Networking!
I wish I had realized before this trip how willing and excited ad employees are to talk to students who are trying to find their way into advertising. One person I met with said,
“We are just trying to give the help we wished we had when we were first starting.”
It’s easy to look at ad agencies, especially big ones with prestigious titles, and think that the people who work there don’t have time for inexperienced ad students. This week made me realize how far from the truth that is. We are the future talent and their future coworkers! I am so grateful for everyone that took the time to talk to us this week, and I plan to continue to reach out to people and agencies I look up to. There’s so much to learn from people who are doing the work that you want to be doing.
Clare Malone 05/20/2019
Pepper
This is Pepper, Horizon Media’s mascot, she likes to talk about the weather the history of the company and can answer your questions. Pepper also cost over $20,000. I feel like media agencies are often misunderstood. As one of 4 media planners on the trip, my role can definitely seem less glamorous than those working on the creative side. However after visiting agencies such as Group M and Horizon Media I left feeling inspired and motivated about my future career. The media landscape is constantly changing and I can’t wait to see how it evolves. These agency visits also taught me that our every movement is being watched through the apps we download, through our wifi, and purchases. While this is creepy to most, I see it as an opportunity to strategically target people with advertisements!
Allison Surber
Team Dynamics
During our week in New York, we had the immense privilege of experiencing multiple ad agencies from an insider’s perspective. Each of these places has different office cultures and a variety of work dynamics. Like many, I now have a much clearer idea of the type of agency that I want to work for. I also picked up bits of advice on how to be a good teammate in your future job:
1. “Kindness drives work internally.” -W and K
2. “Always be thinking about how you can add the most value to your team” -Rokkan
3. “Learn how to champion others.” -Chelsea Coleman, Rokkan
4. “Be willing to take on things that don’t fall into your job description. Nothing is beneath you.” -Rokkan
5. “Recognize when to not get in the way and when to step up.” -Rokkan
6. “Say no to things you aren’t ready for.” -Joan
7. “Don’t burn bridges. Go for walks instead of sending that passive aggressive email.” -Rokkan
8. “Don’t seek permission to be a leader, just become one.” -Matt Eastwood, GCCO at McCann Health
9. “Push each other to be better. Good is the enemy of great.” -Johannes Leonardo
10. “Make the client the partner, not the enemy.” -Joan
11. “Be a person to confront problems, not run from them.” -Joan
Here’s to creating the best team dynamics in our program and beyond!
Taylor Kissinger | 05.19.19
How do you know if a job opportunity is right for you?
Breaking into the advertising industry can be incredibly difficult. It’s stressful enough being a full-time student, and dedicating time to your job search sometimes seems impossible. We all want to land great post-grad opportunities. However, the chances of someone getting their dream job right out of the gate are slim. That’s okay! That’s normal, but if you are offered a job/internship, how do you know if it’s the right opportunity for you?
Take a job where you know you’re maximizing your career goals. If faced with two choices, go with the better growth opportunity. Remember that where you start is just as important as where you want to end up. You also want to work where you feel that you can be your most authentic self.
If you feel down about how the search is going, keep your chin up. Stop comparing yourself to other people. They are on their own path, and you are on yours. Be as passionate about your job search as you are about the work. In the meantime, soak in the culture and knowledge from the people around you.
You can do this. And if you work hard, you will rock it wherever you end up.
Taylor Kissinger | 05.19.19
Pre-trip jitters
How my mindset changed from the 2018 NYC experience to 2019.
*Written pre-trip*
Blessed, thankful, and lucky are just some of the emotions I felt when I learned I would have the privilege of attending the NYC experience trip for a second time.
Growing up as a fourth generation Oregonian, I never pictured myself living anywhere else, let alone moving across the country to live in New York City. Noooo way.
“I’m not a city girl”
“There’s no way I could survive there”
“I don’t have the confidence to handle living in a place like that”
“It’s way too far from home”
“I’m not tough enough”
These thoughts flooded my head when thinking about potentially moving to NYC after graduation.
