#IAmSocial Grad Scheme: Putting my creativity to the test
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Halfway through the We Are Social grad scheme, I’ve discovered first hand that the type of work in each department is incredibly varied and fluid. Even though people work in specific departments and roles, a lot of the talented people in this agency are actually masters of more than just one trade. Here’s a recap of my last couple of months at the agency…
Getting the creative juices flowing
I’m not exactly Da Vinci when it comes to drawing and I couldn’t stay inside the lines of a colouring book if my life depended on it. So, I was wary of my stint in the creative team, and braced myself for agency-wide humiliation the first time I would be asked to do something in PhotoShop, which would inevitably end up looking like a Jackson Pollock that had been through a wood chipper.
I actually spent a lot of that week in Creative looking like this (I’m Spongebob, by the way):
All jokes aside, I got the chance to see how the input from Strategy and R&I feeds into Creative – allowing the team to crack a creative idea that, ultimately, comes out as a brilliant campaign. I also got a chance to tag along for a shoot we did for Audi which was nothing short of awesome. I’m not going to lie, as a recent graduate, some of the clients I’ve gotten the chance to work with so far have left me somewhat awestruck.
Getting my GIF on
Following my brief stay with the creatives, I headed off for a stint in Editorial, where I spent a full month up until Christmas. Before starting my rotation, I thought: “Editorial, those guys just write copy and stuff, right?”
Actually, the Editorial team works across a very broad range of content creation and curation, not only writing the text that is used for the content but also providing valuable strategic input right from the start. On top of that, they have to stay up to date with local, global and industry news, to make sure we don’t miss anything that would make a great piece of reactive content. This includes anything from social media to alcohol, motoring, politics or finance. I would describe our editorial team as content strategists with an extra helping of copywriting skills.
I spent most of my time working on Netflix and particularly on Netflix Nordic. And yes, it is exactly as awesome as you would expect. During that month, I flipped through 7 different shows on Netflix to find material for GIFs, concocted rhymes for an advent calendar, worked on creative strategies for a new show, brainstormed content for another campaign, rocked out a content calendar and, of course, wrote a little bit of copy.
I also got to watch the new episodes of Gilmore Girls before they launched to find content for responsive GIFs on the Netflix channels. Granted, it’s not my cup of tea, but it was pretty awesome knowing the ending before my girlfriend. The highlight of the month, though? Having to watch through a ton of Fresh Prince of Bel Air to find material for GIFs and videos to use in the promotional content when it came out on Netflix on New Year’s Day.
The end is near
This month I moved to Client Services, where I’m working with different clients each week. It’s going to be a busy January, but it’s going to be interrupted by the one thing I’ve probably looked forward to the most: the company ski trip! Every year, all the European offices meet up for three days of skiing and slightly non-sober fun. I’ve been skiing since I was two, but I still imagine there’s a risk of looking like this on the slopes with a hangover. Wish me luck!
If you’d like join Casper at We Are Social, then check out our Careers page. The grad scheme isn’t open at the moment, but there are plenty of other opportunities…
