Street level views of marketing & advertising in Idaho
Okay folks, it’s your turn to chime in…
What have you seen lately that you liked? That interested you? That amused you?
What has left you scratching your head wondering why they did that? Or how?
What do you want to learn more about?
What can you do to push yourself farther?
What’s next for you?
Feel free to leave answers to any of these questions in the comments. Let’s see where this goes.
And I’m sure you’re thinking — yeah, like that’s anything new…
But hear me out.
What is still one of the biggest issues facing agencies and marketing professionals today? Talent. Finding, recruiting and retaining talent.
More often than not, an agency’s future employees won’t just show up at the front door gift-wrapped and sporting a big red bow. The shop has to go out and find the right person — that right fit for their agency, clients, type of business, etc.
Sure, you’ll get referrals from others from time to time, but in an age where good (if not great) talent is scarce, agency folks are much less likely to share with others in the business.
Sure, the mechanics of the marketing and advertising business can be taught in school, but there are nuances to the business that just don’t show up in a classroom environment. And even those students who come out of a portfolio school such as Creative Circus or VCU Brandcenter may not be prepared for agency life — particularly in small agencies such as those here in Idaho.
So, how do we get around that?
One option — An intern “exchange program” similar to one that started in Portland a few years ago — COLABORATORY. The Colaboratory program is designed to give interns a better understanding of the agency world, and specific disciplines within that environment, by spending time in three different agencies over the course of the program:
COLABORATORY takes place over 6 weeks in Portland, Oregon. 10 participants are selected and individually paired with 3 of the 10 agencies based on their strengths and interests. Interns spend 2 intensely focused weeks at each agency learning from all disciplines.
During the 6 weeks working at agencies across Portland, interns also form 2 competing teams to work on a real client project.
The 2 sides of COLABORATORY give interns a broad view of how agencies work, and at the same time let them learn how to collaborate.
A similar program could be established here in Idaho, and managed by the Boise Advertising Federation and / or Idaho Advertising Federation.
Another option — a professional exchange program of sorts.
This would be a bigger effort than a shared internship program such as COLABORATORY. It would involve many agencies in several different markets, but could be managed by agency network organizations such as Worldwide Partners, Second Wind, MAGNET Global, Pinnacle Worldwide, etc.
Here’s roughly how I imagine it working:
These would be paid positions, of course, and all participating agencies would agree on common salary amounts throughout the course of the program.
In a lot of ways, this would be an apprentice program of sorts.
It would probably be best suited for those just out of school, new to the business, or otherwise able to be relatively mobile over the course of a couple of years (think moving to a different city every six months or so). Also, it could be best suited for account service, client service, planning or related “client-facing” types of jobs — those where the skills aren’t (or can’t) be easily taught in a classroom environment.
But if it were successful, candidates would have the ability to learn from some of the best and brightest, and apply that functional knowledge wherever they go. And this type of program has the ability to produce some of the most well-rounded and talented employees available for years to come.
Logistically, is it simple? No.
But, it’s just crazy enough that it might work.
Phil Johnson, of PJA Advertising and Marketing, recently published a good piece on the Ad Age Small Agency Diary: What the Hell Is a Creative Director Supposed to Be?
An excerpt from Phil’s piece:
I’ve come to the conclusion that the job of creative director is bigger and more important than any one task. Rather than the person with the best ideas, or the person who is the best judge of good work, or the person who can best manage the creative process, a creative director needs to shape the creative brain of the entire agency and build a creative conscience. His influence extends well beyond the creative department. This conviction has made me question many of the traditional expectations for a creative leader.
Take the time to read the entire post on the Small Agency Diary. It’s a good read for anyone involved in this business. And, if you feel so inclined, leave him a comment over there as well.
The Idaho advertising community lost one of it’s founders with the passing on John Givens on Monday, February 1st, 2010.
Not familiar with the name? Unfortunately, neither was I until last week.
John Givens was a third-generation Boisean, a graduate of Boise High School and after service in the United States Naval Air Corp during World War II, a student at the Boise Junior College and the University of Idaho, among others.
John began his career in advertising in 1947, and in 1952 he founded Givens-Davies Advertising, Inc. with Kenneth R. Davies. He helped grow the agency to become one of the largest and most powerful in Idaho, and a major player in the Pacific Northwest. Note: Givens-Davies would later go on to become Davies-Rourke, and in its current form is known as DaviesMoore.
Later, he went on to form John Givens Advertising, Inc., and in 1988 was awarded the Silver Medal from the Boise Advertising Federation. John retired from advertising in 1987.
Among his many accomplishments, John was instrumental in coordinating public relations and fundraising efforts for the Morrison Center for the Performing Arts, and creating the Idaho Governor’s Cup golf tournament scholarship fundraiser.
John is survived by five children, two grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.
A memorial service was held on Saturday, February 6th.
While I never had the chance to meet John Givens, I would like to offer a belated ‘thank you’ to him on behalf of the entire advertising and marketing community in Idaho for everything that he did over the years, and those that he helped guide and inspire.
A complete obituary is available here, if you’d like to read more.
Its that time of year again.
The time when everyone and their dog, cat and goldfish makes their predictions about what the biggest trends will be in the coming year. And, like every year, its a shot in the dark. Sometimes those predictions are right, sometimes they’re horribly wrong.
That being said, this year I say we crowdsource the whole prediction thing. I’d like to know what you, dear readers, think will be the big trends in 2010, and any predictions you’d like to make.
Comment away.