Known as one of the largest, independent health-wellness creative engagement agencies in the U.S, as well as one of the most awarded healthcare agencies in the U.S, there’s no surprise that The Bloc left an impressive mark on me. The moment I stepped out of the elevator and through the glass doors on the 15th floor, I knew this was the type of place where I could envision myself working. Members of the Zicklin Graduate Career Management Center, along with both graduate and undergraduate students of Baruch College, like myself, had the privilege of attending a site visit to the agency on April 15, 2016. What’s unique about The Bloc is that they believe in their client brands and services. They understand their customer’s needs, the relationship between their clients and customers, as well as the value they need to demonstrate. There’s a reason why clients have entrusted their faith for more than 16 years to market their products and help their businesses grow.
As an Advertising and Marketing Communications major, the visit to The Bloc offered me great insight into what an advertising agency is like. I plan to work in an ad agency as an Account Planner and meeting with Project Management and Account Services really taught me more about each department’s responsibilities. Jacob Boxer, Associate Director, Multichannel Project Management, explained to us what project management was, the career paths in project management and some characteristic traits that were associated with being a PM. He mentioned how PMs were responsible for overseeing projects from start to finish. Also, he added that the “PM needs to be a people person because half the time you’re acting as a psychologist.” Jacob was more than happy to stay and answer any questions we had when he finished his presentation.
Paul Kenjarski, VP, Group Account Director, along with Liz Whitcomb, Senior Account Manager, came in next to speak all about Account Services. Paul mentioned that Account Services is the “Aggregator, the master of all trades.” That statement resonated with me because I’m the type of person that’s good at a lot of things, so after hearing that, it confirmed that going into the Account Services side of the agency was a good match for me. He explained what Account Services was: “Relays the clients need to the agency and facilitates creation and execution of key assets to meet those needs.” Paul, just like Jacob, brought up the fact that you need to like working and getting along with people because that’s what the ad world is all about. I really appreciated the fact that Paul stayed and showed us real life ad campaigns The Bloc is currently working on or has worked on in the past to give us a better idea of the process of creating a campaign. There’s no better way to learn than from the source itself. After he finished answering the remainder of our questions, Christine Mach, a Baruch alumna and current HR Manager for The Bloc, gave us an incredible office tour.
Awe-struck would be an understatement. Picture a beautiful, contemporary, award-winning architectural space as the office. It’s a new office which they moved into in July 2015. It was an open floor plan, with lots of couches and kitchen space to lay back and enjoy the views. Oh, did I forget to mention the impeccable views? Being on the 15th floor on the tip of lower Manhattan, you had a stunning view of the East River right below you. Christine shared that when the Pope landed on the East River helipads during his visit to New York last year, they had a perfect view of when he landed. The executives had their own chic offices with glass doors. Christine mentioned that dogs were allowed in the office and how fun it was to have them around. She also pointed out that the dress code of the office was business casual, which reflected their laid-back culture. The Bloc has something called “Flexible Fridays” where employees don’t physically have to come to the office to do their work. They have an option of either coming in or working from home, the park, their in-law’s house, etc. Once we made our rounds around the full office, we went back to the conference room where Christine lastly explained to us their 2016 Summer Bloc Apprentice Program. It’s unlike any other internship because it offers you real, hands-on experience in the advertising world. If chosen, students have the opportunity to work alongside an assigned department and even lead an intern project (campaign) from start to finish. Christine shared that this program has been running for 5 years. She explained to us examples of past work that apprentices did and I was very impressed. Upon saying our goodbyes, I knew that my future was staring me in the face and I’m beyond excited to continue working towards fulfilling my goal in joining an advertising agency.
