Junior: Ok Andrew – Can we call you Footey? Tell us, how did you get into advertising?

Footey: I was studying law at university, and realised the only thing I’d learned was that I didn’t want to be a lawyer. I’d never really thought about a career in advertising, because quite frankly it hadn’t occurred to me. (Truth be known I was probably spending too much time on the golf course to think about any career at all.) But I got to talking to a couple of mates in the ad business who suggested I give it a go, firstly by doing AWARD School. One of those mates was Adam Francis, who was an art director at the Adelaide start-up Killey & Withy, which was to become KWP! Anyway, I finished my law degree, then did okay in AWARD School, and by this time Adam had moved to Clemenger Adelaide and was in need of a writer. Fortunately, Clems gave me a crack. That was over 18 years ago, and Adam and I still work together to this day.

Jr: 18 years! That’s longer than some marriages. At what point did you consider starting your own agency?

AF: Just to give you the career context, I went from being a writer at Clemenger Adelaide to a senior writer and creative director at Clemenger Harvie/CHE, then to Y&R Melbourne as a senior writer under James McGrath, then to joint creative director at Y&R Adelaide. We had an interesting 18 months or so at Y&R Adelaide. When Adam and I, together with MD David Hallett arrived, the place was struggling badly despite having an agency full of great, talented people. We worked incredibly hard, did some good work, turned things around, and then… lost Mitsubishi, our biggest client. The decision was made in Japan, and was totally out of our hands. Y&R made the decision to shut the agency, so we initially decided to start our own shop in Adelaide, which we did, although it proved to be a false start for AJF Partnership. At around the same time, CHE asked us to return as joint executive CDs, and for one reason or another this seemed like the best option at the time, particularly as it allowed us to return to Melbourne. But after ten months at CHE we realised that we really would like to have a bash at it ourselves, so we left, and we did.

Jr: It’s obviously paid off now, but what were some of the initial challenges you first faced? Obviously it didn’t take long to pick a name?

AF: Winning clients, obviously. Ever tried cold-calling anyone? It’s pretty daunting. We had to decide who we were going to call, who would actually do the calling, what they’d say, and then how we’d present if they were interested in hearing from us. What was our point of difference? What could we offer that other agencies couldn’t? Fortunately, our approach must have worked – in six years we’ve gone from three to sixty five staff in Melbourne, and have our Sydney office up and running with around a dozen staff. As for the name, crazily enough we did think about other options. Fortunately we resisted, and AJF Partnership it was. The fact that the three founding partners have exactly the same initials has been a pretty good icebreaker.

Jr: There’s a lot of factors in play when it comes to a winning new business pitch, but what advice would you give young creatives when one lands on their desk?

AF: I don’t think young creatives should treat a pitch brief differently to any other. Simply put, answer the brief in a creative, engaging way. More often than not, you need to find a big brand thought that can be easily demonstrated across a whole range of media. You might find that the CD pushes you down a certain path, and may not always go for what you consider to be your ‘coolest’ or most creative ideas. But as you say, there are a lot of factors in play in a pitch, so there are a lot of strategic decisions being made that you may not fully appreciate. Clients pitch for a lot of reasons, but there are generally very specific things they are looking for in an agency, and it’s the CD’s job to make sure the work delivers on those. One thing I’d say is that it’s important to get up to speed with the client’s business, their category and their target audiences very quickly. Any agency that demonstrates a good understanding of these things will be off to a good start.

Jr: Selling ideas – whether it be a pitch or a presentation is the second part of what we do. Can you tell us a few things we can do to get our ideas made?

