It Just Feels Good to Rebrand

I've missed a few blog posts as of late because I took on a fun side project that I've been wrapped up in, rebranding myself.

Like most creatives, we can often get sick of our personal brand quite quick and want to redefine it with something fresh and new using some of our latest skills. Above is a screenshot of the homepage of my new site currently in development. You can click through the entry and loader screens here if you like. I'll be updating the look of my blog and other materials soon.

Keep on the look out for some new work and a new brand coming in a few weeks.

Blog Post Number 50

I made it, this is blog post number 50.

I started this blog not really knowing for sure where it was going. I knew I wanted to write about advertising, my views on it and sprinkle in some of my own journey as a young art director trying to make it in the rapidly changing ad world. All in all I'm fairly happy with the content that I have been able to put out.

Yet I’m surprised with the effect I’ve had through my blog, website and single day facebook ad campaign. My blog currently stands at having had a little over 400 unique hits last month alone primarily in Minnesota, Arkansas, Texas, California and New York. Through my digital efforts, I got the job I have now at Rockfish Interactive, have had the chance to chat with a number of people at some cool agencies and more surprisingly, to me, was having an effect on other people with my posts.

A number of my posts inspired conversations with coworkers at work, friends & agency people in other states and even inspired an old classmate from MCAD to blog about my blog. Yet I think the thing that I’ve learned the most is the power of digital and social media along with how to maximize the effect of it.

I’m excited to continue to see where this goes and look forward to any and all new conversations it will inspire. Feel free to start a conversation with me through twitter or through email: taylor.snyder@me.com

The Asset of Being You

One of the hardest lessons for me to learn, as a young art director, was that your personality and quirks often can prove to be an asset.

I began my working career at Target and Starbucks. Both are good places to work and both are pretty strict corporations that ask that you leave your personality at the door and put on the brand face. When taught to, on a daily basis, remove your personality when at work, it becomes difficult when asked to express myself regularly at an agency.

Although not every career expressly wants you to be yourself on a daily basis, no one wants to work with someone that is dull or rude. When interviewing for design and art director positions at agencies, I’ve found that the agencies that were always heavily interested in me were the ones in which I was very relaxed and simply being my normal, odd self. By being someone that is naturally happy and spreads humor to others I have an asset outside of my ability to create good work and pitch it well to clients, I have the ability to help create a stronger team through being myself.

Yet, the hardest lesson to learn for those that have radically different or unusual personalities is the necessity to do what I call, “Easing people into your crazy.” By with holding much of your personality initially to gauge others, find your niche and allow for your personality to gradually come out, you become a natural fit. On the other hand, being extremely out there from day one can often create apprehension, unease and the feeling of being ostracized from the group.

So in the end I’ve found the best practice is to show your personality, craziness and all; but, don’t jump the gun (ease people into your oddities).

My Greatest Source of Inspiration

When looking back at my previous blog posts, I’ve found that I talk a lot about inspiration.

In the end, as a creative person inspiration is key to continuously moving, reaching for the nearly unattainable and getting you going. Often that inspiration will come from a related field; but, I’ve found, for me, that some of my strongest inspiration comes from outside of advertising.

The individual that has inspired me the most is the writer/philosopher, Ayn Rand. She wrote a lot on the behalf of supporting laissez-faire capitalism, the positive attributes of selfishness, anti-religion and being pro-individual. Yet, the thing that consistently grabs me the most is simply that she clearly and ardently fights for her point of view.

In a sea of being politically correct, speaking between the lines and passive aggressive culture, she consistently cut to the core of what was being discussed and eloquently stated her point of view. She never backed away from her ideals and never apologized for her position on issues. Even though she wasn’t a native English speaker, she worked herself to death writing and rewriting drafts until she produced Fountainhead (read by my most American high school students) and Atlas Shrugged which has been judged to be the second most influential book in human history (second only to the bible).

Yet, with even a figure that I so deeply admire, I still wonder to myself how much of it is the ideals themselves and how much of it is simply excellent persuasive writing?

What Inspires You?

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." -Jack London

I believe that seeking out inspiration, not just for a specific project, but as an ongoing process is necessary for all successful creative people. The things that inspire us tend to be so different, and for many, it doesn't always come from the same creative field as our own.

I collected together all of the inspiring things that I have posted on my facebook over the last year. They tend to be from industrial design, graphic design, advertising and things that just made me smile.

