SEE

I am choosing to focus each of my blog posts on one of the 5 senses, knowing that I will be overwhelmed with stimuli at all hours in the city that never sleeps. That said, this curation of posts is coming from the notes that accumulated in my agency given note books, texts and on the back of napkins. - 

SEE: My favorite thing I saw in New York City was the number of strong women in the industry. I, as so many of us do, value women in leadership and an equality of women in positions and pay. Pre-trip I was thrilled to see on the UONYC website that our trip was compromised of 60% women. Also I saw notifications filling my inbox from the Flock, an extensive network that truly supports one another. The Flock gathering helped me to paint a picture of what my life could be like in 2, 5 or 10 years. I was exposed to women who are at various point in their career path. Big shout out to Chelsea Coleman, Spice Walker and all the other amazing women who made both flock events happen. I was happy to see that outside of our “all are welcome” bubble of Eugene, inclusivity, equality and diversity are present and being pushed further. These events and my time in New York reinforced my goal of wanting to work towards  leadership positions and possibly have my own company one day. 

Gianna Nardi 1/5

Top 10 points from UO NYC Week

1) Honesty is key. Be one version of yourself

2) Have emotional intelligence 

3) What’s going to be interesting about you outside of job experience?

4) Have good “Whys”

5) To avoid burnout: TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

6) Beat your drums with the speed of culture

7) STYLE alone can define your brand

8) Protect the core of what everyone is excited about

9) Reinvent ad- don’t just do the best at how ad is done now

10) Get smart on what you think good work is

Aaaaaaand I could probably write 100 more….

Maddie Landers 5/14/18

maddielanders.com

Beyond Thankful

Every day, I try to take five minutes to give gratitude for the things I have. While on this trip, I spent a little extra time each day to sit myself down and take a moment to realize how blessed I was to be in New York on this trip. To be able to reflect on the fact that I was wandering an amazing city with over a hundred other amazing people. How lucky were we to have been able to experience that? This New York trip was one of the most inspiring and rewarding trips I’ve ever had the chance to go on. I realized that I love New York. I love what I do, and I’m beyond excited to enter the professional world. I was introduced to talented professionals that were willing to share their stories with us. Although, more than anything, I held gratitude for the fact that I was able to reconnect with people that I see every day. The number of people I see walking around Allen Hall every single day but have never had a conversation with shocked me. I felt like I knew almost no one prior to this trip, and I met and became amazing friends with so many of my peers. I feel so thankful to have had this experience.

- Hannah Diamond

What A Week

Starting off this trip, I hoped to better know what I wanted to do, establish great connections, and decide if New York was for me. I have some answers.

As a maker, I found my home at a full-service agency. Being a creative person, I always expected that one day I would end up at a creative agency. However, after visiting Huge and Big Spaceship, I realized my heart, work-style, and personality belong at a full service agency. At a full service agency, you don’t just buy spaces to publish print ads or billboards and then design the visuals. You create. You can do consumer research, brand development & creation, product design & development, social media & public relations, media planning, AND/OR marketing creative development & planning. It’s a mouthful and one person does not do it all, but it’s important to note that as an employee at a full service agency you have OPTIONS. You have the ability to get your hands on many different types of projects, always keeping your creative eye challenged, focused, and inspired. It is an environment that embraces and welcomes makers.

I met so many lovely alumni and employees from a number of great agencies. It’s exciting to now have connections on the East Coast! I left feeling inspired and excited for the next chapter of my life post-college.  

As for New York, it’s a love hate relationship. It’s endlessly exciting, engaging, inspiring, and alive. It’s also exhausting and expensive. I can definitely see myself spending part of my career in New York. I don’t know exactly when that will be but I hope it will be near the beginning of my career. New York has opportunities and open doors for you at every corner, something not every city provides.

This experience was eye opening, exciting, and awe-inspiring. May the lessons I learned stick with me and help me to be the best creative I can be in the advertising world. I’m excited to see what the future has to come. Onward!

-Katherine Luttrell 05.14.18

6 Huge Takeaways

Huge was one of the best agency visits I could have ever asked for. Not only has it become my dream agency I want to work for, the brilliant, charismatic people that are employed there left us with amazing takeaways, advice for job hunting and networking, and advice on how to better your craft. I’ll share some of the top few for you here:

1) Master the pivot. Be able to change direction quickly.

2) Be open to change. Be prepared to change roles if a specific project is short handed and needs help.

3) Practice on creating great work fast.  Lynda is great for that.

4) As a creative, be a great strategist.

5) When you are beginning to network, respond to responses quickly. Stay on their radar and don’t get lost in the countless emails they receive daily.

6) If you ask someone for a job, they will give you advice. If you ask someone for advice, they will give you a job.

Bam!