AF: As a junior, I think the best thing you can do is to make sure your ideas answer the brief, and can be achieved on time and on budget. You may not be presenting the work yourself, so you’ll often have to leave the selling to others, be they account management or senior creative people. But you can make the sale somewhat easier by developing a bulletproof creative rationale, explaining why the idea is right for the brief and why it will do the job it needs to. If appropriate, include plenty of reference so that the client can really picture what you’re trying to achieve. But don’t despair if work doesn’t get sold. Chances are, you’re working on smaller briefs at this stage, and although you’d no doubt like the agency to fight tooth and nail for your idea, in the bigger scheme of the client relationship it may not make a lot of sense to push too hard for a smaller job. It’s a ‘lose the battle to win the war’ situation. In any case, if your idea’s good enough it’ll still stand out in your folio, and CDs will understand the reasons why it didn’t get made.

Jr: Speaking of folios – What do you consider when judging the strength of an idea?

AF: Does it answer the brief, and will it work its arse off. In other words, will it get the people we want to do what we want them to? That’s what all great advertising does. Of course, there are many ways to achieve this – that’s where the creative bit comes in, and that’s what we’re paid to do.

Jr: And what do you look for when hiring a potential creative?

AF: For a start, we’ve got an unwritten no-dickhead policy. You spend a lot of time with people at work, so I’d rather enjoy their company than not. We look for people with honesty, integrity and a good work ethic. We look for people who can create campaigns, not just one-off ads. We look for people with a certain level of maturity so that they can work autonomously. And we look for people who create brilliant work that is designed to sell stuff, not just make their reel and folio look good.

Jr: As a copywriter, what process do you go through when writing headlines?

AF: I sit down with a pad and a pen. I scribble words on a page. If I kind of like a thought, I’ll draw a box that’s the shape of the ad and write the headline in it. Sometimes I pull out a thesaurus, just to look for other ways into what I’m trying to say. I keep referring back to the brief. Maybe flick through an annual, visit the client’s website, stare out the window – all the usual stuff. It has to be quiet – I can’t write with music on or people talking around me. I really enjoy the process. I don’t delete or chuck out anything either, because a lot of thoughts that you don’t end up using for that particular headline can make great bits of copy, or lines for digital pieces, or become other ideas altogether.

Jr: Lastly, what’s the best piece advice that was given to you when you were a junior?

AF: Here’s a good one for writers: buy a stopwatch. Whenever you’re writing for TV or radio, read your scripts out loud, at a leisurely pace, and time yourself. This will help you to stop over-writing, and prevent much stress in the recording studio.

There are all sorts of those little things that you pick up along the way, but I can’t recall any single profound pieces of advice that I’ve lived by. I guess I’ve always just observed everything and everyone, and reached my own conclusions about what I thought were the right and wrong ways to do things. I’m still doing it today.

Busy, schmusy. Sometimes you just have to say yes.

Last week I needed some creative help on a project. So I rang a few people whose work had impressed me of late to see if they’d be interested in helping out.

I left a voice mail for the first person I rang. I also sent a text message. I have still yet to hear back from them.

The same thing happened with the next person I called.

And the third one said they’d love to help, but when I tried to organise a time for them to meet up they conceded that they couldn’t do it because they were too busy.

Now I don’t know about you, but I thought that opportunities were there to be taken.

I also thought that they didn’t come along every day.

So if opportunity comes knocking at your door please please please be ready for it.

Or at the very least say sorry, but I can’t help you at this time.

Because the chances of people ringing you more than once are very slim indeed.

I was chatting with some kids about their folio the other day.

One of the ads they showed me was for a product that was crying out to have the negativity associated with it celebrated.

When I pointed this out to them they looked more than a little lost.

So I shared an example with them. It suddenly had them thinking about their folio in a whole new way.

They suggested I share it with you this sunny Monday morning.

Here goes;

Imagine a hair product that has a very firm hold. Now try and advertise it.

Most people come up with ideas around Mohawks etc. Obvious sort of stuff.

What you need to do is think of the negative side – demonstrate the downside of a Mohawk with the firm hold gel.

Like waking up in a pile of feathers because it’s slashed your pillow to pieces. Or a baseball cap severed in two pieces. Or the roof lining in your car getting slashed as you drive.

Dumb stuff I know, but it clearly demonstrates the benefit of the product by turning a negative into a negative.

