Recently OOHology hosted the AAF-Louisville’s Young Advertising Professionals (YAP) group as part of their series of “Career ADvice” seminars. Our president and Executive Creative Director Mark Palmer spoke to the group on the topic of “Breaking Out of the Box.”
Mark expounded on not just his own unorthodox career path, but pulled anecdotes from creative minds throughout history. For example, a lady once challenged Picasso about asking an exorbitant sum for a drawing he doodled on a napkin, saying “It only took you a few minutes!” The artist’s response? “No, it took my whole life.”
The takeaway? It takes your whole life to really own your craft. That’s a counter-cultural message for most Millennials, who often feel like they’re constantly expected to achieve more, sooner.
The AAF-Louisville asked attendees for their impression of the seminar. Here are some of their responses for the “single most important new idea or concept they learned.”
- The reminder to be a lifelong learner
- It takes your whole life to own your craft
- Learn to define what you’re not
- Love what you do
- Love it, know it, do it.
Attendees said they appreciated Mark’s frank, honest advice. Kara DeLost, of Power Creative, had the following to say about the seminar.
“When I saw Mark speak at the D2 Conference in Cincinnati this year, I knew I wanted him to speak to the YAPs. This year is all about bringing new fresh perspective to the YAP program and how it can better serve our young talent here in Louisville. Mark is cool. You get that vibe upon meeting him. But he's more than cool, he's wise and provides great perspective and context – young people need to learn from people like Mark. Sure he's a bit crass, and rough around the edges but no one lived a great life following the rules and Mark is great example as to how ‘misfits’ can make it in the advertising world.”
If you’re interested in bringing Mark’s mojo to your event as a speaker, give us a call.