Gavin Levine’s Post

started working as a marketing intern at a newly opened company

Dear Adland, It’s no secret that our industry isn’t truly representative of all the people we're advertising to. Careers in our industry have been notoriously only accessible to the few, and not the many. But, we all have the opportunity to change that. Earlier this year we launched The Pitch, a competition for school kids to devise a media and creative concept for a real JD Sports Fashion brief. Over 400 kids nationwide engaged with us and expressed their desire for work experience in our industry.   When we launched this initiative, we promised to offer 100 work placements to the students who reached the final. But wouldn’t it be amazing if we could get all 400 of those students a placement? There are 1000s of companies within our industry. If every agency (be that media, creative or otherwise), media owner and brand across the country got on board with this, we could open our industry and offer every single student a start in an advertising career.   Thank you to our partners and judges for helping us get this far. If you can, please join us by taking on just one student for work experience. We have the power to make a change and open advertising to a new generation. Please register below if you can offer work experience (scroll to end of page) https://lnkd.in/d3z3SPEy YourGamePlan Tim Campbell Beau Jackson Campaign UK JD Sports Fashion Chris Waters D&AD Jack Renwick Andrew Stephens JCDecaux Clear Channel UK Meta Channel 4 Pearl & Dean

How did I end up with a corner office, high above Wilshire Boulevard, at one of the world’s best ad agencies at age 20? Everybody else got fired. In 1991, I got my first agency internship at Ogilvy & Mather in Los Angeles. It was a big deal for me. I’d read “Ogilvy on Advertising” as a kid and loved it. (I was a weird kid.) So it was my first choice and I was thrilled to land an opportunity to intern a few days a week in the account management department. (In my interview, I may have fudged my experience-level with Macintosh computers…and then swung by the bookstore on the way home to buy “Macintosh for Dummies.” 😂) When I showed up on my first day, my boss said to me, “Take any seat you want…everybody on this floor got fired last week.” Welcome to advertising! 😬 They’d lost a gigantic account (the Barbie account from Mattel?) and made deep cuts. So I wandered into a way-too-nice office for a kid with “Macintosh for Dummies’ hidden in his bag. Advertising has always been a feast or famine business. You win a big account, you hire a bunch of people. You lose a big account, a bunch of people get fired. It’s a feature, not a bug. But over the last 20 years, the employment trends have been pretty sweet. The explosion of marketing opportunities in tech meant that, whether you were agency-side or client-side, most people could find a gig, regardless of what happened at any one agency or company. But…something feels different now. For lots of reasons, agencies and in-house creative shops are figuring out how to do more, with a lot less. Despite the “employment trend data” (which suggest “ad jobs” are still on the rise) I know lots and lots and lots of people who can’t find enough work. I don’t the genie is going back in the bottle. Today, Ogilvy wouldn’t just fire the whole floor, they’d quickly sublease the space. And the work I tackled during my internship could be handled by ChatGPT (far more effectively, if I’m being honest.) Also, in the 30 years since that I’ve worked in advertising, I never had an office quite that nice again. 😉

Currently, I am a student at Western Kentucky University and I hope that I can acquire a business internship position soon in order to further develop my business skills. My goal is to eventually work in advertising for a large company or an advertising firm. I want to be more on the creative side of the advertising field and help to brainstorm different commercials, social media posts, designs, videos, and many other different kinds of advertisements. I am only a sophomore right now, so I still have plenty to learn and experience if I want to achieve my goal in the near future. I am willing to work hard to achieve this goal by doing well at college and learning as much as I can from my present job as a keyholder at Ace Hardware. The reason I chose advertising as my major and as my future career goal is because I wanted to do something in the business world while also still being able to exercise my creativity and creative skills. I grew up watching a lot of television and I loved watching the creative advertisements from companies and coming up with my own ideas for them. So, I would mainly want to work in video advertising if given the opportunity because it is the type of advertising that I have seen the most and have enjoyed the most. Aside from the creative side of things, I also hope to acquire skills on the research side of advertising so I can choose an appropriate target market. I took on a minor in marketing so I can better understand how to do research on what future clients and customers would want from the advertisements I would be helping to create for them. I have learned a lot so far from many different research assignments and classes and I want to get some real experience researching data for a company in the future as well. I believe it is very important for an ad to have a strong foundation of research since it is very easy for advertisements to miss their mark without proper research. I have also learned a lot about this during my time at Ace Hardware. I have learned a lot about customers, products, and retail while working at Ace Hardware. Many different customers have told me what they felt about the company and why they felt that way. Some only came because of the advertisements, while others were frequent shoppers who came because of the close proximity to their residence. The main thing I learned was that there were many different types of customers with many different needs, but certain customers were more common than the others. While looking at it from an advertising perspective, I can see exactly what the target market looks like for my store and what specifically appealed to that target market. Finally, I am sure that the skills I have learned at Ace Hardware and will learn from my time at school will come in handy for my future career in the business world.

