Theresa Menz Cooper’s Post

POV: it's March 2022 and you're looking for your next career move. Me: How big is the strategy team currently? Guo-You Chew: We don't have one. You would be Tommy Singapore's first ever strat hire. Me: cool. coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool. Every strategist goes through some form of imposter syndrome. Me especially so when I took the leap of faith to help start Tommy's strategy team from scratch in Singapore. And since then, it's been an absolutely wild 1.5 years growing Tommy's strategic offering together with Bernice Dela Cruz, my partner-in-crime. Ngl we struggled in the beginning, and a lot of times I had no clue what I was doing. But I learnt shamelessly on-the-go and trialled with error. Most importantly, I had the trust of a team that didn't freak out every time I said, "I don't know if this will work, but I really think we should try". Tq and sorry to Esther SCY who has bore the brunt of my excited/uncertain work energy. And through 1.5 years of "not knowing if this will work but really thinking we should try", together we've achieved some pretty amazing things: - did a ton of cool shit - highlights include launching Prime Video in the biggest SEA markets, and dropping some influencers 600 feet high for YouTube - won a bunch of pitches from exciting brands like Garena and Google, against some stiff competition from industry giants - brought in the agency's very first Spikes Asia award - elevated the creative team's strategic thinking with Mark Lawrence Ong, a rare breed of creative director that wants strategy involved throughout the creative process All these things wouldn't have been possible without a culture that welcomes failure and learning from it, a team that takes the work seriously but not themselves seriously, and a pantry that keeps my spirits up even in the lowest of days (shoutout to our never-ending supply of Cheezels). I rarely post here but I think credit has to be given where it's due. All love to Tommy.

I'm not sure who heads up comms for Warner Bros. Discovery, but they may want to reconsider their strategy on media for David Zaslav. First, there was the piece in The Atlantic that sealed former head Chris Licht's fate and positioned Zaz as a bumbler with poor judgment. Now, there's the piece in The New York Times Magazine entitled "How David Zaslav Blew Up Hollywood." On no planet is it a flattering depiction of the CEO's #leadership. Link in the comments to the full article. Instead of making him look like a maverick, they're making him look like the Dick Fuld of media...arrogant, unlikable and doing a job any high school kid could do. Yeah, I said it. Cutting cost is so easy even a high school kid could do it -- and for far less than $40M/year. Problem is, you eventually have nothing more to cut. The innovation/creativity stops, then the revenue nosedives. And the debtors holding onto that $45B tab will give zero f@cks. It's clear that there's no real vision in this business. They'll be lucky to sell it off in a firesale for parts. That's truly unfortunate for the 38k people who depend on WBD to live. #media #entertainment #warnerbrosdiscovery #ceo

Really good article on the conversation that is centered around why the Ad Agency industry has not progressed in Diversity. Brands and companies must give diverse agencies the same opportunities to be able to compete with the big name "traditional" agency. It takes real decision makers to make this change. Thoughts?

Calling all Black creators we have an event for YOU! 🤩 🗓️ Thu. 28th of March 2024 ⏰ Time: 5:00pm – 6:00pm GMT 🖥️ Venue: Virtual At this exclusive TNB XPO 2024 webinar, learn from three creative professionals how to pitch your film or TV project. Avoid common pitfalls and learn to craft an engaging story that gets investors to yes. Thursday, 28 March 2024, 5-5:45PM GMT 3 Key Takeaways 💫 Craft a Compelling Story: Ensure your pitch tells a captivating tale that highlights the unique aspects of your project to grab investors' attention. 💫 Avoid Common Pitfalls: Steer clear of confusing presentations, unclear market potential, and lack of confidence to increase your pitch's effectiveness. 💫 Learn from Creative Professionals: Seek insights from experienced industry figures to refine your pitching skills and understand investor expectations better. Speaker 🔈 Bios 1. Edwin Walker - E. Micheaux is a talented multi hyphenated creative architect/artist with a focus in filmmaking, storytelling, creative directing, experimental art curation, and facilitation of spaces. 2. Melody Cooper is currently story editor on the 22nd season of NBCUniversal’s Law & Order: SVU. She completed the Sundance Episodic Lab’s new Idea Lab in which she developed a sci fi horror pilot. 3.NK Gutiérrez: From HBO Latino to The Oprah Winfrey Show, classically trained dancer, vocalist, actor and filmmaker NK Gutiérrez has excelled in nearly every facet of entertainment. 🔗 Register now: https://lnkd.in/e9r3Hb9d #creators #blackcreators #blackcreatorsfund #blackcreators #blackinfluencers #blackinfluencersnetwork #blackinfluencersnetwork #music #blackinmusic #blackinart #blackinentertainment #webinar #onlinewebinar

