For all those media doom and gloom reports about the economy and all of the woes you may be experiencing right now, there is still plenty to be done. Remember, readers, we are the keepers of our destiny and have the power to make it happen.
Peep these tips for all you creative folk out there.
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Jinean Robinson is a CCIO (Chief Creative Infections Officer) specializing in creative strategy and implementation, 360 branding communications, and brand development. Join her at http://twitter.com/germllc or her firm’s website at http://germonline.com/
Chicago – Dallas – Los Angeles – San Francisco – New York City – Seattle: These placement gurus have got some good work and clients brewing. Go get you some work and you are free to send all commission checks to me via Paypal 
Seriously, lots of great work and opportunity for freelance. Let me know how it goes!
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Jinean Robinson is a CCIO (Chief Creative Infections Officer) specializing in creative strategy and implementation, 360 branding communications, and brand development. Join her at http://twitter.com/germllc or her firm’s website at http://germonline.com/
Finally, an opportunity to write on a bus shelter without consequence. Interactive e-cast billboards have been erected by Sharpie around cities, allowing people to deface at will. Pick a Sharpie and leave your permanent mark on a bus shelter, telephone booth, or, for the brave ones, a billboard.
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Jinean Robinson is a CCIO (Chief Creative Infections Officer) who has been in the communications industry for over 8 years, specializing in creative strategy and implementation, 360 branding communications, and brand development. Join her at http://twitter.com/germllc or her firm’s website at http://germonline.com/
Ever wonder, “what does it really take to develop great ideas?” I mean the big ones. The juicy, sloppy, wet ones that drench the culture and live soaked in society for decades. Well, there is a great Cannes Selection film, “Art & Copy,” that does just that. Or, shall I say instead of wondering, the filmmakers decided to Just Do It!
Check out a screening in your area: http://www.artandcopyfilm.com/screenings/
While in Atlanta, I’m gonna go to the screening on Wednesday, April 22nd as part of the Atlanta Film Festival. Tune in Thursday for my review–like you care what I think–but I’ll let you…
Ok. Gonna tell you a little secret….
I know we can get caught in our rut of, “how much bigger do I have to make this logo,” “must EVERYTHING have to be sketched, comped, and spelled out to buy off on just the concept?,” or “do I have to work with the brand marketing all-star team from the 60’s?”
But on my way to meetings yesterday, I got a quick reminder of how lucky we are. I was riding on the interstate and saw a car on the freeway hit the guard rail only to be thrown into oncoming traffic. This reminded…
Ahh, now I know where awards are and the money to pay for entering can be found.
To those of you who dream of seeing your name grace the gold pencil, running in meadows with gold lions, or at least getting in the table of contents of design award annuals: get ready to pay up. I have been amazed at the fees participants must pay for entering design shows. Ok, ok, maybe I can understand the big bucks for Cannes, One Show, even CA, but all types of “award shows” are now asking for exorbitant amounts for just one entry in…
So, what is the answer?
In a world of competing designers where everyone with Arial and a Sharpie are now the next Paula Scher, how do you compete for work? Is spec the answer?
Well, as lines have been drawn, there are two sides to the work-for-free war and boy oh boy are the jump drives flying.
One side believes that designers must take a united stand to not give free labor and belittle our purpose and industry. The other side says that in this overcrowded, over-saturated, and any other “over” word you can think of, it is just part of the evolving world…
Besides stupid people and abject nonsense, they’re a given. We all do things that don’t help our own cause and make what we normally do very fluidly, into a battle and a struggle. Shalu Wasu a creative consultant with a terrific website that offers some great “reminders” on how not to be your own worse enemy. It is a simple, effective read that will be useful: http://tickledbylife.com/index.php/15-elephant-tethers-that-stop-you-from-being-creative/
Here’s a taste of what Shalu Wasu identifies as the many things creatives use to tether themselves to failure:
1. What will people think?
2. But I’ve never had any great ideas!
3. What is the right answer?
4. I don’t…
Successful branding is all about “BEHAVIOURAL MOMENTS” that are a set of actions that happen in the real world that actually drive sales an repeat business. “Once you decide, We Are Not In The Image Business, We Are In The Behavior Business, It Empowers A Different Conversation About Everything.”
10 – Our Troops all coming home ahead of time, safely and being appreciated for doing an impossible job!
9 – More Talented, Smart Creative people being rehired in Advertising
8 – The Ad Industry coming to their senses that Creatives are the muscle that drives our industry
7 – The economy rebounds from the current melt down as fast as possible!
6 – The price of gas continues to plunge and we’re paying under a buck a gallon by February and it doesn’t stop going down there… (Oil companies going under would make my millenium!)
5 – Wall Street Interlopers, Scum Bag Politicians, Predatory…
10 – More Jerry Seinfeld-Bill Gates Microsoft commercials (Give up, you suck!)
9 - More GEICO Caveman and GECKO commercials (Unwatchable)
8 - Any Advertising of any kind with Paris Hilton in it (Just go away already)
7 - Any Political Campaign ad or commercial… (I think we had our fill in 2008 to last a lifetime?)
6 - Any Politician saying “I approved this commercial.” (If you can’t put together a good tv spot,
how can you think you can run anything?”)
5 – Stop talking about “Change We Can Believe In” (and actually start DOING some of that change!)
4 – More New Brand launches…
With the NCAA College Bowl Game season upon us, 34 to be exact, the pervasiveness of corporate sponsorship seems as deep as ever. But in fact as Department Stores drop their backing of holiday parades and when clients like GM don’t renew their sponsorship deal with the New York Yankees, have we hit the bottom of the sponsorship well? It definitely appears that way…
The NASCAR world has been dominated by the news of teams losing sponsorships as opposed to celebrating the three-peat championship of driver Jimmie Johnson. No sport is immune.
Who do you think will be hit next with a sponsorship meltdown?
Shopper Marketing is the employment of any marketing stimuli that has been developed based on a deep understanding of shopper behavior, and which is designed to build brand equity, engage the shopper and lead him/her to make a purchase. It can range from on?pack promotion to price promotions, placement, point-of-sales activity or sampling.
Where do we go from here with cell phones go? What is your professional opinion in regards to what we the masses, can expect next?
