by Justin James | Jul 5, 2013 | Advertising, Business Success, Latest
Today, I find myself in an advertising agency on my first day at 3H Communications as an intern. Good for me! Let me back up a little and give you some background on well, me, the 3H Intern. Since the day I was old enough to understand that I needed money to live, I started asking myself the big question: How can I make money?
I eventually decided that I wanted to become an entrepreneur and start my business after finishing university. Now, I face only two problems:
1. I have no idea what I should be innovating , inventing or doing for my business, nor how to market what I was doing.
2. I need to be accepted to a university.
The combination of these two factors was rather daunting, until I heard of an interesting opportunity to gain in work training. This training provides a better understanding of the working world and can be used on a resume to help with future job and university applications. Through a Specialist High Skills Major business program at my school, I enrolled in a Co-op and was fortunate enough to be offered an internship at
3H Communications – a marketing advertising agency in downtown Oakville.
Excellent! Before I started working, I needed the proper attire. I visited a few stores and gathered the full ensemble: shoes, shirt, jacket, tie, and dress pants. Sweltering in the summer heat but looking professional, I approached the doors of 3H Communications Inc.
A day in the life of the 3H Intern:
The company is very impressive. There are talented writers, designers, and web developers working here, oozing talent and confidence. The workplace has a vibe of creativity and dedication, creating a stimulating work environment.
After a brief boardroom meeting, I was assigned a cozy office space to work in. My supervisor showed me what work I needed to complete, and as I tried to absorb all the instructions, I quickly turn into a Macklemore rap song. ‘All right. Okay. All—all right, okay.’
The day progressed and I learned much about effectively gathering data, evaluating consumer interest for a product and targeting the right demographics. In one day of work, I learned the equivalent of a semester’s teachings in school. I believe that co-op workplaces offer a great opportunity for aspiring teenagers because they can gain practical skills and information, which in business, proves to be more valuable than theoretical knowledge.
My experience as an intern is already phenomenal and I am only one day into my month-long co-op. Future ambitions aside, being an intern at 3H Communications Inc. is much more enjoyable than flipping burgers at McDonalds or one of the other limited jobs generally available to a 16-year-old.
Keep checking back here as I share experiences at 3H!
by Miriam Hara | Jul 2, 2013 | Creative, Design, Latest
What is creativity? There’s a misconception on what or rather who can call himself or herself a “creative”. There are many types of creativity out there. You don’t necessarily need to draw and paint in order to be a creative being…. so if you don’t, don’t sell yourself short. I run a brand creative agency and I have found that being creative and owning the label of a ’Creative’ is much more than drawing or painting. Through the many years of running a creative agency with graphic designers, web developers, photographers and writers, there are many different creative personalities, but they often fall into a creative type. Here’s my informal list of creative types identifiers.
Which one (or two, or three) best defines your creative style?
The ‘Artiste’: True and tried, these creative types are what everyone naturally thinks of as “creative”. They can be artists, sculptures, glass blowers, graphic designers, animators, art directors, illustrators and painters. They use any medium from a paintbrush and easel to computers and software such as Indesign, Photoshop and Illustrator, to name a few.
The Physical Artist: Born to perform, these artists are actors, comedians and yes, even musicians. They are at the forefront of their creative expression…. seen on TV or in the movies and can be found in local bars and theatres.
The ‘Conceptual’: Give these people a brick of information, add to it restrictions and rules of what can be done and what can’t be done… and leave them alone. They’ll come up with ideas that speak volumes and words that rock your world. Their thinking is organized, concise and rational. They’ll be creative directors, writers and art directors.
The Stylists: These creative types are visual. They use material (from fabric to brick) and colour… and understand lines and space. They’ll be your Fashion designers, architects, interior designers and interior decorators.
The Imaginative: Creative thinkers they always ask the one important question: “what if”. This creative group loves problem solving and is often inventors and innovators… and they can be anything from urban planners to scientists and anything in-between.
