Coaches: Matt Eastwood, Global Chief Creative Officer, McCann Health, New York; Merlee Jayme, Chief Creative Officer of Dentsu International APAC / Chairmom of Dentsu Jayme Syfu, Manila and Rory Hamilton, Founder / Chief Creative Officer, Boys + Girls, Dublin
They say the best things come in threes…
A Creative LIAisons mentee was just something ‘other people got to do’. Having never applied before, I felt under qualified, but entered anyway. Much to my delight, I was one of only 8 Australians selected for the program and let me tell you – it was such a privilege. I would recommend.
Not only did I get to sit in on highly awarded juries judging the best work in the world, but I got to meet three of my industry idols.
There were so many mentors and creative coaches I looked up to, and the three I was paired with blew my expectations out of the water.
First, I chatted to Matt Eastwood, Global CCO at McCann Health. Apart from being an industry legend, he’s a fellow Aussie, and a genuinely nice bloke.
Matt had previously judged some of my ideas through Young Glory (and even awarded one!), so it was great to chat face-to-face.
Matt gave me a rundown of his journey from Australia to New York, and what made him move from traditional agencies into the health and wellness space.
We also talked about travelling, award shows, judging, and how to get a job overseas. Since the chat, I’ve secured a new role in a new city – so thanks, Matt!
I was super excited for my next chat with Merlee Jayme, Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu International APAC. Merlee is super smart and approachable, and it was invaluable chatting with such a successful female CCO. We talked about gender bias when it comes to creating, owning, and selling ideas. She gave me tips on combating it, building confidence without the ego and creating great relationships with clients. A great piece of advice Merlee gave me was ‘solve your client’s problems, don’t just make ads’.
And finally after months of back and forth (and me continually forgetting to organise a time), I had my session with Rory Hamilton, Partner & Executive Creative Director at Boys and Girls, who laughed with me about our disorganised creative chaos.
Rory told me about how he came to create Boys and Girls after living in agency-land for so long and was kind enough to take me through an idea-generation presentation he gives to all his creatives.
We broke down some ads, worked on an ideation technique called ‘If This Then That’ and discussed the best way (and the easiest category in which) to win a Lion.
All three chats ran over time, but it was worth every minute.
?We’ll be keeping in touch, and I hope I can meet Matt, Merlee, and Rory in real life one day soon. I can’t think of a more valuable and beneficial industry program than the LIA Creative LIAisons.
Also, observing the statue discussions was super insightful and a really cool experience.
A Creative LIAisons mentee was just something ‘other people got to do’. Having never applied before, I felt under qualified, but entered anyway. Much to my delight, I was one of only 8 Australians selected for the program and let me tell you – it was such a privilege. I would recommend.
?We’ll be keeping in touch, and I hope I can meet Matt, Merlee, and Rory in real life one day soon. I can’t think of a more valuable and beneficial industry program than the LIA Creative LIAisons.