Q&A with Account Manager, Matt Collingwood.
Tell us about a typical day in the life of Matt
Typically I’ll wake up around 5:45am, eat some breakfast and head to the gym for a quick workout before work. Normally my drives consist of a variety of podcasts (I’m currently going through old episodes of Off Book: The Improvised Musical Podcast) and I’ll be sure to catch up on any text messages from my friends on the east coast once I am at the gym.
As I arrive at work, I’ll head to the fridge to grab my usual water and carbonated lemon-lime water while catching up on emails. After I’m settled in, I’ll create my priorities and to-do lists for the day using my weekly project tracker that never leaves my side. Of course, the priorities are more of a formality, as I need to remain flexible and address any of my client’s needs as they come up. I’ll usually aim to leave the office around 5 – 6 pm, where I normally call my parents or girlfriend to have a quick chat on my drive home or to the pool, depending on the day.
Since I used to swim competitively in college, I have been reacquainting myself with the sport and will typically swim for an hour after work for 3-4 days a week. It’s a wonderful stress reliever, along with a full-body workout, though it is an odd sensation to swim outside in Arizona during the winter since its warm enough, unlike my two previous homes (Michigan and Maryland). Once home, I’ll cook myself some dinner, do some quick cleaning and then hop on my Xbox and see if any of my friends are online. After that, it’s usually time to get ready for bed and start the process over again the next day!
What do you do in your role at Elevation?
As an Account Manager, I am responsible for keeping my clients happy and our projects on time and on budget. This usually means that I have one eye on our project management system and my other eye on my emails, which is why two screens are a blessing! In addition to the usual project management tasks, I am typically the liaison between our client and the Elevation creative team for both corporate and medium business clients alike.
How did you become interested in marketing and choose this career path?
I originally went to college without knowing what I wanted to do. If I remember correctly, I think I was interested in Geology at first but that definitely didn’t blossom into anything further. After taking a couple of core classes, I really enjoyed an Advertising class during my sophomore year of college, which I then decided to pursue. That led to a client services career, which enables me to use a combination of both my creative and statistical thinking abilities, which is a perfect fit for me.
What would people never guess you do in your role?
Most of my friends outside of work think the “Account” part of my title refers to accounting, so they get a little confused when I mention that I am traveling for a creative pitch or staying late for a conference call. I work on budgets, but I would say the majority of time is communicating with the client.
What are you most excited about regarding the future of Elevation?
We are always innovating and improving our processes. Things move very fast here and it’s exciting to just be a part of the team!
What is your favorite thing to do in the wonderful city of Phoenix?
There’s definitely a lot! People really underestimate the size of the city and the activities that are available. I love meeting new people through sports so I play kickball on Thursdays and volleyball on Sundays. Another one of my favorites is attending any of the sporting events in Phoenix, whether it’s the Diamondbacks, Cardinals or even the Waste Management Open.
Tell us something we might not know about you.
I’m a dual citizen. I was born in England and lived there six years before moving to the states. My family has a long English heritage that I am very proud of but I also enjoy being a citizen in both the US and UK.