Denver Airport Billboard
Thinking outside the square is getting harder and harder to do. Creatives are now more challenged than ever even though they have more platforms to be creative on.
In my earlier career, I remember being disappointed by some of the television commercials that the agency I worked for did. I hoped that they would be more creative, but they kept churning the same commercials over and over again.
One day, I decided to ask why.
The answer was simple, “It sells”. Afterall, isn’t that what marketing is supposed to do?
Let’s put being creative aside and get on with writing and developing campaigns that work. Sometimes, when we try too hard, we miss the point of why we are doing it in the first place.
Look at this advertisement from Carmichael Agency for Carmichael Collective from May 2012. It is creative with a focus on “creativity for creatives sake”. The plant tags are super-sized and are placed strategically around environments like park benches, fire hoses etc. If you zoom in at the guidelines, you will see quirky suggestions like “keep warm with butt” for the park bench etc.
What do you think? Is this creative worth the time and effort that it took to put together?
Throwing a corporate function can often be fraught with danger – striking the balance between casual and professional, while juggling budgets and priorities is never an easy task.
Lincoln of Toorak manager Dimmy Alevizos has overseen hundreds of corporate events and said that planning a corporate event is often overcomplicated when planners get bogged up in the tiny details, failing to see the overall big picture.
“People often overthink things when they plan the event,” she said.
“Quite often, planning a corporate event is down to several basics – once you’ve written up a plan and stick to it, the rest of the event will be a success.”
1. Create a budget
Know your limits and beware of hidden costs when organising a corporate event, especially if it is a large-scale one. Don’t get carried away with decorations and centrepieces as costs often add up in the end. Your budget will also determine if spouses, significant others, children and clients will be invited to the event.
2. Lock in a date
Avoid days near the beginning or end of a company holiday period, as employees may be away. If you can, choose a weekday so that employees are not forced to forgo their personal commitments for a work function. Also, don’t worry if people are unable to make a day you choose – you will never be able to cater for everyone, especially if you have a lengthy guest list.
3. Determine the type of event
Work out if it is best for the event to be indoor or outdoor, casual or cocktail. Factor in the seasons, the aim of the event and the guests who will be attending. If you are planning to have numerous presentations and speeches, it is best to provide plenty of seating and tables so people can sit and eat for the duration. On the other hand, stand-up cocktails and finger food is more appropriate for meet-and-greet networking events so that guests can move around and mingle.
4. Pick the right entertainment
Don’t go for a big-name entertainer, as they may not have the most professional attitudes due to their already-established fame. Select entertainment appropriate for the event and its guests, making sure you have activities to appeal to everyone attending. Hosting a creative function? Perhaps burlesque dancers and circus performers could be an option. Planning something a little more serious? A guest speaker on a relevant topic may be a better choice.
5. Spend on quality food and beverages
Be mindful of both quality and quantity – make sure that the food provided is good and plentiful, as it will make or break the event. Don’t forget to check your guests’ dietary requirements ahead of time as well.
6. Make sure the right people attend
When the event begins to take shape, begin promoting the function and send invitations out. Invitations should always be personalised. If you can, make a follow-up phone call to make sure your guests received their invitations. After drafting your RSVP list, make a second round of follow-up calls to ensure they are all attending. This will also ensure that the event won’t slip from people’s minds, potentially increasing the amount of guests as well.
Ever travelled on a long haul flight and got off feeling like you have just gone on a holiday, rather than overcome with jet lag? It is a rarity, let me assure you, but I have to say, I have had the most pleasant surprise flying with Ethiad from Amsterdam to Melbourne.
Humbled by an employee discussion in our Atlanta office, I was pleasantly surprised that given the hypothetical situation of winning the lotto, all employees said that after a brief holiday, they would want to come back to work at Marketing Eye.
The engagement level on a day-to-day basis in our Atlanta office is very high – not to say, other offices are not the same. Company culture is everything and there are many reasons why it has a direct impact on bottom line.
There are a number of lessons learned from having a start-up in Atlanta that is inherently different from other offices we have.
The first being that all employees have chosen each other
Usually, a senior manager or myself makes the ultimate choice on who is going to join the team and in what capacity. Instead, in Atlanta, I have been over-ruled twice, and both times, I had to put my hand up and say that my choice would have been wrong for the team.
Business Turnaround Specialist Is Just What The Doctor OrderedIt may appear on the outset that Marketing Eye doesn’t need a business turnaround specialist, and to some degree we don’t. We make money, we continue to grow and enter new markets and we provide a service that small business owners need.
