Before starting at SCA one thing I knew I was lacking in was knowledge of the advertising industry. At SCA you will meet a wealth of people who work in various rolls in and out of the industry. All of these people have something interesting to say, it’s finding the ones who may benefit you more and help steer you towards your goal. Where better to start than knowing who they actually are?

In my first week I was almost over encumbered with the amount of knowledge and new learning that was being thrown at me. Each mentor individually interesting and each with their own story and area of expertise. One of these people was Alexandra Taylor. Admittedly I didn’t know who she was before I started, and if you don’t well, you should! In our first session with Alex we were each given an envelope with our name, handed out one by one. Opening the letter I found two nails inside. Looking around the room, a bit confused, I saw everyone else with the same two nails. This is when Alex said she wants us to start building a bookshelf. A book shelf where we start storing all the books we read that benefit our knowledge of advertising. The first book, which I recommend getting if you don’t know where to start reading up on history of advertising is: “Helmut Krone. The Book: Graphic Design and Art Direction (Concept, Form and Meaning) After Advertising’s Creative Revolution”. Having a masterclass from Alex in my first week was a good start to getting to know my s#*t.

In another session she asked us to name our favourite ad, followed by who the creative team were behind it, what agency, what year, etc. It is embarrassing if you are asked this and don’t know the answer. Alex made a good analogy: imagine you are playing for a football team and you don’t know who Wayne Rooney is whilst on the same pitch as him? Well imagine being at an agency and not knowing who Helmut Krone is. This week in Alex’s class we are doing “Mastermind” based around the Krone book. Its beneficial doing your research on who’s who, if you don’t then there’s a chance you could miss out on career shaping mentoring. I’ve still got my two nails and will remain to keep them as a constant reminder to know my s#*t.