• Dear Jr Creative, Earn Your Place. You’ll Be Better For It.

    May 21st, 2013 / Comments (1)

    Dear Jr Creative,

    I’m a firm believer in earning your keep, starting from the bottom, doing the less than desirable well, before moving up.

    Prove yourself on what seemingly matters little, and people will notice. I promise.

    At the very least, I promise I’ll notice. Because it’s the unorthodox grind of a route I took.

    I was a rich kid from the suburbs. I was embarrassed by it. I hated it. It was a 90’s thing.

    In High School, and in Gen-X “rebellion” against my white collar family, I worked for the Las Vegas Water District doing underground construction.

    I dug ditches and changed water lines during the Vegas Summer for 8 dollars an hour. Not desirable work. And the guys I worked with could smell the rich kid on me. They busted my balls mercilessly for it.

    I dug the shit out of those ditches. I loved it. I used my hands. I used heavy machinery and pneumatic tools—I drove a dump truck (which is awesome by the way).

    All I wanted was the respect of these old guys changing water lines in the desert. Dudes that worked so fucking hard. For so fucking little. To feed their families; their addictions; their gambling debts.

    Eventually, I’d earned a bit of respect.

    I worked hard…”for a skinny rich kid.”

    One day I mentioned to the crew lead: “Fuck it. I like this. Why not full time?”.

    He pulled the truck over to the shoulder of a mountain road, heading North towards Mt. Charleston, looked deep into my face, “Every single one of us would give the world NOT to be here. Stop your blue collar charade. Go to school like you’re supposed to. Get out of this shit.”

    So I did.

    That was my last of three summers working for the water district.

    I went to school for business. Marketing & Advertising to be exact. Which, aside from teaching me some business basics, really just help develop my aptness for bullshit.

    Luckily for me, somewhere along the line, I learned a real skill and about this thing called the “Internet.” It was a place I could upload the photos I was taking (and developing in a darkroom, btw). I learned some Photoshop and HTML skills because of it. Eventually, I started freelancing: horrible graphic design and web work. Whatever I could get—fucking rave fliers, man. I just wanted to learn. The beer money was the gravy on top.

    My first “real” job out of college was resizing graphics for an eCommerce company. I showed up for the interview on my skateboard, handed the HR lady my resume and said, “I’ll take anything. I know Photoshop. Here’s my book.” I didn’t even know what a “designer” was. But that’s why I was there. And by no means was I a designer; Photoshop monkey…maybe.

    Ninety people had been laid off a month prior to me being brought on. I was the first hire after those layoffs and in the eyes of everybody…I was “that guy…”

    I was at the bottom of the totem pole. Where I belonged.

    The only thing I had going for me was a fear of “sucking.” And for the record, I sucked. (Certainly compared to the kids I see today).

    “…good enough to resize graphics” was what I overheard the Creative Director say, just around the corner.

    So I resized graphics. I resized the shit out of graphics, learning to code HTML along the way. I unlearned what I learned in business school. And learned…business. I developed site and page concepts for fun. Always showing my boss. Wanting critique. Always trying to get better. People noticed. He noticed. I gained more and more responsibility and more importantly, trust. Never begging for more money. Just wanting to do more work, better work.

    To not suck.

    Eventually, I took over as Creative Lead. I redesigned both KBToys.com and eToys.com. Enterprise level eCommerce stuff. Real businesses, making real money. I thought the designs were pretty damn good for the early 00’s. Some of the first .com’s to switch to 1024x768. We won some eCom industry awards. It moved product. I thought I was hot shit.

    I was far from it.

    Fast forward a decade and I’m blown away by the level of talent that’s out there. Kids today come out of school with so much fucking skill it’s crazy. But with all of that skill, in so many, there is equal-to-more parts hubris. An entitled attitude that seems to expect everything for nothing.

    Somewhere, along the lines, we (everyone) got sensitive. We started giving trophies for last place. People forgot how to take criticism. We started (and continue) to want to spare people from the realities of what it really takes. Close counts. Thanks for trying. Better luck next time—even worse—Fail Harder.

    I hate this phrase more than anything.

    “Fail Harder” is a manifesto for the delusional, the lazy—the lotto dreamer.

    Celebrating failure is a cop out. Be pissed that you fucked up—when you lose. And know why.

    Fail “Smarter” maybe. But failing hard is for losers.

    Industry-wise, we covet the idea. Not its realization, it’s viability.

    “I want to be an AD. But I don’t write and I don’t design. I’m an idea guy”

    “No, no, no, i’m a UX guy. I don’t do wires and I don’t do finished design. I just explore interaction concepts.”

    “I want to be a CD. But I don’t like talking with clients.”

    “My new Web 3.0 business concept doesn’t have a revenue model—it’s like Instagram but with animated gifs of kittens.”

    Ideation in a clientless vacuum; devoid the realities of real life (inside an agency or any company for that matter). Feasibility. Budgets. Client bureaucracies. The fact is that big ideas take time to sell. They die. They have to be reborn. And that it’s your role to breath the life back in. But only if you really give a shit.

    The “idea” is the tip of a gigantic, shit stained iceberg of work. And if you aren’t ready for what it takes, or worse, you think “that it’s someone else’s job” to push your idea from ether to reality—reconsider your profession.

    My advice is simple: don’t be the entitled kid. The kid who over indexes in ambition but lacks any real passion—any real drive other than a new title at a new agency.

