The MFA’s NGEN Award gives media agency executives with less than five years’ experience the opportunity to create positive impact by using their core skills: strategic thinking, creativity, storytelling and media execution expertise. NGENers were this year invited to respond to a brief for youth mental health organisation Batyr.
AdNews presents, Meet the NGEN Award Finalists.
Olivia Coxon, Investment Partnerships Executive at Initiative, and Ben Breden, Partnerships Executive at Initiative, are NGEN Award Finalists for the second year running.
How long have you been in the industry?
Olivia: About a year and a half.
Ben: Also about a year and a half.
What attracted you to working in a media agency? Was this always the plan?
Olivia: Ben actually referred me to the job! I always wanted to work in media and he really sold Initiative, their culture, and the amazing work they put forward.
Ben: This wasn't always the plan! When I was a kid I wanted to be a mad scientist – unfortunately I was bad at science and mostly sane. Advertising was a good second option, offering a healthy mix of creativity and logic.
What were your greatest lessons from the experience of entering the NGEN Award?
Olivia: Persistence is key – juggling NGEN on top of your normal workload is quite challenging, but it also provides you with the opportunity to exercise creativity and build your media skills. It’s a really great feeling to look at the finished product and know you achieved something with hard work and dedication.
Ben: I’ve learned that you’ve got to get through a lot of bad ideas to get to one good idea – I reckon this is the best place to spend your time on the entry. Without a strong idea, the rest doesn’t matter that much.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
Olivia: Witnessing the awesome and innovative ways people respond to a brief.
Ben: It's always changing and never boring!
What does the MFA industry purpose of ‘We Are The Changers’ mean to you?
Olivia: To me it means amping up the next generation of advertisers to put in the hard yards and produce campaigns to be proud of.
Ben: It’s a nice reminder that what we do has impact. I think keeping this in mind makes us more fulfilled and better at our jobs.
Where do you plan to be in five years’ time?
Olivia: Hopefully working in London, producing great work with a great team.
Ben: Hopefully still employed at a great agency, ideally in a strategy department.
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