I read an article today on Sportsline.com called Sports Appreciation Day that poses the question, “Why did I ever like sports in the first place?” This question is asked on the heels of the ongoing investigations of Barry Bonds’ & Roger Clemens’ use of performance enhancing drugs & lying while under oath. Throw in the Tim Donaghy gambling scandal, Michael Vick’s conviction & jail time for running & funding a dog fighting ring, some other very unfortunate events & you can paint a pretty bleak picture. As we all know, it only takes a little negativity to ruin all that is good.
All of this got me thinking. When did I decide on a career in advertising & marketing? As I am wont to do, I then thought some more. I want you to tell me when you knew a career in advertising & marketing would be your path of choice. Have you ever doubted or regretted your decision? What are some of your fondest memories? How do you stay motivated & inspired?
Me?
I majored in Business Administration & chose to take the vast majority of my junior & senior year electives in marketing-focused classes. A class I took during my last semester was essentially a culmination of everything I learned within my major as we entered the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition. Back in the Fall of 1998, our project was to create an advertising campaign for what is now Toyota’s Prius. This was my initial foray into the dynamic world of advertising; cross-functional teams, lots of research, story boards, long hours, stressful situations, clashing personalities, & deadlines.
I loved it; I absolutely loved it & was disappointed that I would not be around in the Spring (because I was graduating) for the actual competition. We did not end up winning (so I didn’t miss out on much), but the experience left an indelible mark on me. I wanted to work in advertising, but not just behind the scenes (you can blame that on those damn Simmons Market Research books).
There have been lots of pitfalls along the way; I even considered doing something else about seven years ago. The internet & all its wonders saved me. Its consistent evolution, fueled by some really smart & dedicated people & innovative brands, motivates me & continually piques my curiosity.
Anything you would like to share, please do! Heck, even if your career is in something unrelated to advertising or marketing, this applies to you. So, let’s hear it…
This is a great question, and one that I’m sure a lot of people don’t ask themselves often. I didn’t decide on Marketing until about 2 weeks from graduation. I mean, my degree was in Marketing, but I had planned on going to law school. So much so that I had taken the LSATs and put in applications. Then I realized, wait…I actually really like this..and I have a college degree in it. Why am I not doing this again?
And the rest is sweet, sweet history.
I think you bring up an important question that really divides liking something and ding it for a living. As a kid, and still today, I love playing baseball. But I can’t play baseball as a job because I can let it go. I don’t need it. And even if I did need it, could I be good at it on the third day of a 4-game road trip? Ninety games into the season? Year after year?
My love of communications started the first day I interned at a local radio station senior year of HS. In College, in one semester, I got a writing scholarship and was told by an ad agency ECD that I was already a professional writer. That was when I realized I could create for a living. After that, my media planning professor said that what separates amateur creatives from professionals was the belief that your work can motivate large groups of people to act.
Now, as I read your post, I think that I need to create. Kids write in school. Some adults write for fun, or keep a journal. People put together videos on their imac all the time. But doing it every day, come rain, sun, or the third day of a four-day business trip, I can (and will, and must) create something (strategy, writing, video) that compels groups of people to act.
Also, I can’t hit breaking pitches for anything. So I have to work hard to afford the chance to watch people who can
Ah, the proverbial question…what came first, the marketer in you or the marketing career?
Because I was on the 10-year plan for college (the money tree in the backyard was bare…), I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to work in marketing for 2-3 years before finishing my degree. That experience just sealed the deal for me. I knew that I wanted to be a marketer and I just needed to get that piece of paper. After undergrad, I went for my MS in International Marketing…again, because I was given the opportunity to do international marketing so I thought it might be a good idea to actually know what the heck I was doing since it was impacting folks 1,000s of miles away.
I don’t regret a day of it. It’s my passion. I do have a regret, albeit not personal, and that is that so many people get passed off as “marketers” who really aren’t. I think that practice diminishes the industry.
My fondest memory is a campaign I worked on back in 1998/99, it was called “Real People, Real Life” and it was a campaign to mock Panasonic (a competitor at the time). They had ads with fake quotes from fake CTOs, CIOs, engineers, etc. So I asked, why not get real customers? We did ads, event graphics, direct mail, etc. and all had real quotes about our products (imagine that!). Doing a campaign like this wasn’t common in those days. I still have the pieces.
Today, what keeps me inspired is learning what everyone else is doing or thinking…through their blogs, tweets, plurks, etc. This is surely an exciting time in Marketing!
I did a similar post a while back – was hoping others would pitch in and do a blogger series on “Turning Points” – those critical moments when you realized what you were made for, and took those career forks in the road…http://is.gd/KpP
When did I decide to become a writer? Hmmm…tricky question.
I was editor of my college newspaper for two years and won a few awards, but I didn’t think I’d ever do this as a career. I mean, writers are living in a roach filled apartment living on beans and rice, right? So after college, I wanted to become a professor. While in grad school, one of my classes was asked to write commentaries for the Philadelphia Inquirer. I won an award for editorial writing in college, so it was right up my alley. They published my first piece, and asked me to write more, so I did.
One day, when bored at my part time PR/marketing job, I stumbled across a website about freelancing writing and thought I’d give it a shot. I pitched a trade publication, which accepted my essay immediately. Then I was at a Philadelphia Business Journal event about how to get your company into local media. I pitched one of the magazines and then started writing for them.
While finishing my MA in English Literature, I got a full time job doing hospital PR. I was good at it, but it didn’t feel like a perfect fit. When the editor of that regional magazine quit, I called the publisher and said he should hire me. He did, two days later.
Editing was a great job, but I missed writing. I was also doing a lot of adminstrative work, and directing art and photography. That wasn’t writing, so when I started getting more clips and assignments for other magazines, I became a full time freelance writer.
I’m not sure at what point I realized that this was it for me. I think it came sometime before I published my first book. Maybe it was my first clip in the New York Times. Interesting question!
Great feedback everyone; thanks for participating! One common thread throughout seems to be that everyone is happiest when creating & given the opportunity to influence others with their work.
Matt,
The sheer irony in the timing of this post is comical, don’t you think? Although this is more about loving what you do & not for whom you work.
Michael,
It is difficult to produce new & creative things consistently. All too often I see people lose sight of this & the quality of their work diminishes.
Oh, & I, too, cannot hit breaking pitches for the life of me. It’s why I didn’t make it past high school level competition
Beth,
I do feel we are fortunate to work in this space at this time; growing up professionally while the online world is consistently evolving. It was almost by chance that I started in the interactive space back in 1999. The true convergence of online & offline is what I’m looking forward to the most.
Steve,
I read that post & couldn’t help but recall specific situations at almost every stop I’ve made thus far. Conflicting ideals has sometimes been my biggest source of frustration; especially when I’m almost positive that my way is the right way. I aspire to work independently someday & was inspired by your story.
Jen,
I think your comment underscores the importance of sticking to your convictions. You knew what you wanted, but over time have found it challenging to continue to be an independent writer. Having opportunities to take a “regular job” don’t make things easier; the comfort of guaranteed money (& cheaper health insurance) is enticing. Kudos to you for sticking it out; as the success of your book has shown, you’ve only begun to scratch the surface.