Inspiration in unlikely places

Never in my life did I think my creativity would be rejuvenated in a jail cell, but that’s just what happened. But before you start thinking I’m a delinquent, let me explain myself.

A Holiday Hello from the Experts! [Video]

Check out this year’s Holiday video greeting to our clients, partners and employees. Another fun project to work on with “the Experts!”

’Tis the Season for Holiday eGreetings

We have officially entered the Holiday marketing season! The Holiday season is traditionally a great time to connect with potential, current, or past clients to let them know you are thinking of them and thank them for supporting your business throughout the past year. There are, of course, many effective ways to communicate this message to your clients; but one favorite vehicle among marketers this time of year is the blended tactic of email blasts and ecards.

The Rise of Infographics

With the abundance of media clutter in the world, most of us are overexposed to the volumes of information and data fed to us on a daily basis. In this culture of information overload, we don’t have the time or patience to read through multiple resources to find the data we are seeking, or to focus on the data that is being served to us though various mediums thousands of times each day. We want instant gratification but we want to understand the information too!

Maintaining Relevancy in the Digital Age: Thoughts on Digital vs. Print Media

Check out this recent article I wrote for the Information Experts website regarding the Digital vs. Print media discussion.

Wedding Photos!

I recently received the photos my wonderful and very talented photographer Brad Howe took of our wedding/reception on October 10, 2010 in Williamsburg, VA. Here is a sampling of my very favorite photojournalistic shots Brad took.

Advergaming and Ethics

Major food brands that sell candy, cookies, and other snacks have turned to online advergaming to appeal to the younger generation. Websites that advertise products such as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese or Post’s Fruity Pebbles offer interactive Flash based games that not only draw kids in but keeps them coming back.

Branded Entertainment

Short films have always been had their place in the entertainment industry but only recently have short films been used to subtly sell a product. With the invention of TIVO and DVRs, television viewers can fast-forward through commercials and advertisements whenever they please. Brand messages are reaching fewer and fewer people and therefore marketers are looking for other more engaging methods of delivering messages. Short films are becoming the new media choice of many large companies, such as BMW, Volvo, and Ritz Carlton. These films allow marketers to incorporate messaging, brand associations, and product images within an entertaining storyline.

Viral Aspirations

As we approach Super Bowl season, I’m reminded of an old Super Bowl commercial turned viral website that really made an impact on me and numerous others! During the 2005 Super Bowl, CareerBuilder.com first introduced their new ad campaign focused on a frustrated man working an office job with a bunch of wild chimps as his coworkers. Click “play” below to refresh your memory.

Making complex ideas easy to understand

If you haven’t yet heard of Common Craft, you soon will. This 2 person team located in Seattle, WA translated a passion of explanation into an online phenomenon called Common Craft.

Launching your company’s website (Part 2)

Recently, I shared some ideas on how to approach designing/developing your own corporate website and today I’d like to share some of my favorite corporate websites out there. These companies have taken the traditional idea of a website and injected their own personalities and unique technical solutions into each making them unique and most important, memorable.

Need some creative inspiration?

Everyone could benefit from a creative outlet to exercise the right brain and re energize the soul, whether you draw, paint, knit, play music, enjoy nature or exercise. My sister-in-law gives herself a break from a busy law school life by blogging about her daily adventures, creative projects and fashion advice. Check our her blog,  Crafting Happiness and maybe you’ll learn a few things!

Launching your company’s website (Part 1)

Are you contemplating redesigning your company’s corporate website and don’t know where to start? We know how you feel. My employers, Information Experts, just launched our company website last month and the process isn’t for the faint at heart. The experience is similar to one a hair stylist would live through if she cut her own hair.  This should be easy, right? She cuts the hair of her clients everyday so this should be a piece of cake. But the expectations are high and the pressure is on to outperform the work she performs for her clients. After all, she’d be a walking billboard for her own work, right? So it has to be perfect.

We understand her pain.

My Battle with Creative Burnout

As a young kid every Saturday morning was reserved for drawing. I would wake up early, take my paper, pencils and crayons downstairs and draw for hours while my family slept upstairs. In solitude, that’s when I would work on perfecting my pictures of princesses, houses and the insides of submarines (yes, that’s right—submarines), proudly showing my parents my creations when they woke up.

Happy Thanksgiving from Information Experts

Each year, the creative team at Information Experts works hard to create an e-greeting card to send out to all our clients, employees and contractors. This is just the second time the Thanksgiving Turkey has made an appearance but he’s already a favorite character of ours.

Life after grad school

It has been a little over a month since the day I turned in my thesis and officially graduated. Since then I’ve been struggling with all the free time I have acquired as life returns to its “pre-graduate school” state.

The Power of Print Campaign

On March first, leaders of the top magazine publishing companies united to launch “The Power of Print” campaign promoting the vitality of magazines as a media vehicle. The campaign will run for 7 months and nearly 100 magazine titles will run full page ads touting magazine’s advantages over the disadvantages of the internet. Headlines like “We surf the Internet. We swim in Magazines.” will be accompanied by iconic imagery first published in America’s most popular magazines.

iPad Info Graphic

Here’s a great information graphic on the new iPad created by designer John Kumahara and account planner Johnathan Bonnel from data gathered between April 1-6, 2010.

A new approach to corporate websites

Full service ad agency BooneOakley has bucked the tired old trend of HTML based corporate websites and is experimenting using linked YouTube videos as their online experience. The outcome is a very seamless, creative and compelling new approach on a corporate website. It’s entertaining, easy to use and it certainly highlights their creativity and innovation which appears to be one of their key differentiators. Plus using YouTube allows for user commenting which encourages 2 way conversations between the BooneOakly team and their customers—key to forming long lasting relationships.

Take my survey!

18-24 year olds—Help me on my graduate thesis!!

Click on the link below to take a 10 question survey on blood donation perceptions. All responses are anonymous and confidential. And please share this link with your friends/family/coworkers. My circle of 18-24 year olds is not as big as it once was!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BG2PRJ6

The countdown begins

Only 5 days into my Masters capstone course and I’m already counting down the days (and hours) till graduation in May. 58 days left and I’m thoroughly exhausted. My days have consisted of work, dinner, thesis, sleep, repeat. I’m not sure how long I can keep this up but I’m going to keep trying. No use getting this far to start getting lazy.

9 Weeks

Monday begins the 9 week countdown to the culmination of nearly 3 years of hard work on WVU’s Integrated Marketing Communication Masters Program. I started the program in August of 2007 with the goal to learn the business side of the creative industry and 13 courses and close to 40 papers later I can honestly say the program has exceeded my expectations. I’ve grown more confident as an expert in my industry; I’ve vastly improved my writing and communication skills; and I’ve renewed my passion for the industry.

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland

Anyone who knows me well can vouch that Tim Burton can do no wrong in my eyes. His unique ability to creatively tell a quirky story with the use of imaginative visuals is a talent that has caught my eye even as a small 7 year old when I saw Beetlejuice and was both horrified and amazed by the imaginary world. For that reason, you can imagine I’ve been counting down the days to the release of Alice in Wonderland more than any other movie this year. Alice is right in Burton’s wheelhouse. It’s a quirky, dark, existential tale taking place in an environment begging to be re-drawn by Burton’s twisted hand.