The Rest.

The most rewarding year I may have ever logged.
What a whirlwind.
Engaging new clients. Reconnecting with some old ones.
Lots and lots of projects. Print, design, copy, site work and even some forays into the realm of social media. Creation, execution and production.

As I take a day or two off to relax a bit, a vision of 2011 is coming into focus.

Thanks to my friends that have helped me along the way.
Thanks to the family for hanging in there.

Happy New Year!

Socially draining.

Have been gathering my thoughts for an upcoming class that i'm teaching on Social Media. The course director was confused when I told her I would not have her course outline until a few weeks before the class. To convince her that I am not a bad procrastinator, I explained how volatile Social information is these days. Whatever we know in a few months will likely be different than what we know today.

New apps. New spaces. Heck, even new platforms coming online faster and faster. Additionally, well-established spaces can vanish quicker than you can say myspace. So what is a media student, like myself, do to stay current? I believe it is actually simple.
1. You can't know it all. Don't try. You will leave your fingerprints on your keyboard and go to bed frustrated every night.
2. Practice. Being 'in-the-realm' is the best way to stay current. If you want to know twitter, tweet. And read tweets. Don't just collect followers, use them as educational streams. Have lots of friends in Facebook. This will keep you current on how people act in our virtual communities.
3. Read everything you can. The world's content is free and as close as your nearest net connection.

The last thing I would try to author is a comprehensive primer on Social Media. But I practice those 3 things and it keeps me as current as I would like to be. I failed at #1 for some time and would get really irritated when I ran across something I should have known but didn't. Then I realized, these new mediums can make my life and career better. So I try new things, I use the ones that add value to my day and concede the rest to others. Then I try to get some sleep.

Good July.

The business appears to be growing some mass. This is a good thing. While I never forget the need for the 'next job,' it is nice being able to sleep knowing there are a few bucks in the bank.

Have secured two new clients and the chemistry is great. Smart people with market play. Both willing to trust my experience and guidance. A lot different than the take-it-for-granted relationships I had less than a year ago.

I am still finding a receptive ear to an honest recommendation. If you shoot straight with folks they appreciate it and reciprocate with trust.

Optimistic that Popp Brand Advertising will find its success level.

It appears to be working...

Well it has been a few months since my last post and the reason is simply... busy.
After a few tweaks to my positioning strategy, the phone has began ringing a bit more frequently.

My work experience and accompanying contacts have proven fruitful enough, but the real energy seems to come from folks I am encountering in my new context. I have opened my mind-- again-- to pursuing a different type of client for my fledgling agency. And I must say, it appears to be working.

One of the freshest things about new relationships of course is the 'getting to know you' period. Setting new working parameters, establishing preferences, acknowledgment of the simplest of gestures.

Do yourself a big favor, go talk to the least likely prospect. There's not much to lose and the upside can be stimulating.

Coming into Focus.

The Status Quo.
I have, for the last 10 months, been doing an a large amount of discovery into the future of my chosen profession. Blogs. Seminars. Networking with peers, clients and future clients. And some things are starting to become clear.

It is an exciting time. The communications industry has been pulled the shrub backwards and we are better off for it. Had it not been for consumer created content, media proliferation and the economic disaster, we may have never evolved. While painful, the metamorphosis was overdue. Companies, Brands and the marketeers that manage them now have options that make advertising and communications quantifiable, affordable and immediate. An early trial balloon was the what the explosion of cable networks did to the big 3 national networks. Now multiply that by an exponent and today's connectivity picture begins to materialize. Direct, Interactive, Social, Mobile. Crowd-sourced, Collaborative content, Consumer generated. Open-source, Ad supported, Proprietary tech. Add these options to the still valuable 'conventional' means of communicating and the path to meaningful messaging is not unlike driving in Boston. Even with the best GPS system you are likely intimidated by the thought.

Yesterday's Advertising Agencies prided themselves on being Full Service. It was tough but possible to maintain the commiserate services-- account management, creative, production, media. Then medium proliferation encouraged the spawning of smaller shops with specializations mirroring the new mediums. Also during this time the economic meltdown put many talented communicators on the street as freelance consultants.

I wish there were an App for that.
So where does a brand (other than super-mega brands with endless resources) turn to get messages made and distributed to the appropriate targets? Few companies have the staff to keep abreast of the options. Further, the learning curve is so great it is just not feasible to create that knowledge in house. Brands have more important things to worry about (production, distribution, sales, etc) than the most effective way to make, distribute and track communications. Ideally you would have an aggregator. Someone to gather the correct resources for your business. Not generalists that try to be all things to all people, but someone that knows your needs and where to find the resources to fulfill them. Whether they are on staff or at large.

More and more agency folk are going client side to serve this function. But there is also emerging a large pool of talent (from agencies, media and even production) that is available to companies. I would suggest that advertising communications are still more efficient and efficacious when outsourced. Couple that with the fact that the new work force (coming out of school) understands communication but does not understand the old model. This should be a good thing.

My peers in the ad industry will likely spin all of this as just an evolution. Add a resource or two with catchy titles and charge something new on your retainer to cover growing the agency offering. I see it as bigger than a simple step change. I think we will totally shed ourselves of client + agency thinking as we know it. If history repeats itself, we will probably see some consolidation that might put these smaller more agile resource aggregators together under one roof. But the specialization and expertise that are required to know what's what, suggests that 'all-star teams' assembled to solve specific challenges are the best answer. The U.S. wouldn't send the Lakers to the Olympics. Even though they are a great team with a great coach. Instead we select the best from all of the teams and pick the hottest coach of the year.

