The importance of a mentor..

It could even be this guy (though he's a videogame Samurai character).

Hello, all.

It's been a little while since I sat down and actually wrote a post for AdGrads, beyond job openings. Sorry about that - the day job's been rather busy since I started in October.

Anyway, I thought i'd write a little post about mentors and mentorship, and why they/it are the most important thing for your impending career (or even if you're a year or so in).

Though it's in the annals of the AdGrads' first year, I thought I'd explain a little bit about how I came to get into the industry.

I'm actually very fortunate. My father worked in the business, in the Midlands. So, I grew up knowing quite a lot about Advertising. At least, how the industry worked outside of London in the 90's, at any rate. And, being aware of the history of certain agencies, something that I think most graduates could benefit from - so as to not repeat some of the mistakes of the past/to learn from what's gone before.

So, if you like, my first mentor was my Dad. I still call him whenever I have a big career decision to make, and he always proffers a thought through opinion. Being an ex-client too helps.

Moving on then, I initially found it tricky to get into the business (and this, in truth, is how AdGrads came to be - borne of frustration), and relied on my Dad a lot for his opinion and support.

I also began to blog - before AdGrads was and is my 'other' blog, Confessions of a Wannabe Ad Man, that's been around since mid 2006. Not only did it enable me to show off my thinking, it also, more importantly, helped me meet people in the business who I'm still friends with today.

One of them, Richard Huntington (now CSO of Saatchi & Saatchi), gave me my first planning job. We're still very good friends today, and still talk about career stuff/life/the Universe, and so on. He (and others) provided me with an up to date appreciation of what the business is about. He's been invaluable to me when I've had tricky decisions to make.

Before my experiences with mentor figures (and there's more than just Richard and my father, but that's just a flavour), I tended to have more of an academic approach to learning about the modern communication business - reading Campaign, key books (Truth, Lies & Advertising, amongst others) and so on. That's not wrong, but what's better - reading about it second hand (and, undoubtedly realising about half of the graft that's gone on) or talking to someone who does it day in and day out?

Now, getting in contact with these 'mentors' is difficult, I must admit - particularly if you aren't from London or the South East. But it's not impossible. The web is a tremendous tool, and if you can email people for a coffee before their day begins, or pique their interest with a thought through opinion or piece of work online - you'll be much closer to getting in.

And, one final thing - don't ever stop meeting people. You'll find new mentors for yourself along with becoming a de-facto 'mentor' for new people. And you never know when one or the other will come in handy. I'm not saying 'be a tart', but instead, be open and willing to meet people if they need your help when you're a year or two into the business. You never know who you'll end up working with, or even, perhaps, running an agency with.

Let me know what you think - I'm happy to answer any questions you may have in the comments.

Off to School...

You won't be writing with crayons, that's for certain.

One of the things we often get asked in AdGrads is what people should do if they want to learn about advertising - should they do an advertising degree, or go to Watford or Falmouth? Or should they go and do a conventional degree?

There's never been one catch all answer - the danger with doing a course which is just dedicated to advertising may mean you lose out on a wider, broader experience, and only be able to 'do' conventional advertising. Also, as the communications world is changing so quickly, it's very hard to suggest a course which is always cutting edge.

By doing a straightforward University degree, it might mean you can think more laterally, and have a broader sense of learning, but isn't that practical when you first start in adland/the workplace.

All of that said - last week, I met a man called Marc Lewis, who is Dean of the School of Communication Arts. The school has been resurrected, and offers an innovative, cutting edge approach to getting people into advertising. It's based on a wiki platform, and is taught by real practioneers in the communications business.

It aims to overcome the barriers to those who'd like a career in the ad business, but find the economic or geographic barriers too high to overcome (after all - not all of us live in the South East, or have wealthy parents who can help out in the first year of trying).

For those of you already in industry who would like to help out - there's also the option to join the school as a Mentor. Follow these links. I'm signing up.

I'll let Marc explain:


How would you design the perfect advertising school?

When the late, great John Gillard established School of Communication Arts in the 1980s, his vision was to provide the antithesis to a university education. (He used to call one such university ‘The Royal College of Hobbies’)

School of Communication Arts reopens this September and is inviting aspiring creatives to apply for the course. The school is unique for several reasons, not least for the fact that it puts such a focus on its students’ careers. The curriculum feels more like an apprenticeship than formal education. Work placements are promised for every student, so long as they pass all units of the curriculum leading up to the work placement. There is even a unit in the curriculum called ‘Getting your first promotion’.

The curriculum is unique because it has been written by the advertising industry, not by academics. This approach guarantees that the next generation of creative talent learn and master the skills that are needed by employers. The school’s principal, Richard Adams, curates the curriculum online using a wiki platform so that anyone connected to the industry can suggest content. The result is a qualification supported by the industry and accredited by University of the Arts London Awarding Body.

Those industry professionals that have helped build the curriculum then go on to deliver it by spending time at the school in the capacity as ‘mentors’. School of Communication Arts has recruited an impressive network of hundreds of mentors, hailing from advertising, film, fashion, music, technology and gaming industries. Up to six mentors hang out in the school every day, so that they can provide advice and support to learners.

There are no classrooms at the school. In fact School of Communication Arts looks more like an advertising agency than a place of study. “People learn better when they apply newly acquired skills and theories to real and relevant problems,” says its Dean, Marc Lewis. “That’s one of the reasons why we get our cohort working on real briefs and winning real pitches in an environment that simulates adlands finest creative departments.”

Predictably, the school prepares its students for creative careers in advertising, either as copywriters or art directors. Quite unpredictably, the school offers a third career choice – ideapreneur. Learners following the ideapreneur pathway receive investment to help start a business whilst at the school and support to help grow it. Advertising agencies stump up the cash, hoping to own a small stake in the next YouTube or Facebook.

If you are looking to kick-start your creative career then apply now to join the school this September.