Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
I’m Doriane Magnus, Marketing Director at Kiabi Belgium. I’m in charge of the omnichannel marketing strategy & operations for Kiabi Belgium, a French brand of low-priced clothing for the whole family (Mulliez Family Association).
Why did you join Semetis in the first place? What attracted you?
I joined Semetis in 2012. At the time I was a Project Developer at Nielsen in market research. I was already in the marketing world, in its most traditional, least digital expression. And clearly I wasn't having fun anymore (if I was having fun at all). It was obvious to me that I had to move. And the Semetis opportunity came along. It ticked all the boxes: I wanted to expand my skills → Semetis was and still is the best school there is in terms of digital media and web analytics. I wanted a dynamic, agile environment, with a great work atmosphere → Semetis was only 3 years old, it was still a real start- up. And even if by definition, it can't be called a start-up anymore, it still has all the features today!
How did you start at Semetis? Can you explain your evolution within the team until your departure?
I started as a consultant. At that time there were no analysts, so everyone started as a consultant, even though in reality we were all analysts. :-)
I had the chance to evolve quickly, first as a senior consultant, then as a manager, then as a customer service director and finally as an executive / managing director.
A quick career path, but I am far from being an exception. Semetis is one of the few companies that gives everyone the same opportunity. Everyone is 100% in control of their own destiny. Everyone starts with exactly the same chances to evolve. If you demonstrate your abilities, if you prove yourself, you will evolve, there is no doubt about it (towards a managerial position, towards an expert position, there is more than one possible path).
Can you highlight some of your key moments at Semetis?
Complicated to choose! I feel like my entire Semetis experience has been a Key Moment. Having the chance to share incredible cases in front of hundreds of people at large national conferences is definitely one of them. It was both incredibly stressful and at the same time so thrilling and rewarding for the team!
How can I not mention all the team buildings and especially the annual team buildings abroad? I think that the most beautiful company decisions were taken during these trips and that the most beautiful personalities were also revealed.
Can you explain how your journey at Semetis built your current career?
Semetis is an incredible school. At school, you learn hard skills. And it is obvious that the expertise acquired at Semetis in terms of digital leverage is absolutely useful to me every day (to challenge campaign management, to make better budgetary decisions, to build better 360° media campaigns, etc.). At school, you also learn soft skills. And here again, this acquired logic of constantly relying on data or the fact of breaking down silos and systematically working in a multidisciplinary team, are all soft skills I acquired at Semetis and which I use every single day.
Where did Semetis make the difference with other players? Both in terms of services offered and in terms of employer?
I would say that this can be summarized in 3 axes:
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Culture: strong values of openness and sharing. An unfailing curiosity that drives each Semetissian with a real passion for entrepreneurship. This goes hand in hand with an HR culture that was not very present at the beginning of the Semetis story
but which has been able to grow and evolve. Today, each
Semetis employee is surrounded, listened to and supported.
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Work methodology: collaborative, without silos,
multidisciplinary and encouraging leadership / ownership /
empowerment.
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Excellence: Semetis is not only a school, it is the school of
excellence. Every subject is mastered. Newness and learning (together) are never a barrier. The Service Level Agreement that forms the core of how Semetis serves each customer is certainly not innocent to the fact that so many historical customers are still partners today.
What was the importance of the acquisition in 2015 by Omnicom Media Group?
In 2015, Gabriel Goldberg and Nicolas Debray, the two founders of Semetis, announced that Semetis was about to join one of the largest media groups in the world: Omnicom Media Group. After the euphoria of the announcement, we are inevitably afraid: will we manage to keep our unique culture? Will we manage to maintain our way of working without silos and multidisciplinary when, on the contrary, our sister agencies have teams organized by expertise? Will we be able to maintain our level of excellence? To ensure service without being drowned in new processes? The answer is a resounding yes to all of these questions. On the one hand, the autonomy of Semetis was never questioned, and on the other hand, joining the OMG group turned out to be an incredible opportunity. Before joining the group, a large majority of Semetis' digital advertising activities were focused exclusively on SEA. Thanks to the group, Semetis was able to gain access to other DA levers, to meet all the Belgian advertising agencies and especially to arouse their interest, and finally to compete, not without demerits, with other large media groups and to convince “premium” advertisers to join the agency... Semetis has made a giant leap forward. Semetis' DA services would never be where they are today without the Omnicom Group.
What would you like to share with our future candidates?
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