Departure

It’s been a long week in New York. As I travel to the airport post-epiphany, I’m still trying to digest everything I’ve learned. Even the second time around, this trip is what you make it. If you come on this trip and don’t feel you’ve gained a tremendous amount of something then you should reflect. Opportunity comes to those who can accommodate it. If your mind isn’t open then it won’t stay for long, and you can only blame yourself for its departure. -Isaac Bell

Thursday haikus

Jesse Summers 5.12.2017

Networking is surprisingly easy

Yesterday when I was visiting Horizon Media, there was one guy who talked to us who had some really interesting things to say. He had to leave early for another meeting so I didn’t introduce myself to him while we there, but soon after we left the office I sent him an email and said that I would love to meet up with him today and talk to him more about his job and Horizon. He responded to me within minutes and said that it would be totally fine if I swung by the office. 

We had a great conversation today. He gave me lots of helpful advice and answered all of my questions. One of the best things was that he said that he really appreciated my initiative to reach out, and he told me he’d remember me because of it. Only one other person from our group had reached out to him apparently. I look forward to keeping in touch with him and updating him with what I’m doing this summer and perhaps beyond. 

I now have this great connection and all I had to do was send a short email and take a short subway ride to the Horizon office to get it. When people say they are willing to willing to talk more and give their contact information, they mean it, and it’s wise to take advantage. I’m grateful that so many people I’ve encountered have been so generous with their time and energy. 

-Ben Neal, 5.12.17

Being Authentic

Separating the real from the fake can sometimes be a blurred line. This is a term that is often said but rarely carried out. One of the major take away I’ve gotten from the agency visits this week is to always keep your work authentic. Our job is to sculpt the culture in which we live in, this drives the cultural shifts that happen in our society. Keeping work authentic is keeping our society fresh, relevant and in tune within the culture we live in. Producing work that is out of touch or irrelevant stalls our society from expanding.

–Justice McCree

Account Take-Aways

Before I landed in New York City last week, I had never thoroughly heard from an actual account manager about what this job description entitles. Of course I had advisors and peers helping me find my way inside Allen Hall Advertising, but a lot of what I learned came simply from trial and error. Although there’s a lot to be said for experiential learning, one of my biggest take aways from this New York Experience trip was the opportunity to hear from successful account managers what it is like to be them, especially in a fast-paced city like Manhattan.

One of the biggest things that I heard from nearly every account manager at all seven agencies that I visited was the importance of having ownership in the work my team produces. I have already experienced the interesting dynamic that unfolds for account managers in terms of lacking passion for developing creative work because it is often hard to feel included in something you weren’t necessarily hired to do. Before this trip, I believed creatives were hired to create and account managers are hired to make sure it all runs smoothly. Thus, it was easy for me to feel disconnected from the creatives and their work because I didn’t insert myself in their creative process, I simply made sure they were doing it. Therefore, my loyalty became skewed when things often began to get messy. However, I now see the importance of having an opinion in each campaign and finding a sense of my own personal ownership in what is being created. I’ve realized, through my recent NYC experience, that this will aid in my ability to convince the client of the true value of my team’s work. I heard time and time again at these New York agencies that a client won’t believe in a campaign if the account manager doesn’t, which seems so obvious I almost feel silly for not already knowing that. Regardless, I feel so thankful to walk away from this amazing opportunity with this new perspective. Although I learned an endless amount about whether I want to live in NYC or not, whether I want to work at a big agency or a smaller agency and so much more, this piece of knowledge seems to trump them all. I feel like this sense of voice, power and ownership will make my life, my future team’s lives and our client’s lives so much easier as their will be confidence in the work.

Meg Meagher

Be a Pigeon

In stark contrast to Mac, I love the pigeon. Sure, they’re annoying, but here are four reasons you should be like them:

1. Any opportunity to a pigeon, big or small, is taken on with equal determination and grit. It doesn’t matter if it’s a deluxe hamburger or the scrap from a hot dog bug, the pigeon is going after it. Don’t only go for the big shots, try the little ones too. But most importantly, try them all. 

2. Pigeons are hungry all the time. It doesn’t matter if a pigeon ate five seconds ago, it’s still out looking for scraps. Did you just win a big account? Great! Winners go out drinking to celebrate, and then take vacation time to enjoy their success. CEOs have a quick beer, then take on the next challenge. 

3. Be annoying. But don’t be an idiot. Matt Eastwood, the JWT boss of the world, told a great story about some guys who would fax him an ad every day. After 6 days he actually responded saying “guys these are great but I don’t have a position for you I’m sorry.” But, you see, they didn’t stop. And finally, after three weeks straight, Matt finally said “screw it, let’s move some money and let’s make a damn position for these guys.” That’s annoying, but in the best way possible. 

4. Adapt to your surroundings. Most other birds hunt for their food, but pigeons, oh pigeons, well let’s just say they have it figured out. Why work twenty times as hard for something that’s available at the tip of your finger tips? Know your surroundings, know what’s going to make your life easier, and exploit that shit.

It’s been real y’all, safe travels home!

Caleb Couturie. 5.12.17 

Merits of a Meritocracy with JWT

Brent Choi stands at the front of JWT’s New York office, relaxed, coffee in hand. He is one of 11 people in the world who holds the Fast Company Innovation award, numerous Cannes Lions and CLIOs, and a heap of other awards. He mentions none of this, in fact, I stumbled on this information during routine research into the agency. Instead, he talks about the meritocracy of the Ad business, and the importance of taking initiative.

As the son of a convenience store owner, Choi’s humble beginnings as a copywriter saw him fired three times in four years during his first jobs. After reflecting on his time at these agencies, Choi began seeing a pattern in the way he was acting and the reasons he was being fired. “I wasn’t making myself indispensable” he says. “I wasn’t taking initiative, I wasn’t putting myself in front of decision makers.” Making the switch came with a lot of hard work, and a lot of going out on a limb. “I tried to get myself as many at bats as possible” he says “and I dedicated myself to outworking the guy next to me. There might be someone who could write a better tag line than me in three hours, but then he would stop, and then Id work for eight hours and come up with something better. “

“At the end of the day, this business is a meritocracy, and you have to earn your merits.”

Caden Bohn

#uonyccreativeweek2017

Make the client your bestfriend

This week I (a strategist) walked into the door of a sound post production house. I put this down on my list mostly out of sheer curiosity but also with a hope of learning more about the creative processes behind production. Yet, walking into this sound post production house gave me more insight on client relations than it did on sound. The key takeaway: even in the business of advertising, you have to remember that the customer is always right. Oftentimes it’s easy to think about the client as the enemy of creativity or the old white man that doesn’t understand, but I think part of our job is to remember to be generous and empathetic with our clients. Sound Lounge taught us what it means to create a good relationship with your client. They reminded us to work the room and to be humble enough to listen to client input. As a problem solver for many people, Sound Lounge taught us how to be generous with clients when they need last minute help, because ultimately when you do someone a favor, they’ll come back to you time and time again.

Hybrid.

I think as students we can get caught up in choosing a title that defines exactly who we are and what we want to do. That title can sometimes limit us to think that we can only work within that specific discipline, or only in a job with that title. However, this trip has taught me that that isn’t true. Some agencies are looking for a hybrid that has put their hands on all kinds of projects in different disciplines. Agencies are looking for people who will challenge them and find better solutions. They are looking for individuals who are eager and willing to learn everyday of their career, and beyond.

Emily Sarale 5.12.17