Fast Times
Everything happens pretty quickly here. I consider myself a quick-paced, quickly spoken, and fairly efficient person. But, wow, New York showed me up. The city has been humbling in more ways than realizing how immensely small you are, but also how mellow you are when you’re from the west.
Talked a lot today with agencies about turn around on projects. Also, unsurprisingly, quick. Pretty inspiring to hear strategists talk about their process when writing a brief, taking a lot away from Brandon (W+K) and Chris (Publicis) on that front.
Still on the job hunt, but enjoying the ride, however fast or slow it is sometimes.
-Spencer Crain
It’s not all about advertisements
Earlier today at W+K, our gracious hosts shared the wisdom of Dan Wieden, “Share ideas, not ads.” That makes me want to take a step back on every project I have ever worked on. An idea has the ability to be present in any form. From TV spots to milk cartons. An ad almost always has an idea, but it’s not always a clear idea. The idea has to be a deeper truth because it is what is going to make the consumer think. If the idea is bad, the consumer may just breeze past and forget about it. But if the idea is good, then the consumer will connect to it. In advertising we want to create a genuine company-consumer connection with hopes that through that we can sell the product or service. It’s important to remember that it is a good idea connects with the consumer, not an ad. So as Dan Wieden said, “Share ideas, not ads.”
Spencer Kupish - 5/8/17
I Heart Boxed
So much takeaway from Boxed! Such a generous presentation with multiple speakers who spoke about so many areas of the company. I loved the #rethinkpink campaign that calls awareness to the “pink tax,” The unjust practice of taxing essential female products and not taxing the male product counterparts.
Most importantly, I saw a bright, creative workspace, diverse staff, a company with strong core values and a fearless attitude with a desire to keep growing. One of the most important conversations I’ll remember was with Steve Lowe, a Marketing Designer with an Animation background, and he said he always asks himself, “How can I apply my personal style to this brand?” That stood out to me because up until now I had always thought that my personal style shouldn’t “stick out” in brand work. It made me feel like I could do work that is interesting, purposeful AND incorporate my personal aesthetic to further the brand. Steve said that he tries to make sure that all visuals from Boxed have the same magical charm that comes from animation, but in a way that reflects the brand.
Best quote from Jackson Jeyanayagam: “If you are creative and passionate, don’t worry, there will be a place for you.”
Thank you Boxed!!!
-Aven-itza De Primavera
New platforms, new opportunities.
I’m still thinking about the great work our group saw at Wieden and Kennedy New York this morning. Teared up at a bit at a W+K Amsterdam spot for Nike Russia, laughed out loud at some great OOH ads for Spotify, and really started thinking about an emerging social media platform– live video.
In their Bud Light x Lady Gaga Dive Bar Tour campaign, WKNY helped Lady Gaga launch her newest album by staging performances in surprise, intimate venues all around the country and broadcasting it all live on Facebook. The campaign was incredibly successful and garnered millions of social and PR impressions.
Brands are just beginning to get creative with live social video and I’m always on the lookout for successful approaches. Here, WKNY leveraged Gaga’s massive “stan” following – a culture that thrives on Twitter – and brought it onto a new platform to promote her album and Bud Light. Definitely taking note of that insight and its success.
Huge, huge thanks to WKNY! What an incredible privilege.
Rachel Benner 05.08.2017.
Monday
Sometimes all it takes is a hot dog and a nice view to finish off a great day. It has been an eventful and exciting first day of the week in the city and I can say its given me the best taste of what is still to come. Having already made 15,000 steps by early afternoon, I’d say its been a success. Now, sitting in Central Park with a $4 hotdog in hand, I can only smile about my experience at our first agency of the week: Wieden + Kennedy. The love and trust in the air between different people and perspectives was both overwhelming and inspiring. The incredible collaboration that was demonstrated was something more than special. I feel I heard insights and advice today that I can use for years upcoming in the start of my career. The foundation of W+K is so simple yet so incredibly important. It was shared is as follows:
“Rules
Don’t act big
No sharp stuff
follow directions
and shut up when someone is talking”
Thanks W+K.
Blair Paley.
