A marketing panel of Butler graduates, including four Butler MFA in creative writing alums, assembled in the ECCW for the conversations@efroymson event: A job that doesn’t feel like a job: Creative Writers in Marketing & Advertising.
The Butler MFA degree fosters not just creative writers, but creative thinkers, and creative thinkers are in demand in Indianapolis businesses. Butler’s own MFAs have ave turned their degrees into careers as advertising directors, copywriters, and marketing consultants.These creatives love their jobs and highly encourage other creative minds to consider advertising or marketing as career choice. Last week, a panel of creative minds shared advice and encouragement with MFA and English students. The panel featured Ken Honeywell, the president of Well Done Marketing, and many beloved alumni, including Linda Brundage, Alyssa Chase, Jay Lesandrini, and Alex Mattingly.
Read below for some highlights of some of the main topics discussed during the candid conversations.
Why a job in advertising and marketing?
It’s fun. I laugh all day long. – Ken Honeywell
It’s the closest you can come to having a real job without feeling like a real job. -Linda Brundage
It’s collaborative work with other creative people. – Alyssa Chase
What is it all about, anyway?
It’s good for curious people. It’s about finding what makes a product interesting and how to communicate that with others. – Alex Mattingly
In both creative writing and advertising, there’s a lot of talk about story and telling our story. Story is about change. Something always changes. -Ken Honeywell
There’s always something new. If you are working on a boring project now, your next project won’t be. – Linda Brundage
It can be as small as tweet or internal email or as large as a full article, blog, or brochure. – Jay Lesandrini
Okay, so how do we get one of these jobs?
Don’t be shy about asking for advice or ideas. – Ken Honeywell
Value your skill set. Don’t under sell yourself – Jay Lesandrini
You can never go wrong saying yes. The worst you could do is embarrass yourself, but you get credit for saying yes. – Alex Mattingly
Consider nonprofits. Be an extraordinary writer. -Ken Honeywell