Your People Pt 1
If there’s one underlying theme I have found to be most important as I hop agencies each visit, it continues to boil down to one thing. That is: the “perfect agency” you’re looking for is only going to be found when you also find where the people are that understand you most. When I think about the time in which I feel at my most creative, it is undoubtedly when I have the opportunity be in a room of undeniably individual, collaborative, honest conversationalists with diverse stories. This is because you, and only you, have an experience that is so uniquely your own, you are the only one who can speak confidently on behalf of yourself. That being said, this is a two way street. As a storyteller of your own experiences, the environment you’re trying to be in has to reflect as a place where you can say what you feel is important because it is followed with acceptance. With every idea, speak and be greeted with the mentality that if your words are spoken with respect and honesty, then you will be rewarded with an environment that is willing to help you understand if you are wrong, and work with you on your journey to getting it right.
Your agency is where your people are because your people understand you at your core and are willing to be part of what you want to create before they know you as a strategist, art director, or an account manager. Even more so, they know you as a person, what you believe in, what you love, and how you want to make the world a better place. These people are who you’re around when you are at your most stressed, most happy, and most curious, so be around people that challenge your knowledge, can broaden your perspective, push you to chase your side hustles and passions, and most importantly, remind you that at the end of the day you are only human and your work is going to be ten times more effective if you understand yourself before joining an industry that bases itself on trying to solve other people.
May 11, 2018.
Going Global
Two tips I got for working overseas or on global accounts to help you adapt/understand these markets that are new for you.
1. Listen, listen, listen and listen more.
2. Be more precise.
-Jake Wilmink
Closing Time
Bittersweet feelings as I pack the ‘ole suitcase. I feel like this trip gave me everything I anticipated, but also gave me so much more. I met people I never would have met otherwise, saw things I never expected, and felt the city in a completely different way. I’m a little bummed as a junior knowing that all of the seniors won’t be around Allen next year, but I’m so grateful for their legacy and the example they have all set. I’m leaving the big apple with a new appreciation for another city, great advice, and maybe a shift in focus. Excited for next year and extremely grateful for this crazy fucking week.
Hannah Kloft
1984
Steve Jobs firmly believed in breaking away from a distopian future in which large corporations (specifically for Jobs, IBM) monopolozed the innovation industry and sucked creativity out of the world altogether. This mentality is clearly why Jobs believed so wholeheartedly in the now-famous “1984″ Apple commercial.
Watching the spot, it is clear that it was born out of the mind of a creative, and was championed by creatives, despite every account planner and investor who said, “but it doesn’t even show the Mac.”
Now, those planners, strategists, investors, etc. had every reason to doubt the ad. They had every reason to believe that the ad should actually show the product that it was advertising. (They also had every reason to not hire nationalist skinheads to appear in the spot, but it saved them a ton of money, so they were okay with that).
To wax poetically the way only a creative can:
The best ideas defy logic and reason.
Are there pockets of the industry that are becoming eerily similar to 1984? Seeing large agencies with even larger holding companies, I fear the monopoly of creativity in our historically innovative and idea-centric industry. I also fear the an increased presence of nationalist skinheads, but that’s technically unrelated.
Lining up in rows and marching in one direction will cause us to stagnate.
I know that big agencies, independent or otherwise, are finding ways to hurl the hammer at that stagnation, and that is reassuring. Saatchi & Saatchi is huge, and they still churned out the wildly creative and improbably successful Tide Super Bowl campaign.
We have creatives for a reason. Believe in them.
-James Vos
5.11.18
Metaphors
Tulani Foy, a strategist at Droga5, said something that really stuck with me on our visit. Before Tulani was a strategist, she spent a couple years in account management. When Tulani was first hired by another agency, the woman who brought her on told her that she only hires account managers who have had experience in the restaurant industry, specifically working as a waiter or waitress.
