Dc Advertising Agency Visits

Last Friday we had the incredible opportunity to visit two advertising agencies in Washington, DC. Both agencies, Ogilvy and MDB, gave us guided tours of their offices, the chance to interact with employees, and an informational overview of their agency including a look into past work they have done with some really interesting clients. It was a busy day packed full of information and professional development!

Upon arriving at Ogilvy, we were met by two younger employees who are relatively new to the agency. We split our large group in half and were shown around the office, allowing us to get the feel of how different departments operate and interact with each other. We also got to see a few of the office's perks, like their nitro brew coffee machine and cereal bar!

After giving us the walk-through, we re-convened to listen to a presentation about some of Ogilvy's clients and the work of some of the different departments. We also had the opportunity to watch a few ads that Ogilvy had made for varying clients, and we were given some tips about how to change public perspective on a product--a tip that we'll surely find helpful as we continue to build our own campaign!

At MDB, we were welcomed into the office by a few experienced employees from varying departments. The view from their office was nothing short of breath-taking--they have a great view of the street below, where a lot of fun events take place throughout the week. A fun quirk of the office was all the figurines scattered throughout the space of some of the different companies MDB has gotten to work with.

MDB gave us a lot of advice about the industry as a whole in addition to showing us a few campaigns they've done for some recurring clients. They told us about some of the unique opportunities they have as an agency that works in the nation's capital. Only in Washington, DC can you have cool clients like the DC Lottery and the Washington Capitals hockey team! Working with such neat clients means that MDB gets to create some unique ad campaigns and, sometimes, receive free tickets to Capitals home hockey games!

Overall, the day was a great opportunity for us to get a feel of how bigger ad agencies operate, as well as a great opportunity to network. It was really interesting to compare the work space and content of each agency. Both agencies provided our group with great opportunities to immerse ourselves in the advertising industry and we were able to leave behind our resumes for possible internships and/or constructive criticism.

We are so grateful that Ogilvy and MDB welcomed our club into their offices and gave us an inside look into a day in life of an advertising agency!

Check out some pictures from the day in the gallery below.