Reading Time: ~4 Mins | Written by Anabel Blesch
So, if you’re like us, you’ve probably done your binge of the highly anticipated ‘Saison Trois’ of Emily in Paris. A show we all love to hate or hate that we love (who knows where the line is) but nonetheless, it highlights what we all need right now – escapism!
As someone with a strong background in French, marketing, a dream of living in Paris, and a not-so-secret love of Lily Collins, I found myself having a hard time looking away from the screen all three seasons. From the wild outfits, handsome love interests, gorgeous scenery and most importantly, the many references to my job [Marketing Account Manager] I have been sucked in from day one.
Even as a fan of the show, everyone can agree on one thing about it, it isn’t accurate. But we can’t expect much else from a fictional rom-com that is meant to bring joy. There seem to be countless inaccuracies in Emily’s line of work that are brought up and I thought it would be super fun to debunk and shed some light for anyone who is either looking to get into the industry or for our prospective clients who are curious about what life is like day to day in an agency!
Read below as I breakdown 5 marketing myths from Emily in Paris:
1. Myth: Emily is an Account Manager or Marketing Executive (Jury is still out on which)
This one is super blurry as many agencies have a different formula for how they task-manage and assign roles. But Emily has many grey areas in her work life, similar to her personal life. Emily often refers to herself as an Account Manager, which is seemingly true, but where it gets confusing is when she simultaneously pitches directly and manages clients but also ends up posting directly to social media herself and never is seen assigning work to colleagues. She also tosses in the title “Marketing Executive” a fair amount which just adds more fire to the flame – if you ask me, she’s got a little too much on her plate for one person.
Reality: Emily would likely pitch those big ideas of hers as an Account Manager and then organize and distribute work amongst her team.
2. Myth: Emily isn’t in the Public Relations industry
As someone who specializes in PR, I’ve caught myself giggling a few times at Emily’s somewhat spiteful PR comments such as “you know that is press, you don’t have to go right?” and “It’s like PR and marketing, we get smooshed together all the time!” When the reality is, much of Emily’s job actually falls under the PR umbrella, which is a segment of marketing. Many of her big campaign ideas are in fact PR activations, influencer management, and even media relations (does anyone else remember the “La Liste” episode?). While PR has its own identity in regard to the Marketing Industry as a whole, it is almost impossible for them to not be “smooshed” together.
Reality: Emily specializes in PR and Social Media.
3. Myth: Marketing is also product development
I’m talking Champère, Pierre Cadault’s many product lines, bottled leek soup, and countless other Emily-Esque pitches that involved clients creating a new product. Now, I understand as someone who has been in many brainstorming sessions with clients, new ideas that tie in with marketing campaigns are often discussed on the fly. However, Emily takes it to a whole new level by telling her clients to create new products to solve their problems and somehow the new product is ready after 48 hours only!
Reality: Emily would be involved around the time the product is already in production to then come up with the campaigns to promote it.
4. Myth: There are events every night
Now, maybe this one is biased as here in Vancouver we don’t have the same nightlife as dazzling Paris but I’ll dare to say that the reality is, there are a lot fewer weeknight events to attend than the show portrays. I can let this one slide though as what would the show be without Emily wearing feathers and glitter for a new car launch each Wednesday night?
Reality: Events are actually common but not part of the daily routine.
5. Myth: Huge marketing campaigns happen fast
This one probably feels obvious and maybe not necessary to poke at since it is just T.V., but deadlines seem to always happen in 24 hours for Emily! For a well-organized and creative campaign that produces results, it can take months (or more) to fully execute. The show wouldn’t have the same zest without these wild PR Activations popping up minute to minute but it is important to set some expectations for real-life marketing professionals and their clients, and amazing work takes time.
Reality: Campaigns take time!
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Now those are all my favourite myths to debunk – let us know in the comments what your favourite one is or one we may have missed. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions about what campaigns with Jelly could look like. Au Revoir!
Categories:
advertising, Marketing Insights
