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Publicly Venting on The Creative Confessional

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[written and posted Jan. 25, 2013]

What is the advertising industry about?

Over and over again (ad nauseum) I hear creatives say they want to “make cool shit.”  Awesome.  But what are some (maybe most) doing instead of dressing ponies in sweaters and creating krakens that kidnap right now? Whining.

Wait.  Hold on a minute.  I love advertising creatives.  I have the highest respect for great art directors, copywriters and graphic designers.  And I understand that some clients are hard to work with, some projects suck, and account managers will inevitably get on your nerves.  I get it- creatives need to vent.

But do they need to vent on The Creative Confessional for the world to see?  Many people already hate advertising; they hate what it’s about and the people who create it.  And yet, this week advertising professionals have aired the dirtiest of their laundry anonymously, yes, but publicly online.  Couldn’t that time venting and then reading others’ confessions be spent “making cool shit,” maybe?

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Sure, some of the posts are industry inside jokes.

 

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Yet, some creative confessions are downright depressing, hurtful or frightening.

 

Juniors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What do you think?  Is it all fun and games, or are we shooting ourselves (and the advertising industry) in the foot?  Is this creative confessional what it’s all about?

Are these posts what we want the advertising industry to be known for?

 

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Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Clients Tagged With: , , , , ,

Why Are Freelance Advertising Creatives Failing?

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Why aren't freelance advertising creatives making the money their talent deserves? (photo credit: efffective.com)

Why aren’t freelance advertising creatives making the money their talent deserves? (photo credit: efffective.com)

Freelance advertising creatives – art directors, copywriters and graphic designers – have great potential but often fall short in creating and maintaining a successful advertising freelance business.  Getting enough clients to sustain a full-time, lucrative business is the main challenge.  CLIENTS = MONEY  Freelance creatives aren’t landing clients so they aren’t making money (or enough money to continue freelancing and maintain their lifestyle).

Why is that?  Why are many talented advertising creatives unable to make money as freelancers?

Because of their brains.  Some of the best creatives are much more creative-minded than business-minded, much more right-brained than left-brained.*

OR

Because they don’t connect one on one.  While advertising art directors, copywriters and graphic designers have perfected the art of  connecting with the masses through, let’s say, a print ad, they aren’t experienced in generating client leads person by person.

OR

Because they go straight for the jugular…I mean…sale.  It’s a rookie mistake to pitch your services to a potential client before understanding if the individual and/or business is even interested and if so, what their true needs are.  Imagine pitching a serious brochure when a business wants a funny microsite.  Now imagine overwhelming an individual with talk of social media, web banners and mobile apps when they haven’t the slightest idea of what they want their logo to look like.  Freelancers must understand a potential client’s needs and then communicate how as an advertising creative professional they can meet those needs.

OR

Because they offer everything upfront.  Many creatives can do it all; they can create fully integrated campaigns and they can art direct and write.  Even if they can do everything, there are certain things they do better and enjoy doing more.  The freelancers that are having a harder time making money, are the ones who are offering everything upfront and not specializing.  Whether it’s designing packaging or writing radio scripts, freelancers who market themselves as an expert in an area are sought out by clients who need their expertise.  Once a freelancer is hired for what they’re known for, they can offer the client everything else.  For instance, a designer who is hired because of their specialty with packaging can also recommend he or she designs the business cards, brochures, print ads, landing pages, etc., in the same look and feel.

OR

Because they don’t target their ideal clients.  Ideal clients are the individuals or businesses that the freelancer is genuinely interested in and THAT HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY the freelancer.  As an advertising creative career coach, I primarily coach and consult senior- to executive-level creatives.  While I have a soft spot for helping students and juniors (and I do as much as possible), younger creatives aren’t my target audience. As a business owner, I must market to those who can afford the services I provide.  And currently, more than half of my clients freelance or own their own businesses, which I work with them to grow.

OR many talented advertising creatives are unable to make money as freelancers…

Because they don’t follow up.  Freelance creatives aren’t politely persistent – calling, e-mailing, stopping by in person, etc. – until they get a yes or a no.

As a freelancer, which of these is holding you back?  Post it in the comments below.

The good news is that while inherent creativity can’t be learned, business and sales skills can be learned.  Freelance creatives can succeed if they invest more of themselves in learning that left-brain, business side.

 

(*Side note: I am almost equally right-brained and left-brained. My creative side is a notch above my business side. Both sides came in handy when I was managing the creative department at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, and now both benefit my clients as I coach and consult them to get unstuck, reach their goals and finally feel satisfied.)

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Blocks, Business, Clients, Creativity, Freelancers, Goals, Money Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Top 5 People who can get You Hired as an Advertising Creative

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Do you know the top five people who can get you hired as an advertising art director, copywriter or graphic designer?

Often advertising creatives find themselves repeatedly applying to job postings or e-mailing the careers@theirdreamagency.com address with little-to-no response.  If you want a response, if you want that job as an art director, writer or designer at a top agency, you need to connect with and build relationships with the top five people who can get you hired.

Depending on the advertising agency, the order may switch up for the top five people who can hire you.

