Friday, April 20, 2007

Speaker Series: Pam Reeve

Pam Reeve, a recruiter, came to us today to speak about getting jobs in the advertising industry. Her overall wisdom was that advertising is an intuitive business where people begin judging immediately: act accordingly. To go into more depth, her tips are listed below.

During your interview:

- Know your weaknesses and work on them
- An interview needs to be a two way conversation
- Use gently persuasive speech
- Be likable and trustworthy
- Research the company
- Listen to your interviewer so that you're truly engaged instead of just responding

Pre-Interview Etiquette:

- Email your introduction in a manner that is short and polite
- Admire the company
- Send an attached version of your resume so that it can be printed separately, saved for later, forwarded on, etc.
- Wait 2-3 weeks to follow up if you don't get a response
- Let people know if you get a job, so that they don't waste time trying to fit you into their schedules

Interview Etiquette:

- Do not expect for an agency to pay for your trip
- Do not interview with other agencies if you get an agency to pay for your flight. It's a small community and whoever paid will be unimpressed with your action.

Post-Interview Etiquette:

- Send a follow-up emailed thank you note
- Look for ways to open up a new path of communication
- Never take rejection personally: you cannot be 100% loved on every interview and people are disengaged for many reasons
- Get a referall from eeryone you talk to. Keep track of who you met, what they said, who they know, etc.

Relationship Building:

- Is an intrinsic feeling
- Don't ask meaningless interview questions
- Make sure that you have shared values with the company you interview at

Are you a tough little weed?

Your career will be long. Look at the big picture with you in the middle (eagle's view)

On Resumes:

- Make sure your resume is seperate from your book
- Your resume must be well written. It is just as much a representation of who you are as your book.
- Resumes are often read from the bottom up. Keep that in mind when you organize.
- Bring a hard copy (or several) of your resume to every interview

On Money:

- Don't discuss money until the very end
- There is a balance between low pay and being used
- Don't overask
- Don't be afraid to negotiate within reason
- Be polite
- Your second job is when it's really 'open season' for money negotiation

Decision Making:

- You must let people know if you have another offer
- You don't have a job until you have an offer letter

Final Thoughts:

- A Recruiter is internal, a Head Hunter is external
- It's best to shop your book/resume by yourself as a junior
- Juniors are usually freebies for recruiters, so no one is more interested in your getting a job than you are
- When you do look for a head hunter to work with, find someone who will build your career with you

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Speaker Series: Steve Bassett

Today's speaker was Steve Bassett, SVP Creative Director of The Martin Agency, right here in Richmond. Steve spoke to us today about the GEICO account in a talk entitled "Humor is a Serious Business: the Evolution of the GEICO Campaign." Martin has had the GEICO account for 13 years and Steve has been on it for 6.

To take it back to the beginning... in 1993, insurance equaled punishment. t was scary to think about and definitely not a cocktail party topic. Insurance advertising reflected as much, with its tried and true methods of scaring people into expensive plans through deep-voiced men, numbers flashing on screens and the occasional crash video.

GEICO's idea came about as a response to all of that. To knock down the barriers of "changing insurance is a hassle, what if it doesn't go well!?" The category of insurance was dark, and GEICO wanted to steer clear of that.

With that in mind, Martin decided to be direct. Don't appologise, use it as an advantage and create a feeling of insurance as reward.

Bassett pointed out that througout the GEICO campaign, the humor has changed depending on the creative director. When he took over the account, it was his goal to make the ads "a little less Benny Hill, a little more David Letterman." He is perfectly candid about the fact that his vision, too, is fluid. The next creative director, he said with a shrug, will probably want a little less Letterman and a little more Conan O'Brien.

On the use of the Gecko, Steve Bassett points out that it was an accidental brand icon. The Gecko wasn't focus grouped to death. It was meant to eliminate confusion, and the actors strike made one animated gecko ad turn into four more. But that said, the gecko isn't just another icon -- he knows he's an icon. As the years have gone by, the gecko has gotten more human looking and has gotten a more everyday British accent.

The 'Good News' campaign started with an old jok.

In one of the most recent campaigns, involving the now famous GEICO caveman, people appreciate subtle humor done well. Bassett describes it as the right campaign for the current PC climate.

The last campaign that Steve Bassett talked about was teh testimonial campaign. GEICO came to The Martin Agency and said that they would like to do a testimonial campaign, since they had so many happy customers. Martin was not thrilled, as testimonial campaigns are generally humorless and boring, but they tried to think of it in a 'GEICO' manner. When they reframed the problem by asking "how can we do it in a way GEICO can own?" the testimonial campaign was born.

Up next? the use of Mike Wallace, the driver that GEICO sponsors in the Busch series. And thus was born the 'Lauren Wallace' campaign.