I recently took a trip to Chicago to interview some industry professionals about how the gaps are affecting the Chicago ad market. This Search Director had a lot to say about teamwork and collaboration, and how young talent is viewed in the industry:
On teamwork and collaboration…
- The best teams are those where people have complementary skill sets. It makes no sense to have people collaborating unless each person brings something unique to the table.
- It can be frustrating working with other departments. Media people want to be innovative, and a lot of good ideas hit the floor before they’re sold to the client because everything goes through filters at agencies. Direct media relationships with the client are always favorable.
- As online media is becoming more important, traditional media is struggling to stay relevant. The agencies that are doing really well right now are the ones that are tailoring their strategy to digital media. Online media is a lot different than traditional – offline strategy doesn’t always translate in the online world, but the agencies that are pulling it off are really successful.
- The elephant in the room is clients – they hire multiple agencies looking for collaboration, but what it really creates is competition.
- Agencies don’t always do what’s best for the brand, most of the time they do what’s best for the client relationship first.
On entry-level jobs and careers…
- In Search, entry-level jobs are filled based on potential, not based on skill.
- If you’re new in the industry, don’t make your career decisions in the short term. Be patient – don’t expect too much too soon, and don’t move too quickly. It’s hard for digital agencies to retain talent because people jump ship so often.
- Always make sure you’re working with people you respect and can learn from. If you are the smartest person in the room, you’ll get stale.
- A lot of agencies under-utilize their young talent and unload the tactical work on them. It’s a shame, but it’s how the business works.
- If you want to do well in your first job, you first have to admit that you don’t know everything – be willing to learn from people and ask for help from the very beginning.
