Careers

‘peeps creative is a small, agile and responsive group of sharp, dynamic, witty, restless, and strong-willed people, working to change the way people perceive and interact with brands. As a member of this creatively-charged atmosphere, there is more opportunity for growth that you could possibly imagine.

A few of the positions that we’re actively trying to fill are listed below, but we’re always looking for fresh talent, so if you don’t see your skillset in the listings below, why not drop us a line to tell us why we can’t go on without you.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETER / PRACTITIONER
// LOCATION: Akron, Ohio: ‘peeps creative is seeking a social media marketer / practitioner who dreams in little thought bubbles, profile thumbnails and sharable apps. The most important part of this job is that the candidate must have demonstrated and extensive social media experience. This means that the person is actively participating in a wide variety of social media activities such as blogging, community development and management, social bookmarking, commenting, etc. and is well-connected with the broader social media world. The second important part is that the candidate must be able to think strategically, but be willing and able to roll up his sleeves to help implement the programs. The perfect applicant will be fluent in the technologies that define our world and passionate about the way they're shaping our future. You must understand and embrace how the Web connects us, and you must want to help shape the conversation. Highly organized, singularly dedicated individuals only, please.
// RESPONSIBILITIES:: Implement and manage social media programs while creating a comprehensive social media strategy to define programs that use social media marketing techniques to increase visibility, membership and traffic across all brands for which ‘peeps creative manages social content and dissemination.

Experiment with new and alternative ways to leverage social media activities (“marketing R&D”).

Monitor trends in social media tools, trends and applications and appropriately apply that knowledge to increasing the use of social media in our marketing strategies.

Strategize with and educate the management team and others across the company on incorporating relevant social media techniques into more ‘traditional’ client work and into all of the products and services we manage.

Measure the impact of social media on the overall marketing efforts.
// EXPERIENCE:: Bachelor's Degree or equivalent professional experience in related field.

Social media tools and techniques.

Marketing (traditional, new media, guerilla and ‘word of mouth’)

Strategy

Product marketing

Press and analyst relations

Business development

Technology

Operations

Project management

Basic financial analysis

Experience in HTML / CSS and related technologies a plus.

Experience with all other web technologies and programming languages a plus.
// ATTRIBUTES:: Creativity

Willingness to experiment

Ability to deal with uncertainty

Thick skin

Ability to contribute individually, and lead, manage or participate in cross-functional teams

Doggedness and determination

Ability to synthesize large amounts of data into actionable information

Excellent writing skills and a willingness to use them

Excellent verbal communication skills

Will have followed us on Twitter and friended our Facebook page before sending their resume, of course!

Persuasiveness

Ability to create great working relationships with all levels within the company and across multiple disciplines

Sense of humor

USER INTERFACE DESIGNER / DEVELOPER
// LOCATION: Akron, Ohio: ‘peeps creative is seeking a talented User Interface Designer / Developer who will build user interface design concepts and prototypes for our next-gen web and mobile-based deployments and applications. Successful candidate will become key member of a rapidly-expanding usability team that is focused on innovarion and maximizing user-friendliness.

The UI Web Designer / Developer works on various project teams to build prototype user interface designs for usability testing, client review and sales demonstrations, as well as serve as a knowledge resource for the latest trends and technologies for web- and standards-based user interface development. You will work to actively assist in improving the usability, usefulness, and desirability of our deployments while working closely with the rest of the team.
// RESPONSIBILITIES:: Work closely with usability team members, product managers, development teams and other internal stakeholders to build storyboards, proof-of-concept mockups, demos and prototypes of proposed and planned websites and features.

Collaborate in the definition of user interface design standards, to optimize ease-of-use and achieve an integrated and consistent look and feel.

Conduct ongoing research of web-based user interface development best practices.
// QUALIFICATIONS:: 3 years of experience in web design / development, with specific expertise with web-based applications

Fluency with web standards and technologies, including: CSS, HTML, JavaScript, JSP, XUL, XAML

Knowledge of usability and coding practices for accessibility

Strong web graphics production capability and practioner experience with mockup tools

Experience with frameworks such as Ruby on rails, Cake and Drupal

Creative approach to problem solving, innovation and issue resolution

Superior interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate actively and proactively within a team

Ability to communicate effectively in writing, verbally and as a presenter

Self-motivated and self-managed with a high degree of analytical ability and intellectual curiosity

Strong attention to detail

A commitment to delivering highly-polished web-based prototypes under tight time constraints

