Time to retire, industry veteran?
This industry has an issue with older employees, according to chief strategy officer of iProspect, Nick Kavanagh, and he believes there is a very simple and smaller change that can help turn the tide.
So, you’re a regular reader of trade press? Good for you.
From the moment I started my agency career in the early ’00s, it was drilled into me how important it was to stay up to date with what was happening in the industry through the trade press, which in the UK in those days consisted of several glossy magazines (yes, plural) delivered to your desk every week.
Another world.
The habit has persisted and is one I encourage in others. And as I’ve got older and more experienced (and perhaps caring less what people think), I’ve become an active contributor to the discourse. I’ve come to realise that not only do I have experience and opinion worth sharing – or not, as the case may be – but I’ve got a platform that I should use.
Great piece.
For an industry that is supposed to be people focussed, there isn’t enough energy placed on creating space for all kinds of people. And understanding, beyond the economics, why we are allowing this to be the case.
Important to be having this conversation. And equally important to have the self awareness, as an industry, that unhelpful language like ‘veteran’ isn’t progressive at all.
I would say that ‘agency culture’ is high-stress, erratic, and low-paying. Most people wake up to this reality when the gloss and polish have worn back to the metal. Also of note is an ‘intoxication’ culture, which includes alcohol and other ‘off-label’ medications.
It’s less about ageism and more about ‘waking up’ to the destructive culture that impacts 40+ people the most.
Agism in our industry isn’t anything new, but it’s still very confronting to get to the point where after 25 years of hard work you’ve made it to the top of your game only to find there are no jobs. It’s brutal out there.
I’ve been making digital ads since the internet was invented. Which now makes me too old to understand digital.
If you’re offended by the word veteran then you’re probably just a miserable person to be around anyway.
Agencies can’t afford the higher salaries. Couldn’t then, can’t now. You can either freelance (hopefully you weren’t a d*ck on the way up) or accept it’s a short term career, or should I say wholeheartedly embrace this; live below your means, invest your decent cashflow (you still get a good salary comparatively with other industries) create other finance streams and get out before what I saw as a potentially frustrating slow death.