The document is an employee handbook for Crispin Porter + Bogusky, an advertising agency. It provides an overview of the agency's culture and approach to work. Some key points include:
- The agency sees itself as a "factory" that produces marketing products for clients, not a service business. Great work is the priority over client demands.
- Employees are expected to have a strong work ethic and passion for advertising. The culture emphasizes creativity, spontaneity, and helping others to produce great work.
- Meetings are kept short and work is the priority. Employees are encouraged to ignore department boundaries and help each other complete projects.
- Deadlines are taken very seriously, as
How to measure Digital looks at the important role of Key Performance Indicators and how you create them. It takes a Communication Objective and turns it into Strategy that leads to Tactics to support the Strategy. The final piece is putting in place Key Performance Indicators which makes up the parts of the Communications Objective.
Top 10 Planning Departments in Advertising ShortlistJulian Cole
For more strategy resources sign up to Planning Dirty at https://www.planningdirty.com/newsletter
A common problem for planners moving markets is understanding the best agencies to work for. With a great list of international planners in the Planning Dirty newsletter group I thought I would ask the planners who they thought was the best agency to work for.
I compiled the first 10 agencies for the shortlist by analyzing the planning (IPA, Effies, Jay Chiats) and creative awards (Gunn Report) from the last three year looking at the agencies that consistently perform well.
I am making a shortlist of 20, so would love to get recommendations on agencies that you think should make the list.
Next week on the newsletter through an anonymous vote, I’ll put out the poll and report back the results. Sign up to the Planning Dirty newsletter to vote and get the best planning tools and resources fortnightly. bit.ly/PlanningDirty
How to measure Digital looks at the important role of Key Performance Indicators and how you create them. It takes a Communication Objective and turns it into Strategy that leads to Tactics to support the Strategy. The final piece is putting in place Key Performance Indicators which makes up the parts of the Communications Objective.
Top 10 Planning Departments in Advertising ShortlistJulian Cole
For more strategy resources sign up to Planning Dirty at https://www.planningdirty.com/newsletter
A common problem for planners moving markets is understanding the best agencies to work for. With a great list of international planners in the Planning Dirty newsletter group I thought I would ask the planners who they thought was the best agency to work for.
I compiled the first 10 agencies for the shortlist by analyzing the planning (IPA, Effies, Jay Chiats) and creative awards (Gunn Report) from the last three year looking at the agencies that consistently perform well.
I am making a shortlist of 20, so would love to get recommendations on agencies that you think should make the list.
Next week on the newsletter through an anonymous vote, I’ll put out the poll and report back the results. Sign up to the Planning Dirty newsletter to vote and get the best planning tools and resources fortnightly. bit.ly/PlanningDirty
You can now download the presentation directly from Slideshare.
*Disclaimer this is just my imaginary example of a Comms Plan for the Puma work and not the actual strategy that was created by Droga5 for Puma. I had nothing to do with that plan and am just a fan of their work.
What is Comms Planning? is a presentation that provides a clear answer of the role of the Comms Planner within an Advertising Agency. I use the example of the Puma Social campaign to prove the point.
6 steps to creating a Social Media StrategyJulian Cole
Pay with a tweet to download the presentation - goo.gl/5Jw21
This presentation is part of the Skillshare class I taught on 'Creating a great Social Media Strategy'. I am teaching 'A crash course in Digital Strategy' on February 11th. You can sign up to the online course for $20 - http://skl.sh/VOj2ol
The Birth Of A Grand Strategist By Waqar RiazWaqar Riaz
This journey is to learn about and understand models and ideas that are great enough to trigger our thinking, and may help us to imagine what is possible with what we have.
This effort has been exerted in an attempt to understand the grand concepts of planning and how it can help to strengthen the future for brands, people and communication companies.
brightonSEO - Stress Is Contagious Don't Catch It From Your ClientsKathryn Monkcom
Agencies are made up of people. Client teams are made up of people. And people have A LOT of emotions. Juggling other people’s fears, needs and stresses is exhausting and yet, if you care about your work, you do it every day.
You’ll leave this talk with psychologically-backed coaching techniques you can use in your professional interactions to stop other people’s drama clouding your judgement and affecting your mood at work and at home.
A Planner's Playbook - Everything I learned about planning at Miami Ad School...Sytse Kooistra
After being in advertising for 4 years, I needed some new guidance and inspiration as a strategist. And that is exactly what I found: I spent the summer of 2013 with 17 other (soon to be) planners from all over the world attending the Account Planning Bootcamp at Miami Ad School New York.
