Organization can vary by industry, by company, by job, and by person. I have mentioned in previous posts about the importance of organization, but what does that really mean in a fast-paced, full-service marketing agency? Here at Bailey Gardiner, there is no shortage of organization and everyone has their own style. I decided to check out different departments here on the advertising side and showcase some strategies for keeping things in order and running smoothly in the advertising world:

The Account Side: Camila

Our role at BG is to work with clients as the agency contact and oversee all the moving parts within the agency for an account. From client meetings to conference calls to internal kickoffs, the day is never dull and requires a lot of organization and time-tracking. Camila is one of the newer members of BG but has already come up with some crafty organizational techniques.

As a self-proclaimed organization-aholic, Camila creates her own daily to-do sheet and also tracks her time with a clever color-coordinated system. All of this lives in one binder with other important documents. Why so much detail? Projects and tasks shift from day to day, things get rescheduled, and it’s always great to go back and check where you spent your time for the week.

Camila’s advice: “Write EVERYTHING down. The important thing here is to keep everything central, though you may write it down on a random post-it or the back of a meeting agenda, writing it on the master to-do list is the only way you can keep entirely on top of your tasks. While this sounds like more work up front, it will make your life easier in the long run!”

The Project Management Side: Heather

While the Account team works with the client to bring the projects into the agency, once they are here – they are managed by Heather – the queen of organization and schedules. Heather manages the schedules of the entire creative team and makes sure projects stay on schedule to be released for deadlines. Everything Heather manages affects multiple departments within the agency, so it is her impeccable organization that sets the tone for the rest of us.

Because she has to manage so many team members, Heather relies heavily on iCal (she also has about 6 different calendars around her desk) and uses our project management system Workamajig to keep everything in check (including our 20-page “Hot List” of every project that gets distributed daily). Her methods have come mainly from trial and error as she adapts to new processes, new technologies, and our growing number of staff.

Heather’s advice: “Establishing your own method of keeping yourself organized is key. Once you have your process down, others will follow.”

The Creative Side: Susannah

Susannah is our Senior Graphic Designer and keeps us digitally organized and archived. If someone needs to reference a project from 2001, Sus can pull it off the server quickly and efficiently because she has our files so well arranged. Also, Sus manages all of our production, which means she is the last person to touch projects before they are out the door – all the more reason we are glad Susannah is a well-oiled organization machine!

Coming from a family of engineers, we think she has a genetic inclination for process and details. Susannah uses her own journal with her job list from Heather’s Hot List, and then works on our file server to design and output jobs. Her desk is always full of creative work and job bags, but each one is accounted for and follows the proper steps to make sure the jobs are done.

Susannah’s advice: “Throughout my career I have seen other graphic designers and creatives who appear to be or are messy and disorganized. This is where artists get labeled as flaky dreamers. I wanted to be professional – a good designer AND be organized. The combo is a money maker!”

The Media Side: Michelle

Our media department works closely together on every media project, so closely that they have a joint to-do list that they both tackle. They use a giant whiteboard on their office wall to keep track of all tasks and cross them out when complete. This board also attracts some doodles and quotes from visitors, but it is the main way Michelle and Meredith stay on schedule and on the same page. A lot of client money is handled in their department on a daily basis and it is their organization and communication on all projects that makes sure money is never lost, wasted, or misused.

Michelle’s advice: “At the end of every day, take the time to organize your desk and inbox before you leave. That way, as soon as you are in the next day, you are ready to start the day fresh and prepared.”

Now it’s time for your input – what is your position and how do you best organize yourself? I truly believe that organization is half the battle on the way to success, and I love picking up new tips, tricks, and pieces of advice… Let me know your favorites!

Sometimes, the agency biz feels like a highwire circus act. Not necessarily a bad thing.

The Bailey Gardiner team does some light stretching before a client presentation

At a recent TAAN meeting in South Beach (Transworld Advertising Agency Network), I had the opportunity to hear a presentation about creativity in the workplace from a senior executive at Cirque du Soleil. Jordan Fiksenbaum, Vice President of Marketing and PR, spoke to our gathering of some 50 or so ad agency owners from around the globe as we gathered together to share and learn from one another at our annual global conference. The story of Cirque du Soleil has been well-told and revered by many, and still I found much inspiration in hearing Jordan explain the company’s approach to creativity. Truth be told, their philosophy matches my own in the ways we try to encourage and inspire our marketing teams to forever top themselves.

