November 2009 brought a new batch of Fellows to Ogilvy. Oh look, here they are...
Cressida
So it seems that a rural Northerner with scant knowledge of pop culture + piles of English and French books at Oxford University + travels to art college in Paris and jungle South America can = Ogilvy Fellow. But then again the great thing about this Fellowship is that there are no formulas. The five of us would be the first ones to tell you that we are all very different and so are our day jobs. I don’t think you get such opportunity to mix it up on any other scheme.
Kate
After studying linguistics at University and my experience of this industry being 5 months in a below-the-line advertising Advertising agency, I went along to my first day in Public Relations totally clueless of what lay ahead….. Then in a ‘welcome induction’ my superior tried to explain PR to me in a way which he thought I could relate to.
“Imagine you’re having a drink in a bar and a guy comes up to you (let’s call him Dave) and says “You should go out with me - I’m great in bed”. Then imagine a second situation where instead of talking to Dave, you end up talking to his mate and he tells you that “Dave is great in bed, all the girls say so”. Who are you more likely to believe? That’s the difference between PR and Advertising.”
So in short I spend my days making other people look good! Whether it’s persuading journalists that they absolutely must write about X, Y and Z, talking to niche publications about their upcoming features or writing and sending out press releases outlining all the weird and wonderful things that my clients have been up to lately my aim is to make my clients look good. On a quieter day I’m also responsible for doing a lot of research, both for the clients we already have and for new business pitches as well. And as I work on corporate, technology and consumer PR my tasks can be anything from finding out what dishes they eat in Puerto Rico to what bathroom fittings are popular in the UK to what celebrity would be best to endorse my designer jewellery. The variety is endless and that’s what I love the most about what I do.
On a constant basis I always have to be aware of what’s in the news. This is helped by the huge TV screen in front of my desk which plays SKY News all day! And when part of your job involves sitting around with all the PR guys critiquing Tiger Woods’ apology speech in fits of hysterics you definitely can’t complain!
In terms of out-of-work good times there’s never a better end to the week than a drink (or few!) in the Ogilvy bar and catching up with everyone – a great thing about the 6 weeks fellowship training is that you already have a group of friends and know a lot of people round the agency before you begin your first placement so you feel really settled from day one.
Fingers crossed that you’re successful with your application. If you are, I assure there’ll be a drink of congratulations waiting for you!
Joe
Hi there, and a humongous aloha to all Fellowship/advertising/marcomms enquirers – well where to start? The beginning, middle or end?
Tell you what. Let’s start at the middle, end with the beginning, and miss out the speculative end altogether.
Currently I am working in OgilvyOne on the BT Consumer account, particularly on and in the world of BT Total Broadband, or BTTBB for those in the know. The team are friendly, the account is challenging (you must have an insatiable appetite for tea and pull off a half good Cheryl Cole accent to join), and plenty of laughs can be heard rumbling around the floors of 10 Cabot Square on a daily basis. The job itself is hard work, tiring, and one definitely needs a good eye for detail -you won’t be sitting in your office chuffing on that famous Ogilvy pipe just yet.
The opportunities at Ogilvy are fantastic. There’s travel, socialising, our unbeatable Ogilvy red arrows display team1, and probably the best agency training scheme in the business2. At BT our regular team drinks (aptly named Team Jolly) at both the Ogilvy bar and outside world of Canary Wharf always guarantee a fun fuelled night - next up is bowling, and I’ve been feeling lucky on a few curve balls for a while now (and no the inflatable gutter stops do not help that much).
And now to myself, and this is more tricky. The trouble with selling one’s self in approximately one hundred words is that one often musters up embarrassingly close comparisons to a tragically sad lonely hearts ad; but in keeping with our dictum – “We sell, or else”, I will give it a go.
Male (named Joe), aged 27 (oldest of the 2009 Fellow intake), degree in Advertising and Marketing Communications, 7 years as a recording artist touring Europe, the US, and Japan - seeks clients, associates and fellow WWP employees for long-term relationships built upon ongoing mutual value exchange and dialogue. Must enjoy brands, blogs, socialising, big ideas, small ideas, the funny side of life, and scenic, moonlight walks of Greenwich Park (optional). See you soon.
