Category Archives: Continuing Education

The Future of Advertising?

Ever tried to predict the future? Not easy, is it?

I don’t know if this article comes close but it is an interesting read. Dax Hamman, Chief Product Officer, Rubicon Project, did a nice job with it.

ProgrammaticMind Issue 10 22

The future of advertising may take many forms, some of which may not even be known to us at present – wait, let me jump into my time travel Shuttlecraft (on loan from Star Fleet) and I’ll get back with you.

ProgrammaticMind Issue 10 1

 

Until then, the publishers of Rubicon have put together an intriguing read in this their 2016 Biannual Issue, The Programmatic Mind.

Whatchathink?

Well, for one thing, how will advertisers get consumers to pay attention to ads if when we all live in an era of super-saturation? The author states we start by using information as advertising – using data available to us in order to make our ads as relevant as possible so the consumer has no choice but to pay attention.

Hmmmm, I thought that’s what we try and do everyday . . . now. That’s what smart creativity is supposed to do. Let’s face it, cutesy only goes so far! Mr. Hamman further states “. . . that elegant design won’t be enough if your ads are not providing valuable information.” That’s true.

I agree with the author when he says the future of advertising is full of tremendous promise. It’s also full of a whole bunch of challenges and subsequent responsibilities. Information overload will, I think, be even more so than it is today.

Still, consumers are a fickle bunch; they’re also quite intelligent and can certainly discern an ad that makes sense, is relevant and interesting. Our future world will most likely be more intense, with more information, quite problematic, more programmatic and probably more “anything-atic.”

Oh, boy, pass the Excedrin!

Since you folks will undoubtedly have a thought or two on this subject and the article, pro and con, let me know. Don’t be bashful. There’s plenty of Excedrin for all of us.

Houston’s Creative Economy – Part Deux

Recently I reported on a day-long event at the University of Houston called Leadership in the Arts Summit: Valuing the 21st Century Creative Economy. The audience was comprised mostly of non-profits and educators but also had artists and other creative entrepreneurs (like yours truly). Those of you who missed that blog post, well, too bad (just kidding).

Morning Panel w/Alfred

Summit 2016 Morning Panel

Since that event a couple weeks ago, there has been some follow up by the folks in UH’s Center for Arts Leadership. They are compiling feedback from attendees in hopes of gathering sufficient info to better plan the next steps. That is no small feat.

Sixto Wagan

Sixto Wagan, Host & Director Leadership in the Arts Summit

Some of the follow up consists of photos and presentations from April 11. Thanks to the University of Houston for these photos from their Flickr page.

I’m appreciative of those who “liked” my post and who left comments. I’m hoping that once you’ve read this and gone on to review the links herein, you’ll provide feedback as to what you think would be viable solutions to organizing our creative organizations around town to better harness our collective creativity.

Summit 2016 Afternoon Panel

Summit 2016 Afternoon Panel

In addition to the Houston Arts Alliance (HAA), the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP), among others, should play a key role in assisting with this movement. Jon Norby, a panelist in one of the afternoon sessions, recently joined the Partnership last year as Director of Talent Attraction and Marketing. I talked with him afterwards to get a feel for the GHP’s perspective about this new creative economy. While he acknowledged the challenges in communication among all of Houston’s various groups, he admitted it’s a challenge we must overcome to ensure the vibrancy in our creative community we all seek.

A few examples of where creative alliances have been formed, and can be formed in Houston and other cities, include Baltimore, Austin and Milwaukee. In fact, Christine Harris, who lead the first discussion, co-founded and was the CEO of the Milwaukee alliance.

As Sixto Wagan commented in his closing remarks, let us hope five years from now we’re not still trying to start a conversation that we’ve already begun present day. We’ve got a ton of talent at our disposal but we’re not clicking on all cylinders yet.

Though it may seem like we’re trying to lasso a large, puffy cloud, let’s get better organized and talk amongst one another. Let’s continue the discussion. Our creative community deserves no less.

So, who’s with me?

Summit 2016 Audience

Summit 2016 Audience

Our Creative Economy: Listen up, Houston!

This past Monday, April 11, I had the pleasure of attending a day-long discussion “Valuing the Creative Economy” at the third Leadership in the Arts Summit held at the Center for Arts Leadership at the University of Houston. Quite a stunning facility!

I learned about this summit from my friend and Only in Houston Co-chair Alfred Cervantes, who besides being the deputy director of the Houston Film Commission was also a panelist addressing the question “Creative Economy: What is it and why does it matter”?

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Because of the length of the Summit and the depth of discussion that took place and will continue in the weeks and months to come, there will be subsequent posts about our progress and how all this can tie together here in Houston. There will also be photos and presentations from the Summit posted to the Center’s website in the days ahead.

