#losinterns

Clients, target audience, and copy, oh my!

As a creative you want to stay loyal to your original work, but being flexible is an admirable trait and will always help in the long run. Although it is easier said, than done don’t get too attached.

Deadlines, deadlines and more deadlines

The importance of a deadline is critical in any field, but when a time limit is placed on creativity it can be challenging. I’ve found some of the best ideas come to you when you least expect, so always have pen and paper ready.

When in doubt, communicate it out

dieste.com - provoke daily

Have you read Arturo's Provoke Weekly post about Spoiler Culture?

1.Why?

The most important question to always ask  in planning.

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2. People are numero uno

Understanding people is being able to relate with them. Asking the right questions and being relentlessly curious is an important when connecting to others.

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3. Secondary Research

Secondary research should be strictly facts (no assumptions). Use credible sources as much as possible and try to stick to one source when searching for certain information.

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4. The Creative Brief

Two things. Must be creative. Must be brief. 

The creative brief should provide the problem and question to provoke conversation amongst the team and promote creativity.

5. Trends

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for trends. They're everywhere. Be aware and always stay up to date on everything going on in society.

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6. Storytelling

Stories are an inherent part of everyone's culture. They  trickle beliefs, values, and wisdom throughout people and generations. Stories create images and spark conversations amongst people and even between people and brands.

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7. Insights

Look at everything positively. Insights lurk in the sneakiest corners.

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8. Have fun with it

Be relentlessly curious, have fun with your research.

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Thank you Dannely, Gabby, Luke and Wegs for everything you have taught me throughout this summer!

Peace Out.

  Title: Chief Relationship Officer What does your role at Dieste consist of? Head of Account Management /Brand Leadership Client relationships Oversee account activity Promote collaboration

Interests/hobbies?

I play tennis; I’ve been doing it since childhood and I am part of a team now. I also like to travel whenever I can. When did you become interested in advertising?

In high school I liked sociology and psychology. My sister told me about marketing, and said I would be good at it so I looked into it.

If you weren’t in advertising, what would you love to do? Be a professional tennis player. What is your professional background? I started my career at JWT Argentina, moved to LatinWorks in Austin, GlobalHue in New York and now at Dieste for the past four years. Did you have any internships in college? No, but I was a kindergarten English teacher in college while taking advertising classes in the evening. What are qualities you look for in an account management/ brand leadership position? I look for a perfect combination of curiosity, collaboration, character and creative thinking. Do you think there is a gap between Account and Creative? Everyone in this agency should be creative, if you are not a creative thinker, you cannot value creative ideas. What is something marketers don’t realize about the multicultural audience? People know about the importance but they don’t see it as a priority. In reality, many of the categories are driven by multicultural. Without multicultural, you cannot win. I think marketers think it’s a nice to have, but for most categories, it’s a must have.   10. What is the best advice you’ve been given? One of them is “You learn as much from the people you respect, than from those you don’t. “You can learn from the bad as well, it’s a learning experience. It shapes you as a professional. 11. One piece of advice you would give to students entering the industry? Be patient. Everything will get to you in the proper time –when you’re ready, not when you want to be ready. With time, you understand the decisions people make for you. I was not always patient, this industry is about patience.

Another piece of advice is that you are solely responsible for your career. I guess it’s the same in life. People can help you, guide, you, but in the end, it is your job to determine each step of your career, to train yourself, learn and be better every day. Nobody will do this for you. 12. What is the best part about your job/ most challenging? Best part- managing people Most challenging- managing people It’s all about the people, not just relationships with clients but also with my team. That’s why the word “relationship” is in my title. It is as much as our clients as it is about our internal teams. 13. While no two days are the same in this industry, what does your day mostly consist of? I travel a lot to see clients, spend time with my team providing guidance and solve client problems. It’s mainly a combination of time with my team, clients and providing client solutions. 14. What is the key to good relationships?

The most exciting thing about working at Dieste is that no two days are the same. This is why every afternoon I go home filled with a sense of satisfaction of having learned something new. New challenges, tasks and ideas bring in each day.

  Working at Dieste as a social media intern has been the best opportunity to be behind the scenes of everything from a single post to a fully developed digital campaign. I’ve learned countless social media secrets, best practices and tips that I am certain I would have learned in very few other places as an intern.

