Emma Brooks | Digital Media Enthusiast

I was listening to Eric Portelance‘s podcast, Attention Surplus, last night and they were talking of the idea of ‘vocation’ with Pat Thompson. In the podcast, Eric and Sean mention this quote that they found in Pat’s book that I thought was really interesting:

“Vocation is the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s great hunger.”

Following some discussion on this, Eric brought something up that I’ve thought of a lot as I progress through my career, which is: What if doing something that makes you happy, that you’re good at, is something that some would consider a ‘not good thing’?

Case in point: Advertising.

I’ve had so many people say to me in different ways, “Well, you know. You’re not like out saving the world or children from hunger. How can you justify this job to yourself?” (OK. Maybe not a lot of people have said that. Maybe that’s largely been an internal dialogue with myself. Some have said it to me, definitely. But I do wrestle with the question a lot internally more so than the world poses the question to me.)

To me, I love advertising. There’s no other industry I would want to be in. I think I’m well-suited for the work, and the feedback suggests that the work is well-suited for me. But I’m not necessarily doing good in the world, right?

The way I’ve been currently justifying it, is that advertising will happen whether I’m involved or not. It is not something that will go away should I turn my back on it. So if it’s going to happen, what can I do as one person to make it better? Because I strongly feel that I will make it better.

Advertising to me is a service. It helps consumers make better informed decisions. It helps raise awareness for solutions to a need that consumers wanted (or didn’t know they wanted until that very moment). It helps drive this economy. And sometimes, when done right, it can help touch you, emotionally… In a way that you are rarely touched. In a way that spurs you into action. That makes you want to do something to right this world.

This ad, which I saw last week in the Cannes Lion Award reel, is one such ad. I can’t watch it without wanting to 1. cry, 2. do something about it.

To me, this is why I’m in advertising. I want to be a part of inflicting emotional beauty on the world.

This seriously has to be one of the best YouTube takeovers I’ve ever seen, from Desperados – a pale lager flavored with tequila.

The reason I love this takeover so much is that it plays on existing mechanisms found in a YouTube video page, yet incorporates them into the story in a fresh and different way to take on new meaning. The takeover also gives you the option to use Facebook connect to incorporate your friends into the story if you want, and then at the end, share this experience with your friends on Facebook.

You can play with the actual takeover here.

Once we get over the question of, “What does a Digital Strategist do?” the next most asked question is, “How do you get a job as a Digital Strategist?”

So, I present Emma Brooks’ “Top 5 Tips for Getting a Job as a Digital Strategist”:

ONE. LEARN
The first thing I would recommend is to read, read, and yes, read. Try to find out as much as you can about the digital ecosystem (oh, did you like my buzz word there? I made it myself. WINK.), both here in Canada and abroad.

I’m talking general information, just to help you get a good lay of the land. Ask yourself questions like:

How many people are on Facebook?

What are brands doing on Facebook?

How many Canadians are on Twitter?

What’s their favourite reasons for using Twitter?

What’s the next up and coming app? Why?

On average, what’s the penetration of broadband internet in Canada, compared to other countries?

What are some factors affecting consumer trends in digital (UBB, Netflix, Groupon, etc.)?

Dig. Get a sense of what’s happening out there. And continue digging. (You’ll be doing so for the rest of your career…)

TWO. DECIDE FOR YOURSELF

OK. Now you’ve got a good overview of the world we’re living in and the important thinking starts. Start looking at what brands, advertisers and marketers are doing out there in the digital world. Do you like their campaign? Was it smart? Did it drive business objective? (Can you guess what those objectives were?) Why or why not?

Form your own opinions about this. I guarantee you, you will be asked some kind of question about the latest and greatest campaigns out there in an interview. Have several campaigns in your head and your own opinion on them. And don’t worry if you’re hyperventilating at this big scary idea of coming up with insights all your own. Start looking around. What are other advertisers/digital strategists saying about the campaign? Read their thoughts to help start your own forming.

