The path to the top is always clearer from the peak. In advance of the Digiday Agency Summit: Hacking Advertising, Feb. 19-21, in Palm Springs, Calif., we asked Summit speakers to share one thing their first employer didn’t tell them about succeeding in advertising that would have made the climb just a little bit easier.
Kat Gordon, founder and creative director, Maternal Instinct, speaking on “Challenging Agencies to Accept Diversity”
That a good account person is worth his/her weight in gold. Creatives tend to think of themselves as the end all/be all talent of an agency. But a truly gifted account person — who builds trust with the client, fights for great work, and runs interference so the client doesn’t wear down the creative team — is critical to a satisfying agency life. Not until I started my own small agency — and often had to do the work of the account person in additional to my role as Creative Director — did I realize how under-appreciated this role was.
Geoff Cubitt, Co-CEO, Isobar US, speaking on “Bridging the Gap Between CIO and CMO”
Make things people want instead of make people want things.
Steve Babcock, executive creative director, EVB, speaking on “Consumer Engagement: The Power of Socially-Minded Campaign”
I wish my first employer would’ve helped me understand the value in keeping my head down and doing my work. I spent too many years being too concerned with what everyone around me was doing when the route to success in advertising is centered on developing your personal talent and delivering on whatever assignment you’re given.
Kirk Cheyfitz, Global CEO and chief storyteller, Story Worldwide, speaking on “The Content Marketing Deluge: Making it Suck Less”
My first employer was 20th Century Fox. (I was an AD in Europe.) Fox told me nothing about advertising, which was a blessing. I wish they’d told me that in the 21st century ad folks would have greater need of the enduring storytelling skills of a filmmaker, not the dubious and dated skills of a TV pitchman. But they didn’t know that then.
Ad position: web_incontent_pos1
For more of the Digiday Agency Summit agenda, please visit here.
More in Marketing
In the marketing world, anime is following in the footsteps of gaming
As marketers look to take advantage of anime’s entry into the zeitgeist, they might be wise to observe the parallels between the evolution of anime as a marketing channel and the ways brands have learned to better leverage gaming in recent years.
With the introduction of video ads and e-commerce, Roblox looks to attain platform status
Roblox is expanding into more areas than just ads in 2024. Much like platforms such as Amazon and Facebook have transcended their origins to evolve from their origins as online marketplaces and social media channels, Roblox is in the midst of a transformation into a platform for all elements of users’ virtual lives.
PepsiCo wants to remain a ‘driver of culture’ as it turns to influencers and activations amid rebrand
The soda-maker says it can translate cultural relevance into sales volume.
Ad position: web_bfu