  Being a Dieste intern is everything but scanning endlessly at the copy machine and going on coffee runs.  Here your ideas are valued and truly taken into account, and the tasks given are of great responsibility. I have worked on metrics and analytical data, brainstormed for new campaigns and much more. My work has actually seen the client and been approved for publication; one of the most exciting parts of this internship. This fills you up with pride but leaves you hungry for the next idea.

  I know that something has been worthwhile when I feel I have been challenged. Here at Dieste, each day presents you a new challenge that at the end of the day, with a solution in hand, fills you with knowledge, pride and accomplishment. 

By: Laura Barbier

In honor of National Tequila Day here are some Tequila Recipe faves from #LosInterns.

Name: Gustavo Zapata a.k.a, Z

Position: Head of Art

What are your favorite hobbies?

Scratching (otherwise known as drawing in Colombia) and illustrating are what I love to do the most.  I’ve been doing it since I was just a little kid.  I’ve always been constantly drawing on anything I could get my hands on. Back when I was working in Medellín, I had the chance to work with an amazing illustrator from whom I picked up the habit of always carrying around a sketchpad. Then, a bit later on when I was at DDB, a friend turned onto Moleskins and I’ve been in love with them ever since.  

Other things I like to do include watching films. Anderson, Kitano, Malick, Scorsese, Croenenberg and Miyazaki are some of my favorite directors. Wes Anderson especially, I still remember seeing the Royal Tenenbaums at the cinema and being captivated by The Life Aquatic.

I also enjoying drawing caricatures of people and creating/finding clones of them. 

Last but not least, I like going to green places, anywhere with trees really. Its very relaxing and a nice place be either be alone and reset, or go with the family and have some fun. 

What was your first job?

When I was studying at the Instituto de Artes in Medellín, I saw a sign for help wanted as an illustrator. It was a small ad agency named Espiga. I liked it and continued to work there part-time up until the agency unfortunately closed its doors. Since then I have been fortunate enough to work at a variety of places that include Havas, Ogilvy, DDB and Sancho BBDO. But the reason why Espiga and every other agency I’ve worked at at stick out so vividly in my mind is because I believe that every agency out there has something to teach you. 

 Which one of your drawings and illustrations is your favorite and the one you are most proud of? 

Hands down my wedding invitation. I am always drawing and have more drawings than I can remember, but this is the one piece that stands out among the rest. My wife is a graphic designer, so I knew she would want to design things for our wedding. However, I managed to convince her to let me tackle this piece by myself.

The end product was something I am still very proud of to this day, mostly because of its significance to my family and me. Others also took notice in the piece, and my boss encouraged me to send it in to Proyecto Diseño a local design magazine that was hosting the Lapiz de Acero awards. I am very happy to say that the wedding invitation ended up getting picked up and nominated for the PRINT category in 2008.

Who are your favorite artists?

This is a tough question. Just like the movie directors answer, it’s hard for me to pick just one because every single artist is unique in that they have they’re own style, method and details which attracted me to them in the first place.

I love comic books, and as such a lot of my favorite artist tend to be comic book illustrators such as Charles Burns, the illustrator behind The Black Hole graphic novel. I get a lot of my style and inspiration from his work. Another great comic book illustrator is Chris Ware whose work often breaks away from the stereotypes of comic illustration, as he tends to tell stories in unique ways that aren’t vignettes. Others worth mentioning include Lichtenstein, Rauschenberg, and Mondrian.

What was the first work you ever had produced?

It was during my time at Espiga, and although I was tasked with many projects while I was there, the first one I ever worked on that was produced and went live, I will always remember with care. It was a Newspaper insert for Fundacion Mi Rio. This foundation works to clean up and restore the river that runs through the center of Medellín.

The insert came out during a very important week, (Semana Santa) and it was nice to see my work not only being shared, but going towards a good cause

Where do you get your creativity from?

It can come from wherever. The difficult part is not abandoning or forgetting a train of thought. Wherever you are, you need to seize that moment of inspiration so you can execute it later. 

I also find that true creativity seldom comes from pre-determined creative meetings. Sure ideas can still surge from there, but often times the best ideas come at random times. 

Another way I like to get the creative juices flowing is to take a look at old ad archives, and things like Communication Arts, PRINT magazine, blogs like Fubiz and Designinspiration 

If you could live anywhere in the world and money was no object, where would you live?