The travelling gypsy “If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won’t, you most assuredly won’t. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad.” Denis Waitley
It’s been a big 2 weeks for me. I have travelled to Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York, Munich, throughout Italy, Monaco and St Tropez – all without drawing breathe!
It’s time. We are ready. The curtains have been drawn. In 3 weeks, I will be living in America to follow my dream of building a global small business marketing firm.
It’s summer over there and winter here in Australia, so the weather is definately a big plus. Cost of living is significantly less which means I can buy more shoes. There is a god after all 😉
And… the business is ready. Most importantly, we have dotted all of our ‘i’s’ and crossed all of our ‘t’s’.
So, what’s next?
I worked as a 12-year-old in my family business, a family shoe store called Plaza Bootery. At a very young age, I was exposed to business and cash – as a teenager, that made a great impact on me. I was destined to take over the family business, but left it to pursue my own venture, opening my first shop next to the family business. It was called Plaza Too and sold only women’s shoes and accessories.
Why women’s fashion? Firstly, selling a pair of kid’s shoes for $20 versus selling a handbag for $150 was easy math for me. The fashion part grew on me as the business transgressed.
Being at such a young age and not having a true business plan and proper funding made things harder, but was also more beneficial because I was always working from an “all or nothing” point of view – failure was not a word I took kindly.
Inspiration Behind Photography
What inspired you to start photography? Have you always had a camera in your hand? What was the first camera you bought? What do you use now? What do you shoot? What is the best thing about being a photographer? Where from here?
Plaza Too was a homerun. Selling women’s shoes and accessories on an affluent suburban main street was an instant hit, because your typical high street only had drug stores, local variety stores and so on. We were selling brands like Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, and Tory Burch – seeing brands like that at a local street level was highly unusual at the time. Mind you, there was no internet or ecommerce around then.
The business grew to make about $23 million in gross sales in 2008 but was closed in 2010 for many reasons, mostly personal ones. Both my parents got sick and needed our attention, plus I wanted to do something on my own as well. At age 21, most people don’t really know what you want to do in their lives.
From Shoes to Shutter: A New Chapter
You are a smart investor in property – has that helped through your startup phase as a photographer?
As an entrepreneur, my hands were in everything, but I was most passionate about the creative side of our business and wanted to get more seriously involved in every aspect of that.
After leaving Plaza Too, I knew I didn’t want to work at all for at least a year. I also felt very, very accomplished with what I achieved and decided to start a new venture instead of taking a logical step. So I took a road less traveled, which has been quite uniquely different from anything I ever have done. Starting this new path has had many challenges and tested my resolve – it has not been easy by any means. I have often been knocked, kicked, and rejected like never before but that is where the personal growth and professional challenge came for me.
When it came to photography, I always had a camera and took photos personally, but didn’t have the foundation. Because of that, I decided to go back to school at ICP and knew what I wanted to do from there: trying to tell my story through the lens.
I have always been a Canon guy, though I own a Leica, and shoot with Hassleblad for work and also shoot with a 4X5 film camera.
By day, I work as a fashion photographer with a lot of modeling agencies and work backstage at many fashion shows as well. By night, I work on long-term art projects and am working on some photo books as well.
The best thing for me as a photographer/artist is the chance to tell my story in a unique way through a lens. I also truly enjoy capturing special, rare moments – it especially brings joy to me if it makes you smile.
Influences and Aspirations in Photography
What photographer do you admire most? What is your favorite subject? What style of photography do you tend to lean towards?
My favorite photographers have always been Martin Parr, Guy Bourdin, and Paolo Roversi. Women and shoes are my favorite subjects to photograph, along with American life, like Art Basel in Miami and the Maine Lobster festival. I did a cross-country road trip this past fall and documented fashion boutiques and the clerks in them.
If you are interested in Tommy Mendes’ views and insights, follow him on Twitter @tommymphotos, LinkedIn or visit his website at http://tommendes.com/
An Insight Into the Gallery of Tommy Mendes:
There’s a freedom associated with riding a bike. whether it is a push bike, race bike or motorbike, the open air and speed provides a thrill that exists from childhood to adult life. Chris Reynolds has intimate knowledge of that freedom and it is his inherent sense of freedom and adventure that led him to buy the Australian division of global powerhouse Champion System.
Chris is nothing if not opportunistic. When his wife was offered a trading position in Hong Kong, Chris contacted Champion System, who had been supplying the wares for a bike wholesaler with whom Chris was working in Sydney.
He understood the industry, had the runs on the board and it was clear that Chris was a ‘go-getter’. It meant the powerbrokers in Hong Kong had no hesitation in hiring him.