Reflections from Creative LIAisons with Tess Evans

A Story by Creative LIAisons Alum Tess Evans, creative director, Weber Shandwick, London

Imagine it’s your first day, at your first job, as a junior creative.

It’s Monday, so the office is empty. You open your laptop. A Teams message pops up from someone. Does “executive” mean they’re really senior? You have no idea.

You hop on a call to receive your first brief. Several senior staff are on the line.

Five acronyms are thrown around.

You don’t recognise any of them.

You’re lost on the deliverables.

But, there’s no way you’re going to derail the meeting with your questions, so you stay quiet.

You dial off and sit, anxiously Googling ‘EOP’.

A lot has been written recently about remote work and its impact on entry-level creatives, who are missing out on the daily exposure that previous generations benefited from.

Now, I’m a big fan of hybrid working. But the thought of starting all over again in this environment gives me pause.

Maybe it’s easy for me, with experience under my belt, to forget the confusion and uncertainty of those early days.

I’ve had some wonderful mentors throughout my career. People who were generous with their time and expertise.

And it took time, indeed, to get my head around the industry – especially as I wasn’t coming from ad school or a similar background.

In addition to all this support, I was lucky enough to be part of the Creative LIAisons program.

This was a week of sessions designed to equip young creatives with the tools to push forward in the industry. It wasn’t just about making great work. It was about thriving in a competitive, ever-evolving field.

One of our first sessions, for example, focused on defining and honing our personal brand as creatives – understanding what we uniquely bring to the table.

As the famous quote goes (attributed I believe to fashion journalist G. Bruce Boyer) “Real style is…a matter of being yourself on purpose”.

It was an eye-opening guide to having a sense of purpose and direction in our work.

Another highlight was the Great Guns workshop, where we created short films in just a few hours.

It was fast paced; it was fun; it saw us mixing fake vomit in a Las Vegas hotel room.

It gave us confidence that we really can get a concept off the ground simply and effectively ourselves – a skill which becomes increasingly relevant as new tools allow us to quickly generate work.

And then there was the competitive stimulation that comes from being surrounded by the best in the field, including talks from top creatives and a chance to network afterwards.

We also got to sit in the judging rooms during statue discussions; to watch and learn; getting direct insight into what it takes to reach the highest bar in the industry.

And at the other end, we met the very youngest entering the industry, full of energy and fresh thinking.

On top of all that, it was just so much fun. To see Las Vegas. To get exposure to so many great minds. And to party with other creatives from all around the world.

If juniors are missing out on some of the daily interactions that help initiate and immerse them in the industry, then I hope they get opportunities to take part in Creative LIAisons or other industry training programmes.

It would be wonderful to see more initiatives like this in the future.

Young creatives have never needed them more.