THREE. TALK TO OTHERS

All right! You’ve got a good idea of how digital is moving these days, you’ve even got some great thought starters on that last “viral hit” for Old Spice. Now what? It’s time to hit the streets, my friend. If you don’t have a lot of connections to the industry (like me, coming out of school, native to Nova Scotia, heading to Toronto on my own for the first time), don’t panic. There are two secrets to getting your foot in the door and I’m going to share them with you:

1. Cold calling
2. Hit up your connections

1. Cold calling: Seriously? Yes. Seriously. Yes, it’s the digital age but it’s much, much easier to ignore an email from an overzealous newbie than it is to ignore your phone ringing. Call around and do so until someone answers the phone. And here’s the secret sauce, ask for an informational interview. I will say it again, just to make sure you got it: Ask. The. Person. On. The. Phone. If. You. Can. Come. In. For. An. Informational. Interview.

Got it?

Good. Here’s why, as my friend Jon Perry so eloquently said yesterday on Twitter: “Informational interviews are like taking employers down the candy isle. If they see something they want then they’re probably gonna buy it.”

Look. No one can really say no to an informational interview, provided you ask nicely enough. It’s not like they’re promising you anything, except a little bit of their time. And people in advertising are really nice, generous people (most of them, at least) who remember what it was like starting out. Generally, they are more than happy to sit down for a beer and talk about their experiences. Or a phone call, if distance is an issue.

So, you meet and wow them, and then suddenly, they know they need you on their team. They’re not going to let some other agency snap you up! They will fight for you. This is how you get a job through cold calling.

2. You also need to hit up your connections. “But I have no connections!” you may whine. Shush. You do. Assuming you’re coming out of university with some kind of related degree (marketing? advertising?), your professors are your connections. I did this exact same thing 4 years ago with my Marketing Strategy professor, Dan Shaw.

I went into his office, politely asked if he had any connections in Toronto and he was kind enough to hand me a bunch of names and contact information of people in marketing/advertising. And, because they knew Dan, they graciously granted me some of their time for an (you guessed it!) informational interview.

But, here’s the trick: At the end of the meeting, whether it will result in an actual interview or not, ask them if they feel comfortable passing along some of their contacts. This is how you expand your contact network and it can work wonderfully. Trust.

FOUR. SHOW YOUR PASSION

So you’ve got your informational interviews set up with a number of agencies and people in the community. Remember your stats! Make sure you have your opinions! And one last thing? Don’t forget your passion.

The reason a lot of us get hired – and I think especially at Publicis – is because we show our passion for this amazing, crazy, frustrating, exhilarating industry. There can be some very long hours in this industry and at the end of the day, the only thing that will keep you standing is your passion. So you better show it. People will recognize it, get inspired by it, and want your passion to infect the rest of their agency.

You come off as apathetic (or worse – underwhelmed) and you can bet you will never get a second meeting.

FIVE. START ELSEWHERE

I firmly believe that any Digital Strategist should work first on the creative or accounts side of an agency as their primer role. It can offer a viewpoint you won’t get in all your years as a Strategist and one that I think is incredibly valuable. It helps you understand where the creative or account people are coming from, and the kinds of challenges and frustrations they deal with on a daily (hourly) basis. It can help you develop empathy, which will do wonders when they’re in your office, completely stressed out about a project.

My first 6 months at Publicis, I worked as an Account Executive. Working on the account side offered me the chance to learn skills I continue to use, as well as helped me understand the process of an agency much better. So if you’re not finding much luck getting hired as a Digital Strategist right out of school (and generally I would say most agencies don’t hire Jr. Digital Strategist – someone correct me if I’m wrong), think about whether you can get in with an account or creative position.

So, these are my tips to you, future Rockstar Digital Strategist. How did you find them? Helpful? Confusing? Out of date? Beyond awesome? I would love to hear what you think – and if you have any to add to this list – in the comments.

Ah, all these kids are after my own heart… :)

For all those advertisers reading out there, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When you get into advertising, you sell your soul to the devil.* Didn’t realize you sell your opinions too.

I’ve been a huge supporter of net neutrality for a long time here on my blog, with most of my wrath going towards the CRTC. Recent decisions by the CRTC have allowed for UBB (usage-based billing, or if you’re on Twitter #UBB); I’m not going to get all ranty and CAP-LOCKSY on you about this – though I strongly desire to. Many others who are quite more informed than I have done and are doing so, so I shall save you the misery. However, I was tweeting quite a lot today about this. It upsets me, it angers me, and I feel powerless, which makes me feel even more angry and upset. Vicious cycle, you see.