-Katherine Luttrell 05.10.18

Culture

I’ve noticed a common trend among agencies since being in New York, and that is culture, culture, and more culture. It seems that some agencies, particularly the younger ones, place just as much importance on culture as the work itself. This seems like a no brainer now, being that its all we have known, but comparing this stance on cultural views to those from five, even ten years ago, is extremely different. Advertising used to be all about selling a product, and now the industry has developed into this powerful tool that allows us to sell ideas, lifestyles, and popular culture along with brands and products. Strong messages are no longer solely about aesthetic, its about the message delivered and how it portrays cultural values and delivers messages that are important to societal issues. During our visit at Laundry Service was when I realized that being culturally relevant and understanding current conversations is imperative to any agency that is making great strides. Knowing what to say and how to properly include cultural values in a message is key, and that’s a beautiful direction for the industry to be shifting. 

-Kiana Griffith

“Interview an agency as much as they interview you”

There was not a single sentiment form agencies that I heard more throughout my week in New York than for us to, “interview an agency just as much as they interview you.” It is important that we all find our fit and where we can do our best work, but this statement makes it seem like we have a lot more agency (for lack of a better word) in our job search than most of us actually do. For a lot of us, there are financial circumstances that don’t afford us the power to say, “this place isn’t the right fit for me,” or, “I need X, Y and Z from this agency in order to convince me to work here.”

We have a global workforce that has warped the term “entry level” into something that it isn’t. Unethical unpaid internships have been a topic on my timelines for a while now, and there are opportunities out there that borderline an unpaid internship that many folks take just for the chance at gaining experience. 

Look, I’m not going to be all doom-and-gloom, and I know that I’m not the first person to point out the injustice and treachery of the job search. For the sake of optimism, here are some ways that I’m seeing the field change for the better.

1. If applicable, ASK FOR A RELOCATION STIPEND. You may not get it, but at least you make it well-known to your empliyer from the beginning that this is a financial sacrifice and could go a long way with overtime and other benefits that they CAN give you. You have a right to ask.

2. There are relocation scholarships out there. For women in particularly, organizations like FLOCK are growing into an incredible resource for UO Women looking to make the big move to NYC. Search for organizations that will support you and are looking to fight the system in place.

3. Come to terms with the fact that you might still have to live on ramen for a little while longer? Skimp and save. I’m not the best at it myself. I’m really bad at it, quite frankly, but when it comes to chasing your dreams, nothing less will do.

There are a lot of things wrong with the system, but there is absolutely nothing wrong your dream. You have an obligation to chase after everything you’ve ever wanted. Hopefully, the knowledge gained in Eugene will serve you well in your pursuit.

- James Vos

5.14.18

In-House in the House

After spending the majority of my time in the UO ad program focusing on an agency-centric career path, my first internship out of college will be in-house copywriting at Disney’s Yellow Shoes. The plethora of guest speakers, agency visits and skype calls that I have attended through my four years have touched on little-to-no “true” in-house creative work. The idea of focusing on one single brand is daunting, and unlike a lot of the work we do build our books in our program (for good reason, too). However, I know that I am cheating a little bit with the sheer breadth of incredible properties (Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Jim Henson, etc.) that I will have the opportunity to touch, but that is still unlike anyone we have ever talked to, any agency visit we have ever embarked on, or anything I have ever done through my time at the U of O.

I had an earlier blog post about the fear of big companies. Does taking this internship make me a sellout? Not so fast, my friend. I am obviously beyond excited to be apart of such a beloved company, but I fully intend to go in swinging with every bit of outside perspective and agency wisdom that my time in New York and my time in the ad program has given me.

Natalie Kim of We Are Next says to “drink the Kool-Aid, but not blindly.” I know that a simple intern isn’t going to shake the foundation of The Walt DIsney Company, but like Jake Matthews of Virtue/Vice said, “the millenial perspective is what keeps creative work ahead of the relevancy curve.” I won’t let rose-colored glasses compromise the very perspective that got me to where I am. I will cultivate my own angle into the work and aim to challenge every stigma and current state of in-house work that there is.

- James Vos

5.14.18

Agency Visits

After my last agency visit yesterday afternoon, I am reflecting on a few main differences. The first is size. I visited agencies ranging from less than 20 people to hundreds and hundreds. With that, I discovered that I think i would be most successful somewhere in the lower middle of that range. I think of it like my high school class which was 180 students…big enough to have your own domain if you needed it and small enough to recognize names and faces, even if you weren’t close with everyone. I like the idea of being a tight-knit workspace without being super small. Another comparison I have found myself making is office locations. I found that the agencies I found myself most interested in had international offices with the potential to relocate. I love international travel…it has personally shaped me and having the opportunity to live somewhere unfamiliar and do great work there excites me. Finally, I looked at what shaped each agencies work. Some focused on boosting the clients visions, others talked about fostering change, but what most intrigued me was those that talked about building culture. I think that the high level of curiosity I am leaving New York with would be best applied to an agency with that mindset; a culture driven workplace.

Maddie Landers-Written 5.11.18

maddielanders.com