Seth has a new book: The Dip. It's about quitting for all the right reasons. He has a blog to support it.
In this post, he asked for submissions from quitters.
I'm trying to assemble a list of a dozen or so people who have achieved the status of 'best in the world,' but quit something else in order to get there.
I sent in mine, and he seemed to like it - not sure if I'll be one of the winners, though, because I haven't fulfilled one of the two key requirements -- that pesky part about being the best in the world at something.
When I quit directing, though, I did take an extraordinary, exhilarating, and frightening leap. For all the right reasons. As a director, I did pretty well. Financially, anyway. But a lot of experience on the agency side, combined with a love of great work, a head for strategy, and an eye on the changes in our business, told me it was time -- past time -- to do something different. I didn't like the stuff I was shooting. I didn't think many of the people I was shooting for were capable of truly great ideas. And although a director can bring a lot to a party -- in the end, a bad idea always produces a bad spot. Always.
Couple that with all that's possible on the web, with the web as an integral, inseparable part of all marketing communications now, plus all that's only beginning to be dreamed up about how to relate to an audience that's bombarded with what they consider to be irrelevant and intrusive marketing messages more than ever before -- and it makes you not so enthusiastic about a career built solely on tv commercials.
When I first broke out as a director, I got interviewed a bunch. They always asked me what inspired me. "Basically," I'd always tell them, "I like making stuff." Still true. I still like the process of shooting, directing talent, editing, layering, color-correcting -- and writing, art directing, and developing strategy. I still like making stuff.
Only now, I think, I must have raised my own bar or something. Because the stuff I enjoy making the most tends to be extremely complex. Multi-touchpoint, immersive ideas that cross and blur across different media. Ideas that don't necessarily just end with a punchline, and the turn of a page, or by pushing a button on the remote. I tend to like the stuff that invites the audience to participate in some way -- with the message itself. Because I believe that if you can get them participating with your message, you've got a much better chance of getting them to participate with (or at least consider) your product or your cause, or your point of view. I like advertising ideas that can't be contained on a cocktail napkin. Ideas that can't possibly be developed independent of the delivery mechanism. Oh, I still love a great poster, or print ad. But I love it more if it's part of a greater whole.
Now, you might think that only the biggest advertisers, with the biggest budgets, are candidates for complex thinking like I just described. But you'd be wrong. The most intricate ideas my team and I have developed over the last few months have been for some of our smallest clients. Smaller clients with smaller budgets have far less to lose, and far more potential reward for innovative thinking. The web has leveled the playing field a lot (not completely, but it's getting there), and that's a problem for the big guys, and a huge opportunity for the little guys.
But the web isn't magic. Nor is a complex web/guerrilla/print/experiential/broadcast/direct idea a silver bullet. Just like those TV spots I was talking about, it still always boils down to the idea. With all the automated analysis we have at our disposal, and all the consumer insight ever logged, it still boils down to this -- people like what they like at any given moment. If you connect, you win.
So, back to that part about being the best in the world. My note to Seth said, "...I'm not the best at anything else, yet. Still working on it." I wrote that, because, in the moment, I'm not sure I knew what "it" was, exactly. I may not, still, but I think I'm getting closer:
Connecting with people now, from an ad creative's perspective, isn't what it used to be. It used to be, a great punchline did the trick. Then it was a cool soundtrack, or a fast-paced edit. After that, it was looking like a major motion picture. Most recently, it's looking homemade. But it's none of that, really.
Connecting has to do with understanding, and predicting how, and whether, people will react and respond -- emotionally -- to what you're putting out there. In short, it's being able to tell a good story that people want to listen to -- and knowing when to hit the high notes, and when to lower your voice. It's like being a great preacher, and knowing, pretty much, what actions your sermons will inspire.
That's what I'd like to be the best at. And like I told Seth, I'm still working on it.
Technorati Tags:
Advertising Marketing Creative Interactive Online Marketing Design Digital Design Blattner Brunner The Dip Quitting Ernie Mosteller
Comments