Thanks to the 38 industry heroes and instructors that shared their knowledge and coached us in those 3 months, I learned more than I ever could imagine about planning.
'A Planner's Playbook' is my attempt to summarize all that wisdom in 30 short nuggets (or plays, to stick with the metaphor of a playbook) and share it with you. I left out all the difficult frameworks and models and kept in simple by just stating, in my opinion (and in that of my instructors), what a planner should be and do.
Enjoy reading.
The key to attracting your ideal clients more easily is to be known for a BIG idea. An idea your clients use to produce results in their lives/business.
In this webinar you'll learn:
• Which of the Four Big Ideas is best suited to you
• Create a context that takes your performance to new levels
• Invent the rules that make you an expert in your field.
How SEO changes, as we say bye bye to cookiesAccuraCast
Slides from AccuraCast MD, Farhad Divecha's presentation at Brighton SEO.
In his talk, Farhad discussed how the removal of third-party cookies will affect SEO and advised delegates on practical, actionable things they can do to best equip their business to overcome the potential challenges involved.
Je ne sais pas si vous vous êtes déjà posé cette question mais moi oui. Parce que l'intention de recherche en SEO, en fait, c’est assez facile : l’utilisateur veut acheter, alors je positionne une page catégorie ou une fiche produit. Et en même temps, c’est devenu incontournable pour ranker, donc ça doit être un pilier. Mais en fait ce que j’ai découvert, c’est que l’intention de recherche ce n’est pas un pilier. Ce n’est d’ailleurs pas un critère de ranking. Non, l’intention de recherche c’est un filtre.
Our latest design brochure creds. Check out some of our client work here.
TEN Creative are an award winning design agency in Norwich, Norfolk UK. We work on design for print and digital media, ranging from websites and managed email campaigns to complete brand development via integrated marketing.
Research, particularly academic, into Branding, Design, and Business, often seeks to identify common issues of practice within identified subject areas and create frameworks or models, which will help practitioners within business organisations to operate more effectively.
In building case studies through a speculative comparison of two B2C brands; Lego and Unilever, such brand models are applied here to examine why each company has found it necessary to adopt changes to their strategy to incur different relationships with their customers.
El EEAT ha combrado mucha fuerza últimamente y hablamos mucho de estas siglas que se ha sacado Google de la Marca.
Pero, ¿Qué es el EEAT?, ¿qué factores repercuten en esto? ¿Sirve para algo?
El EEAT no es un factor de posicionamiento porque no existe una checklist que podamos replicar en las diferentes webs y no se aplica de la misma manera a todos los sites.
Del mismo modo, no es solo algo que aplicar en webs del sector Your Money, Your Life (YMYL). La excelencia o calidad de una página se mide en todo tipo de webs, desde blogs, foros, webs corporativas, ecommerces...Con independencia del propósito de la página web.
En mi opinión, el EEAT es algo que ya existía y nuestras decisiones están basadas en ésto que Google ha empaquetado y ha puesto un nombre para apropiarse de algo tan mundano como es el motivo por el que compramos un producto y no otro.
La experiencia, el conocimiento, la autoridad y la confianza de una marca siempre ha formado parte de nuestra toma de decisiones a la hora de adquirir productos y servicios. Por eso tomamos Coca Cola y no Meca Cola.
Post sobre Marca y SEO: https://luciayelseo.com/la-marca-y-el-seo/
Post sobre marca personal: https://luciayelseo.com/que-es-marca-personal/
Post sobre el branding SEO: https://luciayelseo.com/secretos-de-seo-branding/
You can now download the presentation directly from Slideshare.
*Disclaimer this is just my imaginary example of a Comms Plan for the Puma work and not the actual strategy that was created by Droga5 for Puma. I had nothing to do with that plan and am just a fan of their work.
What is Comms Planning? is a presentation that provides a clear answer of the role of the Comms Planner within an Advertising Agency. I use the example of the Puma Social campaign to prove the point.
6 steps to creating a Social Media StrategyJulian Cole
Pay with a tweet to download the presentation - goo.gl/5Jw21
This presentation is part of the Skillshare class I taught on 'Creating a great Social Media Strategy'. I am teaching 'A crash course in Digital Strategy' on February 11th. You can sign up to the online course for $20 - http://skl.sh/VOj2ol
The Birth Of A Grand Strategist By Waqar RiazWaqar Riaz
This journey is to learn about and understand models and ideas that are great enough to trigger our thinking, and may help us to imagine what is possible with what we have.
