Insights

The Pressure is on for HR and Recruiters, as Agencies Race to the Bottom Line After a turbulent year of layoffs, turnover, and assorted HR complexities, advertising agencies that had healthy fiscal years have relaxed their grip and started hiring at pre-2020 levels. Staff that had been operating with skeleton teams have been able to expand. Many of us in the advertising industry are stretched thin, but as business continues to pick up, demands on internal recruitment teams, in particular, are increasing. Internal recruitment specialists are suddenly handling searches across a wide spectrum – from freelancers to full-time staffers, creative…

  Cher Campbell, CCO of John St., shares some of the adversity she has faced personally and professionally over the past year. We really appreciate her openess and candor. What is one thing you have learned from the past pandemic year that you hope to carry into the future?  I’ve had the craziest year of my life notwithstanding the pandemic. It was a year of distractions. Divorce. Hospitalization. A rare brain condition. A promotion. 2 moves. An electrical fire. 2 very poopy floods. 2 refrigerators died – and I guess they were close with the furnace because it went soon…

  Meeting passionate and creative leaders is part of what inspires us about this industry. We spoke with Sarah Ceglarski, Chief Marketing Officer of Omelet. Read on for more here. What is the number one quality you look for in talent? Critical thinking. There’s rarely a playbook for anything we do in this business, and even with the playbook, we need to challenge ourselves to throw it out and rewrite it. I love it when new people join the team and they’re like, “why are you doing it this way?” And then suggest a genius new approach to something you hadn’t…

Recruitment Strategy Isn’t About Hiring for Reputation But Building an Organization Where Talent Can Thrive For the past twenty years, the New England Patriots have been a dominant franchise in the NFL. That’s with or without Tom Brady — though mostly with. Because of the impressive legacy and win record, struggling NFL teams have repeatedly hired Patriots assistant coaches, under the assumption that they might bring the magic and success to their own organization. Unfortunately, the results have been almost universally underwhelming. Advertising agencies are often guilty of this same approach: hiring stars from another agency and hoping for a…

From the Whopper Detour to 5-month Covid Detour in the Amazon Rainforest. Akos Papp talks a bit about his experience getting stuck in Peru for 5 months unable to return home. What was it like working remotely in the Amazon rainforest? Besides all the stress that comes with being stuck in a foreign place, it was an eye-opening experience. The entire planet collectively tested remote work in 2020, but I -unintentionally- pushed the concept to the extreme. I was always a proponent of remote work, and always fantasized about the “digital nomad” lifestyle. But I don’t think I ever believed…

People photo created by senivpetro – www.freepik.com Don’t Sleep on this Often Forgotten Safety Net Last year put a major spotlight on healthcare and the necessity of health insurance. For many who are self-employed or have formed small companies, having health insurance a box that needs to be checked. For all of us, there is real fear in not having health insurance and having to get treatment or a big procedure where financial ruin is a distinct possibility. Nearly two-thirds of all bankruptcies in the United States were caused by medical issues, according to a 2019 study by academic researchers. The…

  We are always grateful when advice and experiences are shared with us. Today we thank Elisa Silva, the Managing Director and Partner at 3Headed Monster, for hers: If you could attribute one other person or life event to your success, who or what would it be and why? For nearly forty years, it was my dad. For the last few years since his passing, it is even more so my dad. He was fair and kind and a little silly. He believed in shared accountability and how essential it is for everyone on a team to do their part.…

Coaching as a Tool for Better Career Development The advertising industry has long had a reputation for not investing and developing their employees leadership and management skills. In an industry that requires demanding client workloads and long hours, the quick fix has typically been for companies to place their focus on culture as a one-size-fits-all solution. Too often companies pluck creative superstars from one organization and expect them to reproduce the magic in a completely different environment. Many struggle going from their comfortable creative roles to being catapulted into a new job with new teams, sometimes as a promised savior…

  We had the privilege of speaking to Ingrid Otero-Smart, who is not only the President/CEO of Casanova//McCann, but the new acquirer of its majority ownership stake. We thank Ingrid for her time, her answers and for being an inspirational leader in the advertising industry. If you could attribute one other person or life event to your success, who or what would it be and why? I don’t think I could pinpoint to one person or event, as there have been so many that have influenced me. Being the oldest of four children always pushed me to be responsible and…

  We talked to Nkanyezi Masango, the Executive Creative Director at King James Group and the founder of Blackboard, an initiative that exposes teenagers (16-18) to the advertising and creative industry that normally would not have such access. Here are his words: If you could attribute one other person or life event to your success, who or what would it be and why? There’s a series of events and a variety of mentors that have shaped my career. But since you’re asking me to pick just one individual, I’ll have to go with my mom. She set me up in a…

Where the Advertising Industry will see Economic Growth Next The long-time dominant U.S. and U.K. advertising centers are in an unfamiliar position. Though they seem to be stabilizing, they are not currently pacing to return as the global leaders we’ve always known. In their place, Asian businesses and Asian agencies stand to bounce back stronger. In recent weeks, we’ve seen the U.S. ad industry show signs of recovery. Following an unfortunate wave of layoffs, agencies are now resuming hiring, brands are holding reviews, and new business is being won. During a year that seemingly just won’t end, there’s a general…

  Auro Trini Castelli is the Chief Strategy Officer at creative agency, Elephant. He has worked on campaigns for iconic brands like Apple, Beats by Dre, Audi, Oreo and HP. We spoke with Auro as part of our ongoing series that highlights talented individuals across the advertising industry. What is the number one quality you look for in talent? Eclecticism. I look for interesting and interested people, with a deep and wide variety of original passions. What is something the industry isn’t paying attention to that they should? We need to create more sustainable outcomes. If a new product, platform,…