ARGH!
Just one of those random thoughts that sneak up on you in the middle of the night.
This time it was the stark difference between...should I mention the agency names? Well, maybe not.
This time it was the stark difference between ABC where I was at and XXX where I'm currently at.
As much as XXX professes, or rather from what people who've been there longer than I have told me, as much as the place is trying to be like a family environment and a close-knit kinda place, it's actually quite the contrary. And when compared with ABC, the differences are incredibly profound.
For one, ABC was all about the love for advertising. Plain and simple. And that's one of the reasons why I'll never have regrets about my time there. I may not have been able to develop my craft as much as I wanted to, but I certainly learned a lot. Day in, day out, it was all about doing good ads. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. And when the boss says he's not the type to chase the money, he means it. He once said that whatever surplus he has, he'll give back to the staff, and he did. Numerous times. Where else do you get a company where, when the boss sells his car and buys another one and makes a little profit, does he give his staff a random, out of the blue bonus (we're talking 4 figures per person) from said profit?
And you talk about "family". Well, families don't keep secrets from each other and everything a member of the family does affects the others, right?
At ABC, everything was transparent the the hierarchy was really flat. You want to know how much the agency is charging a particular client? Just ask. Every year everyone will gather and the agency's finances will be discussed, how much we billed, how much we earned, how much we need to earn for the next year, etc. Transparent. A team, where everyone pulls together for the benefit of the company.
Over here, when the suits want to talk money with the client at a meeting, they actually have the FUCKING GALL to say "do you creatives mind excusing us for a while? We need to talk money." What the fuck are you trying to imply? Creatives don't have a right to know how much you're charging the client? Worried we might think we're underpaid? Why would you worry about that unless it's true? Or are you afraid we'll go behind your back and undercut you? If so, that says a lot about trust, don't you think?
And apparently non-suits aren't supposed to be privy to the whole billing and how much the client is being charged for concept, writing, etc. Speaks volumes about a creative's worth, doesn't it?
Speaking about how what one does or does not affects the others, I STILL cannot understand the mentality behind the whole "each team works on THIS account and no other team can touch it". If you're talking about an MNC with 200 people, FINE. But when you're referring to a small agency, where's the sense in that? If you're really concerned about doing good work instead of just making a quick buck, and if you're really concerned about the client instead of just being a slut and giving them whatever they ask for, you'd tap the strengths of your staff. Person A is the best person you have at POPs but isn't on the team that's in a pitch that calls for POPs? Let him do it anyway! Geez. You'd think it was obvious, wouldn't you?
Welfare? Ok, not welfare - just plain and simple management. If a team is overloaded and another is sitting there twiddling their bloody thumbs, what's the sensible thing to do? I'll give you a hint: it's NOT to keep the overloaded team slogging away and pushing out substandard work to meet deadlines while the rest knock off on the dot. I don't blame the teams that are twiddling their thumbs. I really don't. It's not that they aren't doing their work; they're not being GIVEN work. And that's the management's fault.
At the other place, everyone pulls together and does the work to the best of everyone's ability, whether you're in the team or not. Share the load, enjoy the spoils. When the agency gives good work, the agency has happy clients. When the agency has happy clients, the agency makes money. When the agency makes money, the staff make money and EVERYONE'S FUCKING HAPPIER THAN A TREE FULL OF GAY MONKEYS HIGH ON NITROUS OXIDE!
Right, it's late and I really can't be arsed to go on and on about this rubbish. I just needed to rant for a bit.
Sometimes I remember the last line from the "Wanted" graphic novel and I want to cry.
This time it was the stark difference between...should I mention the agency names? Well, maybe not.
This time it was the stark difference between ABC where I was at and XXX where I'm currently at.
As much as XXX professes, or rather from what people who've been there longer than I have told me, as much as the place is trying to be like a family environment and a close-knit kinda place, it's actually quite the contrary. And when compared with ABC, the differences are incredibly profound.
For one, ABC was all about the love for advertising. Plain and simple. And that's one of the reasons why I'll never have regrets about my time there. I may not have been able to develop my craft as much as I wanted to, but I certainly learned a lot. Day in, day out, it was all about doing good ads. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. And when the boss says he's not the type to chase the money, he means it. He once said that whatever surplus he has, he'll give back to the staff, and he did. Numerous times. Where else do you get a company where, when the boss sells his car and buys another one and makes a little profit, does he give his staff a random, out of the blue bonus (we're talking 4 figures per person) from said profit?
And you talk about "family". Well, families don't keep secrets from each other and everything a member of the family does affects the others, right?
At ABC, everything was transparent the the hierarchy was really flat. You want to know how much the agency is charging a particular client? Just ask. Every year everyone will gather and the agency's finances will be discussed, how much we billed, how much we earned, how much we need to earn for the next year, etc. Transparent. A team, where everyone pulls together for the benefit of the company.
Over here, when the suits want to talk money with the client at a meeting, they actually have the FUCKING GALL to say "do you creatives mind excusing us for a while? We need to talk money." What the fuck are you trying to imply? Creatives don't have a right to know how much you're charging the client? Worried we might think we're underpaid? Why would you worry about that unless it's true? Or are you afraid we'll go behind your back and undercut you? If so, that says a lot about trust, don't you think?
And apparently non-suits aren't supposed to be privy to the whole billing and how much the client is being charged for concept, writing, etc. Speaks volumes about a creative's worth, doesn't it?
Speaking about how what one does or does not affects the others, I STILL cannot understand the mentality behind the whole "each team works on THIS account and no other team can touch it". If you're talking about an MNC with 200 people, FINE. But when you're referring to a small agency, where's the sense in that? If you're really concerned about doing good work instead of just making a quick buck, and if you're really concerned about the client instead of just being a slut and giving them whatever they ask for, you'd tap the strengths of your staff. Person A is the best person you have at POPs but isn't on the team that's in a pitch that calls for POPs? Let him do it anyway! Geez. You'd think it was obvious, wouldn't you?
Welfare? Ok, not welfare - just plain and simple management. If a team is overloaded and another is sitting there twiddling their bloody thumbs, what's the sensible thing to do? I'll give you a hint: it's NOT to keep the overloaded team slogging away and pushing out substandard work to meet deadlines while the rest knock off on the dot. I don't blame the teams that are twiddling their thumbs. I really don't. It's not that they aren't doing their work; they're not being GIVEN work. And that's the management's fault.
At the other place, everyone pulls together and does the work to the best of everyone's ability, whether you're in the team or not. Share the load, enjoy the spoils. When the agency gives good work, the agency has happy clients. When the agency has happy clients, the agency makes money. When the agency makes money, the staff make money and EVERYONE'S FUCKING HAPPIER THAN A TREE FULL OF GAY MONKEYS HIGH ON NITROUS OXIDE!
Right, it's late and I really can't be arsed to go on and on about this rubbish. I just needed to rant for a bit.
Sometimes I remember the last line from the "Wanted" graphic novel and I want to cry.
