A different world; El mismo mundo

“Havas Lofts is a significant investment in your career, and is not an all-expenses paid trip.”

The brand new Havas office in Madrid

Even though it sounds like a bit of a buzz kill, I try to remember that line as I go through the day-to-day here in Madrid. As much fun as I’m having, as beautiful as the city is, I came here to observe and to learn.

So…while stuff like this is amaaaaaazing:

Havas in-house cafe porch

So…think of English Court as if Walmart, Macy’s, and Sears Roebuck had a baby. This is a room dedicated to placing orders and receiving deliveries for Havas employees in Madrid. A coworker described it as “Amazon in a building”

I’ve still got a job to do Monday through Friday — learn something useful to take back home; and teach something useful to leave behind. While I’m still working on the leave behind part, I’ve already learned so much here!

1. Research & strategy in Madrid is the same job as research & strategy in Chicago
   In a total “Freaky Friday” moment I looked over my neighbor’s shoulder and saw him working on presentation I’ve made a dozen times before. Competitive spending, demographic analysis, pyschographic insights. The finished product might look a little different, but the same ingredients are all there.
2. Cultural insight can be more powerful than data if you apply it the right way
   In an attempt to get me a little more acclimated and understand Spanish advertising a bit more, my coworkers showed me a couple of award winning examples of how brands applied cultural insight to develop top shelf creative:
   Spain has an annual Christmas Lottery called “El Gordo.” I’m told that about half of all Spanish people play each year — it’s a true national tradition. Friends, family, and coworkers join pool their money to buy tickets in hopes of hitting it big and splitting the winnings. A lot of people buy tickets simply because they’re scared of the possibilities if they don’t…

“La Fresca” is a simple and lovely idea — go sit outside and have a chat with a friend or neighbor. It’s an old tradition that stems from people waiting for the end of the work day and enjoying the cool night air to socialize. The idea’s begun to fade, usually only taken up by the elderly now — but why should it be that way?

3. Taking time to enjoy life can make you a better employee

Every day you can see dozens and dozens of Havas-ers hanging out in the cafe or on the porch eating a nice, simple, traditional breakfast. From 9–11, it’s accepted (and encouraged) to take 15 minutes and just ease into your day with this:

Bread with olive oil and tomato sauce with a coffee (fruit added by me!)

It’s also nice to take advantage of the long afternoon lunch break for some team bonding. Barring something unexpected, the research & strategy team goes out together for lunch once a week!

My temporary work family!

My education thus far has been excellent. I can’t wait to see what I learn next!