Freelance Copywriting from a CDs perspective

Here is an interesting interview with Scott Goodson at Strawberry Frog. They are a small shop out of Amsterdam and New York that do most of their work by using freelance copywriters.

According to this interview, Canadians are the best in the biz -Shna!- and that consistently outsourcing freelance copywriters is the new way. Essentially, writers who are nimble, hard working, quick to pick up on voices and concepts and mobile will soon be the workforce of the future in advertising.

Sounds like I am well equipped.

For the time being however, I am still with Publicis Asia, it's great here.

I was pretty depressed today. I don't know why. Every so often the system just crashes. We didn't win the pitch, but KC has hinted that they might still keep me on. They told me I can't stay here in my apartment anymore, as October is high season in HK, so I need to find a new place, and the guy I was supposed to meet never showed. Ugh. Then, I find out google has shut me down! I think it was the post where I was misspelling words, hmm, either way, I've written them and apologized and made the necessary changes, so I hope they will let me back on. I'm still cool with msn and yahoo though. Also I got into a random conversation with some guy the other day and when he asked how old I was, he guessed 35. 35! I couldn't believe it, I asked him why and he said it was because I was fat! That really bummed me out, so today, I just started running. I ran for over two hours, at least a half marathon, through the frenzied streets of Hong Kong with all of these people looking at me and mumbling under their breath in Cantonese about this crazy fool smashing his way through the markets like a madman.

Now I feel great.

I am going to start running home from work. In Vancouver, I would run on my lunch breaks. It was awesome. There were hills and parks and trails through trees I could race through, usually with Daisy, so it kept me trim and sharp. I'd go to the gym and do about 30 reps on the bench press and then hit the showers, it was a good mid-day break, and by the time I left Vancouver I could bench and fly press 315 lbs. On Wednesdays we'd do the Grouse Grind. And on Sundays we'd play floor hockey. Then there was training for the marathon. A fit team is a productive team. Here, I work too long to even hit the gym once a week, and I run maybe twice a week tops. I am going to change this up a bit, KC has mentioned that he wants to go to the gym on the dinner break, so maybe we can work something out.

Pick a brand, any brand

First brand that comes to mind.








This is my favourite question to ask people if they say they are not affected by advertising.




My other favourite is to ask them to name three chocolate bars.


Top of mind advertising, usually through a combination of frequency and talk power, keeps things tip of the tongue in terms of awareness, recognition and recall.

But when it comes to emotional connections with brands, we are talking about a different story.

People want to own their favourite brands, so there has to be a bit of them inside it, be in class, edge or in the case the spirit of atheleticism, postivitism and fair play,


Nike.

Some Great Ads by Design House

Going Global

We have been working with Publicis New York and Publicis London for a global TV project for a Swiss bank. I hope they take our idea. It could be great exposure. We might even be able to shoot in Spain.

I have been writing for print, TV and even writing storyboards for virals. It’s fun stuff. Long long hours though.

Copywriting Freelance English

Things are going well at work. I am working on some great accounts now, TV scripts as well. That's always fun. Long hours though, I figured out that I worked 85 hours last week. Today is Saturday so I am going to buy some clothes, eat, go for a run and see if I can put hold on this apartment for another month, because apparently next month is high season.

When Writing and Brand Values Align

I think it is important to land a copy job where can write about values that are very close to your heart.

Here I get to write about the virtues or perseverance, determination and hard work to overcome obstacles and achieve your goals. If I can say anything about myself, it’s that I am tenacious. I attribute this to the abundance of dental professionals in my life.

Publicis is founded on the concept of La Holistic Difference, basically that the sum is greater than its parts. I have been thinking about this concept a lot while I’ve been here, and it’s quite true. Think of what makes you like someone, or why you find something beautiful, you never know, you can’t pinpoint it, but the whole picture is appealing.

I also get to write about synchronicity, which goes back to my psychology days, but it is something that has never left me. I am a believer in power of luck, but I also believe that everything happens for a reason, there are no coincidences, the universe is helpful and that luck takes sides (usually in my favour).

The Longest Day of Work in My Life

I worked a 20 hour day today. I started at 8 am and it's 4:30 am now, and I just got in the door. I had one hour of sleep last night because I couldn't sleep and now I am exhausted. The pitch we have been working on is set to go tomorrow. So hopefully it pans out. I am tired. Since I've been working in Hong Kong I have been averaging 70 hours a week. 20 hours in a day is a record for me.


I thought this was a long day. Little did I know what Hong Kong had in store for this freelance copywriter in Hong Kong.