    Be the kid who wants to learn even when he doesn’t have to—the designer who wants to learn to write, to code, to understand business because it makes the design better.

    Don’t be an industry douche. They call themselves ninjas or gurus…even evangelists. They’re the ones who will tell you, to your face, that they are smarter than the other guy. They’re the ones who have stopped reading by now.

    Don’t be the kid who hops around. Don’t be the kid, who, when given the chance, will opt for the bare minimum. Who scoffs at perspective. The kid who will jeopardize the team to spare his fragile ego. The kid, who, when faced with a situation that gets difficult, says “I’m too good for this kind of work. I deserve better.”

    Nobody deserves shit. Until you do. And even then, never admit it.

    I’m now the old guy. I get it…

    I’m not saying you need to go out and work construction. But it’s good to know where you don’t want to be. And understand why.

    I know I don’t want to resize graphics anymore. Why? Well…because it sucks.

    But I’ll still dig the shit out of a ditch.

    - Dave

    I should note, that my teen “rebellion” against my Father was laughably ironic. My dad was blue collar. A cowboy who changed tires on big rigs before finishing college and becoming who he is today.

    Behind my teen angst, unbeknownst to me all that time, I was trying to be just like him.

    What a silly little rich kid.

    David Snyder is Executive Creative Director at Firstborn. Living in Brooklyn. He likes progressive thought, design and technology. He eats and libates well. This editorial original posted on Medium.

  • The Egotist Briefs: John Matejczyk and Matt Hofherr

    April 23rd, 2013 / Comments (8)

    They've done work for big names like Google. They've had massive industry acclaim for their Slavery Footprint campaign. They even have the Golden State Warriors, who made the playoffs for just the 2nd time in 19 years, as a client - coincidence? Maybe. But in just a short time, MUH•TAY•ZIK | HOF•FER have made quite a name for themselves. So we decided to talk to the two founders - John Matejczyk and Matt Hofherr. Here's what they told us.

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    What made you guys want to start an ad agency?

    JOHN: It’s always been a dream of mine.

    As a creative, I love making things. As a company owner, we’re making a thing that makes things. Strikingly similar to making a campaign, we’re making an agency. And all those decisions and risks and casting and locations and partners and edits add up to your creation.

    MATT: For me, it's a genuine desire to create something that's better than what's out there right now. Put another way, to create the agency we all wished we worked at. Fun, respected, world-class, in demand, highly creative, smart.

    What did you learn the hard way when starting MTZHF?

    It’s harder than it looks. And I thought it was going to be hard. If it were easy there would be an ad agency on every corner. Oh, wait...

    How have you built your culture – organically or was there a plan?

    Pretty organic. When someone joins us, they have an opportunity to make this place partly them.

    To the extent we had a plan, we look for people who are able to combine: smart and offbeat; buttoned-up and freewheeling; confidence and humility; business and art.

    Running your own agency is like __________________.

    A massive yin of euphoria and a massive yang of anxiety.

    With so many talented shops here, why is SF a great place to be for agencies?

    The importance of the entrepreneurial client community cannot be over-rated. It’s not just that tech and social and gaming are hot right now. It’s that these are all coming out of a spirit of innovation, which, in turn, leads to more innovative thinking in their approaches to marketing.

    This of course leads the more traditionally minded marketers to respond in kind, fortunately.

    San Francisco, including the peninsula, is arguably the most innovative spot on planet Earth at the moment. It’s a great place to help these brands define themselves.

    Although I must admit I get jealous of the sheer volume of work flowing through New York.

    What recent idea are you jealous of?

    Funny, contrary to my last answer, I go to decidedly old school brands working to revive themselves. Old Spice (“Muscle Music” on Vimeo blew my mind). Ragu’s “Long Day of Childhood.” Prudential’s “Day One” felt like the first breath of reality in the category in forever.

    What do each of you see as the most important ingredient in producing great work?

    We believe strategy and creative are inseparable. Often you see these treated as separate disciplines and handled sequentially. As Matt often says, “If you’re a great creative, you’ll always be the best planner in the room.”

    Then as you head into production, it’s a matter of making about three-hundred nano-decisions a day, each one of which is an opportunity to be constantly improving the product –– with strategy, creativity, and taste.

    Ultimately what we’re selling is taste. And that’s hard to come by.

    What’s the best career advice anyone ever gave you?

    I’ll give you a moment that was defining.

    When we were very young creatives in Chicago, my friend Dan Weeks and I were sitting around grousing about the more illustrious careers that others were having. A very talented writer, Rebecca Rush, was consoling us, telling us that we were talking about the top one percent of creatives. In perfect tandem, Dan and I both erupted, “Yeah, but if anyone is, why not us?”

    So yeah, why not us?

    John, give us 3 tips every creative could benefit from.

    Look at work that was a near-miss. Ask yourself why it missed. Don’t do that.

    Every opportunity is an opportunity. The best work rarely comes from the best assignment. My career turning point was for a strip-mall tax preparation company.

    Pretend the best creatives in the world, by name, are sitting down the hall, doing the work they do. It’s too easy to think they have a totally different set of circumstances.

    Matt, give us 3 tips every account person could benefit from.

    Love your clients and love your life. They are the reason you have your salary. Live and love their business.

    Squeeze every last drop of information (including what success looks like) from your clients. You'll need it to be successful. And get real good at taking all that information you've gathered and condensing it down in a compelling and concise way.

