Jan 31, 2013

What does it take to be up to date?



I just came back from a meeting that kind of let me thinking a little bit about the so-called "marketing experts". Today was a great day to finally figure this out. I can actually NOT know crap about marketing but still work at an ad agency? Sure! I just only need to dress like a hipster, have unruly hair, wear skinny jeans made out of vinyl (I'm not kidding by the way, saw this today) with Red Converse shoes. That's all it takes. I actually don't need to know about how to market to different types of people. I don't need to know the trends, how different age groups talk or act. I just need to show up, come up with a witty print ad, win a prize and bingo, there's my check.

What's up with that, ad people out there?

Listen, the last time I checked, we are PAID to know stuff. An amazing creative NEEDS to know all the latest TV shows, movies, magazines, trends, styles, activities, etc. Your clients DEPEND on you to know how they can show their brand in a new and different way and not look like total jerks. It's not their job to attend conventions, trade shows, film festivals, social media conferences. They are actually at your agency because they trust that YOU know everything that is cool right now, and most of all that you know your stuff and know how to integrate their brand in whatever is happening.

Today I had the pleasure to meet some hipster creative who had no idea how young people react in certain activities, what they are currently doing, watching, etc. I sat there thinking... man, you get paid a shitload of money and you don't know what a 15 year old likes? Are you kidding me? How do you brainstorm then, if you cannot pinpoint a certain group or target? Have you ever done some kind of research? Jesus H. Christ.

Look, I've been doing this for quite a while. And while I no longer work in a huge ad agency, I know that there are almost 5 or 6 people that visit our little place in the internet who I can help out. So this is the lesson for today: READ. Get up to date. Watch tv like hell. Destroy your Netflix account. Go to the movies. Go to festivals. Watch all the online free classes about ANYTHING that is current. Sign up to a StumbleUpon or Tumblr account and browse for hours.

Not only you will get inspired and do amazing work, but when you get that weird brief about any target, you will be able to nail it because you know what you are talking about. Not all people are the same, not all people like the same crap.

Do. Your. Job.

With love. Me.

6 comments:

RestrictionsApply said...

Apparently all you need is a foreign accent... and the job is yours.

Me said...

Shit I just realized. The man in the pic has a handle moustache. He could actually be a dude working at an ad agency right now...

Anonymous said...

what happened to those good old days where you actually need to know your target "INSIDE OUT, AND OUTSIDE IN"?

Me said...

I've been wondering that myself for quite a while now...

Joker said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joker said...

The same applies for companies outside the realm of Adsuckery. It’s amazing to see what gets touted as awesome, groundbreaking or revolutionary. Seriously, there’s a long list of companies and bubble people who think they discovered sliced bread within the box. Apart from that, regarding advertising, it’d be nice for ad hipster jackoffs to read something that isn’t archive because last I checked, if they did what they did regarding a book or a song, they’d get sued. Regardless, it’s also annoying to see the sense of entitlement some dickhead gets because they win an award they’d actually agreed to receive like some corporate reach around for switching accounts, or backing off from pitches.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...