Rodd Chant ®️©️’s Post

Working in the advertising industry doesn't carry the same sense of coolness as it once did. Not since the age of tech start-ups at least. However, for many of us, it's been an industry that has provided a rare combination of: - Mental stimulation - The ability to make things that reach people - A salary A guy called Todd Sampson gave me my first strategy job. I was 28. The agency was Leo Burnett. As an experiment, I spent 50% of my time on digital projects because I'd done UX/IA work since I was 20. And then I spent 50% of my time on brand work. I'd been publishing a hip hop magazine, hosting a radio show, and putting on music events in my twenties. If I had an idea, I'd just go and make it happen. I rarely slept because, for many years, the hip hop stuff happened after work. A few years earlier at TribalDDB, Adam Good gave me 20 hours of work a week and let me know work on my own projects as well. I got to work with one of the most creative digital teams in the world by day while pursuing my publishing infatuation by night. At 31, I moved to New York to then deal with years of corporate culture shock. On one hand, I felt the industry was much more conservative, clients more bureaucratic, and most of the work I saw felt like it was from years before (sorry, it's just true). On the other hand, like many of you who make this journey, you hope something you contribute to can reach a massive country. Along the way, I was reminded that I'm not cut out to be a Company Man. But I enjoy the thrill and pace of advertising: "This next brief will be the one..." And, after my last boss, the President of a massive company, told me I wasn't a culture fit to my face, I decided I can't be who I need to be in Corporate America but I can help people in it from outside of it. In the past few years, I've been lucky to train thousands of people in tens of countries. It brings me to life. The conversations we have make me feel a home. Seeing a strategist struggle with things I struggled with years ago makes me feel at home. Seeing the hope in the eyes of people as they do this work makes me feel at home. It's a rare breed of people. And I don't say that in an elitist way. So, that's some of my story. I love reading yours so feel free to drop it in the comments. #advertising #career #work

It's been 3 months since I joined one of the most interesting, versatile and fast-paced industries in the world: advertising. On top of that, I managed to get into one of the most-known agencies in the world: Saatchi & Saatchi. What can I say about that? I'm simply grateful. I'm grateful to my professors, I'm grateful to my parents, I'm grateful to all my previous and current colleagues and to all people who supported me along this path. The journey to this point has been filled with challenges, but also with wonderful people, lifelong lessons, and intense emotions. To be honest, since graduating from high school, I knew what I wanted. That is why my first-ever major was marketing at Seneca College. Even though I tried to alter my destiny a few times by switching majors and looking into the possibility of joining other industries, in the end, I still chose to go with my lifelong ambition: advertising. Reading about advertising agencies in business books, reading marketing cases that involved agencies and listening to people from the industry always prompted me to ask a question: "Who are those creative, strategy and planning geniuses that stand behind ads and messages that we see daily?" The answer turned out to be pretty straightforward: they are a great bunch of people who simply love their work. Creatives, planners, producers, buyers, strategists and others... Ask any of them a question: "Do you enjoy what you do?". The answer will always be: "I don't enjoy it; I just love it!" The same case is here with my amazing colleagues at Saatchi & Saatchi Canada. I want to start by saying this: I might be the luckiest graduate in the world. Who could imagine that I would kick off my career by learning from an advertising industry veteran Steve Walker and a broadcasting industry shark Matt Johnson? I couldn't. I'm incredibly grateful to you guys for having me on your team. As I already mentioned, it's only been 3 months but the experience I got from this period is immense. I didn't know that one can learn that much in such a short time. Working on the Olympic Games project, attending various events, and dealing with two giant brands such as Toyota and Lexus are just a few highlights that happened recently. Special shout-out to the whole Media Team! You guys rock! (I'm afraid to tag people because I don't want to miss anyone!). On another note, not only that I'm inspired by our Saatchi team, I feel privileged to be part of Publicis Groupe Canada. The number of possibilities, learning benefits, and unique advantages are endless. Work Your World program, Learning & Development Team, Marcel - are only a few things that I can instantly name off the top of my head. What's next? Who knows... However, I'm sure it will only get more interesting and exciting! Stay tuned, and thank you.

So you hired one of those good old-fashioned ad agencies. Let me guess. Like many other brands, you were sold on the agency's expertise. But what you got instead was the corporate equivalent of a game of musical chairs. And since they held the music box, the odds were never in your favor. It turns out your "dedicated team" was nothing but a revolving door of whoever isn't already overbooked. Oh, and those truly capable creators you met at the pitch? They're reserved for the agency's darling clients, personal pet projects, and other pitches. Weren't they? This left your brand challenges to be solved by whoever happened to read the onboarding docs as fast as possible. It turns out that their "resource management" is a euphemism for "talent rationing." Guess who's at the bottom of the ration pile? The truth is, every time you accept the agency's talent shuffle, you're playing Russian roulette with your brand's future. What you need are experts, not agencies. A group of people with years of experience, without anyone above or below them, focused on your problem and nothing else. Or you can continue as you were, accepting the agency's assurances that "the team" (whatever that means) is hard at work and wondering why your campaigns feel as generic as the below stock photo. The choice, as always, is yours. Choose wisely, or don't. After all, your customers don’t care about your agency's staffing problems.

