Seven Agencies, Two Days, New York City
"Meeting and talking to people from the biggest and most innovative agencies in the world was an honor and a motivation to pursue my career in advertising and made me proud to be a UT graduate student." -Urszula Bosco, UT Advertising Graduate Student
To start the Spring 2012 semester, Dr. Neal Burns took some students from his Fall Account Planning class to visit and learn about seven different agencies in New York: DDB, Gotham, McCann Erickson, McgarryBowen, Naked Communications, Ogilvy and TBWA.
Visiting the shops gave the students the opportunity to get an authentic impression of the different agency environments and cultures. An important aspect of visiting an agency is learning what they look for in hiring, and to receive career-specific advice.
On the NYC trip, it was obvious that the key words were “passion” and “enthusiasm.” Urszula Bosco, one of the students on the trip, was appreciative for the valuable insight. “(There was a focus on) passion for the advertising industry, our work, hobby and anything that can help us to improve and bring a new perspective to the table. Being a challenging person with an interesting point of view is also seen as a value and a competitive advantage,” said Bosco.
As part of the visit, the students had to present projects to agency members and receive feedbacks. Gotham and TBWA assigned specific tasks that were related to their clients.
After listening to the presentations, the agency members brainstormed with the students, based on the presented information. At the other shops, the students presented their projects from the fall’s Account Planning class.
“Displaying our work in front of different crowds and receiving feedbacks from people that work in the industry and that deal with similar issues every day was highly beneficial. It helped us better understand the complexity of width and the depth of the different situations and it challenged our knowledge and understanding of the advertising industry,” said Bosco.
The students were also treated with a visit to Keith Reinhard, DDB Worldwide Chairman Emeritus. For an hour and a half, the group talked about advertising, social media, brands, cultural evolution and how the topics integrate with each other, impacting future brands and their strategies. Mr. Reinhard also explained the Four Freedoms that compose DDB’s philosophy.
The freedom from fear that paralyses the creative mind, the freedom to fail that allows people to explore new challenging areas, the freedom from chaos that generate a structured environment where the creative mind can work and the freedom to be. “This last one, perhaps the most important one, allows people to explore their personalities and fosters personal fulfillment,” said Bosco.
The group took many insights away from their visits and conversations. Perhaps one of the most important point to takeaway, whether in NYC's largest ad agency or in a small shop across the country, is that brands need to understand the cultural shift and communicate strong points of views while sustaining their promises.