EDITORIALS
Does This Economy Rock or What?
Who else is raking it in?
Just booked a ticket to Cabo, last-minute.
Tonight, I’ll belly up to the sushi bar at Sushi Den and gorge on sashimi, sushi, sake and Kirin.
Then I’ll hit the ATM, take out $200 and head downtown. Probably start at The Cruise Room. Top-shelf vodka martini. Dry. Three olives. Dance floor fuel.
Who’s with me?
However, I do have to be out of bed by two tomorrow, so after hours may not happen. (Never know though.) My new leather sofa and easy chair are being delivered.
I want them perfectly arranged before the Avs. 10 rows up. Center ice.
Before this goes any further, I should say that God didn’t bless me with much.
But one thing God did grant me was a hyperactive, ultra-vivid imagination.
It delivers moments of serenity after instances like my landlord reminding me that I haven’t paid rent yet. Like I need reminding.
Here’s the lay of the land, from my view. And there are exceptions on both ends.
Some love every second of their agency job. They’re enjoying raises, opportunities at great work, the goodness.
Others are living the freelance dream, working with dynamic, intelligent clients who pay well AND pay on time. This group politely tells the half-witted, abusive companies that as much as they’d love to take on their project, their bandwidth is maxed.
Good for these two groups. And I’m not being sarcastic. This world craps on achievement. I wish we embraced it more.
And then, there is us.
You either have a full-time job, yet daily feel like the new inmate on Cell Block D, and guess what? It’s shower time! Your world is canceling weekend plans and being thankful you’re employed. Hey, I’ve been there. Felt that pain.
Or, you’re like me: hustling to find work, tolerating potential clients asking you to revisit that estimate you’ve already revisited. While you’re severely annoyed, the ripple effects from that project that died two months ago are kicking in.
Oh sorry. It didn’t “die.” It’s “on hold.”
You hold your breath before opening your mailbox. Nope, that other client’s check—the one that way more than covers the overdue rent—isn’t in there today, either.
Anybody got Tony Soprano’s cell number?
But besides earning a dollar, life is good for most freelancers I know. Maybe 18 months ago, I realized that the whole world is struggling. It wasn’t just me.
I developed a new dimension of appreciation for the phrase, “Fuck it.”
And whenever a person with a full-time job gives me that pitiful look—usually after droning on about how evil their company is—and asks how it is out here, my reply is “Whatever. The lights are on.”
You’re not booking a vacation anytime soon, but you’re catching up on reading and painting your ass off. Getting sunburned in Wash Park on a Tuesday afternoon.
“The lights are on” is the self-employed person’s “I’m thankful to have a job.”
So the title of this article was my stab at being a wise-ass, right?
Not at all.
About a year ago, it hit me. Even with all of the negatives right now, one huge positive is happening. If times were better, this would never be possible.
This economy is destroying everything that is wrong with this industry.
We are at a crossroads, never seen before.
These days, dog-and-pony shows cost money. Before, they were necessary. This is advertising, man. The Image Business®. The client needs ten t-shirts with our recommended promotional concept silk-screened on the front of it. This shows that we stand behind the idea. We’ll figure out how to bill them for this later.
Concentrating on the short-term: a buttoned-up, bells-and-whistles-filled meeting where many pleasantries are exchanged, yet little is accomplished, used to be what our business was all about. Who cares about the long-term? That sounds so far away.
Taking two hours to have a 30-minute status meeting used to demonstrate client commitment.
Now, this is wasting 90 minutes of a team’s time. 90 minutes that could have been spent addressing the lagging sales curve.
Clients want us to truly accept the fact that—while we are artists, working somewhat in the entertainment business—we also work in the stuff-selling business.
And the stuff-selling business is receiving a long-overdue bullshit-ectomy, courtesy of the Great Recession.
Showing off that $4000 painting you found in Santa Fe nowadays—you know, the one hanging above the receptionist’s handcrafted desk—umm, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.
Clients won’t track with your reasoning that it makes your space—and the work you do for them—so much more creative.
They’re going to wonder where you shoehorned its price into their bill.
They don’t want brand awareness. They need their widgets in consumers’ hands. As their vendors, we need their widgets in consumers’ hands.
Two types of people exist in our industry. Scenario: a client comes to you with a $100,000 marketing budget.
Type one wants to be well compensated to apply their expertise, talent, experience and diligence in helping the client get the most mileage out of that $100,000. If some late nights and weekends are needed, no biggie. That’s what they signed on for.
