nabsblog

Words by Zoë Osmond, chief executive officer, NABS

I may be deeply biased, but the NABS Partner Card talks always deliver rich content which, as if often the case with Chatham House Rule, can at times be wonderfully indiscreet.

We may be an industry of youth, but there are occasions when there is nothing better than a perspective delivered from long experience and a lifetime of stories.  Watching Greg Dyke being questioned by Raymond Snoddy at the last NABS Partner Card talk made for superb viewing as the camaraderie between the two kept an audience of 100, average age 27, hugely engaged. It was as Mark Howe from Google said, “a night of quality TV in front of our eyes.”

As you’d expect of one of the UK’s most outspoken and best-loved media personalities, Greg was fantastically entertaining. He was characteristically indiscreet on almost every count and as the two friends (buddies for over 40 years and counting) shared a bottle of wine on the ‘stage’, the audience lapped up stories of times at the BBC and thoughts on Leveson and Murdoch among others.

Between the entertainment however, Greg had some serious points to share: let us not forget that here was someone, he told us, who had sat on a park bench at the age of 29 effectively going nowhere, but who within a decade had one of the top broadcasting jobs in the UK. How, asked Snoddy, “did the short, bald man with a speech impediment get to rise so high and leave such a legacy at the BBC?”

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After the success of last year’s launch event. last week we hosted our second NABS Creative Speed Mentoring at Gallery DIFFERENT courtesy of News International who kindly donated the space.

A large crowd of young practitioners turned up, keen to rub shoulders and get up close and personal with some of the most prestigious and inspirational creative names in the industry.

The mentors included: David Buonaguidi, founder & chief creative officer, Karmarama; Flo Heiss, executive creative director, Dare; Guy Moore, creative director, Leo Burnett; Malcolm Poynton, European chief creative officer, SapientNITRO; Mike Hannett, deputy executive creative director, AMV BBDO and Steve Henry, co-founder & creative director, Decoded.

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Words by Alistair Proctor, Creative careers coach at NABS

Being a creative can be the best job in advertising. But for young creatives starting out it can be a minefield. While most university and college creative advertising courses have improved their relationship with the industry, many students will have little or no experience of the commercial world they are about to enter.

It was because of feedback like this that last October NABS staged its first ever Creative Speed Mentoring event. We invited some of the industry’s best known ECDs to provide advice and guidance to young creatives as well as those with a few years under their belt, looking to progress their careers.  It went so well that we are running a similar event on Wednesday 6^th March.

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The Advertising Association’s recent report, “Advertising Pays – How Advertising Fuels the UK Economy” was a welcome boost for an industry that does pretty poorly in the reputation stakes. If you missed it, take a look at it as it’s vital reading for anyone working in our sector.  It shows how £1 of adspend delivers £6 to UK GDP and how advertising is a vital enabler of and catalyst for the UK consumer economy.

The economic impact and reputation of our industry was also at the heart of Cilla Snowball’s talk for NABS Partner Card holders earlier in the week when she talked about “pushing advertising up the business agenda.”

If you were looking for Superwoman personified, you’d be hard pressed to find a better candidate than Cilla. Not only is she group chairman and group CEO, AMV BBDO, she’s also chair of the Advertising Association and a board member at BBDO Worldwide, Comic Relief, Birmingham University and the Women’s Business Council. The icing on the cake came earlier in the month when she appeared in the inaugural Woman’s Hour Power List.  It’s people like her who make our industry great.

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In a service industry, the greatest assets, its people, leave the building at the end of each day. Without them the business is nothing. They are the heart and soul, the culture and the very essence of what makes a company special.

Ours is an industry that works hard, but allows people to express their individuality. In fact it’s positively encouraged. Without the energy, curiosity, passion, generosity, inventiveness, hunger, inspiration, tenacity and drive that is common to people who work in advertising, our business would simply cease to exist. It’s what our clients buy and it what makes our industry world-leading. The Advertising Association’s recent report “Advertising Pays” might not have talked explicitly about these sorts of people issues and character traits but it certainly made it clear just how many people make a living by working in advertising and related businesses.

And that’s exactly the point. Although it’s the people who make our industry great, more often than not it’s the brilliantly creative and commercially effective work they deliver that is usually celebrated. Yes, there are a number of awards that recognise talented individuals, but the selection criteria can often be quite narrow.

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Mark D'Arcy speaks to NABS partnercard holders.

“Technology is catching up with humanity”….   “The web is being rebuilt around people”……”Put people at the heart of your creative process so that social isn’t an afterthought”……….. “The mobile screen will be your primary creative canvas ……………”

For anyone who might have worried about marketing losing its human focus, these words from Facebook’s global director of creative solutions, Mark D’Arcy, speaking last week at NABS’ first Tuesday Club of 2013 were music to the ears.

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The round-up

Over the past two weeks we’ve given you just a few hints and tips for how you can get ahead in your career. The new year is just the right time to take stock of your surroundings, and to refocus and reflect on those past achievements. So get planning and make those resolutions that can help you stand out from the crowd and to continue climbing that career ladder.

We’ve touched on a few serious and not so serious topics in our run-up to Christmas and we hope that you’ve enjoyed reading them, here’s a round-up of all our NABS career tips for Christmas.

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Your online brand

At this time of year, everyone in adland is busy crystal-ball gazing to predict what the year ahead will look like. It’s easy to forget that the year end should also signal a time to refocus and reflect on past achievements as well as plan ahead. With that in mind, NABS is running its own 12 Days of Christmas series, on career tips. On each working day, right the way up to Christmas Eve, the NABS career team will be sharing their expertise on everything from handling pressure to building networks, from listing achievements to adding value.

Your personal brand plays a vital part in how you manage your image and other’s perceptions. Whether you are aware of it or not, all of our activities online – on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn – form an online personal profile that is searchable.

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Surviving the Christmas party and beyond

At this time of year, everyone in adland is busy crystal ball gazing to  predict what the year ahead will look like. It’s easy to forget that the year end should also signal a time to refocus and reflect on past achievements as well as plan ahead. With that in mind, NABS is running its own 12 Days of Christmas series, on career tips. On each working day, right the way up to Christmas Eve, the NABS career team will be sharing their expertise on everything from handling pressure to building networks, from listing achievements to adding value.

The majority of Christmas parties may have come and gone for the season,and while most of us know how to behave appropriately, in practice it’seasy to fall into some of the age old traps. It’ll be a good idea at the time – but don’t take this opportunity to tell your boss what you think of him/her, and while getting frisky with that gorgeous new client might seem like a good idea, in the cold light of day, face it – it’s likely to end in disaster.

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Be proactive

At this time of year, everyone in adland is busy crystal-ball gazing to predict what the year ahead will look like. It’s easy to forget that the year end should also signal a time to refocus and reflect on past achievements as well as plan ahead. With that in mind, NABS is running its own 12 Days of Christmas series, on career tips. On each working day, right the way up to Christmas Eve, the NABS career team will be sharing their expertise on everything from handling pressure to building networks, from listing achievements to adding value.

You need to be proactive in your job, especially when dealing with your superiors. If you have to bring your boss a problem you should bring a set of solutions too, so be proactive  and get a plan of action together suggesting how best to address the issue.

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