Here in Toronto, TIFF is in full swing, and that got me thinking about the movies and which films can teach us lessons about working in a PR communications agency. I didn’t have to think that long to find 10 inspirational movies that underscore what it means to work in an agency and learnings along the way. Here are my 10 (with some bonus video viewing links). Post yours in the comments below or email directly.
1. The Big Night
Lesson: Banking it all on celebrity attendance to boost sales or promote your client’s brand is a crap shoot. There are no guarantees celebs show up to anything.
2. Jerry Maguire
Lesson: The commitment to client service, parking your ego and sometimes the “pride swallowing siege ” pays off huge – even if you only have one client.
3. Broadcast News
Lesson: Count your blessings everyday you work in an agency and not a producer of a news cast. We agency types cry a lot less too.
4. Driving Miss Daisy
Lesson: Undying and authentic loyalty to a client builds a bond of friendship for life. That is priceless, beautiful and rare.
5. The Commitments
Lesson: Practise, practise, practise mock interviews with your client every chance you get. You never know when Rolling Stone Magazine will call you!
6. The King’s Speech
Lesson: Client presentation training was never this hard. Thank goodness we employ better best practices than making our clients swear like a bad rap song or roll around on the floor like a drunken sailor.
7. The Devil Wears Prada
Lesson: Again, count your blessings you don’t work for a crazed fashion editor and you’re just a junior agency peep who gets to leave at 5 p.m. for your yoga class.
8. Frost/Nixon
Lesson: Watch how a client can control an interview perfectly… then watch how a journalist can make your client lose all control and completely mess it up!
9. Glengarry Glen Ross
Lesson: Never refer to your job as a consultant in a communications agency as a sales role. You wanna see what a real sales looks like? Watch this film. And never for one second label yourself as someone having a sales role.
10. Any Michael Moore Documentary
Lesson: Pretty much avoid any on camera interview between your client and Moore, unless you know exactly what side of the story line you will be on. Otherwise, think ambush and stay clear.
Julie Rusciolelli is founder and president of Maverick, a Toronto-based communications agency. Visit WeAreMaverick.com.
