How does a "BIG AD agency" look like?

"An advertising agency is not an office. It's not even from this world. It's a place of culture, arts and good taste where details are food for the brain"

Clients go to agencies to get more. More arms, more hands, more ears, more brains, more talent, more solutions as apposed to stress and headaches. On other words clients want greatness. For this reason an agency must make sure it’s up to standards to achieve this goal.

There are some great agencies a little around the world like JWT New York, McCann London but i propose you to see TBWA Los Angeles for the single reason that the dream is some how there. ENJOY.

Look also at this twitter post to see some pictures of big beautiful agencies: http://yfrog.com/4i383ij

How to motivate the ADagency team?

Advertising as I often tell my team is a job for masochists.

Not many jobs in the world have to face as many "NO" as in the advertising world. (Even if I think I found a way to combat that problem... I will talk about it in another post.)

To face the "NO" that make part of our business a team "must" be motivated to arrive come back over and over again with great work.

To fight this reality i found out that happiness makes wonders so i created some internal events that keep everybody in the expectation for what will happen next.

Let me give you some examples of this events i do in regular bases (every week):

1# I have a wall that from time to time i post the pictures of everybody in the agency. I chose a subject and people must come to the studio to pose under that same subject.

The next week i will use the nike application: http://www.nike.com/jumpman23/becomemars/

It will be fun ;-D

2# Take the pet for a walk. I take balloons and i draw animals on it. After everybody goes around taking the pet for a walk. Very often we finish in the restaurant with our "pets" (the best moments ever). Look at the last pet alive :-P

3# Star academy in the agency it's a classic i can't live with out. I assure you we are very good advertisers but very bad singers and we love it. The drill is simple a song will be chosen and people must memorize the lyrics. A day will be schedule and during one hour or so the people that applied will do the best... possible. The rest of the agency will be there to vote. Memorable every-time.

4# I got this movie from a friend of mine that works at Ogilvy. I'm planning to do something like this to present the team on the next pitch. Enjoy

/// All this seems crazy and stupid, I know. But i assure you it work wonders on the team moral.

Back to new media.

We have been looking out for new media since ever.
The problem is that this industry (advertising) is so fast that we don't even realize that new medias become old the very next day after coming out.

It's important to have fresh new medias to work with and this digital era is really exciting and i am in-loved by it but, as i continue saying to my team, it's the experience you pass to your consumer that matters. Important is to be able to provide a sensation on the artwork you do. If it is with old media or new media i don't care. The thing is to call the attention and if possible to make them react.

There's a small exercise I use:

Imagine you are alone in the middle of a crowd. Now, shout the message you are working on. If the reaction is: "Tell me more!" than you are in the good way. If not... you need to go back to pen & paper.

Keep it simple guys and focus on what is really important.
In the end-of-the-day it's our client product that matters.

Personal branding will change your career.

It's funny how most advertisers can promote a brand but they can't take care of their promotion. Well and if I tell you that you are a brand? I am talking about personal branding. YOU.

Personal branding is nothing more than just the idea people you know have of you.

I'm going to give you some tips that can change your professional life.

Step #1

Write down your 5 strengths. (Skills & talents)

Step #2

What are the reasons for wanting to promote yourself?

What really excites you there? Write 5 of the primary ones.

Step #3

Write the one thing you would like to achieve?

Have a realistic goal.

Step #4

Write the self-promotional activities that will lead you to success.

Write it step-by-step. (I will help you on this further on)

Step #5

Just do it

PROMOTION MEDIAS/WAYS

# Online:

Youtube / vimeo / twitter / start a well- maintained blog / facebook / slideshare / monthly email update (keep your mails short and catchy) / personal website / online portfolio /

# Offline:

- Speak publicly (workshops, seminars)

- Start having "breakfast" with whomever you can. Can be a long lost colleague or an old client. You'll be surprised what potential opportunities and realizations can arise.

WHAT AND HOW TO SAY IT

Professionalism is about much more than manners. It is about the expectations you set, the standards you maintain, and how make decisions and manage conflicts. Online or offline it's your "tone-of-voice", your "personality" and your "look and feel" that will mark you. Most of the day2day situations you only have one opportunity to get it right sometimes is even just some minutes to get it or loose it.

Let’s start with a simple situation. You are about to interview for a gig, meet a new potential client, or tell someone about your project. Do you have a clear objective of what you want? Sounds simple: You want the work. You want the business. You want someone to be engaged by your work. While these are all noble objectives to have in mind, they are unlikely to help you during the meeting. After some consideration, you may realize that the most important outcome from the meeting is to be remembered. Or maybe you need to address some obvious risks that may concern people? Perhaps you have a few strengths or claims of credibility that you need to get across?

Presenting yourself professionally requires a communications strategy!

Be Notable! Identify the components that differentiate you. How do you stand out amidst the other options? Incorporate the elements that make you unique in your story. Whether it is your introduction or the pitch for your project, make yourself memorable.

Identify your relevant strengths, especially the ones that come from labor-intensive experiences (as these are the most credible). So many artists will pitch a project and fail to even mention their years of apprenticeship with another well-known artist. Put your strengths out there, and share the story behind them.

Do a candid assessment of the risks someone might find in working with you (especially those that are obvious). Then identify the strengths and differentiating characteristics that best minimize the risk. For example: If you’re new on the scene (risk: unprofessional, unreliable), you’ll want to highlight the past projects you’ve been involved with (albeit unrelated) that demonstrate your dependability.

Once you identify the components of your communications strategy, your job is to emphasize them. Every introduction and pitch that you make is an opportunity to put your "communications strategy" to work.

The Presentation Secrets Of Steve Jobs

"A person can have the greatest idea in the world.

But if that person can't convince enough other people,

it doesn't matter" - Gregory Berns

Let's take as example the best of the bests. Steve Jobs.

For him a presentation is composed by 3 parts:

1# Create the story

2# Deliver the experience

3# Refine and rehearse

Take a look at this (not so beautiful ) presentation but full of valuable information.