As our November holiday approaches, we find ourselves reflecting on the many things we’re thankful for. As a long-time veteran of the ad business, I’m thankful for the creative people in this industry, who breathe life into campaigns and brands on a daily basis, despite ever-changing client priorities and challenging economic environments.

While many of us account people, strategists and media folk are indispensable teammates in this crazy business we’ve chosen, creatives are the heart and soul of our industry. They’re the visionaries, the innovators and the problem-solvers who craft compelling stories that captivate consumers’ imaginations and drive results for brands. Their resilience and dedication are what make this industry flourish.

And in the face of the growing chatter of AI overtaking the creative process, I want to take a moment to appreciate what creatives have brought—and will continue to bring—to our industry.

Resilience, the creative spirit’s armor

In the advertising world, resilience is the lifeblood that courses through the veins of every creative professional. Think about the countless pitches and concepts that never saw the light of day, the sleepless nights refining ideas and the determination to stand back up after being rejected time after time. These gifted thinkers have the ability to bounce back from rejection, adapt to ever-changing trends and continue to push the boundaries of communication.

Yet, while the best creative thinkers have built up this resilience—always thinking there’s another, better idea out there—it’s up to all of us to hold a healthy respect for their output, even if we don’t like it or maybe even disagree with it. Because, as much as we try to separate “the work” from the person who made it, we all should understand that the creation is a part of them, too. So, before you start hacking away at an idea, take a breath and understand the personal implications of tearing it apart.

The real job of a creative is problem-solving

Creativity and problem-solving go hand in hand in the world of advertising. Most creatives see each project as a puzzle waiting to be solved, with unique challenges that require creative solutions. This dedication to problem-solving is what makes creatives so special.
It’s also why they’re so annoyed when they’re told what to do. When we do that, we’re wasting their ability to look at the world through a different lens, find inspiration in unexpected places and design a solution that solves the problem in a way we may not have considered.

In a world where success is often measured by the ability to evolve and adapt, creatives typically lead the push for change and are often impatient that change isn’t occurring briskly enough. They’re typically more graceful than many of us are in navigating the dynamic landscape of technology, culture and consumer preferences when too many of us are looking backward, clinging to what worked before.

Creatives also often take the lead in finding ways to address broader societal issues, using their talents to shed light on or clarify complex, important topics, from environmental sustainability to social justice. They aren’t just selling products; they’re helping to shape the cultural conversation, pushing for change and inspiring others to think critically about the world around them.

Maintaining humanness and breathing life into data

Finally, in a world where data and analytics play a significant role in our marketing, we must not forget the human perspective that creatives bring daily. Data may inform our strategies, but it’s creativity that breathes life into those strategies. The soul of our industry is in the stories we tell and the emotions we stir.

So this year, I’m giving a shout-out to creatives. I appreciate how your work makes people feel connected, inspired and understood, creating bonds between brands and consumers that transcend mere transactions, transforming them into enduring relationships. I appreciate how your resilience in the face of adversity and your dedication to problem-solving make our industry stronger.

And, finally, I’m just grateful that you’ve let me play along for all these years.

Plenty of people complain about the problems in the advertising industry, but now is the time to look at the positives. Our industry not only moves culture and produces daily bits of entertainment, it is also a great source of fun and enjoyment, not to mention gainful employment.

The Thanksgiving holiday should be a time when we think about all we’re thankful for in the industry and how we fit into its many layers. Adweek talked with a batch of advertising professionals to find out what they are grateful for. Some thanked their co-workers and family, while others looked at the industry through an optimistic lens, focusing on how advertising and marketing can make a difference for consumers, society and the world.

Thankful for positive changes

As the holidays approach, leaders use this time of the year to remember the positive impact the industry can have on the world in myriad ways, including representation internally and externally.

“We have the power to build a diverse workforce that produces inclusive work that ultimately consumers and customers get to experience,” said Gabriela Neves, partner, Factory360.

Diego Barragan, design director at The Working Assembly, has lived that experience firsthand. “As someone who started out working in the industry in a time without much access or a network, it’s been inspiring to see the role that creatives can continue to play in making a bigger impact on larger cultural conversations and opening doors for others,” he told Adweek.

Even as progress in DEI has been slower than advocates would like, the industry is filled with people who never give up in the eyes of Courtney Cotrupe, CEO at Partners + Napier. “It’s an industry of believers—people who believe in the power of people and the power of brands to create change,” said Cotrupe, adding, “We’re also an industry that brings hope to clients—for a better way, and for the change they’re looking for.”

