A Day in the Life of Jonathan Meatyard

“I want to have the best ideas out there.”

Name: Jonathan Meatyard
Company: rmg:connect
Job title: Art Director

What keeps you busy all day?
My project manager Mita. And of course the fact that that I want to have the best ideas out there.

What keeps you awake at night?
Imagining that next big idea.

Describe your working day:
Up at 6.30 am followed by breakfast on the train, that wakes me up every morning. Read about another multi-millionaire celebrity’s tragic wardrobe malfunction and their fall from grace and taxi earlier this morning. Sat down at my desk at 9.00am and started sifting through the ever growing list of emails and Face book messages. Made my way over to the coffee machine about 9.30am to get my usual caffeine handshake and then it’s all go. Mita, my project manager calls me. The feedback is in. I spend the morning jumping from one meeting to another, picking up debriefs and client feedback which is to be implemented by midday, hooray. It’s sunny so I spent my lunch time in Hyde Park arguing with ducks in over possession of my sandwiches. Après lunch the office goes crazy, clients have consolidated all their feedback and another brief has come in – both of which will be for the end of play. 3.15 pm, quick brew to steady the mind and then reviewed work with group heads. Quick game of table football with account team, followed by another brew. I spent last hours of day throwing ideas back and forward with my art director Darren.
7.00 pm and it’s down at the bar for a quick bottle of Young’s, which always turns into two bottles of Young’s. Dashed for train at 7.40pm, thinking about work for tomorrow, and read as many pages of my current book as possible.

What’s your busiest time of day?
3.15pm. Work always seems to go crazy at this time.

What brands/accounts have you worked on?
Vodafone, HSBC, Shell, Pfizer- Listerine, Visine, Deloitte, Sky, Weight Watchers and Tommy’s Baby charity.

Best day at work:
The day we got the job, followed very closely by the day we won our first award at Campaign Direct.

Worst day at work:
The following day.

Name one thing you’ve achieved that has made your bosses sit up and take notice:
Winning the network’s first ever Cannes Lion.

Ambitions:
Manage my own agency and publish a book.

Advice to other rising stars:
Stay hungry and stay humble. It’s worth all the effort.

Quote from the boss:
‘Jon is a mature thinker who can really get under the skin of a brand.’