Elegant Simplicity

A few weeks ago, I checked the “mentions” tab on my Twitter account and saw the beaming face of a smiling, 1960s styled hippy named “GibbyGooBop” directing me to a YouTube link. He only said two words to me in his tweet…”Elegant Simplicity”.

How he found me and why he thought he should hit me personally with this is anybody’s guess. I’m still trying to figure that one out for myself.

At first, I thought it was some form of spam but upon careful observation, I concluded that it wasn’t and curiosity got the best of me. So I cautiously clicked on the link. What I saw was a music video titled Strife on Mars?.

It was the WEIRDEST, most unique, well produced piece of work I have seen in quite some time.

At first, I didn’t exactly get it but I must admit, I was smiling and my mind was quite blown. I couldn’t decide if I had just seen the work of a madman or an absolute genius. Being an advertising creative, I’m used to the ideology that a message should be delivered clearly. However, being an artist (and an individual that I believe to be deep and intelligent), I LOVE weird metaphoric content (movies for instance) that actually makes me think about what I had just seen for days to come.

Boy Gibby, did this EVER make me think. So much that I really haven’t stopped thinking about it since the original viewing.

I admit, I must have watched the video a dozen more times in the last few weeks. I’ve studied the lyrics. I’ve listened to the music. I’ve examined the acting and special effects. I carefully watched everything right down to the editing and the overall production and this is no regular YouTube garbage simply thrown together with a standard video camera. It is a well thought out work of art that has been professionally executed in every area.
In SO many ways. I quickly went from feeling baffled and a little weirded-out to an extreme sense of awe.

I must also mention that the song is an earworm. It’s been weeks and I can’t get the “Zim Zam” or Bowie-esque “Curly never gave up on Moe” out of my head. The accompanying musicians that performed on the track are great. Of course, it's a swipe of Bowie's "Life on Mars" but I'll forgive GibbyGooBop for this as he made it his own.

So, what does it all mean?

This is the best part. I’m still trying to figure that part out. I’m almost positive that I get it and if I could sum it up in a few short words, I would say it’s about “Innocence lost”. Tree-huggers, hippies of old, and others that try to voice their concern over important issues (like harpooning whales and destruction of Mother Earth) typically lose the fight. People in today’s world (for the most part) are too serious, oblivious, and angry. All that really concerns the masses (my buddy likes to call them “drones”) of today is if the local coffee shop has WiFi and that you quickly make up your mind and move along (as so many have also done when it came to viewing this video but more on this is just a moment). The woman in the opening scene in the coffee shop doesn’t even look up from her newspaper when a weird looking stranger bumps into her.

I believe the underlying message is that people lose their innocence. Somewhere along the way they stopped caring or understanding. Especially about many things that are important. We must spread goodwill and happiness. We must show compassion. We must all get along and dance and sing. We must look for joy in the small things in life and appreciate our surroundings.

If you already do this, then “you’re in orbit and all alone”.

At least, that’s my take.

As of today, the video has been viewed over 14,000 times. It has 83 likes and 55 dislikes.

55 dislikes? Of course this is art and those that hit the dislike button are entitled to their opinion BUT you must stop and take some time to look at the message more deeply (as with things/problems/issues throughout life in general). Comments such as “this is retarded”, “strange” and “somebody must be on some serious drugs when they made this” are angry and shallow. What’s “retarded” is that so many people today don’t look beyond the surface. This piece of art is FAR from that of a creator that is all those things. It’s extremely well thought out, executed, and ridiculously deep. What you 55 people have actually done is more or less PROVEN Gibby’s entire point.

And THAT’S why I believe it is brilliant.

Well done Gibbygoobop.

I stand up and applaud you.

Bizarre, enjoyable, metaphoric and mesmerizing.

EXTREMELY well done.

Why a logo should cost more than $100.

You see it everywhere. Logos advertised for $99, designers promising unlimited concepts for under $200, and you’ve had some potential clients quickly disappear when you gave them (what you considered) a cheap quote.

After almost 20 years of working in the advertising and design industry on some of the world’s most recognized brands, it amazes me to see what I actually consider the HARDEST and most time consuming of creative projects cheapened in the eyes of the general public and made readily available by designers wearing blinders to what realistic and acceptable fees should be for this type of work.

Of course, I know I will get the usual comments of “what is acceptable is what people are willing to charge” but creating a logo for a new company, product or service should not come with a measly $100 price tag.

Here is my reasoning…

To design the correct look and feel of a company, you must first RESEARCH the company. Who are they catering to? What’s the target audience? What is the look they want to convey? Do they want 3 concepts or do they want 10? Is it a simple solution or will you have to go back to the drawing board 20 times? Studying and learning about your client’s business and their objectives takes time. I’m going to give this part of the project a very modest one day worth of work. One day to visit my client’s business, to research their competition’s websites, to examine their target audience, and to find examples of logos created for similar clients. If I am to charge an industry average of $50/hour, working one day from 9:00am – 5:00pm (with one hour for lunch), I am billing for 7 hours. This is a $350 fee.

Part 2 is the concept stage. I always give at least 3 concepts. Whether you use a marker or you go straight to the computer, it doesn’t really matter how you begin, you are looking at an empty page or screen. Can you simply splash it quickly and spew out creativity? Sometimes you can. If you are creating the logo for a dog walking service, you might start with a dog. But what happens when your client is a law firm or a company that manufactures sheet metal? The first rule of thumb is to avoid the first things that pop into your head.

