We were lucky to catch up with Justin Kramm recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Justin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

In 2002, I was at a crossroads because I knew that I wanted to become an advertising copywriter but I was hesitant to take the next step: advertising portfolio school. Funny enough, in my freshman year of college six years earlier at the University of Florida my first Advertising teacher told me that if I wanted to be a copywriter I should drop out and go to a 2-year portfolio school like Miami Ad School. Instead, I waited four years, double majored in Business, minored in Latin American studies, and then went to grad school for International Business. None of this got me closer to a job as a copywriter. After graduating with my Master’s degree, I took a job working in customer service for an Italian motorscooter company. After a year, I knew that I finally had to take on the risk (and the debt) of going back to school yet again. At the time, none of my family and friends had heard of the school and none of them understood why I was going. I was reluctant to take on the debt, but ironically I think it helped me because once I signed the papers for my student loan, I knew that there was no turning back.

Justin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve been working as a Creative Director and advertising copywriter since 2004. Along the way, I’ve made some great friends, created fun and meaningful work, met my wife at campaign launch party, and then became the proud father of two future copywriters. (They say they want to be pro soccer players, but they’ll see the light soon enough.)

I have a master’s degree in International Business from the University of Florida and graduated from Miami Ad School’s portfolio program. Creative work is so subjective, but I appreciate any awards I can get. I’m happy to say that I won a Grand Prix award from the Cannes Advertising Festival. I’m pretty proud of that. Even if the other soccer dads have never even heard of Cannes.

In my career, I’ve had the opportunity to develop global campaigns for iconic brands including Nike, Red Bull, Philips, Intel, and Microsoft. It’s been an exciting journey so far, and I’m looking forward to many more adventures.

My portfolio and resume can be found at http://justintinkramm.com/

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

During an internship at Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Miami, the world’s most award-winning ad agency at the time, I wrote over 400 headlines for a billboard promoting the Burger King Big Fish sandwich. Over the course of 2 months, I presented a new round every week. At the end of the internship, none of the headlines were chosen…or so I thought. A few months later I was in Times Square and saw my headline. It was the first one that I had written, and one of my least favorites. “Reel it in.” That experience taught me to focus on the process, not the result. The result was underwhelming and disappointing. I didn’t get the full-time job which really sucked. But the process of writing hundreds and hundreds of headlines, and dealing with rejection was a priceless experience that taught me a lesson about resilience.

Is there a mission driving your creative journey?

In 2004, I was fresh out of ad school and was on a mission to get an internship at Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Miami. I wrote this cover letter which serves as my mission statement to this day:

MY FIRST COVER LETTER

Will work for free…
All I ask for is the opportunity to toil side-by-side with creative visionaries who are taking the stagnant industry traditionally referred to as advertising and shaping it into something bolder, something grander that will rise up from the muddy bog it has been stuck in since the time a Neanderthal first painted on a cave and morph into a glorious, transcendental, supernatural, ethereal force that will surpass the capacity of human imagination and leave the public begging for more.

I will tackle creative problems with a steadfast commitment to the cause, using headlines, taglines, jingles, jokes, poems, prose, screenplays, and media yet to be invented to unite, inspire, empower, liberate and entertain the populace.

I yearn to be a part of this creative juggernaut that will echo throughout the generations, sending shockwaves into the comfort zone where the vast majority of human beings spend their waking hours.

I am a soldier in the fight against mediocrity. And I am reporting for duty.

Contact Info:

• Website: justinkramm.com
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/justinkramm