The goal of the Summit, according to Sixto Wagan, Director, Center for Arts Leadership, is “to bring our creative community together to talk and to envision a collective future. The panels are meant to push beyond the simple binaries, help us question assumptions, and move the conversation forward toward action.”

Christine Harris lead the opening plenary (formal seminar-speak) “Creative Economy: What is it and why does it matter”? Christine has been working with creative enterprises and community development for over 30 years and was recently in Houston last November headlining a similarly-themed morning workshop at the Houston Arts Alliance (HAA) and an evening panel discussion at Gensler.

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Harris co-founded the Creative Economy Coalition, a working committee of the National Creativity Network, and designed and executed the nation’s first review of defining the creative economy. This study profiled and inventoried how 27 communities around the nation were profiling and measuring their creative economies. She was CEO of Creative Alliance Milwaukee, where she managed a full profile of the regional creative economy and developed online resources for the sector.

It’s not my intent to cover all that was discussed during the Summit in one blog post. We’d be reading for days! I merely want to further the conversation that was “started” last November and continued this past Monday.

And Houston, we’ve got work to do.

Just consider these questions:

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And then, there’s the $64,000 question:

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Obviously, these questions don’t have simple, ready-made answers. They do, however, demand discussion and we need to continue this.

Feel free to comment and send me input on possible answers or solutions to these questions. You can also post your ideas on OiH-FaceBook and/or the Arts Leadership-FaceBook.

The various communication organizations in and around the city are a major resource for input and counsel. So, too, are the fine educational and non-profit venues in our area. Although this Summit centered around the arts, creativity knows no boundaries.

Through the American Advertising Federation Houston (AAFH), Only in Houston (OiH) was born a decade ago. Its intent was, and still is, to keep local creative dollars spent locally. There was even a multi-communication organization formed years ago (Houston Communication Alliance) aimed at bringing together all “creatives.”

Times change as do people and industries. Houston’s Creative Economy and its driving forces need to meet today’s challenges with tomorrow in mind. We may need to rethink how this is done. Other communities around the country are doing so, and it will take just that: A Houston-wide effort. No one organization or person can do this.

At the risk of thinking out loud (even though I’m typing this in silence), maybe Only in Houston morphs into a “Houston Creative Coalition,” which is comprised of organizations like the Houston Arts Alliance, Greater Houston Partnership, numerous professional and arts organizations, etc.? We can learn a lot from others who have started something like this. But Houston needs to create something that works in Houston, not Boston.

And we must do a helluva lot better job of communicating with one another so that we all know what’s going on and when. No problem; piece o’ cake!

The Leadership in Arts Summit 2016 is a recent example of creativity and economics blending and working together for the common good. We need to make sure the conversation continues and progresses.

More to come . . .

Onward!

 

Advertising Hall of Fame Quotes – Part 1

Once in awhile we see or hear someone say something that we like and want to remember, so we make note of it somehow, somewhere. That’s what I’ve done with various quotes on the advertising and marketing industry by different icons from the industry.

Every time I read the newsletter “Smart Brief” from the American Advertising Federation, I notice the quote at the bottom, usually from a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame. Sometimes I chuckle, yet in most cases I want to remember them.

So here’s the first in a multi-part series of various worth-remembering quotes which I believe you’ll find interesting and hopefully inspiring.

* * * * *

1. When executing advertising, it’s best to think of yourself as an uninvited guest in the living room of a prospect who has the magical power to make you disappear instantly.

— John O’Toole

2. A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.

— David Ogilvy

3. Creative imagination — the lamp that lit the world — can light our lives.

— Alex F. Osborn

4. I have always believed that writing advertisements is the second most profitable form of writing. The first, of course, is ransom notes.

— Philip Dusenberry

5. If you have anything really valuable to contribute to the world, it will come through the expression of your own personality, that single spark of divinity that sets you off and makes you different from every other living creature.

— Bruce Barton

6. We pay just as dearly for our triumphs as we do for our defeats. Go ahead and fail. But fail with wit, fail with grace, fail with style. A mediocre failure is as insufferable as a mediocre success.

— Bruce Barton

7. The soft stuff is always harder than the hard stuff.

— Roger A. Enrico

8. Let us blaze new trails. Let us prove to the world that good taste, good art and good writing can be good selling.

— William Bernbach

9. Creative people thrive in environments that stimulate and reward original thinking — where freedom is valued and controls are kept to a minimum.

— Keith Reinhard

10. The advertisers who believe in the selling power of jingles have never had to sell anything.

— David Ogilvy

 

So, which one or ones is/are your favorite(s)? Lemme know.

A TED Talk: Does Education Kill Creativity?

During a recent presentation I gave on creativity to the American Advertising Federation Rio Grande Valley, the question of education came up with respect to how it deals with creativity in a child’s life. The opinions were mixed. I referenced a TED talk from some years ago by Sir Ken Robinson in which he talks about this. I’ve posted it here for my brethren in the Valley and others who may not ever have seen this.

