W
hile the coronavirus
pandemic has clearly had
a stalling effect on the
marketing industry, the
global lockdown of home
quarantine has had one unexpected benefit
for rising talent in the field: a surging interest
in one-on-one mentorship and networking.
Fueled both by the exponential growth
in daily usage of video chat platforms like
Zoom and the economic uncertainty of
advertising’s worldwide slowdown, virtual
networking has quickly become one of the
few sources of optimism for workers as they
face an unprecedented moment in their
careers. In short, employees—and those now
seeking job opportunities—suddenly find
themselves with a mix of free time, profes-
sional anxiety and relative privacy to have
candid conversations out loud. Networking
and mentorship offer a much-needed way to
put that combination to good use.
“We suddenly have many more hours to
fill during the day. Our instinct may be to
spend all that downtime refreshing Twit-
ter or reading COVID-19 updates, but that’s
neither healthy nor a good use of time,” said
Sai He, a freelance creative. “Networking
and mentorship are ways to commiserate
with other ad people who truly get it and can
offer a different point of view than that of our
families and nonindustry friends.”
In recent years, He has built a large net-
work of emerging talent through his Dong
Draper persona on Twitter and Instagram,
and he’s often used his platform to help
amplify work and requests for help from his
followers. As COVID-19 quarantine mea-
sures began, He launched a seemingly simple
project called “(Net)working From Home”
through which he offered to play profes-
sional matchmaker, connecting strangers
across the ad industry. The response was
quite literally overwhelming.
“I thought I’d be pairing a couple hundred
people at most,” he said. “In less than a day,
over 1,300 people from more than 50 coun-
tries signed up before I had to close submis-
sions. Even so, I’m still receiving daily DM
requests asking to join.”
A similar effort by networking app Fellow,
which connects women in advertising for
mentorship opportunities, also saw tremen-
dous demand. App creator Aisha Hakim, a
senior art director at agency Venables Bell &
Partners, created a spreadsheet for creatives
to share their portfolios so that industry vet-
erans could review them virtually.
“We’ve had over 350 submissions,” Hakim
said. “I knew this was an issue, but that num-
ber blew me away.”
Hakim said these kinds of projects are
likely popular because they offer ways to
feel professionally productive in a cultural
moment that otherwise feels disorienting
and daunting.
“I think people are just feeling extra isolated
in all this uncertainty,” she said. “Suddenly we
have some extra time in the day but less human
interaction, and I think it softens everyone.”
Adweek itself has attempted to help cre-
ate more opportunities for remote workers
to connect with mentors or mentees. In
addition to the Adweek Executive Men-
tor Program, now in its second year, the
magazine also responded to the COVID-
quarantine by offering 15-minute mentor-
ships that connected industry veterans
and emerging talents for one-on-one video
chats. More than 200 participants signed
up in one day.
In lieu of an April Fools’ Day prank,
Adweek surprised several entry-level ad tal-
ents by connecting them for uplifting video
conversations with industry VIPs, including
DDB Worldwide CEO Wendy Clark, Vayner-
Media CEO Gary Vaynerchuk, Burger King
global CMO Fernando Machado, equality
advocate Cindy Gallop and “Old Spice guy”
actor Isaiah Mustafa.
Consistently, the executives who par-
ticipated in these networking and men-
torship initiatives have said they find the
sessions just as valuable as do the rising
talent being mentored.
John January, co-CEO of Kansas City
agency Signal Theory, took part in one of
Adweek’s 15-Minute Mentorships and said
the experience of talking one-on-one with a
younger talent was tremendously positive.
“A time like this provides a keen perspec-
tive on one’s real priorities,” January said. “I
think mentoring, connecting and giving back
are all pretty high on a lot of people’s lists.”ADWEEK 5
®
| APRIL 6, 2020 5Mentorships Thrive
In Quarantine
CREATIVES CONNECT VIRTUALLY,
OFFERING A GLIMMER OF HOPE
IN THESE DARK TIMES.
BY DAVID GRINER
AGENCIES
DAVID GRINER IS CREATIVE AND INNOVATION EDITOR
AT ADWEEK AND HOST OF ADWEEK’S PODCAST, ‘YEAH,
THAT’S PROBABLY AN AD.’ HE’S BEEN COVERING
AGENCIES, CREATIVITY, TECHNOLOGY AND MARKETING
INNOVATION FOR MORE THAN A DECADE. @GRINERThis April Fools’ Day, Adweek gave rising stars a
mentorship opportunity with industry leaders like
Cindy Gallop and Fernando Machado.4 TIPS TO MAKING THE MOST OF
A MENTORSHIP OPPORTUNITY- Be prepared. Bring thoughtful questions
and specific ideas you want feedback on. - Have a clear goal for what you want from this
conversation. How are you trying to improve? - Don’t make it your goal to get a job from
your mentor. Ask for advice, not work. - Be sure to act on the feedback, and be
ready to share results on your next call.
—Katie Ramp, director of talent, Muh-Tay-Zik Hof-Fer