I'm currently working towards a career in advertising. Some of the things I hope to demonstrate through this blog include: my social media abilities, my ability to write, the ability to think strategically, the ability to think creativity and my knowledge of the advertising industry.
A rare occurance
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If you know me it’s no suprise that Nas is my favourite Hip-Hop artist.
I’ve mentioned in the past to Matt and Afran about how Nas is one of those
kind of ...
Attractive Struggling Artist + Internets = Magic
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Coca-Cola's recent partnership with YouTube and Facebook brings us a kick
ass advertising/entertainment/social media collaboration for Sprite called,
"Gre...
I’m not gonna lie. I fell in love with advertising after watching What Women Want with Mel Gibson. I remember sitting there and saying, “That’s what I want to do… throw ideas around.. pitch it.. and then make it all happen!” But that was years ago and back then I didn’t know if I had what it took to succeed. But after winning the student IMC campaign for BMW I knew I had what it was the perfect career choice for me.
Everything about it just feels right.
You have a background in volunteer work. Tell us about it.
Most of my volunteer work has been in the community-based level, but as I got older I wanted to extend my services towards third world countries and global causes.
I had my first international experience back in 2007 when I traveled to Haiti with a group called Third World Awareness (twawareness.org). My family and friends were worried about my safety and didn’t think I could handle the rough conditions. And to be honest, I was really scared too but knew I had to just throw myself head on and embrace it.
The experience was tremendous and life changing. And from that I learned to continually challenge myself to the next level in every aspect of my life.
Do you ever plan on incorporating that volunteer experience into your advertising career somehow?
Definitely. I am very passionate about both and I think together exceptional things can come from it.
Advertising is no longer just about selling goods. It’s a communication tool that can be strategically and creatively used to create a cultural movement. And in this case, for the better good- whether it’s globally, nationally or on a community based level.
*This is usually the part when my friends put up their peace sign and flick their lighters for me. They think I’m a bit of a hippie.
You were on a very important trip in Dubai recently trying to encourage the world to “Choose To L.I.V.E.”. What is that all about?
I was selected as one of the international delegates to attend the Education without Borders conference in Dubai. This event was a platform for students from all over the world to share their ideas and solutions to some of our global challenges. And fortunately, I was blessed with the opportunity to introduce my “solution” for cultural exchange.
My concept was to address the challenges that come along with cultural globalization, such as war, violence, hate and racism. Unfortunately, due to so many variables and differences there is never just one solution. But I do believe that through inter-connectivity and positive engagement we can strive toward narrowing the gap of misunderstandings and ignorance to achieve better tolerance, deeper understanding and enduring peace.
Choose to L.I.V.E. is a concept that I developed as a global call to action for human betterment through inter-connectivity. L.I.V.E. is a catalyst representing four elements of effective communication: learning, interacting, volunteering and expression through creativity. This initiative is called Choose to L.I.V.E. because I want it to be a conscious statement that we make. I want people to understand that the decision to contribute to the survival of humanity is as vital as our decision to live.
You did an internship at an agency in Dubai. What agency is it, and what were you doing with them?
I interned at Axis Integrated in Media City - the advertising hub of Dubai. It’s a small agency so I had the chance to see how the overall operation works. Most of my responsibilities were related to the client servicing side. The type of work I did included market research, PowerPoint presentations, revisions with studio team, writing up briefs and assisting the account manager. The main account that I worked on was for Heinz baby foods. But since it’s a small agency I had the opportunity to work very closely with the creative team and really share my ideas. I even had the chance to do some copywriting, which is something that I really enjoy doing.
With your experience traveling the world and living abroad, how has that affected your view and approach on life?
My view is that we constantly have to keep aiming for the next level. The only way I see this being done is to do things that are not within our comfort zone. We surprise ourselves of what we are capable of when we throw ourselves into a challenge. Traveling to a foreign part of the world or living abroad is a gateway of growth and learning.
I’m the type of person that embraces an experience for its entirety - emotionally, physically mentally and spiritually. And then I step back and analyze for the faults, improvements, success and hidden lessons in it. I want to be constantly evolving.
