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The Future of Advertising Careers
Campaign50: The future of advertising careers As part of Campaign's 50th birthday celebrations, our Founding Partner, Emma Love, was asked to predict how the industry will change in the next 50 years, and how we will keep up... This article was originally published in Campaign. 50 years ago, as Campaign was going to press for the first time, my parents were planning their wedding. Things were rather different back then. Once married, my mother gave up work and – like many of her friends – never really returned. Of course, mum had the full time (and totally unpaid) role of raising children and absolutely supporting dad’s career for almost 40 years. In truth, my father’s profession defined us as a family. That was the ‘60s. The time of industry legends like Ogilvy and Bernbach; the ‘golden era’ of advertising, fuelled by the rise of mass consumerism, youth culture and disposable income. A decade that brought with it incredible societal changes that are impacting our lives today: important reform around abortion, divorce and homosexuality; the pill was introduced; 850 women in Dagenham went on strike for equal pay. The decade came to an epic close, with the world watching the first steps on the moon. Even with all of that excitement of the 1960s, nobody could have predicted how far society would have moved on today. We live in a world of constant change. Turn on the news and it’s easy to be pretty baffled – frightened, even - about the outlook: the environment, Brexit, house prices, Trump. Advertising and creativity is completely dead of course. And the robots will take all our jobs. Run. Run for the hills! Calm down, dear. Creative thinking is hardwired into our DNA and will remain as important as it was 50 years ago. The same with technology. And automation. In 50 years’ time there will still be goods, products and services that need selling. Meh, maybe we’ll call it advertising, maybe we won’t (we will). There will still be jobs. Some will be the same. Many will be new. I find it heartening to remember that Britain’s creative industry (including advertising), plays a crucial part of the future economy and is something we should be very proud of. It employs 2 million people, is worth over £90 billion and the industry is growing twice as fast as the economy as a whole. The Creative Industries Sector Deal announced in March this year is a strong statement of intent that focuses on investment across innovation, STEM education and cutting-edge tech. So what of the future? "We cannot underestimate how much the creative agency landscape has changed over the past five years" darkly whispered a big dawg CSO I work with. And it’s true. The production model, in-house model, business transformation consultancies and brand hubs have all been happily (*buzz word alert*) disrupting the status quo haven’t they. Well, good! We can’t just stand still, can we? Let’s crack on and see where it leads us. And the future of careers? Well, when it comes to this, we’re really talking about life. My life. Your life. Whilst there’s really no crystal ball here, we can consider a few current themes and mull over what they might mean. Brexit Might as well get this one over and done with first . So far, Danny Dyer is seemingly the only person in Britain able to cut through the Brexit bluster, Jaguar Land Rover has threatened to leave the UK (I’ll call that Jexit), Theresa May is suddenly our dancing queen and the government is less coherent than my toddler. What we do know is that Brexit - AKA whatthefuckisgoingon - is driving business uncertainty, which in turn affects the job market from the top down. That said, we’ve got over significant bumps in the road before: whatever happens, we will get over this one. My mum tells me "life goes on" whenever things don’t go to plan. She’s right. What about diversity? Current entry routes into the industry are tight, particularly given the current economic climate. Snowflakes? Are you kidding? Icicles trying to climb a mountain, more like. Give them a break! It’s up to all of us to shape the industry we want in the future and we must all consider - today - how we are sending the lift down, how often and to whom. Assuming we want a best-in-class industry that reflects our society, we must be more inclusive and work harder to welcome a richer spread of individuals to the fold. What is your company doing to nurture an inclusive culture? In 50 years’ time, if we get entry routes into the industry right, it will be more inclusive throughout and pay gaps should be less stark than they are now. And working parents? Whilst there is a pretty robust male:female ratio overall, there is still a clear talent drain of working mums, and worrying inflexibility towards working dads. For an industry that has spent decades appealing so heavily to youth audiences and parent pockets, isn’t it just so odd that many company cultures have been so unwelcoming of people who actually have children? Thankfully, whilst there is work to be done, we are going in the right direction as flexible hours are becoming normalised – for dads, as well as mums (and indeed for anyone who is a carer). Companies will need to continuously think about their corporate culture, and what community they are building. Does your company, for example, have clear parental leave policies in place (or is it still something negotiated on the dreaded ‘case by case’ basis)? Are parents in your company able to go to school sports day and Christmas concerts without taking a whole day’s leave? Can they easily work from home when a dependent is unwell without colleagues rolling their eyes? This is not special treatment; it’s a positive way society can behave, and a mature way of building employer / employee trust. If your company is doing this already, great. If not, why on earth not? We’ll be working longer, right? Absolutely. In 50 years’ time there will be way more over 50s than there are children in the UK. This is a massive societal shift. Do you want to be doing what you’re doing now, forever? Hell no? Non-linear career paths and career switches will become more normal. But, for now, think about how you perceive age. When you look at a CV, do you instantly scroll to the back page to ascertain the applicant’s age? Are you instantly disregarding people based on their abundance of experience? Do hiring managers in your company only ever hire people younger than themselves? And think about this: with fewer young people entering the workforce, companies will need to develop stronger L&D strategies to help their existing employees keep up with the pace of change. Hopefully scrapheaping will be a thing of the past. Of course, keeping up with the new is a challenge for us all – personal and corporate. Every day is a school day: keep learning. And for gawdsake don’t put off your retirement planning. Will we move jobs all the time? That’s up to you. People are indeed moving jobs faster than ever before and our relationship with our employers is changing. The term ‘gig economy’ can make it sound like career nirvana is just around the corner: you can choose your hours, earn bags of money, skip from one gig to another and be totally #winning the life/career merry-go-round. The point is to stick to your path and – if you are choosing to move jobs – do so when it is right for you, not because ‘everyone says’ you should move companies every 12-18 months. Employers highly value attributes such as adaptability, pragmatism and resilience: the more senior you get, the more they will seek out those qualities. In return, you should expect a decent suite of grown-up benefits and play by grown-up rules. And we’ll all work remotely from the beach, yes? Tech will continue to enable us to work effectively away from the office. It can (quite literally) be a breath of fresh air and we can only predict this gathering pace. That said, I doubt we’ll all completely forgo working in an office environment. Businesses are a community of people, after all. The happier the individuals are, the better the community works as a whole. Being together will continue to be part of that...just not necessarily parked at a desk for nine hours a day with a hellish peak time commute either side. With that said, do try to switch off. Put your phone down. Stop checking your emails late into the night. Unless of course you are actually on the beach and working to a different time zone. So where will we be in 2068? I’d hope: looking at a diverse pool of talented people working in the vibrant, globally respected creative industry that I have adored since I was a teenager. Mainly though, I hope we will all have followed our own path in life and remembered the most important things: family, friends and community. As that’s probably all I’ll remember when I’m 90. In the meantime, we’ll raise a glass to say Happy 50th, Campaign. And happy golden anniversary, Elizabeth and John. Love you guys.