    Start every meeting with clear expectations and end every meeting with clear next steps.

  • The Egotist Briefs: Steve Babcock

    April 1st, 2013 / Comments (4)

    EVB has become known for doing some of the best creative work in San Francisco. So when their new executive creative director, Steve Babcock, came over from Crispin Porter + Bogusky but decided to stay and open an outpost in Boulder, we just had to talk to him.

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    So why Boulder and not San Francisco?

    To be honest, I’m terrified of large bodies of water. And bridges. And fog. And the prices at Taco Bell (I’ve never seen a Burrito Supreme surpass double digits before).

    Actually, the plan is for it to be more of a Boulder AND San Francisco thing. EVB had been toying around with the idea of a Boulder office for a while. Recently, things just aligned, and we decided it was time. It makes sense because we’re partnered with an amazing brand, WhiteWave, that’s located in the area. In addition to that, Boulder has a really strong pool of talent.

    Not unlike San Francisco, Boulder has a unique culture and a healthy entrepreneurial scene that attracts all walks of brainpower, especially in the tech space. It’s not your typical “advertising city,” and I believe that sense of unfamiliarity can be a great thing. It means there is no playbook – just your gut and a healthy dose of optimism. It’s this doer mentality that I think makes Boulder a great complement to San Francisco.

    Aside from that, I love the idea of being able to offer our people the option and flexibility to live in (or just experience for a season) different locations. Both places have so much to offer. SF and BDR are really the best of both worlds.

    What was the most important thing you learned at Crispin Porter + Bogusky that you’ll bring over to EVB?

    One of the most important things I learned at CPB is the value of cultural tension in the work. Tension is typically a scary word, especially for clients. It’s the hard truth. It’s identifying how culture may not align with a brand’s promise. And, in my opinion, it’s one of the strongest bits of knowledge a creative team can have. Work that is aware of the real tension consistently proves to be more relatable and more honest than work that relies heavily on invented storytelling. Today, there’s just something powerful about a brand that proves it really does understand the culture in which it plays.

    How do you want EVB to evolve? What are your goals as an ECD there?

    First of all, I feel extremely fortunate. EVB is a great agency with a solid foundation. The culture continues to pleasantly surprise me. In an industry that is typical of agenda, it’s a refreshing group of people who genuinely appreciate and enjoy each other and what we do. My hope is that I can simply add to this foundation and create a system designed for growth – not just growth for growth’s sake, but growth that can put us into new spaces and give us new opportunities. I’d like to see more diversity in the types of assignments we get from clients. I think the addition of Boulder will help in this evolution.

    Another goal – the most obvious one – is to continue improving the quality of output. There are so many factors involved in this endeavor, everything from encouraging a creative culture to empowering and trusting talent to identifying tension in the work to creating a system of makers instead of managers. I certainly can’t say I have all the right answers right now. But that’s what goals are for, right?

    What excites you creatively these days?

    I’m a total sucker for remix culture. I love the idea of taking something that already exists and turning it into something new. I like everything from parody and overdub videos to auto tune the news to life hacks and street art. I think the challenge of the limited palette is what makes remix culture so interesting to me: It’s so experimental. And there are no rules. It’s random. It’s clever. It’s oftentimes really intelligent. It’s a frontier of anything goes.

    It’s funny how we can now predict remix culture. We see a blooper on the nightly news, and we know that tomorrow morning we’ll wake up to a bunch of hilarious translations. The Internet rules for this reason alone. It’s like we toss a big glob of clay out to the world and get to see what everyone does with it.

    I’m also very excited about the bridge between digital tools and the real world. It’s such a great time for our industry in terms of technology. The ability to create a digital utility that has a real effect in the physical world is awesome. There’s so much potential in this space.

    Oh, and 3-D printing. Total mind ’splode right there.

    What disappoints you most about advertising?

    The fact that there are still people out there, both in our industry and on the client side, who believe a line exists between mediums like digital and traditional and social. It suggests a resistance to change. Of all the industries out there that should be über-ninjas of change, it should be the marketing industry.

    What are the key traits that make a good creative person?

    Curiosity is a key trait to being a good creative person. It’s the gateway trait – it leads to all the other creative qualities, like optimism, imagination and determination. All of the most talented people I’ve ever worked with have been naturally curious.

    A great idea is moot unless you can get a client to buy it. What are your keys to selling stellar creative to clients?

    I think the key to selling a stellar idea to a client is honestly believing that if they kill it, you can just go back and come up with 10 more. And that there’s a good chance they’ll be even better.

    We are a service industry. Sometimes the clients we serve feel differently than we do about work. The key to making sure good work gets produced doesn’t always lie in our ability to sell it to the client, sometimes it lies in our ability to keep coming up with great work. I’ve found that this mentality alone has been enough to bring down some walls in favor of the original idea.

    If an idea is presented as being so precious that it could never be outdone, it creates a pressured dynamic that freaks most clients out. It’s like, “This is it, and there can never be anything better! And if you don’t approve it, WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE! So, what’s it gonna be?"

    Name a couple of advertising-related things you’d love to see disappear forever.

    Advertising to children. Focus groups.

    What recent idea makes you say, “Damn, I wish I’d done that.”?

    The last Foo Fighters record, “Wasting Light.”

    What are three pieces of advice you’d give any creative?

    1. Be honest.
    2. Have at least one creative outlet in your life that isn’t creative directed.
    3. Learn to love being met with and solving problems (that’s all we really do in this business).

