by Jonathan Marshall

Even in today’s fast-paced and always-changing world of advertising, marketing and web design, there is still an old-fashioned and sometimes equally frustrating concept that will never vanish – people communicating with people.

The client/agency relationship is a constant back-and-forth struggle that requires equal effort from both sides. There are many issues that surface in the client/agency relationship. Many advertising agencies don’t trust their clients and vice versa. Agencies (and their creatives) are always angling for ways to do high-visibility, self-serving, award-winning work to get the attention of the ad industry. Clients always try to get the most out of their agency for as little money as possible.

This funny video is clearly an exaggerated version of the day-to-day client/agency relationship and is meant to entertain. Jacob Tyler loves and appreciates all of our clients and in no way would ever have a conversation (with or about them) that even closely resembles this skit or sense of humor. That being said – don’t piss us off, or we won’t want to drink with you anymore.

by Jonathan Marshall

I found this great interview of Up-and-Coming Creatives featured in the top stories/news section of Creativity Online, a blogosphere featuring the Best in Advertising, Design and Digital Creativity. Katie McCarthy, an Art Director, and Jessica Shank, a Copywriter, both of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

Creativity Online

The interview starts with some background info on the two, and then gets into the Q&A. I like the way both McCarthy and Shank answer when asked the question: “What was their biggest challenge in the last year”?  It’s easy to get caught up in the hype, whether it’s for iconic brands, or for the latest Facebook application. Sometimes when you are dealing with enormously recognizable brands, the history, previous campaigns and detail-management can really intimidate and take a tole on your creative output. Other times, when you are always trying to one-up a long and frankly unnecessary list of social media applications, it can also become counterproductive. The answer is just stepping back, re-evaluating, and looking at the project from the consumer’s standpoint, which is so obvious, yet so easy to forget. It all became so much easier when Shank asked herself the simple question, “Would I use that?”  This is a simple, yet extremely useful way to approach your projects amongst all of the crazy advancements in the industry, because ultimately, it’s all about the consumer, not the hype. Great entry guys, check out the article by Creativity Online below.

Stats:
Hometown: (McCarthy, pictured left) Minneapolis, Minnesota; (Shank, pictured right) Lyons, Colorado
Previous Jobs: (McCarthy) Facepainter, Barista, Beer Table Attendant, TDA Advertising and Design; (Shank) Bennigans (server), nanny, ManiaTV (now de-funct internet television network), TDA Advertising and Design
Recent Projects: MadeForEachOther.com, White Gold campaign and GotMilk.com for the California Milk Processors Board (CMPB)
Career Landmarks: GetTheGlass.com and gotmilk.com; documentary for Häagen-Dazs to tell the story of their “Scoop Flavor Search Contest;” (Frito-Lay) MadeForEachOther.com

What was your biggest challenge in the last year?
McCarthy: When we were working on gotmilk.com, and we were faced with the challenge of completely overhauling the iconic brand’s website. The site was extremely content heavy, and there were so many details to manage from day to day that it could get overwhelming. It was easy to get too myopic with the whole project, but when we learned to take a step back and look at the bigger picture it helped our creative process immensely.

Shank: Everyone wants to create a Facebook app or do something freaky deaky with Twitter, but this past year, I often found myself critiquing all of our ideas with the thought, “Would I ever use that?” And the bottom line is that, when I’m just a Facebook user, not an ad person, I like Facebook how it is. I think the challenge is, how do brands create dialogues with consumers in a way that everyone benefits? Occasionally, Katie and I have endured self-loathing moments where we fear we’re just going to pollute the world with more clutter. But on our optimistic days, we really just try to figure out what would entertain us and add value to our lives.

What are you excited about in the wider world of creativity?
McCarthy: Artists are increasingly empowered to see and be seen by others. The barriers to entry are breaking down and it’s really become an open playing field. Instead of relying on art galleries, a painter can now sell their own work online, and an aspiring filmmaker can post their work on YouTube and have an instant audience. It’s inspiring to see the abundance of tools and information available to the general population that used to only be available to a select few.

Shank: It seems like a lot of people don’t give themselves permission to be “creative” because they don’t think they’re emo-art-student enough to pull it off. Lately though, perhaps because of the DIY trend, I see more accountant and lawyer types throwing off their self-imposed shackles and dabbling in creative pursuits. Ten years ago, my friends called me a grandma for knitting in my dorm room. Now those same friends are making up knitting patterns on their lunch breaks. Creativity shouldn’t just be reserved for people who get paid for it.

It started out to be a great day. I had planned to take Jacob to his first circus. I bought the seats down front, went to the pre-show so he could see the animals and acts up close, bought him his $12 bag of cotton candy (insane!) and we were ready to have a great time. The pre-show ended, the lights dimmed, and we went to our seats.

The show started and mayhem began. There were clowns, animals, motorcycles, lights and entertainers running all over the stage floor… which the size of a hockey rink. I was pretty entertained and Jacob seemed to be as well (since he had his cotton candy). There were so many acts to watch and they all had interesting talents. About 30 minutes into the show Jacob started to ask when we could leave. 5 minutes later, he asked again. 3 minutes later, he asked again. 1 minute later, again and again. I wondered why he wasn’t really enjoying the show and really couldn’t keep his eyes on the different entertainment. Then it dawned on me that what I had been discussing with myself (in my head) is the same reason that Jacob wasn’t really enjoying the show. There was WAY too much going on at once. The circus had NO focal point. Neither of us could really enjoy a specific act because we were too busy looking around to make sure we weren’t missing anything else.

The lack of focal point at the circus is the same issue we have in graphic design. Campaigns without a focal point lack interest and confuse viewers. This is the same thing I tell beginning graphic designers, as well as many of my clients that want to clutter up there page with information and text. Information overload on paper is just as bad as visual overload at the circus. We don’t know where to focus and rather than trying to work it out, we lose interest and move on. To follow my own advice here, I’m going to end this anecdote. Bottom line though…my advice to the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey is to drop it from a three ring circus to maybe just one ring.