The school of advertising & marketing

I trained at The Atomic Garden because I thought that later on, like on Mad Men, I would have a secretary and wearing a suit, with a cocktail in my hand, I would be explaining to clients what women want.

During the course, I realised that this is pure nonsense. It’s a good thing that my teachers and my creative partner helped me to notice these things when I was 22 and not much later in life.

After spending some time at school, you realise that you know even less than ever. It makes you feel anxious that you weren’t previously interested in this horrible but wonderful thing called advertising. And then comes the real breakthrough. You become an avid reader, experiencer and listener of all things related to advertising. You become more open to life in general and, in the end, you start to create appalling, and maybe sometimes brilliant, advertisements yourself.

It was a real school of contemporary life. As I hadn’t been involved in advertising before, this gave me a basic understanding of the threads that go into one or another type of advertising and the kind of material that can be produced from a single sentence of a task. Our brain is an unstoppable machine if you just let it work. I have seen it hundreds of times. You can generate lots of innovative ideas that change people’s perceptions of what has been normal for them. And this, strange as it may sound, can be achieved even through the most concise, one-word advertisement. All you need is the creativity to find it.

In short, the course gave me the courage and the understanding that I can try and make mistakes over and over again, but that it only makes me more creative and productive. Not just at work, but also in my life.

When I started this course, I already knew that I wouldn’t take a vacation, I would have to spend time trying myself in different areas. But this course still exceeded the limits of my knowledge. However, the challenge was much greater than I expected. The whole course was like a fun roller coaster with sudden creative ups and downs, but all the course teachers were very supportive and helped me not to stop with their professional advice. Clare, the head of course, always found time to advise on a strategic issue, participate in product name brainstorming, copy review and corrections before presentations. As animator, I broadened my horizons about brands quite a bit, and that alone was worth it.

For everyone, but certainly not for those who just want to listen passively. I have to admit, I didn’t expect that much work myself. Now you have lectures, and now, look, you’ve got an assignment to do and you’re spinning around like a bee. There were some stuck moments when you don’t know where to go next, then you call Clare, the course leader, who breaks the ice from your thoughts, leads you out of all the (not only comfort) zones and bang! A few hours later, you have 3 pages of ideas on where to go next. It wasn’t easy, but it was a good, very good process.

Since my school days, I have dreamed of establishing a community that would have a positive impact on the world around me. While working as a programmer in a product team, I saw that product managers are a part of the community that controls the levers of influence, which made me want to try this position myself. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t have to look far for opportunities, as The Atomic Garden was just recruiting for its first class of people who wanted to become Product Managers. What I expected from the course was a demystification of the producer role, heated discussions with teachers, and feedback-dominated mentoring. Expectations met. I know the difference between a Project and a Product Manager, I managed to pit teachers against each other, and I don’t even know where to put the amount of feedback I received from mentors and teachers. As someone with a fairly high quality standard, I was pleased with the competence of the teachers and the level of knowledge of their craft. The most important thing is that they did not lack empathy, which is especially important in the training of new knowledge and skills. During the course, we went through the product cycle, taking away 3 practical works that you can put in your portfolio. The teachers kept sharing different career stories with us. It was very useful in forming a multifaceted perspective of working in product companies.

How to Create a GOOD Brand is a complex, consistent process, where theoretical knowledge obtained outside the textbook is immediately applied in practice. Professional and inspiring teachers have been sharing their insights and experiences through a continuous, lively discussion. I would liken the full-course trip to an expedition, the intensity of which exceeds the limits of your comfort, it is a bit uncomfortable, you get lost, and the weather conditions are not always favorable. However, by not losing sight of the goal and walking with experienced guides, you will unconsciously reach your summit, which redeems everything.

I can only say one word about The Atomic Garden Vilnius – amazing! To be honest, when I decided to come to this school, I did not expect to learn that much. My main goal here was to get to know people in the industry. I had a strong opinion that creativity cannot be learned, because it is either given to you or it is not. But, oh man, I was wrong. There are layers of strategies, inner things, concepts and techniques that lead you to creating good advertising. Not only did I meet really interesting teachers and students, but I also experienced the most interesting lectures. All of my expectations were exceeded. What is more, I got my dream job at one of the best advertising agencies in Lithuania.

When you come to the Creativity in Advertising course, you turn into a weird person (if you weren’t already): you turn off your adblocker, wait for adverts while watching TV and startle your friends by speaking non-stop about the best campaigns.

The Atomic Garden Vilnius is a school that introduced me to the world of advertising and made me think differently. Here I have gained knowledge that I cannot find in any book, explained in such a broad way. The atmosphere here was motivating and encouraging to learn. Here I learned to tame my creativity, so that it’s not just one-off flashes of ideas. I was also surprised to discover how widespread the Atomic community is – practically everywhere in the advertising field I find people who have studied or teach at the school. It’s great to see that if you don’t let go of your passion, the advertising industry is waiting for you.

To be interesting and influential in the world of advertising, you have to learn that you’re not here for the sake of self-expression. During my time at The Atomic Garden Vilnius, I developed a sense of versatility and it was the best thing that could have happened.