This effort has been exerted in an attempt to understand the grand concepts of planning and how it can help to strengthen the future for brands, people and communication companies.
brightonSEO - Stress Is Contagious Don't Catch It From Your ClientsKathryn Monkcom
Agencies are made up of people. Client teams are made up of people. And people have A LOT of emotions. Juggling other people’s fears, needs and stresses is exhausting and yet, if you care about your work, you do it every day.
You’ll leave this talk with psychologically-backed coaching techniques you can use in your professional interactions to stop other people’s drama clouding your judgement and affecting your mood at work and at home.
A Planner's Playbook - Everything I learned about planning at Miami Ad School...Sytse Kooistra
After being in advertising for 4 years, I needed some new guidance and inspiration as a strategist. And that is exactly what I found: I spent the summer of 2013 with 17 other (soon to be) planners from all over the world attending the Account Planning Bootcamp at Miami Ad School New York.
Thanks to the 38 industry heroes and instructors that shared their knowledge and coached us in those 3 months, I learned more than I ever could imagine about planning.
'A Planner's Playbook' is my attempt to summarize all that wisdom in 30 short nuggets (or plays, to stick with the metaphor of a playbook) and share it with you. I left out all the difficult frameworks and models and kept in simple by just stating, in my opinion (and in that of my instructors), what a planner should be and do.
Enjoy reading.
The key to attracting your ideal clients more easily is to be known for a BIG idea. An idea your clients use to produce results in their lives/business.
In this webinar you'll learn:
• Which of the Four Big Ideas is best suited to you
• Create a context that takes your performance to new levels
• Invent the rules that make you an expert in your field.
How SEO changes, as we say bye bye to cookiesAccuraCast
Slides from AccuraCast MD, Farhad Divecha's presentation at Brighton SEO.
In his talk, Farhad discussed how the removal of third-party cookies will affect SEO and advised delegates on practical, actionable things they can do to best equip their business to overcome the potential challenges involved.
Je ne sais pas si vous vous êtes déjà posé cette question mais moi oui. Parce que l'intention de recherche en SEO, en fait, c’est assez facile : l’utilisateur veut acheter, alors je positionne une page catégorie ou une fiche produit. Et en même temps, c’est devenu incontournable pour ranker, donc ça doit être un pilier. Mais en fait ce que j’ai découvert, c’est que l’intention de recherche ce n’est pas un pilier. Ce n’est d’ailleurs pas un critère de ranking. Non, l’intention de recherche c’est un filtre.
Our latest design brochure creds. Check out some of our client work here.
TEN Creative are an award winning design agency in Norwich, Norfolk UK. We work on design for print and digital media, ranging from websites and managed email campaigns to complete brand development via integrated marketing.
Research, particularly academic, into Branding, Design, and Business, often seeks to identify common issues of practice within identified subject areas and create frameworks or models, which will help practitioners within business organisations to operate more effectively.
In building case studies through a speculative comparison of two B2C brands; Lego and Unilever, such brand models are applied here to examine why each company has found it necessary to adopt changes to their strategy to incur different relationships with their customers.
El EEAT ha combrado mucha fuerza últimamente y hablamos mucho de estas siglas que se ha sacado Google de la Marca.
Pero, ¿Qué es el EEAT?, ¿qué factores repercuten en esto? ¿Sirve para algo?
El EEAT no es un factor de posicionamiento porque no existe una checklist que podamos replicar en las diferentes webs y no se aplica de la misma manera a todos los sites.
Del mismo modo, no es solo algo que aplicar en webs del sector Your Money, Your Life (YMYL). La excelencia o calidad de una página se mide en todo tipo de webs, desde blogs, foros, webs corporativas, ecommerces...Con independencia del propósito de la página web.
En mi opinión, el EEAT es algo que ya existía y nuestras decisiones están basadas en ésto que Google ha empaquetado y ha puesto un nombre para apropiarse de algo tan mundano como es el motivo por el que compramos un producto y no otro.
La experiencia, el conocimiento, la autoridad y la confianza de una marca siempre ha formado parte de nuestra toma de decisiones a la hora de adquirir productos y servicios. Por eso tomamos Coca Cola y no Meca Cola.
