I believe that advertising as a field is very dynamic and ever-changing. This is best seen in the work culture of J Walter Thompson. I was thrilled to know that my college (The Delhi School of Communication) was able to get me through to J Walter Thompson for my summer internship under the Planning division. It is been an amazing thrill ride so far.
During my tenure here, I have already seen an array of things which have made me a firm believer in the magic of advertising. It goes without saying that, to work with the best agency in India is an honour and this opportunity has presented me with a great learning platform. Through able guidance and by advocating fine attention to details, the agency gives an intern an all-around platform to connect theory to practice. Being one of the finest agencies, it has provided me with a great atmosphere with amazing people — who bring in that extra dash of linear thinking into the picture. They have been very considerate and have been a pillar of support through this important phase of my nascent career into communication.
Runaway train
The agency has given me ample opportunities to bring forth researched and thought-out ideas and has never made me feel inadequate in my presence here. They have constantly encouraged inputs, initiatives, and insights which I have to offer. I have been absorbed into the system to the extent that it never feels as if I am new to this agency, everything flows harmoniously and is in careful alignment with the vision of the company — ‘Pioneering new ideas and concepts.'
On the first day of work, my mentor said, “I tend to run like a train, but don’t worry! You will catch up!” — these words go to show that the agency is ready to acclimatise us, interns, into learning something beyond the obvious. The agency doesn’t seem to back down from any creative challenge, and neither does it let its interns fall flat. The agency has enabled me to get up and running with the tricks of the trade, on how to chart out plans that would make brands, not just one-shot wonder success stories. ‘Paying heed to the basics, yet doing the unthinkable’, has been my major takeaway from the framework of the agency.
The mainstay of my tenure has been researching about different brands under the agency umbrella and helping the flow of thought to stimulate lasting communication ideas and insights further. The role of a planner in my eyes would be to get a pulse of the brand and its audience — not with the objective of serving a thought, but for triggering a thought in their (audience’s) mind. The agency has helped me, best utilise my analytical skills to fine-tune ideas that have a potential to work and take the communication through.
When I came to the agency, my view of the world of advertising was fairly limited to glossy layouts and cheesy punch-lines, but with my time here, I feel I have become refined, have gotten a whole new outlook on the way things work in the industry, and how simplest of the ads have years of experience and timeless research going into it, which makes these ads what they are! I believe that my time here has made me a better professional; one who would always question the ‘why’s’ of the world before the ‘what is’ — focusing on finding the logic that sets things apart, rather than giving shallow ideas to just execute a certain half-baked idea!
Aman Kapoor is studying at The Delhi School of Communication.