Grunt Work and Rock ‘n Roll
Advertising… It’s the rock and roll of the business world. It’s the business that affects every person on this planet. Its job is to make impressions and ultimately change how consumers live their everyday lives. But just like Rock ‘N Roll isn’t all glitz and glamour all the time, advertising isn’t going to be world-changing every day.
We Brandterns know this, and we’re here to let you guys in on a secret: sometimes you have to buckle down and do some grunt work. Today we’re going to look at some of the grunt-iest of grunt work some of us have done here at Gatesman+Dave. We’ll then talk about our high-points for our internship so far. Do these high-points overshadow even the most tedious of tasks? Of course. But if you think you’re going to be doing rock star work every day of the week, at an internship? You’re both disillusioned and naïve. Brandterns keeping it real in 3…2…1…
Account Planning grunt work isn’t your typical grunt work. It’s not “please staple 30 packets of these papers together”. It’s more “please see if you can find any insights on how men aged 35-50 go about buying paint.” Which, depending on how interested you are in people, is actually kind of cool.
When I was doing field research for the paint-buying-process, I talked to store associates and took a secret time lapse video of the paint aisle. The video I took was used in the new-business paint pitch. However small it was, my work made it into a large pitch and I’m pretty stoked about it. I’d like to think I’m one step closer to actually heading my own new business pitches and using work from my own interns.
Melanie (Creative - Copywriting):
I’m thankful that none of my “grunt work” has included making copies for anyone or running to get coffee for my full-time counterparts. The gruntiest thing I do regularly is edit other people’s work. Whenever someone needs an extra set of eyes, they walk over to my desk and drop off whatever it is they need looked over. This can include anything from emails to clients, another copywriter’s work, or a deck for a new business pitch
While this might sound boring - reading over other people’s words and searching for errors - I actually love it. When someone brings me something to read over, it shows that I’m a valued member of the team and that I’m trusted when it comes to copy. I realize I’m not changing the world by noticing a missing comma or a misspelled word here and there, but I do know it’s a skill not everyone has, and adds value to what I can do.
Laura (Creative - Design):
My example of some grunty grunt work would be stock image searching! For a few different client projects I’ve been given the task of searching through sites like iStock and Shutterstock to collect images! My desktop is COVERED with stock images from the past few months. These are very common for clients on a budget (and hey, who isn’t nowadays). Stock photos are much more cost-effective when a photoshoot isn’t realistic.
Although this task is tedious, I enjoy it in the sense that I’m helping create the mood of the ad it’s going to be used in. It’s also interesting to try and think of alternative search terms. You might not get what you want from searching “mom,” but “single parent” or “family” might have better results. If one of the images I pick out is purchased and used, it’s always awesome to be contributing even in small ways!
No matter what your grunt work ends up being, don’t let it get you down! It’s an important part of the learning process of an internship, and will help you gain valuable skills. So keep on keepin’ on at your internship!
