Droga5 Question

I was fortunate enough to visit the offices of Droga5 while in NY and it was one of the most insightful site visits I had during the course of the week. My question for the strategists we spoke to was centered around the controversy surrounding Under Armor and political comments associated with the brand. I was curious as to how a creative agency can reconcile strategic work following a brand’s decision to run PR counter to the brand image developed. They responded with laughter and the simple reality that brands like to shoot themselves in the foot sometime but that just means agencies need to adapt and realize that in a perfect world clients and agencies would agree on the politics of brand representation, however, it is a relationship that requires concessions on both sides in order to create the work.

Ammas Tanveer

5.15.18

Sponge

“Be a sponge with everything!” I heard this one the first day at Wieden + Kennedy and tried to keep this in the back of my head during the next couple of days. The amount of information and knowledge I learned about every agency and what they value blew my mind. I think that being a sponge to life will help me gain a better perspective on what life has to offer!

Living in a Digital World

There was a consistent consensus among all of the agencies I had the opportunity to visit; there is no such thing as a digital strategy anymore because we live in a digital world.

The challenge we face now is figuring how to best use digital innovation to extend the brand’s reach and expand the consumer’s experience with the brand. Ultimately AI exists to extend the human ability in order to make our lives easier, it is designed to be seamless and work within our daily lives as consumers. As technology advances, agencies are having to navigate how brands fit into consumers lives without being creepy or making consumers feel the need to opt out.

As 5g enters the landscape it brings even more challenges for media planners because it will increase the speed of digital communication. It will also make streaming videos so fast that it is almost equivalent to having the media downloaded to your device. This will change the landscape of cable companies and the way we consume media. With the changes and increased use of digital communication and technologies, there is a massive amount of data that continues to grow. This data is changing how and who brands choose to communicate with. For example, media placement on Amazon is increasing because of the unique opportunity for brands to interact with consumers at the point of purchase, using the consumer data from prior purchases. As technology advances and the way people communicate and live changes, it will continue to change the advertising landscape.

We are living in a digital world where consumers are demanding more from brands and have more power than ever. Agencies are having to find innovative ways to reach consumers and use data to prove the positive impact of the work produced. There is a vast amount of challenges and opportunities in strategy as we enter the advertising industry, and after hearing the variety of agency perspectives on the issues facing the industry, I am excited to join in on solving complex problems using innovative technologies in order to deliver a positive impact on behalf of brands.

-Kate Miller

5.15.18

AKQA

During our visit to AKQA, we obtained a plethora of valuable insight, advice, and information, but the most important thing I learned was that consumers are people first. Although it seems obvious, it is common to group people into target audiences and label them as consumers. By looking at people as consumers prior to recognizing their human attributes and lifestyle limits the potential insights and depth of the strategy.

Dan, who is a strategist at AKQA shared some insight after expressing that basically, everything about advertising has changed since he started except for the audience and the client. He said, “ always remember fixed endpoints, but be curious enough to always challenge it.” Then he furthered his advice saying “Your viewpoints and what you see in the world are just as important as what you see in the office.” He expanded on this idea through his explanation of what it takes to stay culturally relevant. Explaining that you need to use the tools at your disposal, research, conduct and pay for primary research, make sure strategy and analytics sit together, find other ways to get primary research and don’t be afraid to get scrappy, and most importantly talk to people.

Philipe, who is an art director furthered Dan’s ideas through explaining that “Strategy is ammo for creatives” and that “the best creative comes from good strategy.” He expanded upon the idea saying that strategy and creative should work hand and hand throughout the whole process in order to evolve the idea into something great in the end.

The AKQA panel took a united front expressing the importance of  “knowing your audience no matter who you are talking to.” Sharing the importance of knowing how to talk with clients and colleagues depending on their preference and specialty. Phillipe and Dan shared the importance of a concise strategy, they said that a 2-page strategy is always better than a 10-page strategy for creatives, and that is imperitive for strategy and data to work together to find the most interesting insights to inspire creatives and create the best work.

Overall, AKQA showed me the importance of the collaboration between strategy and creative, and knowing your team, client and audience and keeping that in mind when relaying messages to any audience. Although AKQA leads in utilizing innovative technology to connect with consumers and exceed the goals of their clients, they have a solid foundation of communication, insight, respect, and teamwork that allows them to push the envelope and be a leader in the industry.

-Kate Miller 

5.15.18

Advice on the Final

You may have shared my confusion in creative strategy with Deb Morrison when she continued to say “It is on the final” yet the syllabus said there was no final. I hope this advice clears some things up and helps you out a bit if you are still in the advertising program because it is just beginning to come full circle for me.

Deb makes you think you can conquer the world in creative strategy, hold on to that, it will help you on the final. You will hear about all the different positions in advertising and hear people who work in the industry speak about their work, make sure to take notes. When you create your idea book, invest in it, because those exercises help you reflect and shape the direction of your career. Learn from how Deb uses twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram to connect with people, start networking now and always write thank you cards. Push yourself by surrounding yourself with invested peers, apply for your dream internships even if they seem out of reach, but make sure your book and all of your submission materials are prepared and submitted like you are a sure choice for the position. It may seem like you are getting three times as many no’s as you are yes’, it is because you are, that is where you remember the motivational speech Deb gave you in creative strategy about changing the world.