Creating a great logo is like sipping cognac or smoking a fine cigar. You want to do it slowly. You must appreciate the craftsmanship and the process. I like to come up with something to start, and then I walk away. I do something else. I then come back later with fresh eyes and look at it again. Repeat this until you have something you believe the client will fall in love with that best represents their objective. Then do it two more times for the next concepts. All of this takes time.

Of course, I like to give myself about 2 weeks to go back and forth to the drawing board. But for arguments sake, let’s factor in one day per concept. One day to create and polish one design. So, 3 days in total. Once again, using the 7 hours at $50/hour, this stage would create a fee of $1,050.

Stage 3 is presentation. Are you sending your ideas as a PDF through email or are you meeting with the client? If you are meeting with the client, factor in some additional charges for travel time and presentation.

Stage 4. Everybody’s favourite. The revision stage. Very rarely will you nail something that the client quickly approves. I’ve had it happen several times over the years but typically, there are going to be revisions.

The client showed it to 8 friends and they all had opinions. The client’s spouse wants to see it in orange, then in yellow, then in blue. They love the icon but want you to play around with the font. They love the font but want you to tweak the icon. The logo is great but they wanted something more feminine. The logo is feminine but they were thinking something more cartoon-like. The list goes on.

Truthfully, most clients have no idea what they want and will beat even the greatest concept into the ground because they are indecisive. A decisive client is one that you should bend over backwards for and cater to their every whim because they are few and far between. They are the difference between loving what you do and wishing you could flee to cut the neighbour's grass for a living.

3 more days of revisions and back and forths (again, I’m being modest).

Add another $1,050 to the quote.

Taking all these factors into consideration, you have a quick estimation of what a logo design should cost from an intermediate designer for any small, start-up client.

The quote, taking all of my points into consideration is at $2,450.

This does not take into consideration all the other variables associated with logo design work. Will the logo be prominent on the side of a downtown skyscraper? Will the client want to buy the exclusive rights? Etc. etc. etc.

How you charge and what you charge is up to you. But by taking the time from concept to completion into consideration, the amount you paid for your education, computer and software, your phone conversations, travel, amount of revisions you will most likely encounter, be honest with yourself, how much is it worth?

Remember when you were young, and you practiced your signature over and over and over again until you hit that eureka moment and finally came up with something that defined you? Was it easy? It wasn’t. This is what you are doing for your client.

And it’s worth a hell of a lot more than $100.

Until next time, keep dreaming.

Something has been missing.

Recently, I did something I never imagined would ever happen again.

I started to paint.

It took me a while to figure out what drove me to pick up a paintbrush after 20 years. It seems that something has been missing from my career for quite some time. It’s not a lack of creativity, I get to be creative designing and thinking up stuff every single day. It’s an underlying force much more powerful than the desire to “create things”. A force so powerful, that it predates my modern, technological brain and goes right back to the beginning. It’s all thanks to my sense of smell.

For those of you just getting into this line of business, you sadly missed a time where the art department of an ad agency (or design studio) had the warm, welcoming smell of various art supplies all mixed together in one room. Pencils, magic markers, thinners, paint, hot wax machines, glue…the smell of the creative department was unlike no other found in the workplace. There’s a reason I skipped the party of going away to University to attend 4 years at a local prestigious art college. It has always been an ingrained sense in me that was also a driving force behind my entering a career in the field of art. The smell of an art studio has always made me feel like I am in my proper element.

By the 2000s, this smell was replaced. I don’t know by what but if I were to guess, I would say it was by a hint of electricity. The smell of the creative department was no longer unique. Does it really smell any different than the IT or accounting department? The acrid, burning smell of a room full of computers, photocopiers and fax machines took over the sweet smell of rubber eraser dust and India ink. With today’s technology, this smell of supplied power to a room full of machines has also been nearly extinguished. If you are sitting in a creative office environment at this moment, please close your eyes and take it all in. What do you smell? Does it smell like a room full of creativity?

My 4 year old is in Junior Kindergarten. I love taking her to class every day. When the door opens, I can instantly smell (and almost taste) the paste and paint. I’m sure you know what I’m referring to. Many of us fondly remember it. Smells are so powerful they can unlock our deepest memories.

Finally realizing what was missing, I ended up at the nearest art supply store where this smell still exists. I dropped my credit card and walked out with a huge canvas, various sizes of paintbrushes, and dozens of different paint colours.

I quickly got home and set everything up.

Staring at the bright white emptiness in front of me, I pushed a pin into the first tube of paint to break the seal, and squeezed a large dollop onto the fresh, clean palette.

The aroma hit me instantly and I found my happy place once again.

I don’t plan to ever forget it.

Until next time, keep dreaming.

There will always be haters.

It has been a VERY long time since I’ve written anything in this blog.

I haven’t really had a second.

2010 has been an incredibly busy (and successful year) for me but as you have hopefully learned from reading my posts, one should never let a series of successful months go to their head (as a freelancer) because it can all come to a screeching halt tomorrow.

To make a lot of hay when the sun has been shining, I’ve had to move sharing some words to the bottom of my priority list.

This is only one of the reasons I stopped writing.

Another is that sometimes, I simply don’t feel like it.

See, I never began writing for any of you, I have always written for me, and then made these words public.

With that said, because I make it public, a lot of great stuff happens.

I end up making top blog lists like this one.

My words end up in published books like this one or this one.

And this gets me a LOT of mail. Mostly great response and words of encouragement.

But every year there are always one or two emails that are completely negative.

Not just negative but downright nasty.

