Graduate people
In their own words, some WPP Fellows who have completed the Program:
Dale, 2007 WPP Fellow
Leaving University, there are tough decisions to make. It's tempting to believe that a whole new world is about to open up right in front of your eyes; that you are stood at a junction with a thousand mouth-watering career paths shooting off in all manner of directions, and that one of these paths has been laid especially for you. The reality is that our career aspirations are untested, and it's all too easy to don the blinkers, hope for the best, and walk blindly into a restrictive training programme, only to regret it later.
A WPP Fellowship rewards new graduates with the opportunity to sample different areas of a wildly diverse group of companies, and to work on exciting projects whilst immersed in the fascinating cultures of our world's greatest cities. It offers three years of freedom to pick and choose the business experience that is best suited to you as an individual, meaning there's more time to open your eyes, heart and mind to the opportunities that are out there.
I'm spening my first year at RKCR/Y&R, one of WPP's London advertising agencies. The work is always varied and never dull. I can think of no other job where a morning could be spent collecting dry autumn leaves so that fourth floor meeting room full of taxidermy has to be waded into, followed by an afternoon presenting a multimillion pound communications startegy to the marketing director of a global NGO, topped off by an evening picking the brain of your illustrious Chief Executive. I've had the opportunity to be part of energetic teams working tirelessly to rediscover the voice of some of the world's best-known brands, and through it all I've had an enormous amount of fun.
Whilst life in the ad agency whirrs on, I am now able to bank all that wonderful experience and move onto a new role, with a different company, in a continent that is driving 21st century consumerism, Asia. That's the beauty of the WPP Fellowship; the learning curve never plateaus, your stimulation is sustained and your curiosity needn't waver.
Nicky, 2006 WPP Fellow
I am waiting for that moment when I will cringe at the thought of going to work or the sad moment when I will be able to definitively say where I will be in six months time. If I could answer those two questions I doubt I'd even still be in the world of communications.
My first rotation at OgilvyOne New York as an Analyst had me work alongside some brilliant mentors. Amidst the chaos that surrounded us in the form of Times Square, we worked with somtimes equally chaotic client data to develop clear marketing programs that strengthened customer relationships. Currently I am in my second year as a Channel and Strategic Planner at The Campaign Palace in Sydney. I wear sandals and have a view of the Harbour Bridge as I work with Creatives to identify relevant channels that bring our strategy and communications to life.
My last rotation is set for London where I will learn about retail and packaging design. It is yet another new, wholly different experience from these last two, and I am not quite sure what to expect. Will I be able to go beyond my title and dabble in copywriting, account, media, and studio like I have done in these past two? Fortunately I can't answer these questions and that makes me all that much more excited to continue the path of the Fellowship.
Alastair, 2007 WPP Fellow
The greatest appeal of the Fellowship for me was variety of jobs; of people; of (ambidextrous) skills required; and of locations. I'm pleased to say that I am not letting the side down - I am unusual in having joined the Fellowship having completed a PhD in pure maths. Thankfully, now over half way through my year at Henley Headlight Yankelovich in London, people have just about stopped asking me what relevance my studies have to do with my current job (in case you're wondering, just like marketing communications where we solve clients' business problems by creative means, pure maths is all about solving analytical problems with creative conceptual thinking).
Neither has my first rotation let me down. Henley Centre Headlight Yankelovich is a strategic trends consultancy full of interesting and fun people whose mission is to ;make better futures'. This we do by understanding consumers' attitudes, and large-scale socio-economic trends that affect them, to helpbusinesses and government cater for consumer needs and communicate with them effectively. On a day-to-day basis this has meant anything from running a focus group, to analysinga survey carried out in 25 markets worldwide, to facilitating a workshop full of senior government marketers.
I am yet to decide what to do next year. The huge variety on offer is, if anything, making that choice harder, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Laura, 2007 WPP Fellow
When I got off the phone that snowy February morning, the tingling, excited feeling in the pit of my stomach was only the beginning. Jon Steel had just called to inform me I'd been chosen as Fellow. As the news began to sink in I couldn't help but grin as I thought about what my future might hold. Sydney? Hong Kong? Cape Town? Where would I find myself in the next two or three years? I had no idea, but I couldn't wait to start the journey and find out. I'd discovered my passion for marketing and communications during internships while in college. I knew that I wanted to help make brands more compelling, more beautiful, more inspiring, and more relevant. But how could I learn this skill, this ability to conjure up a flood of emotions with a single logo, tagline or commercial?
The two most impressive strengths of the WPP Fellowship are undoubtedly the access to highly accomplished mentors it affords us and the sheer number and variety of global opportunities from which we can choose our placements. We learn by doing, and we learn from the best.
I have spent my first year of the Fellowship as a Planner at Ogilvy New York. I've worked with global brands in the beverage, beauty, and professional services industries, helping to guide the strategic path of their campaigns. I've attended brainstorms, focus groups, and even a panel at the U.N. Some days require careful data analysis, while on others I'll find myself editing videos creating mood boards, or brainstorming positioning statements. Most days are a delightful combination of both my rational and creative selves.
Next year, for a variety of reasons, I've chosen London as my destination of choice. What I'll do there and where I'll head after that next are as yet undecided. Just thinking about the possibilities, though, gives me that ever-exciting feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Michelle, 2005 WPP Fellow
In today's hypercompetitive and increasingly globalised world, the twin threats of automation and outsourcing are forcing even knowledge workers to ask themsleves: can someone or something replace me more cheaply? A rather anti-humanistic thought, yet there is one crucial skill that is more and more sought after and as yet cannot be utilised nearly as well by computers or low-paid overseas specialists. That is the ability to integrate and imagine - to see and synthesis the big picture. If this interests you, please read on; the Fellowship is exactly the job that seeks and nurtures such thinkers.
I was most drawn to the Fellowship based on this macro-perspective, its international dimension, and the unwritten future possibilities. Not simply an opportunity to 'taste and try', the Fellowship allows you to experience three different areas of the industry, all with the understanding that you bring your experiences from one to the other, seeing how the different pieces of the marketing communications world do, can, or should fit together.
My three years commenced in London as a Communications Planner at MindShare. It was a fantastic place to begin as media agencies really are at the coalface where communications interact with consumers. Changing technology and media consumption habits are impacting how brands are experienced and changing the rules of the marketing game.
Next stop was Landor Associates in New York, hopping across the pond and the communications spectrum to a more upstream role in brand strategy. Here I learned the craft of building brands, their positionings and visual and verbal identities; all against the backdrop of experiencing a new market and exploring a new country.
Now I have embarked on my final rotation, at the New York office of Henley Headlight Yankelovich. I have 12 months (and potentially more) of futures and trends consulting to look forward to. Here I can see my experience in media and consumers, brands and client demands, and general curiosity for the society and the world come together.
This is the beauty of the Fellowship. It embodies the future of our industry, and the so-called 'Conceptual Age' as a whole; it is integrated and global, and holds the finite details in the bigger picture. Are you ready to paint yours?