering teams to push back on unrealistic deadlines would really help prevent burnout for people in client-facing roles like Account Executives.

Pros: You get to work on some really big brand campaigns, which is great for digital marketing experience. As an Associate Account Manager, I learned a lot about media planning from my direct team. The New York City office itself is a cool spot.
Cons: The work-life balance isn't always there, especially during big client pitches. Sometimes it feels like there's too much internal competition, making cross-team collaboration harder. The company culture can be a bit 'always on,' even with hybrid work options.
Advice to Management: Try to foster more collaboration and less internal competition between teams. Really focus on supporting employee well-being to prevent burnout in these demanding advertising agency roles.