Curriculum Vitae

Maybe you often hear some proverb such as “You are What You Think; You are What You Eat; You are What You Read; You are…(you can add your version, anyway).
For a copywriter, in daily basis: You are What You Write.
People know you from your writing (if they want to hehehe)
But guess, did people know when it was still inside your mind?
Let people know you easier. Your character is a signature amongst others.
Especially, when you are looking for a new job .

If you write down your experiences & your skillfulness in your curriculum vitae (CV) as a bunch of list, literally, you are seriously hurting your creative soul (and all creative people, sigh).
Don’t be proud if you write like others do.
In commercial writing, this is a part of don’s.
Yes. Sameness is a shame.

Because writing a CV can be applied like executing a print ad, radio commercial, even a TV Commercial and etc. You can add some supporting visual, links, voices, sounds, videos and more on your CV.

So, how can insert them in papers?
Who is talking about writing CV in papers?

If you are true copywriter, forget to be a typist or clerk type (sorry, but it’s true).
Your creative mind must drive all your consciousness and your fear.
Utilize all media. Pick one of them to represent yourself in a creative CV.

The better your CV, the better your future

Deadline Deadlock

Where is your idea when the deadline is close to you and you still have nothing?

It looks like you are difficult to find the best one to fit the job requisition.

The best one?

It sounds too confident :)

Maybe you have a list of ideas but it's just a list of rubbish.

So, which one close to you based on your real experiences? When the deadline came, how did you treat your ideas? They just looked great and ready to be presented in front of the client or you just already signed your letter of suicide?

It is nor better or easier to fix the ideas unless you prepare it ready on schedule, on your paper work, so you can get peace of mind not "piece of mine".

Just imagine, you are on deadline but you get a deadlock to have an icebreaker of your frozen ideas…

Any ideas?

Scam Ads

Why scam ad occurs?

Why creative people have a willing to create scam ads?

What is the cause?

Those because of disappointing and frustrating toward the client for having rejected their brilliant creative ideas or because they hungry for awards?

Or they just want to exist?

Or a need to show off?

Which one does drive you to get an award?

When you got an award from your scam ad, are you happy?

Dreadful?

What do you really expect?

I think this following line can refresh yourself :)

Be yourself, but don't be selfish

Creative Rationale

Assume that you have abundant ideas and you think all your ideas are applicable to execute for print ad, commercials, and so on.

In this step, you should have some brainstorming with your team.
Because you cannot handle it all by yourself.
You need someone to bring your ideas to reality, either to be designed or visualized.

" But I can design or execute it by myself," Yup. You can answer like that because your amazing talent.

God bless you :)

But think again, if you have no magic skill such that. Woa!

Then if you have to present it to your client, it's better you pick up many -not only one idea which have good reasons, just in case your client will break your reasons easily. Safe haven, you still have an option. Other idea. To fight back. Never mind if then it'll be slaughtered again by your beloved client. At least, you have something to argue for your idea. Not silence to kill.

Behind a great idea, there is a great creative rationale

Magic Algebra

Have you ever seen a movie which told about a genius person?

Perhaps you could make a list of movie titles about that. The facts are different about film director, actresses, setting and background, also the special effect if any. But from all you can remember about those movies, you can find the sameness, the red line which connecting amongst them. The story told about numbers. Mathematics.

Yup. It's just a proven case that math is very useful and helpful in life. And as far you know about Math, Algebra is an important key of it to conquer the world.

So, what is about you?

Do you love Algebra or you just hate it very much?

Whoever you are, you can learn Algebra to challenge yourself and to solve the problem in studying Physics, Chemistry and Statistics.

Some people assume that Algebra is about a gift from nature. It's about genetic. But some believe that Algebra can be learned, studied, polished and applied in real life by anyone, not just in success story in movie theater.

Is it annoying when you got Math problems?

You just felt frozen. Hopeless. Ashamed.

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Visual or Copy

My student asked me which should be first in mind when creating a print ad:
visual or copy first?

The question is normal or standard for people who are willing to craft a new print ad.
It's not silly one, but it is annoying for the asker (or other who had same question) when that question has no answer or no one cannot convince him/her enough.

By the way, do you have the answer?

I'll appreciate whatever your answer :)

Okay, it's a great time to recall or track your mind work :) the way you usually grab ideas and how, why, and what ideas that flash to your mind.

If ideas usually come to you through visual, it's fine.
If ideas easily make you have eureka time in copy concept, it's fine too.
If both visual and copy usually come together to you, you are blessed!

Don't confuse to reject one of them when it comes in the way you are not ready for that: not as like what you expect. Just take it. Visual driven or copy driven doesn't matter.

The most important is idea driven itself!

Way Out

When you get a dead end in your way of exploring ideas,
what could be a way out for you?

