You want a career in advertising? You have much to learn.
Get schooled Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
ProfessorAdMan on Twitter. Follow me.
Get schooled Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
ProfessorAdMan on Twitter. Follow me.
PROFESSORADMAN.COM
Remembering All Who Served On Memorial Day.
For a while, I tried tracking down an old mentor of mine through Linkedin. Earlier this year, I sadly found out he passed away years ago.
In between the barbeques today, we honor the brave men and women who gave their lives serving our country. I think it's also OK to remember those who dedicated their lives to making ours better, too.
God bless.
In between the barbeques today, we honor the brave men and women who gave their lives serving our country. I think it's also OK to remember those who dedicated their lives to making ours better, too.
God bless.
Direct Marketing: Talk Directly To Your Audience.
Of course it is. Like any medium, it's a case of adapt or die. Don't settle for a bland postcard or letter and envelope.
- Like TV, copy and images should be quick and to the point.
- Like the Internet, it should be interactive.
- And like any campaign, it should be an extension of the overall message and offer some unique benefit to the consumer.
Another Summit Draws Creative Protests In Chicago.
Right now, all eyes are on my home city Chicago, due to the NATO Summit and all of the protestors.
Earlier this month, all event marketers' eyes were on the city for a different reason.
Every year in the Windy City, the editors of Event Marketer magazine host the world’s largest awards program for event marketing
professionals – The Ex Awards – and each year, recognition and respect for this prize grows. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, The Ex Awards drew a record-breaking 800 entries from around the world this year.
The show aired live online April 30, during the Event Marketer Summit. Winner of best in show – The Grand Ex Award – went to Activision and Los Angeles-based NCompass
International for Call of Duty: XP program, which helped drive $1 billion in retail sales for Modern Warfare 3.
I always recommend checking out award shows to see what was successful. You may find some inspiration for your work.
Congrats to the winners. All are well deserved, but I'm still protesting because my work didn't win.
Earlier this month, all event marketers' eyes were on the city for a different reason.
I always recommend checking out award shows to see what was successful. You may find some inspiration for your work.
Congrats to the winners. All are well deserved, but I'm still protesting because my work didn't win.
Why AMC's The Pitch Should Be Family Viewing.
Advertisers and marketers are a misunderstood lot. So could AMC’s new reality show The Pitch be the educational tool that will help enlighten the masses?
Here are reasons why The Pitch should be family viewing:
- Creative kids can justify their career decisions. Young writers and artists are often at odds with parents and their old school thinking. They have a tough time convincing parents why they should fork out money for portfolio school over medical school. I’ve often spoken at college open houses, showing parents that there are careers for their artistic children. A job in advertising doesn’t mean they’ll be starving artists. Now The Pitch can show parents what their kids may have in their futures.
- People you know may actually start to understand what you do for a living. I’ve tried explaining my job to family and friends for over 20 years. They still don’t fully get it, but they have an idea. Watching The Pitch may help those like me better explain what we do from 9 to 5.
- Your family and friends may also understand better why you work long hours. Just because a commercial is 60 seconds long, doesn’t mean it takes 60 seconds to create it. You and I both know it takes a lot of planning and thinking to do what we do. Your spouse, significant other, kids, even the dog may not understand. Watching The Pitch may help others accept why you’re late for dinner, missed a school play, etc. Those extra hours are sometimes a necessary evil.
If you have some explaining to do, invite that person to check out The Pitch with you on AMC. It may be easier to explain, if they get a peak of what goes on in your world. I know people who's family and friends have watched the show and said, "Oh, that's what you do?"
The response is usually, "Not completely, but it's close."
For those of us who work in digital, event, shopper, experiential marketing, etc., we'd need another show.
Creative Week New York. You going?
If you're in NYC or can get there this week, check it out. I often hear great things about it. (Next year, I hope you'll be hearing them directly from me.)
Handling The Social Media Time Suck.
I don't post a blog everyday, but I do my best to post on schedule.
I don't tweet everyday, but I make it a point to tweet regularly.
I also make it a point to contribute to one Linkedin discussion weekly.
I only check in on Quora monthly.
Instagram and Foursquare? Whenever the mood hits me.
As for Pinterest and Google +, I'm not sure where it all fits, but I'm just getting started.
Managing your social media can be a real time suck. It can be overwhelming.
But only if you allow it to be.
Don't try to be everywhere. Just be where it's meaningful to you.
Make a schedule that's easy to keep and keep to it. When you develop a steady rhythm, people know when to check in and you become part of their schedule.
That's communication that builds relationships.
That's how social media actually starts to be... social.
Image courtesy of stockxchg. Photographed by Vjeran Lisjak.
I don't tweet everyday, but I make it a point to tweet regularly.
I also make it a point to contribute to one Linkedin discussion weekly.
I only check in on Quora monthly.
Instagram and Foursquare? Whenever the mood hits me.
As for Pinterest and Google +, I'm not sure where it all fits, but I'm just getting started.
Managing your social media can be a real time suck. It can be overwhelming.
But only if you allow it to be.
Don't try to be everywhere. Just be where it's meaningful to you.
Make a schedule that's easy to keep and keep to it. When you develop a steady rhythm, people know when to check in and you become part of their schedule.
That's communication that builds relationships.
That's how social media actually starts to be... social.
Image courtesy of stockxchg. Photographed by Vjeran Lisjak.
Everyone Has An Answer On How To Find A Job.
About a week ago, I was part of a "passionate" discussion on Linkedin. An aspiring copywriter wanted to know how to break into the industry. I stopped following the conversation stream after the 30th comment (it's still going), but it was filled with a lot of suggestions, with some debating about what works best.
Thing is, all of these suggestions worked for someone at some time.
It all comes down to varying your job hunt strategy.