As a junior, I jumped at the opportunity to spend a week in New York visiting agencies and learning about the industry. I knew I could handle a week. But it was just one week - the realness of graduating and truly being out on my own hadn’t yet crept into my mind. For that reason, the trip had a certain kind of blissful feeling.
Going on the trip as a senior.. that was a whole new experience. In January, I was fortunate enough to receive an internship offer at an agency in New York. Unable to pass up the opportunity, I accepted the position and it slowly began to sink in.. I was moving across the country and all those scary thoughts came rushing back. The bliss I felt in NYC last year immediately shifted to the harsh realities that come along with moving there for real.
As I prepare for this coming week, I am nervous, scared and excited. Most of all, though, I am grateful to have this opportunity that will allow me to hopefully get a little more comfortable and confident heading into my future.
- Sara Stember
reflecting
I was initially a math major entering college because I was good at math in high school. Poor decision on my part, as I never registered for a math class upon realizing that I hated the subject. I was combing through majors at the UO, (using an extremely reliable decision-making system; does this sound depressing,) when I came across advertising and architecture. My dad is an architect, so I went the other route.
Four years later, and I just returned from my second UO NYC Experience. This trip envelops all the best parts of this program - community, opportunity, and guidance. I am grateful to have been able to visit agencies before graduation, to get a sense of what feels right (unlike my initial major decision at UO).
Simon Calem
Motivation has joined the chat…
I have been back in Eugene for about a week, and let me tell you… New York has a lot more going on. As much as I don’t want to jump on the “Inspired train”, I have to.
I don’t think I have ever been so inspired in my life.
Having the opportunty to visit different agencies pushed my motivation to a whole new level. I want to be that AE sitting at her window desk, looking out at the New York Skyline. Being able to see what possibilities are ahead has given me the push that I had been looking for.
Thank you, Deb.
Thank you, New York!
Motivation has joined the chat…
Gelareh Dehnad 5.19.2019
LIVE from studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza
Ever since I can remember, my dad would wake up and turn on the Today Show. Every morning. Getting ready for the first day of school? Today Show blasting from our living room as I eat my cereal. On family vacation? Today Show from the hotel TV. It doesn’t matter what day it is, if the Today Show is airing, my dad is watching. So having my cohort visit the Today Show on Friday morning and later getting to tour the studio, I felt as if I had to absorb every second of it for my dad. It was honestly probably my favorite experience from the whole trip. Even though I was on the opposite side of the country as him, in that moment I felt so close with my dad. I don’t have the opportunity to visit home a lot, but standing in Rockefeller Plaza transported me back to those mornings of my mom prepping lunches for my brothers and me, and the smell of my dad’s coffee, and the sound of our old rickety heater kicking in at exactly 7am. I was somewhere I had never been before, but I felt so at home. I took a step back and thought about everything I had accomplished to get here. One moment I’m finishing my multiplication tables at our kitchen table with the Today Show on in the background, and suddenly I’m in NYC on the Today Show set during an advertising trip about to graduate college and enter the real world. Life moves fast, tomorrow’s a new day, but I’ll always cherish Today.
I brought my dad back a severely overpriced Today Show mug. It’s the least I could do for him helping me out with a severely overpriced education.
-Regan Nelson 5.19.19
Train Your Brain
In advertising, we get paid for our ideas. We must sharpen our minds to help creatively solve business problems. Here are some quotes from agencies that I visited on how to train your brain for success:
1. “Nothing is bad or good, but thinking makes it so.” -Hamlet (Flock Pannell Discussion)
2. If your client asks for a bridge, ask why it has to be a bridge. -Rokkan
3. Speak up. Ask at least one smart question or contribute one smart thought in your meetings. -Rokkan
4. Soft skin is something you can’t have in advertising. -Johannes Leonardo
5. Be the optimist in the room. You can still be a rationalist. –Rokkan
6. Don’t just come to someone with problems, come with solutions or ideas of solutions - Rokkan
Literally food for thought.
Taylor Kissinger | 05.19.19