This question is not a kind of rhetorical something, but you should have the answer.
It reflects the way you manage yourself instead of your temper :)
It can say much the character of manner to copy the problem.

Yes, when you claim yourself as creative person, you are in serious problem. Indeed.

You are not ordinary people. You are totally different.
When others think literally, you take the way laterally.
When others are proud of achieving standard, you have to be beyond.

Like or not, you have to push your endurance of your brain much more and more.
Being stagnant is a shortcut to your grave of your ideas.

Just play fair to yourself.
As a creative, you should run anytime.
Run, run and run to pursue your dreams. Your objective. Your aim.
And you'll always get your way out when you get a dead end. Automatically.
Because your brain has been already set up for that...

Dead End is not totally an End

Award Winning

What kind of annoying thing which always haunts creative people?

Winning an award :)

Undeniable that creative person in advertising agency is hungry to beat another creative idea from other people.

It's so prideful when your winning ad can stand out amongst other, right?
The more creative, the more possibility to win an award.

But is it true?
Or something left behind?

How about your own experience?
Have you won some award at least one?
Can you share to us how you got that award?
How easy or how difficult you are to bold your existence in this fierce idea battle?

When you are thinking about your creative idea which will be luck for award :),
at the same time are you thinking about your client respond when they see it at presentation?

Does your creative is on the track with client's brief or
you just have a hidden agenda to make your creative idea pass the formality of presentation so you can claim your idea is not a scam, because it has been shown.

Not created only for ad festival.
Not driven by your ego :)

Fuihhh...
I just want to refresh my mind today.

Just think creative to answer the client's brief.
Award will follow.

Say A Word

Every word has meaning.
Every meaning has power.

So, may I say that every word has power?
It's very simple, right?

But, don't judge the word by its power :)
It's not as simple as your thought.

In reality, perhaps you often get difficulty to make a word fit with your purpose. A conversation for example, it needs a good thinking and good emotion handling to make your every word listened by your partner.

In advertising and marketing, you can deliver words optimally in various medium such as print ad, poster, billboard, video tron, TV commercials, radio commercials, running text, SMS blast, email blast, etc...that every word you create is having a function.

If your word is kind, it can make other peace of mind.
But on the contrary, if you deliver a bad word, I'm afraid you will break someone else's heart...

Attention:

The word you choose is a must be selected.
To someone whom you say the word is always to be selected.
How you deliver the word is a medium that carefully selected.

So, still think that saying something to someone else is easy?
In fact, you have to prepare it comprehensively to make your word valuable.
Make your word more impact in any medium.

Don't waste your time to play with word that is already used by other.
If other (brand) already said it, you could have to say it in another way, in more powerful way.

Don't be proud of being a copycat

Missing in Action

Maybe today is your bad when you are realizing your ad campaign drop in result. It's far away from your expectation. A matter of fact, it missed the target. It's something that left behind such as missing in action.

What's wrong? What kind of mistake lays on the fact?

You and your team should make a comprehensive review to avoid such problem to occur again in the future. You can make a list to track the causes. Don't make an assumption that everything is totally right. Don't defense yourself. It's only getting worse for the matter.

It must be a mistake in your campaign.
However, no one will be burdened by the weight of fail.
It's a work of team. So, don't worry...

Then, take a look to the ad strategy.
A surgeon is a must to get in detail.
Let everyone get involved in deep review.

After that, all of you can raise such questions:

Has your ad answered the target audience's need or want?
Has your ad well crafted to talk to them?
Has your ad message delivered the right thing of your product to the target audience?
Has your ad message sided to the customer?

You yourself could continue the list to seek the missing link further
(including media exposure, media placement, media budget, etc)
Find it, find the thing missed in the execution: missing in action.

Randomly checked out the problems, I intend to review the ad message.
Has it talked too much from manufacture side?
If so, maybe it's the main problem.

If you can turn it into consumer side, it will be totally different in look and sense. Because it's so important to be able to feel the emotion and the behavior of your target audience precisely.

Indeed, you'll find and craft a great approach for your ad.

Today's tip:

Say your ad from target audience's side

Big Bang

What often mistake do creative people do?

In my opinion:
They are satisfied too fast. Too early.

Really?

Correct me if I am wrong :)

Take a look back your days when you've got a big bang idea for your creative materials.
Will you eager to dig the concept again?
In fact you still have a chance to see it from another perspective, but you won't...

Perhaps you and your team have agreed that the idea is already the answer of the campaign objective and needless to consider on client side to judge more the idea.

From the creative view, the big bang idea is the best of the best, so it's just wasting the time to make a review again.

But if you were pretending a client, maybe you would find a crack in your solid argument.
Maybe it's only a very tiny crack, but it is enough to make your big bang idea fragile.

Then imagine you're presenting it to your client and suddenly the client breaking that big bang idea into pieces easily...

Today's tip is :

Don't love your idea too much