After being in the ad business for more than 30 years, it’s still a business that fascinates me. Here are my top five reasons to love the work and the clients for whom we do it.
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Reason #1—Advertising is so educational. In our business you literally learn something every day. Sometimes it’s a mind-blowing technology. Sometimes, it’s a compelling stat. Sometimes it’s a piece of wisdom from a smart client. When you immerse yourself in a myriad of companies, categories and culture–you leave every day smarter because of it.
Reason #2—Who doesn’t love telling a cool story? We get to tell one story after another to entertain, engage and persuade audiences of all ages and stages. We get to use some of the coolest and newest tools to tell these stories. And sometimes, these stories and the people in them even make history. That makes us really proud.
Reason #3—Hard work doesn’t seem so hard when you love doing it. Yes, there’s nothing easy about the ad business. But for those of us who love it, doing anything else is what’s hard. The pressure to perform, the opportunity to create, the pursuit of the big idea, the problem solving, the compelling conversation, the constant exploration, the constant innovation and expecting the unexpected—all of this gets our adrenalin going and keeps us coming back for more.
Reason #4— The friendships are amazing. When you spend time in the trenches with someone you get to know him or her very well. And if your agency is doing a good job of choosing its people and its clients, then every one of those “trench opportunities” is a building block for lasting friendship. We all spend more time at work than we do at home. The people we share that work with on both sides of the business are some of the most interesting and special people we ever get to know.
Reason #5—We get to help good people and good companies succeed and in doing so, we create success for ourselves. That’s a win-win proposition that puts us in control of our own destiny. And we like that.
