Speaker 1: What's up YouTube? If you're wanting to be an art director or copywriter you probably know you need a portfolio to get a job. You probably know that that portfolio needs to be made up of ad campaigns that show your thinking and problem solving. And you probably also know, well, that's easier said than done. Now up to this point I smacked together videos on what makes a good portfolio, how to brainstorm the big ideas that live within that portfolio, but I haven't given you that quick and easy guide to help you get started on that first campaign for that portfolio. So this is that. Okay, you want to start making an ad campaign but you don't know where the f**k to start. Well, let's not overthink it. The first step is to choose a client, but as you know if you've been to a store, if you've turned on a TV, hell even glance at the device that you're watching this video on. There's a shit ton of brands. Products and services are absolutely everywhere. So what will you pick? Let me throw some personal suggestions at you to help you narrow down your list of clients for that very first campaign. One, do not choose a top brand. Cross Apple, McDonald's, Nike off your list. World-class campaigns have already been done for them and they've been done to death. It's much more impressive when you can show recruiters you can take a slightly more boring brand and make them dope and interesting. Do not start with automobiles, clothing or food. Those categories can be a little tougher for your first one. Try to pick a product or service with a clear benefit for a starting point. It'll be just easier to brainstorm around. And three, try to think of brands people have heard of but that aren't super top of mind. The reason for that is when you choose a campaign for a product nobody's heard of, you have to use a lot of the campaign idea explaining and teaching what that product is. This can complicate the campaign from just that one simple big idea. So whether you browse amazon.com or walk down the aisles of your local store, start making a list of brands you think you can work on. Include small durable products like contigo spill proof mugs, disposable products like gorilla glue and large durable products like ring doorbells. Then spend some time briefly thinking about what's cool about the product you've chosen. Don't ideate yet but think about what stands out about it. How do you use it? Who uses it? And that benefit doesn't have to be exciting yet. That's where you'll come in later. Once you've landed on your product, it's time to think of ideas. This is where a majority of your time should be spent so do not blow past this step. Your ideation skills are the most important differentiator that will come through when you're competing against other newbies trying to land that AD or CW job. Amazing execution of your campaign means nothing if there's no idea behind it. For help brainstorming, head over to my other videos on how to come up with a big idea and big idea questions for your next ad campaign. Those will give you at least a jump start into thinking about your brand in a different way. Remember to really dive into your audience and the opportunities that surround them and keep on thinking until you can't think anymore. Then take a break, come back and force yourself to think even more. Think at different times of day in different locations. It'll have different results. Once you've thought about a lot of stuff, cycle back through and see what kind of jumps off the page. Pick out some of the stuff that you kind of like and then just start sketching little mini ads. Now that can be a little image or just a written headline. It can be anything but try to make three of these little mini ads. You will quickly find out if your idea only works once or if it has legs to be bigger across multiple ads. If your idea starts to grow into multiple adaptations under the same umbrella, you're on to something special. Now it's time to take that idea and play with it on the computer. Unless your idea naturally fits in a particular medium like social media, I recommend starting in print. Put together a 9x12 photoshop document or an illustrator artboard and get going. Try to create a series of three print ads and do your best not to fall into that carbon copy trap where all three of your ads are pretty much the same. Make sure that they can all stand separately but all ladder back to that one overarching big idea. Once you've got your ads together, it's time to push it. Three print ads are unfortunately not enough anymore. It's time to push your idea to become a 360 degree campaign. What other mediums can your idea live across? Digital, guerrilla tactic, social, radio, billboard, in-store, direct mail, event. Try pushing it across all of it. And extra credit if you don't absolutely go insane on budget. It's nice to see agency newcomers who strategically solve the problem with at least some constraints. Mock stuff up or actually make the thing and go and shoot it. This is the time to get your hands dirty. Even if it's fake, make it real. All right, when it's all wrapped up, you're gonna have all these scattered pieces. So now what? You've got to create the story, the sell. Figure out how you want to present your work and idea. Strategically order your work on your website so that it's easy to scroll through. Presenting your idea fluidly is extremely important so all that hard work you just did isn't for nothing. Oh, and if there's a piece you're not 100% proud of, exclude it. It might be that something you created at the beginning just doesn't live up to the rest of the campaign that you created later. Don't let one piece weaken your campaign. I wish you the best of luck in what I know can be a really intimidating time where you're just trying to really figure things out. Once you get started, it's easy to work hard and be passionate and excited about what you're doing. Don't let that taper off by the end of your campaign. Finish strong. I'd rather you spend a ton of time and effort making three badass campaigns than five mediocre ones. This whole thing is a quality game. The quality of your idea and your execution hold equal weight. I have the utmost confidence in you. Full steam ahead and keep me posted on how you do. Subscribe, like, comment if you wish, and I'll see you in the next one.