When I complain about the state of the industry, I get a hater screaming at me to stop whining.

When I write that I’m having a great time, or year, or success, I get a hater calling me a “smug bastard”.

As I did recently when I posted something I wrote titled “An ode to freelance”.

It was late at night, and I couldn’t believe how alive and free I felt to do this job for a living.

I figured many of you could relate. After all, there are MANY worse jobs than creating something in a design program late at night with a glass of spirits in hand.

I had no demanding boss breathing down my neck.

There was no dumb-ass co-worker asking me how to fix the fax machine that they jammed for the 3rd time.

I wasn’t watching the clock mid-afternoon to count down the minutes.

And I wasn’t stuck in a 2 hour traffic jam to get home.

If I sounded smug, it’s because when it comes to working from home, on my own, Sometimes I AM.

Freelancing rules. Everything (when it is going well) is amazing.

Right now, because times are good, I feel like the luckiest guy on the planet.

So I jotted down my thoughts at that moment.

There was no need (Mr. Hater) for your anonymous attack.

I write for me. I write what I’m feeling, when I’m feeling it.

Belittling me for that post was like slapping somebody for smiling to themselves because they are having a good day.

For those that enjoy my posts. I thank you for I am glad and honoured. You make my writing and sharing it worthwhile.

For all the haters to my thoughts and words, I have a very thick skin.

Call me whatever you want.

I’ve worked in one of the meanest industries for nearly 20 years.

One that chews people up and spits them out, sometimes as fast as they came.

On my own, playing by my own rules, for almost half of it.

Your words didn’t hurt (which I know was your goal).

You simply annoyed like a fly buzzing in one’s ear.

Sometimes, I whistle while I work.

If you don’t like listening to it, I have an easy solution.

All you have to do is click here.

Ode to Freelance

Dark room.

Silent house.

The only light illuminates off the monitor.

Sipping a glass of smoky, peaty, Islay single malt...on the rocks.

Cat contently purring in my lap.

Getting paid to play in Photoshop and InDesign for one of the world's largest brands.

Some people hate their jobs.

I pity them.

How to answer a call for spec.

Recent posting (of course, name of artist and single have been changed)...

Joanne Smith's Cover Art Contest.

Calling all design-savvy Joanne Smith fans. The cover art of "A room full of Boondoggle," Joanne's newest and hottest single, is in your hands!

If you have a great vision of what the single’s cover art should look like, we want to see it. The best design (chosen by Joanne herself) will become the official cover art, featured on iTunes and Joanne's personal website. This is your chance to showcase your talent - show us what you've got! Winners will be announced on August 15, 2010.

My reply...

Dear Joanne,

I have a friend that has a similar offer for you.

He would like you to come over and sleep with him.

He's going to try and get it on with over 100 women.

Whomever is the best in bed will be taken out for a cheap dinner.

The difference between my offer and yours is that I'm telling you flat out that you will be getting screwed before you consider it.

Be sure to let me know if you are interested.

Thanks.

Ronnie

My best rejection letter EVER!

I just read what I believe is the best rejection email/letter I have ever received.

"All the quotes were competitive but I have decided to work with someone else.
I wish you continued success.
By the way, I am never too busy for your referrals!"

Classic.

A change is coming.

The business of advertising, marketing, and design is once again about to change.

In order to move forward and get bigger and better clients, we will need to offer much more than what we have been up to this point.

Everybody is creating logos, print, and web designs. And they are offering it cheap. This business went from being a profession where you needed a decent traditional art school education and some work experience, to a profession where you simply need a copy of Creative Suite and a computer.

It's almost as if everyone (and their brother) said "I don't know what I want to do for a living, hmmmm...well, I like creating stuff, I should be a designer".

I was quite angry about this transition, I even wrote articles and this blog all about it.
Recently, a friend of mine said to me...
"stop writing and complaining about what was, and become the expert on what will be".
She's right.

Times are changing once again. If you are a design professional, you will need to get on the next wave. We all will.
Stay in the land of static websites, brochures, and logos and expect to work for small change for start-ups that don't have a clue in regards to their budgets or marketing needs.

It is inevitable that they will be needing much more.

Bigger and better clients want bigger and better marketing opportunities.
And there are many coming. Technology is changing quickly. Those that can figure out what these are will make the next jump successfully.

Of course, there will always be a place for mediocrity. Some clients want it, and there will always be designers willing to offer it.
But companies will need to harness the new technology in order to compete, and the general public won't be able to supply their marketing needs by simply hanging out a shingle and calling themselves a "designer".

It's coming.

And I've been studying really hard.

Now I am spending some time finding the right people to put a solid team together to offer these services.

I was a surfer growing up. I spent many summers hanging 10 in a foreign country.

I feel like I have been patiently sitting on my board in the water for the last few years, waiting for this giant wave to roll in.

I now see it in the distance.

Many of the inexperienced will be swallowed up by it.

For the rest of us that are ready, the time to ride it to prosperity is fast approaching.

Meetings, spec work, and a failure to close the deal.

The first quarter of 2010 is almost over and work has been quite steady. A lot of ongoing projects, some new ones for a few upscale clients, freelance agency work (working as an art director), and I’ve had several meetings with potential clients and agencies for (hopefully) more work to come.

Many freelancers despise face-to-face meetings, consider it a waste of time, and I fully understand why. I have traveled across the city and spent hours with a potential client only to have them give me unrealistic budget expectations or end the meeting with the words “we are shopping around”. This can leave a bad taste in your mouth. Especially when you know your rates are far from the cheapest out there.