Post sobre Marca y SEO: https://luciayelseo.com/la-marca-y-el-seo/
Post sobre marca personal: https://luciayelseo.com/que-es-marca-personal/
Post sobre el branding SEO: https://luciayelseo.com/secretos-de-seo-branding/
This is AND CO's Employee Handbook. We update this book every couple month to reflect our latest updates in learning and beliefs.
A company's product and reputation is a direct outcome of a company's culture. And a strong culture is created by common beliefs, not Ping Pong tables.
Where Is My Mind? – Risking Security & Finding Sanity by Leaving Big Business...Bennett King
This talk was originally given at Chicago Camps' Prototypes, Process, & Play in August 2018.
The slides offer the pains earned and lessons learned in my move out of big business and into a small design agency, Konrad+King.
Truffle Talent Digital Summit 2015: Briefing and feeding back to creativesJonny Watson
I few home truths about how best to brief and feed back to creatives - from the point of view of someone you could never fire...
Premiered at the Truffle Talent Digital Summit 2015, aboard HMS President.
I'm sorry to say that Slideshare doesn't play animated gifs or animations so it's not the same as seeing me deliver this live.
Slideshare doesn't do notes very well either so I've embedded them in the relevant slides.
I'm nice like that.
No matter how utopian your agile working environment, if you're building a commercial product, at some stage you will be asked the inevitable question - When will it be done? This talk will provide you with tools and techniques to use when you hear your manager say "We just need to get better at estimating".
If you have ever wished for a crystal ball to help you predict the team's future, this talk is for you!
Over two hundred years of collective experience has gone into this document. Those who contributed are not only talented individuals with a wealth of knowledge, but also compassionate professionals who remember what it's like to be a student. They've all taken time out of their already overtaxed schedules to share a lesson based on their own personal experience.
Everyone was asked one simple question: What makes a good advertising intern?
Despite being so open-ended, the question yielded many common themes. Passion for the business, a positive attitude and an amazing work ethic were mentioned a number of times. Enthusiasm was also highlighted often, as was - hmm - proper hygiene. Each and every contributor was brutally honest and candid. Anyone who reads this revealing document owes them a huge debt of gratitude.
How to become an unstoppable launch machine - breakfast briefing October 2014...fivebyfive
As a launch marketing agency, we’ve worked on launches for products and services in many different sectors, to many different audiences across many different channels. Every launch is different.
However, we’ve learned that there are certain things which are common to successful launches, which over time have become our guiding principles.
This is a summary of these 10 guiding principles.
Want to learn how to be a brand ambassador? Better yet, one of the best?
Join us at Promo Rockstars and we can help guide you every step of the way!
(And for those with experience, there is always something we can learn. We are here to coach our community and help provide resources, no matter what experience level. We will help you get to the next level, beyond brand ambassadorship even)
http://www.promorockstar.com/group
The Employee Handbook for People who Make People™People
At People, our employees work in what we call a 'Culture of Innovation'. This incredibly creative approach to working has brought us some of the best ideas we've ever seen. View handbook and learn how we do it.
7 Reasons Why Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Make the Best Startup WorkersCaroline Lucas
This first appeared as a blog post on the Startup Institute blog, but after “going viral” in the Peace Corps community, it was published on the official agency blog as well, striking a chord with all the entrepreneurial RPCVs of the world.
Similar to Crispin Porter Bogusky Employee Handbook (20)
JESS3 Presents - The Do's & Don'ts of Making an InfographicJESS3
Utilizing infographics to tie visual design and data together is what we do best, and we're gonna let you in on the secret to our success! Here are the Do's and Don'ts of creating an awesome infographic!
It's finally Christmas! We've spent a whole year creating thousands of snackable graphics & now it's time to snack on some xmas goodies! So from all of us here at JESS3 to all of you, Merry Christmas & a happy, healthy New Year!
Putting the Strategy in Client Strategy by JESS3JESS3
Made with love and learnings by JESS3. Originally presented by JESS3 Associate Director of Client Strategy Sheri Cook to the University of Oklahoma AdClub on November 27, 2012.
Running up to their big Storytelling Lab Day this October, Ogilvy London asked some of its key partners to come in and talk about the many different aspects of storytelling week-by-week in the form of a Lab Lunch. This week JESS3 presented Visual Storytelling with Data to the Ogilvy team.
A Brief History of Information Design and Visual StorytellingJESS3
Humankind has been telling complex stories through simple visuals long before you saw your first infographic at Mashable. History is humbling, let's go back in time together!
Originally presented at JESS3's UX Week 2012 Infographic Workshop.