You see, creativity both exhilarating and exhausting. It’s not a constant bubbling spring from which all great ideas flow – at least it’s not for me anyway (or any other creative person I’ve met so far). You’ve got to provide a nurturing environment, and atmosphere that breeds ideas – a place where creativity can grow and prosper. Cirque du Soleil has that going on, and then some.

Some things we can learn from their successful formula:

• Everyone’s a player – Every person in your company plays a role.  At Cirque, the behind-the-scenes creators of sets, costumes and soundtracks are treated with as much importance and respect as the performers.  Same goes for the admin staff, the janitors, the cafeteria ladies, etc – they are all playing key roles in helping the organization reach success. In the agency world, when was the last time you applauded for the accounting department, or the second account coordinator from the left?  Yep, you couldn’t do it without them either.

• Office environment – The Cirque headquarters in Montreal was custom designed for them as a creative playground. It’s their business offices and training center for performers from around the world, all wrapped into one. They do not separate the art from the commerce – they see no line drawn between the two. At your workplace, do the creatives sit in their own “department” or section of the office, walled off from the business side of the business?

• Individual workstations – Their offices literally look like a circus is going on inside (and it is). Each person has the freedom to customize their space with their own creations, surrounding themselves with their own interpretations of creativity.  Crazy colors and feather boas? Check. Wild masks and impossibly tall springy things made from god-knows-what? Check. Gray cubicles with standard issue manila folders and a 3-drawer file cabinet? Not so much.

• Work family – From the atmosphere in their headquarters, you can see the camaraderie and interaction between performers and business teams. All offices surround the performers’ practice areas, so at any time at your desk you can look up and watch some death-defying flyover or sweet balancing act. What a great melding of purpose, having everyone sitting together – creating. Doesn’t matter whether it’s columns of numbers on an excel spreadsheet or juggling fiery spears.

• Food – What’s creative inspiration without fuel? The Cirque offices have incredible kitchens, and a cafeteria serving the foods of the world for people from all around it. Twenty languages can be heard as people share their meals together – food serves as the great unifier. At our agency, we’ve found this true – ask members of the Bailey Gardiner Food Club about that.

Our accounting dept is extremely nimble.

• Freedom – Creativity is about exploring the boundaries and crossing them. This process requires freedom, and trust. Without it you might as well forget about seeing or hearing anything new. One Cirque example I remember was a story about a makeup artist and an eyelash fetish. She felt the performers in a certain scene needed to wear 14 pairs of eyelashes to get the desired effect. The bean counters could have questioned if they could get by on 7 pairs, or even 10 – this would save on production costs.  Management sided with the makeup artist, knowing this attention to detail is what makes Cirque a global sensation. Creative freedom.

We strive to do as many of these things at our humble little agency.  What’s working for you at your hive of creativity?

With our latest round of holiday creative executions for Hazard Center, our Avoid-a-Hazard campaign comes to a close for 2011.

First launched at the start of last year, the Avoid-a-Hazard campaign was born out of the notion that life is filled with everyday hassles. Some of them small, like personal grooming. Others, a little complicated, like the pitfalls of gift giving. But whatever these “hazards” might be, we positioned Hazard Center as being the place that could help you avoid them. We playfully played off of Hazard Center’s name, while conveying the many different things you could do/buy/eat there.

Over the last two years, we extolled the virtues of waxing, directed men to better anniversary gifts and helped college students stay awake in class. We even offered Chargers fans a reason to drink on opposite sides of a vending machine. Along the way, we also won an ADDY for our efforts.

With our latest round of work, we show how Hazard Center can make for an easier holiday season. Sample ad below, another one here.

Are there any hazards that we missed? Let us know.

This post is part of a series that examines the different techniques a copywriter can employ when hunting for the ever elusive headline. Think of it as a handy little toolbox to turn to when deadlines loom and the white bull taunts you.

Earlier in the month, we covered personification. Today, for our fourth installment of different copywriting techniques, we feature the figure of speech that ends with a “?”.

