The Expectations Of Some People...

Okay...

I worked in the search marketing field for about six years. And part of being a marketer where you buy media from businesses (like Google, Yahoo, MSN and other online ad networks) is that you get free stuff.

Sometimes, you get lots of ridiculously insane free stuff. Like:
  • Ski trips
  • Gaming systems (like PSPs and Wiis)
  • Flowers
  • Food baskets
  • iPod Speakers
  • Kick-ass hotel rooms in NYC
  • Dinners and lunches at great restaurants
  • Alcohol
I always liked the free dinners and lunches. There was one time where I got to stay in a great hotel because of a media vendor I worked with, and that was nice. And if I was out somewhere, and a rep wanted to buy me a drink, I would let them. But I never asked them and never expected them to. And I guess that's where I have a problem...

The expectations.

In this economy, I get irked when I see/hear about search marketing people taking advantage of and making it clear that they expect the freebies from vendors. I was just online and saw on Facebook someone had posted this as their status:
SO-AND-SO reminding media reps that i like free beer and knicks tickets.
WTF? Okay... First of all, you are a director-level person at an agency. You do NOT need the free stuff. Second, you are teaching the people that work under you that it is "okay" to expect and demand these types of freebies from media reps.

Sadly though, this kind of attitude and expectation is often seem throughout a lot of agencies. I had one director once tell me (when I was trying to get a bigger raise for one of my team members) that the "vendor incentives are considered part of the salaries."

"Yeah," I told her. "No, it's not. And that's not okay to make them think that. Free drinks every Wednesday night at Globe, courtesy of a vendor, is not going to help them pay their student loan bills and rent."

I think there needs to be a change in the attitude and expectations for search marketing and online marketing people...

A "gift" is a gift, and you don't expect it. When you come out and openly ask for something, that's just you being an asshole.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Funny, I think that receiving any gifts at all is ethically questionable. If you own the company, do you want your staff to buy from the vendor who has Knicks tickets? (In another context, this is also called a kickback) Or do you want your staff to buy from the vendor who provides the best service/results at the best value. I think you're on the right track. A beer or lunch is nice. Vacations sound excessive. And ASKING for them would be cause for firing, if you worked for me.

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