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I had the privilege of attending the Thinking Creatively conference at Kean University with our amazing design team last Friday. It was a great experience, and no, it wasn't because I had a day away from the office.

It was because it was a day for us to learn from all the great speakers how to do what we do, but even better. With the deadlines and responsibilities on our plates each day, it would be far easier to say we don't have the time to take an entire day to stop everything we're doing and go to a conference on thinking creatively. But that's one of the qualities that makes us different, we see the value in stepping back to see the big picture. Lucky for me and for our clients!

We saw some great speakers, but my personal favorite was Aldofo Raig, Senior Planner and Creative Director for Grey Advertising. I thought he truly embodied the spirit of the conference by, well, making me think creatively. He touched on a few key points that help to make a campaign successful that I'd like to pass along because it's all relevant no matter what your industry.

1.  Great ideas are important, but even more important is how these ideas are generated. You don't have to be "the genius that came up with the idea." Coming up with an idea is a process, and a collaborative one at that. You need to support one another and remember it's not all about you. You're all on the same team and you don't have to figure it out alone. Way too much pressure and not nearly as much fun!

2.  Use these 3 steps to get to the great idea:
       • Connect the dots     
       • Understand the rules so you can break them
       • Talk to DIFFERENT people

“A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

As a designer and business owner I find it easy to live by the simplicity rule. Heck I even wrote a white paper titled, "Simple Communications in a Media Cluttered World." In my personal life, well that’s a very different story.
 
Life is complicated, I get that, but I wonder how often I have created my own drama. In my daily life, I rush through a long list of tasks. Hey, I was raised with a one-word mantra, “accomplish.” Checking off a list of items makes me happy. But at the end of the day, I’m exhausted, stressed out and definitely not much fun to hang out with (just ask my husband). Why is it so hard to make time for what we really want to be doing, spending time with loved ones, doing things we’re passionate about?

I’ve lived long enough to have some perspective. What I know for sure, change will happen no matter how hard you try to hold it back and life moves at the speed of light. When your kids are young you can’t wait for them to take a nice long nap. When you become a grandparent you listen at their door waiting anxiously for them to wake up.

Even at my age I’m still a work in progress. Moving forward I will breathe more, live in the moment more and find more simplicity personally. Have you been living a simple life?

Here’s a great piece I read to help living a life a little more simply, enjoy. click here>>

"Spring is the time of plans and projects." –Leo Tolstoy

Feeling unproductive? We’ve all been shut in doors way too long, but spring weather is right around the corner. All I need to do is look at my barren garden with tiny crocuses making their way out of the snow and I feel inspired to plan my next garden project.

Finding work inspiration, now that’s a little tougher. So when I received my March Harvard Business Review with the bold type "Advertising That Works" on the cover I settled in for a good read and hopefully some inspiration. What I took away from it, simply put is "it’s not about us;" "it’s about them," and stop boring "us."

"To win consumers attention and trust, marketers must think less about what advertising says to its targets and more about what it does for them."  –Jeffrey Rayport

Hey spring is all about freshness so why not look for fresh and fun ways to share your marketing message? Be inspired by what the big guys are doing. Just think about the ad campaigns you remember and why. One of my current favorites is "Wonderful Pistachios, Just Keep Crackin!" It’s funny and you actually remember what their advertising. They began by using celebrities, which was fun, and won my heart when they included YouTube’s infamous badass Honey Badger on their online campaign (a character favorite of the entire Byne Group). Click here to watch the commercial. So be inspired and get crackin!

What spring fling are you planning?

Have you ever seen a company’s name and logo and wondered what the thinking was behind it? I know I have. I ponder how logos are chosen, is the name an acronym, someone’s favorite fruit or a just vision someone had during a dream?

Here are a few that have intrigued me. Even after some research some are still clouded in mystery.
 
AFLAC
Brothers John, Paul, and Bill Amos founded American Family Life Insurance Company in 1955. They soon changed the name to American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, (quite a mouthful). In 1989 they adopted the acronym Aflac and the rest is history. Hey who doesn’t love the Duck? Brilliant branding.

