Joji Jacob

When I was a copywriter, my goal was to end each day knowing that I’d done my very best with everything that came my way that particular day – briefs, colleagues and clients. To know that I’d given my all to the briefs, treated my colleagues with respect (well, most of them, most of the time) and clients with honesty. To know that I’d added something to my book which also added to the clients’ and agency’s bottom lines.

And now as a Creative Director, nothing much has changed. Really. Except that it’s not about me any more. It’s about the young folks that I’m responsible for. Now I try to help each of the young people under my charge go home a little bit more secure in the knowledge that they’ve done their best with everything that came their way that particular day – briefs, colleagues and clients. If they’re stuck on a brief, I try to help them; if they don’t get along, I try to patch things up between them, and if a client is on a witch hunt, I try to shield them. And I sleep well on the days when I know that my guys have added something to their books, which has also added to the clients’ and the agencies bottom lines.

As a copywriter, with a lot of luck and help from talented friends, I’ve done some work that has helped build some very special brands and also been awarded at Cannes, One Show, D&AD, Spikes and a host of other award shows.

As an Executive Creative Director, I put together and led the team that took a stable but lackluster agency and turned it around to be Singapore’s most creative, effective and integrated agency. I was voted Campaign’s South East Asia Creative Person of the Year two years in a row and Singapore’s Most Influential Creative Director in 2011.