Digitas Reviews

Pros

Rate was high compared to most agencies, though it's obvious in hindsight why: you'll hate working there. Free soda and bagels on Fridays doesn't make it any easier to stomach.

Cons

Managers are terrible. From top to bottom, there is nepotism and favoritism rampant. Impossible to respect them. There's a lot of red tape here too. Can't get anything done without submitting a request and then waiting for weeks (months at times) to get something done. Most of all, I was stunned by the lack of professionalism from HR.

Advice to Senior Management

Train your managers in HR liability. Bad mouthing ex-employees by a manager is embarrassing and unprofessional.

Pros

Good place to hang for a bit. Friendly people. Known accounts.

Cons

Not too creative. It's not going to give you an amazing 'folio.

Advice to Senior Management

Ramp up the creativity

Pros

High IQ, growing company, fun environment. There is pretty good collaboration between different groups and offices. The work keeps you connected to what's going on in the world.

Cons

Work can be stressful at times. Lot of emphasis put on project and financial management.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep standards high, the work gets harder if you don't have great people doing it

Pros

This is an amazing place to learn and grow into your abilities.

Cons

Any company that has monthly layoffs does not have competent management. There was not a month that I worked here that there were not layoffs. They will win a lot of 'great places to work' awards by cracking the whip to make sure the employees say how great it is, or else.

Advice to Senior Management

Get your act together. Know where your competencies are and stop outright lying to your employees.

Pros

- You can disappear when you want to because the office is so large
- The actual people on the teams are usually awesome. Very down to earth
- Great benefits

Cons

- Small fish in a big sea
- Some crazy senior management, with either a lack of care or a temper

Advice to Senior Management

Recognize your team's work

Pros

The people are SMART. The industry opportunities (betas, up-and-coming vendors, access to major players) are tremendous.

Cons

It's siloed - you get a hat, and you wear it. And the clients are big, which can mean big, interesting programs, but also bureaucracy and red tape. In general, it's not as cutting edge as it thinks it is.

Advice to Senior Management

Make sure you have the bodies to staff projects in a way that allows for really great work, not just work that meets the letter of the SOW.

Pros

Young crowd to work with. Environment is fun. Not much advancement. There are some favoritism among groups. Nice work place to hook up.

Cons

Working at Digitas, you never know when you going to get laid off. Better stay on a project with a good clientele.

Advice to Senior Management

Management has to be improved. Improve on team dynamics. Focus on customers feed backs.
Marketing runs the entire office politically and very superficial.

Pros

The new space is fun and inventive. The extras, benfiets and holidays/vacation given is nice when you can actually use them. Good parties.

Cons

Work life balance, while touted as being great, is truly not the case. Vacation is hard to use. Politics are thru the roof ridiculous. Not sure how all of the accolades for being one of the best places to work for can be true. Morale is pretty low.

Advice to Senior Management

Trust your employees and empower them. Listen to your most valuable commodity, your employees.

Pros

The Digitas Chicago office is a lot of fun. The people are great -- hard-working but not too serious. The work is interesting and challenging because the clients want us to help them be on the cutting edge. There's always food around for this or that, plentiful variety of drinks, contemporary decor, and generally a good vibe.

Cons

The company has grown rapidly but not gracefully. There is a lack of training for new employees. Processes that worked well have been lost, and there is no oversight to bring about cohesiveness. There is talk of work-life balance, but in reality, most everyone consistently works long hours. More than a few people in higher positions are bullies, so the working style is less collaborative and efficient, and more stressful just watching one's back.

Advice to Senior Management

Be truly open and share information. The lack of trust in employees and lack of giving ownership vastly limits what can be achieved.

Pros

High recognition in Digital Marketing field, Easy to get recruited from
Lots of very smart, talented, and friendly people
Flexibility to do what you need to do (may depend on your team / boss)
Always looking to educate employees on the latest trends in the industry
Lots of off time / paid holidays
Team building exercises, outings, and parties are a nice plus for the company to get to know one another

Cons

Can be a difficult place to navigate
Lots of cooks in the kitchen
Sr Management isnt always on the same page
Media, Marketing, and Creative teams dont always work together (depending on client) even though they should
Pay could be better

Advice to Senior Management

Reward and recognize your employees, most work hard, and should be recognized, even privately. Improve pay scale.