The Linear: With the advent of technology, I would be amiss if I didn’t include this creative type. From understanding website navigation and user interaction to making sites look good and maintain functionality, this group of creative IT designers are as integral as conceptual thinkers and artists in the marketing field.
So what’s your creative type? Do you have one that I haven’t listed? I’d appreciate you defining your creative type here.
Look forward to hearing from you!
by Lisa Wedmann | Jun 26, 2013 | Advertising, Business Success, Creative, Latest
Some guy in a suit is yawning, another guy in the back is asleep, a woman in the front is reading notes, another looks at her nails and everyone else is checking their phone.
And then there’s you, standing at the front of the room, nervous and starting to sweat, trying to hang on to their attention.
You’re feeling frustrated and don’t know whether you should speed up your presentation or slow it down. Maybe you need to add a little humour? You could tell a few jokes, but maybe the topic of your presentation can’t be made light of.
Is it you? Is it your subject matter? Or is it your PowerPoint? You rack your brain thinking about what could you have done differently to be more effective?
All this to say, if it’s your delivery, well that’s an issue for another blog. If it’s your subject matter, there’s not much you can do about that. But if it’s your PowerPoint presentation, I can help.
In fact, I can provide you with two killer tips for powerful PowerPoint presentations.
All you have to do is follow these two simple rules when you create and design your material and your PowerPoint presentations will not only look better, your audience will be more interested and more engaged.
ONE, ONE, TWO
It’s an easy rule of thumb: One idea, one slide, two minutes. It’s the most basic formula. 1+1=2. Simple to remember, easier to use. The reason for this is also simple. When you create content heavy slides with more than one idea per slide, your audience is unable to determine what message you want to deliver. Your slide is high in noise and low in message.
Your audience is thinking to themselves, “And the point is…?”. The result: Yawning and nail inspection.
Ideally, you need to design your presentation so that you spend approximately two to three minutes per slide. Yes, that means you must know your subject matter well. Any more than three minutes and your audience will get bored and end up losing interest in your presentation.
THIRTY-SIX OR TWENTY-FIVE
I can’t count the number of times I have seen PowerPoint slides with far too many words. Oh yes, I can count. More than 36 words per slide is too many.
The slides are there to support your comments, to act as reinforcement and to keep you on track with your presentation; they are not there to chronicle your entire speech. No, they don’t replace the index cards of the past.
I know we all hate presenting, but If you’re reading this it means your career is dependent on giving presentations at some level – so you’re going to have to get over it. I digress, back to the presentation and the number of words…
There are various rules for the number of words per slide but one of the easiest to remember is 6 x 6. That means six bullets each with six words for a total of 36 words. Some will even say 5 x 5. You can decide which makes the most sense to you. So, another simple formula: 6×6=36 or 5×5=25.
If you must have a slide with more than 36 words, take a few well chosen words from that slide and consider putting additional information in the Appendix that you leave behind. The audience can read about it more in depth at their own convenience and without yawning in your face.
THOSE WHO CAN COUNT
These two rules are very simple, but rarely will you find anyone who follows them. But as I always say, there are three types of people in this world, those who can count and those who can’t.
by Miriam Hara | Jun 25, 2013 | Branding, Business Success, Latest
It’s hard to separate personal persona from your brand persona. If you are in charge of marketing for a brand or business you are probably passionate about what you do and how you do it. Being in charge of a brand and its performance can be intoxicating. However, like everything else in life, too much of one thing may be counterproductive. (Who said that?)
Having such a strong connection with the Brand, or as you see it your Brand, can make it very difficult to separate yourself. But you must. As a Brand Manager you are responsible for a brand’s marketing strategy by deciding what makes the most sense. You are the keeper and caretaker for brand character which involves everything from brand and logo guidelines, brand tone, brand voice and brand style… including brand body language. SO… the big question is, how do you as a brand manager separate yourself from the Brand? Chances are, during the course of your marketing career you will be fortunate enough to handle many different brands, even competitive brand. They can’t all be you! Here’s a quick checklist on how to separate yourself from your Brand.
