Can you tell us about your job?
Copywriters are responsible for coming up with creative ideas, devising concepts, and writing messages that have an impact on brands, companies, or individuals in order to create strong loyalty or engagement among their customers or communities. This engagement can take the form of a purchase, membership, or identification.
What are your main responsibilities?
My main responsibility within the agency is to come up with ideas and concepts for communication campaigns. After reading the client's brief, I look for ideas inspired by previous campaigns or trends on the web. Once these have been submitted to the project manager and presented to the client, I am responsible for writing the document that details these concepts and the statement of intent, sometimes accompanied by a script in the case of a video production. I also attend shoots to supervise and coordinate the various stages of production, from studio recording to delivery.
That said, it is up to each copywriter to familiarize themselves with their job description within the company that employs them or the client's requirements in order to determine their specific tasks.
What skills do you need to develop for this job?
I would say the main skill is creativity. You also need to have a lot of imagination. Whether you are born with it or have developed it, you need to constantly nurture it by reading, watching films, and documentaries. You need to have a good general knowledge. You also need to be curious, in the sense that you need to be interested in lots of subjects, be attentive to the world and in touch with the times, and be aware of trends, especially on the internet. You need to have a sense of humor and be perceptive in order to better understand the target audience and their needs. You need to know how to use and play with words, i.e., have excellent writing skills. Finally, you need to have good organizational skills and be able to manage stress and pressure well.
What academic or non-academic path did you follow to get there?
To my knowledge, there is no traditional path that leads to a career as a copywriter. Many copywriters come from journalism, advertising, or marketing. In my case, after graduating from high school with a degree in literature, I studied law before dropping out. I then attended a communications school (specializing in audiovisual production) until I received my bachelor's degree, where I learned the fundamentals of journalism and, above all, video production. There, I became particularly interested in screenwriting. After completing a series of internships in various audiovisual professions, it was through a combination of circumstances that I met Mr. Kahi Lumumba, CEO of Totem Experience. He gave me the opportunity to work with them as an assistant director before allowing me, on behalf of his company, to propose concepts and creative ideas for the production of digital video content for the promotion of brands and companies. I discovered the profession of copywriter, and since then I have enjoyed developing my skills in this field.
Do you work with a team? Do you collaborate with other departments?
Yes, at TOTEM Experience, I work closely with the project manager or social media manager, who sends me the brief (specifications) from the client. I also work with a graphic designer who takes care of the visual aspect by making graphic design proposals, or with an audiovisual production team for video production. In some cases, I have the opportunity to work with an art director when necessary.
What are the best aspects of your job? The main difficulties?
The best aspect of this job is the creative freedom, the ability to imagine anything and everything without limits other than the budget. It's the opportunity to tell a new story every time. The projects come one after another but are never the same, so I really enjoy working on a wide range of themes and projects. Whether it's coming up with a promotional message for a telephone operator or finding an original concept for the launch of a clothing brand, there's practically no room for routine. When looking for inspiration or ideas, I also enjoy watching videos and films and reading—basically, lots of things I usually do to relax.
As for the difficulties, the main one is having to constantly reinvent yourself. Once an idea has been sold, it will probably no longer have the same value after being used a second or third time. Clients seek and love innovation, and it's up to us to satisfy them. The second challenge isn't really a difficulty, but rather a challenge. In some cases, it's having to come up with an innovative idea in a very short amount of time. Some clients may give us very short deadlines for submitting concepts. And when you know that the search for ideas can take a long time, it's a real challenge. That's when having a bank of ideas can be very useful.
Do you have an anecdote to share with us?
A French-language television channel asked us to produce a series for their app. I particularly remember the script for one of the episodes, which, before being filmed, had been submitted along with several others for approval. And because I had written it, I particularly liked this script, but this was not the case for the client, who didn't believe in it at all. They still gave us the opportunity to produce it. In the end, when all the episodes had been filmed, it turned out that this was the one the channel liked the most, and they even used it to promote the series and their app. I chose this example because it reminds me of the relationship between the client and the agency. When there is an excellent climate of communication, transparency, trust, and above all creative freedom, clients give us the opportunity to pleasantly surprise them.