Stratifesto
Our passion are what drive our strengths. They are what makes us lose track of time. Gets us into a flow. It's what encourages us to keep going even when all we want to do is quit. It's that moment when our heart races and we're on a high, the thrill of discovery. The feeling of being blessed, knowing we are doing exactly what we want to do in life. And that grateful moment, like we are beating the system, knowing we are getting paid to pursue our passions.
Here are my passions. Maybe they're yours.
People
I strive to explore and understand human motivations. Why do we do what we do? Are we more similar than different? Is there any rationale to our decisions or is it all emotional? An excel chart full of useful data is like a light in the dark; qualitative, honest one-on-one interviews like water in the desert.
Culture
We are the product of a specific time and place - of our background, of our upbringing. Of "low-brow" cultural influences and "high brow." Of music, of film, of celebrity and of ethnicity and religion. Of politics, of climate change and the economy. What a beautiful, sometimes frightening, often hopeful world we live in that I have an insatiable appetite to explore.
Brand Building
An intangible set of values, of unquantifiable worth has the power to pique our desire. It's that allusive set of behaviors that makes us willing to pay more, a tone of voice, design and overall experience that tickles our senses. It's that element that introduces us to likeminded people, makes us feel like someone else gets us. A club we are proud to be a part of.
Transformation
The only thing constant is change. How thrilling to offer clients a new perspective that is a catalyst for change? A website design that turns a sales-led business to digital-first, consumer-first. A campaign strategy that inspires action through doing versus saying. A brand re-fresh that better reflects the cultural shifts while retaining the brand values. An innovation that is mutually beneficial to the customer as it is to the business.
Storytelling
Have you captured someone's attention? Made them actually feel something? Have you brought an idea to life through imagery or film? A compelling story has the power to convince people of your point of view. It can get clients on your side, consumers in the door. What a powerful tool strategists have at their disposal, one that I love having the opportunity to continually hone.
The Circle Game: Big Data & the Gutenberg Press
I've read about two pages of Nate Silver's "The Signal and the Noise" and already, my mind is blown.
Often in advertising, we look at everything we do as something that is new and hasn't been done before. Social has replaced mass marketing, T.V. commercials.. and that's a one-to-one relationship we've never seen before. Or maybe we saw that 75-100 years ago before radio ads and television ads - when the "advertising" you were primarily exposed to was the "content" you received from your store sales associate. Your one-to-one relationship was right in front of you and you could shake their hand.
Content strategy is the new, never-before, never-seen, form of digital and social marketing. Or maybe magazines and the brands that have influenced their content have just shifted to distributing their content on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Our grandparents might remember cookbooks and recipes sponsored by Betty Crocker, but these forms of "content" are completely foreign to the digital generations of 2015.
Advertising isn't the only history that repeats itself. Silver points out in his introduction that the power of data first took hold in the 1400's, when Gutenberg invented the printing press. Suddenly, books that would have cost upwards of $20,000 a copy could now be available to the masses. Information that had literally passed hundreds of hands like a game of telephone could be distributed without error. This one invention created historical upheaval. Powers that thrived on and subsequently abused being the gatekeepers of knowledge, suddenly had formidable foes calling their bluffs. Populations questioned everything they thought they knew- from over a thousand years of teachings.
When the dust settled, Western society entered a renaissance, followed by a period of enlightenment. A way of life built on divine, unquestionable and unverifiable power nearly disappeared around the globe. All but figureheads remain.
The Gutenberg Press is a relic discussed in history classes. But the power of information is apparent to us in everything we do. When we talk about big data, we talk about consumer trends, the ability to better sell products, better know our customers, our audience and maybe our world.
But it's more profound than that. It's no surprise that the genesis story of the Western world is centered around knowledge - the symbol of Eve yanking down that apple of knowledge for Adam. Understanding our generation's Gutenberg Press is understanding the power of knowledge. We are seeing corporations, institutions and even governments fall- as knowledge of their true intentions sweep through our browsers. We are seeing communities find salvation as news of their plight enter our hearts. The rate of change is accelerating at a pace we cannot imagine. While one might turn on the news to see disturbing images of injustice that desperately need to change, I see the truth being revealed- one story at a time. These stories have already created an unprecedented amount of change, one that can't be credited to our president alone, but to an entire country of people, armed with newfound knowledge.
I'm optimistic. What's next?
Breaking Through: How to Make Content Go Viral
We are in a world where we are constantly bombarded with content. From the very second that we wake up and check out Facebook feeds to snip bits of content on our commute to the news while we're eating dinner and finally, one last check before bed. As advertisers, we're tasked with breaking through that content. Developing something so compelling that it bubbles up into someone's feed. That our audience jumps at the opportunity to share.The world we play in is filled with negative news. An African American student was beaten by cops for having a fake I.D. California has one year of water left. The ice of Antartica is melting at an irreversible rate. A skim through one's feed means opens up the possibility of starting the morning on a high note or worried about the state of our world.
So how do we, as advertisers break through?
STEP ONE
Leverage star-power or a voice that has an existing audience.
STEP TWO
Create a piece of content that has genuine human emotion and evokes emotion from anyone with a soul. We are bombarded with so much negative news. Can your story be a source of hope?
STEP THREE
Put it on a channel that seems native to whomever the story is coming from.
STEP FOUR
Wait. If it doesn't go viral, it probably wasn't a piece of content that moved people. Even the tiniest decisions can be critical. There is no magic formula, only the obligation to tell a story that is meaningful and genuine.
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How Brands Are Built In The Digital Age
This winter, I applied to the Admap Prize 2014 through WARC on how brands are built in the digital age and was shortlisted. Here's my entry and thoughts on building brands in the digital age.
Approximately two to three times a week, I purchase my morning coffee at a charming French café that’s slightly out of the way on my morning commute. I allow myself this small luxury, despite owning all the necessary requirements for home-brewing. The moment I step into this café, I am magically transported from the realities of fast-paced New York City to every American’s romantic notion of Paris. Furthering this illusion, I am surrounded by elegant French expats energetically catching up after dropping their children off at the Lycée Francais, ordering their cafés and croissants. As I approach the register, the refined Scottish barista, Andrew, greets me with a familiar hello and how are you, already knowing my usual order. I am not just a customer, but am the mayor (according to FourSquare). And this café is not just a caffeine and gluten–dispensing establishment, but a well-curated experience. Every employee, cake, cup and decoration has been specifically chosen to appeal to a particular customer. Impeccable service and friendly employees engage customers, while goodies like imported French treats delight them. It’s no surprise that I am not their only loyal customer.