Which is sure to have a positive outcome for you.

So, you fumbled your way into an agency through a friend of the family, the front desk, an intern programme, or a job in account management or production, and you want to move into planning. Planning seems interesting (you get to learn and say smart stuff) and you’ll probably earn more as a planner, right? You’ll go to work in your planning outfit and project your important voice in meetings in-between awkward pauses that you deliberately make to keep the room off kilter. Maybe you’ll develop a hint of an English accent to really keep everyone guessing and in awe of your thinking. The world will take you more seriously and you might be able to upgrade your shitty television. Oh, and you won’t have to pay as much attention to deadlines and costs. Dream job.

I love planning. Well, I love the idea of planning – specifically, my idea of what planning is. In planning, you get to learn about people, business and ideas. You get to impact culture if you’re in the right agency with the right clients. You get to wrestle with problems and hopefully invent something. I believe strategy is ideas and I get an adrenaline rush out of ideas. So, I completely understand why you would want to move into planning. The catch is that making the move is hard: there aren’t a lot of planning jobs around (especially junior roles) and it can be a bit of a game to cross over.

I got my break in planning at Leo Burnett when Todd Sampson was head of planning. I was a digital producer elsewhere – back a few years ago, being a producer meant you did strategy, account management, project management, finances, functional scoping and user experience – but I was burnt out. I was working long hours doing a whole bunch of stuff, but I knew I only liked part of it. So, with my firstborn on the way, I quit my job and was fortunate enough to freelance as a digital producer at Leo Burnett thanks to Louise O’Donnell, Andrew Robertson and Nicole Still. It was, and still is, hard to find digital brains, so I felt I could maintain a freelance producer role for a while (come in, do the work and go home, right?).

At this time, I didn’t really know what planning was. Digital was so tangible – you drew up wire frames, had something made, watched what happened and improved it. I knew I liked working things out and I knew I liked what I thought strategy was. Fortunately, Mr Sampson gave me a shot as a bit of an experiment – take someone who’s grown up digital and help them develop planning skills. That is how I crossed over. And, having watched others cross over since, here are a few tips to help you hungry little planners-to-be make the transition.

The first and main point is that you need the planning director to want you. It’s like dating: if you’re too keen and available, you may seem too easy and not enough of a chase. You have to strike the balance between enthusiasm and desperation. If you read ‘Obliquity’ by John Kay, the indirect way is most effective, so do everything you can to build a reputation that makes its way to the planning director ahead of your request.

Second, make the request. This can be difficult as some agencies are extremely hierarchical and perhaps your boss will flip out at you if you do. If you’re in an agency like this, try to move to a new one. Even though CEO’s will often say “we’re all the culture”, “we” really aren’t – a fish always rots from the head. Build relationships with the planning team. Ask to help with research, show initiative. Ask about books to read. Ask to do a planning course. Persist politely.

Third, ask for access to projects currently in the mix and put a one-page response together. If you follow the guts of this article, How to do account planning, I’m sure you’ll put a dent in some good thinking.

Fourth, get a new job. It’s very hard to reinvent yourself in agencies. I’ve seen it time and time again. People get looked over for certain roles or pigeon-holed with certain tasks only to leave the agency and do brilliantly elsewhere. At the very least, a new job offer may get your current agency to re-consider you. However, from what I’ve read, the counter-offer situation rarely lasts long anyway – the employee tends to leave within the following year.

Five, build your external profile with interesting projects. If your agency has a lot of brands that sell to mums, set up a blog about mums and their online behaviour or do a study of the trends in ads aimed at mums from the past decade. Find an angle, build it and promote it and use it as proof of your dedication.

Six, time it. In change management the experts talk about a ‘critical state’ needing to happen before change happens, and, in planning departments, someone resigning could be your critical state.