I however, have always welcomed meetings for they allow me the opportunity to sell my services face-to-face, educate the client, and hopefully close the deal right there on the spot. If you are good at your presentation skills, and can effectively show a potential client why they should use your services, you will hopefully win many more contracts than you lose.

Meetings also allow you the opportunity to see the client’s place of business first-hand, and you can quickly size them up to determine if yours will be a positive working relationship. It’s really no different than a first date. Many of my best clients were those where we clicked immediately upon our first handshake.

I would love to tell you that all of the meetings you will have as a freelancer will end with positive results. But unfortunately, this is far from reality.

This rest of this story is about one that I had last week, which I was really hoping would have turned out far differently than it did.

I met with one medium-sized company that would have been a great client. The type of ongoing work every freelancer typically dreams about. They found me online and invited me to pitch for their business.

I was excited. This company was exactly my target, one that wants agency-style creative but needs the art director and copywriter removed from the building to save all the overhead costs and middle-man fees. This has always been my niche and makes up my typical client base.

I quoted them on the first project – several magazine ads that were going to run nationally in a few prominent magazines.

They wanted concepts (“out of the box” thinking as they put it), mechanicals, copywriting, and they wanted different versions, An ad campaign for their various products under one (company/brand) umbrella.

I know from working with agencies what these ads should cost them.

I consulted several of my pricing guides and many of my past invoices, and presented them with fees lower than my usual rates hoping to get my foot in the door. I figured a client with a lot of ongoing work is worth some sacrifice.

After receiving my quote, they told me my price was higher than all of the other “agencies” I was competing against (none of which I had ever heard of) but they still wanted me to come in and make a live presentation. I took this as a good sign. The sign of a client willing to educate themselves and pay a little more when they are led to understand that quality (and this type of conceptual thinking) comes with a price. Either that, or they were lying about the other competitor’s quotes hoping to get me to slash my fees. Either way, with a ton of boardroom presentation experience under my belt, I was looking forward to the meeting and the chance to close the deal.

A week later, as predicted, I was in a boardroom full of executives explaining my rationale as to why they should hire me. I pointed out my vast experience of working on global brands, I pointed out my lack of unnecessary costs through overhead, and I showed examples of work I had created in the past that reflected their business and marketing needs. I even brought in two pricing guides and showed them what (according to industry standards) their ads should run them compared to my quote, which was on the bottom end of the scale.

A week later, I had heard nothing so I sent a follow up email asking for an update.

I received a reply in which I found out the sad news that I had lost the pitch.

Now, whenever you find out you have lost (be it a client pitch or a job interview) you ALWAYS want to receive an explanation as to why? This allows you the opportunity to plug any holes you may have had in your presentation.

I sent over the email asking what clinched it for the other company?

Here’s the response I received…

“One of the companies we met with brought three different ads they had created and designed for us, and they were actually really good, their price was very reasonable, and seeing their work upfront helped to reassure us that they were very capable of producing a quality product.

So, their work was good. Okay I get that. There are many other very talented people and agencies out there.

Their price was reasonable. Even though they are GIVING their services away for far-below-industry-standard prices, I understand that it’s a dog-eat-dog world and if somebody is willing to work in this industry for next to nothing, it’s their prerogative. It screws up the rates for the rest of us but once again, there’s really no stopping somebody that wants to work cheap.

But, here’s where it always gets frustrating…

They didn’t yet have the job, they didn’t have a brief, they didn’t make a single penny, yet they produced all the work.

Spec work.

No matter how well I presented, I simply could not compete with that.

For any of you designers or agencies belonging to a professional design organization, you couldn’t either.

You are not allowed to.

Now, I don’t belong to any organization but this got me thinking. By joining a professional design organization are you shooting yourself in the foot in today’s overly competitive world? Will you continuously lose projects to others that don’t follow the rules and moral codes of conduct?

I was feeling pretty down when I received that explanation/reply. It took me some time to shake off the loss. I finally sent another reply to the client whose business I just lost explaining how I could not compete with a company that was willing to create all the work on spec.

I wouldn’t want to. I’d like to fully research the company to the best of my ability, understand their business and their USP, and know that whatever I finally created was exactly on target. That it was the best work I could produce to make a full impact on the consumer and gain my client a successful ROI that (hopefully) exceeds all of their expectations.
And as I told my lost client in the last sentence of my email…

“I’d rather be honourable”.

The question I want you all to ask yourself is this…

Are you?

Until next time, keep dreaming.

How does one tell a company that their ads are horrible?

Here’s an interesting question for all the advertising professionals out there.

But first, an introductory story.

Every morning, I read the Newspaper. I have been doing this since I started carrying two paper routes for the Toronto Sunday Sun at the age of 11.

The Sunday Sun is a heavy paper. It comes in two thick pieces that had to be assembled before I began delivery. Having two routes (including an entire building), there were a ton of papers to assemble. This meant papers flying around and pages opening to stories that would instantly grab my attention. Hijacked airliners, killer Kool Aid in Jonestown, and an assortment of serial killers roaming the city had me stopping constantly to read the details. Needless to say, I got very interested in World events at a very young age. I had to eventually give up the paper route when I decided it wasn’t really fair to the customers that were constantly complaining that their paper was late. To this day, I can’t start the morning without at least reading the front section of a newspaper containing the World’s headlines and the Letters to the Editor.