A couple of my Tweeps (that’s Twitter + Peeps for you, Mom) reached out to me to ask how I felt about tweeting about something that directly involves one of my agency’s clients. I have been on this account since I was hired waaay back as a wee Account Executive in June 2009. I understand their concern (curiosity?) but here is my take on this:

First off: I absolutely believe that companies that wish to structure their product offerings how they see fit are perfectly within their rights to do so. This is capitalism; they are running a business, not a charity.

Secondly: My anger is directed at the CRTC. What I am tweeting about is how a commission that was set up to protect the interests of the consumers is resulting in decisions that do the complete opposite. Do these decisions affect my client? Sure. Does this mean I have to support those decisions? Well…

The quote above I wrote today. Working in advertising, you tend to question your moralities every now and then. Are you creating a better world? Would your efforts and resources be used for the greater good elsewhere? Are you truly providing value for the world? I deal with this internal monologue every few months. But I love what I do and view it as the cost of doing what I love. What I didn’t realize was that working in advertising may mean I’m not allowed to publicly share an opinion of mine. As someone asked me, “Wouldn’t it be higher ground to refrain from entering the fray in personal comments?”

My gut feeling tells me no. This is not the time for higher ground. It’s a now or never intersection right now with net neutrality. We need to do what we can to support this incredibly important idea. Right now.

But these discussions got me thinking: How far does that client arm reach?

Are we supposed to also be brand ambassadors in our personal lives, as we work on their campaigns? Can we not separate our business life from our personal? Or are these two inexplicably entwined when it comes to advertising? I remember a coworker of mine at a lunch with me once. She grabbed a Pepsi from the shelf, then thought better of herself and took the Coke instead. “We are working on their campaign,” she explained. “It would be bad if anyone saw I was drinking Pepsi.” I thought to myself, “Really? Why?”

I love my job. I’ve said this a million different ways. I love this industry and I love the work it produces. And we are in the service business, absolutely. My clients are lovely people and I enjoy working with them on a daily basis. But I don’t believe it means I now need to fully support my clients’ business in everything I touch. I will where I can and where I feel comfortable, of course. I think this is perfectly acceptable for most people.

The question really is, then: Should I tone my opinions down in order to ensure good standing in my company and with my clients? Is this another cost of the job; an unforeseen one that I had yet to encounter? Maybe my gut feeling is wrong. Certainly, I can do no harm in taking advice from those who have been in the business longer than I. As my boss put it to me today, “You can have your opinions. Just ensure they’re not recorded anywhere.”

So what do you think? I would love your input on this.

Advertising can be such a love and hate relationship – ask anyone in the business. There are some days where you just want to break down and cry, rip the ideas off the wall and crawl into bed.

And then there are some days where you feel so inspired, so excited with the endless possibilities, with the idea of doing amazing, wonderful, fan-freakin’-tastic work that you can’t even sit still or stop grinning.

This video captures this two-sided relationship so well.

Hate/Love from CRUSH on Vimeo.

Created for the 2010 Advertising and Design Club of Canada (ADCC) Awards. Original here.

Lately, I’ve been looking a lot at some of the Virgin brands around Toronto. Specifically, their mobile brand, Virgin Mobile, and their airline company, Virgin Airlines. Both brands embody traits youth crave to be a part of, no matter what generation they are from: young, sexy, provocative, original, exclusive.

It’s a great strategy to target youths and youth-wannabes. At the core of it is this whole idea of either being in this exclusive social group or not. Kind of like how Facebook aka The Social Network made its distinction, right?

Better to be a Member | Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile ads all proclaim it’s better to be a member. They are drawing the line in the sand: Either you’re with us or you’re against us. There is no grey area.

The new Virgin Airline ads does the exact same thing:

Tagline: Your airline’s either got it or it hasn’t.

Again, they are drawing the line in the sand. A very sexy, other-worldy line in the sand this time.

