Confidence

Ever wondered why Barnsley knocked Chelsea out of the FA Cup in 2008?

Clue: Its the same reason why (insert initials here) lose ad clients to the young upstarts.

Its not money. Sure, the big agencies can afford to hire better employees. But a bigger salary doesn't make you better at your job. Its just a motivator.

Its not teamwork either. Sure it plays a part, but its not the be all and end all.

I'm not even sure that its talent, obviously it plays a part in the long term, but not so much in the short term.

In my opinion, the biggest factor to play a difference is confidence. You know how it goes. You've seen it in James Bond movies, football matches and the local pub. You want to beat the bad guy/win the match/get the girl? Then get confident.

In the FA Cup, Chelsea were expected to win, because they had everything that Barnsley didn't. But that doesn't inspire confidence. Barnsley were confident because they had nothing to lose. Their fans would support them no matter what.

Guess what?

Junior creatives have nothing to lose. They don't have money, they've just started working together and they don't know how good they are. So who gets the placement?

My guess is that its the one's with enough confidence to go balls out and win.