Define what success is to you in your own terms.
Success to me is in three folds.
1. Success to me is being able to get up after each time I fall or fumble and continue to fiercely go after what I am passionate about. 2. Being true to myself. 3. Being able to overcome challenges and seeing the lessons in them.
Elevator Pitch:
My psychic says I’m gonna be successful in my career, but I can’t give details. But I’ll give you her number so you can have your own reading done and see how accurate she is.
If you're an advertising student or are just starting out in the business and would like to be featured on Leaders of the New, send me an email atjettlandicho@gmail.com
Leaders of the New is an ongoing series at jettlandicho.com that will focus on the future talents of advertising. Click here to check the archives.
Name: Jett Landicho
Career Path: Creative Strategy for Interactive and Mass Media
Education: Radio Broadcasting at Humber College and Creative Advertising at Seneca
Advertising Experience: On-Air Talent, Promotions Staff and Copywriter for KICX 106, Promotions Staff and Corporate Blogger for Z103.5 and Senior Marketing Associate at Pure Fun Confections
One Thing About You: Before pursuing a career in advertising, I worked almost four years in the radio industry. I did a lot of different types of work in that time, from corporate blogging, to street team work, to being a country radio announcer. If you would like to listen to my old KICX 106 country demo made from live air checks click here.
Read the full interview after the jump! When did you know that advertising was for you?
I took a class in high school called English Media. The final project was to create a product and an advertising campaign around it. My group wanted to come up with the dumbest product to sell, in order to highlight how great our advertising would be. In hindsight, it was pretty bold of us to assume that our advertising was so awesome that we could sell just about anything, but hey, we were young and maybe a bit cocky. We decided to create "Bling", a brand of coloured water.
I had so much fun with that assignment, from building the website to the print ad to producing television and radio commercials that I heavily considered taking advertising in college. But I also hosted a morning radio show at my high school, and when push came to shove, at the time radio won. I was drawn into the whole "celebrity" aspect of it and I'm still just a big music fan in general.
However, what goes around comes around I guess. Through my experience in the radio industry, I've written scripts that went to air, helped out a lot on the promotions side and even worked in corporate blogging. It brought back all the memories of that one high school assignment and how much fun I had doing it that I decided to pursue advertising for real.
How has your previous experience in the radio broadcasting industry helped you?
My experience in the radio industry has helped me grow, both as a professional and as a person. As a professional, the radio industry has taught me a number of things, including the power of opportunity. In an industry that's so small and insular, you need to work so hard for those opportunities. Even when it seems like opportunities fall into your lap because you know someone that knows someone, you helped make that opportunity by knowing that someone in the first place.
As a person, working in the radio industry has been a huge factor in my maturing process. Not to neglect my Z103.5 experience, but in particular, my time at the country radio station was a real coming of age moment for me. I was very hesitant at first to accept the internship at KICX 106 in Waterloo, because country music wasn't my scene and the station was in a city over 100km away from home. But I took the chance because I knew it would be a great career experience.
What I didn't know was that it would also be an amazing personal experience too. Coming out of college, I sort of felt like I had learned everything I needed to know. However, being so far away from home, meeting new people and trying new things made me realize that I still had a lot to learn and it opened my mind up to the bigger picture of the world. During that time, I had to learn about country music, the Kitchener-Waterloo area, and everything about the people that listen to our station. I had a lot of fun doing it, and wouldn't trade that experience in for the world.
Ever since then, I've tried to keep myself open to new knowledge and experiences. If I could learn to appreciate country music and the country lifestyle, what other awesome things am I missing out on that I just don't know about yet? Even though it's been years since I worked there, I still have a little bit of country on my iPod that I like cause I think it's good music.
My KICX 106 t-shirt autographed by the best country artist of all-time, GM Paterson;)
What interests you most about interactive and social media?
I admit, I'm a bit of a geek. So I already have a bit of a technology slant to me. However, I love interactive and social media, and would be working with them whether I was in advertising or not.