JESS3 specializes in the art of data visualization, adding context and meaning to the exponentially growing world of data around us.
The infographic is in danger. Learn what you can do to save it from (insert villain here).
Originally presented at JESS3's UX Week 2012 Infographic Workshop.
JESS3 specializes in the art of data visualization, adding context and meaning to the exponentially growing world of data around us.
How to Select a Topic and Target Audience for Your InfographicJESS3
Honing in on your topic and audience are harder than you might think. Don't worry, we are here to help.
Originally presented at JESS3's UX Week 2012 Infographic Workshop.
JESS3 specializes in the art of data visualization, adding context and meaning to the exponentially growing world of data around us.
Have you ever found yourself in a never ending spiral of edits from a client? Did you or your client assume that making an infographic would be "quick" and "easy"? If you've answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to review this deck and reflect.
Originally presented at JESS3's UX Week 2012 Infographic Workshop.
JESS3 specializes in the art of data visualization, adding context and meaning to the exponentially growing world of data around us.
How to Create a Narrative for Your InfographicJESS3
Just like your term paper in college, an infographic needs to have a structure: from a clear thesis, to credible evidence to a concise (and even actionable) conclusion.
Originally presented at JESS3's UX Week 2012 Infographic Workshop.
JESS3 specializes in the art of data visualization, adding context and meaning to the exponentially growing world of data around us.
Thought Starters for Infographic Distribution and OutreachJESS3
Ever wonder how an infographic goes -- dare we say -- "viral"? A few thought starters to get the wheels turning.
Originally presented at JESS3's UX Week 2012 Infographic Workshop.
JESS3 specializes in the art of data visualization, adding context and meaning to the exponentially growing world of data around us.
The Importance of Infographic Wireframing and StructureJESS3
Ever wonder why an infographic doesn't look "just right"? Chances are they skipped out on some of these key steps. Originally presented at JESS3's UX Week 2012 Infographic Workshop.
JESS3 specializes in the art of data visualization, adding context and meaning to the exponentially growing world of data around us.
Learn how Eloqua and JESS3 collaborated to combine content marketing with social media to improve business performance. Content includes: The Content Grid, The Social Media Playbook, The Future of Revenue Video and Grande Guide series. Case study prepared by Joe Chernov (Director of Content, Eloqua) and Leslie Bradshaw (President & COO of JESS3) in November 2010.
This JESS3-illustrated case derives 10 actionable Facebook marketing lessons from a BrandGlue / Eloqua collaboration that increased Eloqua's Fan community by 2,500%, Facebook-referred traffic by 150% and Fan engagement to 3x industry norms. Tips include: Create a landing tab with a single call to action - it can increase new Fan conversions by 73 percent; and avoid 3rd party publishing tools, which can reduce visibility by 61 percent. While the tips apply to all marketers, they are especially important for B2B marketers.
Hello everyone! I am thrilled to present my latest portfolio on LinkedIn, marking the culmination of my architectural journey thus far. Over the span of five years, I've been fortunate to acquire a wealth of knowledge under the guidance of esteemed professors and industry mentors. From rigorous academic pursuits to practical engagements, each experience has contributed to my growth and refinement as an architecture student. This portfolio not only showcases my projects but also underscores my attention to detail and to innovative architecture as a profession.
Dive into the innovative world of smart garages with our insightful presentation, "Exploring the Future of Smart Garages." This comprehensive guide covers the latest advancements in garage technology, including automated systems, smart security features, energy efficiency solutions, and seamless integration with smart home ecosystems. Learn how these technologies are transforming traditional garages into high-tech, efficient spaces that enhance convenience, safety, and sustainability.
Ideal for homeowners, tech enthusiasts, and industry professionals, this presentation provides valuable insights into the trends, benefits, and future developments in smart garage technology. Stay ahead of the curve with our expert analysis and practical tips on implementing smart garage solutions.
Book Formatting: Quality Control Checks for DesignersConfidence Ago
This presentation was made to help designers who work in publishing houses or format books for printing ensure quality.
Quality control is vital to every industry. This is why every department in a company need create a method they use in ensuring quality. This, perhaps, will not only improve the quality of products and bring errors to the barest minimum, but take it to a near perfect finish.
It is beyond a moot point that a good book will somewhat be judged by its cover, but the content of the book remains king. No matter how beautiful the cover, if the quality of writing or presentation is off, that will be a reason for readers not to come back to the book or recommend it.
