Life at Aditude: Lisa Zhao
Lisa Zhao, Aditude’s Manager of Publisher Services, describes a typical day in her life working remotely from New York City. Life at Aditude is a series about the individuals working behind the scenes at Aditude.
Lisa Zhao, Aditude’s Manager of Publisher Services, describes a typical day in her life working remotely from New York City.
Life at Aditude is a series about the individuals working behind the scenes at Aditude.
Meet the Aditude Team: Can you introduce yourself and describe your role at Aditude?
Hi! I'm Lisa, Manager of Publisher Services at Aditude. I work closely with multiple publishers, managing their social, direct, and programmatic campaigns. This involves frequent cross-department communication, trafficking, forecasting, providing optimizations, and reporting to ensure campaigns deliver in full and KPIs are met.
Day in the Life: What does a typical day look like for you at Aditude? Walk us through your daily responsibilities.
A typical day at Aditude would be starting my day off with a good cup of black coffee while I review my calendar for meetings. I will then dive into my emails/tickets that often consists of setting up new campaigns, forecasting, reporting, and creating media plans/insertion orders. I closely monitor existing campaigns as well to ensure they are pacing effectively and aligned with performance goals. I focus on applying data-driven optimizations to achieve key performance indicators, ensuring campaigns deliver to their full potential. I wrap up my day by checking campaign trackers to follow up with my clients on any outstanding things needed for upcoming launches. Whenever bandwidth permits, I reach out to my peers to shadow them on what they’re working on, and take on new tasks to expand my knowledge.
Your Journey to Aditude: How did you end up working at Aditude? What inspired you to join the team?
I joined Aditude as part of the Hashtag Labs acquisition, and from the very beginning, the team has been incredibly welcoming and supportive. This made me genuinely excited about embarking on this next chapter in my career with them. What truly stood out to me about Aditude is the remarkable blend of talent, intelligence, and empathy within the team. They’ve created an environment that feels like a safe space—one where I can thrive, grow, and contribute alongside such inspiring individuals.
Favorite Projects: What has been your most exciting or rewarding project at Aditude so far?
My ongoing project is strengthening my knowledge in other areas outside of campaign management such as onboarding new publishers and cloud wrappers by shadowing my peers and taking on new tasks whenever I have the free-time! I find fulfillment through being a strong resource to my team and clients, so broadening my skillset is important to me. I am blessed by such a supportive team and company culture that encourages an always learning environment. Special thanks to Sean Mercer, who walked me through ad mapping recently!
Challenges & Solutions: What are some common challenges you face in your role, and how do you overcome them?
In my role, I often face diverse challenges that keep me on my toes and have strengthened my resilience in navigating ambiguity while honing my problem-solving skills. One frequent challenge I enjoy is optimizing campaigns—it pushes me to think creatively and dive deep into the data to refine and enhance performance. I take satisfaction in polishing campaigns to their fullest potential, exploring every possible optimization until all opportunities have been exhausted.
Team Collaboration: How does collaboration with other team members affect your work?
I thrive in a collaborative environment and genuinely enjoy exchanging ideas with my team. Seeing how others approach tasks or situations broadens my perspective and enhances my problem-solving skills, encouraging me to think outside the box. Collaboration not only helps me learn new approaches but also strengthens my confidence, deepens my knowledge, and boosts overall efficiency in achieving our shared goals.
Career Advice: What advice would you give someone looking to pursue a similar career?
Stay hungry and stay curious. In the ever-evolving ad industry, being open-minded is essential as things are constantly changing. Embrace continuous learning since there’s always something new to learn and discover. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!
Tech & Trends: What emerging technologies or trends are you most excited about in the programmatic advertising space?
The growth of Artificial Intelligence is wild! It’s changing how campaigns are managed—everything from automating real-time optimizations to making audience targeting way more precise. With predictive analytics and machine learning, ads can now be super personalized and way more effective. I’m excited to see how AI will continue to make complex tasks so much simpler, help uncover hidden gems in data, and push the limits of what’s possible in programmatic advertising.
Memorable Moments: Share a memorable or funny moment you've had while working at Aditude.
Aditude’s virtual 2024 Halloween gathering– It was my very first company event with Aditude and I loved seeing everyone’s creative costumes along with the trivia and games. I really appreciate the energy and likeminded humor!
Future Goals: Where do you see yourself and Aditude heading in the next few years? Any exciting plans or visions for the future?
Over the past few months, it’s been inspiring to see Aditude's growth and the exciting plans shared so far. Our team continues to expand with talented and driven individuals, and I’m excited to contribute to Aditude’s ongoing success and momentum in the advertising industry.