"The very notion of charging for ideas not hours immediately elevates the brilliance of what great creatives can achieve to where they belong." This article, by Jon Williams, starts to deal with the issues of future work in the creative industry.

Swinging for the Fences for New Readers I’ve been seeing more and more creators taking to different platforms to get eyes on their books, which is great! One thing I’ve seen effective is this: Think outside the box. As part of the publicity team at Marvel, we started talks with a television show as part of a collaboration. The show: Deal or No Deal. This was when it was at its peak in ratings and Uncanny X-Men was reaching its milestone 500th issue. The deal (no pun intended) was that if the contestant reached a benchmark amount in earnings, he would be drawn into Uncanny X-Men 500. He was a massive comic fan and this was a once-in-a-lifetime offer. To sweeten the pot, the Deal or No Deal came back out in Storm outfits, our most popular female character at the time. He took the deal, and is immortalized in the pages of the issue. Bam, right there, we went way outside the box and the mainstream media even picked up the news. The point of this is to really think about going outside the normal channels. Think big. Think unique. Then swing for the fences. The worst thing that can happen is they say “No deal.” That pun was intended. #Comics #GraphicNovels #Marketing #Publicity #TV

Really interesting clip about ageism in the advertising industry, unsure as to why having experience is a negative in the industry. When an individual has been through the ups and downs, the different trends and innovations the industry has had, this should be seen as a positive on an individual’s career! Just remember we will all be ‘too experienced’ for a position soon!!!🤣 #advertising #ageism #careers

Calling all Black creators we have an event for YOU! 🤩 🗓️ Thu. 28th of March 2024 ⏰ Time: 5:00pm – 6:00pm GMT 🖥️ Venue: Virtual At this exclusive TNB XPO 2024 webinar, learn from three creative professionals how to pitch your film or TV project. Avoid common pitfalls and learn to craft an engaging story that gets investors to yes. Thursday, 28 March 2024, 5-5:45PM GMT 3 Key Takeaways 💫 Craft a Compelling Story: Ensure your pitch tells a captivating tale that highlights the unique aspects of your project to grab investors' attention. 💫 Avoid Common Pitfalls: Steer clear of confusing presentations, unclear market potential, and lack of confidence to increase your pitch's effectiveness. 💫 Learn from Creative Professionals: Seek insights from experienced industry figures to refine your pitching skills and understand investor expectations better. Speaker 🔈 Bios 1. Edwin Walker - E. Micheaux is a talented multi hyphenated creative architect/artist with a focus in filmmaking, storytelling, creative directing, experimental art curation, and facilitation of spaces. 2. Melody Cooper is currently story editor on the 22nd season of NBCUniversal’s Law & Order: SVU. She completed the Sundance Episodic Lab’s new Idea Lab in which she developed a sci fi horror pilot. 3.NK Gutiérrez: From HBO Latino to The Oprah Winfrey Show, classically trained dancer, vocalist, actor and filmmaker NK Gutiérrez has excelled in nearly every facet of entertainment. 🔗 Register now: https://lnkd.in/e9r3Hb9d #creators #blackcreators #blackcreatorsfund #blackcreators #blackinfluencers #blackinfluencersnetwork #blackinfluencersnetwork #music #blackinmusic #blackinart #blackinentertainment #webinar #onlinewebinar

In this week's episode of The Next Wave, Matt Wolfe and I discussed Runway Gen-3 Alpha, Luma Labs Dream Machine, and how they will impact entertainment, advertising, and much more. Link to the video in the comments!