Things that may turn planning directors off include: being aggressive and angry, talking about yourself and your desire to become a planner while showing no actual initiative, email nagging, saying blatantly dumb things (weird, unusual, unexpected are all good) and acting like a know-it-all (that can come later). Most will look for a period of effort and consistent contribution. Planning directors want smart people in their teams – but they also want people who fit their personal style, their clients, their projects and add a slightly different twist to the team.

Good luck.

What we do on a daily basis as creative people isn’t really that important you know.

It might be important to you, but it’s not worth tearing your hair out over.

Trust me on this – I went grey worrying about my work.

Finding a cure for cancer. That’s important. Not what we do.

However…

Just because it’s not important doesn’t mean it’s not important.

It is.

It’s just not a matter of life or death.

For as long as I can remember I’ve treated myself to a new notebook during the summer holiday break.

And every January, without fail, I find myself pondering whether or not I should start using the new book, when there are still several blank pages left in the old one.

But because it’s a new year, and because I like to start the year with a fresh attitude, I always use my new book.

I simply must start the year afresh.

New layout pad. New Pentel and Sharpie pens. New desktop photo on my computer. And of course a new notebook.

I’m not sure what any of this stuff has got to do with the Monday Whip to be honest.

But my advice to you today is to put aside all the trials and tribulations of last year and give your creative dreams a fresh start.

It’s a new year after all!

We hate this time of year. It’s when Stan gets a break. He thinks it’s well deserved, but we think he should write Whip’s all year round, don’t you? Jokes! Merry Christmas, y’all!

This is my last Whip for 2011, so I thought I’d leave you with some summer holiday reading.

There’s still a few days till Christmas, so maybe put one of the books on your list for Santa.

Merry Christmas!

ReWork – Jason Fried

I finished this book yesterday. It’s brilliant. There are more wise observations and important life lessons between its pages than any work related book I have ever read.

Just Friends – Patti Smith

If you want to live a creative life, then this wonderful book is for you. Patti knew from a young age that she was an artist and for me defines what being creative person is all about.

Hegarty on Advertising – John Hegarty

Get past the retina scorching orange cover and discover dozens of insightful tales of adland, ideas, creativity, boxer shorts and why you should always zig when others zag.

The Slap – Christos Tsiolkas

Being a good observer of people makes you a good writer. Being a good listener makes you a good writer. Nobody has observed, listened or written about suburban Australia quite like Christos Tsiolkas.

I am always envious of young people who know they want to make a living as a creative.

And even more envious of those who manage to crack an opportunity at a young age.

But if life has taught me anything, it is that life experience is the greatest teacher of all.

Whether that be travelling, taking public transport or ordering from a menu that’s written in a foreign language.

Every experience you have adds a drop or two of wisdom to your creative reservoir.

And the deeper your reservoir, the better your ideas will be.

So with the summer holidays almost upon us, why not make time to get out and enjoy some new experiences.

Trust me. They’ll come in handy one day.

30 events in 3 years! Look at us go. And what better way to finish twenty-eleven than with Grant Rutherford, who took a little time out from hanging out with dolphins to tell us how to be the next ECD of DDB. Well, sort of, kinda. He’d be out of a job if he did that. Silly. Still, he taught us how to be better creatives by not hating Katy Perry and making us realise that beer is not a food group – and he made us laugh. At him. And his Dolphin. Anyway if you missed it, you missed out. We’ll see you next year at our next event, homies.

Every big company, as far as I’m aware, has a marketing department.

And the role of the people in these departments is to get brands noticed, considered and ultimately purchased.

So who is looking after your marketing?

That’s right kids….It’s you.

Every time you send an email, every time you talk to an agency or potential client, every time you post something on Twitter, it’s all marketing.

So don’t waste any opportunity to market yourself.

Think about the way that email reflects on your personal brand.

Think about what people are going to think after they hang up the phone after a conversation with you.

And think long and hard about the stuff you post out there on the internet.

Because all of it is marketing.

Personal marketing.

And if you get your marketing right, you’ll get noticed, considered and ultimately purchased.