Apple
There are actually two Steves behind this brand, co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. I have read many different notions at how the name came about. Anyone out there know which is true? 1. Apple is considered to be the fruit that provoked Newton into inventing gravity. Hence, Apple Inc., is an inspiration for constant invention and development. 2. It was named after Apple Corps, the Beatles record label because the Steves were fans of the Beatles. 3. In 1976, Steve Jobs was working in a community-type farm in Oregon and that inspired him to name the company Apple Computers. 4. The two Steves believed apples to be the most perfect fruit. Well, whichever is correct, I love the simplicity of the name and now I’m just plain hungry for an apple to bite into… oh yeah that’s the logo.

Mercedes-Benz

I figured out a very long time ago what I “wasn’t” good at. As a child I was a dreamer and staying on task was a struggle. I loved to draw and read, but honestly I just couldn’t see the point of memorizing the times tables or keeping my room in order. According to a study of 1,000 children followed in New Zealand, from the age of 3, a child’s observed personality shows a close similarity at the age of 26. To this day I can’t balance a check-book, and all you have to do is look at my desk to see that organization is not my strong point.

Finding what I was “good” at, well that has been a much longer journey. Recently I hired a talented guide who helped take my entire firm through a process to “seek our natural calling.” Using Strengthsfinder by Tom Rath, we identified our strengths and Dr. Brooks-Greaux has helped us to better understand and develop them.

Yes, I am still a dreamer, but now I understand this is also my great strength. I may get bored easily but thrive when I have a lot on my plate. Given chaotic scenarios I see the big picture and find solutions that others might miss (just don’t ask me for the specific steps that got me there). The bottom line, having people in my firm who help focus my ideas is vital, a Yin for my Yang. Gratefully I have the perfect team.

“A “perfect” team will have the right balance of dreamers, doers, and reviewers to handle the task at hand.” - Charlie Gilkey, CEO Productive Flourishing

So, do you have a Yin for your Yang at work?

My name is Jenna and I am a Communications major at University of Delaware. I have only been working at The Byne Group for a few weeks but I have already learned a lot. For most college students like myself, it is hard to acquire a first internship. And as many of you know in order to get an internship you have to have “previous experience.” It is really hard to have previous experience if no one will hire you. When going on interviews for internship positions one of the most important parts of the interview is to be prepared. Here are 5 important questions that you should be equipped to answer during an interview that will help you stand out from your peers:
1. Tell me about yourself?
2. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
3. Why do you want to intern at this company?
4. Why/How did you choose your major?
5. What are your career goals?

Here a few things I am going to do before my internship ends:
1. Ask for a letter of recommendation for future jobs.
2. Make copies or take files of any work I’ve done at this job
3. Ask for feedback, in what ways did I meet your expectations and how could I have done better?
4. Gather contact information from the people I have worked with and connect with them on social media.
5. Make sure to say thank you to everyone I have worked with.

During my internship at The Byne Group I have learned so much about the advertising world. I will be able to take everything I learned here and apply it to my studies at school and future jobs. Thank you to everyone at The Byne Group for making my time here extremely enjoyable.

–Jenna, Intern at The Byne Group

It’s weird because I am already married… with children. But I just realized the other day that I have a wife, and she is The Byne Group. I have had the pleasure of working at The Byne Group for close to four years now. I am so happy to be as involved as I am here. I love what I do, but it is so easy to get caught up in the day to day demands of the job and not look at the big picture on a daily – or even regular basis.  

I remember when I met The Byne Group. She was so perfect, so creative and smart and so close to home. She was everything that I was looking for. But you know how it goes… you get comfortable, things start becoming routine. The little things that you thought were so amazing, the things you loved about her at the start – you begin to take them for granted. I am guilty of this. But I am lucky.

I am lucky because I work with a bunch of talented people (the fact that they just happen to be all women makes it even sweeter). For the last couple of weeks we have been concepting for a new client. I love these times – We think, we create, I believe for this client, we have hit it out of the ballpark. And it brings me to my happy place. Back to that ‘honeymoon’ phase and it makes me remember why I loved her when I met her.

So maybe everyone should take a look at their wives (employers) and try to remember why you started dating them in the first place. Maybe it will rekindle something. …I hope it does.