The industry has given those who want to dedicate their talents for change an actual platform to do so, said Keisha Townsend Taitt, chief inclusion officer at GSD&M. Her agency helped bring awareness to and ultimately end the tampon tax in Texas with its “Bloody Mary Misogyny” campaign. “I’m grateful to be a part of an agency that stands for more than just making good ads,” said Taitt.

The president at agency Elephant, Cara DiNorcia, is grateful for a team that inspires her daily, but also for being a part of an industry that prides itself on facing complex challenges through reinvention.

“Our world feels very heavy and more difficult than ever today, and we’re constantly having to embrace a tremendous amount of change … in order to stay relevant. We thrive on using these tensions, fueling our creativity and solutions for clients and consumers. It’s this warrior mentality that keeps me invested in what we do,” said DiNorcia.

Thankful for the joy of adland

People may grumble about the day-to-day of working at an agency. Long hours, tight deadlines, dealing with client demands are all cause for complaints, but it’s an industry that entertains people, one that (hopefully) brings joy.

“I’m thankful for play. It feels like we’re finally inviting it back into advertising in a broader way that neutralizes the self-importance of an industry that took itself too seriously for too long. I’m grateful that I get to work (play) with some real weirdos. The days are never boring and even when it’s challenging, it’s funny as hell,” said Natalia Fredericks, creative director at Party Land.

Advertising has allowed others to unlock a different way of thinking in their professional and personal lives. Jen Hruska, chief strategy officer at McGarrah Jessee, cites how advertising has empowered her to “be a proud nonlinear logic leaper,” to “hunt for the truth and shine a light on it … immerse herself in new categories and challenges,” and “get paid to have a POV.”

Ultimately this business is the “toy department of the business world,” according to Mike Barrett, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Supernatural. Despite the stress, Barrett recognizes he makes a living playing with ideas, words, design, pictures and technology.

Some are thankful to be in a creative industry, working the process and coming up with work that matters.

“The day-to-day chasing of creative excitement—one where the Wednesday afternoon nonsense ideas that excite us one day and die the next can be as much a part of our creative fulfillment, and arguably more important, than whatever runs on the Super Bowl or is anointed on a stage in France,” said Josh Fell, chief creative officer at Anomaly LA.

Anson Sowby, co-founder and CEO at Battery, is thankful to end the Zoom happy hours, Teams town halls and WebEx parties that came with the pandemic, and thankful to see his coworkers again, “even the smelly ones, the messy ones, and especially the crazy ones,” he said.

One respondent was even thankful for being laid off several years ago, because it helped land him in his current position.

“As unfortunate as it is, it gives you the opportunity to reconsider what you value and prioritize in this industry,” said Gordy Sang, co-founder and co-CCO of Quality Meats. “Plus, it can give you a nice kick in the tuchus to do things better.”

Thankful for the team and clients

Having coworkers you like and teammates you can count on is something everyone should be thankful for, and many praised their officemates.

Glenn Dady, CEO at TRG, joined The Richards Group 43 years ago, and he’s still thankful for the talented and dedicated teammates he works with every day, along with “a bunch of remarkable clients who treat us as true partners, who challenge us to own their business problems as if they were our own.”

Having co-workers who solve problems through art, craft and true human insights is at the top of Fitzco CEO Evan Levy’s list, as well as the families and friends who tolerate the craziness of their jobs. “I’m thankful comedy in advertising has made a comeback, and I’m thankful I resisted the urge to let ChatGPT write this for me,” said Levy.

Dooley Tombras, president of Tombras, is thankful for the people he works with, along with clients and the communities they serve, while Kate Higgins, chief growth officer of Opinionated, said she surrounds herself with people who inspire her.

Higgins relayed that over the past year, she and her wife slowly fought back from a near-fatal car accident, so she is grateful that Opinionated brought her on.

“They took a chance bringing a stranger into their fold. They respect me and listen to my ‘other’ point of view, as I do them,” Higgins said. “I love the partnership we’ve formed. It’s been so refreshing.”

While Microsoft’s swift hiring of Sam Altman could boost its position as the frontrunner in the race of AI, there are unintended consequences that will benefit Google’s position in AI dominance, industry analysts tell Adweek.

Altman’s move to Microsoft capped a whipsaw weekend that began Friday with the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI being ousted by the board, attempts to retain him and finally the move to the world’s No. 2 most valuable company, which already had invested $13 billion in OpenAI.

