Life of Pi
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The document is a presentation by Asad Shaykh, sharing advice for advertising students on how to secure internships and thrive in the industry. Key tips include networking early, engaging with peers and mentors, conducting field research, visual storytelling, and embracing individuality in a homogenous industry. Shaykh emphasizes the importance of being proactive, creative, and authentic to make a lasting impression.
Life of Pi
- 1. To kick things off, a dramatic Hello!
- 2. The presentation will be a PechaKucha, a Japanese format of presentation used to describe 20 ideas with 20 images, 20 seconds each. No text allowed, but used here for demo purposes.
- 3. asad shaykh strategist My introduction? I'm happily lost intercontinental baggage, strategically found on the conveyor belt of advertising. Heading from the east to west, of course.
- 4. Founded is 28 strong now. We’re a bit of a think tank agency, specialising in brand and comms planning. We started with 4 people, and I was their first intern – and ended up being their first hired employee…
- 5. Life of Pi: 'Life of A Planning Intern' - A talk to help Bucks advertising student acquire and retain an internship/placements..
- 6. Tip #1 - Ready anything on your way to work: Anything at all, except advertising. Equip yourself with what’s now and current in the world. Advertising is mostly a shiny reflection of pop-culture – Make sure you know it all. Our industry has quite a reputation of being naval-gazers, so rise above it to stand apart from the crowd.
- 7. Start Early: Be the first one at the work! Trust me, people WILL notice. It will show that you’re keen and alert. Also, it’s the best time to have a great conversation with your peers and bosses, right before the panic starts at 9:30pm. Best time to make bonds too.
- 8. Float Your Ideas: Once you’re in, circulate your ideas/thoughts/latest-loved campaigns! How? Get your hands on that mass email list of the agency you are working in – and say HELLO! Don’t be shy. Don’t hesitate to use it to push your or your favourite ideas forward. Its essential you stamp your footprint into people’s inboxes ASAP. Make your presence known.
- 9. Be A Street-talker: When assigned a task, overcome the urge to Google – and get yourself out on the street and talk to people. It might sound trivial, but if you think about it – that’s what advertising is all about. Get out there. Do your research on foot. The best insights come from your customers. Also, being students/interns, this might be your last chance to do this without sounding creepy!
- 10. Be A Street-talker: Put your work up ON a wall. Any wall you can find. Even the urinal ones. As long as you get your work shown, you’re good. Be fearless. Ask for 30sec crits. Engage them!
- 11. Visualise Your Data: #NOLISTS of facts. This is a chart we made for JLR, showing the frequency of contact by car showroom dealers. Quite dull if you think about it, but quite interesting if you map it out visually. Tell your story with diagrams, till you perfect it.
- 12. Bake ‘em A Cake: Ideas can be remembered and forgotten, but NOBODY forgets a damn good cake. I think that’s why one of the runaway hits on primetime is all about Great Brit Baking. Its food. Its primal. Get involved!
- 13. Ditch Those Headphones: All this time you’ve been trying to get into an agency. Then what do you do? You turn a deaf year. Hear what is going on around you. Understand the agency’s challenges. Make sure you inform and align yourself to where the agency is headed.
- 14. Be The Lifeguard: You CAN wear a red hot one piece if you like, but what I mean is for you to be the ‘goto guy’. Make yourself indispensable. Raise your and hand run to help, any kind of help, that is required. Trust me. You’ll be as unforgettable as good ol’ Pam!
- 15. Understand Campaign Rhythms: For Zipcar, we started off with a DM and ended up building a cost-saving app. Keep your eye on the problem, not your immediate idea – and then stretch if further.
- 16. Coffee is Currency: Coffee is the mental currency agency’s work on. Cash in on it by making someone an afternoon coffee. You’ll give them coffee. They’ll gladly reward you with time and attention. Don’t underestimate the power of the coffee cup handle. It might steer your career.
- 17. Follow Your Customer: Put the customer FIRST, and then follow them to the end of the world! We did this exercise for Whirlpool, in which we followed the decision path of a potential washing machine buyers undertakes. It’s the best way for insight-mining at every point of the customer experience. Great way to structure research findings too.
- 18. Never Miss A Team Pint: I’m sure you guys know it already – but I still can’t emphasise it enough. It’s the best time to hang loose, network and share who YOU are, not just your ideas!
- 19. Build Your Toolbox: Keep adding stuff to your toolbox! You are in that lucky position that you’ll get exposed to many different agencies and their executional frameworks and practices. Agencies spend years perfected them. Hold on to them. Learn from them – just to fling them out when you’re assigned your next challenge.
- 20. Digital + Analogue = Dialogue! : A Personal Mantra. Don’t get hung up on any medium. Flow quickly easily through them. It’s the seamless conversations you’ll make with your audiences is what will get you the results – not a digital/outdoor/indoor idea. Keep them engaged. If its not worth talking about, its probably not worth doing.
- 21. Grow A Moustache: Last, but not the least… GROW a Moustache! That’s how I got the internship. I wrote about my moustache in my application. They liked it because it set me apart. Its not about facial hair. Its about diversity. Our industry is quite homogenous when it comes to people. Be different. Be yourself. Chances are they’re probably looking for someone like you.