Frank Rose points out in The Art of Immersion that “[The Internet] is the first medium that can act like all media—it can be text, or audio, or video, or all of the above. It is nonlinear … inherently participatory … constantly encouraging you to comment, to contribute, to join in. And it is immersive.” (1) The Internet is not just immersive, but mimics real life, in-person experiences. It can replace the music we hear as we walk into an establishment; the patterns, textures and colors specifically chosen to tell a story about that store; the stories and information the sales clerk tells us about their products. It can even substitute how employees interact with customers with a virtual “How can I help you?” through Twitter. As brands show up in our social network feeds, the line between “Would I like to buy this product?” and “Do I want to have a relationship with this brand?” has blurred.
As marketers, we are tasked with understanding how our brands should behave in the digital age—with wondering how to unlock the magic formula, the right amount of customer data with the appropriate social channels and mobile apps. But what if there is no magic formula? What if succeeding in the digital age, regardless of the customer or location requires a different attitude from brands, one that involves genuinely caring about their customers to create a unique, branded experience. Digital technology enables brands to infuse genuine human touch in all communication points - a two-way conversation and personalization that mirrors the types of in-person interactions that have dominated seller/customer relationships throughout history.
“May I help you” begins with actually being there. An establishment carefully picks their location to cater to a specific clientele—to fill an unmet need. Although businesses are developed with the intent of making a profit, successful brands are also closely tied with the intent of helping people – either through their location or actual products. For my favorite café, the owners may have been compelled by the intention of giving French expatsa place to connect. For Warby Parker, their purpose may have revolved around giving customers affordable glasses, shipped online. But most importantly, both establishments carefully picked their location based on their customer’s needs, whether it’s choosing a particular neighborhood to deciding on an online distribution platform. Brands who genuinely care about their customers’ needs and behaviors have an obligation to continually track where their customer may want to purchase products in the future and to serve those unmet needs.
Tesco famously catered to the buying needs of their customers when they created a “virtual store” in a Korean subway, allowing busy customers to conveniently scan products using smartphone-enabled QR codes. Kate Spade did something similar, creating a 24-hour virtual store in front of a few New York City empty storefronts, allowing customers to purchase products via the window screen and have it delivered within an hour. While the focus of these examples are often on the technology used, at the heart of these executions was a recognition by brands that they could use technology to better serve their customers’ needs.
A brand that genuinely cares about their customer delivers what they say they will deliver, and understands exactly what their customer values and needs. At a basic level, a person entering a coffee shop might value impeccable customer service and delicious pastries, but nowadays, a caffeine junkie might also seek reliable Wi-Fi. My favorite coffee shop offers free Wi-Fi, a service that has delighted Starbucks’ customers for years. By anticipating and catering to customers’ needs, brands are building their reputation one customer at a time. In the digital age, reputation is critical –the shareable nature of social can cause one bad Yelp review to go viral. A quick Google search can make it easy to tell which companies genuinely care about their customers and which companies one suspects are only focused on short term gain. In fact, the only types of companies that have survived despite bad reputations are those that customers have had no choice in supporting—from cable to health insurance. But even those are seeing a decline in sales as alternatives become available. Even brands that compete on price, most famously Amazon, work to ensure quality customer service and products, showing they care about their customers’ needs.
At its core, what a customer seeks in a product is unlikely to change with the introduction of new technology. Even purely digital brands, built in the digital age, like Facebook have revolved first and foremost around needs of their users. Apple understood that buying expensive electronics requires extensive research and the assurance that the product will continue to work. Consequently they have built their brand on excellent customer service that they have extended to online tools. With banks, people value security and customer service. In person, that might mean money held in a secure vault and helpful, well-dressed clerks at bank locations. In the digital space, that could translate to 24-7 online chat access, a user-focused mobile app and online, informative content. Citi has a history of using technology to serve their customers’ needs—first with the introduction of ATMs, and most recently with a mobile app that allows customers to scan checks into their accounts. Nike sells the promise of fitness whether through their athletic gear, mobile apps, FuelBand or even in-person athletic events.
Millennials, as a consumer group, are particularly important for brands to understand in the digital age, since they are the demographic most likely to be heavy consumers of digital technology. In December 2013, The New York Times published an opinion piece called Millennial Searchers, noting the ways in which Millennials seek meaning and purpose in their lives. For them, it is no longer enough to purchase something that will give them a fleeting sense of happiness—they seek more meaning in their purchases. Across categories, we see older brands tying themselves to a bigger purpose –showing they care about bigger issues and using social to spread that purpose. From IBM’s Smarter Planet to Dove’s Real Beauty, each seeks to convey that their products help fulfill a bigger mission. On the flipside, brands built within the digital age started with a genuine purpose: TOMS’s Buy A Pair, Give A Pair campaign was based on the premise of philanthropy, allowing the average person to be a philanthropist. Warby Parker followed suit. For younger brands, especially those appealing to Millennials, what you do as a company is more important than what you say because it helps establish you as being genuinely focused on customers. Each brand helps customers fill an emotional need with their purchase.
It has never been more important to ensure that at the heart of your brand, you care about customers. Digital technology has pulled away the curtain that marketing previously created around brands. Each communication and customer touch point becomes an opportunity for everyone to see how a brand treats their customer. Brands like United (Breaks Guitars), JPMorgan (Ask JP Morgan) and have learned that infusing a customer-focused culture is critical in maintaining the reputation of the company. On the flip side, companies with excellent customer experiences, such as Apple, Virgin America or Zappos, have grown in the digital age. In fact, their success is often attributed to a strong company culture. Employee and in-person experiences have the potential to represent the brand, and interactions can easily go digital through an online review or public Tweet.
Finally, a brand that truly cares will add that little bit of delight, fulfilling a human desire and want. It’s asking how your day is in a way that makes you feel special. Carefully wrapping your purchase. It’s the décor that provides a mini escape to Paris. Or the music that puts you in a better mood. It’s an employee that goes above and beyond for their customer—remembers their order, ensures a particular product is in stock. Or the particularly knowledgeable store clerk, who, like a good friend, gives you an honest opinion as to why you shouldn’t buy something in their store.
For the online experience, decor can be translated into a well designed website that takes you to another place as you browse during your lunch break. A busy shelf of curated objects can be turned into a Pinterest board meant as visual eye candy, as in Anthroplogie’s merchandising. It could be having a well-designed e-commerce site that allows customers to browse thoroughly and uninterrupted before purchasing. It’s the technology a company can harness to predict what a customer wants based on their interactions. Or six-second how-to Vine videos bringing out fantasies of DYI home improvement. Brands can even create physical spaces to cater to customers’ desires.
