A decade in Australian advertising: 10 lessons from 10 years
This month marks ten years at Leo Australia for chief client partner James Walker Smith. Below, he reflects on the messy, meaningful, and often unspoken realities of life in adland, with some practical advice for the next generation, all drawn from lived experience.
James Walker Smith unpacks ten years in adland with ten lessons learned
This month marks my ten-year anniversary at Leo Australia. In most industries that’s a decent stretch. In advertising, where time runs in dog years, it’s practically a lifetime.
Milestones like this inevitably bring reflection. The changes I’ve worked through have been significant: technology has transformed creativity, agency culture has been redefined, and the competitive landscape for agencies is unrecognisable compared to 2015. This all gets plenty of airtime elsewhere, so I won’t add to the noise.
What doesn’t get shared nearly as often is the recognition that working in advertising is hard and it requires a resilient mindset and particular habits to navigate its constant chaos and challenge. These are the human truths, realisations and behaviours that rarely make it into industry panels or end-of-year reviews, yet are the very things that have unlocked longevity in my own career.
So here we go. 10 lessons from my 10 years in Australian advertising:
Yes. Work life balance is a myth in advertising. However, it is very real and enjoyable in other fulfilling careers.
A great post but…why people in adland have to refer to stuff they produce as ‘the work’ is so pretentious. Client hate it (in case they’ve never told you)