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Cannes 2018
A round up of this year's winners at Cannes and particular congrats to Adam&Eve/DDB who won Agency of the Year. In a fitting tribute to Ben Priest as he leaves the agency he co-founded, Adam&Eve/DDB walked away with the Agency of the Year award at Cannes 2018. The other UK winners included: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO winning the Glass Lion Grand Prix for its work on Bodyform plus PR and Design Grands Prix for the LadBible "Trash Isles" campaign McCann London picked up the inaugural Creative eCommerce Lion and Gold in the Direct Lions for Xbox The inaugural Social & Influencer Grand Prix went to Wieden & Kennedy for the "Nothing beats a Londoner" campaign for Nike Bartle Bogle Hegarty London shared the Media Grand Prix with Mediacom for their work with Tesco Continuing a turbulent time for WPP, their 7-year hegemony as Holding Company of the Year (since the award was created) as been broken by Omnicom. For a full rundown of all the Grands Prix winners, have a look at Campaign's coverage at http://bit.ly/CampCannes2018. If you would like to discuss how The Great & The Good can help you achieve your career goals, give us a call on 020 3567 1284 or email David Love, Founding Partner, The Great & The Good
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A brilliant morning spent with the She's Back crew, hosted at Mother for IWD
Emma meets She's Back founders, Liz and Deb, at their brilliant event, held at Mother's glorious office and in celebration of International Women's Day. She's Back helps organisations access the potential of women at all levels, support women who want to return and campaigns on behalf of women. You can get involved with this brilliant bunch at www.shesback.co.uk.
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Talent Experts - Employee Mental Health
As part of our Talent Expert series, we have been speaking with David Regan, Senior Associate at Squire Patton Boggs. For Mental Health Awareness Week (8th-14th May 2017), David explains how best to support an employee who may be experiencing mental health problems. One of my employees has become withdrawn and irritable; the quality of their work has also dropped. I am worried that they may be stressed and/or depressed – what do I do? First, the most important thing is do not avoid the issue! Often, regardless of the situation, employees may want or need help, but they just either don’t know how to ask for it or are scared that if they do ask for it then the "stigma" having asked for it will follow them around, possibly impacting their career prospects. Employees should feel able to approach their managers or HR to discuss their problems – a failure to do so can, over time, lead to difficulties in the relationship between the employee and their manager/the business. If you are nAdobeStock 107129665ot sure how to open the conversation with your employee, speak to HR and ask them to help you speak to the employee. Most HR staff will have dealt with similar situations and many have had training on mental health issues (or know someone who has). Asking employees how they are doing is not about you, or indeed the business, looking to 'fix' the situation, it is about helping the employee understand that you and the business are willing to listen and, where appropriate, will try to find them help – this can come in many forms, from mentoring, engaging an employee assistance programme ("EAP"), or in more serious cases, an asking an occupation health specialist to make recommendations to help an employee. One important question which may arise is whether or not the employee is "disabled" for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 ("EA") – this will depend on the facts of a specific case. Where an employee is disabled for EA purposes, there can be additional obligations on an employer – for example in certain circumstances employers should consider whether they need to make 'reasonable adjustments'. This is often a difficult exercise, as it means balancing an employee's needs with the resources and demands of the business, as well as ensuring that other members of the team aren't overloaded. David Regan is a Senior Associate at law firm Squire Patton Boggs. A specialist in media and advertising, David deals exclusively in labour and employment law.
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Account Handling Salaries
What's the going rate for an Account Director? How much should an Account Executive expect to earn? Please see below for our survey of average account handling salaries in 2016. This data has been taken from a broad selection of London agencies, from large networks to small independents. 2016 was a relatively steady year for average salaries in account handling. There continues to be strong demand at the mid-level (particularity SAMs) which has continued to drive salaries up further towards an average of £40k. Of particular note is the substantial decline in the use of the ‘GAD’ title. An increasing number of agencies are dropping this in favour of a broader SAD title with the next step being Business Director or equivalent. The insatiable appetite for Direct and CRM skills has continued unabated; this has been further increased by several large client moves and the increasing business focus in the space from more traditionally ATL-focussed agencies. To discuss salaries for other roles, please contact Emma, James or David on 020 3567 1281 or at sayhello@greatandgoodtalent.co.uk. If you would like to discuss how The Great & The Good can help you achieve your career goals, give us a call on 020 3567 1284 or email David Love, Founding Partner, The Great & The Good
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Talent Experts - I feel I’m underpaid. What should I do?
