Founded by four people in June 2021 who believed that a better type of agency wasn’t just possible, but needed, from a standing start we are now 50 strong and one of the fastest growing agencies in the world. We already count Livescore, Carwow, Virgin Bet, OFX, Sarson’s, Greater Anglia, Stansted Express, Open Table, CVH Spirits, Tate & Lyle, Penfolds, Royal British Legion, Branston Pickle, Movember, Moju and Estrid amongst our clients.
We won The Drum’s Global Startup of the Year Award in 2022, and were shortlisted for Campaign’s Startup of the Year Award. Training and development is core to the growth of the agency, and we are already IPA CPD Gold accredited, and currently shortlisted for The Drum’s Best Places To Work. We are also B Corp certified.
We now proudly offer a full service media and creative solution to our clients. We’re built on the power of ‘and’: creative & media, brand & performance, art & science, data & creativity, man & machine.
Our headquarters are in Clerkenwell, London and we have fully global capabilities in-house. We’re home to intelligent people who want to create incredible work on interesting brands. We are 100% independent, with no external investment whatsoever.
Our mission:
To leave the industry better than we found it. To create famous and impactful work that you want to tell your mum about. To make a living and have fun doing it.
Culture
Culture is our prize possession, and it evolved from start-up to scale up, with a team of the best diverse talent in the industry. It is built on one strategic imperative “to consistently provide our people with the best environment to do the best work of their lives”.
This principle is underpinned by our three organisational values, which are disseminated throughout to encourage every single employee to bring their true selves to work.
We pursue difference! Evidently, our team comes from all walks of life and giving them that sense of belonging - in a safe working environment - genuinely enables us to deliver the best work we can for our clients.
About the role
This role sits in our Digital team, working closely with the Planning and Data teams, and other activation specialists (e.g. across AV, Paid Social & Paid Search). The Programmatic Manager runs campaigns end-to-end and implements best-in-class strategy and processes to maximise growth for our clients.
This is a comprehensive Planner/Buyer position, responsible for the planning and output of programmatic campaigns. This will involve managing the campaign planning and delivery process end-to-end, including, responding to client briefs, crafting media plans, setting up campaigns, trading & optimising delivery, as well as crafting & presenting reports and post-campaign analyses to clients.
The Programmatic Manager will work with the Programmatic Director and Commercial Director to continually evaluate the market and onboard the best technology, data partners and media vendors. Alongside this, you’ll own key vendor relationships - championing new opportunities and training within the agency, and you’ll lead client trading and optimisation initiatives, ensuring activation is closely aligned to our clients' business needs and objectives.
Analytics, attribution and data visualisation are a key part of this role. You’ll be intrinsic in the agency’s evaluation and implementation of measurement, test and learn frameworks and targeting solutions, in the short and long term.
This role is very client-facing and requires someone who can see ‘the bigger picture’ and understand how all channels fit together to deliver our clients’ objectives, not only their specialist disciplines. Your programmatic activity is often part of an integrated media plan featuring both “offline” and “online” channels, and must work cohesively with these touchpoints, as well as owned and earned communications.
The role will always cover a mix of advertisers across different verticals. As a young independent agency, we regularly work with start-up and scale-up brands, occasionally launching advertisers’ very first media activity. Therefore, you will lead the onboarding/account setup processes comprehensively and deliver expertise on the technical setup for our clients.
Although this is a programmatic specialist role, we’d strongly encourage and invest in training in other channels (such as AV) to support the development of our overarching activation function within Bicycle.
This role reports into the Programmatic Director, who in turn reports into the Head of Digital.
About you:
* 3+ years’ experience in programmatic trading; you’re highly proficient in planning, activating, optimising and reporting across diverse campaign types and advertiser categories (ideally across brand & performance objectives). This doesn’t have to be solely agency-side, but some agency experience is strongly preferred.
* Strong technical knowledge of the Programmatic specialism - you’ve implemented programmatic strategies, traded across multiple DSPs and activated tests across campaigns.
* Strategic capabilities: you’re able to translate clients’ business problems into suitable media KPIs, thinking beyond media metrics. This is not solely an implementational role - you need to be able to translate briefs and brands’ challenges into effective programmatic plans.
* Skilled in analytics: you identify and interpret meaningful insights, and proactively ensure they’re acted upon. You have experience running brand uplift studies and working with reporting dashboards.
* Able to build and develop strong, positive and productive relationships with clients, as well as vendor contacts, internal teams and other external stakeholders (e.g. creative agencies).
* Good technical understanding of tagging and tracking systems, ideally with hands-on experience in CM360. Experience in managing Dynamic Creative Optimisation is a plus.
* You have experience managing campaigns across multiple DSPs - DV360, StackAdapt, and AdForm are preferred.
* Good knowledge of the latest techniques, developments and challenges in the market, e.g. new ad products, data opportunities, tracking developments, and audiences. You monitor and communicate programmatic developments to the wider agency, and ensure they’re integrated into media recommendations and plans. Experience in dashboarding and data querying is a plus.
* You’re proactive, positive, collaborative, well-organised, adaptable, numerate, commercially-minded and have strong attention to detail.
* You have excellent written and verbal communication skills, and show an aptitude to presenting to senior clients and stakeholders.
* You’re able to contribute to internal resources, process development and the upskilling of both colleagues and junior clients.
* You ensure that billing is completed accurately and quickly.
* You’re passionate about media and communications, and want to do great work that will make our clients and the agency famous.
* You’re enthusiastic and proactive about your development, actively working with your line manager and the wider agency to make the most of the training on offer and continually enhance your skillset.
* You’re able to participate in pitches, and manage the onboarding of new clients within your channels.
Diversity & Representation
Aside from simply being the right thing to do, we believe that fostering an inclusive culture where all talent can thrive makes our company stronger and helps drive invention in the work we do for our clients. We also believe it enables a greater idea exchange that fuels innovation and best reflects diverse consumer experiences.
Bicycle is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing a space where everyone can bring their whole self to work. We actively promote and welcome applications from individuals who identify with groups currently underrepresented in the advertising industry.
Salary & Terms
Up to £45k, depending on experience
Flexible, extensive benefits post probation. These include:
* Cycle to work scheme (of course)
* Additional holiday for every full year as an employee
* Two additional days of holiday per year for volunteering
* Pet-friendly offices
* Brompton bikes for employee use around London
* Annual away day & monthly socials
* Free Audible membership
* Annual personal development fund to explore your passions and hobbies beyond work
* Incentives for successful new business leads
We have a generous, bespoke training & development programme, curated according to employees’ career ambitions. Examples include:
* 1-2-1 career coaching
* Client relationship management
* DV360 Certification
* IPA courses, such as Behavioural Economics, Foundation Certificate, Effectiveness Certificate and Digital Performance Certificate
* IAB courses
* Meta courses, such as Marketing Science
Our close-knit culture is incredibly important, as is cross-departmental collaboration and ensuring all employees are able to learn directly from the Board. Therefore we’re based in the office (and/or with clients, media owners and at industry events) 3+ days per week.
Seniority level
Mid-Senior level
Employment type
Full-time
Industries
Advertising Services
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