After two, three, five or ten years in journalism, and in search of new challenges, many of us decide to move “to the other side” – to one of today’s really numerous marketing agencies. Maybe you are also thinking about this yourself, and if you are not, you certainly know someone who has changed his editing shirt by an agency one – more or less successfully. On the one hand, it is a logical sequence of events, and on the other – this does not mean that it will be easy and painless.
How does one make it and survive? What do you need to watch out for? What does working in an agency bring? These are the tips of our graduate journalists – Ana-Marija Crnica Živković and Marin Zdelar – who two or three years ago replaced texts with their signatures in some of the strongest Croatian media with those under which it says “sponsored content” or “advertisement” on social networks and platforms.
1. At the beginning you feel – like you are right at the beginning
After the initial euphoria of finding another position, coming to a new job is always a stressful period. New environment, new colleagues, new way of doing things. Add the lack of knowledge because you come from the world of journalism (and marketing and PR require a whole new set of skills and knowledge) the panic is even greater. To comfort you – this is normal and it will pass. Try to relax, get to know the clients you work with, talk to your colleagues, ask whatever you are interested in. Surround yourself with professional literature, absorb new knowledge. The less comforting thing – everything seems simple and logical until you get a blank piece of paper (ok, screen) and the task of coming up with a text or a creative solution yourself.
2. Throwing yourself into the fire – you will either make it or break it
The moment you feel like a tabula rasa is priceless. You must understand that you will either get stuck and run over that first obstacle in front of you, or give up because you think it is still too much for you. Both are legitimate. But we advise you, even if you lean more towards the latter, at least try. You did not think you are creative and sent that resume to the address of those whose products and services constantly surround us for no reason whatsoever. Remember, ingenious ideas are often the result of those initially weak and boring.
3. Verba volant, scripta manent
An old Latin saying that says that “(spoken) words fly away, written ones remain” is most often transferred to the one “the intelligent writes, the fool remembers”. Nodding your head and parrot-like repeating of “Sure, I understand” will get you nowhere. You may remember the first few pieces of information and tasks, but when an enormous amount of them comes pouring in, trust us – you will frantically look for a notebook and a pen. So, write everything down. Even how to write the date correctly (believe us, in Croatian a bunch of people still puts a zero before the day of the month when writing a date).
4. Ask everything you want to know
At the beginning, you will sometimes (read: very often) have questions that can be answered only by colleagues and superiors. Do not hesitate to ask them. Do not be embarrassed when you appear next to their desk for the ninth time with the words “I would like to know one more thing…”. The faster you get an answer, the faster you will put together a new puzzle in your head and the image will start becoming clearer. And when you get the answer – write it down. If you have not, re-read item number 3.
5. Writing skills are desirable but not necessary
Just like when you first enter the newsroom after the faculty of journalism, and you realize too quickly that you may be literate, but cannot write because it is a skill that is acquired through work, the same goes when you come to the agency. The skill of writing and expressing oneself beautifully is desirable, but not necessary. It is different from journalism. It is honed over time, just like any other talent. It is more important to know how to distinguish the important from the irrelevant, to recognize what is relevant to the client or brand, and how to present it to the target audience. It is only when you write the text, andarrange the lead in such a way that you want to read it all the way to the end again, that the title follows. One, two, five of them. Often a sixth one will occur. It is important to write it in such a way that it attracts readers, while being factual and attractive at the same time.
6. Did you make a mistake? It is normal, everyone does
Errors are part of growth and development. Even the greatest ones are sometimes wrong. Sometimes even with the best intention of doing the job as professionally as possible, the number of tasks will get in the way. Somewhere, inevitably, you will get stuck. When a mistake is found, it is important to admit and accept it, and perhaps most important of all is that you have the support of your superiors at that time. Their understanding is extremely important, because through the conversation you will come to the clarification of the problem, get advice on how not to repeat it again and thus you will grow, and you will certainly not repeat the same mistake twice.
7. Creating a strategy – from fear and unknowns to pride
When you are faced with writing a communication strategy for a client for the first time, you will realize that everything that has seemed simple and logical so far – is not. Because you need to come up with a complete idea, from the creative concept, through marketing and PR activities, all the way to digital advertising. Writing by heart will not get you anywhere, which is why we at CTA komunikacije highly value good, quality research. Once you grasp all the strings about a client, industry or niche, audience, product or service, the direction you will wish to follow will appear in front of your eyes. Even if you get stuck, good old brainstorming will save the day, and you will ultimately find it easier to write a document and be proud that you are bringing a unique idea to the client.
8. The team and the atmosphere at work are extremely important
All of the above will be more difficult to achieve without a good atmosphere and teamwork. You still spend most of your day at work. One working day, you may not even notice a bad vibe, but if it continues every day, you will feel how difficult it is to work in such a collective. That is why we cultivate an approach of professionalism when working and unsalted jokes when resting. Balance is important.
9. Expertise is crucial in decision-making
What you will learn very quickly is that, contrary to the common saying – the client is really not always right. Expertise should be the judge of things. Working in an agency requires patience at the highest possible level, constant openness to compromises, but also uncompromising advocacy of quality and compliance with deadlines.
If you are lucky, “on the other side” you will encounter openness and cooperation of clients and this will be an excellent basis for fruitful cooperation with which all parties involved will be satisfied in the end and which may bring your collective, in the end, some recognition or awards.
Establishing good and open relationships filled with mutual respect and trust is unspeakably important for quality cooperation, just like in all other relationships in life. As long as your performance is at the top level, this will usually not be a problem.
10. Some reassurance for the end– you can definitely do it
If you have managed to impose yourself in one of the Croatian newsrooms over the years, it is almost certain that you will find your way in the agency world. The pace, dynamics, multitasking, attention to detail and the need to check every, even seemingly insignificant fact, and the responsibility that comes with journalistic and/or editorial work are an invaluable basis for working in an agency.
You may not be aware of it at first, but over time – certainly, and the acquaintances you have made in the media will make your work and life easier in a thousand situations. Media and marketing are actually very complementary and interdependent industries that function hand in hand on a daily basis.
To draw the line – you certainly will not go wrong by moving from a newsroom to a quality agency. Even if you do not feel that way, one of the editorial offices will surely welcome you back with open arms – with many new experiences, skills and knowledge.
Finally, how to know and choose an agency tailored to your needs? It is okay to look at the agency’s networks and pages, but it is even better to review employee profiles. If they also share posts related to the company, and those posts do not seem forced and on the same line (which is often a sign that the superior has ordered sharing on the networks), then that is a very good sign. Review the clients they work with, get acquainted with their achievements so far and openly ask what they expect from you. Also, openly say what you do not know, but would like to learn. In our CTA communications, we nurture a “knowledge for all” approach in which everyone can progress in a direction that is interesting to them. Even if you decide to switch from PR to digital. It is up to you how large a bite you take.