The Top 5 People Who Can Get You Hired as an Advertising Creative

  1. Creative Recruiters inside the agency
  2. Creative Directors – ECDs, GCDs, CDs, ACDs & Design Directors inside the agency
  3. People who know Creatives inside the agency
  4. People who know anyone inside the agency
  5. HR inside the agency

Did you notice how important it is to make connections INSIDE the agency where you want to work?

Yes, other people can help get you hired inside an agency – outside recruiters, your alumni association, your uncle – but start by concentrating on the top five.

Remember, it’s about building a relationship.  To spell it out: it isn’t about e-mailing your portfolio once and crossing your fingers nor is it about annoying the heck out of these people begging for a job daily or even weekly.  There’s a way to do it, but that’s another blog.

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Clients, Getting Hired Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Creative Week 2012 Highlights

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One Show Interactive Awards

Enjoying the company of my long-time friends, Creative Recruiters from GSP (Linda Harless and Zach Canfield) and DraftFCB (Rafi Kugler) was a personal highlight during Creative Week 2012. Here we are the final night of Creative Week at The One Show Interactive Awards.

Creative Week 2012 was a whirlwind, an incredible whirlwind.  Each day started with a breakfast presentation at 8:30a.m. and ended with parties that lasted until 3:30a.m.  (Note: That’s 19 hours of inspiration, networking and good times, and it’s impossible to do it all for 5 days straight.)  Here are some whirlwind highlights:

  • The people that think the Big Idea is dead are outnumbered.  No one is arguing about the Big Insight (as a replacement) yet.
  • Curate the funny.  That’s advice from Ron Faris, the Director of Brand Marketing for Virgin Mobile USA.
  • When an audience full of want-to-be authors are asked if they’ve ever wanted to write a book, 2 people will raise their hands – the guy who’s written a book and me.
  • Adobe’s VP of Experience Design, Michael Gough, never mentions the word “creativity” to his people.  For Adobe, it’s about the alignment of 10,000 people and getting them all moving in the same direction.  Imagine the “creative” alternative…
  • Every 7 to 10 years puppets become viable again.  The people of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop believe we’re on the onset of that.
  • The best networking happens after the events.  While business cards can be exchanged during pre-scheduled networking times, the most natural, genuine (and fun) networking takes place when people are hanging out because they want to.
  • The concept of “collaboration,” with its best of intentions, continues to be the black sheep in discussions on creativity.
  • People want to work with cool people and do cool stuff.
  • If phone chargers are gold, finding an outlet to use in Manhattan is platinum.
  • 72andSunny sat on a panel for provocative advertising and then swept The One Shows (yes, plural, both the advertising and interactive awards) with their provocative ads.

Coming soon: Advertising Week the first week in October 2012.

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Articles, Business, Clients, Creativity, Events, Time Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Creativity shows up when you invite it

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CreativityRecently I wrote an article around claiming your creativity.  As I wrote I could feel passion bubbling up inside of me.  I am creative (one notch more creative than business-like in the left-brain/right-brain test), and I am my happiest when I am surrounded by creative people.  “Who are creative people?” you may ask. Years ago I would explain the answer with specific examples of graphic designers, art directors, writers, painters, musicians and so on.  Now I tend to simply say, “Creative people are those who say they are creative.”  Notice, it’s not enough to know you are creative, you must admit it.  You must say it outloud.  You must claim your creativity.

Several weeks ago I connected with a creative group on Meetup.com.  Please understand that I am the type of person who only joins a group when I am confident that not only I want to commit to it but also that I have the time, energy, resources, etc. to jump right in.  So after being an assistant organizer of a music-related Meetup group for close to a year, I joined the creative group.  As I read the group’s description, a book that is on my to-read list was showcased.  The book The Artist’s Way has come up three times in a matter of weeks, so I took that as a sign to join the group (and bump the book up to the top of my list). After filling out my bio in which I first said,

“While I love art, design, music, and specifically singing and playing the ukulele, my real passion is coaching & consulting creative people so they finally feel satisfied even when they have previously felt stuck,”

I found out that the organizer of the group is also a coach!  Yesterday, we met for tea (for her) and coffee (for me) where we must have sounded like giggling teenagers with a crush (only we were discussing coaching, business, marketing, and creativity).  Stories were spilling out of me almost faster than I could say the words, and I was absorbing her experiences as if I were watching a movie trailer.  As with many times throughout this last year, the fact that career coaching is what I am meant to do was blindingly evident.  Her passion for helping others find or reignite their creativity was refreshing, and I couldn’t help but think about the final line in my article, “When you claim your creativity, you are powerful.”

The more I focus on my career coaching business’s niche market of graphic designers and advertising creatives, the more creative my thinking around my business has become.  It’s no coincidence that as I invited creativity to take center stage in one of my articles that it has begun to show up more and more in my work and life.

With that, I encourage you not only to claim your creativity but also invite it to be a part of every aspect of your life.  If you’re like me, you’ll feel more fulfilled than you even thought possible.

Filed Under: Advertising Creatives/Graphic Designers, Articles, Books, Business, Clients, Creativity, Fulfillment, Happiness, Law of Attraction Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,