Microtransactions (XM-Sirus teaser)

Something that's been really hanging on my mind lately is the whole XM-Sirus bankruptcy issue. What can make them profitable? I got some ideas for it, so if anyone is looking for a SuperTeams project, hit me up and I'll let you in.

*edit* 5/28/09
Well, nevermind then. Looks like they solved that whole issue the iPhone app. Lesson to be learned: If you have an idea, don't sit on it. Someone might be you to it.

Don't be afraid to embarrass yourself in front of your peers

It's taken me this long to embrace being here in Atlanta. Small town to big city lifestyle lag wasn't pretty and to some extent still isn't. Going from home to work and back again doesn't benefit the spirit.

On point of the post, I'm not sure where I heard, but one of the big ad agencies makes their people choose from a list of things to do that are rather embarrassing. The concept is that once you make a fool out of yourself, anything else stupid you do won't be as embarrassing. I don't know what was on the list, but I think walking around in public with your pants around your ankles might be on there.

I am an introvert. Not a serious one, but probably enough that it hurts my professional career. I've held out from going to parties, thinking that I could get more work done, realizing just recently the events I was missing was where partnerships formed. Quite akin to the golf course business deals I suppose. Well, our beloved Andrew Harper snagged a job and a party was going down in his honor. I figured it was time to the make the scene.

Made the party and hung on the wall. Lame, lame, lame. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed people dancing to some music. I've had a little bit of experience, but never the guts. Now was the time. I got out there and danced. I don't know if it was good or bad (betting on bad as no one was on the dance floor when I was done, like I cursed it), but it was one of my more embarrassing moments.

And while I didn't come out of the party with new partnership, I got a sense of whatever I do now can't be as bad as what I did that night.

If you want this to be your job, treat it like such

If you want this job, you've got to be willing to sacrifice for it. Weird eating habits and bedtimes are part of the process. If you're living like it's summer break, you're in the wrong place.

They can't all be winners

One of the hardest things for me to come to terms with here at ad school is finding out that most of my work is sh*t. But you have to understand that when you get out there in the real ad world, alot of your stuff is going to be shot down for numerous reasons. What ad school does is that it prepares for you reality, builds up your resilience and helps you take critiques and failures with grace before royally screwing up out there where it really matters.

Fight for what you believe in

Advertising isn't for the meek. That being said, don't think that you can be an overly aggressive and pompous ass either. What you need to do is stick by your work, listen intently to everything that'ss said and take it in stride. If you can defend your work from a calm and logical standpoint, you're more likely to make an convincing argument. Don't sulk as you won't survive.

Strategy? What's that?

Some people might be confused about what a strategy is. I know I am. I've heard a lot of back and forth at the school, but I think this link offers pretty good insight. Thanks StumbleUpon!

Familiar Strangers: 17 Strategies to Killer Ads

Become your own editor

That's something I haven't really learned until this quarter, but I think everyone who wants to be taken seriously as a writer should know. I definitely would've had more kick ass lines if I had taken the time to go back, look over them, sharpen them and feed them into the shredder of critique.

For a more fluid writing process, I write whatever I want first, just to get going. It's been said that the most daunting thing is facing a blank piece of paper and having to fill it with thoughts and ideas. After that, you start saying whatever you want about the product, how it makes you feel. Then you walk away, do something else for a period of time and come back to see if anything is salvageable or makes sense.

I will admit the method prescribed is not my own, but rather gathered from various books and professors.

I'm done making ads

Or at least in the way that I've come to know/accept them as a consumer. What really struck me lately is that alot of the work that we do, or at least has been posted on the walls of our school, feel as if they're all the same executions, just with different content.

I admit that I was stuck in a rut these past 5 quarters. I was approaching advertising as a math problem, as something has only one solution. I was stuck in the "3 print pieces" land for a long time and really felt restricted by it, by my vocation. Yes, I am a copywriter, but writing without passion makes everything sound like Ben Stein in my head. I wasn't having fun. Balser and Hansen called me out on it and they were right. So to rectify this, I've just slowed down a little and I'm taking more time in the concepting process then just simply tossing together ideas and lines and seeing what shi* sticks. I feel as if I'm getting better ideas, not necessarily more ideas.

Point is, don't just stick to a format. Print pieces don't just have to be singles or spreads. Ambient is more than just bus shelters. If you have an idea that doesn't fit in a predefined category nicely, execute it how you envision it. Then you have something truly innovative.

Back that thing up (2x)

I can not, can not, stress this enough to my fellow creatives. Backup your work. And not just once, but twice. If you can, go for three times.

I know this from personal experience. I have an dual external hard drive enclosure that does RAID. Sparing your the tech details, basically there is a switch in the back that allows me to use both disks at the same time or separately. Well, I was moving files from my small laptop drive to one of the external drives while it was operating in single mode. Note: MOVING THEM. Not copying them like I should have. Well, so happens that one day I bump the switch in the back, freaking out the enclosure and screwing over my data. Quarters 1-4 were gone.

I still have a list of ADs I can contact and have made some effort to get my work back from them, though I'm sure they'll love me for it. I also have some files floating in my email, but it's still quite a hassle.

So to pass on what I've learned from a greater source, back up your work to at least two different places. Send copies to mom and dad, even if they live in Cambodia. You never know when your apartment might catch fire, some thief decides he'd like a new backpack, or in my case, be the victim of your own stupidity.

It's never too late to learn the basics

A tip of my imaginary hat to John Kang, a fellow writer who I worked briefly with on Liftoff Energy. First off, I know that two copywriters working together is not the most appealing circumstance, but he was gracious enough to take the role of art director, as he had more experience with it than I did. There is always the potential of writing styles conflicting if the roles aren't well defined.

Kang brought me back to the basics by making me really ask, "What makes this product unique?" He made me slow down and be more methodical in my thought process, more focused. To move from feature, to benefit of the feature, to benefit of the benefit. And as a result, I feel like I can create more insightful ads.

Class of September 09: Backbiters?

I've come across several people who aren't entirely enthralled with my class. We've been described as arrogant, self serving and cliquish. Do I think it's true? To some extent. I think most of us, myself included, are worried about their own personal careers. Probably so much so that we've built walls against certain relationships. We don't want to share our ideas at the risk of them being stolen or trampled on. We don't want to expose ourselves and get nothing in return. I think it's fear poorly hidden behind tenacity that makes us look cocky.

I love being at the Circus, don't get me wrong. But some days it feels like high school with just older people. I then figure maybe our professional environments might be similar and the only thing to do in both instances is to rise above and expect better out of ourselves individually.

We're all in this alone.

Don't over think it

"Don't over think it" has been the motto that has been drilled into my head and I freely admit that I have this problem. But you know what happens when people tell you not to think something? The harder you try, the more you think about it.

The first week of my 6th quarter has been going swimmingly on the surface, but in the depths is fear and dread. I know that I need a lot of work. No, rephrase that. A ginormous amount of work. My problems are that I lack a unified voice in many of my pieces, I haven't taken a more active part in the art direction of said pieces, and I don't have any long copy ads. I'm fearful that many of the ads I've worked on will be dumped by my initial partner and that I'll have to search for a new one. Granted, that might not be all bad, but I need to know that now before I come to the end of my education here and have to cobble together pieces less than sub-par.

Considering the market, knowing the quality of my work, can you blame me? I need to stop measuring my work compared to those around me. Yes, there are other talented people, but there is enough success to go around.