So, to make a long story short, here I am at 8:30 am this week, in my regular routine of eating breakfast and reading my newspaper when I discovered on page A3 (that’s the immediate page on the left after turning the cover) the most horribly created ad in the history of the last 10 years. It practically made my eyes bleed.

Not only was it beyond ugly, there were typos, alignment issues, bitmapped images, triple spacing between some words, even the company logo was a disaster.

I flipped some more pages and two more ads immediately stuck out thanks to their poorly designed concepts and layouts.

It appears that some small businesses are still placing large scale ads in the newspaper. But they seem to be creating them themselves.

And business owners wonder why they fail?

Of course, the first thought that goes through my mind is “I really need to contact them to offer my creative services”.

Now, here’s where my question to you comes in…

How do you politely and professionally call up a company and say “Hi, your ad in the newspaper today looked like my cat threw up in its mouth?

Do you tone it down and simply make the offer of “I’d like to come in and show you how I can help improve your advertising”?

Here’s something else to consider, is it even worth it? Would a company willing to place an ad like that on page 3 even consider paying a decent wage to have it done properly?

If you have ever made a cold call like this and it’s been a positive or negative experience, I for one would love to hear it.

Please discuss.

NEVER give up.

It is the first day of March and this is technically my first real blog post of 2010.

I have just had the busiest 2 months of my freelance career.

Like many in this industry, 2009 was a waiting game. It was the equivalent of fishing on a lake with a million other fishermen and no fish to be found.

For over 6 months I pushed, and schmoozed, and made endless phone calls, and typed hundreds of emails, and sent out dozens upon dozens of proposals, the entire time waiting for something to come through. I would have killed for just one bite. I had a lot of bait out there, and it was a waiting game for a strike on one of my lines.

In the meantime, I wrote for creative outlet. I complained about the state of the industry, crowdsourcing sites, stock photography sites selling logos, cheap designers, and everything else that was disgusting me in relation to what was horribly altering this great profession. I got contacted and gave interviews based on these posts, I kept busy, and no matter what, I always kept at it. I constantly threw out new bait and wondered when and if it would eventually pay off?

At the beginning of January, I decided to join my family in Florida for a week on the beach. After all, nobody was signing any of my proposals and nothing was lined up. I had nothing but free time. I was exhausted from plugging. I needed a bit of R&R.

Miraculously, the second my airline tickets were bought and confirmed, every fishing line started screaming.

Everything I was waiting for, everything I had put in motion over 6 months in 2009, hit at once.

I marveled at all the retainers and signed proposals coming in and left for Florida that week with nothing but a sketchbook in my carry-on luggage. I had that sketchbook with me throughout the trip. Scribbling ideas and concepts on the beach, at the pool, at breakfast, and even once while deep-sea fishing.

Unlike any other point in my career, I had to create a work calendar and schedule all the projects into hours for the month.

There were some late nights. There was some head spinning. But I managed to get it all completed to the required deadlines.

This is what I have worked on in the last 6 weeks…

Ad concepts (and much more) for a software client in New York city.

Advertising (and re-branding) for a national bank (working as a senior Art Director through an ad agency).

A logo for an online music store.

A logo for an online music forum.

A logo and business cards for an interior design company.

A complete company identity/branding for another.

Ad concepts for a large consulting firm.

A direct mail piece for a Podiatrist.

A direct mail piece for a high-end fashion client.

A brochure for a security company.

A website for a poker tournament.

B2B ads/spec sheets (for new products) for a leading worldwide electronics company.

Etc.

I also got called into interviews for several full-time and freelance senior positions during this period. I had to turn down several other projects that didn’t match my skill set. One of which was lead programmer for the world’s most popular online poker site. That contract would have been very lucrative.

The highlight of the entire scope of work was when I was contacted and hired by a company based on my online rants against Crowdsourcing sites.

This company originally had an online contest and received hundreds of submissions resulting in nothing that was good enough to be used. In fact, the submissions were absolute dreck. I was hired to give them an identity they could be proud of. I came through (they liked all 3 concepts) and it will be launched in the near future. There is now one company out there that understands that if you think it is expensive to hire a professional, wait until you give your project to an amateur (or in this case, hundreds of them). You WILL most often get what you pay for.

My point to this post is not to boast but to inspire. To be honest, I am right back to square one. All of the projects are practically completed and I am now back to throwing baited lines into the water.

The point is to keep plugging. Keep fishing. Don’t give up. EVER. It may seem like nothing is happening but all of your hard work is setting the wheels in motion. It may seem like everything is hopeless and redundant but eventually, you WILL get a strike on one of your lines. So keep throwing out lines.

And of course, when all else fails, book a much-needed vacation.

How the new Apple IPAD will change creative job interviews

Lessons I have learned in 2009

Here we are at the end of another year.
What a year.
For the most part, it wasn’t exactly a great one (on so many levels).
The recession hit quite hard, many of my friends suffered (both in the industry and outside of it), some of my clients wouldn’t spend a dime on any form of marketing (even though they really should have), I lost a client (or two) to ridiculously cheap designers, and I had two close deaths in the family (one suddenly) including the loss of my beloved grandfather who was one of my biggest business mentors.
I can’t say I’m sad to see this year over.

At the end of 2007, after my first year of working on my own full-time, I wrote a blog post titled “The year in review and the lessons I learned”

All of these lessons still apply, and here are some more I learned during the great recession of 2009...

The client that says “thanks for the quote. We are getting a few more and will get back to you” will most likely never get back to you.

It seems that if you write a blog post praising somebody in this industry, people will start questioning if you are sleeping with them (I’m still laughing).

