We’re taking you behind the scenes of B&T’s 30 Under 30 Awards, presented by Vevo, to give you a peek into the judges’ minds. This week, Charlie Elliott, group head and head of account management at M&C Saatchi sat down with B&T to share why he decided to judge the Awards for his second consecutive year and what obstacles he sees young people in the industry facing today.
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B&T: Why did you decide to judge this year’s B&T’s 30 Under 30 Awards?
Charlie Elliott: Any time you get the opportunity to step outside of the day-to-day and be inspired by the great work and achievements in our industry, you should grab it, no matter the age of the entrant! As well as the work itself, it’s enlightening to see the world through someone else’s eyes – what were they really proud of? What kind of project, problem, or challenge made them jump out of bed in the morning? What kind of proactive initiatives were they passionate enough about to go above and beyond? Having really enjoyed judging these awards last year, I still remember the entries that made me laugh (that means you, guy who proudly declared he was loved by sales, but hated by legal), or provoked me, or opened my eyes to a new perspective.
B&T: What are your biggest pieces of advice for the next generation of talent in our industry?
CE: Have a clear, considered, point of view on whatever it is you are working on at that moment. And don’t be afraid to voice it, even if it’s different from what everyone else is saying. We are all consumers, we all engage with brands every day, which means that everyone’s view is as valuable as the next person’s, if it’s been well thought-through. That remains one of the wonderful things about this industry: everyone has something to contribute, no matter your age or experience. So pretend that you’re the CMO, the CEO, or whoever, and pretend the buck stops with you. What would you do, and why? If you don’t know, what do you still need to understand, and how do you go about that? Any decent leader would happily give their time to chat it through with you, don’t be afraid to ask.
B&T: What unprecedented obstacles will they face? Which ones are here to stay?
CE: One perpetual obstacle will always be the tendency for complexity to get in the way of brilliance. There will always be more data, more channels, more stakeholders, more content, more to do, more meetings, more distractions, more nonsense spouted on LinkedIn. How do you stay laser-focussed on the key objective you want to achieve, and the thing you absolutely need to do to achieve it?
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B&T: What’s the importance of championing young people in our industry?
CE: Younger people aren’t always directly involved in the high profile work, and sometimes that might make you lose sense of what you are directly contributing to your business. But (to steal from the Calvin & Hobbes comic strip), There’s Treasure Everywhere, and no matter the size of the project, the budget, the PR coverage, it’s important to recognise people being brilliant, people thinking in the right way, people who are truly passionate about their craft, because it might just inspire them to keep doing it, with bigger stages, with even more brilliance, creativity and passion, driving our industry forwards.
B&T: What was a defining moment in your career that led you to the place you are today?
CE: Similar to the second question – very early on in my career, day 2 of work experience I think, I was asked my opinion on a competitor’s new campaign. I gave it, it was sent to the client, it seemed to be appreciated and I got hired. It taught me to always lean in, have a clear point of view and back myself. Especially for account management – creative and strategy isn’t “someone else’s job”. We’re all creative and strategic. We can all have an influence.
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