We want to find a Virgin at OSU: An Open Letter to Sir Richard Branson

Dear Mr. Branson,

Last evening, the principals of IM Creative had the pleasure of addressing a group of young entrepreneurs at The Ohio State University's Business Builder's Club, the University's entrepreneurial organization for future leaders of business and industry.

It was a frigid evening in Columbus, but nearly 50 students came out to hear us speak on the virtues of the live experience, risk-taking, the rush of being in a room where anything can happen. As expected, anything did happen. You came up. And the context in which you came up seemed worthwhile enough that we should post this blog in the hopes it might reach you.

The students at OSU aren't just smart people - they are smart people who seek to make a difference in the world. These entrepreneurs, in particular, are seeking to turn their intellect and idealism into action through their club's work on an initiative called Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship. The initiative holds an annual event in which thought leaders from around the globe descend upon the OSU campus and put their collective brainpower together to find actionable solutions to the issues of poverty that plague our world.

The students know that this cause is one that is close to your own heart, and have spent the last several months trying to find ways to reach out to your charitable foundation to find some way to involve you in the event. As they discussed the efforts with me, the cynical event pro in me started to think of all the reasons these young people were barking up an unrealistic tree in hoping that your organization would lend your name and endorsement to their nonetheless worthy cause. But something shifted within me. As President Obama's State of the Union address echoed in the background with the sentiment that America needs a chance, I realized that these young people need a chance too. Their unashamed optimism had a genuine real effect on me.

As you know, Mr. Branson, no one ever achieves anything if they don't think big and put the naysayers out to pasture where they belong. These young business people aren't afraid to think big, and they are doing so not with an eye toward how it benefits them, but rather how it can benefit others. My company values this altruism highly - we feel strongly enough about it that we take every opportunity to mentor and provide examples of both professional success as entrepreneurs and as individuals whose own government refuses to recognize our rights. We wanted to convey the message that even though the world can sometimes be hostile or cold, it can also be rewarding and fulfilling. Last night at OSU, the students of the Business Builders Club taught us that lesson.

We know you're a busy man, and that your office recieves thousands of requests every month to get your stamp of approval in the name of a good cause, and I understand that you simply cannot respond to all of them. But you must respond to some. Goodness should be rewarded, and these young people and the cause for which they are fighting deserve to have their optimism and altruism rewarded. So if you could consider a note, a message, a tweet... anything to give them the encouragement to keep on doing what is right, the dividends could reach far beyond any other investment you may have made in your lifetime.

A huge thank you to Carol, Michael, Andrew, David, Mike, Logan, Trevor, Steve, Rui, and all the OSU students we met at the BBC meeting. You've certainly rewarded us through your message, and I hope that our message is as rewarding to you.

Mr. Branson, if you're listening, you can reach the BBC on twitter at @OhioStateBBC or on the web at businessbuildersclub.org. And even if you're not listening, I hope someone out there is, and that this letter reminds you, just like we were reminded, that in a cruel world there is still reason to be optimistic.

Sincerely,

IM Creative

Your Environment = Your Brand

That was the message IM Creative was sending when we created our work space in the middle of the Short North Arts District in Columbus, OH.  Anne Evans of The Metropreneur got the message loud and clear, and sought fit to profile our space on her site.  Check it out!  Thanks to Anne, Tim Friar at Grid Furnishings, Matt Wilmers at Corporate Interior Concepts and all the folks in Columbus who have reached out to us as their new neighbors.  

Read the article (and see the great photos) by clicking here!

We like it when people tell us what we can't do.

We were in a big client meeting earlier this week, and while speaking with one of the most senior communications people, he started apologizing all over himself.  

"I'm so sorry the meeting space is so challenging, and our executives are so difficult, and you can't do certain things with our brand. There's so many rules here. You've got to be going nuts."

I told him he couldn't be more wrong.

We are a creative agency, constantly on the lookout for the right idea for our clients. When a company we are working for has a strong point of view, a well-congealed culture, and a distinct identity, it helps the creative process. Rather than having an entire universe of choices before us, the confines of a brand narrow the field. If we've done our jobs and gotten to know your brand as we should, it helps focus our creative choices, helping us make the decisions that will resonate for your brand in a much more efficient way.

Brands have a point of view, and our job is to know where your brand is coming from and how it wants to be portrayed.  That's an asset, not a liability, and its one that we'll always welcome.

Ten resolutions we would like other people to make

Is the only real resolution that you know you're sure to make the one you make on new years day promising to never drink again?  As a service to you poor souls, we've developed this list of suggestions.  You're welcome, and happy new year.

1) I will throw away my crocs.

2) I will henceforth refer to gay rights as civil rights.

3) I will update the technical drawings of my hotel's ballroom.

4) I will not treat the perfume I got for Christmas as a single serving container.

5) I will stand out of the way when people are trying to exit the subway/bus/jetbridge/elevator/perfume section of the store.

6) I will no longer hold special functions in hotel ballrooms.

7) I will eat more birthday cake.

8) I will no longer tolerate bad customer service.

