When I was browsing Print magazine online, I came across a webcast focusing on the company Pangea Organics. I was instantly intrigued, having an interest in making the office more environmentally friendly. I thought this was a great opportunity to gather ideas on how to create and design more sustainably. Since Pangea is one of the leading companies in sustainable packaging, I felt lucky to listen in on Joshua Onysko (CEO & Founder) and Josh Ivy’s (designer) webcast called Pretty Green – How to Design Truly sustainable, Truly Beautiful Packaging. [...]
Social Media
A comment on new technology and social media
Who saw this coming? For the past 10 years, communication experts have heralded a new dawn where the “consumer is King” and companies would lose control of their products and brands to their customers. But like most trends, it took longer to take hold and the reality is not exactly as predicted. [...]
Media
Are you more likely to buy this IF I SCREAM IT AT YOU?!
What a week to not be a celebrity. Besides shocked, the passing of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson might leave us all a little relieved that we’re as unfamous as we are. Superstitious or not, there seemed to be some sort of celebrity curse making the rounds. But to many of us branding/advertising/marketing types, the aforementioned stars aren’t the main loss on our minds. Rather, it’s the passing of legendary pitchman Billy Mays that resonates most strongly. Yup, for once he got our full attention without screaming at us that we’ll get TWO TUBS OF OXI CLEAN IF YOU ORDER NOW!! or that PHONE LINES ARE NOW OPEN!! [...]
Campaigns
Do what you love
My creative partner, Crystal Oicle, and I did a little reminiscing recently. What was high school like for us? Back then, did we plan to become a copywriter and a graphic designer? Sort of. She liked art, I liked words, but we didn’t always know how we would make a career out of these passions. [...]
Reality Check
Pressure pays off
To celebrate the end of my first week on the job at trampoline, I had to write my first finance midterm of the semester! Between the excitement of a new job and the boring labours of school, I had to find time to study for this midterm. [...]
Marketing
You have to walk the walk, even if it gives you blisters
As the media landscape continues to shift dramatically beneath our feet, it can be tougher and tougher to keep standing. “Advertising”, as we’re content to still call it, is living more and more in the online world, because people, consumers, are living more and more in the online world. So everyone, in every ad agency/branding shop/media company in the world is finding themselves in the position of needing to rethink everything they think they know about the business. The bottom line is, our clients need to harness the power of the online tools at our disposal, so the collective “we” need to understand them enough to be able to offer them solutions that work. [...]
Media
The 30 second spot’s alive and kicking
Now that Oprah’s tweeting, your grandmother has a blog, kids are downloading their favourite shows and movies, and we all have Internet access on our phones, it’s tempting to believe the hype that standard TV advertising is going cold. That TV’s bigger, more interactive, more world-wider cousin has given it so many wedgies it can’t even sit right anymore, much less engage us. But put those defibrillator paddles down. This medium has as strong a pulse as ever. If you believe a new study, it’s possibly in the best shape it’s ever been in. [...]
Social Media
Information overload
Despite an honest attempt to get a solid eight hours of sleep every night, I find myself overwhelmingly bombarded by the need to keep the world updated with my life. Well, OK … maybe not the world, but anyone who is interested. I’ve recently made a pact with myself not to join any social media applications unless I plan to fully commit to keeping them updated. In fact, I’ve already caught myself signing up for applications only to delete them shortly after. I realize its best not to put all your eggs in one basket — but which ones are the right ones to choose? [...]
Reality Check
Success in both worlds
When comparing sports with business, a few things come to mind: hard work, competition, and sportsmanship. Without these three main ingredients, regardless of whether we are talking sports or business, you’re guaranteed to fail. These ingredients, if used properly, spell out success. [...]
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