Apologies - some posts aren't in chronological order...

11/08/2008

Over the last few months I’ve been talking to lots of friends – did lots of reading, writing and yoga. I knew I wanted to do something new, but I didn’t know what... Brand Management sounded like a good transition from creative. So I went to an informational session on the MBA program at Georgia Tech. And another at Emory. It didn’t sound right; the core curriculum was entirely focused on ... umm, counting! I could not imagine quitting my day job and going back to school... all accounting and economics classes... for an MBA in Marketing? Seriously? (Which is hilarious considering the very foundations of economic theory are being tested by our current economic climate... People are rational!? Really? In hard times? In politics?) 

Unbelievably, there were no courses in psychology, or anthropology, or consumer behavior, unless taken as an elective... in your second year. Out. of. the. workforce. !

Good thing I was reading. A lot. One book that stood out was A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink. Come to think of it, I’d like to blame Mr. Pink for talking me out of an MBA. I’d still like a Masters degree, but I’m seeing less value in an MBA for someone like me. VCU Brand Center? Warmer...

I also hired a business coach and took some very revealing tests. (those results are a whole other conversation! What to do with them?) But they weren’t diving my future, either.

So, what then? I had to do something different. 

The right side of my brain was getting tired, and the left side was just getting soft. I read somewhere that in the last ten years, there’s been a 200% increase in the number of people who call themselves ‘graphic designers.’ Explains a lot.

CA probably said it best: pretty much anyone who has a Microsoft clip art gallery thinks he’s a designer. Graphic design (not necessarily good design, mind you) is becoming so commonplace that it’s practically the newest form of literacy. Probably a very unpopular statement, but... hey - one friend with Photosho[p actually calls himself a 'graphic burglar.'. Anyhoo, I still wasn’t sure what I should do next ... But I knew:

I wanted to be involved far earlier in the creative process than I had been 

I wanted to get out of the office and talk to people

I wanted to develop brands from the inside-out

I wanted to be allowed to learn, to think

I wanted to get paid for what I thought, not only what I executed

With the traditional kinds of agencies I’d worked for (and for the most part, enjoyed), I knew I needed to move ahead of my existing role— away from the primarily executional role of a Designer/AD, and into a more strategic, proactive one. But I also didn’t want to abandon everything I’ve learned over the last 14+ years. And yet I wasn’t sure how I could do that...

So I sought out my old creative director and several past coworkers. After all of that, it was still very difficult admitting I needed to do something other than, or in addition to — design.

I mean, just saying that aloud, I felt like a traitor, a quitter... A few designer friends even teased me about becoming one of ‘them’ – a dreaded suit. 

Hardy-har. 

But I knew couldn’t *just* go back to designing...so I kept talking to people. I started to hear, ‘What about Account Planning?’ I thought it meant ... becoming a ‘suit’... (Account Management is an art in of itself, but not one I am practiced in). But I was intrigued... So I sought out Account Planners, a VP of Strategy, a CMO, and looked into the Master’s program at VCU.

I thank my lucky stars that I boarded that ski boat last summer and that Fur Bus this fall: two very wise men suggested that I look into the Account Planning program at Miami Ad School. It’s only 12 weeks, rather than two years — just what I need to test the waters, and learn at an accelerated rate. 

I can’t wait to get there. I have a feeling this Planning thing may be where I’ve belonged all along.

Some folks seem surprised that after 14+ years as a creative (Designer & Art Director), that I'd want to get into Account Planning. So I'd like to share some of the reasons why I wanted to make the shift. I'll stop at the top { 5 } reasons.

1. I needed a new fix. Our ability as ‘creatives’ to take something intangible—to give it form and then deliver it—is a process that I still love to be a part of. My realm as a Designer and Art Director’ truly is –and was –a blast. However, my role only in the execution stage of a project wasn’t providing me with the sense of satisfaction that it used to. Making things wasn't giving me the creative or intellectual kicks it used to. 

2. Teeth Grinding. My lot in life as an Art Director had became downright frustrating. I'm sure it also had something to do with the nature of the work—retail, baby! And the structure of the agency—we got ‘briefed.’ All of the conversations about what the project was supposed to do were had long before we were involved. I heard 'that train's too far out of the station now' more than once. It was making me nuts— I realized I was decorating things. Ads, type treatments and even micro-sites can’t fix bad business practices! 

And then one day I realized that our finished projects at Agency X were literally destined to line the bottom of kitty litter boxes. Was this what I wanted my legacy to be? Not so much. It got me thinking...

3. The other side of my brain was lonely. I was concepted out. I was afraid I’d be a drooling, cross-eyed incoherent if I didn't learn to use my brain differently. Waiting for yet another Getty Images to load, I could almost feel the synapses of my brain drying up.

Not only that—but after rethinking the entire communications path a customer has with a company several times, it was impossible to go back to designing the way I used to. I can’t help that my brain involuntarily tries to sort out the larger context of an issue, rather than just the tactical project described in the brief. Which leads me to...

4. Was that your foot? Sorry! Looking back, I’m sure I stepped on people’s toes as Art Director. I was inadvertently trying to solve business problems—not the domain of an AD. At the time I didn’t realize I was *that* under stimulated (I’m trying not to use the word ‘bored’ here, but let’s be honest...

I had started to outgrow my position... whatever that was. During creative reviews I’d offer suggestions or comments about a project—and depending on the personality of the AE, I was greeted with either an eye roll or a ‘hmmmm. I don't know. Let me get back to you.’ When more of those comments started coming back to me in the form of a request (replete with a new job #), it was validating. I knew I wasn't in the right place anymore.

5. It’s not what you say, it’s what you do. When I was younger designer, I didn’t mind executing other people’s visions—it was a terrific way to learn; I became very good at extending an existing brand’s reach; at developing my own vision for one, and at executing it. Yet doing it for big accounts wasn't enough anymore.

What's changed for me over the years is that I see brands as a sum of their parts. As I grew to understand my role in their development, it started to feel very topical... 

I think that advertising is just one facet of a brand. Design, another. And marketing isn't just communications—it's behavior. People talk about what brands do, not what they say. As Dan Wieden says, ‘Brands are verbs, not nouns.’ Wearing the hat of a Designer or an Art Director meant I needed to create ad-like executions, or that I was stuck designing pre-determined items that may or may not affect the business problem.

One of the big reasons for moving to Planning was to get involved earlier in the process—to have a shot at identifying which issue advertising could solve. I call it moving 'upstream'. What I want to do now is to take part in shaping a brand from the inside out. 

While I may be new to the discipline, I don’t see Planning as starting over. I feel like I’ve been operating in this capacity for years but didn’t realize I was doing it... My work was showing me that I was ready for a new role.

I’m so glad Eddy and Michael recommended Planning and Miami Ad School. With Planning, I’m still working in the industry that I love—I’ve found a way to get involved earlier in the creative development process, and I’m building on the foundation I have as a creative.

p.s.—by the way—if there are any other people like me out there? I’d love to hear from you.