Georgina Collins, Interbrand's Executive Director, HR – EMEA & LatAm, chatted with our Founding Partner David Love. Read Georgina's advice around a thorny career issue. At some point in your career, unless you are very lucky, you are likely to question your salary level and whether it continues to be appropriate for what you do. In today’s world, there are many sources of information which can give you an idea of salaries for roles – surveys, recruiters, job adverts, internal salary bands to name a few [You can find The Great & The Good's salary survey for Account Handling roles here] These can help you to benchmark your role and give an idea if your salary is in the right ballpark. However, do proceed with caution, as titles and roles vary from agency to agency and may not always give as accurate a view as you might hope. For every example where you can find a similar role with a higher salary, there is likely to be another example with a lower salary as well, so make sure you have taken into account these different sources and you have set a realistic benchmark. Similarly, it’s important to consider your total package. Benefits packages differ hugely between companies and need to be factored in when you are thinking about your overall compensation. Benefits – such as generous pension contributions, childcare vouchers, private healthcare, variable bonus schemes and even the use of a mobile phone – can all add up and should be taken into consideration when looking at your compensation. Depending on the make-up of your full package, you may be better off on a lower salary with a fantastic benefits package, rather than just a higher base salary. Finally, it’s worth considering where you are on your career trajectory, where you are aiming to get to and how your employer can help to support you to get there. Salary is only one element (albeit an important one) of your relationship with your employer and if you enjoy your role and you are getting personal satisfaction and development in your job, it may be worth a short-term trade off on salary in return for longer-term career aspirations. But only you can answer that! Having taken everything into account, if you still have concerns about your salary you should speak to your line manager or HR. An open and honest conversation may help you to understand why your employer feels you are at the level they pay you and how, if possible, to improve your salary or you may be given the reassurance you are looking for that your employer is committed to your personal development and salary progression. Moving role isn’t without its risks so it’s worth weighing up if the gain of a potential new role is worth it – a simple conversation with your employer may well help facilitate enough change that you get a better balance of risk/reward than changing jobs based on reward alone. If you do decide you want to raise it with your manager or HR go to the meeting prepared - try not to be defensive when you meet but to talk through your concerns and where possible back them up with facts. Similarly be realistic in your expectations and how your company might be able to handle your salary issue as they will need to take into account a broader view of the team as well as the overall business. In larger agencies there may also be set times of the year and specific processes which need to be followed to review salaries. Try to remain open minded and work with the company to understand what can or can’t be done and in what sort of time frame.
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How to build a more diverse workforce
Diversity has to be an innate part of the recruitment process, says McCann's head of talent, in this exclusive interview. Robert Stone is McCann Worldgroup's head of talent. In conversation with our co-founder, Emma Love, Robert shares his insight and advice on how to build a more diverse workforce. Robert, what does a diverse workplace looks like in your eyes? To us, diversity isn’t a box-ticking and quota-checking exercise. It has to be an innate part of our recruitment process that aims to attract a broad representation of people, not just limited to gender, race and religion but also drawing from social, economic and geographically-varied backgrounds. Diversity has been a hot topic for some time, when did you start thinking about it and why is it important? Diversity in some guise or another has been part of our conversation for as long as we can remember – it’s been an evolving topic over the last few years and it’s encouraging to see that there are some powerful organisations within the industry that are now affecting positive change. What is McCann London doing to embrace diversity? We believe that building talent from the bottom up is the way to do this effectively, otherwise we are still recruiting from the same limited pool as all the other agencies. We particate in a number of internship schemes that help us to recruit from varied backgrounds: Miami Ad School, IPA’s STEM programme and the Art Against Knives charity. We are also launching a few initiatives to attract a more diverse workforce, such as Open Hour in which our senior management devote an hour a week to Skype with anyone interested in entering the industry. We’re not just targeting the usual university grad route through this initiative, but aiming to increase the pool of background and life experience by targeting schools for pupils who wouldn’t necessarily have considered a career in advertising, or job centres for those wanting a career change who have valuable experience gained in a different industry. But we also believe that much of this is about creating an open culture based on honesty that allows our employees to achieve the best of their potential in a supportive environment. You can have all the initiatives in the world, but if the basic culture doesn’t support that then they won’t be successful. (Above) McCann London's latest campaign for True Match foundation How does a diverse workforce benefit McCann London and your clients? Immeasurably! If we can’t truly understand the client’s customer, then we give ourselves a far greater challenge in delivering truly effective work. Ultimately, a diverse workforce produces a stronger, more effective product. What are the key challenges around diversity that agencies are facing? The pace of change is always going to be a challenge that needs managing. Understandably, people want change yesterday. But in reality, building an effective solution that will work in the long-term takes time. Also, in recruiting a geographically diverse workforce, you can’t escape the fact that London is an expensive place to live! There has to be a strong incentive to attract potential talent who hadn’t previously considered living here. How do you know if you have a diverse workforce? We need to look at the metrics by which we measure diversity. This is something we are in constant discussion about and, in my view, will be an ongoing assessment of the background of our workforce vs the quality of the work we are delivering for our clients. I’m not sure we can ever reach the point at which we put our feet up and say ‘Job done’. What practical advice can you give agencies about embracing diversity? To regularly assess your workforce and, most importantly, your recruitment methods. There’s no point in casting your net in all the same places time and time again and then wondering why you can’t reach your diversity goals.
