The staff of the Oklahoma City-based company Paycom includes several Gaylord College graduates, including Adam Ballard. Ballard, who started with Paycom in 2019, has been the vice president of marketing since 2021. The 2006 advertising graduate recently shared how his career path brought him back to the state of Oklahoma, how Gaylord prepared him for his field, advice for current students and more.
What is your favorite memory from your time at Gaylord College?
Aside from my capstone presentation for our client, Made in Oklahoma (MIO), which I loved, it would be the study abroad trip I completed with Jim Avery and about 20 classmates my final year. We visited multiple agencies across Europe, got lost in train stations in Paris and had an incredible time.
Do you have a favorite faculty/staff member at Gaylord?
Without a doubt, it was Jim Avery. He challenged me to push beyond what was obvious and helped me realize what I was really passionate about: people. He also saved red ink by just handing briefs back to me and saying, “Try again.”
How did your career path lead you to Paycom?
From the time I graduated from OU, I knew I wanted to lead marketing/advertising across all disciplines, meaning I wanted to know enough about creative, media, social, UX, PR and everything else to effectively lead a group. I was fortunate to gather that experience in two major markets, Los Angeles and Dallas, and across brands of every shape, size and industry. But to be honest, I never imagined I would find my way back to Oklahoma. Then again, I also didn’t know what Paycom was or would/could become. When I learned about Paycom and met the people, and eventually the CEO, I knew it was the place I had to be.
Describe your role at Paycom – current and former.
I started at Paycom as director of marketing in 2019. In that role, I was responsible for leading our marketing and advertising efforts to both clients and prospects, with the goal of driving new account growth, revenue and retention. Between 2019 and 2021, I served two stints as our interim leader, and then in early 2021, I was promoted to vice president of marketing. As the VP, I lead our total marketing group of about 135 people and growing. That group is comprised of PR and communications (internal and external), advertising, client marketing, sales enablement, events, database/marketing automation and a full-service creative/video team — full-service in every sense of the word.
What do you consider to be the most significant moments of your career so far?
Without a doubt, the success we’ve had at Paycom. I was fortunate to help lead major campaigns/initiatives for Procter & Gamble, but nothing previous compares to the scale, speed and totality of Paycom. Paycom is a massive company in growth mode; every year, we’re challenged to grow about 30%, and that means our marketing team has to churn out at least 30% better results. We’ve far exceeded those goals year after year, and the fact we’ve done so is a massive credit to our team and agency partners.
How did Gaylord College prepare you for your future career?
The time I spent at Gaylord helped give me a framework for how to think, how I approach problems and identify the root cause, insight or opportunity. The account planning class specifically was instrumental in my development.
What advice would you give to current students aspiring to a career in mass communication?
Prioritize hands-on experience before brand name early in your career. Many people seek out the well-known brands early, and in many cases, they are limited in what they can actually do in those roles. Building a foundation from actually doing the work is way more important than a bunch of flashy logos.
What do you do for fun outside of work?
I have two young children (6 and 4), so I love playing with them and exploring anything and everything. When I’m not wrangling them, I enjoy traveling and playing below-average golf.
