public relations – Josh's Journey

This week, I am covering some of the places that I am interested in working at, as well as how I would need to improve to be a qualified applicant. Here are my top 10:

Digital Content Intern at Pencils of Promise

Skills Required
– Video editing on any professional software
– Experience with DSLRs
– Strong understanding of social media metrics and the importance of data

What I Need to Work On
An important aspect of this internship is to have skills in video production. I have been making videos for over 4 years now and have a lot of editing experience, so I believe I am already reasonably qualified in that regard. The other aspects of the job, however, like social media data analysis and heavy blogging, are not as much in my wheelhouse. To gain these skills, I want to continue working on my blog and building my own social media brand, using myself as a case study to learn more about data analysis.

Video Production Intern at DP+

Skills Required
– Varies depending on type of internship, but generally requires very strong filming and editing skills
– Knowledge of brand marketing and development

What I Need to Work On
My experience with filming and editing could make me a pretty strong candidate, but my knowledge of brand marketing is still not very good. Again, practicing with my own social media to see how I can continue to grow my personal brand would take me to the next level.

Content Intern at The Mill

Skills Required
– Good working knowledge of Microsoft Excel
– Knowledge of Canon 5D preferred
– Pursuing coursework in film production or digital media

What I Need to Work On
I have a basic understanding of Excel, but it is not nearly strong enough. I need to watch more tutorials, and I am also considering taking a class to learn more. I have not worked with the 5D specifically, but I have worked with near identical cameras, so that should not be an issue.

Creative Director at Wieden + Kennedy

Skills Required
There are no official listings out for this position, but I have seen the work of several of their creative directors. It would require a powerful creative vision, lots of experience directing large scale productions, and great management skills.

What I Need to Work On
I have been following WK’s work for a long time. They make the Old Spice commercials as well as many of the KFC commercials, and I love what they do. This is my dream, but to get a position as a creative director, I would need way more experience in content planning and directing for commercial video productions. This would mean continuing writing and directing my own productions and working on becoming a strong leader while refining my craft and developing my vision.

Creative at Mother

Skills Required
There are no official listings for positions, I would have to inquire directly, but the requirements would roughly be several years of experience in brand marketing strategy as well as in production for photo and video advertisements.

What I Need to Work On
Mother does a lot of really unique advertisements. I would need to really developing my understanding of brand marketing and strategy through my courses, as well as through internships and jobs in the marketing field. Refining my craft as a video producer through practice will also be necessary.

Creative Director at Virtue

Skills Required
– 8-10 years agency experience as a creative.
– A background in copy but an understanding and eye for good art direction.
– Can create big ideas and the tactics that accompany them. And then sell them in.
– Emotionally intelligent with the ability to manage other creatives.
– Solutions oriented. Knows how to deal with feedback and relay it to their team.
– Strong knowledge of digital production and experience with video shoots.
– Strong presentation skills.
– Pragmatic but inspired.
– Has a diversified background and a variety of interests to draw inspiration from.
– CPG, Beauty, Fashion or Luxury experience is a plus, but let’s see what else you’ve got!

What I Need to Work On
I need to work in the field for almost a decade before I can qualify for this, but it would be a very interesting job. Working at different advertising and production agencies as well as gaining experience in leadership is what I would need for this.

Art Director at SPARK

Skills Required
-Stellar presentation skills and the ability to articulate big ideas in a simple way
– Build strong concepts no matter the industry or media
– An eye for how to create great, art directed work
– Handle multiple production jobs from pre-pro to post
– Experience leading others
– Passion for cross-departmental collaboration and commitment to the team concept
– A true student of the industry

What I Need to Work On
I would need to diversify my experience from just video to all art fields, while also working on my leadership and presentation skills. I want to practice my graphic design skills a lot more, while also working toward leading a video production team to gain the necessary experience.

Creative at Martin Agency

Skills Required
There is no official listing for this position at the moment, but an intense understanding of video as a craft and brand marketing strategies would be key.

What I Need to Work On
I would need to develop a very strong portfolio, while at the same time practicing with promoting my own content to really nail down my marketing abilities.

Video Production Intern at Goodby Silverstein

What I Need to Work On
I need to keep developing my portfolio and building my personal brand, while diversifying my skills enough to be useful in multiple ways. Through participation in an internship this Summer, plus my individual and course work over the next year, I think I will have the required experience.

Video Production Team Member at HZ

What I Need to Work On
Building my brand and refining my craft as a videographer through real world experience is what I need to land a position here. I also need to broaden my horizons to master different software applications, both for editing and analytical purposes.

Thanks for reading, tune in next week for my take on collaboration in the workplace!

Image: The Mill

My personal love affair with advertising began many years ago when I saw a commercial featuring “the man your man could smell like.”

I always thought advertising was boring. Prints and visuals were just extraneous visuals in our lives that didn’t get in the way but didn’t really matter, and all commercials did was take time away from the thing that you actually wanted to watch. But after seeing the aforementioned commercial from Old Spice, and many more commercials like it from the same brand, my mind changed.

Old Spice commercials are fundamentally nonsensical. In one, Terry Crews is trapped in a painting while his rival plays chess with a lion. In another, a pilot is panicking as he flies through a storm, but a beautiful woman instructs him to put on Old Spice grooming products. After doing so, he regains his composure and crashes perfectly into the woman’s house, where a romantic dinner has already been prepared for the two of them.

These commercials make no effort whatsoever at explaining why Old Spice is logically the best deodorant, but they are hilarious, and every time I see one, I fall more and more deeply in love with Old Spice as a brand. These commercials showed me that advertising can be exciting and entertaining, but without the internet, I don’t believe they ever would have existed.

The rise of the Internet has led to the birth of a new culture. The internet gives anyone with a computer an equal shot at sharing their content, which means unique styles that had never been seen before, mostly because they weren’t mainstream enough, were able to come into the light. The style that is reflected in the Old Spice commercials was born out of the unique content that the Internet has allowed for. It is difficult to describe this style, but it is something like this: “fast-paced green screen intensive non sequitur comedy.”

Before the internet, this style would not have been accepted. At it’s very core it is strange and seeks to defy all conventions. But younger generations raised with the weirdness of the internet have adapted to it, and as a result, brands like Old Spice have been able to come in and capitalize. Commercials and videos like these showed me how cool advertising can be, and none of it could have existed without the culture created by the internet.

This isn’t the only way the internet has changed advertising. Platforms like YouTube and Facebook have stolen massive quantities of viewers from cable television, and streaming services like Netflix and HBO have taken even more. This means that classic TV ads aren’t worth nearly as much as they were, and online marketing has become essential. Thus, appealing to the aforementioned internet culture is incredibly important, but it is not easy.

If a brand attempts to be trendy and “appeal to the kids” when they are out of touch with reality, they will be viewed very negatively. An example would be advertisements from people like Tai Lopez. Lopez gained a huge amount of negative attention for his ads, but because it was still attention, a bunch of other people started trying to copy him. But because everyone already saw Lopez as a scam, any video styled after him is viewed as a scam too, so at least for me personally, there is no way I would trust the advertiser

The Internet has changed advertising and public relations forever, so for a brand trying to market itself well, they must connect with their audiences on the Internet. This can be very difficult, so consulting with future consumers first to see what they really like, not what you think they will like, is perhaps the best answer.

Tag: public relations

10 Jobs I Want.

How the Internet Changed Advertising