I’m not sure. I feel like I know very little so staying put in just one place would be hard. Places like Rio de Janeiro, hold a special place in my heart since I first visited this beautiful city during my honeymoon. That said, if money was no object I think I would opt for living in different places every year. Taking the time I spend in each city to observe and learn as much about the culture as I can.

Oh, and if its by the beach that always helps. Places by the ocean can be really inspiring.

 If you weren’t working in advertising what would you be doing?

Ever since I was a little kid I have been completely focused on illustration. So I guess taking this into consideration, anything I would pick would have to be directly tied to it. Whether its illustrating for a magazine, painting signs, being a freelancer or even drawing comics, I’ll be happy as long as I’m drawing and utilizing my essence.

 Of course, if drawing wasn’t an option I would love to work in the field of Astronomy. Learning about the stars and the vast cosmos has always attracted me.

 What is your all-time favorite commercial?

 Advertising can be many things. It can be trash, but it can also be a machine that creates happiness. Something that can bring people joy and better their lives through emotive storytelling. This is something I try ardently to do with all my illustrations and caricatures. I want to leave people better off than they were before seeing it. That is what all advertising should aim to do, that is our challenge as advertisers.

 I remember when I was younger being tasked with making a Christmas sales catalogue for a grocery chain named Carulla. I spent two of the most stressful weeks of my life working on it. Just the day before it was due, I went back to the office on Sunday at 7:00 o clock. I ended up not going home until 3:00 am just so I could finish it. This was a job that was hard and tedious but I knew I had to get through it.

 Not too long afterwards, I came across three mountain-sized piles of the catalogue on the street. They were all soaked and ruined. As disappointed as I was, I realized then that there is a lot of stuff we make as advertisers, just to “make it”. But the truly important stuff, is the stuff I was talking about earlier, the ads that help and inspire.

 Being in the industry for so long its kind of hard for me to pinpoint just one ad that I consider the best or my favorite. The only ones I can think of right now are the recent and more top of mind adverts. That said, there are five that currently stand out.

 First off, the YouTube Skittles series. This is a great example of how advertising can become more than just a selling tool. These ads broke the molds of advertising and created content that is compelling and functions differently from just conveying sales information.

 The Volvo Commercial with Van Damme. Nuff, said.

 Then there is the Impossible is Nothing series Adidas did with Muhammad Ali. No matter what, I know I’ll remember those ads for as long as I live. Those are the best ads, the ones that speak to you, and stay with you forever.

 Another great one is the P&G Mother campaign for the Olympics. Such an emotive piece of storytelling, I actually cried a little when I saw it.

 Last but not least, great ads can also be ones that literally facilitate people’s lives, like the billboard that gathered condensation and turned it into drinking water for the people of Colombia. Truly inspirational.

 What would you rather lose, your hands or your eyesight?

 Hmm…

 I guess it would have to be my hands. As an artist your eyesight is way more fundamental. If you lose your hands, there are always tools that can help you get by, and even get back to drawing.

 Losing your eyes on the other hand, means you have to completely recreate your life from scratch.

  Talk about destiny. I first had a chance to work with a producer when I was a junior in college. Then I was lucky to be able to talk to a big name from Hollywood, Albert S. Ruddy, the producer of such movies as The Godfather (1972) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). Now at Dieste, I got to meet four producers in a week; all of them have been working on commercials.

  A producer is usually one of the busiest people in charge of a project so if you’re looking for a position that allows you to see the effect of your efforts immediately, this job is not for you. Pitching for a job and winning, being the first one on set and the last to leave, travelling around the world to shoot commercials, dealing with advertising agencies, and enduring long hours, high stress -- a producer’s job is not always all fun and games. But one of the coolest things about it is that you get to see behind the curtain while learning the whole process from the inside out.

  Well, I guess if I love what I do, I can work hard and succeed. I want to tell my parents someday to watch a commercial that I produce! Never have I ever met as many producers as I did at Dieste during the past few weeks. They share their insights into what makes a good commercial and inspire me to keep working to achieve my dream.

One way to measure the success of a commercial is looking at the way it connects to the audience emotionally. Beautiful images. Professional actors. Interesting camera angles. Amazing graphics and visual effects. Catchy songs. They all work. But at the end of the day, what it all comes down to is storytelling. With the increasing power of social media and all types of platforms, viewers and consumers are better informed than ever. What people are looking for these days are not ads that demonstrate the physical products but stories that can engage the audience through human relationships and experiences, and then reveal the message of the brand.

