We Get Paid for Ideas

After four strenuous years filled with all-nighters, term papers and cumulative finals, there will be a time that we all have to step into the real world and into the workplace. It will be a surreal moment, as we are placed at the bottom of the totem pole just itching to worth our way to the top. I see myself sitting in at my desk and I think to myself: What am I getting paid for?

Today, I was reminded that I will be getting paid for my ideas. Ultimately, I will be noticed for the ideas I come up with that please my client. Well, that is scary to think about, but I will be ready. Yes, developing creative ideas is what I'll be paid for, but what happens beforehand is just as, if not more, important. It is the research. Over the past week, I have learned the extensive work that goes into researching a client's product, service or idea. It takes time, but it must be done in order to develop a great campaign for a client. What is the most important part of the researching process? You must always do a situation analysis. This will consist of asking yourself questions like who consumes the product? Why do they consume product? What is the consumer decision journey? Where did the product come from? What is the product's market share? What are the product's competitors?

There is an endless list of questions to be answered when researching the client's product, service or idea. One important concept I took from my Campaign Planning and Management class on Tuesday was that we never have experience. Unless you have been dealing with a client for 10+ years, we never have experience. New clients means that you have not had experience with that specific product. So, this, essentially, means that the drawing board is blank and must be filled with information from researching and doing a situation analysis.

Over the summer, I interned at an Integrated Marketing Communications firm in Boston, MA called Schneider Associates. It was surreal. I learned the true meaning of integrating six different promotional tools all in one to create a successful campaign. The reason I thought about my internship was because, as the intern, I had to do a lot of research about different products and companies when the executives were going to pitch to a new client. For example, it was mid-July when the Vice President came up to me and asked to me to find out everything there is to know about the Boston Teacher's Union. Immediately, I thought of a situation analysis. I had to find out who works there, who uses it, who are their competitors, etc. What I took from this experience relates to what Professor Spotts was teaching the class on Tuesday. It is so important to understand everything about the new client. It is also imperative to understand the voice of the client and how they want to be perceived by the media.

Ultimately, I will get paid for my ideas, but before the ideas, the research is the base of everything. I can't develop creative ideas without researching the client. The concepts of ideas and research go hand in hand in the marketing world and without them, a successful campaign is not in the horizons.