Two young students backed by their helpful mentors and one company that decided to push the envelope while promoting its laxative brand. That is how the magic happened. While interning at Serviceplan Group, Nidhi Shah and Rag Brahmbhatt created their first radio spot for Macrogol Hexal using humour as the raison d'etre. Lo and behold, the duo then bagged a gold at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this year. Here's a story about how the two were inspired to create this ad, how creativity can be found in the unlikeliest of places and how laughter is indeed the best medicine. #creativity #advertising #ads #campaigns #marketing #marketers

Today marks my last day as an Advertising and Sales Intern with KARE 11. I'd like to take a moment to share 11 highlights from my time here - accomplishments, lessons, and more! 1. **Impactful Reach of Video Marketing:** I've witnessed firsthand how video marketing can effectively connect with a wide audience while helping businesses target specific customer groups. 2. **Diverse Exposure:** Shadowing 40 client calls across 10 different industries has provided me with a rich and varied learning experience. 3. **On-Set Experience:** Participating in a commercial shoot with a KARE client was eye-opening, allowing me to understand client interactions throughout different project stages. 4. **A Glimpse into Journalism:** Joining Multi-Media Journalist Heidi Wigdahl at Cutz Too Barbershop gave me insights into the behind-the-scenes process, from shooting footage to the final edit. 5. **End-to-End Production Involvement:** Being part of the Minnesota & Co. production cycle - from pre-production meetings to the final product - highlighted the intricacies of content creation. 6. **Strategic Thinking:** My internship extended beyond video promotion, teaching me how advertising aligns with broader business objectives. 7. **Client-Centric Approach:** Interacting with clients emphasized the importance of active listening, tailoring solutions, and understanding their unique needs. 8. **The Spark of Innovation:** Immersed in a team passionate about campaigns, I've seen how enthusiasm can lead to fresh ideas that captivate audiences. 9. **Positive Work Culture:** KARE's environment, dedicated to learning and growth, has made every day enjoyable and enriching. 10. **Collaborative Strength:** Embracing collaboration and receiving feedback has boosted my confidence in meetings and discussions. 11. **Multimedia Proficiency:** My internship expanded my skills across advertising platforms, enhancing my ability to craft impactful campaigns. As I step into my next chapter, I'm immensely grateful for the experiences, friendships, and insights I've gained during my time at KARE 11. Here's to embracing the future with the wisdom of the past.

Do you think PR people should have to do a short stint/internship in editorial teams of media houses? Also, what if our media friends opened their doors to us on guided tours and allowed us to sit in one of their meets or "mock editorial meets"? #justathought #pr #publicrelations #thoughtthursday

