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.