It diminished anyone who doesn’t buy into Virgin: You are not cool enough, not sexy enough, not young enough, not original enough to be a part of us. You are nothing. You are worthless. And we clamour to show we aren’t. That we are cool enough, sexy enough! We want to believe that in ourselves, we want desperately to be a part of the exclusive club, so we buy Virgin.

It’s solid. I love it.

Making a video go “viral” is always a tough request to hear, as anyone in digital knows. This request is generally not possible because getting a video noticed online in the mass array of noise is always a combination of a stroke of luck and a strong enough idea.

A recent Wired article, titled, “Screw Viral Videos. You Heard Me. Pass It On.” seems to back this up. As Jim Louderbac writes, “By its nature, viral videos are designed to surprise, titillate and entertain. They are, by nature, unique; the 27th keyboard cat, or the 12th dancing baby is just plain boring.”

And this is so very, very true. “Socially shared” videos (my new term for viral videos – it may not be good but I can’t stand the term viral anymore and anything is better) posses some of the three fundamental pieces that help them succeed:

• 1. They are unnaturally funny.
• 2. They are shocking.
• 3. They are completely different than anything seen before.

A good video will posses one of these three things. A great video: two. I’m can’t think off the top of my head of one that contains all three – but if you can, please leave a comment.

The latest public service announcement for City of Toronto fills one of the above. No, not that it is unnaturally funny – it is quite funny but not astoundingly so – but for a PSA from the City of Toronto, this is something completely different than any citizen has seen before.

And therein lies its success. So far this video has generated over 17,000 views and is one of the most popular videos on their uploads list, where most of their video views range from 8 – 1,000 views. It has been featured on CBC National, National Post, many local news stations, and now, CNN. A huge accomplishment, for sure – especially when a tiny PSA for Toronto is being played alongside a video made by Proctor and Gamble in the US, that is a mini-movie unto itself (at 4 minutes) and made specifically for online.

So, congratulations, City of Toronto, for doing well and getting noticed in the mess of “viral” videos.

Full disclosure: My agency, Publicis, created and produced this PSA for the City of Toronto. I’ve been helping them with the digital strategy on this.

Lemonade: The Movie. The synopsis: What do people who were once paid to be creative for a living do when they’re laid off? They get creative with their own lives. Lemonade is an inspirational film about 16 advertising professionals who lost their jobs and found their calling, encouraging people to listen to that little voice inside their head that asks, “What if?”

I’ve been waiting a long time to watch Lemonade. A long time. Case in point: I signed up for their e-newsletter list in the fall of 2009. I’ve been waiting patiently since then.

I was going to go try and see Lemonade movie earlier this year at a Toronto ad event but was unable to do so unfortunately because work got in the way. Ironic? I’d like to think so. Since then, Lemonade has been released for streaming pleasure on Hulu. However, as many Canadians know, Hulu is not available to anyone outside the country.

Thankfully, today Lemonade announced they have now found a home for Lemonade on Snag Films. This is accessible by anyone in the world. I am very excited and I am now watching it.

A trailer for Lemonade is below:

Watch more free documentaries

You can watch Lemonade on Snag Films here.

Enjoy!

Ok. Men, women, watch this video. And then let’s chat.

“The result: More happy men at bars. Less broken up couples.”

Ahhhhhhhhhhhrgh!

Because, I, as one part of couple, absolutely want to be in a relationship with a person who lies to me about where he is. THAT, according to Cerveza Andes, is a good relationship. Thank god for Cerveza Andes! Because of them, I too can be in a relationship with a liar! Phew, dodged that bullet.

Listen, I know the state of the nation. Beer commercials are all aimed at men. Women are always cast as either sex objects with skimpy clothes, or as the “ol’ ball and chain” girlfriend. And it’s getting really old.

I am female. My drink of choice? Beer. I have beer several times a week. And I will allow for some stereotypical commercials with the guys and the party and the hot tub with the girls in them in the mountains. What I can’t stand? The portrayal of females as being crazy, clingy or a drag. To the point where their boyfriends HAVE TO LIE TO THEM ABOUT WHERE THEY ARE. RAGE!!

Screw you Cerveza Andes, you have truly insulted me. I’ll stick to my brand of Keith’s, whose spots are at least original and interesting. And you know, DOESN’T INSULT HALF OF ITS BUYERS.