    Bonus: Strive to be the person everyone always wants in the room.

  • "5 Paths To Doing Great Work At A Terrible Company" - Brian Millar

    March 20th, 2013 / Comments (0)

    We’ve all thought it: If only I worked at so-and-so, my genius would be recognized and I’d churn out award-winning work. But you don’t have to work at so-and-so. Here are some workarounds to getting your best ideas realized right where you are.

    What can I say? I needed the money. My kids were small, my own agency had just ground to a halt, and I needed a job--tomorrow. The phone rang. A headhunter told me about a place that wanted me for a ton of money and I could start right away. The only catch: It was a dreadful, dreadful advertising agency. Walking into its reception was like entering a scene in a horror movie. It wasn’t blood on the walls that broke me out in a cold sweat; it was the ads.

    If you work in the creative industries, or you’re trying to break into them, then you’ve probably watched some industry legend swagger onstage to dish out career advice. Their life story almost certainly went like this: They got their first job at the hottest shop in the world. They kept working there for years earning the square root of nothing. Then they took a creative director role somewhere amazing, before setting up their own world-dominating company. Well, not everybody can do that. By definition, half the companies in any industry are below average. And somebody has to work at them. For a while, one of those somebodies was me.

    You will search in vain for that job on my LinkedIn profile; I don’t admit to ever having been there. But when I emerged six months later, I’d got some decent print work out the door and won them their first-ever major award. I’d also learned a lot about the differences between a good company and a bad one - they’re not what you might think.

    1. WORK AS IF YOU LIVE IN THE EARLY DAYS OF A BETTER COMPANY

    “Work as if you live in the early days of a better nation.” These words are carved in stone on the wall of the Scottish Parliament. They’re also pinned up above my desk as I’m writing this. If you’re working in a dump, you don’t have to work as if you’re in a dump. Form a startup in your own head. Write a manifesto. Keep showing up for work in the same building, but follow the ideals of your invisible hotshop.

    Nancy Vonk is a partner at Swim, a coaching company for creative directors. She recommends creating your own “micro climate” within your company. “Another terrible brief? Find out the business problem. Pull together a group and brainstorm. Go for diversity--somebody who ‘isn’t creative’ from finance, an intern with fresh eyes and an inability to edit themselves. Even ‘terrible’ clients recognize and prize great ideas, in my experience. If going rogue means great work, forgiveness is usually a given."

    You’re not the only frustrated talent in the place. There will be plenty of recruits to your startup-within-a-terrible-agency. Find a few and you will already be working in the early days of somewhere better.

    2. GOOD COMPANIES AREN’T MORE TALENTED. THEY’RE MORE TENACIOUS

    Today, James Bond is the best-known fictional character in the world. How could you go wrong making a James Bond movie? Simple. Give in to every suggested improvement. That’s what happened to the first attempt to make a Bond movie. I can imagine the meeting now:
    “Bond is too English for our audience. Let’s make him American. ‘James’ is kinda stuck-up as a name. ‘Jimmy’ is more down-to-earth. The book character is a bit of a psycho. I know! Let’s make him smile all the time."

    Nod. Scribble. Nod.

    Watch this clip and see the difference a few helpful changes can make.

    3. “THIS SH*T DOESN’T HAPPEN AT DRO5A”

    There’s always somebody walking round every company saying something like this. They imagine a perfect office where folks just swan in off the street waving a checkbook and asking you to win awards on their behalf. Naturally, they have never worked at such a place, but their friend has. Don’t be that person.

    One day you will work somewhere great. And there will still be people walking round saying, “This shit doesn’t happen at Dro5a.” One day you may work at Dro5a. And I expect that exactly the same snafus happen there. When they do, I bet that somebody will say, “This shit doesn’t happen at Wieden.”

    The place where “this shit doesn’t happen” only exists in the minds of bitter people. If you must deal with them, then avoid thinking like them. It’s tempting early in your career to look cool and cynical. Nothing will turn you into a hack faster.

    4. MOONLIGHT

    David Ogilvy moonlighted. Many of his most famous ads were done outside of his day job. Sometimes he was paid cash. He boasted that his ads for Holiday magazine earned him some “magnificent china lamps.” If Ogilvy, a tony pipe-smoking adman with his name above the door of one of the biggest networks on earth could still bang out cracking work on the weekends, then so can you. For many years, an informal team of creatives at Ogilvy ran a whole national gym account in their spare time. I was one of them. I think ol’ Dave would have approved.

    5. YOUR BEST OPPORTUNITY IS SITTING IN FRONT OF YOU

    Co.Create recently published a list of clients that creative people most wanted to work on. From one angle, it was a disappointing list. Because it was a list of great brands. Where’s the challenge in working on a brand that somebody else has made great? When I started working on ads for IBM, technology advertising was a geek ghetto. The action was all in beer. It meant that there were no rules, few expectations, and if you did a decent piece of work, people sat up and took notice.

    If you come out of the elevator this morning and think, “If only I had an Apple brief I could do something great,” then you may have a long wait coming.

    Whatever you’re working on today, you have an opportunity to make it really stunning. And if you’re working on something that seems dull, then people should be all the more impressed when you nail it brilliantly. And if you’re being held back by the terrible place you work, then start up a new place in your mind.

    Head to your desk this morning as if you work in the early days of a better company. And I promise, you will.

    This article first appeared in FastCo Design.