When I was in New York I realized that everything she told me to do, although sometimes I didn’t understand how it related to advertising, it all had a purpose. As we visited agencies leading the industry, networked, met with professionals and saw all of the ducks flocking anywhere Deb called them to was a testament to this program and her investment in the students who go through it. Deb Morrison is shaping the industry and helping us reach beyond the potential we see for ourselves, and that was a sentiment I heard time and time again during the trip from alumni. This program will set you up for success, and you will “ace the final” if you invest.

The final is your career, your portfolio, your work and your future in the industry.

If you listen, work hard, learn from your professors and peers and prepare yourself for countless failures, you will find yourself in a good position as spring rolls around senior year. But you have to trust the process, know that very few people have a direct path into advertising or their dream job and know that your job does not have to fulfill you in every aspect of your life.

Through this trip, I learned how incredible the advertising program is at Oregon, and how invested the professors are in us as students and young professionals. I learned that the saying “once a duck, always a duck” is exemplified through the community of ducks in NYC. The best part of the New York Trip is that it echoed things I knew, taught me about real life at an agency, and amplified my respect and gratitude for Deb and the professors in the Ad sequence.

So, my advice to you is to invest all that you have, but don’t work too hard. Learn about the world and the people within it, and listen to your professors, they are like your mom, they are usually right.

-Kate Miller 

5.15.18

New York City is a Strategist’s Dream

New York City is a strategists dream. You can experience culture from all around the world, learn from people from all walks of life, and see incredible art, theatre, music, and productions. You have the opportunity to learn more about the world, trends, culture, and people every day. It is a massive tourist destination so the diversity of people you can observe and interact with increases there as well. New York is a cultural hub full of ideas, inspiration, and content. There is so much going on that it is often hard to pick one thing to focus on observing, but I have never been anywhere that had so many different foods, cultures, people and national origins within a 5 block radius. New York is the internet of experiences. As a strategist, you are looking to find insights on people, what they do, how they act, where they go, what they think and how they interact with media. It is your job to know the culture, trends, and people. So, after spending a week in New York City, I think that it is a strategists dream because they can walk out of their front door and find the insight they are looking for, and learn something new about the world every day.

-Kate Miller 

5.15.18

Stop and Look Around

Coming into this trip I had no idea what to expect, so I asked around, researched and made a vast amount of assumptions about what I was getting myself into. I assumed I was entering a city of aggressive drivers, speed walking, and a plethora of workaholics. And, yes all of those things were present, but when I set down my predisposed ideas of what I thought New York was, I learned more than I have in some classes about the world around me and the people within it.

New York is a community of different cultures meshed into one big city of dreams and people. These people make art, music, crafts, clothes, and food. They are mothers, fathers, friends, business people, doctors, lawyers, restaurant owners and everything in between. These people have diverse perspectives and lifestyles but are united within one community. During my time there, I experienced their kindness and saw their stress. Looking behind the commercial appeal of New York City, showed me why it is so magical, and why it is a place where people come to chase their dreams.

When I decided to stop and look around and enjoy the experiences right in front of me, not only did I learn about the cultures of New York but I experienced some of my favorite moments. I saw mothers from all walks of life and their children playing in a community park in the middle of the city. I found a store with more puppies in the window than I had ever seen in my life, and was enlightened by the savory taste of New York pizza. I sat on the subway a few stops farther than I needed to, so I could listen to a man sing, play the guitar and say catchy lines to the people who were riding the subway in order to make them smile or laugh. But the most fascinating experience was when I took a two and a half hour Uber ride from the Newark airport into Manhattan and ended up sharing experiences and commonalities with a 60-year-old man from Morocco who practiced Islam. I am a Christian girl from a small town, who grew up on a farm in Oregon, and I experienced more kindness and saw more empathy in him than I had ever seen in anyone before.

When I stopped to look around I fell in love with a city I was nervous about and took home a new perspective as I move into the advertising world. I realized that we have a lot of work to do. People are more diverse, with different habits, living situations, jobs, and relationships, all of which impact everything they do, and those variables are changing as fast as the digital landscape. So as I enter into the professional world, I will take this experience with me, and remember that taking a second to stop and look around can teach you more about a community than a computer screen ever will.

- Kate Miller 

5.14.18

never forget

The best things I wrote down:

- “If you ask nothing of someone, it’s hard for them to be invested.”

- “Fulfill wishes > Fulfill briefs”

- “Joy deserves your protection.”

- “Relentless optimism is key.”

- “Say things nicely. And in person.”

- “Don’t let anyone outwork you.”

- “It’s never a ‘no’, it’s a ‘how can this be solved’.”

- “Human first.”

The best things I didn’t write down:

- Be grateful.

              call your mom & dad, thank them always.

- This business is really what you make of it.

- This industry moves fast but you create the best work when you stop to be inspired.

- Work to show the people who believed in you that their confidence was well placed.

- Root for the success of others as much as your own.

- With every experience comes more potential. 

- One more time for good measure: be grateful. 

#UONYC

Rachelle Roldan

deeper sense of optimism

At JWT, they talked about how their portfolio has shifted towards servicing clients that have a deeper sense of optimism. As an innovative, forward-thinking, ahead-of-the-trends agency, this was a huge insight. If a company is known for its ability to be ahead and lead change and is working to value optimism, this shows me that this is where the world is heading. Optimism is going to be a trend and I couldn’t be more excited… one could say optimistic. The people who know what’s popular before people realize it’s popular say the world needs positivity, and that’s a world I’m ready to work in. 

Rachelle Roldan