Type two immediately starts strategizing about how to pocket as much of that $100,000 as possible. They burn the midnight oil devising justifications for their gigantic estimate. They list out vendors who are cool with padding estimates. Every opportunity to tack on extra money is examined.
Ever hear the agency-ese term “profit center”? Many times, when translated into English, it means “client-gouging opportunity”. A 25-30% markup for brokering an outside service is completely fair.
125-130% is stealing.
Type one is a Marketing Communications Professional.
Type two is unethical.
If this sounds harsh, guess what? Type two was our contribution to the Great Recession.
Wall Street wasn’t the only guilty party. Madison Avenue had a hand in it, too.
Type one will be our industry’s contribution to the economic recovery.
The Great Recession has its crosshairs on type two.
You know what’s inherently beautiful about a crossroads? Sure, there are pitfalls out there in the abyss.
But I’m wagering there are bridges out there as well.
Bridges that lead to some stunning places, better than any of us can imagine at the moment because we’re all busy trying to get by.
Think about why you got into this business. Then take a minute and list out what makes you hate this business.
Remember: you’re at a crossroads. Out here, you can perfect the good and eradicate the bad at the same time.
Chaos is cool like that.
A decades-old quote, supposedly from a client, was “Half of my advertising budget is wasted. Problem is, I have no idea which half.”
Well, The Great Recession is demanding we as marketing professionals find out which half is which. Now.
It’s forcing us to make our work, well, work.
Some people think this fact is a negative. And they’re the ones holding our industry back.
They’re holding our clients—and economic growth—back.
Sound grandiose? Applied correctly, our craft drives businesses forward. As the saying goes, the right creative makes one marketing dollar work like two.
Those of you in the workforce who yearn for the old days, who wish things would just go back to the way they were, it’s time to let go.
The way things were? They landed us here.
You’re holding out for the ex. That ex who isn’t going to call, tell you how wrong they were, then beg you to take them back.
You know why I thank the economic meltdown?
It forced me to evolve in ways that I always wanted to, only were both too lazy and terrified of doing before. It seemed so unfamiliar. So scary.
My annoying jobs before? Hoo-boy were they well-paying yet annoying jobs.
A writer’s pain, say, mid-2007 (each discipline from Account Service to Media to Illustration to WebDev to Design has their own brand of pain. I totally empathize. Just giving you a snapshot of ours.):
“Ummm… we looked at your copy. And well… here, where you say ‘double the amount’… we feel your copy isn’t very good copy. In fact, it’s horrible. So instead, um… we should say ‘twice the amount.’ See, that’s much better copy… MISTER Copywriter.”
Good call. Market share would disintegrate if we said “double” instead of “twice.”
“And where you write ‘we’ll send you”, we’d like to say ‘you’ll receive’.”
You’ll receive my foot in your ass if my invoice isn’t paid in thirty days.
No one has asked me to spin my wheels lately. These days, why would people want me to do this? Wheel-spinning is inefficient.
There’s a name for the type of job that has died on me: Dig A Hole, Then Fill It.
These days, plenty of holes are already out there. In fact, market share is flowing directly into these holes. Why dig more?
If you’ve been in this business a while, you’ve been asked to show off.
Wow ‘em.
Dance.
These days, people ask why we’re dancing on company time. And instead of t-shirts, we’re being asked to wow ‘em with an initiative that drives bottom-line growth.
And maybe it’s just me, but I swear that the number of turd-polishing exercises have diminished. Have we refocused? Are we making sure we’re not delivering turds in the first place?
People now hire me for my weird-ass mind. They embrace me looking at their business and putting it on paper in ways that they can’t.
I’m doing the best work of my career. It just would be nice to have a little more of it. The outside isn’t bleak and desolate, just a tad lean.
But whatever, the lights are on.
Here and there, they’ve been flickering. But they’re on.
Finances? Numbers are quantifiable. If I’m stressed because rent is due, that number offers a framework for that stress.
I used to stress that opportunity had passed me by because I was too terrified of leaping at the brass ring. That kind of stress is impossible to quantify.
Give me financial stress any day.
To The Great Recession, I’ll say I don’t like you one bit. Sorry, that wasn’t clear enough. I hate roughly 99.6% of you.
I hate your ability to bring out the worst in people.
I now know how threatening change and evolution are in people’s minds, simply because these concepts differ from the status quo. That broken, pathetic, miserable status quo.
You inspired people to devise new ways to knife each other in the back that should be recorded in the history books. Future generations could study these as testaments to humanity’s ugly and disgusting sides.