Macao

Cool beans. Tomorrow I get to go to Macao. I'm stoked, another country to see.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a great city. It's not very big, in fact, you can pretty much walk across it. But there are seven million people here stacked up in skyscrapers hundreds of feet high. There is bustling activity everywhere and there is more neon here in such a concentrated area than anything I have ever seen. I love it, I love the commotion of it, I love the energy.

Causeway Bay on a Saturday night is wild. There are millions of people out just wandering around at one in the morning. You can go into the Wellcome supermarket and it is packed. From what I gather, Hongkongers are night owls.

Want to know more about freelance copywriting in Hong Kong? - click here.

I spent most of Saturday talking with my girlfriend, esteemed 1/2 marathon dynamo Maria Hruschak, a fantastic up and comer in the sport. It was our two year anniversary, so Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary.

The Life of an English Freelance Copywriter

I have to say, being an advertising copywriter is one of the best jobs in the world. I love it. It doesn't get much better than when your work is your two favourite things: thinking and writing. It's a great job. Crazy mind-bending puzzles every day.

It's the kind of job millions of people would love to have, but what separates the wheat from the chaff is the hours. Crazy hours: 12, 14, 16 hour days. It is intense. It's okay for me, because writing is my life right now and I don't really know anyone or have anything better to do. But I can see a lot of people going, "Well, I would rather just work at a job I think is okay and then spend time with my friends and family."

People always ask me, 'Do you know anyone here?' and I say, 'no.' Then they ask why I came to Hong Kong and I tell them I don't know. I really don't, but I like it here, and I'm going to stay.

I see they are even making a reality show now about people trying to break into a job as an advertising copywriter, a la The Apprentice.

I'm still not there yet, though. But there is a big pitch coming up, we'll see what happens.

This better not be one of those shows where everyday folk take glee in watching other's fail to reach unattainable goals. That's the kind of crap that made me stop watching TV (that and bad ads).

To find out more about what a day in the life of a freelance copywriter is like, click here.

Expression

I met with Vicki at Expression the other day. Expression is a very interesting magazine, much like a cross between a Luerzer's Archive and an art book. She needs a copywriter, or will, down the road, so we discussed working something out on a freelance basis when the time comes, although right now I have been busy with Publicis. It was good to meet her. I am sure that all of my meetings with various creative directors and recruiters and editors around town will prove to be worthwhile eventually. My meeting with Vicki was the 25th since I left Canada 7 weeks ago.

English Writing and the Online Presence

Sometimes people ask me what the point of an online presence is.

Google is a lot like the Yellowpages, for most people they only reference it when they are in immediate need of a service. It is reactive advertising.

So if you offer a service that is not needed in a reactive way, it wouldn't make any sense to advertise there. For instance, if you were to go through the Yellowpages, the biggest ads are alwasy for places like storage lockers, plumbers, car rentals, moving companies and things that you don't think about until you need them.

English Freelance Copywriters with international experience are like that. A Creative Director will either call whomever is top of mind, whomever's card s/he has nearby, or the first name that comes up in Google if all else fails.

Calling an english copywriter is about the equivalent to a normal consumer ordering a pizza. You have a few numbers stuck to your fridge that you call, but if they're busy, you call the biggest ad in the phonebook.

That is what online advertising is.

People make 200 million searches a day.

Google is the go to source for looking up information online, for many, it's their home page.

Extension

Excellent! KC has extended my gig for another month. Publicis is an awesome place to work. I'm loving it. I am at step 8 already...things are going well.

Long Days

In Hong Kong they work 12,14, sometimes 16 hours days. It's dizzying. I'm not afraid of hard work though.

Tomorrow technically is my last day, but I am hoping they will extend.

We'll see.

Copywriting and Strategic Planning

I come from a mixed background of both Copywriting and Strategic Planning. It has proved to come in very useful at Publicis. It's been long hours, that's for sure, but at least they are night owls like myself! I love the challenge of highly conceptual and creative work.

Freelance English Writer in Hong Kong - A Marketing Plan

I've written my personal marketing plan. It took me four hours.

My positioning is around my small-town ethics: transparency, reliability and integrity.

My competitive strength is my digital savvy and online presence.

Just search for an english writer in Hong Kong. You can't miss me.

Status Report #2

I managed to get my rent down a bit and I paid half today, the rest I'll pay in a few weeks.

I have work at Publicis lined up for a week.

I am 14 chapters into my book.

"The United States was a country built on credit, son."
-Bud, to Otto in Repo Man

Publicis

KC just called and he wants me to come in and work for a week. Aha! It's a start.




The best way to read this sprawling story is to scroll to the very bottom of this page and read your way up. It has everything from how I got my first break in Hong Kong, up what happened afterward.