FSB Marketing alum shares wisdom, experiences with students
A 30+ year career in advertising has been Craig Miller's favorite job in the world
FSB Marketing alum shares wisdom, experiences with students
A 30+ year career in advertising has been Craig Miller's favorite job in the world
Craig Miller graduated from Miami University in 1993 and recently found the final project for one of his classes in the basement of his home.
“This was the actual end product that we created. And this is proof that I knew nothing about storytelling when I was sitting where you were, because this thing had 168 pages in it,” the chief creative officer at Schafer Condon Carter told students during his talk in Taylor Auditorium. “It had zero pictures other than what's on the cover, and it was all black and white, except for this cover. So, the question is, ‘How did we not win?’ Well, we didn't tell a story.”
In the 30-odd years since he graduated with his Marketing degree, Miller said working in advertising is what he calls “the best job in the world.”
“I think the thing I'm probably best known for is introducing the world to Jake from State Farm, and literally changing the trajectory of a 100-year-old company almost overnight. And it's a testament to the power of storytelling, because Jake has become more than just a spokes character. He's literally at this point an influencer. He shows up on red carpets. He's been digitized into NBA 2k Games,” Miller said. “He's been name checked in a Wiz Khalifa song. The work has been spoofed by Saturday Night Live, not once, but twice. So, it's just really cool to see what storytelling can do.”
He explained that he believes that telling a story is a battle between the “what” and the “why.” “When I say ‘what,’ I'm talking about facts, I'm talking about analytics, I'm talking about data. I'm talking about information. And the thing about that is that stuff's great, because if you don't have that data and those facts, no one's going to believe you. They're not going to know what you're talking about,” Miller said. “However, the downside is ‘what’ is highly accessible. That's not very ownable.”
“That's why we need the ‘why.’ Why is the reason things matter. Why is storytelling. Why is what gives meaning to data. Why is what makes it powerful and valuable. Why is what makes it persuasive,” he said. “That's super important in storytelling. Why is the reason things matter.”
Miller talked about the hard work that goes into making advertising campaigns for clients, the need for creativity, and his experiences in advertising. He showed students parts of campaigns he’s worked on for Morgan Stanley, the Chicago Bears, and Giordano’s Pizza.
“The ‘what’ is tavern-style pizza, the ‘why’ someone would buy it is the crunch. So, it’s showing you how much more important it is to tell a story through that crunch. There's a thread woven through all good creative work, and that is that it recognizes its audience, and it speaks to its audience,” Miller said.
He talked about what he called his ‘cheat code,’ five behaviors that he believes have helped him achieve success through his career and life:
- Say yes: “That's where fun is. You rob yourself of the chance to learn something new and to experience something that you can learn from if you don't say yes.”
- Fail fast: “It's inevitable that everyone in this room is going to fail. You're going to fail a lot. The faster you fail, the faster you succeed. Do not be afraid to fail.”
- Have a point of view: “Get in the room and tell people what you think. Do not be a fence sitter. Your opinion matters.”
- Every assignment is a good assignment: “Every assignment is an awesome assignment, if you make it that way, it's entirely up to you to determine the destiny of yourselves at work.”
- You don’t need to know everything: “Questions are way more important than answers. You have to ask the right questions. You have to ask what's on your mind. If you don't, then you're hurting all of your teammates. You have to ask that question because maybe someone else has a similar question, and you're going to now change the way the room sees the topic.”
Miller encouraged the students to find their own ‘why’ and think hard about their future before it arrives.
“Don't start with a career. Figure out what excites you and then find out which career allows you to really tap into that. That's where you'll be happier. Because 10 years down the road, if you're in a career and you're not happy, you're going to find it's going to be really hard to leave,” he said. “Do everything you can to make sure you're in a career that you love.”