I was one of those kids that made websites on Geocities that grew up into a teenager who wrote in a blog into a young adult that made a podcast when I decided to take my announcing career into my own hands. It's a shame that the podcast had to end the way it did, because we were at 1,000 subscribers! And that was achieved by promoting the show through Facebook, iTunes, YouTube and a blog. I had just as much fun plotting out the strategy to advertise the show as I did recording and editing the show. When we find the time and the right concept, for sure we'll get back into podcasting again. In the world of online, I love the fact that the average person can have a very large impact on the world.
As advertising vehicles, I love the engagement factor that interactive and social media offers. There are so many different ways that advertisers can reach consumers in a way where they feel like you're giving them a valuable experience in return. And the ways to engage consumers grows every day with new technology and techniques.
When I realized that there were opportunities for me to combine my love of advertising with my love of online and social media, it was almost like an epiphany for me. I hope that I can make both aspects connect to make a fun and exciting career path for myself.
How does this blog fit into your career plan?
My initial goal for this blog was to be a place where I could bring my best foot forward to anyone wanting to learn about me, from teachers, to friends, to potential employers. Sort of like a portfolio, but showing a different and wider scope of who I am. But through the "Leaders of the New" initiative, this could prove far bigger than just me. By showcasing a lot of my peers starting out in this business, this blog also becomes a way for them to sell themselves.
I want every person featured on "Leaders of the New" to be proud enough to show their interviews to potential employers as another resource in their arsenal. Even better, I want potential employers to find these interviews and go, "Hey, this person is really good! I think I need to talk to them!" With the power of Google and the power of blog tags, that second scenario doesn't seem too out of reach to me.
How did you go from being a student to working at Pure Fun Confections?
It's a crazy story in hindsight. At the time, I was working really hard to get an agency internship. I'd been in talks with a few agencies and even did a few interviews. During school though, I was working on a group assignment where we were asked to put together a pitch to present to a small company. We were never actually assigned to present it to a company for real.
Our group had chosen Pure Fun after finding an article about the company on the Toronto Star's website. We really liked the company's vision and the idea of working on organic candy, something new and different in the marketplace. While in the process of working on that assignment, Stephanie and I found the President of the company on Facebook. Thinking nothing of it, we decided to contact her, let her know what we were doing and sent her a rough brief we had put together so that she could check the validity of our information. She was really impressed with what we had done, and told us she was willing to meet with us when we were ready.
From there, it really got us thinking that this could be a lot more than just an assignment. We kept in regular contact with the President of Pure Fun, asked for a lot of advice from our teachers and industry contacts on how to approach this pitch, and tweaked our plan to make it just right for the presentation. On the big day, the President of the company came down to the school and we had booked a school boardroom to present to her. Chris De Corneille, one of our teachers, was on hand for support. I was unbelievably nervous throughout the whole thing, but Stephanie and I both proved our worth and were brought in to intern for the company. After two months of interning, I was offered a job.
That was another eye-opening experience in my life. While advertising students tend to focus on working for just advertising agencies, there are a lot of other opportunities out there to do similar work for other types of companies. Despite the tough economic times, Stephanie and I were able to create opportunities for ourselves within a company that didn't have opportunities before. I'm sure that others can find success with an advertising education in a variety of places if they're willing to look outside the box and work hard to make those opportunities happen.
If you want to think bigger, Stephanie and I have already in a way won a client pitch before even graduating and have done the work to prove our worth. Who says we couldn't do it again? Who says we couldn't go as far as starting our own agency should we so choose? Who says you couldn't do the same or better?
What has the transition been like from advertising to marketing?
All of the skills I've learned from Seneca's Creative Advertising have proven relevant to me here. I've had to dabble in account services work, media consulting, public relations, direct marketing, online and even some copywriting and art direction where necessary. I feel like thanks to the education I got at Seneca, I have the tools to get to where I need to go.
What I've learned sort of the hard way is the differences in advertising and marketing. Advertising is primarily marketing communications, but on this side of the fence that's just one aspect of a bigger picture I need to look at. I need to look at everything happening above that, from the distribution channel to product development to retailer relations and more.
