Digitas Reviews in Boston, MA Area

Pros

The people at digitas are the smartest in the industry. Employee training and development programs are outstanding. The benefits package are among the best in the boston advertising/marketing arena. Digitas considered shared learning a top priority. Each employee has a manager, who is required to meet with the employee each week for a one-on-one catch up session. Each one of my managers was outstanding in this capacity and helped me considerably. THe HR department really cares about employee well being - in fact, it is the best HR experience with a company I have ever had. When employees no longer used the in house cafe, they re-tooled the whole thing to bring us better, more healthy and fresher meals. Everybody gets FOUR free days off in the summer - WHO ELSE DOES THAT?? THe offices are beautiful. I was proud, very proud to tell people that I worked at Digitas.

Cons

the work load can be very heavy. Also they could do a better job at keeping people who are really good at their job, the workload burns out people at a high rate.

Advice to Senior Management

keep on doing great work and hiring and keeping good people

Pros

Great people, interesting work, and a laid-back and flexible atmosphere make this a great place to start a career. Coworkers encourage growth and development, and develop bonds that extend far beyond the office. Work is challenging but extremely rewarding, and the amount of client interaction is extraordinary - even at entry-level positions.

Cons

Compensation is reasonable, but sometimes not worth the long hours during hectic weeks. The training and on-boarding process for new employees seriously lacks structure, and much of the learning is done through questions and first-hand experience.

Advice to Senior Management

Have more contact with your teams, even if it means just keeping in touch with what they are working on and what you can do to help.

Pros

This is such an exciting industry to be in right now. Digitas is full of incredibly smart, creative, individuals. The tenure of these employees is very encouraging. People have been there for 5, 7, 10 years. Its a clear sign that this company takes care of their employees.

Cons

Hours seem to be long at times; I think some people are overworked, but possibly because they have not balanced their life/work appropriately.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your direct reports when they have feedback. Sometimes I think senior management loses sight of the ranks below.

Pros

Working at Digitas makes it easy to find another job. It is a tremendous training ground that grants people as much responsibility as they can ably handle. There is a great amount of respect from other firms for the people that work at Digitas because of the high(ish) standards and solid recruiting efforts.

Cons

There is an absolute void of charismatic leaders within Digitas' most senior ranks.

Advice to Senior Management

Spend more time recognizing accomplishment instead of just effort. Work on ways to ameliorate the levels of politics within the organization.

Pros

1. Fun, attractive co-workers
     -Regardless of which office you work in, Digitas is loaded with young, attractive co-workers. Drinks after work are not uncommon and strong friendships are made, as you work well into the night.
2. Develop a skill set other companies want
   -When the time comes to leave Digitas, you'll have no problem finding another job. Other employers love the Digitas pedigree and the network you establish will benefit you for years to come.
3. Interesting brands
    -GM and Amex are the two beasts in the Digitas world. Both accounts are very well established and you can strengthen your skill set as your slowly, ever so slowly climb up the ladder.

Cons

1. GDP promo process is for the birds
     -Regardless of what you do, or how hard you work, Big Daddy Glenn wants people to sit in a position for at least 2, often 3 years.
2. Hours are long
    -Client service is just that, you are there to serve the client. That often requires staying late to hit very hard deadlines and doing the work of more then one employee.
3. Tough to switch brands
    -There is so much to learn at Digitas you should try and touch as many accounts as possible. Each account is run differently, so if you can bounce around, you'll be more marketable when you leave.

Advice to Senior Management

The Digitas GDP process needs work, the system is flawed. Digitas has trained an army of smart people, but it is not uncommon for groups of people to leave after every GDP cycle. The brainpower that walks out the door, on a regular basis, is very sad indeed.

Pros

Opportunity to work with, and learn from some of the brightest people in the industry.
The company has an amazing reputation
You will become part of a prestigious network
Unlimited opportunity for growth
Great about providing opportunities to move around the company and get experience in different areas
Very fair compensation
Performance review process is thorough

Cons

Long, hard hours
Extremely high expectations
Difficult to achieve work/life balance
Experience completely depends on your team - who is your manager, and who else are you working with?

Advice to Senior Management

Take the time to support your valuable employees. They give so much of themselves to the company, and frankly, they could go anywhere and will if they aren't feeling appreciated.

Pros

Employees at Digitas have good opportunities for exposure to a wide and deep wealth of knowledge about the digital marketing space. The company employs a really smart group of people and promotes a fun culture.

Cons

It's easy to get pigeon-holed within your lane of work, and consequently it can be difficult to move into different work streams or areas of expertise. Additionally, many of the teams are spread between two or more cities (e.g. Boston and Detroit), which can be frustrating.

Advice to Senior Management

One of the perks of working at an agency (as opposed to working client side) is the opportunity to gain experience in more than one industry and type of work - but at Digitas, it is very difficult to take advantage of this.

Pros

Digitas has a location easy for most commuters. Very central for getting to different neighborhoods. Benefits are satisfactory. The pay is competitive for the Boston region. If you like a social environment the company certainly gives plenty of opportunities to mingle. Their vacation policies are generous for those that stay long enough to take advantage. The client roster is established and enviable. If you are lucky to work on a great team with proactive, smart managers it can be a wonderful employer.

Cons

The creative side of this office can be stifling and not through any fault of it's own. It's creative for better or worse is Fortune 100 companies whose brands are defined from the general agency partners. Some of the management can be arrogant and divisive. The political climate of the Boston office foremost rewards interpersonal relationships over work ethic. Promotions are hard to come by and long hours are not unexpected. Digitas is a good place to stop in and get your feet wet for a year or two, but don't stay unless you are on a terrific team and it's working for you.

Advice to Senior Management

Put more emphasis on professionalism in the office and less on trying to encourage college-like antics. People are more satisfied to work for employers that work for them.

Pros

Compensation was good; lots of young smart people; cutting edge marketing projects

Cons

Bad on-boarding; lack of quality training
high turnover
long hours and burnout
Some managers are not approachable

Advice to Senior Management

Senior Management needs to spend more time and effort on training its employees for the skills they need. The put the minimum amount of staff on projects causing too much work load. The on boarding process needs serious overhaul.

Pros

Digitas is full of great people who are super smart and cool too. They also foster an independent work style where employees are able to carve out a niche for themselves based on their own work style. We have cool clients -- all household names -- so when people ask what you do they will be engaged and want to talk to you more about it. It's also a fun and youthful environment with fun company events, free bagels, and lots of beer.

Cons

The work schedules are crazy and it's left to each individual to navigate this for themselves. It's really hard for new people espeically. You have to defend your personal time without remorse! If you do a good job no one will care. i also think that being surrounded by type As all the time can be draining.

Advice to Senior Management

When you see people leaving look at who their boss is. 9 times out of 10 there's a correlation -- especially when it's 2+ people on one team