Tool #4: Rhetorical Question

When posed with a question, the natural response is to think about what the answer should be. But with a rhetorical question, the answer isn’t necessary. A rhetorical question is a veiled presentation of the speaker’s opinion. In advertising, that would be the brand’s voice. A thought is presented to the audience and it’s as if they’re being guided to think, “You know what? That’s a good point.”

And it works. A year and a half ago, Geico introduced a rhetorical question ad campaign.

In print, JWT/Dubai created the ad below for Nicola Finetti, a fashionable designer of cocktail and evening dresses.

On the other side of the funny fence, rhetorical questions can also elicit a more serious reaction. As evidenced by this older ad from CPB about how doctors with AvMed Health Plans are incentivized to see their patients promptly.

As with all figures of speech, wit makes copy more memorable. And effective. It may also draw the line between rhetorical questions and regular, forgettable questions. (Ex. Are you tired of  insert problem your product/service solves ?) But if you craft your question thoughtfully, your audience’s opinion will be your own.

Can the art of persuasion be any more convincing?

As we move into the latter half of the year and planning for media begins with brainstorms, I like to think about some non-traditional ideas for ad placements. This year, I am really loving non-traditional advertising at events and festivals.

The product or service has to be a good fit for the event and relevant to the audience attending, but so far this summer I have seen a lot of great advertising and highly interactive set-ups at events. Here are some benefits of event advertising:

Benefit #1: Brings your product directly to a highly targeted demo

Placing signage or a booth at a major event provides the opportunity to reach your target demo very directly and interact with that target in a unique way. This does not mean “interact” like interacting with a web banner with a click, but “interacting” with your target as a part of their experience and memories from an event. A large event generally provides a very niche target that can be really beneficial for a brand or product.

Benefit #2: Ability to offer a hands-on experience for products or services

For products like Nintendo DS3 and other very “testable” products on the market, this is a no-brainer. Setting up a tent full of Nintendos and letting people try them is not a radical idea. But if you can take a product that is difficult to explain or experience and creatively find a way for people to get a taste of it, that is something that resonates for an audience.

At a recent concert festival, the US Air Force had a huge, elaborate set up to “test their product.” I went into the tent to find out how the Air Force had come up with  a way to share the experience. In a giant camouflage tent they had: a workout area, a jet flying video game, and a skydiving simulator.

This was not only getting the most attention because it was creative, it also had the most interaction because they offered something that was unique and out of the ordinary. The experience from the Air Force tent was a lot more effective than the Nintendo DS3 exhibit next door.

Benefit #3: Ample time available for event-goers to try out your product

If you go to a music festival or any kind of event, there is likely to be a lot of downtime. Most events last all day or multiple days, and people like to take a break from the festivities and stroll around. Event advertising can provide a company with a unique opportunity to expose their brand to consumers who are actually looking for interaction.

My favorite brands at events are always the ones that offer experiences to interact with their products, but are also content with people just spending time at their tent. Any company with a set-up offering air conditioning, chairs, and water for people inside are going to be my favorites- and I always end up spending the most time interacting with their products because of their welcoming environment.

Benefit #4: Opportunity to sponsor a portion of the event

It doesn’t have to be a title sponsorship – not very many companies have the money to be the Vans of the “Vans Warped Tour” every year. But there are a long list of advertising options including sponsorship of a stage, area, or tent that will get a name out there to a targeted audience. Another plus is that the people running the advertising opportunities for major events are generally creative thinkers who are open to anything that brings in ad dollars, so it is an chance to test some wacky, fun ideas for brand promotion.

If you could be a sponsor or advertiser at any event or festival in the country, what would you want to sponsor? How about the world? How about a completely made-up event? The point is that event advertising is a time to get creative- what would you do?

For those of us working in web design and development, part of our job is staying on top of the constantly changing styles and technologies that drive our industry – one can quickly fall behind if they’re not up on the newest tricks of the trade. Luckily, our community loves to share. We’re experts at utilizing the web after all, so it makes sense to talk about our industry trends online with our peers.

Below are some of my favorite design and development resources, use them, share them. I figured it’s my time to spread the love.

1. HTML5 Boilerplate

Ensuring cross-browser consistency is always a pain. Start off with a solid foundation by using HTML5 Boilerplate. Use their build script to optimize your site and score an A-level performance with YSlow and Google PageSpeed. Boilerplate is also available in a mobile version.

