For advertising creatives, side projects are nothing new. But a few factors have made today’s side project more fulfilling than ever.
In some ways, we’re in a golden age of advertising. The projects coming out of ad agencies are more strategic, useful and engaging than ever. Agencies aren’t just making ads, but ad-like objects that deliver utility and entertainment. Agency work is more liked, used, and shared. Technology is running rampant.
That’s all fantastic. But there’s one little factor getting in the way of a golden age.
Advertising isn’t as creatively filling as it used to be.
Agency work used to star Idea and Execution. Now the cast on any given project includes Strategy, UX, Social, Tech and Analytics. The stage has gotten crowded. Projects coming out of agencies are more multi-dimensional and unexpected than ever, but the spotlight isn’t always shining on creativity.
Agency process has evolved to shortchange creativity, too. Budgets and timelines have shrunk. Clients favor decisions backed by data, not gut instinct. More work is project-based, meaning that trust formed by agency-of-record relationships are becoming a thing of the past.
This isn’t a knock on agency projects as a whole. I love what I’m doing now more than when I made retail-based :30 second product-centric TV spots. What it all means is that if you’re a creative, agency projects aren’t offering the same creative high they used to. You need to go elsewhere to get your creative fix. Enter the side project.
Side projects aren’t for the sidelines anymore.
In the past, side projects were a hobby or afterthought. The writer with the half-written novel in his top drawer. The art director who paints or makes t-shirts on the side. You’ve heard the stereotypes and probably met them, too.
But these days, you can inject the same attributes that clients and agencies covet — engaging, useful, sharable — into a project void of agency or client restrictions. You can make it beautiful. And, do it right, and you can watch it spread on social, just as much as anything by a brand.
Agency work used to have higher budget, production value and superior reach to side projects. But the ubiquity of social and easy access to coding have evened the playing field. Side projects are good for your day job, too. When you put a thoughtful side project in your book, creative directors know you’re a hard worker and they see the way you think.
Side projects come in all different shapes and sizes. Some are made overnight, others turn into full-time jobs.
Side projects can do good. Saneel Radia founded Greatest Good. It’s a platform that allows professionals to offer their services to anyone who wants it, while helping a charity. When Sandy struck New York, Jaime Schwarz created I Stand Buy, helping businesses near his hometown recover.
Side projects can be art. Some people see GIFs as silly. Tim Nolan and Jen Lu saw them as today’s version of pop art. They created cachemonet.
Side projects can tune into the culture zeitgeist. When Banksy came to New York, Damjan Pita and Derek Harms built StealBanksyNY.com overnight, helping people find (and steal) the latest Banksy.
Side projects can solve problems. Brothers Adam and Ben Long noticed that too many writers today have a tendency to overwrite, creating long, flowery sentences that are difficult to follow. So they created Hemingwayapp to help writers write more bold and clear, like Hemingway.
Side projects can offer an unfiltered browser window into your soul. Heather Payne didn’t like how developing was a man’s game so she left her full-time job to found Ladies Learning Code.
All these side projects have a few things in common. People figured out a better way of doing things. And they did something about it.
Don’t let figuring out what to make be your biggest hurdle.
The question isn’t should you make. The question is what to make.
Be yourself. Think of something that’s uniquely you. People should look at your side project and feel like they’re looking at a close-up of your brain and say damn, he/she really likes cats.
Learn something. What’s something you don’t know how to do that you’d like to know how to do? Do that. No matter how the project goes, you’ll end up ahead.
Be realistic. Aim too big and it won’t get done.
Solve a problem. Think of something that annoys you. Do something about it.
Ride the wave. Take advantage of a timely, social phenomenon that people are already talking about.
Forget failure. There is no failure. There is only do or don’t do. Your goal shouldn’t be to get a million hits. It should be to make something real, fun, useful, authentic, engaging. Do that, and you’ll be fine. And it might get huge, who knows. Either way, you'll be one step closer to success.
If you’re a creative person, you can’t afford to not work on a side project.
Side projects satiate creative mind in a way that a lot of today’s agency work can’t. Do one right, and it quickly becomes the center of attention.
Am I forgetting anything? Leave it in the comments. Better yet, share your favorite side project.
What I Learned at SXSW Interactive 2012
This year I went to SXSW Interactive for the first time. While there, I talked to people and I saw people speak. Then I crammed what I could into a lightweight, handy Keynote. This is what I learned.
The keynotes, presentations and panels covered in this deck:
Ambient Location and the Future of the Interface
Presenter: Amber Case
Summary: We’re already cyborgs. But the technology isn’t inside of us. It’s in our pockets.
How to Harvest Consumer Intent from the Social Web
Presenters: Mullen CIO Edward Boches, Difference Engine Founder Farrah Bostic, Vayner Media co-founder AJ Vaynerchuk, and Springpad co-founder Jeff Janer
Summary: Brands try to insert themselves into our social graphs. But there’s a much more seamless and natural fit into our lives: interest graphs.
Create More Value Than You Capture
Presenters: Andrew Mcafee Principal Research Scientist MIT and Tim O'Reilly Founder, CEO O'Reilly Media
Summary: Jobs are being outsourced not just to low-wage countries, but to machines. We need to rethink how our economy works.
The End of Business as Usual
Presenters: Rock God Billy Corgan and Altimeter Group Principal Brian Solis
Summary: People have made the model change. But business leaders can’t bitch about it. They have to do something about it.
Why Your Car Will Be the 5th Screen in Your Life
Presenters: Tina Unterlaender, Director of Mobile, AKQA and Anupam Malhotra Manager, Connected Vehicle Audi Of America Inc
Summary: The time we spend in our cars shouldn't be wasted time connectivity-wise but it can't disrupt the driving experience.
Epic Battle: Creativity vs. Discipline in Social
Panelists: Mekanism CEO Jason Harris, 140 Proof Founder John Manoogian III, Barbarian Group Director of Earned Media Kristin Maverick and Story Labs Founder Sarahjane Sacchetti
Summary: There’s creativity. And there’s analytics. It seems like they don’t like each other. But we can make them get along.
Why Ad Agencies Should Act More Like Tech Startups
Presenter: AKQA CCO Rei Inamoto
Summary: The agency model isn’t working. So what can we learn from successful start-ups that would revitalize the advertising business?
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