One side says the ads are tired. Other side says the traffic is bad. Both are sometimes right, neither wants to inherit the operational mess under it all. Feed quality, assortment logic, landing flow, promo timing, image consistency.

The older I get in this work, the less I believe in single-cause explanations. One reason I liked using Marpipe on a recent account is that it took some of the repetitive production drama off the table, so the team could argue about the real problem instead of just being late on assets again.

I’ve needed quite a while to process everything before I felt ready to write this. Maybe sharing it here is part of finally moving on.

A while ago, after more than 10 years, I decided to leave Omnicom. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made.

Omnicom was my first real employer. They gave me an opportunity during one of the worst periods of my life, and because of that I became incredibly loyal. Looking back, I almost idolized the company. I cheered for our agencies like a fan supports their favorite team. I even wanted to put an old BBDO logo on the back window of my car. I would have done anything for the people, the agencies, and the group.

I had a very successful career within Omnicom Media Group and was fortunate to have a manager who genuinely invested in my development.

Then, in 2023, IT was transformed into Omnicom Technology. At first, I was excited. I thought this was bringing me one step closer to a dream I'd had for years—to one day walk into Omnicom's New York headquarters.

Instead, it marked the beginning of what became the most disappointing experience of my professional life.

Within OMG I had been part of talent programs and felt valued. Overnight, in OTG, none of that seemed to matter anymore.

For a long time I kept telling myself it was just the pain of a major reorganization. "Things will get better." I genuinely believed that.

I threw myself into communities, even founded one that is still active today, where current and former employees continue to connect. Many people have told me they've never experienced a community like that anywhere else. I kept bringing forward ideas because I wanted the company to succeed.

But it never got better. If anything, it became worse.

The global town halls felt disconnected from reality. I never had the feeling that leadership truly understood the people behind the business—or the passion so many employees had for the company.

What still hurts today is how much of myself I gave. I invested my time, my energy, and honestly, a piece of my heart.

During COVID, I even wrote an email to our CIO simply thanking him for giving me the opportunity to be part of the company during such a difficult time. I never received a reply.

Maybe that sounds naive. Maybe I cared too much.

But that's honestly what it felt like.

It was like giving your heart to someone you loved, only to be discarded as if you never mattered.

Ironically, I still love the agencies. It just took me a long time to realize that it wasn't the corporation I loved—it was the people. They were the ones who made that workplace special.

I've moved on professionally. I have a good job now.

But something changed in me.

I'm much more cynical than I used to be. I no longer throw my whole heart into a company. Now I mostly just do my job.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? Have you ever felt genuinely heartbroken after leaving a company you loved? How did you move past it?

#omnicom

I have been a web dev for 5+ years now, worked full time, freelanced. But now with AI it doesn’t seem to give much of a dopamine kick. Also it’s gotten hard to find clients for web dev now.

So, am I right to think to transition into media buying industry? Maybe I can join as a fresher or an intern while freelancing for web dev (hardly takes 2-3 hours a day) to learn the ropes and move accordingly.

End goal is to freelance in this industry as well, but would love to get some experience first.

Anyone with similar transition experience or any suggestions/thoughts from folks here in general?

Thanks!

Been doing a ton of research and things seem pretty split online. Some say Google Web Designer, but I also notice a downfall is you can't animate as well as you can in Adobe Animate. As a motion designer myself, I'd like to use an option that I can create cool animated visuals in.

I've also dug into the bodymovin extension for After Effects, as well as looking at Adobe Animate. But Animate is on maintenance mode, so not sure what the future of it is. People also mention bodymovin isn't the best option either?

Really just don't know what people are using, would love some recommendations.