It’s the last week of Lofts and I feel like I am finally starting to figure things out here (and in life)….
As it is the last week of the program, I wanted to reflect back on my experience while highlighting some of my learnings and the impact they will have on my personal and professional life moving forward.
Overall, my time in Paris has not only allowed me to expand my knowledge and understanding of the industry, but it has also opened many doors for personal development. This program has encouraged me to immerse myself into the business and culture of a foreign country. Only at an international agency is an opportunity like this possible, and thankfully I was fortunate enough to partake.
It is inevitable that when experiencing something new that we naturally compare and contrast everything little thing. This can be ill-fated for some, as one may be bias or possibly too set in their ways to try something new, resulting in the inability to adapt or grow in a new environment. However, if you go into an experience open minded and willing to adjust your preconceived conceptions, you can have an extremely enlightening experience.
I honestly try to head into everyday open minded and ready to carpe it all! And that is just what I did while living and working in Paris for an entire month. As a result, I have been exposed to so much! What I learned here will no question change how I advance in my professional career and my personal life moving forward.
To reiterate, I am here thanks to one major influence, Havas. I would have never been able to have this experience if it wasn’t for my company and its continued investment in their employees. Therefore, I am forever grateful for this. And although my time involved in the Loft program has significantly contributed to my personal outlook on life, I have also taken away with me a very interesting view of the Global Media Industry. That was the point right ; )… So I will touch on my personal learnings after, but to start I want to highlight a very interesting difference between the Paris office and the North American offices. Something that will have a strong effect on how I view my work going home and moving forward in general.
Professional Learning: Loi Sapin — And the importance of adding value in other ways
Loi Sapin — In January 1993, the French Parliament approved the Sapin Law to prevent corruption and introduce transparency into media dealings. The Sapin Law requires that all companies that act as media planners must inform clients of the financial ties that they have to media brokers or media owners. The law provides that the intermediary who buys ad space or any other ad service must do so as an agent of an advertiser and not for its own account — in order to promote billing practices that correspond to services actually rendered. The law thus requires to diversify with research and consultancy.
The law required each publication and broadcast outlet to publish a fixed rate card and limiting volume discounts, basically eliminating any negotiated media rates. As a result, this in turn took agencies and media buyers out of the payment and discount equation by forcing all transactions between advertiser and media to be direct and documented.
This law is one of the most controversial media laws. When this law first went into effect, agencies were stuck paying the price for relying on making money solely from media rather than the creative product. Basically, the majority of profits were made through selling media, not selling good advice and expertise to clients. With media no longer a source of revenue, they were forced to focus on the real heart of our business… creativity, and show our clients that it is worth paying for.
When I first learned about this, I was shocked. How has Havas Media persisted here over the last 20 years?? What would we do in Chicago if this law went into effect? There is really only one solution and that is to re-evaluate the creative work that agencies do. Agencies like Havas must show advertisers what they already know — that the agency is a vital partner in the success of a client’s sales.
My takeaway from this is that, although our agencies in North America are not affected by this now or might not ever be, we cannot move forward simply relying on media revenue alone. We need to take a proactive approach to this and shift our focus to building creative value that we can provide to our clients. (i.e. DDOG!!!!! An initiative I have been lucky enough to work on during my time here with Havas Media -Trafficking Paris)
Personal Learning: “No matter what your age, what you have seen/heard, where you have traveled, who you have met, we are all newbies in life.” — Jaclyn (Post Lofts)
“My biggest pet peeve is when people go on vacation for a week somewhere and come back and now somehow know everything! They are officially smarter, wiser, and more experienced than you are” –Jason Sparke, from the trafficking team in Paris said this to me and it really made me think. Like, shit that is annoying! i.e Do you really know more about African culture and society from that safari you were on??? Or how would you compare the Caribbean population (on the beach) to that of Americas. And also, please stop talking to me immediately.
Jason is originally from Australia and has been living in France for 12+ years. And he admitted to me that he is still learning things about people and this country in general every day. I very much respected that he acknowledged this. And as a result, I have kept thinking to myself, wow, I have so much I have to see in this world. I am not going to travel everywhere and I am not going to learn everything, it is literally impossible, but from the wise words of the Buddha: “There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.”
Basically, I feel like I have been so sheltered and comfortable for so long. And now I have finally had the opportunity to get out, explore, see some of the world and meet some amazing people. In the last month I have been to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Florence and Rome. Prior to this month, I had never left North America. What have I learned? That I have A LOT to do. New languages to study, so many new cuisines to try, a ton countries to get lost in, billions of people to talk to, so much history to learn…. and I will never finish, but I will never stop, starting now.
