Tinder’s story has become iconic to those who work in the creative industry. What is it about Tinder that makes this simple app a favorite of million users after 8 years? They had their answer: people are constantly searching for new relationships and believe in the magic of random combinations. At Pencil, we believe that too.
Our ‘dream team’ is… the whole company
We don’t have a concept of one dream team at Pencil. Members who come from any team can team up to make a dream job. Pencil has nearly 20 members in the creative department, each with their own strength in Social content, Communication, and Branding. Whenever we have a new product, we don’t assign it to a team, but for people whose skills match. If there is a project that requires a music video then our client can trust that the members who are knowledgeable about music and the best singing members In the company will dedicate it to this project. And if a project is based on a football platform? Even Pencil’s BOD members can be the leader of brainstorming sessions and presentations. We believe everyone can shine when they do the things they love most. This way, all members of the company will have opportunities to work with different people. Sometimes, interesting projects do not need one big team. We will create a small internal competition where everyone can choose their own dream team to work on proposals and pitch to solve the brief. You never know how much it helps to build friendship, work relationships and partnerships from that competition.
Skill Matrix- Pencil’s secret weapon
Our Creative Director uses an extremely effective measurement board called the Skill Matrix, which is built on the people’s skill assessment in many different areas. We believe that each member of the team can be a hidden gem, and this measurement board will reveal all the strengths of each member, so they can be called whenever a suitable project comes in. Put simply, each member has an extremely cool profile as when playing Tinder. That profile says who you are and increases your chances of being swiped many times. An Art Director may be very good at writing poetry, whereas a copywriter is extremely good at Polaroid photography, and the projects are actually the bridge for us to work together, discover each other's unknown skills. Creativity is inherently a very happy thing if you can be creative with the right people, that's the dream job. Every day we come to the company excited about who we are going to swipe right with this week. Of course, sometimes there are imperfect combinations. No problem, we always have a second chance to start over.
We believe anyone can be a good partner
Pencil can be the first agency of many interns and juniors. Or the fifth, the sixth agency of experienced employees. Or even the last agency after all kinds of achievements from 20 years of experience of an old boy in BOD. But we're willing to swipe right together for unexpected combinations of Pencil. There will be projects where CD works directly with an Intern Designer, there will be projects where GM sits down to work with a Junior Account to propose Creative ideas. We understand more about each other and appreciate those times together.
Days of coming home late at night, not daring to look at ourselves in the elevator’s mirror.
Days of early mornings, opening the deck and seeing all team members are working to solve the brief. Happiness comes from new things, the things we are trying for, always flutter in our hearts.
No matter the road is long or short, there will always be a destination to look for, happiness to expect, good teammates to accompany, someone to listen to and share the same belief, even when things don't always happen as you expected (you certainly will lose some pitches!), those are days worth living, right?