Go through the list of the most viral ads that are honored the Best Brand Storytelling at the 2014 Viral Video Awards. You’ll know what we mean.

As a Dieste copywriter intern I have been able to write in a variety of mediums, whether it is for radio or for billboards, they all seem to have one thing in common – they are fast pace.

From client feedback to new analysis on the type of message we want to produce, the copy is constantly changing. This constant change taught me to never get too attached to my work, be ready to think on the spot and most importantly always proofread.

Working side by side with other copywriters I have seen work in progress scripts go to live television. It is an indescribable feeling to hear a commercial on the radio, and think, “hey I was a part of that.”

As a journalism major, I have gotten accustomed to writing longer pieces, getting quotes and spending days on stories to get it just right. In the advertising field there is simply not enough time, but the time crunch is what produces the best work. As they say, “pressure makes diamonds,” and at Dieste I have found this to be very true.

Danielle H., Copywriter Intern

We all have things that inspire us, that drive us, and most importantly, that remind us why we chose our profession in the first place.  And even though being a creative at an agency was something I stumbled upon, I am no exception.

Long before being an Art Director was even an option, I vividly recall multiple ads that made me feel joy, sadness, that made me laugh or even got me pumped.  In my eyes these were 30 second films that somehow condensed the brilliance of the creative mind into that, just a 30 second clip. And if it somehow made me like the product even more, well that was just icing on the cake.

I have compiled a list of my favorite five ads that continue to inspire me to this day. These are the ads I can watch and immediately get pumped to get right back to work. Hopefully you enjoy these as much as I do. 

Zonajobs - Abuelita

This first one is an Argentinian ad for Zonajobs. A little dark, but still one of the funniest and more clever ads I've seen.

Nike - The Scorpion Tournament

One of the first ads that I can remember watching and loving as a kid. I mean I was only 12 when it came out, and it continues to be one of my all time favorites. Definitely one of Nike's best ads to date. 

Xoom - Lost and Found

Another great ad, this Dieste spot features a hilarious insight about piggy banks and does so in a great satirical fashion. This ad is sure to make you smile form beginning to end. 

Google - Dear Sophie

Its very hard for an ad to make you feel emotional, but if the creatives managed to do that in such a short amount of time then they've done their job. A great ad from Google that hits you right in the feels.

Volkswagen - Smiles

Another great and emotive ad. One that is extremely powerful, even though it doesn't have a single word of dialogue. These simple vignettes are so infectious you can't help but smile when watching this incredible Volkswagen ad. (Volkswagen's the force ad is also good, but I truly believe that this ad is better)

and last but not least. The best ad IMO...

Puma - After Hours Athlete

Never have I ever written a blog post in English but moreover never have I ever worked in an English spoken environment before. Not working in my first language has made things a little bit harder especially when I have to share my ideas. It takes me a while to figure out the right words to express myself in a clear and appropriate way. Despite some struggles, working in English has enriched my experience as an Intern, boost my vocabulary, and allowed me to live a whole new experience.

  And for the record, people working at Dieste have been very comprehensive and patient with my English.

We love flip books, which are often creative and inspiring. As a form of animation, flip books can be illustrated books for children or a series of pictures or drawings that have been considered a great mean of expressions by artists and some were even made into cartoons. Flip books are all about imagination, creativity and optical illusion.

Name: Carla Eboli

Job Title: Chief Marketing Officer

Was getting into advertising always in the plan?

            No, never—my background is in journalism, then I went into PR, then advertising happened. I started in 2008 when the U.S. was going through the worst of its financial crisis. Coming from Brazil (which has been dealing with a financial crisis forever), I wasn’t scared at all—I knew how to deal with that. I think that’s the reason I was okay with Dieste and advertising.

  How is advertising/marketing different in the U.S. versus in Brazil?

The way we do business is pretty similar. If Brazil is extremely creative, USA is more strategic, and more often we have to align with headquarters global strategies. We have a little bit of extra freedom in Brazil to be more creative with less alignment and honestly, I think that in terms of budgets, we’re catching up. Also, Brazil’s creative aspect has cultural nuances that we don’t see in U.S. (they’re less conservative than American agencies have to be).

  What do you love most about New Business versus other areas of the agency?

            That there’s no routine in New Business—having a routine is boring to me—so every day is a different day. I wake up in the morning not knowing what I’m going to find in the office: a new RFP, messages from another agency asking about a partnership, etc. The downside is that I’m always the first person to know if we didn’t win an account. You have to be pretty strong to deal with rejection, because sometimes you’re just not the right fit for the client. That part is frustrating, but I like the vibrant, unexpected aspects of New Business.

