As advertising strives to stay on the cutting edge of creativity, agencies have started to look beyond the typical skill sets to decipher whether or not someone can fulfill their creative needs. As a result, many creatives have found themselves on the answering end of the ambiguous question, “So, what else do you do?” It’s a question that often comes off as an insignificant conversation filler. You’re a copywriter who spends your spare time entertaining the masses with your witty Facebook statuses—isn’t that enough?
In a world where everyone who reads thinks they can write, every creative needs to be able to differentiate themselves. Hence the question: what else do you do? This question isn’t meant to diminish your ability to create good advertising. It’s a way for an agency to gauge your range as a creative individual. Creative directors realize that a person who hasn’t created a groundbreaking campaign is not necessarily incapable of doing so.
Advertising continues to adapt its messages to live in various mediums as communication evolves. As a result, traditional campaigns have been stretched thin across non-traditional mediums in hopes that the digital components will do the heavy lifting. The strain on conventional messaging has created a need for concepts that go beyond the formulaic structure of strategically sound campaigns and tap into ideas that are strong enough to thrive within traditional and non-traditional mediums. That being said, agencies aren’t looking for just another person who can execute the requirements of a creative brief. A good amount of agency time is spent on the hunt for creatives who can do more than just make advertising. In other words, they(we) want a creative person first and an ad person second.