WHIP – Junior - Celebrating life at the bottom

Aug 30, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 88

This week Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) wants us to consider the opportunities that might not have been invented yet.

This week someone from Apple came in to give a talk at our agency. The focus of this presentation was mobile internet with, obviously, a strong focus on iOS – the Apple mobile operating system.

As well as the iPhone, this operating system is also used by the iPad and iPod Touch. When you add up all those devices it makes for a pretty sizeable chunk of mobile market share.

Thanks to the popularity of iPhone, mobile internet use is booming. And I do mean booming.

In fact, over in Japan and Korea, kids at college are having trouble working a computer because they are so used to accessing the internet on their phone.

Which begs the question – How does mobile fit into your folio?

It’s still a relatively recent phenomenon, so there are still big opportunities to do something that has never been done before.

According to Eaon Pritchard (http://twitter NULL.com/eaonp), the newly appointed Head of Digital Innovation at Clemenger (http://clemengerbbdo NULL.com NULL.au/) Melbourne, the digital innovation category at MADC (http://madc NULL.com NULL.au) is wide open.

And who better to snare that award than you?

Aug 23, 10

The Monday Morning Whip // 87

If you’re looking for a job in creative, just remember getting the gig is just the first challenge, the next is keeping it. This week Stan’s (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) gonna give us all a reality check. Because it’s easy to get too comfy once you’ve settled into a job.

There is a lot to learn for young creative people from this weekend’s election. Most importantly the fall from grace of the Australian Labor Party.

Labor swept to power three years ago, on a campaign of big ideas and optimism. Sadly, after the initial honeymoon period, they stopped delivering on their promises. So much so that we saw the Prime Minister removed from the job by his own party.
As we have seen this weekend, it was all too little, too late. So how does this apply to you?
Well every time a young creative is hired, there is a weight of expectation on their shoulders. And like the Labor Party, if you fail to deliver on those expectations, you too could lose your job.

The expectations I’m talking about include, but are not limited to:

That you are first in the office at the morning and last to go home.
That you don’t stop thinking after you crack your first decent idea.
That you take every opportunity you are given.
That you don’t turn your nose up at a shitty little brief.
That you give 110% every minute of every day.

Meet those expectations and chances are you will make yourself indispensable. Fail to meet them and you may well find that your career as a creative could be over before you know it.

Aug 16, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 86

Kids! It’s time to get creative. That’s the good ol’ industry we’re in, so that’s what you’re gonna need to be! You’ve got to get out there to get in somewhere, and the best way to do that is to shine among the others and make everyone else notice you. Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) tells us how we need to drag out the polish and sharpen ourselves and our approach up. There ain’t no time like the present.

AWARD School graduated in Melbourne this week. As usual a top student was chosen, as well as a top ten. Same thing happened in Sydney last week.

Another bunch of hungry and talented young wannabe creatives vying for the same job you are.

So if you thought finding your first job was a struggle, imagine how much harder it’s going to be now that there is even more competition for what is essentially a handful of opportunities.

Which means you need to steel yourself for the long haul, because getting a job as a creative ain’t easy. Never has been, never will be.

And maybe, just maybe, rather than putting all your effort into your folio, perhaps you should apply some creativity to the actual job hunt.

Think about the way you present your work, the shape of your business card, your phone spiel etc.

Because when two kids are vying for the same job, and they both have great books, one of them has to stand out. So make sure the one that stands out is you.

Tags: WHIP

Aug 09, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 85

Been to show your folio around lately? Not getting the response you’d like? Maybe it’s time to rethink your approach.

Hands up who has a folio with some print ads in it? And how many of those ads look like print ads? Most of them I’d imagine.

So maybe, given agencies are already staffed by people who create print ads, you should try a little harder.
By harder I don’t mean better, I mean harder. Use your creativity to create print ads that don’t look like print ads.

If you’re wondering what these ads should look like, keep wondering. And when you work it out, put the results in your folio. Where they are pretty much guaranteed to stand out.