Walk More, Talk More
By the time today is over, I will have walked just about 25k steps (according to the iPhone health app). That’s roughly 12.5 miles, which is just about as many miles I walk in Eugene in a whole week. While I appreciate the subway, and the 18 billion yellow cabs, I implore you all to challenge yourselves to walk more. In an hour long walk with Tyler, in the early hours of this beautiful New York morning, I saw more beauty, humanity and craft than I do in a month back home. This city is so beautiful, and the beauty lies in the cracks and crevices you can only find if you explore. On foot. Challenge yourself to push onwards, and to walk the twenty blocks instead of Lyfting your way through life. You’ll see more, you’ll experience more and I genuinely believe you’ll be happier.
Secondly, holy shit, talk to people! There’s a reason you’re on this trip. It’s because you’re smart, talented, worldly and almost certainly weird as all hell. That’s awesome, embrace that. Meet people who you don’t know. Grab coffee with a stranger. You can make the best of friends, and hold the deepest of conversations in the situations when you’re least comfortable, because at that moment you have nothing to lose. Be yourself, be genuine. I’ll like you, I promise. We all will. Just take a chance, you owe it to yourself to hangout with more than just the same eight people.
Caleb Couturie. 5.8.17
There is something magnificent about University of Oregon camaraderie. The generosity from alumni to current students is admirable beyond words. It’s cliché, but the truth of the matter is that we, in one way or another, have been influenced and shaped by the students in Allen before us. Whether we knew them as seniors when we were sophomores or they are 20 years out from school, we owe a lot to fellow ducks. And yet they are the ones who constantly shower us with love.
There are two recent observations I’d like to point out about this amazing phenomenon. First, not even in the last 24 hours have I ran into 3 UO SOJC graduates on the streets. The most notable was after breakfast when my roommates and myself were trying to find our way to W+K, all aimlessly trying to get google maps to work, when a nice gentleman came up to see if we needed directions. We told him we were figuring it out and thanked him for his time. Only when he was walking away did we see he was wearing an Oregon drawstring backpack. We all yelled the classic “Sco Ducks!” his way. He quickly turned back around and basically bounded our way. So happy to meet other UO people, Scott (as he introduced himself) asked us about why we were in New York. It turns out he worked for W+K and Droga5 for years before now moving to Skillshare. He seemed to genuinely be interested in our answers and took time out of his day to check in. He held a real conversation with a group of strangers and cheered us on merely because he knew what we came from and that’s awesome.
The second one was the incredible time/effort/love Connor, Jamie, Brandon (an honorary duck) + team put into today’s Wieden + Kennedy visit. The enthusiasm, the welcoming, and the fun all showed their investment in this whole community. My heart welled watching my friends interact in a space that felt like an extension of home. One of the great posters in the W+K today said “Find people that make you better.” If alumni (and my current classmates) always display that grace and kindness and empathy, sticking around a few Ducks will make me better.
Emma Pindell, 5.8.2017
W+K - this feels like the pinnacle of the ad world as far as high-profile creative is concerned. Biggest takeaway is that something that seizes culture and takes the world by storm doesn’t always present itself in the form of an ad. But, if it does, the solution is often something more subtle and fundamentally human than a line of copy or a beautiful design. Sometimes it’s the full composition of the piece - the punch of laughter it establishes, like in Old Spice’s “Smell ‘Em Who’s Boss.” Other times it’s something as simple as a hat tip, one gesture that unites New Yorkers in a solute to their captain.
- Cameron Kokes
Branding your voice
A take away from night zero and day one:
Be true to your own voice when you are pitching to a client. You don’t need to pretend you are something that you’re not. Clients are going to be able to see right through your pitch if you don’t act/talk like yourself or even believe in what you’re pitching. It is important that you establish your own voice and let that be your guide through your work. When you’re pitching to a client bring everything to the table. If you’re pitching about beer and you have worked in a brewery before, then use that to your advantage, let them know that you have experience in the field and that this is why they should listen to your ideas. As Tom always says its not about the what, it’s about the why. Now that you have established your voice, use it to provoke conversation
Cheers,
Tyler