PR / News

Reflections From Creative Coaching by Mentee RJ Espartinez, Senior Copywriter, DDB MNL, Makati City

08 September 2022

Reflections From Creative Coaching by Mentee RJ Espartinez, Senior Copywriter, DDB MNL, Makati City  

 
The Creative LIAisons program is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. I’ll be forever grateful for this opportunity, because I was able to meet my new industry idols. All the learnings and discoveries were truly amazing. It inspired me to be better.
 
I know that I have more to learn, and I’m so lucky that these creative geniuses from all over the world fueled my burning passion.
 
Here are some of the things I learned from my talented coaches:
 
Natasha Maasri, Executive Creative Director, Leo Burnett MEA
• Winning starts within yourself. Always believe in your idea first, before others will.
• If your friends or family saw your campaign, experienced it, and felt it, then it was a good idea already.
• Crafting never stops - which is already my motto even before LIA. I’m glad that another creative mind shared the same discipline.
• Research is an essential stage in creative development. Do mood boards.
• Enjoy the process, don’t rush. Make advertising life fun.
 
Simon Bagnasco, Executive Director, Saatchi & Saatchi Melbourne
• Treat all work, your day-to-day, as award-winning work
• Educate yourself on the latest Categories in Award Shows. Then watch case videos and start thinking of ideas.
• Clients are really challenging. As a creative, you must find new ways to present to clients until you find the joy of presenting.
• Always see and try things differently.
• When writing case boards: 3 lines for idea and insight. That’s it.
• Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us get to work – Chuck Close
 
Adam Hessel, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy Health New York
• Health is not as fun as the other brands, but it’s worth it.
• You need to work on various elements for health: apps, how to cure cancer, etc.
• Health category is quite difficult, because you must encourage doctors to advocate their own brand.
• Some things can start as non-health related. But when you dig deeper, that’s when you see the relevance.
 
My LIA journey has been magical, and I would really love to meet all of my coaches someday in person.