When I left my last full-time job at one of India’s most iconic ad agencies, I was really confused about how to take the next steps in my career. Although I had worked on a few projects on the side, I hadn’t really tested the waters of building something myself in the world of advertising and media. Honestly, the first few days were extremely hard. When I used to wake up, I felt confused and thought: "Ki aise kitne din chalega!!" I was literally doing random things without any plan- kabhi kuch toh kabhi kuch aur... But then I realized that there was a gap in the world of brand building. From my experiences working with Rediffusion and before that at TBWA (the Disruption company), I saw this gap clearly. While big brands had the funds to deploy all sorts of marketing activities, whether ATL or BTL, to reach their target groups, many startups and SMEs didn’t have the expertise or funds to execute campaigns that big corporate houses could easily splurge on. So, being the person who was always ready for the next challenge, I decided to start an agency that could solve this problem- giving startups and SME's the kind of marketing only the biggies could afford. Over the next few months, I was able to build a small, lean team at BaatCheet Media and pitch to quite a few brands, eventually working with some. But we encountered two major challenges in the initial days: ➡️ We weren’t able to realize a viable business model. Though keeping our services affordable helped us attract clients, we realized we couldn’t keep our team motivated. This often caused delays and hence led to a leakage in our funnel. To serve businesses and help them go global, we knew we needed to restructure our costs and pricing strategy to hire the best talent and to ensure there were no delays. ➡️ We weren’t able to target a specific basket of services. We were doing almost everything under the sun. While we did a good job, we realized that scaling with this model wouldn’t be possible. Now, having worked with international brands before, I knew how those "biggies" thought about marketing, but implementing those learnings came with unique challenges. Although initially I thought we wouldn’t survive even the first few months, we managed to sail through two years, working with some fantastic brands, agencies, and even with a Fortune 500 company. Through these experiences, I’ve realized: Even though the road may seem rough, or actually be rough, if you stay on it, you will eventually reach somewhere. Maybe you’ll end up back where you started, or maybe you’ll move from zero to one. But the odds of not trying are clear: you won’t reach anywhere! So, decide for yourself- "Do you want to have at least some probability of moving from zero to one, or would you rather not reach anywhere at all?" P.S. What challenges did you face while starting your own venture? #advertising #storytelling #business #entrepreneurship #growth

Ad agency creatives are increasingly leaving traditional roles. They are searching for opportunities that offer more creative freedom, better work-life balance, and align with their values. Burnout and the rigid structures in traditional advertising agencies are driving this trend.  Explore how your agency can adapt to attract and retain top creative talent in this challenging landscape. #Advertising #CreativeFreedom #TalentManagement #IndustryTrends

What can keynote speakers learn from David Ogilvy? 💡 David Ogilvy, often called the "Father of Advertising," was a master of communication and persuasion. While his expertise was in advertising, keynote speakers can learn several valuable lessons from his approach to messaging, audience engagement, and content delivery. Here are 7 takeaways: ⤵ 1. Know Your Audience Ogilvy: Ogilvy firmly believed in understanding the audience's needs, desires, and pain points. He emphasized researching the target market thoroughly before crafting any message. ▶ Lesson for Speakers: A keynote speaker should deeply understand their audience before stepping on stage. Tailor your message to resonate with their interests, concerns, and aspirations. 2. Compelling Storytelling Ogilvy: Ogilvy was a master storyteller, using narratives to make his advertisements more engaging and memorable. He knew stories resonate emotionally and stick with people longer than facts alone. ▶ Lesson for Speakers: Incorporate storytelling into your speeches. A well-told story can illustrate a point more powerfully than a list of statistics. Personal anecdotes, case studies, or hypothetical scenarios can all make your message more relatable and memorable. 3. The Big Idea Ogilvy: Ogilvy was famous for focusing on the "big idea"—a central concept driving the campaign. This idea must be bold, unique, and compelling enough to attract the audience. ▶ Lesson for Speakers: Every keynote should have a central theme or "big idea" that ties everything together. This idea should be introduced early in the speech and reinforced throughout, ensuring that the audience clearly understands the core message. 5. Emphasize Benefits, Not Features Ogilvy: In advertising, Ogilvy emphasized the importance of focusing on the consumer's benefits rather than the product's features. ▶ Lesson for Speakers: When you deliver a keynote, please emphasize how your message will benefit the audience. Instead of just presenting information, explain why it matters to them and how they can apply it in their lives or work. 6. Authenticity Ogilvy: Ogilvy was known for his integrity and authenticity in his work. He believed honesty and transparency were critical to building trust with an audience. ▶ Lesson for Speakers: Authenticity is vital to connecting with an audience. Be yourself on stage—don't try to adopt a persona that doesn't feel natural. Audiences can sense when a speaker is genuine and respond better to authenticity. 7. Create a Strong Opening and Closing Ogilvy: Ogilvy knew the importance of making a solid first impression and leaving a lasting impact. ▶ Lesson for Speakers: The beginning and end of your keynote are crucial. Start with a powerful hook to grab attention and end with a memorable closing that reinforces your key message. These moments are what the audience will remember most. #KeynoteSpeaking #PublicSpeaking #Ogilvy

