TBWA\LONDON
I’ve always been a bit averse to management consultancy-esque adjectives such as inspirational, game-changing and paradigm shifting. But now I find these words, which would normally repulse me, to be the only just method of conveying my month with TBWA.
A small right-hand bounded book that I found lying on a table called ‘Breaking the rules’ was the first indication of what I’d let myself in for. TBWA’s ‘Disruption’ mantra initially seemed like a client-facing whitewash, but learning more about the industry and about TBWA as my time progressed with them, it soon became clear why disruption was so important to these people.
I’ve been fairly lucky in my internships over the last few years (very lucky indeed given some of the testimony on Interns Anonymous) but TBWA offered me something which I couldn’t refuse- a near open-remit working with Account Management to Creative and everything in-between. Disruption formed the basis of not only the creative work but client relationships, account planning and even internal relationships, take for example the summer fete where brand leaders showed off the best of their work in a makeshift country fete (with added candy floss and fluorescent jackets) and a free gig (and booze) in the bar on the ground floor. These guys work exceptionally hard, and know how to play harder.
So, which brands did they let me near I hear you ask? Uncle Bens, Muller, Pedigree, Adidas, Nissan and Twix to name a few in several capacities from research to pitch preparation. It was eye-opening, but juggling it with my commitments in Nottingham and at home wasn’t the best of ideas.
That aside, it was a fairly awesome induction into the industry and one I won’t forget for a while.
I’ll be spending some time at The Daily Telegraph with Andrew Porter and the Politics team from 3rd August. I’ll be posting a report soon afterward.