Why Our Work Matters

#musingsofaplanner

Here’s a bitter-pill: As creative strategists, our job is thankless. We work long hours. We read all the research. We know the 4Cs for every brand we work on. We do this for every brief we take.

But you don’t see us credited anywhere. If you do, mostly as an afterthought. When in fact we are actually on the frontlines. First to take the brief. Tasked to interrogate it. First to push back and receive client’s wrath. First to present. First to be called in crisis...or when brand health is down.

And that’s fine. I’ve lived with it. Sometimes, I thrive because of it. Some personalities just can’t take the spotlight. Just happy to sit in the background doing quiet but fulfilling work. Hello, introvert friends!

Operative word: fulfilling.

This is where my occasional crisis lies. After 12-hour shifts, or month-long pitches, or not having the time to go home so my CEO booked the hotel across the office on pitch eve and I had to be roommates with my MD (#truestory), in true planner fashion, I’m inclined to ask “why”?

Why must I dedicate a good chunk of my prime (youth, energy, and charm) growing brands?

"You’re not even a doctor, why do you have 36-hour shifts?!?!" - a dude I used to date after getting tired of picking me up at ungodly hours.

Then, on a random 3AM, awaken by the chaos in my mind, it hit me:

Behind the best doctors who save the world are the best brands.

I realised that what I say out there matters. It builds businesses. It puts products on the hands of people who need them. A whole chunk of money is spent on it. Might as well make every penny count.

That’s why, it’s freaking difficult... because it freaking matters.

I also realised that, with or without me, brands will be made.

So might as well put this job to good use.

But still not to the detriment of your own health.

Trust me, no one dies in advertising. -my current boss.

Photo credit: brandtimes.com