Even with all of the negativity you brought, I partially understand why you arrived and showed us some economic tough love.
I—and I can’t speak for anybody else—needed it.
As I step off my soapbox,
Anybody got any work?
Creative Direction, Copywriting, Brand Strategy, Naming—basically I help clients think of interesting ways to sell their stuff. My answer to the "Creative vs. Strategic" debate is replace the "vs." with an "and." When I do this, consumers are happy, the client is happy, and I'm happy. And I'm all about being happy. I'm Chris Maley. Contact me. Let's hang out and be happy.
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Comments
I totally feel for you! I *did* bite the bullet and go back to the full-time agency world. The biggest problem I saw was the undue fear that the recession brought to the corps. that were actually getting great stuff done; sacrificing really good innovations for the safety of lowering overhead costs. That was the killer (at least in my circles).
Chris is a good writer and creative. We should all hire him more often - for spot work or perm. Eitherway, you'll be happy you did - providing you want something good.
Great stuff, I enjoyed reading this immensely. I couldn't agree with it all more.
Well said, friend.
This is our opportunity to make lemonade (and maybe add a little vodka).
Sweetness Mr. M.
Do you have the stamina?
I will be sitting center ice with you. I call the sofa.
Well said. As a young (freelance) designer, I find the current economy to be a blessing in disguise. Not only am I making it just fine out here, every opportunity to work with a new client or agency presents a whole new set of learning experiences to grow from. I've grown and matured as a designer more in these past two years than I ever could have in one place for the same amount of time.
Great article, I couldn't agree more! By the by, for any potential clients out there, I know Chris Maley. Dude's been knocking the doors off client's expectations for well over a decade. I worked with him, I learned a lot. Hiring him will be worth every penny. He deserves the vacation, not just having the lights on. Make it happen.
nice work, and a very enjoyable piece.
Well said, good sir.
chris i enjoyed your words. nice read.
Great stuff Chris - couldn't agree more.
Count me in on this love fest. This piece hit home and I really enjoyed it. Just what I needed on this cloudy day.
Thanks everybody. Much appreciated. You know what's funny? After I finished the initial draft of this article, the president of a technology company I work with asked me to help him fine-tune the writing for an opinion piece he wrote. He addressed the exact same issue, only relating to hardware and software instead of MarComm: they used to sell indiscriminately to clients, his idea was that now they should focus on putting the ideal solution in place—and be well-compensated for delivering this. The proverbial quality over quantity argument. The economy has been one ginormous ass-pain for all of us, but maybe the upside is that we’re laying a better foundation for the future. What do you think? I'm just over the gloom and doom.
Chris and I met when he was on the job- at St. Mark's coffee shop. His freelance lifestyle allows time for budding creatives like myself to meet with him and bounce ideas off of. There aren't many ways to get into agencies, at any level, but freelancers, especially Chris are always willing to take the young ones under their wing and share their bits of wisdom. Thanks Chris. Thanks for being genuine, creative, approachable, and damn talented.
This being the town it is, and seeing how you all seem to love Mr Maley, I'm gonna say a few things and then shut up.
First, the heyday of advertising was over decades ago. I may be showing my ripe old age here, but those inflated budgets and champagne and coke parties have gone. And they've been gone a long time. Saatchis sure ain't what it used to be, I can tell you that. So this new old world you speak of, it's not a patch on the real days of the mark-ups.
Second, I don't hear Jim Glynn complaining. Or Erik Kiker when he was freelancing. Or others too numerous to mention. From what I see, Chris has an average book. Nothing amazing. So why should you, Chris, be expecting work to fall at your feet when truly talented people are going to scoop up that work before you? In a time when money is tight, people go to reliable sources. If you're not one of those, why should they be knockin' down your door?
I wish you luck, and you say a lot of things that make sense, but if this town sucks for you so much, move to a place with more work available. If you have no ties, even better. If you're doing the best work of your career, then more work will follow. And one day you could be Glynn, and always be busy.
Well said Bro! I'm proud of you and look forward to those upcoming vacations together.
Wow. Couldn't agree more and this economy, as crazy as it sounds and the change you are talking about is exactly why I wanted to start my own studio at this very moment in time.
I've been asked more than most to 'wow', 'shock' and 'awe' and I enjoy doing it and to be honest when asked, it pays well and is a pleasure to do since you are essentially being paid to create art for the sake of promotion. But I do love the problem solving aspect of bottom-line driven advertising and design. That so far is what we are being asked to do (after coming off of a 3 month shock and awe campaign) and we are thrilled to be asked to rise to the challenge. The great thing about helping lean clients generate materials that help grow their business is that it helps you in turn learn to do the same for yourself.