In December 2013, Samsung created a pop-up experience store in New York’s Soho. Customers were treated to free coffee, and the ultimate indulgence- cupcakes while enjoying a space to relax during the busy shopping season. In the digital age, what may once have been a local stunt can now be shared instantly and globally through people’ssocial feeds, allowing everyone to see how a brand caters to the hidden desires of their customers.
Two-way interactions can be built with a brand over time through social media—an exchange never achieved through traditional advertising. A barista can facilitate conversations between like-minded customers, playing host or even matchmaker. Social media communities can be built and nurtured by community managers with no direct intention to sell products, only a direct intent to care about their customers’ wants.
Traditional advertising plays a critical role in adding to people’s desires and wants. Now that a Google search (ZMOT) has taken over the role of conveying detailed product benefits and reviews, traditional advertising, more than ever, is a place to tell a compelling story. Budweiser’s “Puppy Love”—a heartwarming story of love between a dog and a horse—was voted one of the most popular ads of the Supe
r Bowl in 2014. As viewers, we may not exactly understand how the commercial fit into the heart of the brand, but our hearts were filled with warmth as we viewed the commercial. Popular viral ads of 2013 were likely to illuminate bigger issues that we are often too afraid to discuss on our own but want to (Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches), act as a purely distracting entertainment (Evian’s Baby & Me), make us laugh (Kmart’s “Ship My Pants) or make us cry out of joy (GoPro’s Fireman Saves Kitten). Ads that “go viral” are emotive, story-driven, funny and genuinely entertaining—all qualities that compel us to share so that we can fulfill our desire to connect with others, using them as conversational fodder.
While print ads are still a place to inform people about product benefits, they’ve also always been a place to inspire. Just as people have always cut out print ads and posted them in their spaces to inspire and aspire to, we can now “pin” and share visuals created by brands. A traditional print ad might be more product-focused, whereas brands can now create inspirational, shareable online images with quotes or content that touches on that hidden desire of constant self-improvement.
Regardless of the medium or execution, every point of communication for a brand is connected and conveys whether or not a brand genuinely cares about their customers. For brands with exciting products and strong, customer-focused values, there is a world of opportunity in the digital age. But for brands with a weak product that is not customer-focused, succeeding in the digital age will be an uphill battle.
To the naked eye, it appears that digital technology has revolutionized our universe. It has changed how we communicate and how we interact with each other, with ourselves and even with brands. But ultimately it has brought humanity and a new sense of intimacy back into our lives that brands can now tap into. It’s that human touch, that feeling that a brand genuinely cares, brought to us through a personalized Facebook exchange, a convenient mobile purchase or inspiring branded content. After decades of impersonal, mass marketing, digital technology finally enables brands to reach across the counter—warmly shaking their customers’ hands.
Getting out of the Red - Red Lobster's Turn Around?
Ever since the NY Times wrote an article back in February on the eroding middle class effecting major restaurant chains, I've been interested in this phenomenon. How do companies survive and even shift their business towards the growing upper class without neglecting and even disappointing their base? Interestingly enough, many companies catering to the middle class were founded on the very principal of bringing that product to the masses - whether it was coffee (Folgers) or seafood (Red Lobster). What was once a luxury is now attainable. But over the last few decades, it wouldn't be a stretch to say many businesses have taken advantage of their middle class customer, sacrificing quality for cost, focusing heavily on promotions and hoping a gimmick would get people through the door. So beloved brands have become just another cheap deal - quantity over quality. With the conversation shifting from "I got this at X" to "I got this at X% off." Brands have fallen into a price war arms race, lowering the value of their products and brand. What once was a semi-annual special trip to a restaurant may now be a regular, monthly routine. Or once cherished clothing is now discarded with the seasons.Where has this gotten us? Americans are now more in debt, overweight, and it's safe to assume based on the rise of the self-storage industry, have more stuff than ever. Companies are struggling to keep up with customer quantity demands, hurting the environment and navigating murky labor practices as they continue to cut costs.
While they're struggling, a counter-trend is rising. Fast food is being out run by fast casual with sustainability-focused companies like Chipotle leading the charge. Even McDonald's has decided to rebrand. Online retailers focused on sustainability or ethically sourced materials like Zady, Accompany, Everlane and Warby Parker are popping up every day. And trendsetters like Millennials are shifting their spending - focusing on pure utility rather than the emotional benefits that come from owning a brand. For instance, car sharing companies have been proven to displace car sales. On a smaller scale, the growing number of subscription coffee services and even ingredient delivery services like Blue Apron show that people are choosing to forgo the prestige of eating and drinking out in order to save money - but they still want a high quality experience.
What do I predict will happen when brands like Red Lobster go back to their roots and offer the high quality experience they once did? First, they'll attract a whole new customer - the upper middle to upper class who may have even had positive associations with the brand from their childhood. Red Lobster may lose customers who were driven by discounts and deals but most importantly, their core customer - a true advocate of the brand - may learn to shift their budgets. What was once a cherished, special meal will become a special, occasional meal once again. Bringing Red Lobster out of the red.
The Future of Advertising - As Told Through My 2010 Miami Ad School Application
Inspired by Faris Yacob's recent post, I decided to re-read my Miami Ad School Planning Boot Camp application from June 2010. Four years later, my thoughts on how advertising will and should evolve has not changed. This thinking is even reflected in how I answered WARC's 2014 Admap Essay contest on building brands in the digital age, which I can proudly say they added me to the shortlist. Below is my response to one of the application questions - word for word (recently edited for readability and not content). I think many of these predictions will come true ahead of schedule.
How would you evolve the state of advertising to be successful in the year 2020?
CLIFF NOTES
1. Sophisticated customer tracking tools will play a critical role in which products and ads we serve to customers. Customers will be in control of their data and willingly share it in exchange for tailored products and marketing.
2. Ad agencies will be fully integrated with less silos between disciplines such as brand building, digital, innovation, mobile or even employee engagement.
3. The integrity of a product and organization will be paramount as increasing transparency pulls the curtain on what marketing can mask.
4. The role of advertisers will be to entertain, inspire, add value to your life or even serve as a community creator - fostering connections between likeminded individuals.
5. The need for strategic thinking, creativity and brand building won't go away.
In 2010, companies can already track their consumers through browser cookies, smartphones, social networking sites, online shopping, rating sites, and many more devices. By 2020, marketers will have more sophisticated measuring and monitoring tools to predict exactly what brands you relate to, down to the exact style of dress you want, before you even knew you wanted it. Consumers will profit from their private information by selling it to marketers, negating privacy issues. By 2020, I will never receive an ad that wasn’t meant for me.
In order for advertising to be successful in the year 2020, advertisers will need to change their organizational structure. They will need to rely heavily on strategic thinking and continue to develop their client’s brand. Most importantly, advertisers will need to work with clients to offer added value to the consumer, either through the ads themselves or products development. Ads will be engaging, entertaining and social.
