Pups and puns: my first month at Flourish

I joined Flourish as a Copywriter almost a month ago. I’ve been spending most of my time accidentally introducing myself to people I’ve already met. Here are seven things I’ve observed during my inaugural month at the agency:

The Pun Game

This is a game played at work during which two topics are chosen and people attempt to combine them to produce a satisfying pun. For example, we opted for ‘Halloween’ and ‘bands/singers’ for a recent round. Results included but were by no means limited to ‘Dead Sheeran’, ‘Scream Dion’ and ‘Kill.I.Am’. I’ve learned that there is no more satisfying feeling of acceptance than a new colleague laughing at your pun.

There aren’t many good synonyms for ‘free’

Sometimes I have to write about promotional free items without actually using the word ‘free’. Once you’ve utilised ‘complimentary’ and ‘on us’, it gets tricky. Costless? Gratis? Feel free to contact me with suggestions. I mean it.

Drinks & dogs

Every Friday afternoon, we all enjoy complimentary drinks to celebrate the end of the working week. Sometimes the fun even goes beyond beverages. For example, last week Sara went out to fetch drinks and returned with a puppy. That sounds like I’ve made it up.

Dogs in general

It seems that dogs frequent the Flourish office. In fact, in the last week, we’ve enjoyed the company of three different dogs and also one small child. I know they’re not the same thing.

Weaning myself off exclamation marks

We avoid using exclamation marks in email subject lines because they can trigger spam filters. This has caused me to re-evaluate my personal dependence on them too. Now I’ve caught myself enthusiastically sprinkling them all over my copy, I can also clearly see my overuse of them in general communications. ‘Hi!! I’ve finished that piece of work you asked for! Ready to start the next brief! Thanks!!!!!!!’

Tea

Everyone here drinks a lot of tea, which I’m very much into. I thoroughly enjoy communal tea rounds, although a poorly timed ‘does anyone want a brew?’ could result in you having to make a round for nine people.

I’ve also noticed a very specific kind of anxiety that creeps in when I’ve accepted more than two cups of tea in a row from someone else. I can’t bring myself to say yes to any more hot drinks until I’ve made a round, for fear of crippling shame.

There are appliances that are considerably smarter than me

I’ve been writing copy about the most insane Samsung appliances. Did you know there’s a washing machine where you can add a forgotten item during the wash? Or a fridge with internal cameras so you can check to see if you’re out of milk when you’re at Tesco?! It blows my mind. I’ve absolutely brainwashed myself with my own copy and now I’m convinced I can’t live without these unfathomably clever items.

So, all in all, it’s been a good month. I’m hoping that over the next few I’ll learn even more, befriend some more dogs and finally kick that exclamation mark habit. Thanks for reading!!!!!!!!!!!