While she was working at imc2, a friend was working at what was then DDB Digital (now Tribal DDB). He contacted her one day and asked if she would be interested in working on a secret sports account. Of course she was interested, so she set up a time to meet with the general manager. She went in for a 10-minute interview and was pretty much hired on the spot. She worked at DDB for six years before moving to Albuquerque two years ago to work for her present agency, McKee Wallwork Cleveland.
Currently an account supervisor, Howard works with a number of clients, including the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau, Cliff's Amusement Park, and the High Desert Investment Corporation.
"I'm excited about and proud of all the work we're doing right now, but I'm most proud of our Albuquerque CVB ads. We commissioned local artists to create the framework for these beautiful ads. Being an Albuquerque native, it's important to me that we use creative elements made by locals to promote the destination," Howard said.
Thanks to new and ever-evolving technologies such as the Internet and TiVo, many advertisers are anticipating where their field will be heading in the next few years. According to Howard, the future will be about newness.
"The future of advertising will be about new ideas—new ways to reach our targets, new ways to showcase our brands/products, new ways to work with our clients, new ways to partner with other brands, and new ways to generate these ideas," she said. "The traditional advertising departmental walls will be torn down. Account management, creative, and media teams will engage in stronger collaboration to come up with the next big idea."
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As of late, many advertisers have begun to utilize these "new ways" in order to grab the attention of the public, and Howard has taken notice, particularly of the Saturn car ads and Apple iPhone ads.
"Most recently, I noticed the bold move that Saturn made in encouraging its customers to test-drive competitors' cars while at the Saturn dealerships. I'm happy to see breakthrough, risky ideas coming out of the automobile industry," said Howard. "Like many others, I'm impressed with the Apple iPhone TV spots. Apple took the functionality approach rather than the WOW approach. They knew people were concerned with the technology and usability and really showed how easy the features would be to use. Lately, I've seen many different visual executions in print and TV. Advertisers are starting to realize that a differentiated message is not only important but also the delivery."
Howard's advice to new advertising professionals is simple. She said that an intern once asked her for one piece of advice before entering the "big, wide working world." Her advice was to listen.
"Listen to everything that goes on around you. Soak up everything you hear (or see). Seek out new things to listen to. If you listen, you'll learn, and eventually know and understand," Howard said.
