A quick one really as it’s getting late and I need to pack up my pseudo hippy gear for what looks to be quite an amazing weekend at Bestival.No ranting this time, which, if you read my over opinionated drivel must be nice.
When getting into a mindset of working in advertising, what it is to be successful in advertising and what criteria make up the minds of great ad people I’ve come to observe, well, the very obvious actually, but always apparent elements which are a high consciousness and grasp of commercialism.
Totally fckn obvious really, but when in large ad agencies it really comes through in those who get on and command respect.
Breaking it down further I don’t mean some chump throwing around research debriefs and claiming to know the consumer (ah-hem) and I don’t mean someone who reads every marketing magazine out there and can tell you which FMCG is topping the shelf charts.
What I mean is a thorough understanding of one-self as a consumer, the ability to make accurate assumptions of others who are consumers and to really, in essence, be a psychologist when getting to the grass roots of certain conscious consumption actions – knowing that Tango is consumed by an older demographic than any other carbonated drink due the hay day of ‘being Tango-ed’ existing in the mid 90s and these kids are now your twenty somethings. Being able to understand that really, the real denim wearers go for Wrangler over Levis as they are the cornerstone of authentic rodeo denim and not simply a string of (consistent I might add) well produced high street fashion advertising.
I could go on, I will, no I wont actually. My attempt at a point here is that by reading your Campaigns, checking the Brand Republic news alerts and knowing your agencies and their client lists are all the essential bases you need to cover to get in. To take you a step further beyond the competition (and not just get in but excel in terms of a career – especially in Planning) there is a strong need to be fully aware of yourself as a consumer, take note of why you act the way you do and then apply it to what the commercial world is doing – it’s no fckn coincidence that you bought an ipod or that you found your girlfriend playing on your Nintendo Wii and thought ‘that’s odd’. All these little observations you should question and mine down to a ‘why’. At the end of the day you’re in a much better place to comment as a consumer than people in advertising are, most of which are way too busy to watch TV and have to Youtube good ads at work to stay abreast etc.
So, umm, yeah, whatever the above was about do it, or dismiss it at your peril.
Have a great weekend
Anton xx
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