Pleased to meet you: I have always thought of a Brand as a person. When my team and I first come on board to develop campaigns for a brand that we don’t know, we get to know it. We are respectful. We learn about its past, how it came to be, how it evolved, who its friends are and who its foes are (competitors). We discover where it lives and where its market is… and where the Brand needs to be.
Not all change is good: Understand the Brand’s character and its potential to evolve within that character and tone. Too often I have seen new Brand Managers come into an organization and change everything without any thought to the Brand’s franchise, community, marketplace or its potential. Remember it’s easy to judge what you think is right or wrong when you are new to a Brand. But making changes too soon can lead to market confusion. It takes time to nurture a Brand and for it to attain its rightful place in its community and market space. Brand making isn’t cookie cutter… sure, tactics can be interchanged, but brand personality and character need to stay the course in order to prevail and be a Brand.
Brands evolve: Take a very open view of a Brand that you’ve lived with for a long time. Just because you’ve tried a tactic in the past that hasn’t worked, doesn’t mean that same tactic with some tweaks, won’t work today. By the same token, keep your eye on the future. Find out what’s new and what’s exciting, maybe it’s just the thing to rejuvenate your Brand. Make sure you always place the Brand first and always evaluate. If a Brand is its own entity then it has its own style.
Be impartial: Separate your own likes about colour and style from those of the Brand… especially when working on brand creative. Ask yourself if the concern you have is really going to make or break the communications. Don’t strangle the creative process… and don’t confuse what you like with the Brand’s style… you will doing it a big disservice.
Be passionate. Be respectful. Be mindful.
After all, it’s all about the brand persona, Brand’s success… and yours.
by Miriam Hara | Jun 21, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative, Latest
Attention all Marketing and Brand Managers: We know our marketing and we know our brand. More importantly, we know who our target buyer, audience and groups are. That’s important and is what makes for great creative. But there’s a catch – we suffer from brand intimacy. By knowing so much through living our brand, day in and day out, we forget that our target doesn’t know our brand intimately and probably couldn’t care less. We need to make them care. The only way I know how to do that is through good advertising and communications for them… not for me. Too often in a boardroom environment decisions are made about what works and what doesn’t without market research (but that’s a post for another time!). More to the point, many day-to-day decisions or the way to go ahead on smaller projects are based on what I refer to as “internalized judgment”. Whether you’re developing a full-scale advertising campaign, billboard creative or just doing a one-off brochure, the question you need to ask when assessing your advertisement is: “Does it makes sense to someone other than myself?”
Here’s a quick checklist to make sure that your ads and communications are not a victim of brand intimacy!
Have ad sense: In other words, is it clear? Clarity is very important in any communications piece. By being brand intimate, sometimes we feel that we don’t need to “spell it out” to our audience… or we just skip the details, leaving the message too vague for our target to decipher.
Don’t talk to yourself: Take a step back and remember the first time you walked in the door to your new job and had to get to know and understand your brand. Remember how you thought about it… before intimately knowing it. This applies to judging creative ads, headline copy and even segmentation. Often companies refer to their business segments in categories driven by manufacturing or by organization divisions. Consumers don’t see these segments how business sees them. Be very cautious of this because it can make or break your brand’s success.
Fatigue syndrome: Admit it. Whenever you see your brand initiatives, whether it’s a TV ad, a billboard or a social media campaign, you pay attention. Of course you do! As you should! But understand that your niche market or mass target groups don’t. It takes time for them to even acknowledge your ad, even though they’ve seen it once or twice already. Remember, the ad fatigue syndrome effects Brand Managers, Marketing Directors, Marketing Managers and Vice Presidents of Marketing and Sales… and everyone else in the organization. But, it doesn’t affect your consumers.
So the next time your brand agency asks for your opinion on communications… don’t leave your hat on… put on your target market’s hat instead!