The metaphor follows as such:
As a waiter or waitress, you know that if you piss of the hostess, she won’t sit you at good tables throughout the night. You also know that if you are not kind to the bus boy, they will not be quick to clear your table, which will give your guests less incentive to tip you will. You also know to be kind to the cooks, so they are always obliged to bring your food out quickly, making the people sitting at your table happier. As a waiter or waitress, you need to be empathetic of everyone working on your team and understand the value of every moving piece of the job.
These skills can be paralleled to the work an account manager at an advertising agency takes on. This idea is something I hope to take with me for the rest of my career.
-Avery Wright
Advice
Radical Media was absolutely amazing and a token of advice for all of us that came out of their presentation was to go deeper into the abstract and figure out what you love to do. Once you know that then go where that passion is and then from there getting good at it is easy.
-Jenni Hooper
5.11.18
Squarespace has surprisingly rounded edges
Chloe Harlig of Squarespace explained the way David Lee, CCO of Squarespace, emphasized the importance of the working space of the company to be in alignment with its design values. This means no harsh edges, clean lines, and lots of black and white. The lobby was huge. Comfortable, but sophisticated. I wondered if this was to cater to the clients. I didn’t think that a tech company would be doing a lot of client work, but it turns out they have high profile clients like Chance The Rapper (who needs a solid, working website to sell his merch since he doesn’t belong to a label).
The significance of the design values of the company couldn’t be understated. Everything must be in alignment because the company’s only brand voice is its aesthetic. That’s a lot of pressure to maintain consistency throughout all aspects of the company. Everyone who works there (at least who we spoke to) had to have some strength in design, even if it wasn’t their primary role. Chloe, a recruiter, explained how she started off as a designer at a different agency, and how that experience led her to be adequately prepared for this recruiting role because she knows what to look for. For those of you going through the job search/interview process, these are the things she looks for:
1. Examples of work (obvi)
2. Passion projects and extracurriculars - what can you do to show us how you use your passions and translate that into something creative that also tells a personal story about you? A great example of this is a production intern we met a JWT - she interned for radio stations and loves podcasts, so she made a podcast with multiple episodes about herself and put it on her portfolio. It was a fun way to show prospective employers her interests, and allow them to get to know her on a personal level.
3. Self motivation (see 2–go above and beyond)
4. Strong judgment (good character, good moral compass)
5. Professional communication - a given, but a good reminder.
I thought these were super helpful, and it was a great opportunity to hear what real recruiters are looking for. It’s not about having tons of work—quality over quantity. It’s all about going the extra mile, and being concise and detailed about what you can bring to the table.
-Audrey Weatherhead
Insights
A good insight I got out of BBDO on Thursday was one that surprised me at first but then quickly lends itself to make total strategic sense. The insight was to give away the ending of your work, simply spoil it! People in this industry have little free time and you need to show them why they should pay attention right away.
-Jenni Hooper
5.11.18
Search Bars
As I’ve worked on projects, I almost always start on research. The brand’s background, their beliefs, what they are trying to convey and if it’s feasible for them to do that. Sometimes it works, and sometimes I feel like it’s a hole that will never end with something useful.
The folks over at Translation believe in research as well, but they take it on in a different way. They hit the twitter search bar before google or case study sites. I think that everyone strives to have a cultural insight that can propel an idea or campaign forward, but I love the thought to just type in the client’s name into different social media outlets and see what people are saying. For me wanting to work with accounts, it’ll be extremely helpful moving forward to start doing brand social research in addition to the typical cultural research to present and sell ideas that are more bulletproof than before. Audience knowledge is client knowledge.
Noah Andrews
5.11.18
Not your producer
Today I visited Starr Media which I was surprised about as I’m not a producer. But being able to experience that type of media production company was such a treat. As a project manager it gave me insight into the everyday jobs of producers and what kind of people they like to work with. This is important as a project manager because while seeing the whole project through I can make adjustments to producers needs. And if I’m being completely honest I knew close to nothing about it before this agency visit. So thank you Starr Media and thank you producers for being such badasses.
-Devyn Schnake 05.11.18