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Advice for next year, done properly – @NJStanley94

By Nick Stanley

 

Advice for next year, done properly

Reflections for this week was to leave advice for the next cohort, whoever they may be.

Some of the advice was helpful, ours certainly wasn’t. So here’s redoing it, with advice on the SCA mentors.

The SCA in-house mentors are fucking excellent. Each and every one of them can make your work immeasurably better. And you’ll learn something every time you sit with them.

Here’s some advice on getting the most juice out of each particular orange.

Marc

You’ll have to make your own mind up on Marc. I certainly have. Some don’t get on with him. He’s a ringmaster. His methods drive some people on and drive others away. That’s fine with him, and it’s been fine with me too. I like a competitive atmosphere.

And, while you might not like his ideas, he is so experienced at judging them, so hang on every word. He doesn’t waste a single one.

One thing you absolutely cannot do is disrespect him. He wants nothing but the best and gives his life to the school, possibly literally, for you.

Mike

Spend as much time with Mike as you possibly can. He’s brilliant, he’s lovely and his advice on partnerships and the industry is as valuable as his advice on your work. Here’s hoping he starts his own agency one day. Everyone in the room would have it down as their number 1 place to work, that’s how highly we rate him.

Vikki

I hope you’re lucky enough to have Vikki next year. She has a brilliant way of getting you to the right place, without telling you exactly where that place is. Like the barriers in ten pin bowling. You’ll rattle around, lurching from one side to another and with every little nudge of hers you’ll get closer and closer to a strike.

Also suffers no fools. Ian

As a writer I’ve spent less time with Ian than some but he’s undoubtedly brilliant. Use the fucking templates and don’t pinch the Waccom pens, charger cables or his blueberries.

Pete

All about getting it tight. Think big, then get your thinking razor sharp in a proposition, then go mad with it. If you’ve got to a proposition that’s tight enough for Pete, you can’t miss with the execution.

Also, ask him about female drivers. You’re welcome. Caroline

Possibly the most patient and diligent person I’ve ever met. Caz will answer your questions at any time and is happy to go through every single word in your book to make it better. She’s an incredible resource for writers.

Alex

Terrifying at first but make sure you build a relationship with her. If an art director can learn 1% of what she knows then they’ll be just fine.

Dusty

Similar to Ian, Dusty learnt early on that I can’t draw for shit. But writers, let your art director spend time with him and your work will come back way better. He sees things most don’t.

Rob

Loves a sound effect. Rob’s hilarious, always great to chat executions with. If you’re going for a funny ad and you don’t make Rob laugh, you’ve missed. He’ll be your go to up until New Blood for making case study videos too. Make sure you talk to him before you film anything, you will have forgotten something.

Olly

Comes in every Friday, he’s a genius when it comes to strategy and adds some much-needed boisterousness to the studio. Ex-army, you see.

My advice for getting the most out of Olly is to have every strategy written up and solid, then spend 5 minutes on each with him. Get a yes, yes, no, yes, no and a why for each one and you’re sorted for the next week of executing.

I think that’s it. Hope this helps. They’re a great bunch and we all owe them a tonne. Hope you get as much out of them as we did, and more.

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