Editor's Notes
- #3: Before I start, let me tell you a bit about the format of this deck.PechaKucha is a Japanese way of presenting. You present 20 ideas, using 20 images, spending 20sec on each.I figured this way I won’t bore you guys for too long
- #4: Hi! My name is Asad Shaykh and I am a strategist/planner.I’m a bit of an intercontinentally lost piece of luggage. I was born in Pakistan. Did my bachelors from the US and then did my Masters from Bucks 2 years ago. Also, 2 years ago I started at a small agency called Founded…
- #5: Founded is 28 strong now. We’re a bit of a Think tank agency, specialising in brand and comms planning. Founded started with 4 people, and I was their first intern – and ended up being their first hired employee…
- #6: Which brings me to topic of my deck.LIFE of PI : Life of a Planning Intern…Instead of telling you what I do, I thought I’d tell you what I DID to as an intern which helped me land my job at Founded.Most of you will be interning at some point, so hopefully this deck will help you in a practical way?
- #7: TIP #1: Ready anything on your way to work! Anything at all, except advertising. Equip yourself with what’s now and current in the world. Advertising is mostly a shiny reflection of pop-culture – Make sure you know it all. Our industry has quite a reputation of being naval-gazers, so rise above it to stand apart from the crowd.
- #8: Get in early!Be the first one at the work!Trust me, people WILL notice. It will show that you’re keen and alert. Also, it’s the best time to have a great conversation with your peers and bosses, right before the panic starts at 9:30pm. Best time to make bonds too
- #9: Once your in, circulate your ideas/thoughts/latest loved campaigns!How? Get your hands on that mass email list of the agency you are working in – and say HELLO! Don’t be shy.Don’t hesitate to use it to push your or your favourite ideas forward.Its essential you stamp your footprint into people’s inboxes ASAP. Make your presence known
- #10: Don’t be a street-walker. Be a street-talker.When assigned a task, overcome the urge to Google – and get yourself out on the street and talk to people.It might sound trivial, but if you think about it – that’s what advertising is all about.Get out there. Do your research on foot. The best insights come from your customers. So stop then and talk!Also, being students/interns, this might be your last chance to do this without sounding creepy.
- #11: Put your work up ON a wall. Any wall you can find. Even the urinal ones. As long as you get your work shown, you’re good.Be fearless. Ask for 30sec crits. Engage them!
- #12: Visualise your data intelligently. #NOLISTS of facts pls.This is a chart we made for JLR, showing the frequency of contact by car showroom dealers. Quite dull if you think about it, but quite interesting if you map it out visually. Tell your story with diagrams, till you perfect it. Especially the planners out there.
- #13: Bake ‘em a cake!Ideas can be remembered and forgotten, but NOBODY forgets a damn good cake.I think that’s why one of the runaway primetime shows is all about baking. Its food. Its primal. Get involved!
- #14: Take those DAMN headphones off!All this time you’ve been trying to get into an agency. Then what do you do? You turn a deaf year.Hear what is going on around you. Understand the agency’s challenges. Make sure you inform and align yourself to where the agency is headed.
- #15: Once you’ve done that, BE the Agency’s Lifeguard!You CAN wear a red hot one piece if you like, but what I mean is for you to be the ‘goto guy’. Make yourself indispensable. Raise your and hand run to help, any kind of help, that is required. Trust me. You’ll be as unforgettable as good ol’ Pam!
- #16: Understand the Rhythm of the camapign. For zipcar, we started off with a DM and ended up building a cost-saving app. Keep your eye on the problem, not your immediate idea – and then stretch if further.
- #17: Coffee is the mental currency agency’s work on. Cash in on it by making someone an afternoon coffee. You’ll give them coffee. They’ll gladly reward you with time and attention. Don’t underestimate the power of the coffee cup handle. It might steer your career.
- #18: Put the customer FIRST, and then follow them to the end of the world!We did this exercise for Whirlpool, in which we followed the decision path of a potential washing machine buyers undertakes. It’s the best way for insight-mining at every point of the customer experience. Great way to structure research findings too.
- #19: NEVER miss a team pint!I’m sure you guys know it already – but I still can’t emphasise it enough. It’s the best time to hang loose, network and share who YOU are, not just your ideas!
- #20: Keep adding stuff to your toolbox!You are in that lucky position that you’ll get exposed to many different agencies and their executional frameworks and practices. Agencies spend years perfected them. Hold on to them. Learn from them – just to fling them out when you’re assigned your next challenge.
- #21: Personal Mantra: Digital + Analogue = Dialogue!Don’t get hung up on any medium. Flow quickly easily through them. It’s the seamless conversations you’ll make with your audiences is what will get you the results – not a digital/outdoor/indoor idea. Keep them engaged. If its not worth talking about, its probably not worth doing.
- #22: Last, but not the least… GROW a Moustache!That’s how I got the interhsip. I wrote about my moustache in my application. They liked it because it set me apart.Its not about facial hair. Its about diversity. Our industry is quite homogenous when it comes to people. Be different. Be yourself. Chances are they’re probably looking for someone like you