“The Nomad” is a fortnightly published series where I talk to expat PR and Comms professionals, then delve into the insights which inform and help other people to live or to do business in an intercultural world.
“I don’t think there’s an issue with the lack of representation necessarily; I think that has come to an issue with cultural differences to a certain aspect of it. A lot of people from the US tend to be more direct, independent and on their feet. I feel like it comes from a place of knowing that they are being brought in to consult and voice their thoughts. A lot of people who come from Asian countries – not people who were born in the US, but rather people who migrate here at some point – are taught to put their heads down or not to talk back to their superiors. We’re constantly worried about what we’re going to say, or how we’re going to say it, or when we should push back or when our job might be at risk. What I do want to highlight is that it shouldn’t be the way we go about it.”
It’s 6pm in London (and 1pm in New York). I just finished a long day at work packed with meetings – in most of those meetings people talked about how nice the weather was and their holiday plans. You can feel the holiday season in the air and there’s nothing I wished more than to be whisked off to Lisbon again (where everyone and their mothers are visiting) but I don’t miss the part of feeling like hiking to Mount Everest wandering around Lisbon’s streets – however, Keerthy brings such energy and passion to our conversation that makes me eager for our meeting. He speaks candidly about the importance of recognising cultural differences and how we should go about those differences. When I sent my questions prior to the interview, he asked if we could delve into this certain aspect of cultural nuances. The series The Nomad is ultimately about how we foster an intercultural society where everyone can learn from each other. That’s what I’d been looking for.
“There should be a level of understanding from both sides: those from Asian countries don’t always speak up and don’t always reach out. It is to understand that it is a cultural barrier that they’re going through. So understanding what makes them comfortable to voice their opinions is crucial. That is definitely one thing I’ve noticed in myself sometimes. I’ve been attending this group in the USA called Asians in Advertising and a lot of us have faced the same issue at some points in our career.”
Growing up in Kuwait and then moving to India to do his undergraduate program in Engineering, right after school, Keerthy worked for about four years in Sales and Marketing before finally finding his heart in Advertising. But his parents weren’t too pleased at the time. Luckily, his determination and passion came to fruition when he was able to move to Miami Ad School to pursue his dream of working in the creative industry.
Attending Miami Ad School for his Art Direction Degree while also pursuing his Masters in Global Strategic Communication, Keerthy found his place. But started from the bottom in a foreign country.
“Getting out of school, it was just a matter of applying to jobs. I remember I used to reach out to 10, 20 companies a day to say “Hey I’m new, and I know this is a whole new thing for me, but trust me, I’m really ready to get into this.”
His story represents the hopes, dreams and aspirations of those who are ready to make it.
You studied Manufacturing Engineering and then at Miami Ad School. Why did you switch to a career that’s so different?
Doing engineering was never my first course of choice; I actually wanted to go into architecture. But it was a situation where my parents were like “No you have to do engineering”. But two years in, I realised this was not what I wanted to do, that was not something that’d make me happy. The switch to designing or advertising or being a creative came much later. After I’d finished engineering school, I did go into sales and marketing for a bit before I got into a design internship. When I started doing that, I genuinely loved what I was doing; I felt happy doing it. So that was the first time that I knew it was a career I want to do for the rest of my life. I then moved to Miami to take an art direction course and a master’s in global strategic communication.
We might have something in common, as in the culture and family expectations. How did your parents react to your decision at the time?
Honestly, they still don’t completely understand what I do for a living. They are from a different generation and haven’t really seen this kind of job come up before. When the initial switch came out, they weren’t trying to understand it; they were like: “Oh, so you just gonna draw and make money” – that’s how they understood it. I’ve tried to explain that it falls in the marketing field. My brother does work as a marketing consultant as well and the company he used to work in did have an advertising department in there, so I drew the comparison. When I told him that it is something I’m interested in doing, he went and spoke to them. The biggest selling factor was that he could actually see this as being a viable career.
What were the challenges when you came to the U.S.?
I wouldn’t say the US culture was completely unaware to me, it wasn’t like a culture shock, necessarily, but there was definitely a cultural adjustment period involved. There were a lot of new things I had to learn – especially moving into a city like Miami where the population is predominantly Hispanic; it’s sort of mixing two cultures. It took a while for me to navigate – the biggest thing I had an issue with was understanding that there’s a separate laundry and drying machine in your house; back home, you would just put clothes on a line and let it dry. It’s little things like that. I honestly found the people here more friendly, welcoming and open-minded about a lot of things so I’ve embraced the cultural changes since I moved here. I feel I’m happier here and like I can be myself more.
What were the challenges professionally?