Currently, most clients have a long roster of agencies: their digital agency may be based in Boulder while their AOR is in New York. Within an ad agency, coordinating every aspect of the process is challenging – even harder and less efficient when you’re working across multiple agencies. In order for advertisers to be successful in 2020, agencies need to go back to a time when all aspects of advertising were under one roof. The very definition of advertising will change to fall under the umbrella of communications and even innovation, blurring the lines between public relations, product innovation, entertainment and social media. Advertising agencies will become strategic think tanks, understanding their consumer and directing all other branches of the process; digital, print, television, web, media, etc. to interact with the particular consumer - based on their behavioral preferences. Collaborators from all stages of the process will sit in on the initial brain storming session so, for instance, the lead creative understands what the media team can do to execute their vision in the appropriate fashion. While this may resemble an in house agency, I believe it needs to remain separate in order to foster a culture of innovation, allowing strategists to pull inspiration from multiple sources and stay fresh. In keeping with the theme of integration and innovation, advertising agencies will be more horizontal and collaborative with the understanding that good ideas can come from anyone in the organization.
In addition to leading the strategic process, to be successful, advertisers will consult on all aspects of a client’s business that interact with consumers - from the retail floor to customer service, ensuring that the brand’s integrity is held throughout. With the rapid spread of information, there will be no room for disingenuous campaigns that falsely reflect the product or service. The ad agency will not create the retail experience but they will work closely to lead the firm that does.
Based on their strategic insights, advertisers will introduce the right products for the right people, popping up in their daily lives without being intrusive. It will aggregate information from your social networking sites, online persona and previous purchases to determine which brands you affiliate with and which potential new brands interest you. In fact, customers will be rewarded by points they can use to buy products for giving out more of their data – thus ensuring that products will be marketed to them more efficiently. Advertisers will turn into highly trained personal assistants, presenting you with your every need as you go about your daily life. Mobile and geo-location services will be key to alerting you what you need, when you need it and when you’re near it to get you to the purchase. Brands will create stronger communities as they are starting to do now – turning our global economy into a small town feel and giving people the connections that we all seek.
Advertisers will start conversations, entertain, challenge and excite their consumers. They will create social games that engage consumers with the brand. They will NOT be replaced by Google search or Facebook recommendations because consumers need that brand recognition (that comes in the form of advertising) to choose a brand out of the large sea of products. And brands need advertising to differentiate their product. As the tide is shifting now, the customer and advertiser will work together to create better products. This is how I would evolve the state of advertising to be successful in the year 2020.
Asking the Wrong Questions, Why Sustainability Is the Answer
Publishing my essay for ADMAP's 2013 Prize that answers the question:
"Can brands maximize profits and be a force for social good?"
Before the invention of traditional advertising, companies lived and died by their reputation. A good reputation depended on having both quality products and customer service. There was an emotional connection between ones neighbor, the shopkeeper, the products and even the manufacturing process itself. But with Henry Ford’s invention of the assembly line, we have lost that connection with the manufacturing process, the earth and even each other. Fortunately technology has brought that connection back. Companies have discovered that considering the environment and labor force in the supply chain has delivered measurable cost savings. Research has shown that consumers seek brands that give back to society. And business case studies have been made that show how businesses can enter new markets from sustainability efforts. The question we should be asking brands as marketing and business professionals is not, can brands maximize profits and be a force for social good, but why are they ignoring this proven path towards sustainability and continued profitability.
The foundation for life, water has also been recognized as a critical component to manufacturing and the supply chain. A recent report by The Carbon Disclosure Project, a group that monitors corporations’ greenhouse gas emissions, stated that “analysis indicates that current “business as usual” water management practices and levels of water productivity will put at risk approximately US$63 trillion, or 45 percent of the projected 2050 global GDP (at 2000 prices), equivalent to 1.5 times the size of today’s entire global economy.” The effects of climate change are clearly evident in challenges companies have had to face from water risk. More than half of Global 500 respondents, from a 2012 CDP study, experienced detrimental water-related business impacts from flood and associated financial costs as high as US$200 million, up 38% from last year. While the science around climate change is still being debated, the predicted effects of frequent extreme weather such as floods and droughts can affect many aspects of the manufacturing process from cotton crops to equipment damage from flooding. It is not a huge leap to assume that this number may increase after the final costs of Hurricane Sandy are all accounted for.
Fortunately, for every alarming statistic, there are companies that are leading the practice in water conservation. Both General Motors and H&M have significantly reduced the amount of water used in their manufacturing process. Companies are even reporting that water-based initiatives have offered new opportunities from increased brand value (40%) to entirely new business opportunities. Levi Strauss has been a pioneer in water reduction during their manufacturing process, introducing Water<Less jeans in 2011. While sales figures on the jeans have not been released, they have increased their manufacturing of the product from 1.5 million in 2011 to 29 million in 2012. Levi’s has recognized that the initiative is in line with both their business goals and consumer values. They continue to evolve their sustainable product offerings. Like Levi’s, Unilever has pioneered water-related sustainability efforts to appeal to their current consumers and enter entirely new markets. A few years ago, they developed a fabric conditioner that only requires one bucket of water for rinsing instead of three, gaining a 60% increase in usage from 2010.
Half the cost of business is in the supply chain. The supply chain is also responsible for 70 percent of greenhouse-gas emissions from manufacturing companies. While most members of the United Nations Global Compact of Sustainability surveyed by Accenture agreed that sustainability should be integrated into all aspects of operations, just over half, actually achieved sustainability. The path to reducing emissions has already been paved; 40 percent of CDP members have reported financial savings from their emissions reduction activities. Companies have even benefited from developing smarter transportation routes or partnering with other companies to reduce fuel costs from deliveries.
No sellable good can be harvested, created or transported without the touch of a human hand or at least one to guide the machinery. And yet, many companies treat their workers like machines, with no feelings, human needs or compassion. But for a moment, let us put our humanity aside and pretend that labor is just a line item in the manufacturing process. Most machines would have a short lifespan if they were kept running without proper maintenance. The cost of replacing them would far out weigh the cost of fixing them. But workers are not machines. While they require more “maintenance” and time off than the average machine, they also have the capacity to do so much more. BSR, a corporate responsibilities consultancy, published the results of several case studies where they helped improve the working conditions in factory and agricultural settings in Central American and the Dominican Republic. By helping to improve the lives of the workers, they also helped improve the business. Productivity increased while operating costs and turnover decreased.
