We arrived. Not just to New York, but to our first agency. Wieden + Kennedy New York was kind enough to take all 100+ of us in their sweet office on Monday. We were welcomed with open arms, and then later open pizza boxes. In between the greeting and the stuffing of the faces, they gave us some valuable insight.

The main takeaway for most people though was undoubtedly one of W+K’s signature phrases, ‘Don’t Act Big’. Plastered on several slides and on the wall of the party room, these words ring in my ear to this minute. It would be easy for W+K to act big, considering they are one the world’s largest independent agencies. It would be easy for them to act big, because the people who work there have a track record of big ideas with even bigger results. It would be easy for them to act big, because they are an agency that many people who aren’t even involved in advertising have heard of. Yet, in spite of all their reasons to do so, they choose to not ‘act big’.

Instead, they take the time to put a massive-amount of effort into everything they touch. They work to stay humble, hungry, and fully-immersive with every one of their clients. It goes without saying that these are all things we shall strive to emulate in our own work thanks to our time at W+K.

Andrew J. Greenblatt 5.9.17