So, this presentation points designers to some important things that may be missed by an editor that they could eventually discover and call the attention of the editor.
2. Welcome
WELCOME TO YOUR FIRST DAY AT
CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY.
We hope that your time here will be everything you ever hoped for. For some, this will
become home. For others, it will be a step along the way to something else. Most of
you will love it. Some of you will hate it. But few will forget it. This place has a way of
burrowing inside your skin and taking up residence there. But one thing is for sure.
If you stick around for any length of time, you will be convinced that the denizens of
our hallways know more about creating advertising than just about anybody.
// : PAGE 00 // : CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK // : VERSION 4.0 // : APR 2004 // : PAGE 01 // : CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK // : VERSION 4.0 // : APR 2004
3. WHAT IS ADVERTISING? This is an ad
When most people think of advertising they think of magazine ads, television
commercials and billboards. We think it’s anything that makes our clients famous.
That is our job. And we make creative content that makes that happen. Then we
think of ways to distribute that creative content. It might be through an online film,
an event on the street, a book or something we can’t even imagine yet.
Every person here and every client we have needs to be aware that while traditional
media advertising is important and will get done, what’s arguably more important
is the stuff that orbits around the traditional stuff. Like the message on the company
voice mail. The T-shirt we mail to every employee. The idea for a great new product.
The bumper sticker every customer gets handed to them on a certain day. The
cool new website flashpage.The letter to every member of Congress petitioning
for a new national holiday. This is how brands are built now.
To us, it’s all advertising. So now when you read the term “advertising” in this
handbook, you know what we mean.
// : PAGE 02 // : CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK // : VERSION 4.0 // : APR 2004 // : PAGE 03 // : CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK // : VERSION 4.0 // : APR 2004
4. THE SECRET TO GOOD WORK. WE ASK THAT YOU DON’T:
Most advertising agencies are different. But we’re different than most. We have Throw sand.
a strong culture that we all are very proud and protective of. It is the reason why Be selfish.
it’s easier to do great work here than at the majority of other ad agencies. Doing Disparage others.
great advertising is not complicated. In fact, it’s simple. Extremely hard and Talk shit.
time-consuming, but simple. The hard part is removing the complications and Duck responsibility.
obstacles that get in the way. We do everything we can to minimize the things Play the busy card.
that block the creation of great advertising, but the reality is, there will be many Leave others hanging.
days when advertising feels like a hard punch in the gut. It takes a special person Make excuses.
to succeed here, one who has a passion, confidence and work ethic to believe Disappear.
in their ability to come up with more great ideas if and when their original great Make promises you don’t keep.
idea dies. And ideas do die here. On every account. In every department. Great, Say it can’t be done.
groundbreaking ideas die horribly sad deaths. But what makes us better than
most is our ability to go back to the well and come up with more, better and
even greater ideas. There. Now you know our secret. Go ahead and tell everyone
you know. Because the fact is, most agencies and companies are not willing to
expend the effort it takes to be great. They look for shortcuts when there are no
JUMPING ON HAND GRENADES.
shortcuts. People who understand this and have the aforementioned passion, There is usually a fairly large portion of work on each and every plate here.
confidence and work ethic tend to have very successful careers here. Getting all that work done in the time allotted can sometimes be a challenge,
but our unwritten policy has always been to drop whatever we’re doing when
somebody needs our help. Maybe they will come right out and ask for help.
Or maybe you just notice that something isn’t getting done so you pitch in
until it is done. The reason we do this is simple. The person you help today
may be the person you need help from on that fateful day when a hand
grenade rolls into your office.
// : PAGE 04 // : CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK // : VERSION 4.0 // : APR 2004 // : PAGE 05 // : CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK // : VERSION 4.0 // : APR 2004
5. HENRY FORD DID NOT INVENT THE The Factory
MODERN ADVERTISING AGENCY.
We are a factory. A factory that makes marketing products. No matter what
department you are in, you are in the business of making these products. Although
there are aspects of service in everything we do for our clients, we don’t think of
this as a service business. Some advertising agencies, perhaps even one you’ve
worked for, do describe it that way. And maybe that’s why they are so willing to
create faulty advertising if that’s what their client wants. We call that malicious
obedience. Our dedication to creating a strong product has to be even stronger
than most manufacturing companies. People who work at car companies know
that the car they will build today will be exactly like the car they built yesterday.