One of the aspects of Pure Fun's business I'm going to have to learn more about is the entire organic scene. Just as an example: do you know why high fructose corn syrup is an issue? As an advertiser, I would just think of a way to tell that to generally one target audience. But what I have to do on the marketing side, is communicate that to everybody that makes the company work, from the people in product development, to retailers to consumers and more. It's daunting have to tackle the entire marketing mix and make every element of that mix work together, but I'm up for the challenge.
For those who have an advertising background and are considering making the jump, I'd say go for it. It opens up your scope of potential work opportunities and if you're willing to learn some additional stuff on top of your advertising background you'll do fine.
If you could offer one piece of advice to future advertisers, what would it be?
My one piece of advice isn't so much an advertising-specific piece of advice as it is life advice: always continue to learn. Back to my story about how much of an impact my country radio stint had on my life for a second. It made me realize that I was living life in a small bubble and the world was just so much more than my little slice of reality had grasped up to that point. My personal quest for knowledge from that point on wasn't even driven by a desire to be "smarter". My motivation for learning more about everything was just to be more aware of the world around me.
It's not hard to be more aware, either. You can learn a lot from just reading the headlines in the newspaper or taking off your headphones while you're out in public and paying closer attention to the world around you. Try out new kinds of food. Read any random message board on the Internet and see what people are talking about. You never know when a nugget of knowledge can prove valuable to you in the future.
And if you keep your mind open to new opportunities, who knows what success you could have? I never could have predicted that I would have worked for both a country radio station and an organic candy company, but I was open enough to give it a chance and it worked. I still have a ways to go on my quest for success, but I'll always be on the lookout for the next big thing for me, wherever it may come from.
What do you do for fun?
I love spending time with friends and family. It's been tough trying to make time for the people I love due to school, career ambitions and multiple jobs, but it's important to make time for them too.
Speaking of podcasts, I'm a huge fan of the medium. It's not for everybody, but a lot of my day revolves around podcast consuming. Currently, I subscribe to 35 different podcasts, ranging from a variety of subjects from video games, to the How Stuff Works series of podcasts, to news. I don't have time for all of them every week, but I have content that interests me to consume basically anytime, anywhere.
I love to play and watch basketball. Also, I love making music. I've produced over 150 hip-hop instrumentals since I started that in 2003, and have been playing the drums now for 8 months now. I'm not formally trained in either discipline. I was self-taught on the hip-hop side, just struggling to play the instruments, handle the technology and develop the "ear" till I got to a point where I was happy with the music I was making. As for drumming, I learned how to play real drums by playing the video game Rock Band. Sounds crazy, but it's true. You can listen to one of my beats by clicking here, or watch me play the drums below.
E-Elevator Pitch: Sell yourself in 140 characters or less.
I still can't top the original.
If you're an advertising student or are just starting out in the business and would like to be featured on Leaders of the New, send me an email atjettlandicho@gmail.com
Leaders of the New is an ongoing series at jettlandicho.com that will focus on the future talents of advertising. Click here to check the archives.
Name: Ross Webster
Career Path: Account Executive
Education: Creative Advertising Graduate of Seneca College/Business Marketing Graduate of Humber College
Advertising Experience: Internship at Integra Foundation • Client relations • Research • Direct Mail • Organize files • Attend recording session (Susan Hayes looks exactly how she does on television)
2 years of the Creative Advertising Program at Seneca College • Various agency pitches • Volunteer for Marketing Week • Numerous days of “burning the candle on both ends”
One Thing About You: I love listening to great, thought-provoking music. Great musicians can paint a picture in their lyrics and are able to make you think. Some musicians that have influenced me have been Jay-Z, Common, Nas, Outkast, John Mayor, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Anthony Hamilton and Kanye West. (The list can get longer). Music keeps me focused, motivated, calmed and really clears my mind.
Full interview after the break! When did you know that advertising was for you?