Look no further than your local Whole Foods, Starbucks or trendy café to understand how consumers feel about fair labor practices. The sale of Fair Trade products has grown globally about 30% every year, even during a recession. Apple came famously under fire after The New York Times created a shocking expose of Foxconn’s working conditions. Faced with consumer pressure, investigations by NGOs and continued NYT articles about the factory, Apple eventually worked with Foxconn to improve labor conditions. If Foxconn does not serve as enough of a lesson, economics will. Over the next decade, it will be absolutely imperative for companies to learn how to develop more sustainable labor practices, especially in the China. The IMF predicts in a 2013 paper that between 2020 and 2025, China will experience a labor shortage economy. This shift could even signal the end of cheap goods.
What is supply without demand? A critical component to profitability is revenue. The Guardian conducted a study in 2010 on consumer attitudes and perceptions on sustainability. “…79% indicated that a company offering products and services with low environmental impacts would be more likely to win their loyalty” and felt the same factors would help them develop loyalty. Over 70% thought that energy, manufacturing and transport companies are not environmentally friendly or have little concern for the environment. No follow up papers have been published but one can guess that sentiments would be similar given the man-made and climate change-related disasters that have occurred since it was published in June 2010.
“People’s willingness to buy, recommend, work for and invest in a company is driven 60% by their perceptions of the company, and only 40% by their perceptions of their products.” Kasper Ulf Nielsen, an executive partner at the Reputation Institute
Businesses have lost valuable consumer trust over the last decade. Trust in business fell from 53% in 2011 to 47% in 2012 and customers cited that businesses did not meet their expectations due to their practices. Trust for business is slowly rising to 58% according to the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer. In fact, business is trusted more than government in more than half the 26 markets surveyed. The Edelman Trust Barometer also found that societal factors like treating employees well, has “ethical business practices” and “addresses society’s needs” are attributes associated with future trust. The most telling finding as it relates to the general public’s interest in social good is that Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) remain the most trusted institution.
The increase of concern for the environment and societal ills is due to the historically high levels of information that the average person has access to. In 2011, Google published a pivotal free eBook called ZMOT, Winning the Zero Moment of Truth. The book describes a shift in how consumers make purchasing decisions. Once influenced by branding, advertising and public relations, consumers can now have access to detailed product information, company policies and even customer reviews before purchasing an item. While the book is mainly focused on a behavioral shift in purchasing, it also signals a cultural shift. We can no longer cite ignorance as an excuse for our behavior. We have an increasing proliferation of tools like the GoodGuide to tell us at the point of purchase how sustainable a company’s policies are. If we cannot find it on Google, our social network can act as a resource for influencing our purchasing decisions.
Consumers have a growing appetite for finding more meaning in their purchases. Inn the United States, we find a growing interest in hand crafted goods, fueled by Etsy, eBay and other peer to peer ecommerce sites. Customers are also experiencing a greater connection to their farmer with the proliferation of local farmer’s markets across the country.
Global viral campaigns like KONY reveal that there is a cultural pressure to align oneself with social initiatives. Non-profits like Charity Water allows us to see the benefits of our philanthropy, showing us that we do not have to be wealthy to make a positive societal impact. The one-to-one model of Tom’s and Warby Parker has made it cool to identify with a label, as long as that label gives back to society. And indulging in Ben & Jerry’s makes eating ice cream a little less gluttonous when one considers all their CSR initiatives. Finally, countless personal care brands have worked to match their manufacturing process to their newly created “natural” image.
While the debate over being a force for good and making a profit is still being debated, a few companies have taken off in developing their sustainability practices, paving the way for others. Patagonia has become a thought leader in creating sustainability practices, especially for clothing brands, publishing The Responsible Company in 2012 as a guide for businesses. They have strived to greatly increase the quality of their products and promote thoughtful consumption over disposable goods. In 2011, on the most famous American shopping day of the year, Patagonia urged their customers not to buy their products. Their program, Common Threads, urges consumers to reduce, repair, reuse and recycle their clothing. Their initiatives are working, both for creating sustainability and a profitable business model. Despite the extreme economic woes over the last five years, their revenue is set to nearly double.
Another pioneer of sustainability is Unilever. During the keynote speech given at The Marketing Society Conference in November 2011, CMO Keith Weed cites population growth as a strong driver for Unilever’s sustainability efforts. In addition to their commitment to reduce their carbon footprint by modifying their supply process, they have also spearheaded non-profit initiatives. For example, their disinfectant soap, Lifebuoy founded the first ever Global Handwashing Day in 2008 with the United Nations and other partners. In addition to improving hygiene and preventing disease, the initiative promoted usage of the product, gaining sales and growing market share.
Starbucks is another global example of companies promoting sustainability. While their impact on the environment is debatable given the proliferation of used Starbucks coffee cups, their commitment to labor is not. They have worked to make their supply chain sustainable, including a commitment to farmer labor practices. Starbucks rallied their customers through Create Jobs for U.S.A., offering customers a braided wristband in exchange for their $5 donation towards the Community Development Financial Institutions. Howard Schultz is a businessman and while it is clear that he may care more about sustainability than other CEOs, he is still interested in long-term profitability. A study done by UCLA in 2012 found that "adopting green practices isn't just good for the environment, it's good for your employees and it's good for your bottom line. Employees in such green firms are more motivated, receive more training, and benefit from better interpersonal relationships. The employees at green companies are therefore more productive than employees in more conventional firms."
When one looks at the overwhelming evidence, it is clear that maximizing profits and being a source for social good are synergistic goals for companies. Creating a more sustainable supply chain reduces costs. The knowledge that the company is being a source for good both motivates employees and consumers, increasing productivity and revenue. Companies have adjusted their business models to succeed in dramatic market shifts from introducing ecommerce to developing a social media presence and offering their customers utilities through mobile. Why should adjusting to sustainable business practices be any different? The health of society and business depend on it.
How Childhood Play Leads To Creativity
Just read this article, Give childhood back to children: if we want our offspring to have happy, productive and moral lives, we must allow more time for play, not less - written by Dr. Peter Gray, research professor of psychology at Boston College. His thesis is that it's human, even animal nature for children to play - an act that helps them develop a myriad of skills from conflict resolution to creativity. But this ability to play is being threatened by education systems around the world, replacing free times with schooling or unorganized play with formalized athletics. Anyone who's watched a cat video featuring more than one kitten knows that constant play is critical to understanding a person's physical and emotional boundaries, among other skills learned.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLDbGqJ2KYk]
Gray makes the point that
"... Even more than in the past, creativity is a key to economic success. We no longer need people to follow directions in robot-like ways (we have robots for that), or to perform routine calculations (we have computers for that), or to answer already-answered questions (we have search engines for that). But we do need people who can ask and seek answers to new questions, solve new problems and anticipate obstacles before they arise. These all require the ability to think creatively. The creative mind is a playful mind."