The dizzying unfolding of events has left executives in the ad industry pondering the implications of the market dominance of search engines.

A potential shift by Microsoft from a GPT-powered model to an internal technology might hinder the tech giant’s standing in the AI race. This move could prove advantageous to rival Google, potentially granting it a speed-to-market edge due to its in-house tech development.

“If Altman was ousted because he is moving too quickly to ship products, and that worried some of the AI ethicists at OpenAI, that means ChatGPT could go slower or fall apart,” said Erik Hamilton, vp of search and social at Good Apple.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hired Altman to lead a newly established advanced AI research team.

“He’s basically working for the same team, just on the side of the commercial stakeholder,” said Nicole Greene, vp analyst at Gartner. “It’s a shift in focus.”

Microsoft had a strong quarter ending in September, suggesting the company’s investments in gen AI were starting to positively impact revenue. In addition to integrating gen AI features across its devices, Microsoft expanded AI-powered advertising in its search business on Bing.

Still, advertisers are yet to see a material lift in query volume in Bing after Microsoft launched the generative experience, according to Aaron Levy, vp of paid search at Tinuiti.

“I see this as a long-term advantage for Microsoft as they’ll now be able to develop on their terms, without the oversight from a non-profit board,” he said. “Azure will provide an arguably unlimited supply of computing power, and they’ll be able to develop the search experience in tandem with the model itself.”

Elsewhere, industry insiders have indicated the recent changes at OpenAI might result in short-term product quality issues for ChatGPT, increased downtime and delays in new signups. These developments are raising concerns about OpenAI’s long-term sustainability.

Not an immediate win for Microsoft

Microsoft still has its work cut out for it to change consumer sentiment about AI.

Gartner research found that 82% of consumers are concerned there’ll be no net benefits to society from gen AI. Conversely, 56% of marketing leaders see a greater reward than risk with gen AI.

“Any short-term advantage, or disadvantage, to [Microsoft] will likely be muted until a shift in consumer behavior takes hold,” said Levy.

Meanwhile, if Microsoft remains steady in building its AI capabilities for both its commercial partners and consumers, it could find an opportunity for business growth, according to Greene.

The end of OpenAI?

Following Altman’s departure, OpenAI quickly hired a new interim CEO. In his first order of business, Emmett Shear, former CEO of Twitch, said he planned to enlist an independent investigator to look into the C-suite drama at OpenAI.

“It’s clear that the process and communications around Sam’s removal has been handled very badly, which has seriously damaged our trust,” Shear wrote on X.

Elsewhere, in a letter addressed to the OpenAI board, more than 500 employees have called for the resignations of the three independent board members.

OpenAI had been considering a new funding round with the goal of raising an estimated total of $100 billion, per The Information.

“This seems improbable now, with potential funding at a reduced valuation. Investor confidence may also waver due to the board’s dominant role, evidenced by Altman’s dismissal,” said Chris Harihar, evp of Mod Op-owned Crenshaw Communications. “For ChatGPT, this means likely reduced resources, potentially impacting the maintenance of its capital-intensive infrastructure.”

The head-spinning nature of the changes might not be over. Sources are telling The Verge that Altman, who co-founded OpenAI, would be willing to return as CEO under the right circumstances. Given that Microsoft is already the largest shareholder in OpenAI, the return would be smoother, with a lot less drama, than the departure.

After a tough 2023 for Bud Light, Benoit Garbe, the U.S. chief marketing officer of parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev, will resign at the end of the year.

Garbe’s marketing role will not be directly replaced, the company confirmed. Instead, U.S. chief commercial officer Kyle Norrington will oversee marketing for the country moving forward.

His departure follows the exit of Bud Light marketing vp Alissa Heinerscheid earlier this year. He will see out 2023 before “embarking on a new chapter in his career,” the business said.

In a statement, AB InBev CEO Brendan Whitworth said the latest executive shakeup would “reduce layers within our organization and better enable our top commercial leaders to drive our business and legacy forward.”

Backlash and the bottom line

The shift to focus on profit follows six months of turmoil for America’s once bestselling beer, which in a short space of time has fallen rapidly from grace following a backlash from conservatives over a social media promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Bud’s issues started in April, when TikTok star Mulvaney promoted Bud Light on her social media platforms as part of a planned partnership. The post received transphobic backlash, with conservatives calling for a boycott.