You have to mix up your game, move on the fly, and adjust on a moment's notice.
You need more than one plan of action. Here was the nugget of knowledge I contributed:
"Here are some additional routes to consider. Some don't pay well (or at all), but they offer ways to get attention and build your book (it worked for me).
Non-profits. A lot of these organizations promote themselves by agencies doing pro-Bono work for them. Sometimes the agencies don't have time to dedicate to do great work. You can step in as a volunteer and may get a chance to TV spots, radio, digital, print, events and more.
Years ago, I did some brochures for a fundraiser. A creative director, who served on the board, liked my work and offered me a Jr. CW position.
Years later, I did some work for the Red Cross. That evolved into them hiring me, where I worked in their communications dept., doing print ads and even a commercial. I used that to build my book and land an agency job.
Thing is, it's rare that an organization will turn down a skilled volunteer. It may feel like they are taking advantage you, but you may end up with a nice portfolio in the end.
Also, you are never too old to intern. I know a guy who "started over" as an intern in his late forties. Today, he's a full-time AD at my former agency. A lot of agencies look at internships as a way of "test driving" potential employees.
Good Luck."
If it benefited someone, any advice is worth considering, especially if it's something you've never tried. Check out and/or join the "Copy" advertising group to get in on the rest of the conversation.
Thing is, all of these suggestions worked for someone at some time.
It all comes down to varying your job hunt strategy.
You have to mix up your game, move on the fly, and adjust on a moment's notice.
You need more than one plan of action. Here was the nugget of knowledge I contributed:
"Here are some additional routes to consider. Some don't pay well (or at all), but they offer ways to get attention and build your book (it worked for me).
Non-profits. A lot of these organizations promote themselves by agencies doing pro-Bono work for them. Sometimes the agencies don't have time to dedicate to do great work. You can step in as a volunteer and may get a chance to TV spots, radio, digital, print, events and more.
Years ago, I did some brochures for a fundraiser. A creative director, who served on the board, liked my work and offered me a Jr. CW position.
Years later, I did some work for the Red Cross. That evolved into them hiring me, where I worked in their communications dept., doing print ads and even a commercial. I used that to build my book and land an agency job.
Thing is, it's rare that an organization will turn down a skilled volunteer. It may feel like they are taking advantage you, but you may end up with a nice portfolio in the end.
Also, you are never too old to intern. I know a guy who "started over" as an intern in his late forties. Today, he's a full-time AD at my former agency. A lot of agencies look at internships as a way of "test driving" potential employees.
Good Luck."
If it benefited someone, any advice is worth considering, especially if it's something you've never tried. Check out and/or join the "Copy" advertising group to get in on the rest of the conversation.
Wanna Get Into Gaming? Get To RTX.
Whether you're using gaming to market or entertain, ever wonder what opportunities are actually out there to get into the business? If you're in the Austin, TX area or can get there, you may find answers to your questions at RTX (aka the Rooster Teeth Expo), July 7-8, 2012 at the Austin Convention Center.
"RTX 2012 is an event that brings together gamers and game companies to celebrate the things we all love!" (From the site)
If you have a design background, an event like this seems like a cool opportunity, but interestingly enough, one of the first panels announced was for writing, featuring Burnie Burns and the writers for Red vs. Blue.
Check here for the upcoming line up and registration (a weekend pass ticket is around $48 - cheap compared to many events).
Creativity. They Have An App For That?
The Concept Maker can help you:
- Spark new ideas and concepts with more than 70 creative starters
- Challenge yourself to get a lot of different ideas with an idea clock session
- Create folders to store and share all your ideas and references
- Get inspiration from thousands of random images
- Search for specific themes on Flickr
With the Concept Maker you can record audio, take photos, write notes, save image references and organize them in folders.
Check Out The Digital Innovators In Canada.
I'm "unofficially" Canadian.
I was married in Canada (but not to a Canadian).
My agency, The Marketing Store, has a Toronto office and I worked with the team on a project late last year. (Good people.)
When I lived in Detroit, Canada was just a quick crossing of the Ambassador Bridge and my wife and I did it as often as possible.
My Canadian connection also put me in touch with a lot of new media minds up north, who were recognized at the recent FITC Awards (Future. Innovation. Technology. Creativity.)
"FITC produces design and technology focused conferences and seminars worldwide which inspire, educate and challenge attendees. Since 2002, FITC has brought together like-minded professionals and students in Toronto, Amsterdam, Tokyo, San Francisco, Chicago, Seoul, New York, Los Angeles and many other cities. Staying fresh by covering relevant topics including interactive design and business, HTML5, Flash, FLEX, AIR, mobile and more" (from the site).
For a little inspiration, check out the great work here.
I was married in Canada (but not to a Canadian).
My agency, The Marketing Store, has a Toronto office and I worked with the team on a project late last year. (Good people.)
When I lived in Detroit, Canada was just a quick crossing of the Ambassador Bridge and my wife and I did it as often as possible.
"FITC produces design and technology focused conferences and seminars worldwide which inspire, educate and challenge attendees. Since 2002, FITC has brought together like-minded professionals and students in Toronto, Amsterdam, Tokyo, San Francisco, Chicago, Seoul, New York, Los Angeles and many other cities. Staying fresh by covering relevant topics including interactive design and business, HTML5, Flash, FLEX, AIR, mobile and more" (from the site).
For a little inspiration, check out the great work here.
Who is Professor Ad Man?
Clifton Simmons, Senior Copywriter for The Marketing Store, Chicago, IL. Currently creating promotional goodness for McDonald's and Coke. Worked on Chevy, Chrysler, USAA, and Michelin in my former life. Also heavily involved in experiential marketing and new trends. The fine print: This is my blog, so these are my opinions - not my agency and not our clients.