As I came out of working on a Saturday yesterday, an act that is by no means rare in the working world, especially the fast-paced world of advertising, I found myself craving a bit of play, of creative inspiration. Just as children's playtime is being threatened, adults find themselves increasingly working all hours. In New York, it's not uncommon for the phrase "I had to work over the weekend" to be some form of bragging, or even considered a right of passage to success. But how does this effect our ability to be creative or make original connections? At Miami Ad School's Planning Boot Camp, I remember our first Weekend Workshop teacher taught a class on the overall strategic process - informing us that the trick to coming to an insight is to walk away from the work at hand after absorbing every bit of information you could. Take a walk. Go for a run. Go to a museum and as your focusing on something else, connections will be made in your brain.
So if you find yourself actually having a few minutes to yourself during the workweek, go outside. Take a walk. Actually make use of that game room your company installed years ago. Flip through the magazines at your local magazine stand. Go to a museum. Or dip onto a store-filled street. Because in the world of creativity, success doesn't just come with sheer willpower and hard work but rather, freeing up your mind to play.
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
What will surprise EXACTLY NO ONE who knows me - is that I managed to find an adorably charming French cafe about a week after moving into my Upper East Side neighborhood. Like Brooklyn's Smith Canteen, which I had the pleasure of frequenting during my brief, but lovely stay in Carroll Gardens, Le Moulin a Cafe is also directly across the street from a French school. I often arrive just in time to stand behind a gaggle of parents who've just dropped their children off at Lycee Francais, energetically speaking to one another in French and somehow eating their daily croissants despite remaining thin. For exactly ten minutes a few times a week, I can pretend I'm living in Paris. Furthering this pleasant illusion - I've convinced one of the baristas to speak to me only in French - which seems like the exact opposite of what one should do before having their coffee. There is much stuttering on my part.The baristo, on the other hand, while not knowing French, knows something even better - my order. With a kind smile, he ceremoniously pours my side of soy milk into an espresso shot glass along with my coffee, a seemingly small luxury to arm me with an inevitably crowded subway ride and long day. The other day, I surprised him by switching up my order - a switch up made in an attempt to save money in 2014. How could he have known?
I'm working on an essay contest around how brands should behave in the digital age. Sunday night, I had one of those moments that artists strategists dream of - or maybe dread. It involved waking up in the middle of the night unable to sleep with ideas running through my head. I finally had to write them out in the dark on a scrap piece of paper - which were fortunately legible the next morning.
I digress.
In 2012, JWT predicted that a top ten trend in 2013 would be predictive personalization - the idea that brands would be able to predict what you're interested in buying based off of the data they have on you. But what if this is not a new concept at all? What if digital is simply a stand in for those everyday client / customer experiences? Instead of a charming baristo with a vague British accent to know your order, recommendations for products based on our preferences can easily be served up through digital. In fact, if this interaction took place in a small village a century ago, a store clerk might have even heard through the grapevine that I declared to save money in 2014 and might have offered a less expensive product. Back to our digital age - what if brands could link in with Mint or a finance-management APi, offering you products within your budget and even encouraging you to stick to the budget.
We've finally entered a future where brands can build relationships with their customers using the data collected through daily digital and in-person interactions, arming their employees to treat us like friends and serving us appropriate products. Ironically, this revolutionary new digital capability is feat that has been second nature to humans through their existence.
Cheers!
Give People Something They Need
The always innovative and clever Coca-Cola gives people something they need without asking for anything in return. But even more clever is that what they're giving - wrapping paper - is actually "happiness" as gifts often are for both the giver and receiver. Finally, making this a triple play in smart marketing, Coca-Cola's free gift turns into a walking billboard for the brand as people carry around their wrapped gifts featuring Coca-Cola's branding on the paper.Coca-Cola knows that the key to building a relationship with their customers is to give first and ask for nothing in return.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDTYlIkwexs]
The Art of Pulling at Your Heart Strings
Via Adweek[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s22HX18wDY]
Faith In Humanity Restored: Cheerios
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VifdBFp5pnw]As a stark contrast to my last post, I thought I'd end the week with something a bit more positive. I'm sure you've all seen this by now. It's an interview with kids - about 6 to 13 years old, regarding their thoughts on the controversial Cheerios commercial that was aired with a mixed race couple. Spoiler: the kids had absolutely no idea that people could be against mixed race couples. Once they were made aware of the negative comments via the YouTube video, they were completely outraged and thought anyone who would spend their time spewing racial hate, was a loser and should be banned from YouTube.
I love when interviews of a random sampling brings more color to a quantitative study that's already been done. Back in April 2012, JWT published a report, Gen Z: Digital In Their DNA. While the report focused on the digital habits of Gen Z, it's findings show that their digital habits might explain their worldview. I've always found fault with separating digital strategy with account planning. As planners, we have an obligation to understand how digital technology effects our very being and we should use digital tools to gain these insights. Thanks to the ubiquity of experiencing life through Instagram, we now all have constant FOMO - a term coined in the mid-80's but only now coming into common use. Parents are cautioned against giving their children too much iPad screen time for fear it will effect their cognitive abilities and make them more prone to ADD. And on the more positive side, children can now use digital to gain a more personal view of their counterparts from around the world through social media - way more revealing than the hand written pen-pal letters of the past. Without barriers such as geography or even social exclusion, children have learned that the kid on the other side of the world might have a different reality, but at their core, they are dealing with some of the same set of problems. They can no longer be taught to fear "the other." In fact, JWT found that:
"One consequence of this hyper-connectedness will be Gen Z’s multicultural and globally oriented mindset—much like Millennials but further amplified. Kids are Skyping with peers on the other side of the globe, and they’re taking part in initiatives like the Face to Faith program (part of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation), which uses technology to connect students of different religions and cultures. Expect even more linguistic and cultural borrowings and consistencies across distant nations and regions."
So as us New Yorkers deal with the extreme heat, still reeling from some of the sadder and maddening news that started off the week, we can find comfort in the knowledge that there's reason to be optimistic about our global future.
Tectonic Shift In Advertising
We've finally reached that point in advertising where we've gone through a tectonic shift in what defines advertising and who is producing it. Actually - one could extend this to the entire media industry. When I first started in advertising, working at a CRM agency back in 2007, direct was considered second class to above the line, brand agencies. PR was its own separate entity that advertising folks thought were relegated to a bunch of fashionistas with lots of magazine connections. And mobile didn't even exist. Blogging was owned by individuals or small publishers who didn't have much credibility as journalists but were fun reads.But then - the iPhone was introduced, influencing a major shift in consumer behavior. With the internet at our fingertips, we all started developing a relentless appetite for content. We became hyper-connected through Twitter and Facebook. Our online personas went from anonymous avatars to cleverly written, full-name-revealing Twitter profiles. And we learned that we are what we share. Sharing became a form of social currency among our social networks. What we shared mattered from network to network - could we stir up a political debate among our high school friends via Facebook or Tweet a link to a cool ad before anyone else in our feed? Fueling this growth was an increasing ability to consume content - wifi and 3G gained speed, websites became mobile-friendly and companies stopped blocking various website access.
