Texas Showcase - Rhea Jemmerson
Where are all the black people in advertising? After listening to countless conversations about the issue, The One Club, a nonprofit organization that recognizes and promotes excellence in advertising, decided to do something about it. On October 3, they hosted “Where Are All The Black People? A Creative Career Fair,” which was designed to address both the lack of diversity in creative advertising and enable real, provocative, public discussions on the topic.
Texas Creative and advertising graduate student Rhea Jemmerson attended the 2012 event, which was held during Advertising Week in New York. Here, Rhea discusses what she learned and shares key insights for students.
We hear there were several aspects of the event including a keynote panel, portfolio reviews, live pitches and networking – all of which sound really interesting. Let’s start with the keynote panel, what did you learn?
[It] was really interesting hearing the panel speak. They spoke about the way they got started in the business. One thing was clear – there is no 'set part' to becoming creative. [The panel] made me feel a lot better about…not sounding like everyone else when I write, or having experiences that are different from the other students in our program.
[It] made me feel okay about being 'green,' and what was important for me to succeed was drive, willingness to experiment and push boundaries, and accept being different because it is that difference which is responsible for creatives being creative!
Were you able to participate in the portfolio review and live talent pitch? If so, what were they like?
I did not sign up for the portfolio review because I found out about the event last minute and did not get chance to prepare it to the level I wanted to show, but I did manage to observe a bit. [It was] similar to what we would get in the portfolio sequence except there were more industry professionals available to comment on the work.
The live talent pitch was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen. There were about 16 participants and 20 agency reps in the audience. This was something [participants] had to audition for in the weeks before the event and finalists were selected to pitch at the event. A lot of the participants seemed to be from the graphic design side of creative – very few females and zero copywriters!
Did you pick up any good presentation tips from watching the pitches?
I think for me it was a lesson of what not to do when presenting. The [participants] who were less rigid in their presentation, more relaxed and interesting, did better than those who weren’t. In the end, seven people walked away with interviews with all of the agencies present.
What was your favorite part about attending the event? Are there any key takeaways you thought were valuable?
The final two panels of the session were the most interesting. The first was with [Digitas] recruiter Sonia Jairath, as well as Fritz Desir, Digitas’ VP/Head of Experience Design. These two were a winning combination.
Ms. Jairath was helpful in giving tips of how to use LinkedIn to make yourself 'found' by recruiters, like including keywords in your resume. She mentioned that if she happens to receive a resume for you, she looks at your profile on LinkedIn long before you are even called in – so keep your profile looking sharp! She also stressed the importance of reaching out to recruiters and trying to establish and maintain a relationship with them, as well as asking for feedback on your portfolio.
Mr. Desir spoke about his experiences with the portfolio review that morning. He said that we as creatives should strive to create work that people will use. Advertising is an enabler, not just an influencer, and that work in our books should showcase innovation and our ability to think outside the box.
The final panel discussion was about ad professionals’ first time working on campaigns. [It] highlighted mistakes we all make as creatives, which include forgetting to factor in our own experiences while creating campaigns. The most profound thing that was said was that we are hired as creatives not to write copy or design ads – they really hire us for our experiences, because this is what frames our voice. Moral of the story: go out and do stuff! Live! I'm taking that to heart.
Any advice for students who may be interested in attending this event in the future?
I would totally recommend it. My advice is to talk to as many people as you possibly can. Everyone will give you their opinion of what they think is best to get to where you want to get, but one path won't suit everyone. If you get multiple perspectives you can cut and paste to something that's feasible to your lifestyle/goal.
If you are going with your portfolio make sure that you've had time to refine your work. There were a lot of people there. They can only judge you on what you show them so if you've had a portfolio review before and gotten pointers try to refine your work so that it's in the best form to show.
Learn more about The One Club’s “Where Are All the Black People? A Creative Career Fair” at http://www.wherearealltheblackpeople.com