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Parenting, part-time and payrises
When I started this article I was enormously heartened to be writing about the increased levels of part time and flexible working we have recently seen for parents in the advertising industry. Anyone who has spoken to me in recent weeks - you know who you are - will have heard me waxing lyrical about how flipping open minded the agency world seems to be becoming. In fact, the last handful of placements I have made have all been working parents in management or leadership positions at London agencies. Pretty much all negotiated an element of flexible working, a good pay rise and step forward in their career. Good news! I was going to write. This is fantastic! Yes, work to do - lots and lots - but let's keep going. We're definitely on to something! So I cannot tell you my dismay to read the recent On The Campaign Couch (16/09/2016) "Will I still be taken seriously if I switch to part time?". The scenario was a man asking if he should go part time once he became a dad. The answer from The Couch was a resounding "You're having a laugh aren’t you. Surely that's career suicide". Campaign I ask you, would this article have even been published if the gender was switched, and it was a mum asking the same question? In this age of diversity are we still so far in the dark ages that men are defined only by their capacity to be the main breadwinner? Surely not. And let’s not forget that if dads can't get flexibility from their employer, we all know what this means for mums. If you are a working parent please do not be put off by such unhelpful dialogue, dressed up as humour but peddling views which are - fortunately - not shared by everyone. There’s really good stuff happening out there. Truly. Campaign was right about one thing though: it will be quite exhausting – but very, very satisfying. Here are some tips if you are job hunting and need a flexible working arrangement Apply for permanent, full time positions as well as jobs that are exclusively advertised as part-time. Job adverts may not explicitly outline part time working as an option but this does not necessarily mean it’s not up for discussion. Lead with your skills and suitability for the role you’re applying for. I’ll say that again. Lead with your skills and suitability for the role you’re applying for.Don’t open the conversation with a request for flexibility but rather show the Hiring Manager why you’d be amazing in the role. This will also help you have a good grasp of your value – which will come in handy when you’re negotiating the salary. That said, once the conversation has started, be clear and upfront about how it's going to work 3 days a week, 4 days a week, 9 day fortnight, 2 days from home, 5 days compressed into 4, late start for drop off, early leave for pick up ... whatever it might be. Don’t apologise. So you have children. It happens. I have two myself. And whilst we’re on the subject, avoid that awful word “only” as in “I’m ‘only’ part time”. If your skills and experience warrant it for the job you’re going for, go for the pay rise too. Just so you know, we’ve secured increased packages of anything up to 20% for part-time and flexi-working parents. Happy hunting! Emma How realistic is flexible working in agencies?
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Cannes 2016 round up
ICYMI: A round up of the winners of this year’s Cannes Lions As another year of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity comes to an end, we look back at the main award winners. Particular congratulations to: Titanium Lion Grand Prix – Venables Bell & & Partners, San Francisco http://bit.ly/tgtgoptoutside Holding Company of the Year – WPP Network of the Year – Ogilvy & Mather Agency of the Year – AlmapBBDO, Sao Paolo Independent Agency of the Year – Droga5, New York For a full rundown of who won what, go to http://bit.ly/tgtgcanneslions.
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Lessons in leadership: Agency Founder, Richard Perry
Richard shares his insights on building an award-winning agency and the importance of a strong network. Richard Perry is partner of Founded - the agency "for brands with a commercial agenda". He spoke to Emma Love about how he made it in the creative industry. Richard started his career at Gyro as a junior in 1995 and left the agency as COO in 2012; a true mailroom to boardroom story. He then went on to launch creative agency, Founded, with Richard Mabbott in 2012. They were the MAA’s Breakthrough Agency in 2015 and bought by iris in April 2016. Hi Richard. Tell us - how did you break into the creative industry? Back in the 1994 I made a video CV – it was pretty embarrassing but it was good enough to help me land a dozen interviews at the big advertising agencies and four job offers. I was about to go ahead when, by complete chance really, I met a couple of people who were running a tiny agency called Gyro. They really needed an account executive and I really liked them. The idea of going straight into the deep end and learning on the job was really compelling. I had just spent four years at uni so I wanted to get on with my career. What happened next? I was lucky because I got on really well with my boss and Gyro grew quickly – from four people to well over 650 - which presented constant opportunities for me to grow too. By the time we sold Gyro in 2008 I was COO and that was great but I had started to miss being on the floor, talking to clients. It finally felt like the right time to start up Founded with Richard in 2012. We’d been talking about it for a while and finally launching from zero was a refreshing moment. I remember walking in from Waterloo with Rich on our first day, sitting at our rented desks and saying to each other ‘right, let’s make some phone calls". We didn’t have a business plan. That came later. We just knew we wanted to do good work. What are you most proud of since launching Founded? Winning P&O Cruises was a humbling moment. P&O took a big leap of faith to leave RKCR/Y&R for us – a relative unknown at the time - and it was humbling that a client would go on that journey with us. It made us hugely respectful of them and gave us an overwhelming pressure not to let them down. So the TV ad that aired on the Coronation Street slot on Christmas Day 2014 was a big moment for us. It wasn’t just because of the work and the results - which were exceptional - it was big because the client had completely believed in us. That was pretty cool. Our intern scheme, Founded U, is something else I’m really proud of. So far we’ve helped over 30 people break into the industry and some have gone on to some brilliant roles. If we’ve had even a tiny part in helping them on their way, then that’s very rewarding to me. I’m a firm believer in Kevin Spacey’s ethos of "sending the elevator back down" if you’re doing well. And of course the rest of the founders at Founded are massively talented and unbelievably hard working – it’s not easy starting an agency from scratch and we’d be nowhere without the guys – that’s why each and every employee is a shareholder of Founded – they thoroughly deserve it. What nuggets