I think ever since I was old enough to watch TV my father always told me, “I should be in advertising.” I always wondered about advertising and what it took for a commercial to air on TV. After my first semester agency pitch to Due North in the Creative Advertising Program (CAB) at Seneca, I was pretty certain that I wanted to be in advertising in some way, shape or form. After all the hours my group put in, down to actual pitch was fun and exciting, even the arguments and stress we had was an experience I’ve never been through, but it excited me and I knew I could handle it and wanted more (laughs).
One expression I’ll never forget you saying is, “Advertising is my hustle.” What do you mean by that?
(Laughs) I had a feeling this question would pop up. Well just to make sure I’m clear I would have to define hustle, because I know that there could be a negative stereotype which surrounds that word.
To me a hustle is something that someone has a great passion for and is something that person dedicates their time to. Ever 1996 I’ve listened to ever single Jay-Z album, and he chronicles his life as a hustler, in his music he would describe the amount of time and effort he put into his hustle. As I grew older I realized that it’s not only “drug dealers” who are “hustlers” but it can be anyone who is passionate about what they do. For example Michael Jordan, yes he’s greatest basketball player ever, but I would label him a “basketball hustler” because he spent so time to perfect his game, becoming basketball’s greatest player ever. Then he turned himself into brand (clothes, shoes, fragrances etc).
Both Jay-Z and MJ throughout their respective career have accomplished so much and they can adapt to the changing environment as well. So when I say, “Advertising is my hustle,” it means I’m trying my best to understand advertising as a whole, the history, the pioneers, all the aspects of advertising. I try to adapt and understand new media, and I embrace the challenges it throws at me. Obviously you may not find me on a Mac creating a logo, but I know I have a creative mind, and hey I can draw! (laughs). I read newsletters from various sources (Adage, Mediaweek, Brandweek etc.) and subscribe to Marketing Magazine to keep myself informed about what is happening in the advertising spectrum.
Lastly and most importantly, I have to mention that even though people like Jay-Z, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Quincy Jones, and other legends are great at what they do, they did because they loved and enjoyed what they did. I wouldn’t force to myself to be an “Ad Hustler” if I didn’t enjoy this, advertising in my opinion is a great art form with so much to offer. I really have to shout out Anthony Kalamut (CAB’s program co-ordinator). His class sessions were really inspiring and gave me confidence and drive. Shout out to all the other professors as well, “it takes a village”.
How did you get from being a student to being an intern at Integra?
Connections my friend. Billy Sharma (DM God) my professor and colleague connected me with the great people at Integra. He has a great reputation for recommending great interns, so I suppose his word is as good as gold. I went in for the interview, which was more like a casual gathering, and at the end of it I was offered the position.
Describe a day in the life of Ross Webster at Integra?
I’m sure you’ve heard this before but, everyday is totally different. At times it can be time consuming conducting client research, and other times could be spent proof reading newsletters, emails, and reading blogs. This past week Susan Hayes from Global came by Integra to record a story on one of the programs at Integra, and she interviewed a few people. Just seeing that whole process of a recording session was great because it’s not every day you get to see that whole process of an interview before it hits TV. The people I work with are great and caring people as well, they’re easy to work with and we spend all day laughing and telling stories (while we do work of course).
What’s unique about working for a not-for-profit company?
The distinctive part about working at Integra is their “cause”. Integra does work for children that have mental health issues, a LD (Learning Disability) and other behavioural problems. Integra has various programs that help and guide these children, which in turn helps them mentally and socially. I think that cause alone makes what I do really worth it. I’ve met some of the children that Integra helps and just talking to them, makes me happy to know I work for a company that cares and does something to help children.
You were networking so hard when we worked together at Marketing Week 2008. What is your whole mindset towards networking? How do you approach it?
This goes back to my mind set of “Advertising is my hustle” and that I have strong presentation skills. During that week as you know, we saw a lot of the industry’s top and best for example, Frank Palmer, Scott Goodson and Paul Lavoie just to name a few. I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to watch an opportunity pass me by, because I know if I don’t move on my instinct, I might regret it.