If hundreds of fishermen descend on your fishing hole, it’s time to either pack up, try a different bait, or find a new fishing hole.

When they create a movie based on the fact that people have left your industry in droves (see “Lemonade – The Movie"), that’s typically not a good sign.

With that said, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Corny and overused, but still rings true.

Twitter and Facebook are powerful as hell and can lead to amazing opportunities if used correctly.

Don’t worry about snarky, negative idiots on online forums. They are probably huge losers in real life.

A large client that nickels and dimes you (asks for a reduction) on a small invoice is one you should fire immediately.

Get a great paralegal/collection agent working for you. In Toronto, I recommend Jeff Greenberg. For outstanding invoices and the unresponsive deadbeats behind them.

I have said this a dozen times but here it is again… No matter which new client you will work for, get a retainer before you begin any work. If they are serious, they will oblige.

Never act completely taken aback when a woman tells you her age. Especially someone that has brought you in for an interview. Long story.

Know who your friends are. Know which co-workers are on your side. Make sure not to share too much information with those that can easily become your competitors. If they become your competitors, make sure you get them to forget this rule.

Find a great creative partner. Especially if working for ad agencies. I love mine to death (hi Linda) and I’m lucky to have her.

Shake all negative thoughts.

Stop putting up with, and dealing with bad clients and start focusing all your energy into finding some great ones.

Never stop moving forward.

Do not count on anyone that promises you “more work coming”. Sometimes, that could mean “many months from now”. (Go back one)

Stop contributing to design contests and crowdsourcing sites.

Don’t stop reading my rants about design contests and crowdsourcing sites. ☺

This industry (and life) is full of peaks and valleys. Not every year can be a great one. This year was bound to happen after so many great ones.

Life happens when you are making other plans.

Tough times don’t last. Tough people do. (This one’s a favourite to my father).

And (once again)…

Family comes first.
Always.
No matter what.

I think to end this year, I should tell my favourite lesson of 2009. An uplifting story about something I witnessed.

I was in Las Vegas for the 40th annual World Series of Poker (in June) and one night I played in a tournament at the famous Golden Nugget casino.
A player got knocked out (by my friend) in the bubble (the last finishing position before entering the payout structure). The poor guy lost miserably with the best hand. Anyone that plays the game knows the horrible feeling of being “the bubble” when you were just within reach of getting paid.
He shook hands with my friend and shuffled slowly out the door with his head down. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He looked so sad.
About 10 minutes later, he came running into the room jumping up and down and gave my buddy the biggest bear hug with the words “thank you for knocking me out of this tournament”.
When he left the room he sat down (to mope) in the first seat he could find outside the doors. It was the seat of a 5-cent slot machine. After a minute or two of shaking off the loss, and figuring he was already in front of the machine, he put in a dollar bill, took one pull, and won the $6,500 jackpot.

Moral of the story, for every yin, there really is a yang.
And just when you think you are in the worst spot (and your luck is horrible) something great may be waiting just beyond the next door.

Goodbye 2009. Bring on 2010.

Have a happy holiday season (whatever you celebrate), and may 2010 be a great year for you and yours.

I saw LEMONADE MOVIE (yet left extremely pissed off).

A few hours ago, I had the pleasure of watching a screening of a movie that I could personally relate to. Lemonade is about what happens when people who were once paid to be creative in advertising are forced to be creative with their own lives.

www.lemonademovie.com

With so many people working in the advertising industry in this city, I was really amazed at how few came out. I would have bet (especially since the screening was free) that it would have been a packed house yet only around 100 people were in attendance.

At roughly 40 minutes in length, the film was extremely well done. Music, direction, etc., all came together beautifully to tell people’s stories without any unnecessary, boring filler.
It got straight to the point. Everyone got laid-off, got over the hurt and feelings of being unwanted, and moved on after discovering what was truly important in their lives. If you have ever worked in this industry, hell, if you have ever worked in ANY industry, you should be able to relate and it is really worth seeing the film. Many (myself included), left inspired and questioning what would truly make us happy in life?

So now you are probably wondering why I left steaming mad (as my title suggests)?

One word.

Irony.

The organization that sponsored/screened the film (that will remain nameless) made some announcements after it ended. One of these announcements was about an open "website design contest” they will be holding in the near future. The winner of this contest will get $1000.

Just so we all get this straight…an organization that just screened a film moments earlier about creative people being laid off in the ad industry is throwing a contest that de-values the livelihoods of creative people working in the industry.

We all know how I feel about design contests. I could feel the blood boiling in my head. I bit my tongue trying so hard not to explode when the organizer asked if there were any questions?

I decided to confront her when it was over.

I walked up, introduced myself, and flat out asked how an organization can be so hypocritical that they would hold a design contest after screening this film?

Amazingly, her response was “I know, I know” and she tried to explain how they still consider the contest a “good idea”.
I asked her how it’s a good idea? It’s no wonder people are losing their jobs. If every company that needed some creative work decided to hold such a contest (and it seems as if they are), why would anyone ever need to hire an ad agency? I tried to make her understand that what her organization is doing is contributing to the demise of our industry.

She replied with an authoritative “everyone that submits a design will have their link featured on our website”.

This is a classic line that I hear often. It translates into “do all our work for free, and we promise you’ll get a load of business out of it because we know a lot of people”.

Anybody that has been on the freelance side of this industry will tell you that this line is the standard ‘biggest-load-of-crap’ that you will hear often as justification for free work.

There was something one individual (featured in the film) said that stuck with me.

