It was a crisp fall morning in 2000. I sat in a surprisingly comfortable coffee shop on the corner of Broadway and 51st, staring at a giant skyscraper across the street. Just moments away from walking into my first job in advertising, I made a mental list. Suit, check. Attaché, check. Heels, check. Sunny Florida disposition, check! Caffeinated and eager, I walked confidently out of that little shop and right into my future. It was my first day as an Advertising Executive. I was ready to rule the world. I would make ads that would grace the Super Bowl, Times Square…ads that would make my family (and college professors) proud. 

Enter the real world. Pushed, shoved and nearly hit by a NYC cab, I arrived at the foot of my new office building. Twenty seven floors later, I entered my new office. It was buzzing. Was I late? Wait, had these people gone home yet from the day before?

And so the lessons began.

Working in advertising has given me a perspective I will always cherish. From paper to digital, it’s been one heck of a ride. For those of you who remember, there was a time when print was king. We routed projects using this thing called paper, every agency had a comp room, mechanicals were mandatory, we often sent the files to the printer on disks (not, floppy…I’m not that old). If you sent a text, it came via fax. We didn’t have cell phones, laptops, and ROI…those letters wouldn’t mean anything for years.

That brings us to this morning: I sat in a similar coffee shop, happily back in my hometown of Tampa, FL, and asked myself, “Has this ad girl gone completely digital?” I could almost feel the WiFi giving me a giant warm hug as I walked in the door. Checking my email, I paused for a moment to refer to the app that reminds me of that coffee I ordered last holiday season. QR code on a banana? Sure, why not? Oh, gotta check in on Facebook and tell the world that I’m here. They would worry if I didn’t check in. Wait, what’s that song playing? Not to worry, Shazam will tell me. How many calories are in this latte? Better log that in my diet app; 10 years of ad life will pack on the pounds. Pay with my phone, can’t wait. Oh, the Christmas cups are out. Gotta take a picture and upload asap. Augmented reality on my cup, love it! Stepping out of the coffee shop I tuned Pandora to the station of my choice and felt comfort in the ding alerting me that an email awaits to inform me of my bank transaction.

Are consumers embracing digital? Yes. Are brands leveraging ROCDDF (return on consumer digital dependency to function)? Yes, but not well.
Here’s to 2012, the year marketing figures out digital! Let’s do this.

P.S. That comfortable little coffee shop was Starbucks and the suit, attaché and heels have been collecting dust since my second day as an Advertising Executive. Oh, and I’ve never had an ad on the Super Bowl, but I did have a digital billboard in Times Square. – Amber (aka Ad Girl Gone Digital)