Aug 02, 10

The Monday Morning Whip // 84

Who needs a self-help book when you’ve got Stan. (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com)

I’m not much of a fan of self-help books. They seem so “American” in their thinking. But every once in a while I discover one that tweaks my interest.
This week I came across a book called Mojo (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/Mojo-How-Keep-Back-Lose/dp/1401323278/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280707739&sr=1-1).

Yeah, I know, pretty crap title. Especially if you’ve ever watched an Austin Powers movie. But I found a lovely piece of insight on why people give up buried within its myriad pages.
I thought I’d share it with you this morning:

Why do people give up?

It takes longer than they thought it would.

It’s harder than they thought it would be.

We have other things to do.

We don’t get the expected reward.

We have to do it forever.

Jul 26, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 83

You might think Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) bangs on an awful lot about folios. Take it from us, he knows a thing or two. And after sifting through the work of some of the industry’s best thinkers all weekend, we think he’s got enough reason to tell us what’s what when it comes to that pretty little book that might just get you a job.

Last weekend I judged the Direct Marketing section for the MADC Awards. I have judged direct work a couple of times before, but this time was very different.

Sure there were the usual selection of clever mail packs and three-dimensional pieces, but what was noticeably different was the sheer breadth of work entered into the category. Much of it already awarded at Cannes earlier in the year.
It’s as if direct has become the new place to be for creativity. Well this year anyway!
Yet hardly any of the kids who come to show me their folio have direct ideas in them. Mind you, they don’t have many digital ideas either.

What I can’t work out is why.

Tags: DIGITAL, DIRECT MARKETING, FOLIO

Jul 19, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 82

This week’s Monday Morning WHIP was submitted by Glenn Peters (http://nightwatchman NULL.blogspot NULL.com), a Melbourne-based freelance writer. If there’s one thing a freelance writer knows about – it’s time management. So take note.

Agency slow-time. Hours, days, weeks get entered into timesheets as “Admin Time”.
So what do you do?
Get yourself known as the agency’s best ping pong player? Stare at The Age (http://theage NULL.com NULL.au) online?

Why not make yourself indispensible?
Talk to people. Nobody will hate you for looking eager.

Re-read an old brief. See if there was anything you missed that might spark off something for the next one.

That killed-off idea from last month? Fix it. Make it better. Mock it up.

Read industry blogs then move on.
What’s happening in art? Ever read that Fin Review in the kitchen? Nobody has. That’s what your clients are reading.

Make a topical ad.
Make anything (lots of award winning work was made during Admin time) but just stay away from the table tennis table.

Tags: GLENN PETERS

Jul 12, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 81

You can’t polish a turd. And although you might be able to make it a good looking turd, it ain’t gonna fly with Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com).

Had a creative team show me some concepts this week for a project I’m working on. I asked which was their preferred idea and they pointed to the first concept.

When I asked them why, they rambled on for what seemed like an eternity. Yet when they finished talking I was none the wiser.

So I asked them to explain the idea in a sentence. They couldn’t.

This is because what they had wasn’t an idea. It was a look. A feel. A design treatment.

So I gave them another chance to explain their idea.

They couldn’t.

Now some people might like cool looking stuff. Some people might be happy with well designed things. But not me.

I want to see ideas. Most creative directors do. And if you don’t have an idea, no amount of design or polish is going to hide that fact.

Jul 05, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 80

Are you striving for mediocrity without knowing it? Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com) wants to know.

Close enough is just not good enough.

Unless of course you’re striving for mediocrity.

In which case it is perfectly acceptable.

Jun 28, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 79

However cryptic, this week’s Whip is one of Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com)‘s best. Give yourself some time to think–enlightenment will come.

Another weekend rolls around. Another Saturday morning where I sit and wonder what on earth I’m going to write for the Monday Whip.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working on a big pitch, which has proven an excellent source of Whip material.

But now the dust has settled on the pitch I found myself sitting staring at a blank piece of paper.

Much like I do every day it work.

And much like I do every day at work I scribble a few thoughts, toss around a couple of ideas, then get started.

Most times it’s a struggle. Sometimes it comes within minutes. But unless I overcome that piece of blank paper I will have nothing.

And nothing isn’t going to inspire you. Nor will it keep me in a job.

Also posted in WRITING | Tags: STAN, WHIP

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