Breaking and Entering Advertising Podcast

From a receptionist to head of account.  Kevin Christopherson's story is one of insane passion, work ethic, overcoming toxic advertising environments, and hope.  Full of lessons, Kevin is now an associate professor of advertising at Columbia College in Chicago.  An award-winning academic institution known for its prolific creative development, I cannot wait for you to listen and learn from Kevin in this episode.  You will want to connect with him, and LinkedIn is the best way to do so!  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-christophersen/

From Wieden + Kennedy to Leo Burnett.  Nick Howard is catching the attention of the entire ad industry.  Today, we learn from Nick Howard, who has recently moved back to Chicago to work alongside his creative accomplice Nick Stoner, as an SVP Creative Director.  We talk about his Grand Prix Cannes winning idea for Clash of Clans and his very first assignment, where he had to make chili fit into a cauldron and had some struggles. He's come a long way.  He explains his perspective on student portfolios, transitioning into a leadership position as a Creative, and how finding the right creative partner can improve this sometimes stressful industry.  He even admits to "borrowing" some files at his first internship and how he broke into art direction from an internal communications internship.  Hall of fame episode here, everyone!  Listen learn, and maybe even laugh—no promises on the laughing part.

A career route in advertising we have not uncovered.  It is a route for those who want to know more.  A route that is intense and intensely rewarding.  Dr. Maria De Moya comes on ADjunct to inspire and inform you about considering the academic route.  Get a Ph.D. in advertising. Teach at a fantastic university. Inspire the next generation of advertisers and expand the knowledge of the industry.  If this catches your attention, give this episode a listen.  Links Connect with her: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariademoya/ Connect with us: www.breaking-entering.com

He's produced 7 Super Bowl commercials in his career.  Including an almost impossible feat of landing two consecutive #1 rankings atop the highly coveted USA Today Ad Meter for Rocket Mortgage.  Casey Hurbis is the Chief Marketing Officer of Rocket Mortgage, the flagship brand within the Rocket Companies portfolio.  He oversees all marketing initiatives for the company's in-house agency while working with some amazing ad agencies in the Midwest.  We talked about what goes on behind the scenes of producing a Super Bowl commercial, in-house agencies, and the best break-in advice.  We even did some rapid-fire questions to shake things up. Links: Connect with Casey: https://linkedin.com/in/caseyhurbis/ Connect with us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/66741635 Win a Crowbar to break into advertising: https://www.crowbarawards.com/

She is the Director of Design at Yellow House Consulting, a women-led digital marketing consultancy.  She is also the go-to professor at the University of Miami for advertising students looking to break into advertising.  This week, we have the pleasure of learning from Sarai Nunez, Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Miami School of Communication.  An easy listen for you all out there, we sit back and go back and forth on our very best advertising advice specifically for the students out there in the world.  Portfolio schools, navigating undergraduate education, career mapping, all the stuff we love to discuss on this show.  And Sarai knows her stuff. Many of her students work at excellent shops, and she's even had more than a handful go on to create Super Bowl spots. Give it a listen to better your break-in chances.  Links: Connect with her: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarai-nunez-88915a8/ Connect with us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/66741635/ Win a Crowbar to break into advertising: https://www.crowbarawards.com/

For the first time ever, we needed to create a two-part episode.  Why?  Because David Kolbusz is incredible. Simple as that. David Droga described him as "one of the world's best creative leaders. We are back with David Kolbusz for part two of his B&E Episode.  An Adweek Creative 100 and the Chief Creative Officer of Orchard, my conversation with David could not be contained to a single episode.  We left you all with an enticing cliffhanger, where we pick things off this week as David answers what the most embarrassing ad he has ever produced in his career.  That's fun stuff.  We always discuss our guest's famous work, so this is a nice twist.  You will want to listen to part one with David before this episode!  Cannes, Clios, D&ADs, One Shows, Super Bowl ads, he's got them all. Maybe if you listen, you too can achieve all these accolades.

For the first time, we needed to create a two-part episode.  Why?  Because David Kolbusz is incredible. Simple as that.  An Adweek Creative 100 and Chief Creative Officer of Orchard, David is one hell of a Creative.  David Droga described him as "one of the world's best creative leaders." This first part explains his break-in.  He also leaves us with quite an enticing cliffhanger at the end, which we will pick things off next week.  Cannes, Clios, D&ADs, One Shows, Super Bowl ads, he's got them all. Maybe if you listen, you too can achieve all these accolades.

Here it is. Handpicked by Eric Kallman himself, the Blue Crowbar award-winning campaign. The Blue Crowbar goes to the single best campaign submitted. Best in Show. We asked the nation of aspiring advertisers to develop a brand identity and creative marketing campaign that establishes the Amtrak rail system as a way to enjoy travel, have a positive impact on the environment, and reach incredible destinations across the U.S. And this one fantastic human did it so wonderfully.  Nikhil Rajagopalan came up with the campaign: “Your Window to America”  The winning idea: "With services in 46 of the 48 contiguous states in the U.S., Amtrak does only what it can do: provide a window to everything beautiful America has to offer." Listen to his conversation with the guest judge, Eric Kallman. Links: Check out Nikhil's Portfolio: https://nikhilrajagopalan.com/ See his full campaign: https://www.crowbarawards.com/previous-winners

He creates iconic advertising characters.  Like Flo and Dr. Rick from Progressive.  Sean McBride is someone the Breaking and Entering team has admired from afar for the entirety of our academic and professional careers.  As the Chief Creative Officer of Arnold Worldwide, he gives advice on our show on how to break into advertising.  He mentions straightforward advice for Copywriter portfolios. Talks about how advertising should interact with culture. And even shares something we are now calling the "18-month Starter Blueprint" for entry-level advertisers starting off in an agency.  Links: Connect with Sean: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-mcbride-a99656/ Connect with us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/66741635/admin/feed/posts/ Win a Crowbar to break into advertising: https://www.crowbarawards.com/

Play "Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty.  Dan Windels is an advertising instructor at the University of Florida.  Consistently a top 5 public university, and paired with the fact he's on this show, you know Dan will teach you two main things. How to break into advertising. And how to thrive in it.  Specifically, he is an esteemed expert on the account/strategy track.  Dan and I had a fantastic time just tossing around some of our favorite job-search strategies.  Not everyone wants to spend hundreds of dollars on an advertising class, so we have Dan on with his best advice for you. For free.  After this ep, you will walk away with clear steps on how to conduct outreach and network your way into your dream job.  Crowbar Awards Link, To Break Into Advertising: https://www.crowbarawards.com/