On the other side, members of LGBTQ+ communities and their allies also rejected the brand, after the business failed to quickly speak out and stand by Mulvaney.

By June, sales had fallen and Modelo Especial had displaced Bud Light as America’s favorite beer. In October, Bud continued to strain AB InBev’s bottom line in the market, with the company reporting a 13.5% decline in third-quarter U.S. revenue per 100 liters.

Since then the brand has invested in a series of marketing campaigns to return Bud Light to its place in pop culture as the easygoing beer of choice. These have included a huge summer push from Anomaly, NFL activations and a new sponsorship deal with UFC reported to be worth $100 million.

As the company puts its marketing budget in the hands of the CCO, Leila Fataar, founder of cultural and marketing strategy firm Platform 13, said Bud Light’s debacle holds lessons for brand leaders everywhere around the importance of connecting with culture.

“In today’s world, one social post can travel faster and further than anything else as we have seen with the [Mulvaney] situation,” she noted.

She suggested putting a marketer in a more senior role would help a brand like Bud drive relevance and competitive advantage.

“We see a shift where CMOs are becoming CEOs. To be culturally relevant, this may be the better approach for a modern business model because a deep strategic understanding of the consumer and how the ever-changing shifts impact them has never been more important for brands and business in the new world we live in.”

Alicia Iveson, co-founder and chief of creative shop Hijinks Collective, said though Garbe has walked, apparently taking the heat for the conservative Mulvaney backlash, Bud Light should have been prepared for the boycott instead of ambushed by it.

“The lesson for marketers is, yes, support diverse communities and influencers, but don’t go into battle unarmed. Have a powerful response lined up in the event of repercussions, such as backing from other celebrities, words from a president or a broader marketing campaign,” she said. “Scenario planning and crisis management are vital for all ad campaigns. Interrogate, stress test, road test. Never be caught off guard.”

Is a brand turnaround possible?

Recent analysis from consumer insights company HundredX suggests Bud is in the early stages of a rebound, with drinkers slowly warming up to the brand’s values and trustworthiness.

After falling more than 30% from March through June, data gleaned in October found that customer perception of Bud’s brand values grew between 1% and 2% since June.

Customer perception towards sister brand Budweiser’s ads—which recently saw the return of its iconic Clydesdales—also clawed back 11% since falling more than 50% from March to June.

In its most recent October earnings update, global CEO Michel Doukeris said AB InBev would continue to invest in Bud Light marketing, with internal polling showing 40% of lapsed Bud Light drinkers would consider putting the brand back on their shopping list.

He cited research the business had conducted with 260,000 people: “The common points of feedback remain consistent,” he revealed. “One, consumers continue to want the Bud Light brand to concentrate on the platforms that all consumers love,” pointing to more “traditional channels” including NFL broadcasts.

Consumers also asked “Bud Light to focus on beer,” said Doukeris, and “third, they want that beer without a debate.”

“We are taking the feedback and working hard towards our consumers’ business every day across the world,” he finished.

Hiring challenges and low employee morale are putting pressure on agencies’ stringent return-to-office (RTO) mandates, according to new data from WorkReduce, a staffing firm that provides flexible talent to agencies and brands.

Most holding companies, which employ thousands of ad industry employees, are rolling out and doubling down on RTO policies. In August, Publicis Groupe announced a policy requiring employees to work from the office three days each week. Its leader, Arthur Sadoun, told Adweek that RTO is a crucial part of the group’s 2024 strategy.

Publicis isn’t alone. Now, almost four years since the Covid-19 pandemic started, remote work is becoming less common. More than half—52%—of the 1,000 ad industry employees who responded to a recent WorkReduce survey said their employers either expect them back in the office at least one day each week, or that they plan to.

But these policies aren’t good for employee morale and contribute to churn, survey data reveals. Those navigating RTO mandates are 40% more likely to seek new work and 96% more likely at risk for burnout than remote employees. At the same time, agencies are having trouble staffing open roles because applicants aren’t willing to go back to the office, according to Brian Dolan, CEO of WorkReduce.

“You get four times the qualified applicants for a remote role when we post them, than you do for an in-person one—even in a metro like New York where, in theory, you should have a lot of talent,” Dolan said.

WorkReduce fielded its survey in Q4 2023 and published the findings in its new Media Buying and Workforce Agility report.