Finally, brands started taking note. They realized that preaching from an unreachable pulpit was losing its efficacy. And if they wanted to stir conversations about their brand, they actually needed to create them. But like a preacher educating his congregation on the tenants of Jesus, they learned to talk about the happenings and interests in that person's own life - connecting the brands with that consumers day to day.
And thus, advertising was shifted on its head. Try looking for strategy jobs right now and you'll only see jobs for content marketing or social media strategy. Try looking for traditional editorial jobs and you'll be directed to online websites and blogs. We've reached a fundamental shift in how brands approach consumers. It's no longer simply a "two way street" with consumers having the ability to connect with brands. Consumers have demanded a deeper relationship with brands - seeking inspiration, advice, entertainment, support and accurate information just as we'd seek from our actual friends.
[slideshare id=22978918&w=427&h=356&fb=0&mw=0&mh=0&style=border: 1px solid #CCC; border-width: 1px 1px 0; margin-bottom: 5px;&sc=no]
Mobile is On a Roll
After two years of strategic consulting I finally decided to plant some roots in the fastest growing area of advertising and technology; mobile. It's like the wild west of advertising - mobile media agencies, publishers and ad agencies all have an opportunity to grab a bit of land and establish themselves as creative mobile shops, consultants or experts in the media space. Here's what my colleague out of the U.K. has to say. Meanwhile, I can't say how exciting it is to be in such a growing space.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__eG6U9u2nE&w=560&h=315]
Molly Aaker's Guide to Life: Job Stuff
Hey there! You may remember me as that lady who used to post more than once every few weeks. Well.. things have been a bit crazy. For a brief while I was actually freelancing at two places at once. I supposed when it rains, it pours. Seriously. It was pouring. On top of that, I was looking for a new apartment, finally ready to settle after two years of subletting and moving around. I had to make so many decisions over the last few weeks that at some point I probably just mentally shut down - gave in and just watched funny cat videos - or something like that. It seemed like every decision I've had to make from where to live to what kind of bedding to buy took f%*king work. I mean seriously, isn't the internet supposed to just magically give us the information we need, when we need it?! Well. I've got news for you. It doesn't.
So over the next few days / weeks / months, I'd like to share what I've learned. Hopefully so ya'll won't have to go through the same thing. Although even if you do, there's no doubt you'll learn something.
Lesson 1: I started a new job. This is beyond exciting. Not only am I working with cool/smart people, finally have a steady paycheck and eventually health insurance, but I'm in a growing field. I'm a strategist at a mobile media agency. Don't ask me to explain this because honestly, the possibilities are endless. So what have I learned? Well... coming from the advertising side, I'd say we can be pretty judgmental about various aspects of the advertising process. Creatives might roll their eyes at account people whereas account planners may scoff at the idea of working for a media agency. But guess what, we're all just cogs in the wheel (just kidding). What I meant to say was - the more we know about each others' roles, the better we'll be. Especially in an area that's still being defined. While I'm still learning the ropes, the experience so far has been invaluable. I work with results oriented, left-brained Excel wizards who get excited about "branding" whereas I'm finally learning the true meaning of ROI.
SO the lesson learned is; be conscious of where your next job can take your career but also don't be afraid to try the off beaten path. So many recruiters want candidates that are wrapped up in a neat little bow with a few years of big agency experience, etc. but there is an undefined world out there to explore. This world straddles technology and startups. It embraces both cultural diversity and those coming from different careers. And recognizes that a person doesn't need to have performed the exact job to excel. Find these companies. Find the hiring managers who will recognize and appreciate your intelligence and then go for it. Dive in. Help to define the process, to grow the company and to incorporate a different perspective into their business. You'll both be the stronger for it.
Digital Strategy vs. Brand Planning
During my internet research, I stumbled upon this thorough explanation of how digital strategy and brand planning are different. I've always been interested in both and hate that the industry makes us choose. In fact, I think choosing to work in both areas has hurt me in landing a full time job because employers want to pin you as one thing, not a generalist. People, this ain't politics and I shouldn't have to pick sides! I'm a strong believer, like Jinal Shah, that the two disciplines will eventually merge. But as Jinal points out, right now there aren't enough planners who are interested in digital for that to happen. And as someone who regularly attends tech meetups, just volunteered at a hackathon and is considered an early adopter, I can tell you that one needs to be excited about digital to delve into digital strategy. See Jinal's post below.
Let’s fuckin’ set the record straight: Account planners and digital strategists are NOT the same
May 29th, 2012 •
I vehemently disagree with the tendency most planners have in assuming that a planner and a strategist is one and the same. The argument is not about the title – which could be merely semantics but it is about the work process and the skill-set. It is especially easy to mistake and get confused about this in the type of environment we work in (i.e advertising agency) Step outside this bubble, and you’ll see that there are many flavors to a digital strategist and there are several deep skill-sets they have honed and developed over time to be simply merged with planning.
Just as there are several layers to brand planning, there are several layers (maybe more) to digital planning. If you ask me, digital planning sits under brand planning and not next to it because it needs to ladder up to the brand attributes/ values etc.
My biggest criticism of traditional account planning is that the planners don’t get very involved in the actual “making” of the idea. It’s called production in planner speak and the word is boring and uninspiring but in digital – that’s really where the idea gets made. And the idea continues to morph until it is beta tested. It continues to morph even as it is launched and the results come in and we tweak and make the idea better in real-time. Digital strategy is the true marriage of account planning, creative and production.
A (good) digital strategist works for the idea. With digital, you have to launch an idea that is in perfect harmony with innovation and current consumer habits/behaviors. You have to launch an idea that is technologically not too advanced and not too behind – Goldilocks! And that is not production or creative’s job alone – that is as much strategic thinking and application of tactical insights.
Also, the insights a planner brings to the table often only inform the birth of the idea or a creative direction. The insights that a digital strategist brings to the table informs the success of the idea and the actual meat and flesh of it. Sometimes the insight or “strategy” maybe tactical (will this particular user experience really invite participation and sharing?) and sometimes it is blue-sky. Point is – these insights underwrite the making of the idea and its success across the phases.
