#AgencyLife Myths—Debunked
By Amy Wheaton
You follow the #AgencyLife hashtag on social media. You’ve watched all seven seasons of Mad Men. You’ve got a pretty good idea of what it’s like to work at an ad agency, right? As it turns out, there are plenty of myths about the ad world. It’s time to clear up which are fact and which are fiction. If you’re thinking about pursuing a career in the ad business, here’s what you need to know!
P.S. All gifs were created by our favourite Tumblr, Mad Men Integrated
Myth: It’s an easy job.
Fact: OK, we may not be saving lives or risking our own to create eye-catching ad campaigns, award-winning websites, or cool digital creative. But working in an agency environment has its challenges! Juggling deadlines, budgets, and briefs isn’t necessarily a nine-to-five, Monday-Friday endeavour, and those who are most successful in the marketing world tend to be both creative and organized–two attributes that don’t always necessarily go hand-in-hand. But a great attitude, a thirst for knowledge, a willingness to work hard, and an ability to go with the flow will take you a long way!
Myth: Everyone parties–all the time.
Fact: Full disclosure: Four out of four of the agencies I’ve worked at offered beer at work (after hours on Fridays, not the open bar scenario you might be imagining). At VERB, beer and cider aren’t our only treats–we also enjoy perks like free fresh fruit, snacks, and great coffee, so there are plenty of ways to cheers your coworkers without raising a brew. Agency staffers tend to adhere to a “work hard, play hard” mentality, but it’s not limited to after-work drinks. Since they’re packed with high-energy, creative folks, many agencies offer their teams plenty of opportunities to have fun. At VERB, we’ve got intramural sports teams, social events, and charity engagements, just to name a few examples. It’s not a nonstop party, but it makes for a really enjoyable team atmosphere. And sometimes, at the end of a long week, a frosty four o’clock beverage isn’t the worst thing in the world.
Myth: It’s hard to get started in an advertising career.
Fact: Everyone starts somewhere, and an ad agency is no different. There are tons of entry level openings for smart people who are willing to work hard and want to learn! If you’re passionate about working for an ad agency, don’t wait to see a job opening posted–instead, research the agency, get familiar with their client lists and philosophies, and set up an informational interview with HR. Agencies bring on new clients quickly and often need to staff up fast, so showing initiative will help you be top-of-mind when the next hiring cycle rolls around. (Wondering where you might fit into the lineup? Check out our Agency World Cup positions or see what the stars have in store for your marketing career.)
Myth: Every assignment you’ll work on is high-profile.
Fact: Ninety-nine percent of the work you’ll do at an agency is behind the scenes. Research, creating timelines, developing concepts that get tossed out, status calls–it’s not all Cannes-award-winning work, all the time. For example, if you’re a writer, you won’t be spending your days writing catchy taglines and slogans. More realistically, you’ll be writing web copy or emails or meta descriptions. Guess what? If it’s what you love to do, it’s still fun. You can find ways to make even the most seemingly mundane or ordinary tasks enjoyable and creative. On that note: since creativity is encouraged, don’t be afraid to raise your hand if there’s something you want to work on or something you’d like to do differently. The best agency bosses love to see that kind of initiative.
Myth: Clients are the enemy.
Fact: In addition to paying the bills that in turn pay your salary, it’s important to remember that clients are also human beings. They fight with their spouses, their kids won’t eat dinner, their car broke down on the way to work, they paid for a large coffee and only got a small at the drive-thru. Most importantly: Your client has a boss that they’re trying to impress, too. Your job is to make your client look good to their boss. If you can make your client’s life easier, you’re doing it right. If you can make them look like a star at work–even better. Clients are partners and friends. We’re all on the same team, working toward the same goals.
Myth: Advertising is glamorous.
Fact: While advertising does have its perks–think flashy award shows, free products to try, and cookie deliveries over the holidays–it’s not all glam. For one guerilla campaign I worked on, my team and I ran around downtown Halifax hiding miniature toilet plungers in public places (we won several awards for our efforts, thank you very much). Another time I spent an entire week in early fall driving to Superstores around Nova Scotia in a desperate search for red Christmas balls for a client’s holiday campaign. For every fancy event you get to attend, there are hundreds of hours spent toiling over spreadsheets, briefs, and, sometimes, tasks that are straight-up bizarre.
Myth: The ad world is cutthroat.
Fact: Many of my very best friends are people I met working at ad agencies, and there’s nothing better than knowing that you’ve got a supportive crew to help you hide miniature toilet plungers (and then go collect them when the campaign’s over). When you’re working together as a team to solve a problem for a client or come up with an amazing new idea, you can’t help but bond. One of my favourite things about the content team at VERB is seeing the friendships that have blossomed here. Coming to work is a whole lot of fun when you’re spending the day with your friends, and the teamwork and collaboration that makes a great agency team so successful naturally lends itself to friendships outside of work too.
If you’re still dreaming of becoming the next Don Draper–or you’ve actually read this article and now have a much more realistic view of what working at an agency is like, and you still want to try it–check out our careers page, or drop us a line!
Amy is the Director of Content Strategy at VERB Interactive — a leader in digital marketing, specializing in solutions for the travel and hospitality industry. Find out more at www.verbinteractive.com.
