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Lol "different animal but the same beast" is a perfect way to describe it. At the end of the day, work anywhere can be insane, it all comes down to the leadership, your colleagues, and what the culture is like with that employer.
Think of brand life as agency life with ONE demanding client, that you manage entirely on your own. I found the brand side to be a bit boring BUT agency life is not for the faint of heart. I just thrive in “chaos”.
I will most likely miss the chaos and the warmth of client fires
Been on both sides and both can be chaotic in their own way. So different animal but the same beast kind of situation.
Coach
I think expectations on the brand side are more reasonable - the constant fingerpointing at agencies from brand team is brutal. I’m sick of hearing “isn’t that what we’re paying the agency for?” and “they need to work faster” that places truly irrational expectations on the agency team to deliver in a way that brand teams just aren’t expected to.
Although I’ve never worked agency side…
Coach
lolz
Culture, leadership and philosophy will determine the experience. I’ve been on both sides and worked for some amazing brands as well as some shitty ones. Be picky and do research. Don’t ignore red flags.
Any employer—every employer—is incentivized (and sometimes more “pressured” than “incentivized”) to wring as much work out of you as they possibly can for as little compensation as they can. Some stand up against that pressure, some can organize or manage it, and others completely collapse under the weight and let bosses or clients run roughshod over their teams. I don’t think any job is categorically safe from the system, and no employee is safe from a manager who won’t manage clients, superiors, or both.
Certainly—but also imagine being trapped in the brand with those same product directors. No escape, project after project, launch after launch 😱
I am team “brand side”. I’ve worked in both and every agency has been toxic as hell. Communication is awful as you’re always playing “operator” with account execs. They make promises to clients before consulting with creative, causing chaos and misunderstandings. There is no work-life balance as everything is a “fire”.
On the other hand, when on the brand side, your clients are your coworkers. There’s direct communication, which builds trust and transparency. You may need to work extra hours once in a while, but its not persistent like at agencies. I think its a healthier work environment all around.
I've been agency side so far and have worked at big holding companies and smaller, independent agencies. Eventually they all have the same issues.
Every job/company regardless of your field will have random fire drills/political red tape/and BS admin stuff. The main difference working agency side is you get to deal with all the above within your company plus manage the same nonsense from the client's company (plus their retailers if you are in a role that requires that).
I feel like you're always stuck the middle being on the agency side with very unrealistic expectations from both internal dept and your clients.
Also been on both-sides brand side came with office politics, tighter budgets, attending more meetings CEO all hands and quarterly reports, agency side kept the skills set more current and open to ideas. We had a saying on the corporate creative team, if your security badge worked that morning it was a good day
Not as insane, not as exciting either