Fewer candidates willing to RTO

When looking at WorkReduce’s job applicant data, Dolan found the company received 40 applications for a hybrid role, compared to 250 applications for a fully remote posting.

By Dolan’s estimate, as many as a third of WorkReduce candidates are pulling out of hiring processes and citing hybrid work policies as the reason. The number is now outpacing those who opt out of hiring processes due to compensation.

One holding company, which Dolan declined to name, has been engaging with WorkReduce to fill hybrid roles despite its RTO policy.

“This is one of the ones that is very public about their return-to-office policy, and they’re relaxing it on ‘certain teams’ for hard-to-fill roles,” said Dolan.

The holding company wants new hires available on select dates, but not every day.

“Reading between the lines, it’s like somebody’s … covering their ass a little bit,” Dolan said. Holding company agencies want to comply with RTO mandates as minimally as possible, Dolan said, as human resources teams struggle to fill their hiring mandates.

RTO policies drive churn

As these staffing challenges mount, a growing number of frustrated employees are looking for new jobs.

A little more than half—51%—of survey respondents said they are planning to look for new roles within the next year. That’s compared to 36% for employees across industries, according to a recent Qualtrics report.

This might be because employees at offices with RTO mandates are experiencing two times the burnout of remote workers, and 46% of ad industry employees are already at risk of burnout.

“Somebody at one of these agencies was like, ‘I’m just not at a point in my life where commuting an hour and a half each way is attractive anymore,’” Dolan said.

Who benefits?

On the other hand, return to in-person work comes with some benefits, the survey data revealed.

Employees who are back in the office are 32% more likely to report being fairly compensated than peers in remote roles and 50% more likely to see advancement potential in their roles.

But agencies’ hiring challenges suggest that these positives aren’t impactful enough to counteract RTO’s pitfalls. “Burnout is pushing workers away faster than incentive structures can keep them in place,” the WorkReduce report states.

Employee disillusionment leaves an opening for more flexible agencies to lure top talent away from their uncompromising competitors. In fact, three large independent agencies currently working with WorkReduce are taking a different tact than the holding companies, Dolan said. One WorkReduce client told him it was embracing fully remote, global hiring for the long term.

“I heard one of them say, ‘We see this as an opening for us to go get more business from the holding companies because they want to do all this legacy [hiring] stuff. We’re going to embrace [remote work],’” Dolan told Adweek.

Some are implementing RTO policies but allowing certain flex roles to be remote.

“There are cracks showing in this RTO strategy. It stands to reason, right? People left New York … a lot of people left New York [during the pandemic],” Dolan said.

The military can be a great training ground for many careers. Veterans have made successful shifts to careers in security, supply chain, IT, manufacturing and law enforcement, among others. But going from the military directly to the advertising industry isn’t necessarily a natural transition.

Veterans are peppered everywhere in advertising and marketing, from planners and managers to creatives and CEOs. It’s clear that the service can prepare people for a career in the industry, but the path to getting into advertising isn’t a straight one, and there are few programs that build a direct pipeline between the entities.

As we reflect on Veterans Day and honor all those who served, Adweek talked with a crew of industry vets who are also veterans of the armed services. They discussed how the military prepared them for a career in advertising, what qualities best translate from the service to marketing and advertising, and how the industry can best help veterans get into the industry.

How can the industry best hire veterans?

Hiring veterans should be higher on the list for agencies, as those who have served have valuable leadership and management skills built up through the rigors of their service, but there aren’t enough organizations out there to make the connections between agencies and veterans.

Many of those interviewed pointed to VetsinTech, an organization that helps retrain those in the military and their spouses by connecting them to the national technology ecosystem, which Crispin Porter + Bogusky has been using for the last year and which its parent company, Stagwell, also works with.

“What we’re talking about right now with them is potentially starting a marketing and creativity cohort,” said Maggie Malek, North America president at CP+B.

DoD SkillBridge, which allows active-duty service members to enter the private sector during their last 180 days of service, is another option for agencies. “Agencies and marketing departments should register for it and actively recruit from this untapped pool of talent,” said Carey Kight, a freelance executive producer, former head of production at Circus Maximus and Air Force vet.

Andrew Swinand, Leo Burnett U.S. and Publicis Creative CEO, is part of PubVets, Publicis’ Veteran Business Resource Groupe, a community of vets and allies within the workplace that reflects the values instilled by the military, emphasizing teamwork and prioritizing the welfare of your team. “Enhancing visibility and highlighting available resources are crucial for attracting veterans into the industry. Also, partnering with firms and outplacement services that are designed to help vets discover new opportunities after retirement,” said Swinand.