It is by far one of the most gripping and entertaining talks I have ever heard. Though he has several more on the TED YouTube channel, take a listen. It’ll make you think. But, do more than that. Act. Speak up. Don’t let our children be short-changed.

After all, we have plenty of crayons!

GE’s attempt to “creaturefy” scary ideas – not bad!

Ideas can scare the hell out of people. They can denote change if they’re adopted.

Too many times we’re not even given the time to explore generating new ideas. Yet, we seem to be constantly trying to evolve and innovate. Hmmmm, last time I checked, one needed ideas to do that. At least one.

This is the third in a series of four related blog posts I referenced in my recent presentation to the AAF Rio Grande Valley. It pertains to ideas and how people react to them. It’s not always receptive especially since ideas are not always welcome.

Hats of to GE for this innovative commercial about ideas and their surprising effects on people. It’s actually been airing since 2014 but I just noticed it a few months ago, and again recently. Good for them to continue the campaign.

The first time I saw it, I really wasn’t sure what I was watching. The more I watched, the more intrigued I got. It still “gets” me in an unnerving kind of way. Several times I just wanted to go “yuck” to myself, but then felt guilty about wanting to do so.

For those who haven’t seen it or who might have missed it, here’s what a scary idea could look like. Next time you come across one, you might give it a bit more respect than one normally would.

 

Kick Starting Creativity in the Rio Grande

I recently had the honor and pleasure to present “Kick Starting Creativity Without Screwing Up the Idea” to the American Advertising Federation Rio Grande Valley. As with my other presentations in this series, I did some fine-tuning with this version.

I was last in the Valley before this same group back in 2008. The landscape and development may have changed (more of it) but the people have not – still friendly, wonderful, courteous . . . and, of course, creative!

Those of you who were in the audience can, hopefully, enjoy it again and get some useful tips. Those of you who did not experience it that day, may learn a few things. Naturally, what follows is just the visual and not, unfortunately, the experience itself.

Kick-Starting Creativity Without Screwing Up the Idea

Keynote version (no audio)

PDF version (no audio)

 

Do You Really Want to Park There? Beware the Hologram!

I was taken with this ad the first time I saw it. I was also quite unnerved. Why don’t we see more of this kind of campaign in the USA?
More than 30% of the drivers in Russia take disabled parking spaces without caring about the signs on the ground. Dislife, a Russian non-profit organization, came up with a powerful campaign to stop this inconsiderate behavior.
They installed projections of a real disabled person that popped up every time a non-disabled driver tried to park in their space. Special cameras verified the presence of the disabled sticker on their windshields and if no sticker was detected, the hologram would appear to confront the driver. Watch the stunt in action below.

Unnerving as it may be, the campaign is a great use of technology to deliver a powerful message. The agency is Y&R, Moscow. Bravo!

Feel free to share this post and your views in the comments below.

Adobe’s Creative Cloud Conference Good for Creative Community and OiH

If you live and work within driving distance of Houston, you owe it to yourself to come spend a day or two listening to and learning from Adobe’s experts as they teach all you need to know about the various applications within the Creative Cloud.

As the one stop source for finding creative talent in the Houston area, Only in Houston (OiH) is proud to be take part in presenting this Creative Cloud Masters Conference. Thanks to a partnership with Future Media Concepts, OiH members can now save 25% on their registration. Use promo code OiH15 to redeem your discount.

OiH Logo

WHY ATTEND?
Advance your skills with cutting-edge sessions
Discover time-saving techniques
Learn from top instructors in the field
Network with peers and expand your professional network

A must-attend event created for graphic designers and other creatives to perfect and diversify their skills. Join top industry speakers to learn the latest Adobe print and web design tools, plus get started in video production. The conference agenda features 3 days of training on graphic design, print, web design and motion graphics. Organized in Houston on March 11-13. Use discount code OiH15 to save 25% on your registration. 

Creative Cloud Conference Logo

 

 

So How Did They Make that Penguin so Realistic?

Okay, I admit it. I was captivated by the John Lewis Christmas commercial and wondered, “How’d they do that?!”

Creativity went behind the scenes to find out. I’m glad they did.

Love it or hate it, John Lewis’s Monty the Penguin holiday ad is an unstoppable seasonal juggernaut, with YouTube views now exceeding 17 million. One of the reasons for the appeal of the U.K. retailer’s ad is its realistic depiction of an Adelie penguin, created completely in CGI.

Behind the scenes of the making of Monty the Penguin

In this fascinating behind-the-scenes film from VFX house MPC, you can find out exactly how Monty was dreamed up, created and rendered. It’s full of interesting nuggets — for instance, Monty picks up the Lego bricks the way that real penguins pick up fish — as well as providing an insight into the film’s production, casting and more.