Any one made the jump from advertising to tech? If so how did you do it?

likehelpful
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In what form? As a creative director at a tech company? Or in a capacity that doesn’t exist in advertising? After 9 years at agencies, I went full time at Intel, and am now working at Oculus VR. In my CD roles, I’ve done everything from campaign creation to product launches to messaging strategy to capturing and packaging brand experiences for various media units. Speaking personally, I noticed evident pros and cons to my previous experiences. The roles are less defined. And there’s less support than you’re used to - for example it took us 18 months to get a business affairs person at Intel after I started - so depending on the place they might not be prepared to actually execute work. I love the fact that I wake up every day knowing what brand I stand for. When I was younger, working on 5 clients at a time was great to hone the craft. But now, I have a tough time getting excited about a brief for cat food or sailboat insurance. I’m sure I’d feel differently if there were brands I had strong affinity for when I worked Agency side One surprise has been that it’s actually difficult to affect change from within. In an agency, you have the benefit of distance and relative ignorance to company politics to provide a fresh approach. I’ve seen internal orgs fall victim to groupthink too often. On the flip side, being internal gives you access to information, and I believe information is power for a creative, not just in thinking of ideas, but more importantly in defending them. I’ve yet to have a brand manager change a brief on me that was clearly articulated as to why. That rarely happened in an agency.

It really comes down to personality and preference. If you’re curious, give it a go. I believe we’re well past the days of it being career suicide to eject from the ad industry and attempt to re-enter.

Feel free to reach out if you have more specific questions. I think it’s an interesting topic, and always down to chat more about it.

likehelpfuluplifting

I did side hustles that made me relevant to the tech companies I was interested in.

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Thats a good start. Go for it!

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Wow AJ thanks for your informative response. Do you feel like there’s ageism in the tech world ?

Impossibly to say universally, but what I have noticed is that there’s a level of tact required within brands, and generally that’s only gained through experience.

likehelpful

I did it too, but kind of went a few steps behind. I look younger and reduced my experience on my resume. But what AJ said above is true, you need some branding understanding and that only comes from having quite a bit of experience. If you can, don’t go a few steps behind like I did. Try to change on the same level you are, so you don’t have to put up with younger professionals who won’t listen to you unless you have a higher title.

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