“Companies don’t need to go to an ad agency anymore. There are plenty of people out there that are great at what they do and are not only willing to do the work, they actually love doing it”.

I quoted this line to her. I asked why they won’t consider hiring a great out-of-work designer to build them a website and pay them the $1000? What I got in return was another justification for the contest. “I believe there is room in this industry for both” she replied.

Why is it so difficult to understand that by holding this immoral contest, they aren’t (as they believe) giving an opportunity to recently laid-off creative people. What they are actually doing is taking advantage of their vulnerability.

Lemonade (and those involved in the making of it) - I give you an “A”. I really enjoyed it.

Organization that sponsored the screening - in my books you should really be ashamed. Go through with this contest and you deserve a big fat “F”.

Now, go hire a recently fired creative that can use the money to feed their children.

Great…Another contest.

On an industry forum, a new spec contest has come to light. Absolut Vodka is holding a creative contest. The winner gets a whopping $500.

Whooptie-do.

$500 from a company that makes millions. Less than the janitor probably makes per week mopping the floors at their corporate headquarters.

Somebody excitedly posted the link (I've changed the name to indicate my true feelings)...
Absolut Bullshit Contest

Those that follow me know how I stand on this subject. But somebody in the industry wrote a response to me on the forum voicing my disapproval…

“This one wouldn't be bad practice for someone with little to no experience in the real world + you get to work on an Absolut Brief so it's not all bad.”

Here’s my response…

It's all bad. How does anyone get into the real world when the real world is the fact that Absolut (and all the others that do these demeaning contests) are taking work away from their agencies? No work = no agency. By contributing to these contests, what you are in fact telling these corporations is that we work for free. Our education means nothing, our money invested means nothing, our time means nothing.

Go call 20 dentists, have them all pitch to whiten your teeth, and tell them that the winner may get a long term client. "May" being the correct word. Or 10 mechanics can try and fix your car, and whoever succeeds, "may" get paid.

In every industry, they will tell you straight out to fuck off (I believe using profanity is appropriate in this situation).

In ours, the majority of us don't do a damn thing. Except for a select few (and don't think we don't rat these companies out to design organizations who in turn, write and bombard them with tastefully crafted nastiness), we continuously (as an industry) take it right up the ass.

And what's absolutely amazing is that many of us take it with a smile on our face.

Sad.

I'm going to write Absolut and tell them to send over a dozen crates of different flavoured Vodkas.

If my friends and I have a great time (over the course of around a month), I will be sure to "mention their name" as a winner in my books on Facebook and Twitter. I'll even pay them a little something for their trouble.

Absolut: Please make sure you ring the doorbell when you deliver.

I'm waiting.

For more info on this subject, please visit
www.no-spec.com

What the hell are they teaching you?

The other day I had the pleasure of having coffee with a 20 year old advertising student that emailed me asking for some guidance. He was troubled. Not with the industry and its current state but with the school he has attended. A 2 year advertising program at a college that has basically prepared him for absolutely nothing.

I asked him about the curriculum and what he told me left my mouth hanging open.
They are teaching old school methodology. Concept driven drivel on generic products that have been done to death year after year since the late eighties. How original…lets create a new print concept for a hot sauce. It doesn’t matter that 30,000 before you also have an ad like this in their book, or that agencies (in the past) have won numerous awards for this client. You are sure to one-up them.

I asked the student about interactive and what courses he was taking?
Blank Stare.
I asked him about social media and what they have touched on?
Blank Stare.

“This is the problem” he stated. “I don’t think they are preparing us for what we need to succeed in this industry”.

He is right. Advertising today is not about creating a billboard for a hot sauce. Advertising today is about creating what is right for the client. And every one of them is different. If the client is best served by an ad campaign on a social networking site, then you do an ad campaign that will be successful on a social networking site.
They aren’t touching on web design programs? Not even one day on the basics?
Nearly every creative want-ad in the careers section of industry magazines (in today’s market) wants an interactive art director.

Many schools need to wake up and stop taking student’s money with the false promise of careers in this industry. The curriculum needs to be updated every few years with a focus of what is new and what is coming. Not what was and is now going.

According to this student, the instructors also persuade them to take on spec work for clients to help build their portfolios. This is not the first time I have heard this. In a recent comment on one of my past blog posts, the writer states…

“What really frustrated me was how the teachers at my school would encourage us to take jobs from "good clients" at a ridiculous price to "make our names". I think our teachers weren't aware that it didn't work like that anymore”.

To sum up, what I have seen (time and time again) in meeting with graduating students is that many schools are taking their money, the instructors are tired designosaurs teaching what they knew back when they were at the heights of their careers (decades ago), and they are instilling in these kids a low sense of self-worth. The very people that are supposed to be preparing their students for a successful career in this industry are contributing to the demise and immorality that has taken over through spec work, contribution to contests, and working for little to no money with the hope that somebody may take notice down the road.

Very nice.

If I were to teach (and I have thought of doing this many times), my course would focus on real world business preparation. Many end up freelancing (in one form or another) so I would teach them the basics. How to write a proper proposal. How to create a proper contract and invoice. How to prepare for taxes. Things that hold up in this business. I would prepare students for the real world. No sugar coating. I’d even give a lesson on how to collect from a deadbeat client. If I was to have them work on a client, I’d pick some obscure start-up and have them start from the bottom up.