    Brian Millar is strategy director at Sense Worldwide.

    Follow Brian on Twitter

  • Zombies Attack Austin - Observations from SxSW Part 2

    March 19th, 2013 / Comments (4)

    If you missed Katherine Fernandez's first report from SxSW, you can check it out here.
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    Anyone who has attended a music festival knows that it isn’t for the faint of heart. Anyone who has attended SXSW knows it’s not for humans—it’s for zombies. Zombies that need little to no sleep as they shuffle around town from show to show, dragging their feet to join a hoard of other zombies encircling a music venue demanding BANDS. MORE BANDS! Everyone at SXSW may feel like they are on their last breath, but it was the promise of great music shows that kept us going.

    I made an itinerary of acts I wanted to see, but it always seemed like no matter how much you plan for SXSW, the plans always change. One night I set out to see Toro y Moi until I was discouraged by the line and ended up at a surprisingly good Mexican metal show headlined by Molotov. Another night I aimed at seeing Snoop Lion and Major Lazer, but ended up at an outstanding show by Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics instead. Thankfully a lot of the acts scheduled many shows, giving me many chances to catch them later that week. Finding the smaller, not-so-hyped shows was key. Other bands that I enjoyed stumbling across were: Shout Out Louds, CHVRCHES, The Thermals, Trichome and Tako Lako.

    Twitter was a powerful tool through out the festival. I followed a list of SXSW pros that were tweeting about shows, food or line lengths. At one point I got the tweet I was awaiting—a pop-up show by a DJ I recently became infatuated with, Flume, only to arrive and realize that the tweet had reached too many other fans and the venue was at capacity. No big deal. A few streets down another band I wanted to see, Surfer Blood, was about to get started so I raced over.

    Everywhere you go at SXSW you run into people in the music industry. I was jealous of their many connections, but not having a ‘platinum badge’ forced me to see some awesome shows I would’ve never planned on seeing. I can always see Kendrick Lamar, Justin Timberlake and Prince headlining other concerts later this year. Stumbling across the smaller acts was a lot more special. That said, I may have given a kidney to see Dave Grohl perform alongside John Fogerty, Rick Springfield and a personal idol, Stevie Nicks.

    I’ve attended a few music fests but none really compare to SXSW. The festival grounds are all of downtown Austin. You could hear live music blaring out of every music venue, bar, restaurant, bike shop, abandoned lot and alley. It has no rules, no specific genre. You can hear goth, metal, soul, punk, rap, country, alternative, latin, EDM, chillwave, jam bands and everything in between. Where Coachella, Bonnaroo, Outside Lands and all other music festivals provide you an itinerary, SXSW leaves you alone in downtown Austin to put on your big kid pants and figure it out for yourself. SXSW is about discovery and stamina—a music zombie’s playground.

    After four days of Interactive back to back with four days of Music, the overdose of stimuli may have kicked my health in the nuts, but—somehow—I still feel invigorated by what I’ve experienced. So if you plan on doing both conferences, be prepared mentally for the raw chaos you will ensue.


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    Author’s Note: when not mingling with musicians and artists, Katherine Fernandez is a Creative at San Francisco’s own DOJO.

  • "Listen, Learn, Drink, Repeat." - Observations from SxSW.

    March 14th, 2013 / Comments (2)

    Every year when I start hearing the latest interactive news, product launches and stories of debaucherous mayhem emanating from SXSW, I’m tempted to get my ass over there. This year—fa-f*cking-finally—I made it.

    After one cancelled flight and a six hour delay in Los Angeles, in which I had a serendipitous encounter with Bruno Mars, I made it to Austin at 2 AM. I completely missed the Appy Awards and the opportunity to jump on stage and accept DOJO’s award for ABDUCTIONARY, an app I admit I had absolutely nothing to do with creating.

    I didn’t expect to get SXSW started that night but, as I would soon find out, this city has lured in so many brilliant people that you are bound to run into one or seventeen. And I did. Again and again. This time I bumped into Jason Zada, director of the interactive hit “Take This Lollipop.” He and his friends had obviously had some birthday drinks on his behalf because everyone was really into giving hugs.

    The next day I set out with badge and itinerary in hand ready to tackle the panels. There were exciting product announcements and emerging tech innovations—look out for Geomagic, Leap Motion, and Makerbot’s new Digitizer which can scan and print 3D objects. There were insightful interviews and entertaining speakers, including Elon Musk, Tina Roth Eisenberg and Al Gore. Musk’s interview gave some insight into the way he thinks and his entrepreneurial risk-taking. I found Gore particularly entertaining as he passionately turned red and sweaty declaring, “corporations are not people,” and, “the NRA is bullshit.” And then, of course, there were some snooze-worthy panels that made you daydream of storming out into the sunshine and cold beer. Running from panel to panel, I found out that one can in fact survive all day on a bag of Doritos and a cup of coffee. At the end of each day all this exhausted girl really wanted was a cold glass of Jameson but would obviously settle for free beer, a SXSW given.

    No matter how tired I was, there was no way I wasn’t going to be in this town and miss out on so much great music—the real reason for the festival. I threw back a regular healthy regimen of 5 Hour Energy and powered through the night. During the Interactive part of the festival, I saw Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Talib Kweli, Action Bronson and Icona Pop tear it up at The Belmont. Reggie Watts and Delta Spirit entertain us ad kids at the GSD&M party. And I had the extreme pleasure of seeing one of my favorite bands, Portugal. the Man, at the Tumblr party. It turned out that my friend is actually buddies with the band’s keyboardist, Kyle O’Quin, so we ended up partyingwith him that night. He told us about the amazing experience he had working with Danger Mouse on the band’s upcoming album and gave us a private listening session back at our place.