Our role will eventually become obsolete – it will mostly be absorbed by creative and a very small part of it will be absorbed by planning. But not yet. And not for the next few years. We have far too many traditional planners that simply aren’t interested in digital to wear this hat. You can’t teach someone to be an early adopter or experiment with technology or play around and deeply immerse/ engage in every new social platform or make games. Advertising needs us right now so if you still don’t get it – please STFU and let us do our jobs.
Call us whatever the fuck you want – as long as you let us work for the idea. I’ve even swept floors and washed dishes in name of creative. So there.
If you have more questions or want to hear more thoughts – please see the most popular posts (to your right). Feel free to leave a comment, unless you are going to serve up the same drivel I’ve been reading.
There's No Straight Answer
I'm currently reading Baratunde Thurston's How To Be Black. "But wait," you ask, "why would this very white girl from New Jersey care about issues of black identity?" A few months ago, while meeting with one of the most thoughtful in house agency recruiters, I was asked to explain what interested me about account planning. I told her that I have always been interested in how people's backgrounds and culture shape who they are."That's interesting," she responded. "So Molly, how would you describe yourself on those terms? How has your culture shaped who you are?"
I thought about this for a moment and then realized that despite outward appearances, I'm the product of two very different cultures. When asked what my religion is, I proudly proclaim that I'm a Jewthuran; Jewish and Lutheran. If the person asking is Jewish, it is almost guaranteed that their next question will be, "Who's Jewish, your mother or your father." To which I respond, "My mother, but her parents were practically Atheist while my dad's religion played a more prominent role in my upbringing." Occasionally they'll say in a satisfied, matter of fact tone, "You're Jewish." At which point I'll role my eyes and change the subject because I find the idea that someone else can declare you a particular religion somewhat absurd. I think back to my confirmation classes, bi-annual church visits and fantastically cooked Jewish holiday meals and realize that I still haven't determined which religion I ultimately will choose.
Just as Baratunde grapples with pre-conceived notions of what it means to be black, many of us have aspects of our own identities that fall outside of what is expected. And sometimes the realities of who we are contradicts the perception of who people think we are.
Recently, I decided to wear my hair curly. I usually make some attempt to straighten it because it's more predictable. The choice to let my hair go curly often feels like I'm embracing my Jewish heritage. Which in itself is an interesting discussion. Is Judaism the only religion that is both a religion and ethnicity? As I waited for the train with my abundant curls framing my face, an elderly man came up to me, asking me a question that I couldn't understand because it was presumably in Hebrew. I explained to him that I didn't speak Hebrew because I wasn't Jewish. He looked at me like he knew I was lying, because I was, or at least not telling him the whole truth. Because I am Jewish, at least partially by ethnicity. I'm also Norwegian, French, English ... but like a second generation American immigrant, my apparence allows me to navigate between two world while never feeling a full part of either.
So as planners, when we look at who our consumers are, we must look at them in the context of their culture. Did they grow up in an urban environment, exposed to a myriad of cultures and influences? Are they second generation Chinese whose only indicator of their ethnicity lies with their appearance? Self-made or family money? Private school or public? Artist or doctor? Gay or straight? What information do we need to tell the whole story of who these people are? Because until we get the whole story, we run the risk of speaking to them in a language that they don't understand.
With these questions in mind, what cultural influences have shaped who you are?
Digital Strategy Toolbox
Just stumbled upon this very helpful Slideshare Deck, Digital Strategy Toolbox created by Julian Cole of BBH and Amber Horsburgh of MTV. They go through the process of digital strategy; i.e. consumer and category research, discourse analysis and environment using Holiday Inn as an example. Because planning processes tend to vary so much between agencies, it's great to get a sense of their process and tools. Amber is also teaching a Skillshare Class which you can check out here.[slideshare id=15164027?rel=0&w=427&h=356&fb=0&mw=0&mh=0&style=border: 1px solid #CCC; border-width: 1px 1px 0; margin-bottom: 5px;&sc=no]
Miami Ad School Account Planning Tips: Part Two
Since graduating Miami Ad School's Account Planning Boot Camp back in December 2010, I've gotten a considerable number of emails from people about to attend the program, asking for advice. So, I thought I'd create a Part Two to answer their questions.Check out my original post from February 2011 that outlines some basic advice on what to do before and during the program. Then peruse some of my posts under Advice. Apologies for the missing pictures but they got lost when I switched blog names. I give advice for doing job searches and general networking, but I encourage you to read [amazon_link id="0385512058" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Never Eat Alone[/amazon_link] by Keith Ferrazzi. You should also check out the videos under the same category done by PSFK and RedScout.
If you don't come from an advertising background, immerse yourself in all things advertising. Sign up for newsletters from Ad Age, Ad Week, Creativity and even PSFK. I find the free information particularly helpful and anything else - I usually don't have time to read. You can also check out Junior Strategy for more information specifically about planning.
Clean up your online presence and make sure it's professional. How would you brand yourself? You had to brand yourself for the application and now think about your Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram profiles. I found these social networking tools were a great way to meet future employers. Figure out what your "secret sauce" is. Are you a fantastic writer? Do you come from a film background and can emphasize your storytelling abilities? Are you a digital and social media wiz? Employers are looking to easily say, "oh, so and so is great with quant" rather than finding the jack of all trades.
It's been two years since I attended the course and I can't be sure what the current curriculum is, but be sure to remember that the world of strategy extends beyond being an account planner who briefs creatives to make print, web and television commercials. You could be a brand strategist, a social media strategist, content strategist, community manager, innovation strategist.. the list goes on. Make sure these possibilities are addressed in your program.
While the Boot Camp gives you an extra edge, it's no guarantee to getting a job right away. Generally you're surrounded by teachers from top agencies and taught the idealized version of planning where difficult clients, budgets and regulations don't apply. But when you graduate, you have to start somewhere and you're better off taking an internship, junior planning position, or planning position at a less desirable agency than waiting for the perfect job to open up. International students will have a harder time finding a job in the U.S. because they'll have to convince employers to sponsor them, but I suspect employers like having an international perspective from their planners so at least that works in their favor. Employers seem to want people who are young, fresh out of school and willing to intern or work for less money especially if it's a big or hot agency. Those who've switched careers and are in their late 20s/early 30s have to carve a more unique path to finding a full time job; one that might involve more contract work or taking a decent salary cut.
Finally, be incredibly proactive in your job search. Have an idea of what agencies you want to work for beforehand. Start going on informational interviews with recruiters and agencies. Keep them posted on your graduation date and make sure to follow up. The advertising world is rapidly changing as budgets move more towards digital and clients expect measurable results. Consider working on the client side, working for a startup, or in other strategic capacities that utilize skills learned at ad school. You're about to pursue a coveted job in a very competitive industry but the possibilities are endless so get cracking.