McCann Worldgroup Reviews

Pros

Nice office. Unlimited holiday. Good work depending on boss/team.

Cons

In this particular group (none of the other groups operate like this), creative teams constantly compete with the best CDs and freelance ECDs!! on big brand jobs. More junior teams barely get mentorship, clear feedback, or more check-ins but are expected to just GET it and get on with it. So, obviously your stuff doesn't get chosen as there's no help to get there if all you hear is "just make it bigger" (cringe). Then, not only do you NOT get to help to produce those brand spots as most junior teams should do, you're stuck doing crappy social/digital assets for possibly years in the most formative years of your ad career. Without learning a thing on the more important stuff. Hence, why this group has the biggest turnover of creatives (juniors don't stick around long), because most realize you're dead without proper creative structure or real guidance. Because that takes work and this group would rather pull in CDs/ECDs than do the time-consuming task of growing the actual talent. So don't join full-time if you're not a CD/GCD because you'll be a glorified mac monkey and your book will dry up in no time. You'll get better opportunities (and pay) as a freelancer there!

Pros

I worked with multiple groups during my time at McCann (both from getting moved and from helping other groups out on certain projects). Some of them were great experiences with talented, ambitious CDs/GCDs/ECDs who push the creative and trust their teams to execute. Others were scattered and disorganized, with inconsistent leadership and less creative control for the teams doing the work. Sometimes you get to work on great projects for clients with money and hunger to do creative, interesting work.

Cons

Because the agency is so huge, you don't really get a strong sense of camaraderie with the company as a whole. Some teams are very close so you can get a good culture that way, but it's hard not to feel like a small cog in a giant machine a lot of the time.

Pros

You get healthy budgets and in the right group, a good brief every once in a while. Your job is safe and they protect their people pretty well. Not a lot of layoffs.

Cons

Wayyyyy too many layers. Lots of comfortable people in high paying positions. The relationship with clients are more like a vendor than a creative partner. Account & Strategy runs the show and the creative is just a check mark off a todo list.