MANILA, PHILIPPINES — To help grow the next generation of young creative professionals, the London International Awards has launched the Creative LIAisons, a global one-to-one coaching and networking session for young creatives. These virtual coaching sessions are designed to develop, educate and inspire young creative talent. One of the most valuable components of these coaching sessions is that they allow the participants to establish personal connections through direct interaction with the most-experienced and most-awarded creative professionals in the business.
Jasper Cajilig, an art director from BBDO Guerrero, was one of the 150 mentees chosen to participate in the Creative LIAisons. Here are the insights and reflections Cajilig shared about the creative coaching program:
No one’s ever ready.
Here’s my reflection after meeting my mentors.
Kidding…
I enjoy spoilers, and occasionally watching the ending before starting the first episode. It’s a weird quirk, but I prefer knowing to stay in control.
In Advertising, nothing prepares you for what’s ahead. It feels like a scene from a dystopian film in which characters must make their way out of a maze. Every day, you get new briefs and have to work with different people. Surprisingly, I enjoy it. However, it’s both anxiety-inducing and thrilling.
Through Creative LIAisons, I met my personal heroes who braved the unknown and made their own plot to success. It’s not every day that I get to speak with them, so I took the chance, and they offered a few tips they picked up along the way.
Merlee Jayme discussed the complexity of the industry and how, in order to thrive, it’s critical to master the language of the people I work with, from clients to fellow creatives.
When it comes to ideas, she expressed that no amount of packaging can cover a flawed idea. To bullet proof it, it must be true, thrilling and with purpose for it to transcend any barrier.
Eugene Cheong taught me to never wait for an opportunity; instead, I should proactively find one for myself. Each year we get thousands of briefs, but only five are good ones. I should get them out of the way quickly, focus on the good ones or come up with new ones that will push my creativity further.
He also explained why I should surround myself with like-minded people. Advertising is all about teamwork, and if we’re all on the same page, we succeed together.
Ronald Ng discussed the importance of having a positive insecure mindset. It’s about pushing my work till I’m confident enough to share my ideas with the rest of the world.
He then emphasized that the number of years I have in the industry should never diminish my value as a creative. While I only have three years to my credit, I am more than capable of doing something beyond what I can imagine.
After wrapping all three sessions, I took a pause to contemplate what I needed to continue and relearn before I resume. Although the meetings were fleeting, learning from Asian leaders who have experienced similar issues in the past, as I do now, was both enlightening and reassuring. It’s a reminder that if they can, then so can I one day.
The industry will not always present itself to my liking and I may not be ready for what’s looming around the corner, but I’ll use what I’ve learned as I plot the next chapters of my career, and see how it unfolds in the future.