  Describe what you do at Dieste:

            Most of what I do for Dieste is PR, which is my strong suit—my background. In this specific case, I’m very happy that Dieste saw that someone with a PR background would be very valuable for them in terms of New Business, because I’d be able to put the agency out there. For you to get new clients you have to be out there, in the news, and have a good relationship with other agencies. ‘Relationship’ is the name of the game, and networking is key.

  Advertising used to be a very male-dominated arena. How do you think women have changed the way the game is played today?

            I think that even if you go to New York, you’re still going to have agencies packed with testosterone, but other places are less like this; I don’t see a reason to not be diverse, especially culturally. How are you going to show a multicultural consumer that you can do it if you don’t have a diverse team? We (women) complement men; we have skills that men probably aren’t that strong in, like what comes naturally to us.

  Do you have any embarrassing client experience stories?

            I have one that I’ll never forget: I was in Brazil pitching to two Argentinians. When I met them I tried to use soccer as an ice-breaker and their faces got really serious and they said, “We do not discuss soccer with women, especially with a woman from Brazil.” It was so embarrassing, but I said, “You’re absolutely right, soccer isn’t a good thing to discuss between Brazilians and Argentinians; let’s talk about food,” and it made them laugh so we moved on from there. That was the first time I understood that cultural differences play a big role in business, and we have to be aware 24/7.  If you connect, it can be fantastic, but it you miss cultural cues, it can go very bad, very quickly.

  What’s your favorite account area that you’ve worked on?

            Pharmaceutical companies are my passion. When I started to work in healthcare, I saw that there was a bigger objective, which was to help people. I found that I connected really well with the pharmaceutical companies because although they’re selling a product, they’re also doing something good—letting them know that there’s hope, that they can find treatment, or a better quality of life. I don’t want to die without going back to work for a pharmaceutical company.

  If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

            If I could get a ticket right now, I would probably go to Firenze (Florence). Italy is such an important place for me because of my family; my roots are there. My grandparents left during the war and moved to Brazil, so there is a strong connection to the culture in the way I speak, the way I move my hands, and the culture of my family. It’s a place I feel at home in when I’m not at home—it was also one of the first business trips of my career. Also, I’d like to try Budapest and some places in Africa.

  What’s your comfort food?

            Coming from an Italian family, definitely pasta! I really love to cook; it’s an act of love and caring. There’s a lot of chemistry when you combine ingredients, and different flavors pop. I’m really fascinated by it.

  What’s your motto?

            “Saying ‘s***’ and ‘f***’ is the best Prozac in the world.”

  Describe New Business in 10 words or less:

            “We date, we don’t marry—that’s Accounts.”

  Do you have any advice for someone just starting out in communications?

            Always sell it, never give it away for free. Try to experience different areas of communication as much as you can: digital, advertising, public relations, B2B, etc. When you’re in college, you aren’t getting exposed to how things are in real life. It’s a beautiful career, but some people only go to one area. You can always go from one area to another, so don’t feel like you’re boxed in. Keep up with learning; communications is a vibrant, dynamic and a fast-paced segment of our industry. Keep your mind open to innovation and a fresh approach. The more areas you touch, the more you have to apply.

  Interview conducted by Stacia Chavarria, New Business Intern

For most interns, a day in the life consists of ‘who ordered this coffee,’ and ‘how many copies did that guy ask for?' At Dieste, it’s everything but. I’ve seen my days here filled with stimulating projects and multi-branch meetings. Observing, partaking—it’s all a part of the experience on the 27th floor. Everything is constantly moving, with department intermixing to get the most out of an idea.

Coming to the halfway point of Provoking Summer, I’ve grown and developed skills with a potential new business announcement, to seeing a pitch come to life through research methods, and culminating with the excitement of a decks final run through.

Since my first account exposure, I've been able to have a hand in six different account project progressions. Each of these has been a variation of research gathering, competitive analysis building, deck transcribing, and the like.

 Just in the span of a day, I've seen how intricate the development of a single campaign is, from investigative journalism, to the in's and out's of city hall and the police department. Being able to experience the flow of new business while also helping out in assorted areas of the company is something I definitely plan on soaking in while I have the chance.

Our day in the life is far from ordinary.