Anyway, I couldn't agree more and thank you for writing this.
And oh yeah, anybody got a project they need a hand on?
Awww Voice of Reason. Go on with your anonymously bad self, you anonymous old codger. You should change your moniker though. If you were a voice, you would have the spine to put your name behind this voice. We've met, haven't we? If my portfolio is average, show me yours. Show me how it should be done.
Sorry what I wrote got your Depends in a bind, us whippersnappers get uppity sometimes. But to address your point (well, as well as you articulated it, that is. I'm not sure I fully understood it, you should take a writing class or something): you are a principal in an agency that qualifies as the Type 2 I addressed, aren't you? One of those broken agencies. What I wrote hurt your feelings. And I wasn't talking about the champagne and coke era, either. Three or four years ago, agencies could justify ridiculous costs and clients bought it. Now, they can't. And I like that. True story: videographer and editor friend of mine. He has his own HD rig, full edit facilities, all stuff he paid for. An agency here in town used to hire him for projects. Of course, they were horrible at communicating, never talked to each other, etc. He regularly had to scrap things and start over due to their own disorganization. Later on, he found out they were marking up his services—not their services, his video services—300% to the client. 300%. That's shameless and disgusting. The point of what I wrote was that these types of people are finding it harder to make a living nowadays, and they damn well should.
On a brighter note for your sake: you'll want to stock up Viagra and hand lotion. One of the cable channels is doing a "Golden Girls" marathon this weekend! Bea Arthur and Betty White, strutting their stuff on camera, that should put a smile on your anonymous face, Voice of Reason.
Speaking as someone who's been told he's bitter on more than one occasion (hey, I'm lightening up) you should just let what Voice Of Reason said go Chris. I'm sure it was his intention to get to you. You have plenty of solid supporters on here, forget the old dude.
Well said, Mr. Maley. On all counts.
Great perspectives Chris, thanks for writing this. It's an amazing time for advertising. Passion and talent are trumping experience. Brands are forced to realign, not just come up with a new veneer.
The all-knowing Mike Sukle told the NEXT creatives class last week, "If you don't truly love advertising, you should get out now. It's too hard of a career if you're not passionate about it."
Those who adapt through the rough times, hone their skills, and rise above the hacks who bail out will no doubt rock the industry. (And enjoy their top-shelf vodka.)
I totally agree...this economy does rock. OK...maybe not, but at least I think that this "correction" has made for a slightly more competitive marketplace that favors smaller businesses—smaller studios, freelancers and the like—the "type one" businesses. It's long overdue, as much as it hurts—and it has hurt a lot—I think that it has created some opportunity for creative thinkers in unexpected places. Now if we could only get those clients to pay...
Nice work Chris.
Signed, "just another local Denver graphic designer"
Right on (or write-on) brother!
I have many similar discussions with friends of mine, in regards to much needed (no choice at this point in time) social, political, and economic change. Too many want more than they are worth, and more than they have rightfully earned - just add on extra profit and pass it on to the client. What does it matter - they'll just add it on to the price of their product or service right?
If I can offer an analogy of what I feel is necessary for this country to rise out of this cesspool, it would be this: the now over-sized, bloated, burger-eating, french fry-stuffing, pill-popping, self-serving, artery-clogged behemoth that is our economy and society, must get its' fat, lazy ass off of the proverbial couch, exercise daily, eat a healthy diet, be happy with normal human-sized portions, and become a fit, athletic specimen. [Right now I wish I could draw.] If we can achieve this, we can have a well-oiled machine with a sustainable, healthy, and promising future, in which a fair profit is made in exchange for a good product or service.
Insightful and entertaining writing my friend.
very much true , agency/production companies have always done the same greedy unethical shit
mark ups on everything from stock, processing, rentals , crew while paying your haggled down day rate or your full time low staff rate.
lining their pockets while you go and get day olds from the dumpster.
and a lot of people have that mentality ' that's just the way it is, i need to be thankful for my job '
OK, I get most of what you're saying Chris. I am also well-connected in Denver, when I'm actually here, and I have a few things that I'd like to ask.
First, I heard on the grapevine that you applied for the role of CD at Amelie Company and didn't get it because your writing wasn't up to par. For Amelie Company?!! Is that true? And did you apply for that job because you wanted it, or because you were desperate? Or were you just taking the piss?
