Alumni Spotlight: Paige Kelton
Name: Paige Kelton
Major at UT: Advertising
Sequence: TexasMedia
Graduation date: May 2017
Current Livelihood: Junior Media Buyer at Praytell Agency in Austin, Texas
Accounts: Logitech, Brother Sewing, Women’s Equality Center, Within, and then I help out with other accounts when possible.
What is your position at the company you work for and what does your role entail?
I am a Junior Media Buyer, so I work primarily on planning, setting up, optimizing, and reporting on campaigns. This is actually way more fun than it sounds because I get to help figure out what kind of audience we want to target and which content will work best to really get our clients’ names out there in front of our target.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Since I relatively new to this still, I think the most rewarding part of the job is actually having an impact on my clients and delivering them results. As you know, in college you have so many projects, but you never get past the hypothetical stage and I love how now I can come up with these ideas and actually get to see their results.
Were you in any organizations at The University of Texas and if so what positions did you hold?
I was part of UT’s chapter of the Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society
How did UT impact your life and career? Did the Stan Richards School or any other organizations at UT help you with what you’re doing now?
In short, it completely changed the direction of my life. I was a journalism student, took one advertising class, and changed my major as fast as I could. After I changed my major I was able to learn from amazing professors who had worked in the industry and I was able to work with such talented people who helped me expand the way I think about things. Further, being in TexasMedia allowed me to really have confidence in myself and helped me learn skills that I still use today at work.
Which professors were the most memorable to you and why?
I would definitely say Lisa Dobias. I walked into her Intro to Media class completely terrified and walked out knowing exactly what I wanted to do in life. She always just exuded this love for media and it really came through in her class. I can still remember the day I got accepted into TexasMedia… I was honestly more excited than the day I got accepted to UT. I’m just so grateful that she allowed me to be apart of the media cohort because it honestly changed my life and made me fall in love with media.
Why did you choose advertising?
I’ve always been a very creative person and advertising gave me a way to channel my creativity into something impactful and rewarding.
What’s your favorite part about living in Austin?
It would honestly be easier to say what I don’t like about Austin, because I seriously love everything about this city. The people are so friendly, the food is great, and there’s live music everywhere. Also, I love dogs, kayaking, and hiking and Austin has an abundance of all three!
What are your long term career goals?
I honestly just want to keep growing and learning everything I can about paid media. I would love to be able to look back at my career one day and know that I really made an impact on the brands I worked for.
What is your favorite thing to do outside of work?
I love just going down to Zilker with my dogs, kayaking, or hiking. I definitely don’t do the last two enough, but I try to any chance I get. Pretty much I just really love being outdoors taking in everything Austin has to offer.
What publications/sites/newsletters do you subscribe to and find are most helpful in your occupation?
I mostly keep up with AdAge and AdWeek, but also what’s great about Praytell is that we share articles about the latest in the industry, so I try to make sure to read those as much as possible.
What is the hardest part about your job?
I really don’t think there is anything hard about my job per say, but being pretty fresh out of college, there are obvious learning curves that I have to overcome. Sometimes, I’ll get asked to help on something that I’ve never done before and it can just lead to frustrations, but what I love about this job is I’m always learning something new and figuring out new ways of doing things.
What is the most interesting project you have worked on so far in your career?
Praytell is a smaller agency, so a lot of what we do ad-wise is on social platforms, but we recently won Brother as a client and I’m getting to assist on the paid strategy. Getting to really see how everything ramps up with a new client and getting to see the creation of new and exciting strategies is really interesting to be a part of.
Where do you see the industry going?
I think we hear it all the time, but I think the future is definitely digital. However, I also think we still need to really invest in innovative experiential advertising. People love being a part of something special and if a brand can be the one to make that happen, it just leads to a more powerful and genuine connection.
What advice would you give to a current student in the Stan Richards School?
Have confidence in yourself and live in the moment. I spent so much time during my last year worrying about internships, projects, and getting a job. I know school can be stressful and at times you can feel like everyone but you has their life together, but trust me everything will work out – maybe not exactly how you planned it, but it will work out. Once I finally just let life happen and really started realizing my value, I found my dream job and now I get to do what I love every single day alongside some of the best people I have ever met.
