#28 What I Learned about Branding from My Crappy Portfolio

Relaunch U

My big aspirations as a budding creative led me to NYC.

I made appointments with a handful of Creative Directors all of whom I admired.

They were unanimous in their criticisms of my portfolio. "This ad is lame." "That ad is hokey." "The first headline works, the other two, meh." "I've seen this idea before and they did it better."

Gut punch after gut punch.

Nothing like a steady diet of reality!

But the advice from one Creative Director, in particular, stayed with me and changed me forever.

She said, "You created this work for a client."

And therein lies your problem." I said, "Of course I created it for a client. Who else would I create the work for?"

Without hesitation, she said, "Me."

This answer stopped me with its simplicity.

As the comment sunk in, I realized that I was missing the target audience completely.

I was creating the work for a client not for the Creative Director.

Clients have very particular and specific accountabilities, tastes, desires, and fears.

The work is a reflection of that collaborative effort between the client and myself.

The result for the client is nothing short of a home run.

But, in the context of my portfolio, where I'm showing off my creativity to land a job with a big New York City Creative Director, the requirements are different.

Creative Directors want to see how I think.

They want to be impressed with my strategic mind, my range of ideas, and creativity.

They want to know my tolerances for production value, design, and my eye for beauty.

Two different types of people require two different paths of engagement.

To learn how to build your brand in an environment built for scoring, visit us at Relaunch U at joinrelaunchu.com or, click the link to join my masterclass: https://www.joinrelaunchu.com/masterclass-register