2. Photoshop Etiquette Manifesto for Web Designers

I’m a very organized developer, and thankfully our designer sees the value in organization as well. By following the Photoshop Etiquette Manifesto for Web Designers, the design to development transition is smooth and clear. These tips will ensure that your PDS files are organized and easy to navigate.

3. Tuts+

This is one of my favorite blog networks. They have sites dedicated to design, development, mobile and many more. There are a ton of free resources and a premium section for paid subscribers for even more tutorials and source files.

4. Typekit

You don’t have to settle for the same old web-safe fonts, you can now choose from hundreds of web optimized fonts using Typekit. The site’s library includes many popular fonts including the recent addition of Futura. Try it out on one site for free and upgrade for more sites. At only $50 a year for unlimited websites, it’s a great deal that brings life to your pages. For free @font kits you can check out Font Squirrel or Google web fonts.

5. Site Inspire

Browse through some of the best web design out there with Site Inspire. I have been using this website for years, and they always have fresh layouts and inspiring sites to get you ready for that next project. Register for an account and you can save your favorite sites and build up catalogs.

6. Snipplr

Load up your clip collection and speed up your coding with Snipplr. This is a great collection of user submitted snippets that will make your life a lot easier. It has snippets 83 different coding languages including extensive JavaScript, HTML, PHP, CSS, Ruby, and Object-C libraries.

7. CSS3, Please!

Everyone should be using CSS3 properties, and CSS3, Please! makes it easy to ensure cross-browser compatibility. Just enter your desired values once, and CSS3, Please! will do the rest, filling in matching values for each browser specific property.

So there you have it, these resources have been tried and tested day after day. I would highly recommend using them to speed up your workflow, organize your files, and optimize your websites. If you like these services, share them with your friends, spread the knowledge and improve the web for us all. There are so many other great resources out there, what are your favorites?

This post is part of a series that examines the different techniques a copywriter can employ when hunting for the ever elusive headline. Think of it as a handy little toolbox to turn to when deadlines loom and the white bull taunts you.

And now for the next chapter in our series that examines the different approaches a copywriter can take when writing headlines. Previous posts covered hyperbole and simile. Today we look at…

Tool #3: Personification

As a figure of speech, personification takes inanimate objects or abstract ideas and gives them human qualities. These qualities can be emotions, sensations or physical characteristics.

In TV commercials, we commonly see products represented as people or characters. Examples include Apple’s Mac vs PC campaign. And this fun video for Epuron.

Headline-wise, Y&R Chicago employed personification to sell Kenmore dishwashers.

Up in Oregon, Johnson Sheen Advertising personified peril to sell Gerber Knives.

Brands want people to relate to the products or ideas in their ads. And since people relate to other people more readily than they do to things, it follows suit to make those objects more human. And more engaging.

So the next time you’re struggling with writing a headline for an ad, consider using personification. Do it well and your ad just might send you a thank you note.

When is it okay to use bad grammar in advertising? I’d like to think we have free range and can be as creative as possible, but just because I feel that way, doesn’t mean it’s right.

Recently, I’ve come across two ad campaigns by Fortune 500 companies using the “word” funner. Funner is often misused in day to day conversation (even I’m guilty at times), but according to Merriam-Webster, funner is definitely not a word. That said, I continue to notice the use of the word in advertising on a daily basis.

I was walking through my local Target store when I spotted a large banner that read “Make Summer Funner” – I couldn’t believe the mega-retail store conglomerate would support such a grammatically incorrect advertisement. A few days later, I saw a :30 TV commercial using the same debatable phrase.

Target has always been known for its fun and out of the box campaigns — the holiday Tip Campaign featuring Maria Bamford, and the unforgettable Hello, Goodbuy Campaign from 2007 are two of my favorites, but it’s hard to understand why the major brand would promote and encourage such horrible grammar.