The last thing I would have them do is create an ad for a generic client, in a tired medium, and tell them to get out there and sell themselves short. If you’re going to teach concepts, make the students adapt their work into executions for different mediums available in today’s world. The ad for hot sauce should not just be a billboard, it should also be applied into some form of a promotion utilizing the internet. It should involve different applications and mediums for a complete execution.

Students, research the school you choose. Research how many graduates got hired in their respective field. Research the backgrounds of the instructors. Where do they stand in the industry right now? Choose your school the same way you would choose your spouse.

Very carefully.

Because before you know it, the only thing you’ll be able to do with that hot sauce ad is identify the product easily in the supermarket.

Until next time, keep dreaming.

If you could follow JUST one person in your creative career…

Everybody needs a mentor.

Recently, I was asked who has had the greatest impact on my career?
Over the years, I have worked with some great and talented people, I’ve learned a lot from several of them, but I don’t think I can really name one person in the workplace that took me completely under their wing. Pondering the question, what I came to realize is that one of my main mentors is actually somebody in this business that I consider a friend. I haven’t worked with her at all. I’ve only met her face-to-face a few times but we’ve just had some great chats over the years and I’ve listened…to EVERYTHING she has to say.

What I learned a long time ago is that this business is not just about the work you create, but also about making the right connections and contacts. Whom you rub shoulders with can be as important to your career as your book. As I have mentioned in past articles, I have found full-time agency work by chatting up Creative Directors at an industry function with a glass of Scotch in my hand.

Social Marketing takes this networking to a whole new level. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. are like being at the cocktail party or award show reception 24/7.
You can introduce yourself to anybody. You can follow their words. You can have many mentors and follow many people.

I have no idea how and when I met Heidi Ehlers, but I knew from the moment I met her that this was one person I would stick close to the rest of my life. In the world of advertising and design (especially in North America), Heidi may possibly be the most important and knowledgable person you could ever know. A former creative herself, Heidi is the owner of BLACK BAG creative recruitment + career management. She’s not just a headhunter, she is THE headhunter. BLACK BAG is about creative talent. Finding creative talent, strategizing careers with creatives, studying what causes the best creative talent to be the best and what causes the hot shops to be hot.

I could go on about her “Diary of a Creative Director” series or “Camp Black Bag” workshops. I could write endless paragraphs about how inspiring she is when listening to her speak, or how many times she has been able to steer me in the right direction. But I will simply end this post with two little words of advice...

FOLLOW HER.

If I could only have one mentor in this world, or if I could follow just one person that I believe would be the greatest asset to my career, it would be Heidi.
I think you should be listening too.

On FACEBOOK: BLACK BAG creative recruitment + career management
On TWITTER: BLACKBAGtweets

Status Quo

Potential Client:

Hi Ronnie. We would like to use your creative services but we would like to see some ideas and concepts before we give you the go ahead.

Ronnie Lebow:

Sure. And since you are a Dental office (and I'm already here), lets go into the next room so you can whiten my teeth. If I like the results, maybe I'll agree to pay you.

Bald Media…a new launch.

Around a year ago, I was busy putting together a new guerilla marketing company that I believe is fantastic for trade shows and on-the-street product giveaways. In today’s digital world, anything on the street and in the public’s face is great exposure and my company sure does draw attention.

Bald models heads are airbrushed with a company brand, product or service and are unleashed on the unsuspecting general public. Imagine 5 guys walking through a packed shopping mall during the holiday season or handing out product samples at a trade show. People can’t help but look. It only makes sense that my company’s slogan is “heads that turn heads.”

Unfortunately, while I was putting it all together, an advertising agency in New Zealand came up with basically the exact concept for a client, it made some news, and I had proof the idea had potential and I should launch the company. To top it off, a media journalist saw my ad online (searching for the models) and decided that it was an interesting story that simply couldn’t wait to be told. I had no choice but to work through the weekend and get everything ready for its Monday release.

The story broke and the phone started to ring. I had 3 gigs booked right out of the starting gate. I figured my company was going full steam ahead. That’s basically when the economy tanked and the projects quickly got pulled because the clients began to “trim the fat”. Bald Media was simply an extra touch. All the “extras” started getting cut out of the budgets from worried corporations.

I have several friends in the staffing and event planning industry and they saw the same thing with their businesses this year.
So I decided to stop focusing on promoting the company, and figured I would lay low only to launch again when the time was right.Bald Media will get a company or message noticed. Especially to large captive audiences. It is not only a fact, it is guaranteed.

The procedure of application is also a crowd pleaser. Having the airbrush artist on-site at an event is an advantage as people will gather around to watch the logo/message being applied. In today’s world of limited attention spans, it is guerilla marketing at its finest. With over 25 models of different ethnicities in my roster, I’m always ready to go.

I teamed up recently with my airbrush artist and decided to do a test street run. We wanted to see what would happen and the timeframe involved in the application process. Since it’s my company and I shave my head, it only made sense that I would be the guinea pig.
We did two artistic versions. One, a company logo for a potential client for the upcoming Canadian Poker Expo ("The Maven" David Chicotsky...who has an online poker training institute), and the other, a generic application for Bald Media.

Upon walking out the door and into the street, the results were unbelievable. I literally stopped traffic as cars slowed down to look at me. I had the airbrush artist grab the video camera and run way down the street to capture the reactions and results for posterity.

If it could generate this kind of response within minutes of being outside on a moderately quiet street, I can only imagine the exposure possibilities for a corporate brand in the right setting.

To watch the application video and street test run, please visit the site…
http://www.baldmedia.ca/baldmedia.mov

or on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-Wfsuywl4c