    On the last night of Interactive I was talking to some friends about whether advertising was commandeering the festival. One friend who has been coming to SXSW Interactive since 2001 said she’s seen it evolve immensely as it has been taken over by all the marketers. I could see how that dilutes the true nature of the Interactive conference but I’m a sucker for free food, beer and music. So thanks, corporate America!

    Now that SXSW Music—or rather the real SXSW is starting, I’ve already seen the tides change. Less suits, more shorts and neon tanks. I can’t wait for what the rest of the festival has in store for me.

    TO BE CONTINUED IN PART TWO.

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    Author’s Note: when not mingling with musicians and artists, Katherine Fernandez is a Creative at San Francisco’s own DOJO.

  • The Egotist Briefs: Michael Lemme

    March 11th, 2013 / Comments (0)

    Michael Lemme is the new Chief Creative Officer and Partner over at Duncan/Channon. The only thing better than his beard is his knowledge of digital and UX, and we took some time to talk to him about life at D/C, his secret formula for great creative, and who wins in a Thunderdome match - Duncan or Channon?

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    Creatively, how’s San Francisco doing these days?

    In my 16 years here, it's as dynamic as I’ve ever seen it. As a guy who came out of design and digital studios before joining an ad agency (if that’s what we are), I see San Francisco as leading the country, if not the world, creatively right now. And specifically it's happening in the city, as more and more tech companies start-up here or relocate from the Valley and as budgets recover from the Great Recession, with some of the most interesting UX work in the world being done in the space of these few square miles. Not forgetting that all of this local ferment is spurred by previously unimaginable creative connections from all over the planet. I think we're looking at a golden age of creativity in San Francisco (though I suspect it feels the same way elsewhere). It’s a good time for making new things.

    What larger creative trends are you seeing that you like?

    My favorite is that we're building brands in real time, building them out of what they are and how they're useful and what they are doing and saying in the world everyday, brands designed to interact with the world like humans, to chat and listen and change in the moment – and brands where the actual humans behind them aren't faceless and remote. They’re completely apparent and accessible. That’s a blast. And while it means I’m fighting some of my natural inclinations to linger over projects and endlessly craft things, I also feel like quick, real and raw is often more compelling.

    How’s life at a mid-sized SF agency? Is it easier to be nimble and responsive or do you have less room for error?

    Nimble, responsive, agile – it's a million times easier when you’re not a cog in a large organization. Of course, I've never actually been a cog in a giant company, having come from MetaDesign and Method (the design firm, not the soap) – and before that, right out of school, a four-person shop in Pittsburgh. But my partners and wife all worked at big agencies. So I’ve heard the horror stories.

    Do we have less room for error? We don’t think of it that way. As a nearly 23-year old organization that’s nevertheless always changing, we’re pretty resilient.

    What’s Duncan/Channon’s secret formula for encouraging creativity and keeping the level of creativity high?

    1. Guanxi. It’s a long story (ask Duncan). Short version: it's our reinterpretation of the Chinese notion that you have to have a real relationship before you do business. We think that trust, fundamentally – among ourselves, our clients and, ultimately, their customers – liberates creativity.

    2. Hire just the right people in the first place. To me, this is nearly the whole game. Too many companies are just looking for bodies.

    3. Sprinkle liberally with randomness. (It doesn’t hurt to have a speakeasy above your office.)

    4. No formulas.

    Your CEO, Andy Berkenfield, said you’ve been instrumental in putting digital at the forefront. How does digital innovation fit into your creative process?

    I guess I don’t think of it as fitting in. Everything is digital or has been wholly transformed by digital – including our expectations of how the world works. Our creative process is driven by those expectations, too – how we think the brands should engage in the world in new and unexpected ways. And then which technologies are required to make those things a reality flows out of that.

    Duncan/Channon has been quote-unquote integrated since before that had anything to do with digital. But the bigger story is we’ve always concentrated first on the strategic level, on the core brand idea, and then embraced the tasks that fall out of that. Really, it’s brand that’s always been, and always will be, at the forefront of what we do. I’m not saying Andy’s a liar. That’s for history to judge.

    How does living in the cradle of tech innovation help or hurt when it comes to advertising?

    I can’t think of any ways it hurts (assuming ethical/responsible intentions). The more constructive the innovation, the better.

    We know it starts with a great portfolio, but what else do you look for when hiring a creative person?

    I'm looking for potential. And that starts with enthusiasm. I'm looking for a sense that this is a person who can and will grow, who wants to grow, who knows there’s no other path than to work hard in collaboration other great people, the kind of people who can and will and should push them. I'm looking for people engaged, like I am (for better or worse), like all deeply motivated creative people are, in the eternal and impossible and pretty much insane quest for perfection. It’s tough to find this person, but you can see it right away – especially when they're talking about their work. A portfolio only gets you an interview. We’re not hiring a portfolio.

    What recent idea makes you say, “Damn, I wish I’d done that.”?

    So that happens every day. That’s an astounding thing about the web – the sheer amount of fantastic things that seven billion people can create. Here’s one. The Chartwell typeface. That’s an exceptional example of design thinking. So elegant. So useful. And yours for a nominal fee. Bravo, Travis Kochel. (Type designers are awesome.)

