COPYWRITER 071: How to land a job in a b...

Would you like to land a copywriting job in an advertising agency working with blue chip clients? How about working in New York in the heart of advertising land? What about using your copywriting skills to write a bestselling novel?

If you like to learn how to do any of these, then you need to listen to Philip Taffs. He has worked as a Senior Writer and Creative Director in both Melbourne and Manhattan. He’s worked with major players like Menulog and Playstation and helped launch the Honda CR-V & Odyssey into Australia. 

He has taught copywriting at AWARD School, Strategic Communications at LaTrobe University, Public Relations at Deakin University, and Advertising, Media and Social at Swinburne, and his bestselling novel, Bubby, was recently re-released in the U.S. to great acclaim. 

You’ll hear how he did it all and some important lessons on how you can get your foot in the door to launch your copywriting career even if you don’t have any experience.

Here’s what else you’ll learn:

• The connection between copywriting and novel writing
• How to market a novel and find an agent
• Advice for copywriters looking to write a novel
• How he’d market his novel differently if he had the time over again
• How he got his foot in the door of the advertising industry
• How to connect with Creative Directors of leading advertising agencies, even if you don’t know them
• How he launched the Honda CR-V into Australia; the highlights, the low-lights and everything in between
• The importance of being ‘nice’ in business and why it will win you work
• How he landed a job in New York
• How to network and find the right people to speak to
• What advertising life in NY was like and the differences in writing copy for the United States
• How novice copywriters can get noticed and find work even if they don’t have any experience
• What he thinks of AI and how it is being used in copy and branding
• Insights/techniques/formulas/processes he teaches that resonate most with the students

About Philip:

Philip Taffs has worked as a Senior Writer and Creative Director in both Melbourne and Manhattan.  He still has a client out of London and handled recent projects for Menulog and Playstation.

Major brand experience includes Honda (helped launch the Honda CR-V & Odyssey into Australia), Esanda Finance (headed up the account at Publicis Mojo), Australia Post (Joint Creative Director), and Cabrini Health (Creative Director). 

As well as running his own creative consultancy, he has taught copywriting at RMIT and AWARD, Strategic Communications at LaTrobe University, Public Relations at Deakin University, and Advertising, Media and Social at Swinburne.

Philip’s novel, The Evil Inside, was published by Quercus London in 2014.  (Same publishers as Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.)  In February 2024, it was re-released in the U.S. under the new title, Bubby.

Read the show notes

This podcast is brought to you by the Australian Writers' Centre. WritersCentre.com.au

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