Coming Up With Ideas

It can be tough to come up ideas for ads. So much stuff has already been done. They also can't be random ideas- these have to hit the target market exactly.

So why am I writing about this? Well, it's probably because I've had some trouble coming up with ideas lately. I chalk that up to me trying too hard. I want to make great ads, but when you think about to hard, then nothing happens and you end up beating yourself up about it and telling yourself that your not creative.

Probably the best thing to do is just leave your work alone and come back to it later. I found that after being frustrated for hours, I took a break and did something completely different. The ideas still didn't come thought because I was still subconsciously thinking about it. When I started talking to someone, BAM! I suddenly got a few ideas that I could work on. Simple as that.

When you have writer's block, don't think too hard or don't think about what you are working on at all. It worked for me, that's for sure.

A couple other things of note: I now have a YouTube channel, so you can check that out. Just search for GalacticGirlx2 and you can check out a whole bunch of videos that I have favourited. Some of these could make it onto my blog sometime, you never know.

Also, Advertising Week is a week away, and I will be attending! Hopefully, I will have time to blog and give updates about what is going on there. It's going to be a lot of fun.

So that's it for now. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @GalacticGirlx2 to get even more insights into what it's like being an advertising student, or as my teacher says, a student of advertising.

An essay on the digital space

We all know what advertising campaigns used to be like. You would see an ad in a magazine, on a billboard, or on TV, and then if you so choose, you would go and buy whatever product or service was being advertised that caught your attention. All of that is changing. Over the last decade or so, a new beast had reared its head. Digital and interactive media have changed the advertising landscape dramatically. Not only can the consumer now follow a brand on various social media websites, but they can also interact with the brand, whether it be commenting on a blog post on a brand’s website, or creating content about that particular brand. Consumers can also get their content instantly.

PVRs have allowed consumers to skip commercials that they feel are intruding on their TV time, but now that advertisers post their ads on YouTube for all to see, many consumers flock there to see the spots. Digital and interactive advertising have allowed consumers to determine what content they are exposed to and when.

Digital and interactive have made this an on-demand society. This can be seen not only in advertising, but in the entertainment industry as well. Now you can watch television shows on your TV whenever you want, not just online. Everything is available 24-7 for consumers to enjoy when and where they want it. This empowerment has given consumers a voice for themselves; they don’t have to listen to what the advertisers and ad agencies have to say anymore in the same way.

The consumers’ perception of a brand has changed because of digital and interactive as well. Digital and interactive have completely changed PR. Brands can now be assaulted online by consumers if word gets out that they are doing something that is ethically questionable.

Digital and interactive really has changed the face of advertising. Advertising is no longer a broadcast, it is a discussion between the brand and the consumer. The interactions will only get deeper as technology continues to evolve. We have only scratched the surface in what kinds of advertising can be done online.

Major Shake Up at Ogilvy Toronto

This is pretty crazy news: The chief co-creative directors at Ogilvy Toronto, Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin have resigned to launch their own training company, called Swim. They plan to train creatives in agencies, starting with Ogilvy Toronto. Swim launches next month.

Ogilvy named Ian MacKellar as the new chief creative officer of their Toronto office in order to replace the spots that were vacated by Vonk and Kestin. He has really big shoes to fill, but I think that he more than capable of doing a good job. Only time will tell though.

I thought this was an interesting story because it really changes the creative landscape. How will brands like Dove fare in the hands of a different creative chief? This story is definitely worth keeping an eye on in the long term.

The original link can be found here.

Wheel of Concept

I'm back with another blog! Just as the weekend is almost over too.

I've wanted to blog about this for a while, but I just didn't have the time. The good folks at Tribal DDB came up with this thing called the Wheel of Concept. You just simply enter a brand name, spin the wheel and it will spit out an idea that you can use for a campaign. It's a lot of fun to play around with.

As an example, I typed in the brand name Rust-Oleum, and according to this application, I should make a campaign that uses augmented reality. I guess if you are stuck on something, you could use it, but I don't think it would be that practical. I used the example I previously mentioned several weeks ago when I first found out about the Wheel of Concept, and it spit out exactly the same idea. Of course according to the website, if you believe that you can come up with better ideas than they have, you should work at Tribal DDB. This does almost sound like a recruiting tool.

Recruiting tool or not, the Wheel of Concept is definitely fun to play around with. You can check it out for yourself here.

That's all for now. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @GalacticGirlx2 for even more insights into what it's like to be an advertising student.

Book Review: The Idea Writers

Book: The Idea Writers
Author: Teressa Iezzi

It's been a while since I last did a book review. I was so busy at school that I didn't have time to sit down and write one. But, the time has finally come for another review. I am pleased to share with you my opinion of the Advertising book called "The Idea Writers".

This book is all about copywriting, and more specifically, copywriting in the digital age. The author uses many examples of mostly recent successful campaigns to illustrate her point that a copywriter writes more than just some television commercials and magazine ads. A copywriter is someone who has to come up with ideas that can be used in a fully integrated campaign, especially in the new age of marketing.

In addition to highlighting some of the great campaigns, Iezzi also describes what the copywriter's job entails, as well as what should go into making an ad, including originality, and what life is like in the business.

Iezzi interviewed many copywriters, art directors, and creative directors in order to write this book. The juiciest parts are the various opinions and experiences of the industry professionals. It was great reading about how some of the best campaigns came together right from the people who worked on that particular campaign.

I have two favourite chapters in this book. The first, titled "Life in Adland" was particularly cool because the author asked several copywriters to describe what an average day is like for them for one of the sections in the chapter. Two out of the three wrote down their day as a timeline, including little details like hitting the snooze button a couple of times, and what they ordered for lunch. I thought that was a great touch and it gives you a feel for how hectic life can be like at an agency.

The second chapter that I really liked is called "Bringing Ideas to Life". This is the chapter that goes through some of the best campaigns in the digital age, and a couple of classic campaigns including the famous Economist ad campaign. This was a very enlightening chapter for several reasons. The copywriters, art directs, and creative directors described the process of how they came up with the ideas, most of the time, they were very spontaneous. It also described how much research went on behind the scenes, and how useful that research was in generating the idea.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The amount of research that went into writing it was quite apparent. It was extremely informative on the topic of how copywriting has changed since the 1960s, and even has boxes in some of chapters with career tips in them that could be quite useful. There is so much good advice in this book from both the author and the various creatives that were interviewed which could definitely help aspiring copywriters. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in working on the creative side of the ad business. Not only is this book very informative, but it is also fun to read.

I hope enjoyed this review. That's all until next time. And don't forget to follow me on Twitter @GalacticGirlx2 for even more insights into the life of an advertising student.

Back in Action

Today was the start of the new school year. I had a glorious 2 weeks off. A lot of great stuff will be happening this semester, including a school trip to New York to attend Advertising Week. It will be another busy term, so I hopefully will have to time to blog about all kinds of advertising stuff as well as school.

Hopefully tomorrow I will post a book review. I've read quite a few advertising and marketing books over the summer, so I have lots to review. This is really just a short update, and I'm looking forward to blogging more often.