MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Judy John, Chief Creative Officer of Edelman, shared the importance of building yourself as a brand, the same way you build other brands, at the ONE Asia x adobo Magazine Masterclass last October 14, 2024.
The One Club for Creativity and adobo Magazine organized the event as a great learning opportunity for young creatives in the Philippines, at the inaugural masterclass.
Judy began her talk by explaining why barbers often have poor haircuts: they are too focused on their customers’ hair and neglect their own. She then drew a parallel to advertising, stating, “Just like in advertising, we’re focused on brands, but we’re not focused on ourselves as brands.”
She emphasized the importance of considering how others perceive you when you enter a professional setting. “We create stories for our clients, but we often neglect to do the same for ourselves,” she explained. Judy stressed the significance of self-awareness and understanding one’s unique strengths.
Here are tips from Judy on how to build your personal brand:
Make the room smarter
Judy suggested that as creatives, everyone should actively contribute to the conversation and avoid being passive participants. By sharing unique perspectives, conducting research, and bringing references or statistics to the table, creatives can add value to the discussion. Judy highlighted the significance of defining one’s own identity to prevent others from shaping it for them
Know your brand
Judy emphasized the importance of strategy in creative work. She argued that creativity should be expressed in new ways today and that leaders should inspire and support their teams for success.
Additionally, she stressed the need to remove obstacles and maintain a genuine passion for both the work and the business. Judy then introduced her belief that a great idea is composed of 50% strategy, 50% idea, and 50% execution. She joked about the mathematical inconsistency, saying, “I did fail grade 10 math, but I know that, and I say this because this is what makes a great idea.”
Judy shared her experience in strategy and emphasized its value for creatives. She quoted the saying, “A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved,” highlighting the importance of a strong strategy.
Culture as media and the importance of attention
It’s crucial to ask whether people will care about the idea enough to discuss, write about, or share it. Otherwise, the creative output may be considered worthless. With the increasing amount of AI-generated content, understanding the importance of integrating ads or creative work into culture is paramount.
Judy shared her core principles, which include creating content that is either useful or entertaining. “The goal is to create something people value and will share,” she mentioned.
Additionally, ideas should be designed to be sticky and social, encouraging discussion and retention. For creatives, Judy recommended having a clear vision for the project’s outcome and its intended impact.
Using references can help demonstrate ideas to account teams and clients, easing concerns about new or unconventional approaches. By employing references, creatives can inspire clients and create opportunities for themselves.
Ending her presentation, Judy encouraged creatives to create movements and become involved in culture to make meaningful impact. She emphasized the importance of understanding the client’s business to engage in meaningful conversations and be a valuable partner to account teams and strategists.
“Good is easy. Great is hard,” Judy concluded. While it’s relatively easy to come up with good ideas, executing a great idea requires significant effort. She noted that selling a great idea can sometimes take years. However, she emphasized that the hard work is ultimately worth it. “Go and be amazing,” Judy encouraged.
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of ONE Asia and The One Club for Creativity.
The ONE Asia x adobo magazine Masterclass was made possible by the generous support of sponsors Yellow Brick Road Productions, Soundesign Manila – Audio Production House, and Meta.
Special thanks to our organization partner, Ayala Foundation, Inc., for providing the venue for this event. The One Club for Creativity – home of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) awards, ONE Asia Awards, Type Directors Club and competition, TDC Ascenders, Young Guns, Young Ones Student Awards, Next Creative Leaders, ONE Screen Short Film Festival, and more – is the world’s foremost non-profit organization whose mission is to support and celebrate the global creative community. Revenue generated from entries to its global awards shows goes back into the industry to fund programming under the organization’s four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development.