From an early age I knew entertainment was my thing. I loved an audience and wanted them to love me. I wanted to be CC Bloom when I grew up! Still do. At school I did drama, dancing and singing lessons and whilst I loved it, I didn't have ~it~. The other kids were naturals. Good on 'em. In Year 12 Drama, I tried my hand at Direction for my major piece and I wasn't too bad at it. Being able to receive a written script and see what it could look like in my head came easily. Still, I was a realist. I understood getting a job as a director would be extremely tough and my Imposter Syndrome discouraged me to go for it anyway. I did a Business degree when I left school as I figured that'd be a good base. As part of my degree, I did an internship at M&C Saatchi. People were being paid to make mini movies for brands?! I'd graduate, get a job in advertising and it'd be ME directing ads. That was until I realised how hard it was to get a job at an agency and the tough slog to get into a position to actually be allowed on set. I pivoted to working client side as a brand marketer, which I enjoyed but was jealous of the creative agency minds doing the heavy lifting. Before I knew it, I was 8 years into my career and still not making movies. Fortunately, movies and TV shows need marketing! Like I'd manifested it, I found a role at Roadshow Films and somehow managed to convince the hiring manager to give it to me. Talking about films all day was fun but still, I was left wanting. Right around this time brands were really getting into using YouTube to attract new audiences. I put my hand up to take on a content role. To produce content for our YouTube and social channels. Remember IGTV? Oh, such simpler times. Before I knew it, I was commissioning social content. A red carpet interview series out of Hollywood with Jason Dundas, and my absolute pride and joy, Dave's Shed Show with the genius that is Dave Lawson. It's still the happiest I've ever been. I'm proof that whilst it can take a few different paths, there's always a work around. 🌷 #filmmarketing #tvmarketing #contentstrategy #storiesofbloom #digitalmarketing #marketingmelbourne

25 years ago this week, I nervously crossed Golden Square in London's Soho to start my internship at M&C Saatchi UK. In the intervening quarter of a century, I've had a career in the marketing industry that's been filled with everything - joy, friends, lessons, failure, a little money, a lot of money, no money, shame, panic, and late nights (both the fun kind and the 'Budweiser wants a new campaign for Valentine's Day by 11am tomorrow - step on it' kind). I've had decent bosses, mate bosses, not very good bosses and godawful, sociopathic-adjacent bosses - the spectrum is long and varied. I've been sacked once and made redundant three times, and damn, have those gardening leave periods been the most enjoyable of my entire career. Always in summer, somehow, and always when I've had the urge to write a book but lacked the time to invest in the process. How serendipitous. I've been in house, out house and doghouse. Neither client side nor agency is 'better' than the other - they're just different. But client side is, in my opinion, more predictable, more controllable and tends to pay more. (That said, I learnt more, and faster, in my agency years). I’ve run my own business twice: - The first, a movable car crash of an agency - The Fridge - which will only be remembered for a cracking Barcelona beach party and my toe-curling strapline ("Keeping Things Cooler For Longer" - ouch!) The second, Brand Architects, an altogether more mature affair with a mandate to have near zero outgoings, no headcount costs and a focus on delivering the kind of work I most enjoy doing. That went pretty well. You see, you DO learn from your mistakes (if they're painful enough!) My career has been defined by marketing what I came to describe as 'Vice Industries' - namely tobacco, booze and gambling. I'm out of that now, but working in highly regulated businesses definitely helps hone the edge on your creative and strategic swords. I'm writing this from a beautiful house in France. Ten years ago, I aspired to own such a place before I turned fifty, which I don't. But I'm with my wonderful family - an aspiration I've held for much, much longer, and means a whole lot more. I'm well beyond the halfway mark in my career, and whilst it's sometimes felt like a slalom between boom and bust, I wouldn't change it for the world. Marketing careers are unpredictable, like the discipline itself, but who wants to have the same day twice? I'm more eager than ever to mentor and support those starting out in the industry, so they can make fewer catastrophically bad decisions than I did. I'm excited to see what's happens next... #career #marketing #business #startups #marketingcafeers

Hi I just rolled out of bed and here's my random Thursday morning marketing campaign for KatieTempleton, the Social Media Manager at Waffle House, Inc. If you're Katie, just do it. Don't run it by legal like a snitch. 1. Rent/Buy and RV for the rest of summer. (Make sure you can cook in it.) 2. Send 3 interns on a cross country trip with a internet hotspot. 3. Have one intern walk up to people in public. They'll ask "Have you had Waffle House before?" If the person says no, hand them an menu. Then have the 2nd intern dressed as a WH worker show up with a pen and ask what they'd like. Have the third person cook the food. 4. If they stranger says yes, they've had WH before, ask them what their favorite item is and still cook it. Film it all. Make reels/tiktoks/whatever. Absolutely include a few videos where you're fighting people (Sorry, you gotta live up to brand people have of you, not what you have in your mind.) And post at least 4 times a week minimum as to not overwork the interns to death. That's all.