Maybe Ann will get me an engagement ring.

–Jennifer Bannan, Managing Directer, The Byne Group

So… you’ve decided to embrace social media for your business — good for you! Before you do, however, be sure you are ready to ‘Walk the Talk’. The only thing worse than not having a social media program is having a poorly maintained program. Nothing says out-of-the-loop like stale, information. The key to success used to be location, location, location — now it’s content, content, content. Fresh inviting content is the engine that drives social media marketing and in order to keep driving your online presence forward, your content needs to be meaningful, engaging, and position you as an expert in your field. Sounds easy right? Sorry, this is where ‘Walking the Talk’ gets challenging. You can’t put up a few pithy posts and expect the masses to gather waiting on your next missive.
 
Before plunging in, take a step back and focus on first developing a content strategy. This will be the roadmap to your social media strategy, enabling you to be proactive rather than reactive with your audience. According to Susan Cato, Senior Director of Web and New Media Strategies at CompTIA (comptia.org), there are three key elements to developing an effective content strategy.
 
:: Know what your customers, audience or community wants to talk about and be willing to engage in those conversations.
:: Know where your audience wants to have these conversations; in other words, where they “hang out” online.
:: Measure the results of your conversations to see which ones catch fire.
 
Once you’ve identified these elements you are in a better position to develop a social media strategy around your goals, but you don’t get move to cruise control. Social media isn’t a pit stop on the way to success; it’s an on-going journey that needs constant refueling. Have an experience you’d like to share? We’d love to hear it!

"The real secret to success is simple, just do the opposite." –Jerry Seinfeld

Recently I have come to realize that logic can really get in the way of innovation. Ok, we all fear the messy unknown and no, this concept is not for the faint of heart, but sometimes in business and in life you just gotta shake things up. In my firm we spend a decent amount of time listening to what our clients want only to find out occasionally that it¹s not at all what they need. After about the fifth round of changes, which is generally driven by committee, we feel it¹s our duty to shake things up and offer to do the opposite. Why? We don¹t want to settle for adequate and we don¹t want our clients to either.

In my life, I've heard many people tell me how things should be done, some of my best decisions happened when I did the opposite. Opposite of what my parents thought I could or should do, opposite of what my friends did and opposite of what always felt safe. In business especially, long held positions are being reconsidered and we all need agility to make it during exponential times. Happily my staff has taken on my mantra and brought it to a whole new level, and in doing so have won new clients by approaching RFPs and pitches by doing the opposite of what the rule books say.

George Costanza: "Every decision I have ever made in my entire life has been wrong. Every instinct I have in every aspect of life, be it something to wear or something to eat, it's all been wrong."

Jerry Seinfeld: "If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right."

A great example of opposite thinking... a bridge supported only by helium balloons. And yes it would work. click here for more info>

What's your opinion on the subject?

I just returned from day one of Advertising Week in NYC. I was pleasantly surprised how recharged I could get listening to some of the top creative and marketing minds talk passionately about an industry that I am so dedicated to. It’s easy to get lost in the day to day grind of your agency and your specific role in that agency and it’s nice to take a breather every once in a while, to get inspired and remember why you started in this crazy business to begin with. (Plus, a day in the city, minus children or my laptop never hurt). 

If you know The Byne Group, you know that we are all about the brand. Every lecture I attended today reiterated how important a brand is, to companies, to the talent in those companies and most importantly, to the consumer. Your brand is everything.  It’s why people like you, why they use your services or buy your product, and if you are lucky – it’s why they recommend you to their friends and family.  

What is so interesting about the world that we are living in now is there are so many other things to consider in order to successfully market a brand. Half of US adults now have a tablet or smart phone. Studies are showing that people notice messaging on these devices more often than when using their stationary or desktop computers. Consumers tend to use tablets more during off peak hours, before work or before bed – and are more likely at this time to focus on messaging about personal interests rather than work. People tend to use their smart phones for shorter periods of time – checking it quickly during down time without being able to explore much content in depth. Are you considering what mobile devices your audience is using and are you speaking to them accordingly?