5 Things Pam Postrel Has Learned from 35 Years in Advertising

Pam Postrel is an executive creative director at MOCEAN, specialising for many years in marketing animated movies and TV fare. At the end of the year, she is retiring to start a “third act” of personal creativity and relaxation, leaving current and future projects in the capable hands and brilliant minds of her award-winning veteran teammates Alexis Brodey and Sherri Jacobsen.

1. Things Change!

Everything changes. Audiences change. Client regimes change. Technology changes. Long-term success means being nimble. Stay current! 

2. Read the Room.

At whatever level you currently reside, from the lowest rung to the highest corridors of power, interacting with the panoply of personalities in advertising is an art form. Empathy, social intelligence, and experience are your brushes. Be sensitive to when folks are open to suggestion, when you should quietly observe (and learn), when you’re on a roll, and when to back off. 

3. It’s Important to Be Someone People Enjoy Being Around

When the chips are down, you can’t go wrong with warmth and humour. Advertising is a high-pressure team sport. The people who work for you will create more and better when they don’t hate or fear you. The people above you will want you around, always, if you’re a good hang. (Caveat: It’s possible to try too hard to be lovable. See #2 above).

4. Find a Way to Protect the Flame

Our jobs can get formulaic, no matter how creative they are, or how hard we try to push the envelope. Our babies get rejected, sometimes accompanied by an insult. Our utter genius gets revised beyond recognition. It’s easy to build a wall of ennui and cynicism to protect our poor, accosted souls. Toiling in the business of “commercial creativity” requires some method of rejuvenation on a regular basis. I’m personally a huge proponent of meditation, but pick your own non-poison: Exercise. Laughter. Smelling the roses. Something that will keep your brain from settling into familiar ruts and will keep you from wanting to run in front of a bus.

5. Do the Work and Trust the Journey

Even with 35 years in the business, everything I’ve ever tried to “go after”: Clients, projects, jobs… have mostly resulted in a big goose egg. Of course, you have to be somewhat proactive or you’ll never get anywhere. You do have to put yourself in the right universe, you have to impress the right people, you must have a solid work ethic. But, by and large, by adhering to #1-4 above, the clients found me, the projects found me, the jobs found me. I learned to trust the journey, and what a journey it’s been.