of career advice can you share to people coming up the ranks? Do not underestimate the importance of your network. The importance of talking to people. The importance of never closing doors. If you’re going to decline something, decline it with respect. The industry is pretty small so little things like that make a difference long term. Respect is a big thing for us. Respect for the work, for each other, for the client. Especially for the client. Your clients are busy. They’re not waiting for your call. If they disagree with you, reflect. You might not agree but you must respect their feedback and make sure you understand it before you go charging in. If you value this, your clients will value you more. Be positively naïve. Have a go. Don’t wait to be fed. You’re in the creative industry for a reason so say what you think, put that recommendation forward. Sometimes it’s better to seek forgiveness, not permission. Play by grown up rules. Take responsibility for your own actions. And for people in leadership roles – what’s important? You need to be able to listen. Always be aware of what’s happening around you in the agency. Think about if everyone is alright, if you’re supporting your people and whether you’re leading from the front. And do it with humility. Always keep the client agenda high on the list. Don’t let your board meetings be solely focused on the numbers. You should never stop talking about the work. That’s why we’re all here, right? And never underestimate the power of positive culture. Agency culture can be immensely powerful when you’re working with the right people who all share the same ethos. It helps to be as honest as you can with your team. Finally, try not to impose your own vision of success onto everyone else. We’re all different. What are the key challenges you feel are facing agencies? Well, it’s a crowded market. There’s almost no more room for another agency on the creative scene but there’s always room for a good place to work. If you can create the right culture, you can attract the right talent and do great work. Then you’ll start to make a name for yourself. Agencies need to know what they’re good at and stick to it. If you can get under the hood of that then you’re probably onto something. How do you know you’re doing a good job? That’s a tough question for me as I always think that I can or should be doing better – it’s a chip on my shoulder that serves me well. I get a buzz when I genuinely see people in my team advancing. It’s a big deal. To watch people achieving – a pitch win, a promotion, a great email from a client, whatever it might be – to me that’s massive. What advice would you give to anyone thinking about launching their own agency? Don’t rush it. It’s not a race. (That’s actually the advice my business partner gives me – he’s a lot more patient than I am). Take your time finding the right people to launch with – really, really good people who you’re immensely comfortable with on a personal and professional level. If you set up with the wrong people and end up falling out, it’s probably game over. Don’t be surprised if people suck their teeth and say "you know launching your own business is risky, right? You’ve got a mortgage" etc. You need to be pretty resolute right from the start. What’s the worst that’s going to happen? And when you’ve decided to do it, get your head down and get on with it.
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Lessons in leadership: Agency MD, Chris Woodward
Read how Chris fast-tracked to a leadership role by not trusting his gut to always "running to the fire". Chris broke into the industry in 2004 "after three months of banging on agency doors and sleeping on a friend’s sofa". Since that point, he has risen through the agency ranks via Wunderman, Rapp, Kitcatt Nohr, Partners Andrew Aldridge and CHI before joining Seven Seconds in 2014. Over the past two years, the Seven Seconds / BBH partnership has welcomed major businesses to the fold including BA, Barclays, Experian, and KFC. Chris, you’ve progressed to managing director in fairly record time. Can you share with us some of your secrets to your career trajectory? There are a few things that stand out for me. I have always gone in with the mentality that if you want to achieve in this industry, you’ve got to make it for yourself. The moment I felt I was treading water I have moved to a new challenge – internally or externally. I would urge anyone to make friends with their agency’s new business team so that you are the first to hear of any pitches coming in. For example, within two weeks of joining Kitcatt Nohr in 2006 I found out that the Waitrose pitch was about to happen and put my hand up to be on that pitch team. So as ‘just’ a senior account manager, I found myself in Waitrose’s boardroom with the agency’s founders. We went on to win the pitch. There’s a great phrase "always run to the fire". Finding projects that have ‘car crash’ or ‘too difficult’ written all over them, are often the best opportunities. Your job as an agency person through perseverance and common sense is to turn situations into something better. Oddly I don’t think all that many agency staff think like that. But we’ve got to think like that. We’ve got to go for the ‘difficult’ ones because that’s when we are most recognised and deliver the most value to our clients. What’s been your best career decision? Joining the Seven Seconds / BBH partnership. Everything else I have done throughout my career has set me up to be here. The opportunity we have is to help redefine the future of what is one of the best agencies in the world and that is incredibly exciting. Also, I get to work with people like Simon Hall, Warren Moore and Ben Fennell, who are amongst the best names in the industry. I have been hugely privileged at every stage of my career to work with these types of people: entrepreneurial types who best embody the spirit of agencies and are the people you can learn a lot from. What are the best lessons you’ve learned along the way? Don’t trust your gut. Do your research. Do your homework. Control every variable you can so it’s not a gamble on the day. Whether it’s a pitch or a meeting, or whatever. In this industry it is absolutely crucial to have trusted, good people on your team. Find them and surround yourself with them. This is not a game where you can be a one-person operator. If you are you will come unstuck. What project have you been most proud of? It’s not a project as such, but I am proud and fortunate to be working with a great team. I’m working with some very talented and committed people. I’m proud to be a small part of this. Who inspires you? Without a doubt, Simon Hall and Warren Moore are tremendously inspiring. They are polar opposites that complement each other perfectly. I’ve been incredibly lucky to draw inspiration at other points of my career. Johnny Hornby is an absolute legend. He is incredible at motivating clients and agency peers and as a result creates a strong sense of followership. Marc Nohr’s will to win made a great impression on me. His ‘train hard, fight easy’ approach is something we can all learn from. Vonnie Alexander is probably the best client service person I have ever worked with. Her three principles of openness, honesty and trust nurture great relationships and instil extremely high standards in the people who work with her. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. What do you wish you had known upon joining the industry? I don’t. This industry has lived up to my expectations. This isn’t just a job. It’s a passion and a privilege. Even from account exec level, the trust and empowerment you’re given and the responsibility can be immense. There’s something very human about agencies when they’re at their best in allowing people to give of their best. Life is too short to waste time. If this isn’t for you that’s fine. This isn’t a jail sentence. And if it does feel like that, do something else. What are some of the key attributes an agency MD needs to make a success of their role? First and foremost, you’ve got to love this business. You’ve got to enjoy understanding the challenges and pressures that face your clients both as people and as organisations. Only through that understanding can you build the trust that will allow you the opportunity to create work that is big and brave. It’s important to keep innovating and not be overwhelmed by the complexity of the world that we’re in. The agency model in this sense has not actually changed; our job is still to simplify and to create human communication, albeit in a more complex, fragmented media environment. For any agency leader, the ability to build a really high calibre, highly entrepreneurial team is critical. Attracting the right talent, nurturing and coaching your team and creating the right environment, is so important. How do you know you’re doing a good job? A happy agency team, clients who trust you implicitly and a healthy new business pipeline. Is there anything you would change about the industry? Sometimes the industry bemoans that we are no longer a respected top-table partner to our clients. It’s important to remember that seat at the top-table is hard-earned and should not be taken for granted. I think every generation has to re-earn that right to sit there. That’s exactly what I relish about the team here. We are re-authoring that right to be at the top table because what we do is innovative, compelling and makes a difference to our clients. How good are you at achieving a work/life balance? At times I’ve been really bad at this but I am the best I ever have been. I take the kids to school one day a week and make sure I maximise every working moment – including my commute - in order to get home at a reasonable time and put the phone away. Ultimately I do this job to provide for my family, the people most important to me. I do need to force myself not to check my phone when I’m on holiday, for example. But if you don’t force it then you’re not only short changing the people you hold most dear, you’re also short-changing your clients and ultimately your career. You need time to detach to come back at it fresh.
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Lessons in leadership: Agency CEO, Leigh Thomas
Leigh talks about the importance of integrity and shares her advice on how to make it to the top of agencyland. Leigh Thomas famously started off life as a classical ballerina before joining the family business of advertising. She quickly rose through the ranks of some of the world’s most respected advertising agencies, eventually becoming MD of Saatchi & Saatchi. In 2013, Thomas became CEO of Dare and has steered the agency back to its digital roots and through the recent sale to OLIVER. Leigh, you’ve had key roles at some of the most respected agencies. What’s been your secret to the top? Well firstly, it’s never been about job title for me. I didn’t set out to become a CEO but I have always been incredibly interested in what I do and I’ve always been someone who commits. I don’t like mediocrity. I’m hard on myself, and have high expectations of my team. But I’m also not afraid of failure. That experience makes the successes all the sweeter. Have you had a career strategy? God no! My north star has always been creativity and that’s what has driven me. I genuinely believe that creativity is one of the key skills human beings have. No matter how technically advanced, no matter how many ones and zeros we’re using, creativity is the uniquely human attribute that can make the world better. What’s been your best career decision? To come to Dare. My understanding of customer experience, content, data and creativity has moved on exponentially. With the return to our digital heritage and sale to OLIVER Group, I’ve learnt more than I could have thought possible in the space of three years. It’s been a breathtaking challenge, and my best career decision for sure. What are you most proud of? Dare’s shift back to its DNA in digital is something I am immensely proud of. We got lost for a few years aspiring to ‘integration’. The fact was that 90% of our work was digital anyhow, so from a positioning point of view it was the right thing to do. It was just being truthful. More importantly, the energy and commitment from our team at Dare has also totally surpassed every expectation. They are setting their own standards and continuously raising their game. The culture of Dare has always been very humble, yet exceptionally smart. I am incredibly proud and humbled to be a part of that. What’s the biggest lesson you have learned the hard way? Surrounding myself with the right team. It’s about chemistry as much as it is about skills. You can find talented people anywhere, but how people gel together as a team is the magic. There’s a great quote from Bill Bernbach about this: "When we started our agency, we had in mind precisely the kind of people we wanted with us. There were two requirements: You had to be talented and you had to be nice. If you were nice but without talent, we were very sorry, but you just wouldn’t do. We had to ‘make it.’ And only great talent would help us do that. If you were a great talent, but not a nice person, we had no hesitation in saying ‘No.’ Life is too short to sacrifice so much of it, to living with a bastard." Who has most inspired you? By their nature, agencies can be exceptionally demanding environments, so you have to find people that you respect and can be totally honest with. I’ve had some great sponsors all along my career. At Dare, Mark Collier and John Bartle have both have given me wonderful support. As a boss, Mark provides support, guidance and has huge belief in this business; a lot of my commitment to Dare is because of him. John’s been very engaged with Dare right from the beginning and is a great sponsor of many women in our business. I’m very lucky. Outside of the agency world, I recently heard Sheryl Sandberg speak, who is a total mensch. Totally inspiring. Her achievements in Silicon Valley are extraordinary and she’s done it with such EQ, clarity of thinking, incredible courage and a sense of humour. Eric Schmidt famously advised her "if you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat. Just get on". Embracing that attitude is very cool. What do you wish you had known upon joining the industry? Don’t try and