The resurgence of business partners.
Manufacturers need to find people they trust, and I mean really trust, to help them pick the right resources and activities to best advertise their products. Then they should be open-minded about doing things differently. Today's communications come with ROI. Metrics for everything. You are entitled to know how effect your spend was. If you are not getting some validation from your provider-- keep looking. If your relationship with your communications partner isn't rock-solid, it likely needs rethinking. Today's budgets will not afford the luxury of wasted marketing dollars.

Now I must go. I have the good fortune of having a few brands that have entrusted me to put this model into practice. And so far the baby requires around-the-clock attention.

The sound of distant thunder.

My charming wife of 24+ years calls me overly optimistic. And tells me that I set my aspirations to unattainable heights. To be fair she is not a pessimist, she merely is concerned for me. She doesn't want me to explode if fate deals me a let down.

Given the current economic and political climates I guess it would be easy to 'hunker-down'. Be conservative. Mind the fort. Make as few waves as possible. But I have some genes that keep me determined to prevail. History is full of success stories that began in the midst of adversity. Phoenixes constantly rising from the sooty messes.

If you look around you can find all the rationale you will need to justify doing absolutely nothing. Yup. Just sit and wait. But for what? Times to get easier? Chaos appears to be the new status quo. So I would just as soon set my resources to figuring out how to function within a chaotic environment than to just wait for it to improve. That feels a lot like relying on a lottery ticket as a retirement strategy.

Even if you aim at the highest peak and fall a bit short, you are still higher than where you started. Setting low goals just for the satisfaction of attainment seems like cheating. If you listen hard enough, you can hear opportunity whispering to you. Faintly maybe, through the forest of obstacles, but it's there.

There is some strengthening of the species going on here. That which doesn't kill us.. and so forth. I truly believe that adversity makes us more creative and respectful of the resources we have. We quit wasting time, money, breaths. We focus on what is important and imperative to our lives.

While, like everyone, I would prefer a nice smooth bed over a bed of rocks, I remain positive that good things come to those that are persistent. No matter what the circumstances.

Back to the grindstone.

Time to think.

A close second to my last post. Sitting still had an interesting effect.
I have found a new hobby. Thinking.
I was relating a new idea to a friend of mine and he made an observation.
"You have had time to think." A compliment... sorta. But enlightening in that it stood out.

When I look back on the years I spent at an ad agency, it occurs to me how the system had managed to hide the one thing that I actually like doing. Thinking. Seems like there was always a meeting to go to. Or an internal issue to resolve. A political ass to kiss. Even though there were many hours spent concepting big projects, it was fragmented at best.

I'm not sure how the very industry that was created to dream the biggest ideas for clients, allowed itself to become a business. Now i'm not a hopeless idealist. I get business. Oh boy, do I get business. But a creative mind should have time to walk in the high-grass. Play (as TED puts it.) I know it is a fragile balance a business owner must maintain.

Proforma vs. Performa.

I have come to know this-- now that I have liberated my brain-- if you cannot focus on the challenge at hand, you will come up with a perfectly marketable piece of mediocrity.

I live in a linear world now. When I am into a project it is all that's on my mind. Day and night until it is bright. I am not constantly shifting from project-to-project, and client-to-client. And what I am finding is that my thinking is fresher than ever.

Focus does not guarantee success but it affords a clear line of sight to the solution. After that, it's between you and your genetics.

If what you do involves problem solving, try this drill. Next weekend, do nothing but stare at a single problem. Mix your life in (eating, sleeping, etc.) to break up the monotony, but don't think about any other challenge in your job. See what happens.

Now, if we could just create a workplace that afforded this kind of focus. I am positive the profits would result.

Stop.

When was the last time you rested.

And I don't mean just sleeping off a bender.

We don't rest anymore.
I just came off of a back injury that kept me in bed for the better part of two weeks.
And I learned some stuffs.
• Like the crack in our bedroom ceiling has gotten bigger.
• There is almost nothing on network TV during the day that doesn't suck.
• If you let all the clocks wind down, the house gets really quiet.
• Reading is fun. Reading a lot is lot of fun.
• And most importantly, I don't rest.

Not complaining but, work, kids, pets, the weather, laundry...
There is a lot of crap in our lives that keeps us moving at full-speed, full-time.
And we get to a point where we become tired. Physically, mentally and spiritually.

I have written some things down to remind me (writing is a great relaxer whether you think you can write or not) just how important rest is. Don't wait for a broken car, or leg, or anything to force you to sit still. Plan some sit-on-your-butt time and observe your surroundings. As a young Boy Scout we did a 'sit motionless in the woods and see what comes up' exercise once. Fascinating. Most Eastern cultures get this very simple form of meditation. And I think we should be mindful of solitude.

I apologize to the long-dead poet that said it (because I don't know their name) but it's simple... "you can't dream if you don't sleep"

Well, I have a lot I have to catch up on. cya.

Small is delightful.

I have, for a career, been chasing bigger.
Budgets, Brands, Awards. Bigger, Bigger, Bigger.

I have recently begun relearning small.
Intimate, honest, humble. The differences are staggering.
It is amazing how your brain works when not under the pressure to do more, faster-- bigger. When given the opportunity to actually focus on a problem, visualize a solution and explore alternatives, the job satisfaction is exponential.

Balancing life with work. Necessary with optional. Profitable with Grata.
Things just seem to balance easier with smaller. I have heard a lot of people talk about life on this side of the career guard-rail, but could not imagine until I got here, the benefits of small.

Here's to small, may you forever avoid getting too big.