Second, where is all the new work you've been doing? I know you must have done some cool stuff, that Molson work has been in your book for ages and ages. So has most of the other work. Sure, you're proud of it, but come on, show the stuff you've been doing now. There's only so much old work you can hold on to before you have to let it go into the archives. It's not like you're only as good as your last campaign, but knock us out man.
Third, where are you working right now, or who are you working with? Would you consider relocating? Would you consider in-house somewhere? There are plenty of in-house gigs that keep the lights on. Have to swallow your pride, but you won't have to eat Ramen. You may even book a holiday to Cabo.
Peace brother.
Hey Greg, why are you such a douchebag?
Just jealous that you didn't think of getting a job this way?
Hey Greg, Cool comments, really. I'm happy to answer them.
1) Yeah, I worked on a project for Amelie. I went for it because I always look out for new opportunities. Why do you state this as a negative? And before I go further, I really do hope the people they brought in amp up their creative product. Any improvement in one agency is good for everyone. That being said, the negative way you wrote about Amelie here actually answered your own question: the people who not only concept, but convince clients to spend their money running the work you currently see on their site (though again: I have faith this work will improve), they told me my writing wasn’t very good. I can’t because of disclosure, but I would happily share my thinking for that project. Their reaction was purely subjective, an objective strategy didn’t exist. Sometimes, you say “to-MAY-to” and people get torqued because you didn’t say “to-MAH-to”. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen very often. Amelie also screwed up my invoice and payment was delayed. They freely admitted that this was their internal mistake.
2) That Molson stuff is six years old, plenty of people feature older samples. (Are you stalking me, Greg? You seem to know a lot about me.) The Rose Center for Preventive Medicine I just sold in, haven’t bought the third image yet. Denver Concierge is fairly new. In fact, the client just bought two Blazers to be painted like these vans. Supervisors will drive these around to check up on the cleaning crews. We themed each Blazer “The Cleanermobile.” They’re in production now. All of my big-thinking projects on the second page of this site are recent, in the last two years. I’ve replaced earlier “wackier” work of mine with projects where I helped the client with shaping the vision of their business. I can sling dick-and-fart jokes with the best of them, but clients need more. If you don't like my thinking, say so. But I'm not afraid to show it.
3) I’m working with agencies, and with other freelancers as well, on our own clients. Just making my way in the universe, my man.
Sorry for the novel everybody, but these points were worth addressing. And for all of the nice comments, thank you. It really does mean a lot.
Hey 'Greg'
Now that Chris threw down and answered you so honestly and politely (and since this has become a who has a bigger cock contest) Why dont you grow some balls and share some of your recent work? But of course you wont because you have grape seeds for balls and though you may not have a bigger cock, you are a bigger cock..bigger and more mediocre.
what an ass
Chris,
It worked! I owe you one dollar.
Hi Chris, I don't know if it was your intention, but you certainly brightened up my day. If the poor economy is bringing "creative" back, and replacing "bullshit-work-creates-higher-billing" - I am ready to do the Happy Snoopy dance. I am hoping that now that agencies are pinned to produce good work at uninflated prices- I'll finally be able to flex some creative muscle. Yei.
The reason I got into advertising is because I am not a one-trick pony. I can't just do one thing all day long; and I thought ad design was the answer. For over 7 years I've been bouncing from interview to interview being told "you do too much stuff." What a punch in the face. Of course no one wants a variety of work in one portfolio, creative concept that can easily be implemented to dozens of different mediums. Companies would rather hire and bill for a dozen different people to do the job of one person.
"You have ads, web banners, cd covers, logos, and skateboards in your portfolio: so you wouldn't possibly be able to design our direct mailers" wtf? Why not? A creative brain is limitless, a designer should be able to design something without having done it before; otherwise there would never be original work. If you can design a business card, you can paint up the space shuttle. Andy Warhol painted a soup can - doesn't mean that all he was capable of was just soup cans.
So I truly hope that with budget belts tightened, agencies will want art directors/designers who actually can think conceptually and apply the big idea to different mediums like they did in "good ol' days".
Good stuff Anya. And thanks for the compliments. I'm happy that this made your day :) Really, that's awesome to hear. I empathize with your point about when people fixate on whether you can work in one medium or another. I did some launch collateral for a client. It was a fun project, I got to have a say in the big picture vision of the brand, which was cool. They loved what I did. A few months later they asked me if I knew anyone who knew how to write a website. Ummm, yeah. Me. I actually did get the work once I explained this to them, and they're good people. It was just funny at the time. Chin up. You'll make it happen.
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