Ogilvy is the 3rd best ad agency in the world (here's how I create ads with their 7 principles) 1. Give the facts - The more facts you tell, the more you sell. 2. Be truthful - Always stay faithful to the truth. 3. Be helpful - Help people understand your product - Give valuable information and advice for free 4. Have a Big Idea (Big ideas...) - resonate with consumers - are disruptive - talk value - stretch brands - transcend cultural and geographic boundaries 5. Don’t be boring - You can't bore people into buying your product; you can only interest them in buying it. 6. Understand your customer - If you don’t understand your customer, you will not be able to devise a Big Idea, you will not be able to present the right sorts of facts, and you will not be able to capture their interest. 7. Stay true to your brand Rewards come to advertiser's who create a coherent image, and the stability to stick with it over a long period. All of these principles used together create great ads So, start creating ads that get attention and drive sales P.S. What other principles would you add?

Thoughts on an Interesting “Us vs. Them” Agency Ad I recently saw an ad where an agency compared itself to others by highlighting supposed “negatives” of competitors. While I understand the intention behind showcasing unique strengths, some of these points didn’t resonate as true negatives. Here’s my take: "Less than 1-2 years in business" Just because a company is newer doesn’t mean it lacks expertise or capability. Every agency, including the one creating the ad, was once a startup. What matters more than years in business, in my opinion, is the experience of the founders and the quality of their work. Experience is about impact, not just time. "Only 1-10 clients or a one-man show" Fewer clients often mean more personalized attention, and a smaller team can provide a more dedicated approach to each account. Having a smaller client base doesn’t imply a lack of skill; instead, it can reflect a choice to focus deeply on delivering high-quality service. "Primary use of offshore labor for three hours" The implication here seems to be that offshore talent is a disadvantage, but I believe talent knows no borders. The ability to work well and diligently is not limited by geography. A well-organized agency can ensure quality, whether the team is local or international. "No office or major brand clients" Not every great agency starts with big brands or a physical office. In fact, operating without an office can lower costs and ultimately benefit clients with more competitive pricing. Every agency has to start somewhere, and many major brands we admire today once took a chance on a smaller, lesser-known agency. The ad also highlighted a few positives like managing over half a billion in ad spend and having TikTok experts. These are strong points, no doubt. However, some of the other claims—like that the agency is PE-backed (private equity) are not so much as, private equity backing can sometimes shift focus toward aggressive profitability goals, which might result in higher fees or pricing models that don’t align with every brand’s budget. Ultimately, advertising should focus on genuine value without putting others down. Every agency has unique strengths and approaches, and the right choice depends on what fits a client’s goals best. What are your thoughts on “Us vs. Them” style advertising? #AmazonSellers #AmazonFBA #MarketingStrategy #AgencyLife #DigitalMarketing #ClientSuccess #Advertising #BusinessGrowth #Branding #Transparency #MarketingTips #DigitalAgency #CustomerExperience #PerformanceMarketing #MarketingInsights #LinkedInCommunity

It’s easy to criticize creative work. It’s much harder to explain WHY something is good or not. When I was lucky to work on The Economist, Nick Cohen explained to me the importance of the brand’s marketing “feeling like” the publication itself — a little complex, a little challenging, and then, ultimately, rewarding for those who “get” it … The issue with the ads below is that there’s no mental tangle to untangle. The lines are just flat puns; they don’t point to anything beyond themselves. They’re literally idea-less (What does a town “painted read” even mean?) The Economist should have Economist-like ads. And People should have People-like ads. Ads are the best sampling opportunities most brands have.

Pratchya Vilaipol and vuttichai chongsanguan’s appointments underscore BBDO Bangkok’s commitment to fostering a culture of creativity and innovation, complementing the visionary leadership of Thasorn Boonyanate, BBDO Bangkok’s chief creative officer.      Talking about the appointments, Boonyanate commented, “Their unparalleled talent and fresh perspectives are exactly what we need to propel BBDO into a new era of creative brilliance. I am eager to see the transformative impact their contributions will have on our work and culture.” #creativeagency #appointments #thailand ------ -[Awards] MARKETECH APAC is launching its inaugural "Marketing Technology Awards" where we recognise the groundbreaking achievements in marketing technology, uniting the brands and tech organisations within the region’s marketing community. Learn how your brand can be a part of it by checking it more details HERE: https://bit.ly/3SVtoIa -[Industry Series] We have launched our latest industry initiative "E-commerce Marketing Series" where we aim to equip businesses with the latest strategies and insights to navigate the dynamic world of e-commerce, as well as discuss cutting-edge concepts, trends, and case studies shaping the future of online commerce. Learn how you can be part of this industry discussion by checking out more details here: https://bit.ly/4aiMEX4 -[Report] Learn how brands can strategically implement conversational commerce and leverage these platforms to craft exceptional and personalized customer experiences in this in-depth report: https://bit.ly/3SSKVCG