That’s not the case with us. What we did yesterday has no bearing on what we’ll do
today. Some days we’re pretty good. Other days, we’re an unstoppable force. The
trick is to string together more of the latter. To be successful, we have to approach
every single day like it will be our defining moment. Because that is the reality.
WE DO STUFF.
We don’t talk about it, or have a meeting about it, or e-mail each other about it if
we’re not going to do it. Brilliant thinking not executed is literally worthless. No
amount of PowerPoint presentations can substitute for work not done. People
who do things are the people who change the world. You are in the game here.
There are no sidelines.
// : PAGE 06 // : CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK // : VERSION 4.0 // : APR 2004 // : PAGE 07 // : CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK // : VERSION 4.0 // : APR 2004
6. Surfboard WE ARE A WORK IN PROGRESS.
Our culture is strong and resilient but it is by no means finished. We believe we can
be better and if we didn’t believe it, there would basically be no reason to get out of
bed in the morning. The point is, we want to change for the better and simply by
being here, you are a part of our culture and an agent of change for our future.
THE DEFINITION OF A GOOD MEETING.
A good meeting is one from which you leave with a clear understanding of what
to do next. Sometimes it’s more work. More ads. A new media plan. A slightly
altered strategy. Additional research. These are all good scenarios. Having to do
more work is not a failure. Work is what we do.
THEN AGAIN, WE DON’T LOVE MEETINGS.
And we absolutely hate long meetings. Most agencies are really good at having
long meetings in the conference room with lots of people in attendance, and really
bad at having spontaneous meetings that spring up when a few people pass in
the hallway and start talking about an idea for a client. We tend to be the other
way around. If we could, we would do away with meetings but sometimes they
are necessary. The problem we have with meetings is that the actual doing can’t
start until the meeting stops. And meetings have a way of dragging on. It’s simple
physics. An object in motion tends to stay in motion until acted upon by an outside
force.
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7. So we like meetings that are short and to the point. The shorter the better. If
you’re in a meeting that’s dragging on and keeping you from the important business Guide
of doing something, say the word “pineapple.” This is the official agency code
word that means, “Let’s wrap this up.” Now you know another one of our secrets.
YOUR SENSEI.
When you begin here you will be assigned a sensei. This is a Japanese word that
means teacher and that is what you can expect from your sensei. It is up to your
sensei to make sure you are as successful as you can be during your time here.
Your sensei has been selected based on his or her knowledge of the CP+B culture.
Most importantly, your sensei will be in a different department than you. We have
found that departments are necessary to get the work done, but we have also
found that the more people ignore departmental boundaries, the better it is for
the work. That’s why it is always a good idea when media people come up with
creative ideas, and creatives come up with planning solutions, and production
people come up with media ideas, and so on and so forth. For this cross-pollination
to happen, you will have to become comfortable in the other departments and
what they do. Your sensei will help with one department but the rest is up to you.
Use your sensei. Call them when you don’t know the best way to get something
done or how to deal with a specific person and they will help. Ask them to teach
you karate and they will be of no use. Soon, you’ll be wise enough to take the
pebble from your sensei’s hand and the student will become the teacher.
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8. AD PEOPLE. THE BEST IDEA IS BOSS.
These are the weird and wonderful people who are at the core of any great agency. This is something that you will often hear in the hallways at CP+B. It means that
Just because you work at an ad agency doesn’t make you an ad person. First, ad an idea is judged solely on its own merit. A good idea can come from anywhere,
people really love ads. They like to talk about them. They like to read about them. from any person in any department at any level. If you’ve been here a long time,
They like to see them. And they love being involved in their creation. Second, ad if you’re overdue, or if you’ve worked on that account longer than anyone, that
people are deeply interested in the advertising industry.They know which agencies doesn’t matter. And just because a person’s title is associate creative director or
have what accounts, they know which people are doing great things at other agencies. management supervisor doesn’t necessarily mean their ideas are automatically
They know what the trends are and they follow accounts on the move. They are weighted more toward the good end of the scale. We hope that this attitude creates
emotionally involved in what they do. If you’re an ad person, you have a career a wonderfully liberating environment where great ideas gush forth freely from
here. If you’re not an ad person, you have a job. Whichever one you are, it’s each and every person. Or at least an environment where you feel like you can
worth taking the time to learn about the ad industry. It’s like the old saying goes: contribute even though you’re not running the place.
the worst day in an ad agency beats the best day a bank ever had.
SUPPLIERS ARE IMPORTANT AND
WORK IS A BAD WORD TO SHOULD BE TREATED WITH RESPECT.