Terms and Conditions:
- This is a fabrication
- Sorry but as a man of Direct Response I feel something is unfinished without the obligatory caveat – in this case to say that of course this is a personal opinion and does not represent the opinions of the entire marketing communications industry – but it’s true3
- Suffice to say that this also is a personal opinion.
Hugo
If someone had told me I had a job in “Group Communications” to me but a few short months ago, I might have rather eruditely replied, “eh?”
Thankfully my grasp, of what is quite a diverse role, is somewhat better these days. First and foremost, it means meeting lots of different people throughout the agency and finding out what they’re up to. This is because Group Comms handles PR for most of Ogilvy’s work. Be it for Ogilvy Advertising and Ford, OgilvyOne and IBM or for Many Ogilvy Hands’ charity work in Uganda, we are the (2-man) team who speak to journalists to try and get it talked about!
As a result, I’m very lucky to often get a preview of the great work being produced throughout the many different parts of Ogilvy. In addition, I get to update our website with the new work and news stories that arise. So I went from reading our news blog one week, to writing it the next: if you’ve discerned a notable drop in the quality of the posts, well… keep it to yourself!
But of course, at an agency that has so much more to offer than simply what happens at your desk, there have been many notable miscellaneous highlights, including:
Interviewing listless high-street shoppers – Michael Parkinson’s legacy is quite safe
Cheerleading for the Ogilvy Netball Team – Flexibility wasn’t a consideration for the audition
Playing keyboard in the Ogilvy band – to a mixed reception
Chatting to a Gordon Ramsay look-a-like at our Christmas party – %*^#< @~>%$, yes?!
It’s been an amazing start and I’m sure it will continue to surprise, challenge and educate. Good luck to all applicants and it will be great to meet some of you soon!
Will
Hi my name is Will and I am a 1st year Fellow currently undertaking my first placement in Ogilvy Advertising as an account executive. My clients are Hellmann’s and Mattel (both fantastic brands) and whilst it has only been 3 months in, I thought I would update my blog to help give all you potential Fellows a flavour of what to expect and why you should be applying.
Well it is at this point, in most jobs, that I could reel off a short list of my day-to-day responsibilities and tasks and that would be it. But the brilliant thing about working in this industry is that such an exercise would be futile. Since I started in January, not one day has been alike and trying to capture the myriad of roles and challenges that I have faced as an Advertising AE in one post would be impossible. Instead, I will regularly update this blog with a post about an interesting (hopefully) day/meeting/event/talk I have had that week. Over a few weeks this should help to give you a much better picture of life as a Fellow in advertising.
So do keep your eyes peeled for this week’s entry!...
Week commencing: 29.03.10
Hello applicants,
As promised here is by first blog update. As always the last few days have been very busy but really enjoyable
Early in the week my brand team met up with our partners at Coley Porter Bell over at their chic new offices in Westbourne Terrace. Coley's is a member of the Ogilvy Group and is one of the UK's leading brand design agencies. As a potential Fellow you may have the opportunity to work here in one of your 3 placement years. We met with them to talk about potential projects that we could collaborate on and to update each other on our current work. It was a really insightful meeting and also allowed us to sample the legendary Ogilvy West canteen.
On my other Brand I am currently managing a TVC that is due to air next week. So yesterday, myself and my TV producer attended a VO (voice-over) recording in Soho. We nearly ran into trouble when our VO artist turned up to the studio with a terrible cold but several cups of lemsip later and he delivered a fantastic take. Working in the Advertising Agency this year has given me lots of exposure to TV production and post-production and getting to grips with these processes has been fascinating.
In other news, I have been desperately trying to get into shape this week. A week today I am turning out for Ogilvy Advertising FC against arch rivals M&C Saatchi (finally some quality football on a Wednesday night i hear you cry). On top of that, training has begun for the NABS rugby sevens tournament next month which myself and Hugo are currently organising.
Finally I thought I would end each post with a piece of advice for all those currently applying. My first tip is one I am sure you have heard before but is certainly worth repeating: enthusiasm and passion will get you everywhere. And this does not mean simply saying "I am passionate about X....", it means being passionate and enthusiastic in everything you do. If you can demonstrate this you will have a every chance of getting on the Fellowship.
So until next time
W
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