You're In Charge

(what you do with that is up to you)

There is a difference between dreaming and acting irresponsibly.

No one else has the time to worry about fucking you over. You're good enough at doing that yourself.

You have a choice in how you react to things.

Have passion for ideas, not passion for money.

Success is defined however you define it.

Lose the Cult of Victimization: Choose to be your own future and choose not to put up roadblocks.

Take responsibility.

Peter Coughter on Starting an Agency

"A lot of enterprises like that occur because people don't know what can go wrong."

Speeches vs. Pitches

Today in Account Leadership, we had an interesting discussion on speeches vs. pitches. Why is it that when speaking to clients we have to do it without notes to be believable, but that presidential candidates can read speeches that they've never read before off a teleprompter and still seem familiar? How do notes sell or not sell an idea?

Our conclusions were:

1. Different audience and presenter expectations
2. Tradition / convention
3. Belief in the product / idea being sold
4. Viewers vs. listeners

Charles Hall Thoughts

In class today, we discussed our recently finished projects. He had a few comments that I hope to remember.

1. It's a different world. That should show in your work.
2. Take risks in your work. Take risks in your life.
3. Dare to fail and not be afraid of that failure.
4. There is more out there than what's expected.
5. It is a bigger risk not to take a risk.
6. Your goal cannot be to create ads, it must be to create culture.

Volvo's Heartbeat Sensor

Is the world such a scary place that we need to have heartbeat sensors attached to our car keys to have upfront knowledge about people lurking by our cars?

I saw a Volvo commercial last night that spent their 30 seconds speaking only about the key. No car features, no open road shots, no shiny paint jobs. Just a small and frightened looking woman clutching her ominously flashing Volvo key.

I can't decide whether I think this is brilliant or just a cruel way to capitalize on the fears of overimaginative women. Either way, it's getting lots of attention. A Google search for 'volvo heartbeat key' produced 47,200 results.

Job Description

In my Advanced Portfolio Development class, we were asked to create our own job descriptions. Here is my first stab at what I want to be and where I want to work.

Job Description: Strategic Planner

The job of Strategic Planner changes from agency to agency. You may be called a Context Planner, Consumer Context Planner, Account Planner, Brand Strategist, Channel Strategist, etc, etc, etc. The list goes on and on, but there are some overarching qualifications. The best Planners are not afraid of all the change, but rather inspired by it. They are always reaching for the next level of involvement with and knowledge of the consumer, the brand, and the people they work with. And if the titles and the job descriptions have to change every year to keep up, that just adds to the excitement.

We Offer:
• An agency where planners are considered partners in the creative process/product
• A forward thinking attitude toward the use of media
• An agency large enough to afford quantitative resources, small enough to start out as a presence/personality instead of a number
• An environment where you will be encouraged to strike out on your own, but will still have active and interested mentors.

Responsibilities:
• Develop creative briefs that inspire and excite your creative team
• Be able to relate well with clients and truly take an interest in their business
• Work closely (and in harmony) with creatives, account teams and media teams
• Search for new media with which to effectively reach consumers
• Qualitative and Quantitative research and data interpretation
• Supplying communication strategies and insights for your accounts

Required Skills:
• Be actively interested in any brand that you are presented with
• Think outside the box and see things from many perspectives
• Skilled at long term planning
• An understanding of the difference between what people say and what they mean
• Willingness to take the leap from solid ground to more abstract ideas
• The ability to support and sell fresh, and possibly provocative, ideas
• Great people skills; in the office, on the street and with clients
• A talent for written and verbal expression
• “No Quiet Chairs”: The client is paying for everyone at the table, so we expect you to feel comfortable voicing your opinion
• Creative thinking skills
• Flexibility; a love for project-based environments and sometimes-odd hours