So I tried talking to as much people as possible, let them know I exist and that I’m here trying to make an impact. I remember in my 1st semester in CAB, right before our first agency pitch I was extremely nervous, but it occurred to me that I had nothing to be nervous about; I thought to myself “these people breathe the same air as me” (laugh) as weird as that may sound, it’s true. That helped me to relax, and make an awesome presentation.
I remember talking to Frank Palmer (DDB) about what he thought about the changes in advertising, starting up an agency and other things, and after we finished talking, I realized, “I just talked to CEO of DDB Canada, if I can talk to him what’s stopping me from approaching anyone else?” Anthony Kalamut always reminded me, “What is the worst thing someone can tell you? No.”
What would be your dream client to work with? Why?
I don’t have a dream client to tell you the truth. I hope after having a more experience maybe I’ll gain a “favourite client”. But as of now, I think my dream client would a client that shares the same ideas and values that I have, they’ll be a client that’s fun. I wouldn’t mind working for Jay-Z though.
Before you retire, what do you hope to achieve?
I would be happy having a good reputation and have the respect of people and peers within the industry. Knowing that people respect my voice, thoughts and my ideas is something I would appreciate. I want to be accomplished and successful of course. I want that positive retention in my peers’ mind. I’ll be happy with just that.
What do you do for fun?
I like being around good people who are doing something with their life just as I am, and not sitting around waiting for their life to start. I love to play a good game of dominoes, because in order to win a game of dominoes you need strategy, and that won’t happen if you’re just matching the numbers together (laughs).
I love reading about the history of other countries and just history in general. I used to be a frequent movie goer but due to school I had to cut back, but I think I’ll be starting to go the movies once again. I also love to travel, especially to Barbados to see family and friends and of course to attend Crop Over (similar to Caribana in Toronto/Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago) but better. (laughs) I love to watch sports and attend sporting events, I would love to go to a tailgate party for the Steelers at Heinz Field, or sit courtside and watch Kobe and LeBron go head to head.
E-Elevator Pitch: Sell yourself in 140 characters or less.
Let me show how I can be a great asset to your team. I have great presentation skills, which is why I’m taking this chance to talk to you now. Most of histories greatest moments occurred because someone took a chance. I’m free labour; you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain!
If you're an advertising student or are just starting out in the business and would like to be featured on Leaders of the New, send me an email atjettlandicho@gmail.com
According to a source that reported this to Joystiq, Lionsgate has registered the trademark for a Mad Men video game. My knee jerk reaction strictly as a gamer is, "This is going to suck." Licensed games still have a bad rap of being poor quality, and as of now, I haven't seen any proof that this will be any good. Am I unfairly treating this as, "Guilty until proven innocent,"? Maybe. But if you've followed the history ofcrappy licensed games, you probably would too. Heck, I'm still reeling from having paid $2.00 for a copy of E.T. for the Atari 2600, the game that set the standard for crappy licensed video games.
I got a 90% discount on this game, and I'm still pissed
But let's look at it from an advertising perspective. Games based on jobs is a hot trend right now, with popular games based on surgeons, cooks, lawyers and more. I think if someone really wanted to do an advertising game that appealed to a mass audience while respecting the business, it wouldn't be out of the question.
I think if we were to use a game as a template, something along the lines of Phoenix Wright in terms of interface and feel I think could capture the drama of the ad business while making it accessible enough for anyone to play. That particular style of game would definitely lend itself to an account services focused game. I could even see a media planner/buyer simulator working in the vein of the Tycoon series of games where you plan out an ad campaign and purchase the media vehicles you need and see if it works.
However, capturing the creativity of making your own ads within a video game I think would prove difficult. How would you make a game where you could create your own ads without it just being "Creative Suite: The Video Game"? And how would a computer judge the effectiveness of one of your ads? The level of subjectivity I think would be too much for a computer to handle.
I'll keep you updated on any developments on this story. As a gamer and an adlander, I'm hoping for the best, but I'm not holding my breath. Do you have any ideas on how to make an advertising video game?
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