ADVERTISING AND DESIGN INTERNS
// LOCATION: Akron, Ohio: Are you suited to work with our group? Almost certainly not. This is not a place for the meek, faint-of-heart, weak-willed, easily annoyed, overly sensitive, or mild-mannered. Our business and our industry is really a tiresome, grueling trudge through the molasses of creativity and production punctuated by short but sweet moments of glorious triumph followed immediately by the soul-crush of revisions. This is also not a place to come and dip your toe in the water. This is where you jump in feet first only to turn and watch the ship pull away at break-neck speed. With no land in sight - and not even a hint of possible rescue - you pick a direction and swim. To paraphrase Mr. Miyagi, “if you’re advertising guess so, then pretty soon – squish just like grape.”
// THAT LAST LINE WAS FROM 'THE KARATE KID':: If you didn't get the reference, you probably need to spend more time immersing yourself in popular culture and less time in class. If you really want to be in advertising, you need to understand popular culture - even down to relatively cheesy 80s movies - because marketing is about connecting with people, not theories.
// WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:: We only take one intern at a time. It is unpaid because at ‘peeps – just like in the real world – we reward only those who have proven that they add value without draining other resources.
// BUT HERE'S A STORY ABOUT OPPORTUNITY:: We have 3 main group art directors. One had 10 years of doing great work when he was hired. Another started as a part-time designer because his book was awesome. The third started as an intern. He became a full-time art director about three weeks into his internship. We reward those who add value.
// THIS ALL PROBABLY SOUNDS HARSH,: but this is not a warm, safe nest where you can curl up and observe the world. This is the wild where nothing but results matter. We hope you're a rock star - one of those rare gems that only comes around once in ... well, for us, just the once. If nothing else, as an intern at 'peeps you will sharpen your marketing, sales and business skills while learning more about marketing, design, web, human nature and your own nature than you ever wanted to know. Who knows, you might learn something and become the next David Ogilvy or David Carson but probably not. It's far more likely that you'll leave here with the knowledge that you can't cut it. You'll probably go to truck driving school after this internship.
// WHAT YOU NEED TO BE TO WORK WITH US:: You are independent

You are inquisitive

You can admit when you're wrong and secretly take great pride in being right

You are irreverent, but open-minded

You are not easily discouraged

You are OK with having your ideas crushed because you understand that ideas that are good enough don't get crushed.
// WHAT YOU SHOULD DO NOW: (pick one of the following): Give up.
Get angry that this internship description is so coarse and discouraging and instead try and find an internship with a grocery chain's in-house design department where you can size cantaloupe ads for six months and maybe help launch a ground-breaking 'double coupon wednesday' campaign.
Send a resume, any clips or pieces you want us to see and make sure we have your contact numbers.

**POSITION FILLED** CONTENT MANAGER / WEBMASTER **POSITION FILLED**
// LOCATION: Akron, Ohio: ‘peeps creative is seeking a digital content manager who dreams in digital. The perfect applicant will be fluent in the technologies that define our world and passionate about the way they're shaping our future. You must understand and embrace how the Web connects us, and you must want to help shape the conversation. Highly organized, singularly dedicated individuals only, please.
// RESPONSIBILITIES:: Manage the daily email programs and web content of our clients.

Interface directly with our clients to gather content and assets.

Give creative input regarding enhancements to our clients' digital initiatives.

Ability to work in a fast-paced environment while maintaining attention to detail.
// QUALIFICATIONS:: Bachelor's Degree or equivalent professional experience in related field.

Expert knowledge of user-side web technology.

High comfort level with web-based applications

Experience with Drupal coudl result in an automatic hire

Experience in HTML / CSS and related technologies a plus.

Experience with all other web technologies and programming languages a plus.

**POSITION FILLED** SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER **POSITION FILLED**
// LOCATION: New York City, New York: ‘peeps creative is looking for an Account Manager to join our team. Engagement managers, as we call them, are the client-facing representatives of our company, and require relationship management, business development, and a strategic mindset. Applicants should have a solid mix of business and technical experience and be interested in sales as well as project management. As this position will be housed in the creative studio of our New York sister company, qualified candidates must be self-starters who can mange themselves and be comfortable with copious communication with our home office in Akron, Ohio via email, text, iChat and telephone.
// RESPONSIBILITIES:: Oversee the execution of projects for first-time and existing clients

Manage relationships and ensure satisfaction

Lead client sessions, organize feedback, and coordinate action items

Align scope, budget and timeline management with project managers

Collaborate with strategy team on new initiatives and project alignment

Proactively identify opportunities for new engagements and services
// QUALIFICATIONS:: 3+ years experience as an account manager in interactive web projects preferred

Strong client-facing skills; able to run meetings, present and defend concepts

An agency or consulting background

Ability to multitask and wear multiple hats in a fast-paced, collaborative environment

Strategic thinking and problem-solving skills

A positive, energetic attitude and ability to focus on finding solutions