LEADERS OF THE NEW: Keely Powell

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: Keely Powell

Career Path: Radio writing and production

Education: Seneca College

Advertising Experience: Volunteer at ihaveanidea.org portfolio night 6, adweek NYC ‘08, Planet In Focus and Burt’s Bees winners of Seneca College student campaign competition.

One Thing About You: At one point in my life I had 9 body piercings at the same time.

Contact: keelypowell@gmail.com

Full interview after the break!

When did you know that advertising was for you?

I don’t know when I knew that advertising was for me. I still don’t even really know if I’m for advertising. I fell hard for it when I began at Seneca. And then, as these things tend to happen to people my age, I hit a pivotal moment in my life and where I was going and I had to make a lot of realizations about myself. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel as strongly about advertising after that but I persevered and I decided to find a path for myself to proud of, to back up the education I’ve received, and to revive the strong feelings of love and admiration I used to feel for advertising. Which is a good segway into the next question:


You’ve told me that you want to specialize in radio advertising. Why?

Radio advertising just happened to be the niche I discovered for myself. It is the area of advertising into which I feel I fit best. It just makes sense to me. Now not many people know this but before I decided to come to Seneca College’s Creative Advertising program, I juggled my post-secondary education options between graphic design and radio broadcast and before that point in my life I also had a strong passion for literature and writing.

So since I have always been interested in broadcast and I’ve always loved writing, the Seneca College Creative Advertising program brought that all of my interests together and taught me that I love writing scripts for radio commercials. Specializing in radio advertising and radio production seemed like an incredibly lucky opportunity for me to stumble upon, but really it was the choices I made for myself that led me to where I can be happy and enjoy working for the rest of my life.


Radio, unlike other forms of media, doesn’t have the luxury of visuals to convey the message. What do you do to compensate for that?

Sounds. Effects. Ideas. It’s the clever mixing of internal thoughts and external noise into a perfect form that makes radio interesting and intelligent to write and create. It’s no disadvantage to have to work without visual aids; it is a challenge, an accomplishment.


Describe your creative process. How do you brainstorm? How do you keep track of ideas? How do you know when one of your ideas is good? What do you do when you're creatively stumped?

I brainstorm on the bus and the subway. I brainstorm when I’m not stressed or busy with other things, when I can focus my energy on brainstorming. I keep track of ideas by writing them down with a pen on paper. I can’t work on a computer until I’m through with the heavy thinking and planning process. Some people I know go through their whole creative process on a computer and come up with great work. But I can’t do that. To me, computers are necessary only for research, typing stuff up, editing and revising good work. And I never know when an idea is good. I just work and I think and I write until I’ve come up with something I like and something that works. Then I take it to a friend and I ask for their opinion and go from there.

Every idea is a good idea. Some ideas just need to be cleaned off and fixed up first. And if, after the idea’s been cleaned off and fixed up, it doesn’t work for what I need it for, then oh well. Lastly, if I am creatively stumped, usually I go for a walk or a bike ride.


Do you want to just be a radio copywriter, or venture into the production side?

Well Jett,I don’t want to “just” be anything, but I know that’s not what you meant, so I’ll say: I don’t think I can be 100% happy with the radio I write until I am also producing the spots myself. Think of it this way: A chef can’t create a 5 star meal without knowing what’s in the kitchen first. Plus I am the kind of person who likes to have the reins in my hands when it comes to my own work. Unfortunately right now I have little to no experience or knowledge when it comes to radio recording and production equipment. But! I am currently working on scheduling a day to go in to Think Music to observe the recording and post-production of a radio spot, in order learn the basics and ask some questions.


Outside of advertising, do you express yourself creativity in any other ways?

Yes, I write poetry and short stories. I’ve got one short story in the planning and organizing phase right now and an outline for another idea I want to write about. I bake delicious cakes and cookies (and crepes) from scratch recipes I’ve mostly made up. I like to decorate and design space. And I’m not much for drawing, but I enjoy creating other kinds of art.


What is your biggest accomplishment so far in life? What do you hope to achieve someday?

My biggest accomplishment so far in life, eh? Never flunking out of school regardless of how tempting it seemed at times. In high school I was a big slacker and didn’t really care for much other than partying. But now, on the other hand, I’ve got high hopes; I want to write and be known for writing novels, and also, I want to bring back the old time radio show. (ie. Cloak and Dagger)


What do you do for fun?

Bike! I love my bike. And read. I love to read. And I’m writing short stories in my free time, so that’s pretty fun too.


E-Elevator Pitch: Sell yourself in 140 characters or less.

Script+sound+sales=radioKeely

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 at jettlandicho@gmail.com