Katie Tolosi, manager of client operations at Publicis OneTeam, added that within Publicis, the Marcel platform enables her to tap into a wealth of learning and development, and the Publicis Media Training Program provides her with new hire training classes.

All veterans are required to attend Transition Assistance Programs, and agencies can present themselves as an option as vets figure out their career paths, said Joe Tate, a copywriter at PeterMayer who served in the Marines.

“Agencies could start their own VAPR [Veterans in Advertising Portfolio Review] program that reaches out to transitioning veterans looking to enter a more creative field,” said Tate, adding that many vets are self-starters and quick learners, so a fast-track program like that could be helpful for those looking to dive into the creative world.

Connecting veterans to advertising brings in diversity of thought, and the skills learned in the service can truly prepare them for the rigors of the industry.

How did the military prepare you?

Malek came from a military family. After tragically losing her uncle and father, Malek evaluated joining the Peace Corps or military. She ultimately followed the Army family footsteps.

A fiery female drill sergeant lit a fire under Malek to show that she could be just as good as the men.

“If I had not joined the military, I wouldn’t have been as successful as I was in college, I would not have the leadership skills that I have today, I would not deeply love people as much as I love them,” Malek told Adweek.

The former chemical operations specialist encountered Cindy Marion, founder of MMI, who took a chance on Malek as an account director, partially because of her military training. She was eventually promoted to CEO, saying the training gave her the confidence to take the job.

“I thought, ‘I don’t know how to be a CEO but I know how to do really hard things, so I’ll figure this out,’” said Malek.

The rapid pace of the military taught Air Force vet Lisa Maskey how to adapt and absorb pertinent information quickly, which is useful when onboarding new clients as the vp and speaker’s bureau director at PR and communications agency Raven.

“The medical work I executed taught me how to control my stress level and focus on the task at hand. In trauma, there is no time to doubt yourself. You have to react quickly and with confidence,” said Maskey, who was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Leadership skills

Swinand joined the Army at 17 and later secured a Reserve Officer Training Corp scholarship to attend Penn and Wharton. Swinand said the responsibilities of an infantry platoon leader revolve around preparing for the unknown.

“In the airborne, your challenge is parachuting from a plane in the middle of the night to accomplish a mission. The unpredictability of these missions compares to the ever-shifting needs of business today,” said Swinand, adding that leading Leo Burnett means having to be fluid and agile to deliver the best solution for clients.

The rigorous training and challenging environments Vann Graves, who served in Iraq with the Army, encountered taught him the importance of discipline, a quality the executive director at the VCU Brandcenter said is crucial in meeting tight deadlines, along with attention to detail, strategic thinking and problem solving.

“The military places a strong focus on teamwork and leadership, fostering a culture where one learns to operate in unison as a cohesive unit, while simultaneously honing skills to lead and guide others,” said Graves.

The Army prepared Pat Lafferty for his career, currently as COO of the Acceleration Community of Companies (ACC), through seven years and three deployments.

“I was thrown into incredibly diverse situations where I and the soldiers I served with had to figure it out … Because the stakes are high and people’s lives are on the line, you must learn to lead authentically,” said Lafferty.

What qualities of military veterans best translate?

Justin Lewis, Stagwell Constellation chair, was part of the Marine force that rescued Captain Scott O’Grady from Bosnia, which was represented in the film Behind Enemy Lines. He stated that the military gives people the curiosity to uncover unseen truths and the desire to manage people to produce exceptional work.

“Like marketing and advertising, the military is also a human powered organization that must be curious about the world around us. We have to care for our troops in a manner that enables them to deploy around the globe in the most challenging situations,” said Lewis.

Other skills vets deem important include having individual initiative, creative thinking, following orders, being accountable, adaptable and determined, reporting up and down the chain of command and importantly, understanding human nature.

While some skills may not translate directly to the advertising industry, some do. Bob Devol, a freelance copy pro, was a journalist 2^nd class with a broadcasting specialty in the Navy.

“My military experience was responsible for my first media job on-air in commercial radio, which then directly led to my first ad agency job,” said Devol.

If the industry embraces the skills veterans bring to the table, they may prove to be the next wave of leaders in the industry.

Pitching a self-storage company was a new one for Basic/Dept’s vp of growth, Asher Wren. 

