After graduating from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford with an MA Hons degree in English Literature and Theory, Faris worked as a strategy consultant during the first dotcom boom. Although he enjoyed helping to build digital businesses for the likes of British Telecom, he didn’t enjoy wearing a suit. He left to pursue a career where he could wear trainers and flirted with writing, ending up as a contributor to men’s magazine Maxim, before finally finding his home at Naked Communications as a strategist, working with clients like Yahoo, Coca-Cola, Google and Sony. Faris writes about brands, media, communications, technology and that for a variety of publications including the Financial Times and Contagious Magazine in the UK, Media Magazine and Adweek in the US and Adnews in Australia. He recently wrote a chapter for The Age of Conversation – marketing’s first collaborative book that is being sold for Variety, The Children’s Charity. He writes a blog called Talent Imitates, Genius Steals, which is one of the top 5 advertising blogs in the UK.
What do you do all day?
Lots of different stuff – but in essence I spend half my day learning/stealing and the other half using what I’ve learned/ stolen.
What will you do today/What have you done today?
Today I’ve attended one brainstorm, dissected a huge new brief, written a couple of blog posts, spoken to some interesting people about things they think are interesting and later I’m going to write a speech for an industry training event for graduates coming into the industry. It’s supposed to be inspiring.
What’s your working process?
There’s no defined process – in essence we are creative problem solvers – but I think of it as a funnel. I try to gather as much as possible about the area I’ve been asked to look at and then narrow it down to the most salient or interesting bits.
What’s the best thing about what you do?
Working with lovely people, constantly learning new new things, and being able to surf the web constantly under the need to be culturally aware
And the worst thing?
Logistics.
How did you get into it?
From management consultancy I became a freelance journalist. From there I worked at a record label, and from there a media agency, until finally landing at Naked, a strategic communications and ideation company. My urge to keep writing, and desperate need for an audience, led to me blogging.
What’s been the biggest achievement in your career so far?
Being asked to speak at MIT – happens in November.
Where do you go from here, career-wise?
Two sides:
One: keep working within the industry moving around to different markets to keep learning – spent 6 months working in Australia last year, moving to New York next year.
Two: keep blogging, writing about media and communication and technology and that, more speaking engagements, and then get a book out.
Have you got any advice for someone trying to do what you do?
Sure – learn all you can about the industry, read the blogs, join the social networks, come to events and meet people. Don’t hassle people though; be interested. Be enthusiastic. Be nice.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A writer.
And if you were going to have a complete career change, what would you go for?
I’d either be a banker or a novelist.
Where do you look for inspiration?
The internet – window on the world.
Which other artists do you look [up] to?
As a blogger I look up to other fantastic bloggers in my field and outside it. Some of my favourite art I’ve found through We-make-money-not-art – a blog by a nice lady called Regine, which is focused on the intersection of technology, biotech, and art and design. I saw a lovely art show yesterday by a nice chap called Yazmny.
What constitutes a successful work, for you?
Since I work in the field of commercial creativity, good work is work that gets the financial results for the brand but is aesthetically something you can be proud of.
What constitutes an unsuccessful work?
When it’s only one or the other, but not both.