EXPLAIN WHAT WE DO. One thing that bad agencies have in common is their tendency to bully and beat
If what you are doing seems like work, you’re either in the wrong industry or up suppliers. Perhaps it is a natural reaction to pick on someone smaller than you
you’re not doing it right. Talk to your sensei. Your time here should feel less like after you’ve been picked on. We tend to treat suppliers like fellow employees. The
digging a ditch and more like a challenging game of chess. advertising business is contained within a small, small circle and word gets around
about how you behave within that circle. We want to be the kind of agency that
suppliers want to work with, regardless of budget, or timing, or scope of the
job, just because they’ve heard we’re great to work with.
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9. Clipboards IS IT SOUP YET?
We feel that we excel at the big things, like coming up with great ideas and then
executing them brilliantly. What we sometimes fail at is the little things, like meeting
deadlines. Which is too bad, because if you allow this to happen, you undo all the
good. We need to focus on deadlines from the start and do whatever is humanly
possible to meet them. And if that fails, we need to alert everyone as far in
advance as possible that a looming deadline is in danger of being missed. A client
will understand if they’re called a day or two before they’re expecting work to
say it’s not brilliant enough for them to see. They won’t understand if they’re
called five minutes before they’re expecting work to cross their desk. Undoubtedly,
they’ve alerted their bosses and coworkers to the existence of this deadline and
they don’t appreciate us making them look like chumps.
During the Civil War, there was an infamous POW camp at Andersonville, Georgia.
Due to a wartime shortage of building materials, the camp had no fence around it. So
to keep the prisoners inside, the general in charge drew a line in the dirt around the
camp. He told the prisoners that this was the “dead-line” and if anyone crossed it, they
would be shot and killed on sight. Now that we know the serious background of the
word “deadline” maybe we can treat our own deadlines more seriously.
GOAL-ORIENTED PLAY.
We are a loose organization without a lot of rules. Many agencies will say how
fun and casual they are, then hand out a thick binder filled with all sorts of things
you’re forbidden to do. That’s not us. The trap some may fall into is seeing the
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10. casualness around them and mistakenly interpret that as permission to approach
their job with less than 100% focus and effort. When, in fact, the total opposite is Movement
true. We prefer a casual atmosphere because we feel it makes our work better.
The scientists who split the atom at Los Alamos were always playing practical
jokes on each other. But please don’t go off splitting atoms or anything.
THE THEORY OF MONEY RELATIVITY.
There is a tendency in our business to have amnesia when it comes to the value
of money. A lot of people tend to think advertising money is less like real money
and more like Monopoly money. It’s truly bizarre for someone to work night and
day for an entire year to earn a salary of $50,000 and then remark that they “only”
have $50,000 to shoot a photo. We constantly remind ourselves to keep money in
context. With $100,000, you could build a very nice house and live in it forever.
Or, with that same amount of money, you could shoot a TV spot that’s 30 seconds
long and will run for a few months and then go away forever. Don’t lose perspective.
It is never just a number. It’s real money.
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11. SPEND, BUT SPEND WISELY.
Doll Head
This is a true story. For MINI, we had an idea to insert an unscented air freshener
into magazines. It would be shaped like a MINI and have a little string attached to it,
just like the little pine-tree shaped air fresheners you see at the car wash. So
everyone is pulling together to make this unscented air freshener in the shape
of a MINI until someone noticed that the little loop of string was going to cost
$100,000. And that person asked, was this the smartest way to spend $100k?
Would the string do $100k worth of work for MINI? Would that $100k be put to
better use somewhere else? And the answers turned out to be no, no and yes.
ADS ON THE WALL.
Although it’s not uncommon for agencies to have framed ads decorating their
hallways and lobbies, we don’t have any. The reason is simple: by the time we
got around to framing an ad, we would already have newer ads, and since
you’re only as good as the most recent thing you’ve done, the framed ad would
not represent our “best” work. And so, according to the law of infinite regression,
our best work would, by definition, be impossible to display. If you want to see
good work, don’t look in the hallway, look on your desk. Hopefully you’ll see
some there. If not, look on a desk near you.
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12. COMPANY SECRETS.
Onward
The only advantage we have over the agencies we compete with, is the strength
of our ideas. And those ideas ultimately become the advantage our clients have
over the companies they compete with. And while it’s good to be excited about
our ideas, letting your excitement power your lips is about the worst offense you
can commit against yourself, the people around you and your clients.
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