The initial draw behind the campaign makes sense — summer and funner rhyme. The phrase also has a young and playful ring to it, which is perfect for the summer months when kids are out of school and families are generally having more fun. The overall creative is compelling and catches your attention, especially when the boogie boarder jumps into the kiddy pool. Yet, why did Target choose to incorporate a grammatically incorrect statement? Does the phrase ruin a perfectly good commercial? Technically, the campaign could have achieved the same positive reaction by saying “Make Summer More Fun.” This leads me to believe the phrase was used purposely to spark conversation about the use of the word and also work with the playful visuals of summer fun throughout the campaign.

On the flip side…

Yahoo was actually called out for the use of bad grammar in its “Fast is Funner” campaign. Yahoo launched their new email program (which is 2 times faster than their previous one) with this campaign – ultimately receiving a lot of backlash for it, even having to pull it off the internet after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the ad.

The problem with this campaign wasn’t just that it was grammatically incorrect, but also because the ads incorporated an image that angered a lot of people. The image portrayed two young women driving a convertible down an open road. People interpreted this as Yahoo promoting fast driving and the idea that the faster you drive, the more fun you will have. The disconnect is not just with the improper use of the word funner, but also gives the phrase a negative connotation of driving fast and having fun. A bad combination and disconnect all and all.

Ultimately, both Target and Yahoo had good concepts behind these campaigns, but the main difference between the two comes down to the delivery. Target was not scrutinized for its use of funner because its visual made sense with the copy. The phrase “Make Summer Funner” was in line with the concept behind the creative. Yahoo, however, provided an image that was disjointed with its tagline “Faster is Funner”, hence the backlash the campaign suffered thereafter.

What are your thoughts on using bad grammar in advertising? If the visual is compelling enough, should the words and grammar matter?

As a creative agency, we are constantly on the hunt for the next big idea.

We hold many, many brainstorms and know from experience that being a great brainstorm leader is not instinctive, but a skill that must be learned over time. And keeping good brainstorms going is an even harder art to master.

We wanted to develop a tool that would not only hold all of our brainstorm tips, but would also help our staff plan and implement idea sessions internally.

We wanted something portable that could be taken from meeting to meeting with the flexibility to be used with groups or on an individual basis.

That’s what gave us the idea to create an app.

We decided to divide the app into two parts—tips and prompts.

• Tips – Advice on how to plan, prep and run a brainstorm for maximum idea output.
• Prompts – Questions and thought-provoking statements designed to ignite different areas of thought to keep brainstorm ideas flowing and avoid long, awkward pauses.

Having virtually no budget to finance the app, we had to get creative. We wound-up doing a trade with app developer Randy Hsiao who programmed the app in exchange for design work.

We then held an agency-wide brainstorm to collect ideas for tips and prompts. Afterwards, the team working on the project spent several late nights pouring through all the ideas and selecting the most effective ones to appear in the app.

We wanted to make the app as easy to navigate as possible so we incorporated the following features:

• No tip or prompt is served twice, even if you leave the app and re-enter it later on.
• You can navigate back and forth through the app easily using just a finger swipe (no buttons needed).

The app was such a popular tool for us internally, we decided to share it with anyone needing to come up with a great idea. We gave it to our clients, partner agencies and even offered it to attendees at the  2011 AAF Conference in San Diego.

Brain Grease is currently available on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Check out some of the sample tips and prompt screens below.

Presenting the second installment of a series that details the different techniques a copywriter can use when penning headlines. A few weeks ago, I covered hyperbole. Up next is…

Tool #2: Simile

If you step back in time to high school English class, you’ll remember that a simile indirectly compares two things using the words “like” or “as”. (After a brief consult with the interwebs, Wikipedia informed me that a simile can also be constructed with the word “than”.)

As a figure of speech, similes appear everywhere throughout culture. From songs that tells us how hungry one might be, to movies that describe the haphazardness of life. They’re also put to good use in advertising.

Energy BBDO evolved Altoids’ “Curiously Strong” mints campaign with the magazine ad below.

We’ve even harnessed the power of the simile for our own clients. Matter of fact, our work for Sushi Contemporary Performance and Visual Arts just snagged a National ADDY. More on our campaign here.

If you do choose to put similes to work, remember to be descriptive. You want to evoke imagery and emotion. So don’t just think creatively. Think graphically.

Ultimately, having similes in your mental back pocket may not make writing headlines as easy as A.B.C. … but it does help a little, like the handful of almonds that placates my growling stomach.