When I decided to switch careers, it was a situation of starting from the bottom at that time. I learnt the basics of Photoshop, Illustrator and Adobe Suite. I got this job in a company as a designer, where I then went on to be a senior designer. All this was happening in India. So that was my foot in the door in the advertising industry, even though it was more on the design side at the time. So coming to the Miami Ad School, we learnt more about how it’s not as much as design and production; we learnt more about the big idea – what is it that you’re trying to say or what are you trying to communicate with visuals. When I went through school, I found that concept more interesting. A lot of people in the creative world have different boxes they fall into – if you’re an art director, you do visuals, design or video production; if you’re a copywriter, you do taglines or copy. Essentially, I found the idea more compelling – you could design and edit videos, but you could also understand the strategy and you could figure out the big message or the campaign narrative. That excited me the most. When I was building out campaigns and portfolios, I tried to make sure I thought about that. I made sure it wasn’t just making cool designs, but actually, a good reason why these designs exist in the first place. I found Manifest to be the perfect fit for me at that time because it’s a place where they champion the big, bold idea; they don’t want you to stick to the convention.
Speaking of big ideas and creative campaigns, what’s your recent favourite one?
I think my most recent favourite one was a campaign by Liquid Death. The brand is just water but what they stand for and who they’re trying to be is very compelling; you want to follow them and see what they’re up to. The campaign I’m talking about is the one with Whitney Cummings about recycled plastic surgery. It’s such a fun, humorous way to talk about such a serious topic. I’m looking at the campaign and wonder how that brainstorm went down in the room. I love it because it stands out. It’s a very unique perspective of how you could showcase such a serious issue. They are not trying to oversell or undersell it, but they’re trying to make a compelling point about who they are.
Would you say Liquid Death is your favourite brand to work with?
There are definitely a few of them. Liquid Death is one of them for sure. I love Spotify; McDonald’s is always fun; Heinz is always fun. What attracts me to a brand is if they’re willing to actually not just follow a norm but willing to experiment and take a risk.
You don’t want brands to follow the norm. Is that also one of your criteria when it comes to great creative work?
I would say that is definitely one of my definitions in terms of how a brand can stand out. I think though when you work in the industry for a period of time, you realise it’s not always about standing out – some brands are coming for a purpose, and some have their own objectives. I would still always try to push it as far as I can and see what they’re comfortable with; I would challenge them a little bit and see what they’re okay with. But I think it’s usually a common middle ground to agree if they are okay to take that risk as well.
What inspires you?
Talking to people inspires me. I think sometimes one of the challenges you get with being in the creative field is your perspective is all you have when you’re coming up with an idea.
When you talk to people – and it doesn’t even have to be someone who I work with at the time, it could just be someone I meet in a bar or restaurant – you hear such a different perspective that you’ve never thought about. Take a parenting brand for example. I’m not a parent, I can only understand so much about what kind of struggles a parent goes through. My perspective is limited on this topic. But then I have friends who are parents so it does help me to talk to them. I feel like you hear something you never expect to hear. And sometimes the most brilliant ideas come from things that happen on a daily basis.
How has AI impacted, if at all, your creative output?
I honestly am in favour of it, to a certain extent. I see AI as it is right now as a tool if anything, that makes the process more efficient. Take designing as an example. Photoshop was something that definitely revolutionised the entire way how designers design and think. It’s a whole idea that when new technology comes into making your job more efficient, there can always be fear around it i.e. if it’s going to replace you. But I don’t think that’s necessarily how AI works. I see it more as a tool that can incorporate your job into it. For example with research, it could help me reduce three hours of researching and going through Google articles. But on the other side of it, I see the harm of copyright issues that come out of it. Essentially, it is something that is never going to support an original thought, per se. That’s where we come in. That’s something creatives and AI can do hand in hand to produce better and faster work.
A big part of living and working in a foreign country is understanding how the visa system works. Would you be able to talk about it?
The visa is always very stressful; you’re going to bang your head against your wall for a couple of months. But it’s part of the deal you made when you decided to come and work in another country. I’m currently on a self-sponsored O1 visa, which is also referred to as an artist’s visa sometimes in the US. Essentially with this visa, you have two ways of going about it. The first one is you can do a self-sponsored visa where you have to produce publications about the kind of work you’ve done and show why you would be an asset to the country. With this visa, you can do freelance work which essentially means you are free to pursue multiple opportunities on this visa. The other way is you have a company-sponsored O1 visa, which means you work for one particular company and you won’t be able to do other freelance jobs or anything on the side. Another option that most companies offer in the US is H1B, which is a standard work visa. While that is also a good option, you are kind of limited by the fact that it’s a lottery system. It is a shot in the dark if you’re going to get that visa or not. O1 visa is not a lottery system – you apply and you get it if you are a valid candidate. I was thankful that early on in my school days at Miami Ad School, I had people who guided me through this and helped me. A lot of people come to Miami Ad School to study and want to work in the US eventually so we do have support groups to talk about it.
What do you miss most about home?
Hands down the food every single time!
What Keerthy talks about resonates so much with me, and perhaps a lot more people – the rewarding feeling of finding the job that you like, of finding yourself. The rewarding feeling of feeling like you’ve cracked the system in a foreign country. And not to mention the food – yes we grow up with more than just salt and pepper.
