IAS AR 2004 - Institute of Advertising Singapore

get it out and re-read it once a year, on an easy to
remember date.
I honestly believe some people get unhappy
about their work/careers/jobs because they have
totally unrealistic ambitions or self evaluation
criteria…. If you don’t know where you’re headed,
how do you know if you’re getting there If you
don’t know where you’re headed, how do you
know what it will take to get there Because where
is there
As a result people end up adopting ‘a common
standard’ or doing the ‘norm’ which means you’re
becoming more like everyone else and not being
YOU!
In marketing, that means you are becoming
undifferentiated – a commodity!
2.“Be happy while you’re living”
There is an old Scots proverb, which says
“Be happy while you’re living, for you are a long
time dead!” Most people working in our industry
appear to be well-suited for the work. But some
are not. So I urge them to move on.
Frankly, it is a roller-coaster of a world. It has
its “ups” and its “downs”. These highs and lows
are really emotional peaks and troughs. And I sense
today, the highs are becoming more and more
infrequent, but are no less critical for you to
experience, participate in and savour. Ours is
increasingly demanding and complicated work
that demands patience, determination, hard work
and at times – true grit!
So be honest, own up if you are not happy
with your work and its challenges. Happy people
are five times more productive than those
“chugging along”.
3.“Be strong but be flexible”
The advertising industry is changing – and
very quickly! Having stared hard in the mirror
you will have decided on your career dreams. But
be prepared for change. Be prepared to change to
a new course.
Technology is changing everything. It’s
changing this industry dramatically. Marketers
look for highly effective, highly affordable
solutions to problems. As a consumer, you yourself
know people are less and less impressed by ads.
Advertising is just one of the ways to
communicate commercially today. There is a
worldwide trend towards more accountable,
targeted techniques.
Across Asia, ‘non classical approaches’ account
for 26% of all expenditure and this is growing by
1% each year (and probably accelerating).
Advertising is no longer “all important” in our
industry – but you know that.
Above all else,
be HONEST, CRITICAL
and REALISTIC
about yourself.
But don’t be afraid to
dream and aim high.
4.“But I can’t play Chess!”
Raymond Chandler once said, “Chess is
about as elaborate a waste of human intelligence
as you could find anywhere outside of an
advertising agency”
There are a few very well educated,
brilliant,talented types in this business. But there
are many “ordinary” individuals,who earn success
more simply. They apply old fashioned principles
of “common sense ”. Here are five tips:
❖ As you already know, continue to invest
time, effort (and some cash) to “learn”. Today you
are celebrating that foresight and wisdom. Do not
stop continuing to invest in your future. You will
pass others by.
❖ Set out to be the best informed person
about the business you are working on, whether
you are a marketer, agency or media person. Most
people cannot really contribute much, because
they really don’t understand much about the
business to which they’ve been assigned.
❖ Most of our work is routine and
considered “maintenance”. Look out for the real
opportunity and then give it all you’ve got – 150%.
Sacrifice that weekend away with friends, that
dinner with your partner, that late night out and
you will be rewarded and recognized.
❖ Learn how to be an excellent and
persuasive communicator. Learn how to write in
a concise, lucid, way. Practice editing. Do not
develop the modern disease of using fancy
marketing and advertising lingo….senior
management hates B*#! S*#! and long winded
mail. Learn how to make presentations and be a
good speaker. You need to be able to sell your
ideas. The more you sell, the higher you will rise.
❖ Remember that a journey is only 10,000
steps. Concentrate on the “KISS” principle-keep
it simple stupid! Worry about delivering the
essential and obvious things - but do them
uncommonly well.Developing a reputation for
total reliability and always ‘delivering’ on time,
will drive your career success.
5. About waiters and cooks
When you talk to anyone about their choice
of favourite eating outlets, most say they go to
that place because “They love the food”. In today’s
world having high standards in serving customers
is essential; business is all about providing great
customer service.
But I ask you, do you want to be a great waiter
or a great cook Don’t be content with being a
waiter….. try instead to become a great cook.
Being the creator of new ideas to solve business
problems is I assure you, far more exciting and
rewarding than being a great waiter. Being a cook
takes hard work, determination and a love of
cooking. Becoming a great cook takes courage,
passion for perfection & imagination
And this brings me to my last point.
This industry in which you have already
invested considerably is a business of imagination.
It is a business of creation and creating. It is a
business of conception…of fresh, engaging,
original thinking & ideas.
If you decide to remember anything tonight,
please just remember only that. How lucky we
all are to be involved in such a wonderful
industry…and how wonderful, all of you have
decided to invest your future in its future.
I have gone on too long…. So I close tonight
congratulating each and every one of you. In
today’s “University of Life”, you are already ahead
of many of your peers.
Your investment in an IAS Diploma or a
Professional Certificate programme is tangible
testament to your hard work, ability and
determination. All of us at the IAS hope it will
be a spring-board to great career success. In the
words of Leo Burnett, founder of the agency of
his great name…. “When you reach for the stars
you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up
with a handful of mud either”.
Thank you
7