Once an agency onboards a new client, it’s common for strategists to conduct market research before responding to briefs. New business leads like Wren do the same thing when preparing to pitch prospects, but often under tighter timelines and with limited information. 

Wren needed to incorporate market research into a pitch presentation that would resonate with the storage prospect, but finding good information on storage unit trends was a hurdle. Tracking down reliable data is an often expensive endeavor, considering a single report from Forrester Research and its competitors costs several hundred dollars or more. Commissioning custom research is even more costly. Plus, it’s time consuming. 

Wren is one of many agency new business professionals navigating a multifaceted, challenging, lonely and high-stakes role with no playbook to reference. 

“New business is an island,” Simone Oppenheimer Mandel, co-founder of the agency search and growth consultancy NBZ Partner, told Adweek. 

Earlier this month, the consultant and her co-founder, Rachel Segall, launched a premium subscription service for new business professionals called NBZ+. It’s one of few resources new business leads can turn to for support when times get tough, or when they need to crowdsource a quick answer to a hard question. 

An accessible resource for small shops

Like Wren, many new business professionals indicated to the consultants that compiling the research necessary to present to prospects is one of their biggest pain points.

“Something that I was surprised rose to the top as a major pain point for agency new business people [was] getting research or insights quickly to help create an inspiring, engaging presentation to a prospect,” Oppenheimer Mandel said. 

NBZ Partner tracked down research for Wren, including insights such as the criteria people look for when choosing self-storage options and which consumer cohorts might be looking for self-storage in the future.

While the self-storage pitch is still ongoing, gaining access to the right data helped Wren and his team approach their presentation confidently.

 “We put together a really nice partnership with a research partner that can help us [provide] really quick-turn research. Three easy questions submitted by the agency, and you can get gen-pop answers,” Oppenheimer Mandel said. 

Before they launched NBZ+, the consultants invited 50 new business professionals at top agencies to join a Slack community, which they capped at 50 people to control for quality and encourage dialogue. 

“We wanted to make sure [for the first six months] that we were testing it with the best of the industry. If people were not participating after three weeks, we kindly told them that we were going to remove them from the Slack [community],” said Oppenheimer Mandel.

After polling the Slack channel’s 50 initial members, the founders decided that a $500 monthly membership fee (with the first month free), or $5,000 for the year, would ensure most members need not ask employers for extra budget, or permission to join.

Few resources for new business teams 

Years ago, Lindsay Bennett, vp of communications and marketing at the Stagwell digital transformation agency Gale, completed a training program from U.K.-based new business advisory firm JFDI that helped her master the basics. Still, she maintains that she learned 90% of what she knows about new business on the job through “trial and error.”

Services like NBZ’s are relatively rare, according to Wren and Bennett, despite new business practices facing a plethora of problems that aren’t improving. Small and midsize agencies especially find new business is getting harder, with fewer opportunities compounded by marketers’ smaller budgets, according to recent research from RSW/US.

Agency training firm Mirren also offers new business training for account and pitch teams, and there is a now-growing cottage industry of small new business education programs that professionals can tap into.

But like Bennett, many new business leads learn from experience. Since business development job responsibilities, size, structure, titles and pay differ significantly by agency, aspiring new business professionals don’t have a central knowledge repository to draw from. 

“It’s one of the most high-pressure environments,” Oppenheimer Mandel said. “There is no official training or ladder for new business [professionals], like there is for strategy or account or creative [professionals].”

New business leads open up

NBZ+ is different from most existing programs because it encourages community and networking.

“Unlike NBZ, Mirren doesn’t offer that community aspect—the Slack channel, which I think is such a big part of NBZ’s value proposition,” Wren said. Mirren does offer a yearly conference that allows new biz leads to congregate in person for two days and discuss the issues they face.

The collective approach is rare because new business is inherently competitive. Networking with other agencies’ new business leads could threaten one’s competitive advantage, signal to competitors that a brand is distributing RFIs or even violate NDA terms.

Now, more than 50 new business leads across top agencies are eschewing the concerns that used to preclude them asking for help. In the NBZ-managed Slack channel, they’re opting to learn from peers and develop camaraderie while side-stepping those sensitive details. 

They’re even sharing resources like research reports and downloadable presentation templates.

“[NBZ Partner] is really just connecting people that previously saw each other as competitors, and instead creating community,” said Bennett. “I think people used to be scared of talking to [peers] at other agencies, but what we’ve found is that there are so many great learnings.”