please everybody. Particularly as you get more senior. If you genuinely want to create change, and do what’s right, then sometimes you have to stand up and say it. Done in the right way, people will ultimately respect you more. What are the key attributes a CEO needs? EasyJet’s brilliant CEO Carolyn McCall hits the nail on the head: you have to make sure you know your numbers. In order to run a P&L you need to be obsessive about the numbers and the details behind them. The ability to listen is an incredibly important attribute. If you have good listening skills you can probably do a pretty good job of being a CEO. I see too many people charge into meetings with their own agenda; not listening and therefore not learning. There’s so much wisdom to be gained when you stop to listen, for the vision and reality of a business to be brought to you rather than imposing it. And you should not, for one moment, ever consider yourself above anybody else. What are the key challenges facing agency CEOs? The business world we operate in is increasingly procurement driven. Agencies have traditionally always left finance for the end of the conversation but that landscape has changed. Commercial reality has got to be in the first part of the conversation, as is reflective of the macro economic environment around us. That’s why I’m so excited about being part of OLIVER Group, because we have a radical, innovative commercial model that allows us to genuinely solve our clients’ business issues. It is also a model that allows creativity to once again flourish. On a wider note, the whole question of diversity is still a challenge for our industry. Are we so introspective as a business, that we are unable to address such a fundamental issue? It’s time. How do you know if you’re doing a good job as CEO? Well the numbers never lie. The P&L has to work. On from that, the work is always an excellent indicator of agency health. Good work suggests that agency and client relationships are strong and people are pushing themselves further. What about work / life balance? I’m achieving more of a work life balance now. I don’t think anyone expects people to be bound to their desks all hours. Being a slave to our corporate job is not something my children will ever have to put up with. Nothing makes me happier than when a father says ‘I’m not coming in today because I have my kid’s school play’. One of my team is doing shared parental leave with her partner. It’s happening. I’m delighted. I see it in our clients too – people arranging their lives in a way that suits them. I’d rather work with people who are genuinely happy in their lives as a whole. What would be your advice to someone starting out? It’s a small industry and you will be remembered by how you behave. Keep your integrity, no matter what. What’s next? For me now it’s about the work, as always, and international scale-ability of Dare. We’re in good health.
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Webinar: nurturing digital talent
Hear from industry experts on how to drive digital transformation and nurture digital talent. Speakers: David Love, founding partner, The Great & The Good, discusses how to recruit the right talent and restructure in an integrated marketing world Niall McKinney, CEO, The Knowledge Engineers discusses how to encourage, nurture and retain the very best digital talent Jennifer Jackson, careers content editor, Campaign Jobs discusses recruitment marketing trends and employer branding tactics WATCH THE WEBINAR NOW Key marcomms trends creating the digital talent gap How to attract staff with the right vision How to create and execute an effective and strategic training plan How to recruit the right digital talent How to encourage and keep the right talent by building an agile culture Tactics to help you understand your employer value proposition, benchmark against your competitors and build your employer brand
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How to launch your own ad agency
Find out from agency founders how they launched their own creative businesses. Aside from finding a suitable loft-style office, filling the fridge with beer and hanging your new logo on the wall, what does it really take to launch your own creative agency? Not only do you have to find the clients – you also have to persuade them to part with their cash – which is how you will ultimately fund your new venture – and eventually, if you are really lucky, you might make some money. Simples. How hard can it really be? (FYI the general consensus was “very ******* hard”). We decided it was time to find out. So we asked a number of creative agency founders for their advice. They were Richard Morris - Whistlejacket ; Helen Calcraft - Lucky Generals ; Jason Foo – BBD Perfect Storm ; Jim Paterson – Aesop ; Nick Fox – Atomic London ; Mike Cullis - Soul; Neil Hughston – Johnny Fearless ; Neil Simpson – The Corner ; Matty Tong – Whistlejacket 1. Launch for the right reasons If you have always dreamed of going it alone, you’re in great company. All our start-up owners harboured a burning desire to be their own boss. The freedom and challenge that comes with going it alone can be an exhilarating prospect - but it’s not enough just to want to do it. The timing needs to be right professionally and personally. Simpson: “I always wanted to have my own agency. Almost since the very first job I had.” Morris: “It’s one of the things we’ve always wanted to do, but you have to be in the right place in your personal life as well as professionally ready.” Hughston: “I had always hankered after a start-up. [As a Global Account Lead] I had stopped being close to the creative product and wanted to get back to what I loved most.” Cullis: “For us, we all shared a long held ambition to start something up, but our drive to actually do it came from shared beliefs about why we do what we do” All the leaders we spoke to had reached senior positions within other agencies before they felt it was the right time to launch their own shops. Far from being Zuckerburg-esque entrepreneurs by the time they were 25, the CEO’s we spoke to were able to show off hard-earned business stripes and success from larger agencies - and in some cases, brands -before they broke away and set up by themselves. Foo: “Bide your time until you’re wise enough. You’ll need every corner of your experience when you go it alone. You have to be all in to launch an agency - 100% or nothing.” 