Portfolio Night’s “Special Sevens”
ESPAÑOL | FRANÇAIS
ENGLISH
“HEY, WHAT’S WITH ALL THE LITTLE PORTFOLIO NIGHT 7 LOGOS NEXT TO CREATIVE DIRECTORS’ NAMES?”
ENGLISH
It almost goes without saying that Portfolio Night is a monumental effort. To bring the advertising industry together — not in just one city or one country but the entire world — all on one night, to benefit the the generation of idea makers, well that might classify as a bonafide miracle. The task is even more miraculous when you realize that it has been all put together by a small group of advertising people who were barely juniors themselves when it all began. We have built Portfolio Night out of love, but also out of seriously hard work, determination and, of course, money.
Unfortunately, it’s that last one that’s been a sticky issue this year. It’s no secret that the worldwide economic downturn has placed serious strain on the advertising industry, and agencies both big and small are scaling back operations to varying degrees.We at ihaveanidea believe that there has never been a better time to present Portfolio Night, an event that brings thousands of the world’s most talented and enthusiastic fresh talent in the spotlight; young creatives weaned on the technology and innovation that will be a driving force in our industry’s recovery. However, with dwindling budgets, agencies and other companies haven’t embraced Portfolio Night 7 as warmly as they’ve done in the past. As a result, sponsorships and Host Agencies have been down this year, reduced to the brave souls who truly believe that the proverbial show must go on.
ihaveanidea knows how important an event like Portfolio Night is to the advertising industry. We hear it nearly every day from the hundreds of agencies and creative directors who have participated over the years. We also understand the financial binds many of our most ardent supporters are in. As much as they would like to, they simply cannot commit to a full-scale partnership this year.
It is because of this that ihaveanidea has created the “Special Sevens”Fund, to allow agencies to show their support on a smaller scale. Every agency and creative director participating in any Portfolio Night city is invited to donate to the event. This donation will go directly towards offsetting the costs of Portfolio Night 7. Half of the donated funds will go to that city’s Host Agency, the people spearheading Portfolio Night at the local level. The other half will be put towards the Portfolio Night 7 global effort, ensuring that every participating city comes together as one. Once an agency or individual CD has donated, a small “Special Sevens” Fund logo is placed alongside their name on the Creative Director list.
There are no “Gold Sevens” or anything like that to show which agency or individual contributed more. And of course it’s 100% voluntary. Some agencies cannot contribute anything but a creative director’s time that evening, and that’s perfectly okay. They are still more than welcome to participate in Portfolio Night 7.
Times are tough, but if everyone does just a little bit more, we sincerely believe that Portfolio Night 7 will continue to play a significant role in improving the industry we love so much.
FOR ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING PORTFOLIO NIGHT’S “SPECIAL SEVENS”:
Ignacio Oreamuno