    Duncan and Channon enter the Thunderdome. Which man leaves?

    I’ve known them for longer than I’ve worked at D/C. Probably 18 years. And I've never actually seen those two guys fight. Nothing that wasn’t defused by a joke in a minute. No shit. Which is probably a very good thing, for two very longtime partners. I can tell you it wouldn’t play very well on pay-per-view. My money’s on Tina Turner. But Duncan would totally wear that badass steel hood.

    Give us three tips for creating incredible work.

    Here are five. Work hard. Don’t sweat failing. Work with people who are better than you. Try not to do what’s expected of you. And know that you’ll need to be reminded of these things.

  • The Egotist Briefs: Mimi Cook

    March 6th, 2013 / Comments (0)

    Having just been appointed Executive Creative Director at Y&R here in San Francisco, we figured it was the perfect time to chat with Mimi Cook about dead people's names on the door, why crappy work gets produced and why writers can be made but art directors are born.

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    We all know what Y&R was. We want to know what it will be.

    Actually, I feel as if I stepped into the best kept secret in SF. This is a global creative boutique with top brands on the roster: Blue Diamond, Crystal Cruises, and Citrix with more clients in the works. My goal for Y&R is to be known as a place where people do their best work all while building brands people love. Award winning work will come out of that.

    But it is funny. As a San Francisco creative, I only wanted to work at shops where the names on the front door belonged to people who were still breathing. But then I met Tony Granger and Mike and the other people turning Y&R into what it is today, and I felt like this was something I really wanted in on, just like Jim Elliott (New York), Bill Cimino (Chicago), and other friends who've joined the global offices.

    You’ve worked at a ton of legendary jobs – Goodby, Riney, FCB, Chiat and even Apple. What’s the most important thing you learned from all those places?

    It's all about craft. I remember a creative meeting at Apple where they discussed in detail the shade of grey to use in a layout. As a writer, that made me laugh, but if everyone around you is as anal about the quality of work as you are, there's no better business to be in. Except maybe being a pro golfer.

    Coming from a small, crazy agency like Mekanism, what things from there translate to a large, network agency like Y&R?

    Everything. Y&R SF is a small kick-ass shop within a large network, but the goal is for each office to stay true to what works there. What works, at least in my mind, is how Mek was run. It was an insanely collaborative, all-in, generous environment. It was like playing a team sport, with the clients wearing the same jersey as we were.

    What makes SF such a great advertising city?

    That you can have staff meetings at AT&T park? Ok, I think it's that we're all slightly off…and that's a good thing. We look at things differently. We genuinely love "new." We applaud the courage of oddballs. And there's a little bit of entrepreneur in all of us.

    Do clients really understand Social Media yet?

    Many understand its importance in their arsenal of brand work. The bigger question is if they can really commit to it once they get out there, because it will backfire if they don't really jump in to social to stay in social.

    You at Y&R. Jaime Robinson at Pereira & O’Dell. Does it finally seem like women are getting more of a shot at top creative leadership spots or is there still a lot of work to do?

    This topic always feels so useless to discuss because it often perpetuates the very issue it's trying to make go away. But it seems to me the generation coming up doesn't care which bathroom I go into. They just want to be inspired.

    Everybody wants to do great work... and yet, junk gets produced every day. Why is that?

    Fear. Sticking your neck out in an environment that doesn't tolerate risk can be professional harakiri.

    What recent idea makes you say, “Damn, I wish I’d done that.”

    Grey Poupon is genius.

    What creative traits can be taught and what are the ones people are born with?

    I think great writing can be taught. Art direction though is so much more about instinct. Good taste can be mimicked, but being visually inspiring is something you either have or you don't The best writers and art directors often have very keen powers of observation, an ability to simplify complexity, and curiosity about what makes us tick on our basest, most luddite level.

    Give us three tips for creating incredible work.

    1. Know the enemy, or at least what causes your consumers pain.

    2. Show them something they haven't seen before.

    3. Put into words something they've probably felt, but have never been able to articulate.

  • A note from a pissed off wife.

    February 25th, 2013 / Comments (4)

    Just as Ben Affleck was on the Oscars frantically claiming that his marriage was the best job he'd ever had, we received this anonymous missive in our in box. Sound like anyone you know? Hell, sound like everyone you know?

    Discuss.
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    It is Sunday evening of Oscars weekend I'm sitting on my couch with my 3 dogs dressed to impress for a long-anticipated date with my husband. Except he's now 45 minutes late.

    He finally walks in the door and is a whirlwind of frustration because he can only be home with me for an hour and a half and then has at least 3 more hours worth of work ahead of him this evening. His state of mind tells me dinner will be a bust even if we do go. So, I do the mature thing…and I cry.

    I should precede this by letting you know I've spent a decade in the ad industry myself. In fact, I'm still in it. But I've made some choices.

    When is this incredibly smart and capable industry going to realize we aren't saving lives? We're in advertising. Let's get real. Why all the all-nighters? The broken promises? The skipped plans with friends and families because you're stuck at the office? The guilt?

    I get the rush of a new piece of business you've worked hard for, for the beauty of a well-tailored spot when you hear it on-air for the first time, but at what cost are we doing this?

