ICC Lowe Reviews

Pros

I worked with great teams

Cons

You definitely have to put in some extra hours at times

Pros

The agency is continuing to evolve to adapt to an ever changing marketplace. There are some really smart people who work here and a lot of really great hires and promotions in the last several years. I am energized by a lot of the changes going on in the Parsippany offices - particularly 5 Sylvan and Trio (which has exploded over the last several years in a good way). And compared to a lot of other agencies, we have a MUCH better work/life balance. I like the people, the work, and the culture and wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Cons

I wish the agency were more transparent with opportunities to grow or transfer between agencies when you need a challenge or want a new opportunity. We lose a lot of people because they want to grow and feel they need to look elsewhere. Why not just post open positions? It seems as though the company will bend over backwards to get a person to stay once they resign, rather than doing more to keep the person happy and engaged.

Pros

ICC Lowe is located in northern New Jersey. The location is convenient and it means that you can drive home when you finally get to leave at midnight and are half asleep, rather than taking a car service home from a NYC agency.

Cons

Mid- and senior-level management is unprofessional and cutthroat. Backstabbing is the norm. People work in constant fear. It's a dog-eat-dog environment. The company has been firing older employees with higher salaries on a regular basis for a few years. Although it is pretty well known that these are staff reductions, the company will not admit it and continues to claim it is doing well. The creative work has suffered greatly due to poor direction and an inability to judge quality work by mid- to senior-level managers. The clients are not happy. There is no work-life balance. Employees are pressured to cancel doctor appointments, vacations, holidays, and even the cherished "free" week off between Christmas and New Year's. The health insurance is expensive and not very good. It's not as if you can actually use the health insurance, because you are constantly asked to reschedule essential medical appointments and procedures. The hours are very long. It is the norm to work into the late night hours. Dinner may be free, but it is ordered very late and it's usually just pizza. Combine long hours, junk food, inability to go to the doctor, high stress, and you've got a very unhealthy atmosphere. Now that FCB has bought the company it will be "interesting" to see the very same people who threw others under the bus experience the very same thing.

Pros

There are some really cool, talented people with a true positive vibe. Hard working and dedication stand true with such talented folks and I found those who continue to keep that vibe alive inspiring. Summer 1/2 day Fridays were nice and the studio was spacious.

Cons

Unfortunately, those whom are talented and positive were there temporarily, or just holding on until something better came alone. I had high hopes for ICC, only to find out that popularity, cynicism and over the line sarcasm were trumped over a desire to become part of the team.

Pros

Very smart developers with wide range of skills. It's impossible not to improve here. Plus, you make your own hours, basically. Some people are in at 7 and out at 4, some in at 10 and out at 7. (Subject to need of course. Deadlines rule.) There's a strong push toward new technology. These guys want to be bleeding edge. You get what you need to do the job. These guys aren't cheap that way. Accountability is demanded. You can't coast.

Cons

The clients are sometimes promised 1000 hours of work in 800 hours. You MUST be able to manage your time effectively to thrive here. Forget 'thrive'. You'll be eaten alive. Accountability is demanded. You can't coast.

Pros

Company has exciting vision and truly passionate leaders to get us there People on teams are very supportive of one another Very strong medical department which is a support to us all as well as the client Great new additions across the board Because there are so many very passionate and smart people, things can get intense and if you are a poor or mediocre performer it is hard to hide--positive for me but not for poor performers!

Cons

With changes (which I think will strengthen the company) also comes fear of the unknown. This seems to have resulted in some pockets of very vocal negativity. Work load doesn't seem to be divided evenly so it is sometime very hard to strike a work/home balance

Pros

Exposure to many brands and parts of the agency as a whole. Made a lot of friends

Cons

Upper management. There is so much ego and no mentorship. You can tell your supervisor over and over where you want to go and how you'd like to grow - and they could be completely supportive of that - but as soon as it is taken to the higher ups, it's like the conversation never happened. You're just constantly told why you're not good enough for a higher job position, and they just keep adding more things to the list of responsibilities required, in order to get promoted. It's a broken record.

Pros

Smart strategic people work there, so they are always winning new business which is great for job stability, as long as you work hard and do well

Cons

Work life balance is always a struggle, as client demands are prioritized over everything else in your life. If you have a fair client, all will be well. If you have an ego-centric client who doesn't care if you need to stay up 3 nights in a row to take care of a list minute request, then you are out of luck.

Pros

There are many wonderful people here. It can be a good place to start out and get experience. Attire is casual.

Cons

Depending on which department you work in and who your manager is, this place truly can be a sweat shop, as others have stated. Expect to work very long hours without being rewarded with a promotion or raise. Also, the main reason I decided to post a review today is that the company recently realized that they had an overwhelming amount of negative reviews on Glassdoor and rather than combat this by changing their ways and making it a good place to work in order to EARN positive reviews, they sent out an email to the whole company asking us all to post positive reviews! Just a warning to prospective employees, not all positive reviews are completely fabricated, but take it all in with a grain of salt.

Pros

The creative team has their stuff together. They work very hard and receive little recognition. The company overall is a good idea and some employees have solid ideas. Nice niche market with tons of potential. There are some good people there that aren't valued.

Cons

People are not respected for their opinions. They want positive change and say they want employee input, but when employees speak up nothing gets done. Nothing changes. You can slap as much paint and cool Lego toys on the wall but the atmosphere will never change. People are tired, underappreciated and quite frankly disrespected. I have never worked in an organization where a senior level human resources "professional" is nice to an employee's face but can turn around 2 seconds after that came employee leaves and throws them under the bus. A team can only be as successful as the person that leads the team.