Who’s Lauren Epsom?
It’s one week into my new life, working at a Sports Marketing Agency, and it is exactly that… A new life.
It’s not just a new set of people, or a different set of procedures, that was more than expected moving from working for a University Jobs & Careers department to an agency. Universities are far from known for their dynamism and the reputation of careers advisors needs no explanation! I was fortunate that the team I was working in was forward thinking and functioning as dynamically as possible within an academic institution. None the less the work ethic and attitude to tasks at the agency has taken me by surprise. There isn’t any red tape, or official procedures; everyone pulls their weight to get the jobs done to the highest standard and the place is all the better for it. Something which would have taken the best part of four months for Jobs & Careers to get through the University system has been turned around in four days by the agency.
The pace does seem daunting at first but then I see it as just like coming back for pre-season rugby training. For the first few weeks after a summer of relaxation and indulgence you feel off the pace, a bit sluggish and the mental cogs seem to turn a bit slower. Then after a few training sessions you start to feel better and before you know it you’re running around chasing a ball for 80 minutes and you’re back on top form. Hopefully, after I’ve been through a few hard sessions in the office (which has already started) I’ll be up to speed and fully take my place with the other key players.
That being said I know there is still a way to go, but I can already tell that I am in the right place to learn. It’s five days in and I have done no photo copying, made no cups of tea, and only once been sent to the sandwich shop! Don’t make the assumption that my lack of office admin has left me twiddling my thumbs. I’ve written design briefs, researched market opportunities and competitors, met clients and developed concepts for mood boards. All things I’ve never done before and a few things I’d never even heard of!
This brings me on to the title of this blog and one of my first lessons. When I was having my first attempt at writing a design brief we’d been asked by a client to include a quote. Said quote hadn’t been supplied yet so I asked what the best course of action would be. A helpful colleague duly replied, “That’s fine, just tell the designers to use Lauren Epsom”. Thinking that we have a stock quote we could use I casually asked “Who’s Lauren Epsom?” only for there to be a few wry smiles around the office. What I’d actually heard was ‘lorem ipsum’, a placeholder text used by designers when they don’t have the actual text to use. It is an excerpt of Latin text and simply fills the space on the page until the actual copy can be input. I’m sure there is a Lauren somewhere, but I don’t think her quote would have been needed.
It’s all these little bits and pieces that I’m learning thick and fast but getting to grips with the lingo is part of the learning curve. After my first week I’ve already managed to see the whole process; from research & concepts, to briefs and design, amendments and artwork, and finally ordering printing. It sounds like a lot but I know it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to agency life. A life that I’m already enjoying.
Ben Hooper, Banana Kick