    I've seen so many people burn out of this industry to become teachers, sales reps, go to graduate school…because the hours are so unreasonable and for really, no reason at all. At what point are the people of this industry going to realize there is more to life than 2am eating cold pizza while staring at Excel until your eyes burn and your contacts dry out?

    I'm trying to start a movement within our industry. Take back your life. Reclaim a hobby you used to have before you started working for an agency. Start a new hobby. Or, in my case, spend time with your wife. Because at the end of the day, it isn't going to be the agency holding your hand on your deathbed, crying with you through the passing of your father or proudly taking family pictures on Easter Sunday. It's going to be your wife, your family, your friends.

    Go home at 6pm and stop trying to save the world through a creative brief. Shit, go home at 8pm, it's still better than what your average nightly clock-in time is. Stop looking at your Blackberry. There's nothing important happening at 10pm anyway.

    Most importantly, as my former boss always said in regards to a strategic plan, "L, take a step back and look at the big picture." Come on guys, let's look at the big picture together. We're in advertising and we'll all be just fine if we step away for a little while to take time for the things that really matter.

    PS: My husband is back at the office. Can someone let him know I wrote this?

  • How to Spend $275 Million in 48 Minutes: Three Super Bowl Ad Trends for 2013

    February 1st, 2013 / Comments (0)

    Want to watch $275 Million get spent in 48 minutes? Just tune into CBS at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday to see one of America's greatest primetime displays of violence, debauchery and poor impulse control. And I'm not talking about the Super Bowl…

    I'm talking about the Super Bowl ads.

    In all seriousness, these days it's no surprise that independent research year after year continues to show that over half of U.S adult viewers plan to watch the Super Bowl as much, or more, for the ads than for the game itself. In fact, social listening measurement findings suggested that in 2012 64% of respondents said that half or more of their conversations online with respect to the Super Bowl were about the commercials themselves.

    With the average investment of $4 Million on the line for a 30-second spot, it's no wonder why the CMOs of many of these advertisers are looking to squeeze their investment for every penny.

    There are three standout trends that have continued to proliferate the Super Bowl ad space for the last several years (and by all accounts will continue even more in 2013).

    01. Online Ad Preview and Teasers

    Online Ad Previews and Teasers are becoming more of the norm. VW made the most famous splash last year with its Star Wars parodies that received over 56 Million hits after allwas said and done, largely in part to the pre-release of the spotson YouTube.

    This year's early winner goes to the Kate Upton Mercedes spot, which in one week gained over 5 Million views (and counting).

    Humbling news as, by this author's account, this is one of the more ridiculously off-brand spots I've ever seen. Given the fact that the CLA won't even be available for the next 7 months, the brand needs lasting impression and awareness. Regardless of the substance, it's clear that Mercedes knows the value of online traction and will do whatever it takes, no matter how low-brow, to get an early lead among its rivals.

    Regarding the idea of Super Bowl teasers, the concept is simple,but the debate still rages on about whether or not the big reveal should be saved for the big game. While we don't promote a "one size fits all" approach to advertising, and I'm sure there are errors to the rule, it's hard to argue with the facts. Mashable reports, "According to YouTube's research, ads that ran online before the Super Bowl last year got 9 Million views, on average. Those that waited? 1.3 Million." With, on average, three times as many views online over broadcast, many could argue that the real winner in all of this is actually YouTube.

    02. Ads for Social Democracy

    Ads by social democracy are becoming more common in 2013. While Doritos pioneered the concept with their user-generated ads in the past few years, this year we are seeing a greater variety of the concept. For instance, one of the biggest brands in the world, Budweiser, has finally launched a Twitter account in its name. The brand, which had a little more than 600 followers Monday morning, is using the account to promote its upcoming Super Bowl ad, which will feature a Clydesdale foal via their Twitter hashtag campaign. Pepsi is also using their site and Twitterto recruit some of their fans to strike a pose with their can before their half-time show.

    But, the big pre-game winners in 2013 seem to be the "choose your own adventure" style ads from Audi and Coke. In what Audi says is a Super Bowl first, they recorded separate endings for their "Prom Night"commercial, and are compiling social votes where the audience chooses the ending. Coke created cokechase.comto tease their spots by highlighting three different sets of teams who are all racing to win a giant coke in the desert. The team with the most votes online will get their spot aired right after the game.

    Coke_SuperBowl

    03. Second Screen

    This year, more viewers than ever will be watching on a second screen. Now in real-time, technology allows brands to engage with the viewing public on their mobile phone or tablet during the event. For instance, Yahoo's Into_Now pioneered app technology that augments the second screen experience by using the unique audio digital signature in a television show topickup, and serve up, content directly related to that show. CBS estimates ad revenue alone from their second screen engagement to be between $10-$12 Million. Being able to interact with stats,player bios, team formations, highlights and social aspects is an essential part of any second screen approach for the sports enthusiast.

    Regardless of all of the hype, a few certainties remain. The Super Bowl represents one of the highest risk: reward ratios in advertising. Because of this, marketers are getting smarter by using not only the right tools, but also the right content to get the consumer's attention. Disintermediation is taking effect and the consumer is finally starting to see large-scale control of and connection with their favorite brands. As our society gets more social and mobile, so does the advertising.

    Needless to say, as an advertiser, I am thankful for the Super Bowl. If not for any other time during the year - the Super Bowl gives us an annual magnified window into the progress of advertising. With so much attention to the commercials, it almost makes me feel sorry for the guys on the field.

    Almost.

    Originally posted on the Rodgers Townsend blog.

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