Not so long ago creative folk were employed to work across all areas of business communications. It was said that if you were any good you'd be able to turn your hand to almost anything. And if you had any weak spots or showed any failings in a particular area, your card would soon be marked, "Don't give her that TV brief, she's only any good at print!"
In them days you had to be versatile and have as many arrows to the bow as possible. The job demanded that you were multi-talented and multi-skilled. One month you'd be doing some TV and DM, the next month some radio scripts, a logo design, and a 12-page brochure.
There were no excuses. If you wanted to stay employed, you had to make certain that each one was delivered to the very highest standards.
So whether you were in your comfort zone or not, you dare not screw up.
This resulted in a lot of the top creatives becoming excellent all-rounders. They were able to work right across the board and many of them had portfolios of work that featured a wide range of different communications.
All that sounds a bit weird now. These days most of us are specialists and our skillsets are focused on one particular business segment. 20 years ago I was just known as a copywriter. Today I find I'm being pigeon holed as a B2B technology writer and in truth that's not really what I'm about at all.
How it came to this I'm not quite sure. I did a bit of technology writing a few years back and it escalated. Now people assume that's all I do. I guess it makes it easier for them if they put me in a box. Yet this week I've been working on the launch of some new biscuits, (small, round, sweet things) and I've really enjoyed the challenge.
So is specialism a good thing for creative people? Have you honed your skills and expertise to a particular niche? Or do you prefer being a jack-of-all-trades? And if you are a specialist, why did you choose that particular area? Is it interesting to you or did you, like me, stumble into it?
John Fountain is freelance copywriter
Visit John Fountain's website
Twitter: @fountainjohn