Check it out and get inspired: pictoral///video

Work Work Work

I decided to take on another book building project with my art director friend, Karlisha Gray, and my copywriter friend, Katie Bode, generating concepts for the Nissan Cube.

It's a foreign car competing directly with the Honda Element, Kia Soul and Scion xB. It's main selling features being the unique interior styling, asymmetrical window, slightly smaller price point, shorter length and better gas mileage. Check back for more soon.

Some initial inspiration we've been pulling includes: Sprite's SubLymonal Ads, Lacoste Red!, and of course, cubism

Headin' to Arkansas

If an ad agency makes a great ad; but, it's hitting the wrong target is it really that bad?

I think thats a question that hangs in the air whenever an advertisement seems to be off key from a brand perspective. Of course, being way out of left field, hitting the wrong gender, race and age all at once would be too far off and would most likely dilute the brand by sending out too many and contradictory messages. However, how close to brand is too "close to brand."

When a client is obsessing where the toys came from, be it Target or Wal-Mart (which is the same exact toy), in a kid's fast food ad because their target consume is considered a wal-mart-like shopper. Is that going too far and isn't that obsessing too much over details that could detract from the big picture?

The subject came up when discussing the new memorable Caribou Coffee ads on youtube made by Colle + McVoy. The ads have a sometimes violent or disgusting sense of humor that feels more apt for a teenager and yet their audience tends to be middle aged, stay at home mom's.

You be the judge:

Caribou's "The Autumn Adventure of Jack & Gourdo #5"

Agency: Colle + McVoy

Reason: A well-made, dry sense of humor that plays with boundaries of acceptability; but, may be off the key consumer.

On a side note: I am happy to report that after being unemployed for a total of 12 day (8 work days), I received a job offer from an excellent, quickly growing agency Rockfish Interactive. They not only create great websites, innovative back-end tools, iPhone apps and social media tools; but, they also launch brands and were named "Best Small Agency of the Year" by Ad Age.

So I will be heading out on a road trip to Arkansas to check out the state and the agency in person. Look for posts on Thursday of traveling pics. . . y'all (thought I'd get started on my accent conversion).

A Great First Campaign

I pulled the campaign I started in the morning and have been astounded by the results of my unique mixed on-line approach.

After the campaign ran for eight hours on a weekday it generated 278 unique hits on my portfolio site (from 40 states, Canada & the UK), generated a threat to sue from a major agency and a phone call from the same major agency (a few hours later) showing interest in my work & wanting to chat further. All in all I think my first experiment has FAR exceeded my expectations and I hope my next one will as well.

And after all, if you're a creative in the ad world that gets a threat to sue, you must be doing something right.

Step 4

As I mentioned in an earlier post one of the things I want to focus on during my "Great Unemployed Experiment" is "Advertise It."

By that I mean I want to impress the agencies I'm interested in working for by approaching them in an original way. Not through the materials of your "mailer" but by thinking of yourself objectively as a product/service, the consumer as the creatives at "x" agency and figuring out the best way to get their attention and deliver a message.

I came up with a different way to attack agencies of interest by coupling two well known website's ad analytics to deliver specific messages to specific people in agencies.

Today I have a few dozen unique hits on my site (according to google analytics) and when my ads start tomorrow we'll see what will happen.

The First Day

Today is Monday September 14th, my first day of unemployment in over six years.

I am surprised because, mixed with the tension of the school loans coming soon, I feel happy that I have the time to build my website and flush out the newer projects to go in my book. I found the best article from Ad Age which was written by a recently hired graduate that had been unemployed for quite awhile. She has seven suggestions of things to do while waiting to find a position and three of those stood out to me (that I'll be attempting to implement during my unemployed period) which are as follows:

1. Stay connected. Spend at least an hour a day blogging and twittering about who you are and what you are looking for in the industry. Only by putting yourself out there, will you be able to get noticed by people in the industry.

2. Take Everything. Any freelance project that comes your way, take. You never know who you will meet by doing it or where it could end up leading down the road.

3. Get Involved. Join your local ad and design groups and go to every event. Again by mingling and getting yourself out there, you never know what opportunities may come your way.

I added my own number to her list of things to do.

4. Advertise It. If you really want to impress the agency you want to work for. Approach them and market yourself in an original way. Not with an awesome envelope or printing your business card on steel; but, by thinking of yourself as a product or service, your consumer as the creatives at "x" agency and figuring out how to communicate in the best fashion to get their attention and to get them to care.

This will be my great unemployed experiment.