Looking for something to do this weekend? The man who designed credit sequences for Star Wars, Taxi Driver, the Exorcist among other film classics, will be at the Eastman House this Saturday at 8:00 pm. Title Designer Dan Perri, will present a selection of his clips and discuss his movie career. Mention the RAF and you’ll receive a $2 discount at the door. Click here for details.
I’ll start by saying I’ve seen this approach succeed twice in the past 3 months, so I’m starting to believe that there may be some merit to it.
I’ve found that clearly identifying and making known what you want out of a situation can do nothing but help your cause.
Most situations have 4 critical components:
A) Your current state
B) Your desired state
C) What you are willing to do to get from A to B
D) The person who ultimately has to say yes
We all know what A is. But what often goes unmentioned is B. And if you haven’t made it clear to D what B is, then how can you formulate C?
“I am an intern and I want to be hired.”
“I am an Assistant AE and I want to be an Account Executive.”
“I have a 3.5 GPA and I want to have a 4.0.”
…”and here’s my plan.”
So if you are not where you want to be, consider this approach:
1) Determine B.
2) Put on C on paper and get buy-in from D. Execute the plan and update D frequently on your progress. Keep B top of everybody’s minds.
3) D can’t say no.
So, what’s your plan?
I am on Flickr, Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, Adgabber and even a social network just for knitters called Ravelry. But I am no equal opportunity social networker. For example, I can’t bring myself to join LinkedIn. People keep sending me invites. I keep ignoring them. With mounting guilt, I admit. I just have this perception of LinkedIn as a kind of Facebook for suits.
And speaking of Facebook, I do have my limits there as well. I have never thrown a snowball, poked back, sent a cocktail or discovered what kind of writer I am. Oh sure, I’ll shamelessly post a link promoting a cause I support and occasionally tag a photo of one of my friends. But only if it’s a really, really good photo. So far, I have ignored every request sent my way. A couple of times I faltered and hit accept. But I swear, I never went all the way. Maybe it was the guilt. Maybe it was the tiny fear that somehow my Facebook Friend would find out I spurned their invitation. But I never get past the screen that asks if I will then allow Facebook to access my information. Sorry, FB, I’m just not that kind of girl.
I also can’t bring myself to sign on for any RSS feeds. The idea of syndicating the posts from all of my “news” sources seems too daunting. As if I’d then have to actually read them.
What about you? Do you have any limits in this wild interactive world? Or am I just an ignoramus?
Can small agencies help us out of the recession? Alex Bogusky thinks so, based on their capacity to behave entrepreneurially in a way big shops can’t. Here’s a quote from his AdAge article:
The reality is they (small shops) can do things for their clients the big monster shops can’t. With fewer people and less overhead, they offer the nimble and fast approach to problems a lot of nascent brands need.
I’m not sure small agencies can make a meaningful impact on economic recovery. But I do believe they are the key to strengthening the ad industry. The ability to develop great ideas and act quickly on them is the critical advantage in our business, and it’s only going to grow in importance.
As someone with a happy history in a couple big agencies, I can tell you that “nimble” is not in the employee handbook. In many ways, we’d have been at a disadvantage going up against a small agency in a pitch. Thanks god clients weren’t smart enough to invite any.
Anyone with a stake in the Rochester ad business ought to feel great about this. Because you put nimble to work every day.
Matt Jones
Thursday, April 2, 2009
6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Post Central & The Studios at Linden Oaks, 170 Linden Oaks (base level), Rochester, NY 14625
The RAF created this event to assist in preparing our future creative talent in the fields of graphic design, advertising, new media, and copywriting by offering feedback, advice, and career information. Last year’s event was a big success, with over 50 students in attendance, thanks to the support of faculty members who promoted the program, and encouraged students to register and participate. And of course we couldn’t have pulled this off without the volunteers from our professional creative community that reviewed all the work.
Interested in joining us? All students must register online prior to the event at www.rafconnect.org. Professional creatives that would like to volunteer to review portfolios please contact Bob Kiesow at bkiesow@ardentlearning.com or Anne Esse at anne@anneesse.com. We look forward to seeing you on April 2nd.
By popular demand…I bestow upon you all the official 2009 Addy Award MAD-TINI Recipe. Special thanks to Ann McAllister and Katy Daniels from Monty’s Korner for bringing this to life.
MAD-TINI
3 oz cherry vodka
1/2 oz bourbon
Splash of sour mix
Splash of cranberry juice
Shake in a cocktail shaker, strain sexily into martini glass and garnish with maraschino cherry.
Photos from the red carpet at the RAF 2009 ADDY Awards are now available for viewing on the RAF’s Flickr photostream. You can get there through the RAF’s photo albums page or go directly to the set on Flickr.
Feel free to comment on the photos and share with others.
(And we’re all about privacy here, so if there are any photos of you you’d like us to take down, drop us an email and we’ll see it gets taken care of.)
— Scott Wolf
Over the last couple of days, some very nice things have been written about the copy that is part of the Dundee Ales & Lagers rebranding. It’s been very gratifying…and a little embarrassing.
But here’s some insight into what we, on the Dundee team, knew. Packaging sells beer. No one is buying beer because of a story on the back of the label. Sure, it gives them something to read while they drink…all by themselves. But the cool new look of the Dundee labels and Craft Pack is what stops people in their tracks in the beverage aisle.
And that is the genius work of Paul Hill and Tim Downs, two of the finest I will ever work with.
So I’ll never admit I said this, but save your reading for the cereal box, be shallow, and just choose a Dundee for its good looks.
You were at the ADDYs right?
No? Well that’s a shame. You missed a great ceremony and an even greater party.
Yes? That’s great, but do you remember any of it past the coat check? I don’t. Well, maybe like 10% of it to be honest. The rest of the time I was downing Dundee and stuffing my face with mashed potatoes and candy cigarettes. One thing I do remember is the awesome intro video / animation created and produced by Dumbwaiter Design. Dumbwaiter was asked by the RAF ADDY committee to come up with a video intro for the awards show that reflected the “Mad Men” theme, and what they came up with was truly exceptional. Here’s the intro in its entirety. Hats off to Dumbwaiter yet again.
—Scott Wolf
One of my facebook friends recently sent me this question:
What’s the advantage of Twitter over FB? Seems like you can twitter on FB and do so much more. What am I missing, Ms. Social Media Guru?
I’d been pondering the same thing over the past few months, and this is where I come out:
Facebook is for friends to share personal stuff about each other, and you choose with whom to share. The homepage view format resembles twitter, with its list of short status updates, but it’s much more. Sharing personal photos, sending friends whacky “gifts” among other things make Facebook fairly robust and highly social. While many people use Facebook for business contacts, that doesn’t feel quite right to me. Do I really want to see pictures of my work contact’s children, vacation places and potentially embarrassing moments?
Twitter, on the other hand is an easy way to keep up with the thoughts and goings on of people who you may not even know. That’s where it gets interesting. Follow people or organizations you admire, and you get regular exposure into what makes them successful. A great example is Barack Obama. By tweeting regularly, he’s making good on his promise of transparency and creating a great way to get buy in.
Businesses I think should tweet:
That said, I wouldn’t start a twitter page unless you’re going to tweet at least a couple times a month.
Andrea Zuegel