2. Get the band (back) together It would seem, that most agencies launch with two or three people at the top. None of the agencies we spoke to opened their doors with just one person at the helm. The overwhelming majority launched with the ‘classic’ triumvirate of Planner, Creative and Client Service head. Fox: “To do this alone would be unimaginable. These relationships must be deep and robust. You have to have great chemistry, have experienced success together and share the same point of view. You’re not always going to agree and there may even be some stand-up rows but the important thing is that you are able to kiss and make-up, forget about it and move on.” Most founding partners had worked together previously. Whilst they had usually met under professional circumstances, most tend to be friends outside work and enjoy a shared outlook. Morris: “Make sure you like the person you are going into business with. It seems simple enough but you are going to be spending a lot of time together - more time than with anyone else probably.” Calcraft: “The three of us share a very rare, special chemistry and we missed working with each other. We simply felt there was unfinished business and needed to create great work together again. We are happiest and at our most effective when we are working together.” Simpson: “You need to know each other and have been in the trenches together. We have a blend of complimentary skills and styles that works for us. We’re on the same page.” 3. Funding (probably your own) Of the eight agencies we spoke to, half were completely self-funded. The amount of investment you can stump up yourself will obviously impact the amount of autonomy you have. Obviously, 100% investment means 100% independence. Simpson: “We were offered funding but you don’t give up the independence you have fought so hard for. The autonomy to make decisions for partners, people and clients.” Calcraft: “If you’re self-funding your venture, you’d better make sure that you love what you do.” Cullis: “We explored funding and self-funding, and whilst funding might have made things a little more comfortable to start with, it meant giving a lot away before we even started. We went for self-funding; aside from independence, it really focuses the mind too!” Our CEO’s – irrespective of how much of their own money they had personally invested - were pretty much in agreement that excellent financial advice is vital. Fox: “When you’re creating a creative business, don’t forget the business” Tong: “Find a good accountant. Go for a respected and recommended name” There was general agreement from our agency owners that - initially at least - they earned less than they had previously. Cash flow issues aside during set-up months, much of the reduced earning levels were down to choice - partners reported preferring to re-invest profits back into their agency, building the coffers for future security. When it came down to expansion, some of our founders said they (happily) paid their first employees more than they paid themselves. 4. Fail to plan and you plan to fail Most of the agencies launched with a minimum five-year business plan - which started with the agency’s core proposition. All our start-up founders spent a few months in planning before going live. Happily, the majority of agencies reported being on track - or ahead of their plan. However, their advice was: Paterson: “You must have a clear point of difference that you believe in. Your agency will live by its core proposition, so it’s got to be something that makes sense to you.” Morris: “Don’t spend all your time on the theory. At some point, you need to actually do something rather than just talking about it.” Cullis: “It took us a year from our first tentative conversations over a pint to actually making it happen. Almost two years on, the original business plan is still at the heart of our long-term future.” Don’t be afraid to ask people in the industry what they think about your new venture and your agency’s proposition. Every single owner we spoke to commented on how tremendously generous people had been with their time. This included agency leaders, intermediaries, industry bodies and previous clients. Tong: “Talk to entrepreneurs from inside and outside the industry. Don’t underestimate how generous and open they will be with their learning.” 5. You don’t need a client from day 1 (but you’ll need to find one fast) Most of the agencies we spoke to opened their doors without a founding client and undoubtedly invested a huge amount of time into new business – attracting the right clients and the right kind of work. Tong: “Who would you like to talk to and what would you like to work on? There’s no secret. Don’t give up. It will happen.” Calcraft: “I would advise any future founder of a start-up to get exposure to a new business role within another agency first. And remember, your early work when you start-up will set the tone of the type of the work your agency does for the future. So, you must learn to say no.” Fox: “You need a great network and to work the traditional PR channels. Remember that your website is your shop window, so it is mission critical that this is up to scratch.” Simpson: ”Learn to say no and only ride one big pitch horse at once. Pitching is an expensive business and you’re more likely to win if you focus.” Paterson: “You need to invest, prioritise and focus. Qualify opportunities. Don’t go after everything.” Foo: “We have turned down quite a few opportunities so that we can focus our efforts in the right places and build a sustainable business that grows in the right areas. Our mantra is pitch twice as big, half as often.” Hughston: “New business can be brutal but you must be tenacious: it will pay off. Treat intermediaries with the respect they deserve and remember when you pitch - win or learn.” 6. Enjoy building your own team Working within a start-up can be a very different experience and it’s not for everyone – it’s demanding, it’s hard work; it’s everyone in it together. Employees who ‘get in early’ with an agency that’s going places could see their career grow as quickly as the agency does. Foo: “It’s fantastic to be able to handpick everyone in your team- we place as much emphasis on cultural fit as we do on capability and experience. It’s refreshing to spend time individually developing our people.” Simpson: “It’s important for agency partners not to dominate and give everyone a chance to pitch ideas. We believe that none of us are as smart as all of us.” Paterson: “Hire people based on their cultural fit with your agency as much as their skills and experience.” 7. It’s an adventure, not a journey All of the CEO’s reported they absolutely love leading their start-up but made no bones about the hard work involved and the rewards you can enjoy. Calcraft: “I had forgotten the intensity. It’s exhausting and always exhilarating. It’s like having kids – you forget the pain and remember the joy.” Hughston: "It's fucking hard and amazing in equal measure. It's a mix of being six on Christmas Day and losing sleep, regularly!" Paterson: “When it’s your business it’s all consuming. Because you are that much closer, the highs are dramatically high and the tough times can really hurt.” Cullis: “Running an agency is liberating, rewarding, tiring, frustrating. Sometimes it keeps me awake at night but, most of the time; I sleep really soundly … because I’m completely knackered.” Having spoken to all these agency leaders, it’s clear that setting up your own shop is not a decision to be taken lightly and certainly needs to be considered with a healthy dose of realism. That said, it was abundantly clear that nobody who we talked to regretted their decision and they all felt that the positives far outweighed the negatives. So, if you’re thinking about going it alone – the very best of luck, you’re in great company.
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