Outpourings of An Advertising Man
Advertising Man, Those of us who chose
advertising as a profession learn the ropes the hard way. The determination to persevere
despite disappointments, the capacity to pour in endless hours of creativity into a project
and the resilience to handle rejection is a part of our life.
Advertising agencies are nurseries for their own particular brand of stoicism, so often do
we have to handle the rough with the smooth. Everybody does understand that the real test is
that the content has to appeal to the target audience. There are quite a few instances
though which try the patience of even the most philosophical among us. Especially when at
the insistence of demanding clients we work hard on polishing a particular pitch and work
and rework, other work in the process.
Advertising Man, Once the process is complete at our end and a final version submitted, lo
and behold there is total radio silence at the client end. The very people who would be
calling and following up become incommunicado. After a long gap they deign to reply that we
have selected some other agency and look forward to working with you in the future. There is
no acknowledgement of the effort put in and no feedback of any sort which is frustrating.
Branding
It is not the rejection that rankles but the sheer callousness and disrespect for one’s efforts. Also there is no compensation for the loss of time and opportunity that one misses out on in directing all one’s energy and time for this one particular project. The resultant financial losses that stem due to this also cannot be brushed away. So if you are banking on clinching any particular project for financial reasons, God help you if the decision makers belong to the above species. In so many cases, the marketing team has already decided the agency. They just call for this superficial pitching, to silence their opponents or may be their conscience.
Creativity
Often the creative team takes the brunt.
Despite no fault of theirs, they have to face this trial and hear the music from their boss.
We are sure this affects their work and motivation adversely.
It is time that all Agencies unite and take a firm stand to discourage such behavior.
Competition is great, especially in the creative field, as it inspires a person to produce
one’s best, but it should foster a culture where everybody flourishes. After all there is
only so much work that a person or organization can handle and limitless potential in the
sector.
It is up to our fraternity to respect our hard work and ensure that others do too and we get
rightly paid for it. Do let us know your views on the matter.
