A Young Creative's Experiences in Today's Ad Agency Business

As a new copywriter in 2016 I wrote some banner headlines and fought to get on a couple of good briefs I was initially put in a silo where we took a digitalfirst realtime approach to client briefs and where discussions tended to be about Twitter copy length and Instagram story formats This wasn39t particularly satisfyingThe agency has since changed its structure and digital is no longer in siloed teams It39s now part of the way we work but not the only way we work With the new structure we can develop quotbig ideasquot that have digital dimensions This has provided more opportunity and growthNewhouse taught me how to get a job in advertising but not how to have a job in advertising Most of the skills I use at my job I39ve learned from working on the job I39ve learned how to present to clients I39ve learned about directors and production companies I39ve learned how to write a script The majority of my projects now include writing 30second TV spots just like creatives did in the quotgood old daysquot I love writing TV scripts more than anything elseThe approval process can be extremely tiresome There is an internal approval layer and then the client approval layer Each of these layers has a thousand minilayers underneath You learn to fight for the integrity of the creative until the very end In some cases it39s almost more satisfying to have something approved internally than externally Our chief creative officer sees dozens of scripts daily Approval by our CCO feels very important to meWhen the work gets to our clients there39s a more complicated dynamic Work can easily die in their hands You might have included a cat in your script and the client has a weird thing about cats The cat script dies If the client39s boss39s niece doesn39t think a script is funny it might not go ahead The process is exciting but it39s rarely simple or speedyI39m happy to have an art director partner It39s nice to have someone keeping you in check amp8212 and someone to bounce ideas off of or someone to cover for you when you most need itDoes our work quotmove brands in some wayquot It depends All of our briefs include a section that asks quotWhat does success look likequot Sometimes it39s an awareness or branding play other times it39s a bit more granular One of our clients amp8212 a hotel chain amp8212 wants its communications to boost direct bookings so we always include quotbook directquot language in our advertising In other situations it depends on the brief or the media buy A lowfunnel banner brief defines success differently from a Super Bowl TV briefWe have a culture of quotdisruptionquot at TBWA and the agency continues to put a premium on creativity I love it I fully drink the KoolAid I see our work and feel genuine pride in it I get excited when I hear that soandso soldin her script and that someone else is traveling for a big project Everyone here is producing all the time It feels really goodIt39s hard to turn off work at night Hard work is the key to success so I don39t mind the long hours or the allconsuming nature of the job I also don39t have a family or health issues or other people to take care of In this sense I39m freed up to focus on work More money would certainly help If I had a family and children I don39t know what it would be like Only a few of my creative directors have children That looks hardMentorship is important New employees should find a mentor or someone they like and latch onto them Advocacy is so important in this industry If you can connect with a good leader you have a better chance of developingCollege graduates should forget about cold online applications for agency jobs It39s a waste of time Networking is still critical Get out there to meet people amp8212 that39s how jobs are foundWhen you do get hired pitch the kind of things you39d actually want to make I spent a lot of time writing ideas that I thought might appeal to someone else somewhere Often though those ideas did not excite me personally It was probably obvious If your own work makes you laugh or cry or feel some emotion it will probably have the same effect on someone elseSomeone with my background might find alternative career prospects with consulting firms but that does not interest me I39m on Madison Avenue working with some of the most talented people in the business I wouldn39t trade anything for thatClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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A Young Creative's Experiences in Today's Ad Agency Business

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Michael Farmer

"About That" with Carl Mayer: Corinne Casagrande (Episode 8: Consumer Spending) - By Carl Mayer

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Michael Farmer

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