12 women thriving in APAC: Jennifer Hu

Jennifer Hu, chief creative officer, Ogilvy & Mather Group | TAIWAN

Tell us about your background and achievements.

I learned of an opening for an advertising film producer one day. I didn’t know what an ad agency did, but I had experience in making 8mm films and writing scripts. So I applied nevertheless, and I got the job as a producer. Four months later, I happened to notice what copywriting was about from the copywriter sitting next to me. I believed that I could do better than him, and I went to the GM and told him that I could contribute more to the company as a copywriter. He was convinced, and so I became a copywriter and thus began my career as a creative.

During my second year as a copywriter, I was awarded the Grand Prix in a major local ad awards, and as a reward, I earned my first promotion. Later, I took a position with Ogilvy & Mather, working in direct marketing for two years. Then I transferred to advertising. Eventually, I worked my way up to ECD. Today, I am the very first chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather Taiwan.

My team and I were champions at major local ad awards for seven consecutive years, with the most Grands Prix, named Best Creative Agency for many years, and also won the first ever D&AD Yellow Pencil in Taiwan with “Soap”, a mini film from my “WeGo Motel” series.

The film was featured in a special program by France Télévisions, and was also declared by AdFreak as one of “the 25 most epic ads in the world”.

“Dream Rangers,” the commercial film I created for TC Bank in 2011, attracted interviews and special reports in several major international media, and has reaped over 50 million views on the internet. It has been translated into nine languages and praised as the world’s most influential Chinese-language TV ad.

Who is your role model?

Steve Jobs.

Do you think there’s a glass ceiling in advertising in Taiwan? 

I thought about the answer to this question for a long time. There is, and there isn’t. I believe the reason why there are less female creative directors in Taiwan must ultimately be traced back to how ambitious female creatives are. I’m not sure, but perhaps Chinese traditions have educated women that way and suppressed their ambitions to become a manager or leader in the workplace. When it comes to moving up the ladder, they would rather wait for the assignment from their boss, instead of asking for a promotion. If their boss neglects the matter, they may simply remain silent. I believe this is a different kind of “glass ceiling” that they have built themselves.

What are the sort of challenges you have faced as a woman in making it to the top of your profession?

When I first took the position of a creative leader, the entire corporate management team, from the managing director to the planning team leaders were all desperately looking for new personnel. For me, stabilising the employee turnover rate was a matter of pressing concern. But I also understood that this was a good opportunity to weed out mediocre people and recruit more outstanding people.

I promoted young creatives with potential. I gave them titles and let them lead their own teams, and this allowed me to retain talent that could be cultivated. At a formal company meeting, in front of all the employees, I declared my vision, beliefs and methods. I thanked all the employees who were willing to stay and invited them all to join me in moving forward.

I recruited outstanding talents from outside the company and finished building my organisation in the shortest time possible. That was the period when digital media was just beginning to emerge as a formidable phenomenon. I formed the first digital team among all the conventional advertising agencies, and we started feeling our way forward, working together with the brand teams. The next year, I successfully recruited a digital creative director that was hot in the industry. Afterward, we became frequent champions at digital awards.

Trials were coming fast and furious back then, leaving no time to catch a breath. But looking back now, I truly feel that it was a precious gift to quickly make me a fearless, optimistic, confident person, and I’ve stayed that way to this day.

What is your view on the belief that women do not want management roles in advertising?

Really? I’ve never sensed that. In fact, my observations are quite the opposite. All the women around me are strongly ambitious to take on management roles.

In order to enhance their leadership abilities, they are willing to lead by example, bear responsibilities, and continuously broaden and better themselves. In this male-dominated advertising industry, the correct question is not whether women are enthusiastic about taking on management responsibilities, but whether there are positions of sufficient weight that can be fairly placed on women’s shoulders, and whether we can truly accept a female as who she is, as a woman, instead of acting like a man.

What do you make of the claim that women aren’t as creative as men?

To be frank, such statements only arise from a mindset of bias against women. On the contrary, I have seen plenty of female creatives bringing glory to their male supervisors with their talent and hard work.

What advice would you give to a woman who aspires to be a creative director in Taiwan?

I have written an article titled “50 pieces of advice for young female creatives,” which has been circulated in the Greater China area. Here, I share a few of those thoughts:

1. Find the person in your company with the most enthusiasm and concentration for outstanding creativity. Let him/her be your mentor in addition to your actual supervisor.

2. Don’t complain, and certainly don’t join in any little group of complainers. Roll up your sleeves and look for solutions and resources.

3. Your body and brain are your weapons. Pay attention to your health and eat well to keep them in excellent condition.

4. Take advantage of this stage in life when your stamina is at its height, to grasp any opportunity, big and small alike, to build up experience. In my second year in the industry, I won the Grand Prix at an advertising awards, working for a little client that was turned down by more senior colleagues. And I used it to make a name for myself. When God gives you a gift, he hides it under wrapping paper.

5. Dream. Dream big like those ambitious male colleagues of yours. Write your dreams down, and once a year review what you’ve done to make those dreams come true.

6. Don’t let anyone insinuate that you’re not good enough.

7. What’s even more important than a sense of accomplishment is a sense of happiness in your work. It is not completely built upon how much money you make or how big a reputation you have, but your relationships with your colleagues and your clients. So learn to respect these people.

8. Make more friends who are experienced and knowledgeable, passionate about creating, who love reading, and are big-minded, and become a person like that.

9. When you’ve done your utmost and it doesn’t turn out as you had hoped, forgive yourself, and others as well. Don’t spend too much time bogged down in regret. The good news about work is: you always have the next time.

10. Help other women.