9) I will place clothing on my dog and post the pictures on Twitter, using #SeeSpotDress.

10) I will develop a greater appreciation and respect for the comedy genre of Funny-Mean.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?   Put them in the comments or tweet them to us at @i_m_creative!

The key to creative success is...

We have a number of sayings around our office, among them...  

1) Don't stick your finger in that.

2) Go put a quarter in the swear bank.

3) The best idea wins.  

While I'm confident that numbers 1 & 2 piqued your interest, this blog post is about number three.  

What we do is essentially a corporate kind of theater - we create great brand experiences using lights, sound, video, environment, music, and whatever else we can put our hands on.  When working in multiple media like this, one can't expect to be an expert at all things at all times.  That's why theatrical productions have a lighting designer, a stage manager, a director, a choreographer, and the list goes on.  That use of a team of specialists not only means that you've got someone responsible for each element (always a good idea), but it means that you've got lots of creative people who see things through their own lens.  

And there it is - the key to our continued creative success, exemplified in item number three - the best idea wins.   That's a lesson we learned in our theater days, and it was an easier sell there because theater artists are used to working with no money, so people generally speaking don't have the egos you'll find in the corporate world.  But it must apply, otherwise you'll just keep executing crappy creative to protect someone's ego.  We hold fast to the idea that the best idea wins - always.  That means we don't bring ego to the table about whether a great innovation comes from the Creative Director, the Production Assistant, or anyone in-between. 

Great ideas aren't great because of who had them, they are great for what they accomplish.  True innovation is rarely the result of a single visionary, but comes from having the right mix of skills and sensibilities gathered around the table collaborating to make ideas feel unexpected and perfect.  

But, you may ask - don't you have a Creative Director who drives IM Creative's creative?  Absolutely we do, and we'd be lost without him.  Everyone needs a creative visionary on the team, and Shannon is one of the best.  But his job description isn't to have all the great ideas (though he usually does), but to recognize a great idea.  When you're utilizing the "best idea wins" philosophy, you've got to have someone in the room who can see the potential of the ideas coming from multiple directions, and refocus them back into effective creative.  

There's the key, folks - the best idea wins.  Stay tuned for another day's blog post to find out what people in our office keep sticking their fingers into.  Sheesh - creatives! 

The Twelve Days of Meetings - Sing-Along Edition!

On the first day of meetings, my client gave to me a name badge for each attendee.

On the second day of meetings my client gave to me two random slides...

On the third day of meetings my client gave to me three b.e.o.'s...

On the fourth day of meetings my client gave to me four airport trips...

On the fifth day of meetings my client gave to me five black eyed peas...

On the sixth day of meetings my client gave to me six late presenters...

On the seventh day of meetings my client gave to me seven breakout rooms...

On the eighth day of meetings my client gave to me eight changed agenda....

On the ninth day of meetings my client gave to me nine teams to team build....

On the tenth day of meetings my client gave to me ten tops for dinner...

On the eleventh day of meetings my client gave to me eleven ancient laptops...

On the twelth day of meetings my client gave to me twelve pop-ups popping.

Happy holidays everyone!

Are you wearing the same dress as that other company?

So let's say you're shopping for a production company.  

Company number one - let's call them Product Productions - offers you a laundry list of "amazing" things they've done before for other clients that they can do for you.  PP says "You want to play Guitar Hero?  We've done that for like a billion clients before.  You want to work in the round?  We've got a round stage, a round truss, and even the perfect powerpoint template you can use - we've done it twelve times this month already.  You want an elegant awards dinner?  I've got these tables in my back room we can use that would be PERFECT!  Just sign on the dotted line!"

Company number two - let's call them IM Better (after all, this is a hypothetical situation...) - doesn't offer you any of that.  In fact, they eschew the idea of offering you a pre-fabricated product.  They say: "We believe that your brand and message should be the principle that dictates what kind of team building, staging, and overall visual vocabulary of your event.  If you want a company who understands how to distill the right production elements to turn your brand and message into a three dimensional experience, we're the ones to engage." 

The distinction between offering clients a product versus a process is one that is often missed, but its one that we feel is vitally important.  In this troubled economy, the expense of a live gathering is too great to settle for the expected, the mundane, or anything less than a bespoke solution for your message and your audience.  When you're a production company who owns a hammer, everything looks like a nail.  We don't even bother looking for the right tool until we know what it has to accomplish.  That way, we're giving your brand & your attendees what they need, not just what we've got.  

That's what we mean when we talk about curating our live experiences for each client.  We gather the right talent and resources to make each experience feel organic, aligned, and most of all unique.  To use an off-the-shelf solution is the event equivalent of wearing the same dress as someone else to a party.  The problem is, you're not a debutante, you're a business, and the purpose of spending all that money on an event is to differentiate yourself.  

Don't get us wrong, you want someone who is experienced - and executing something that you've got experience in is not a sin.  There are lots of solutions we've used before and then re-used because they are the right solution for a client - but there is always room for customization, and the choice to use that solution is the result of the process we've sold a client, not just a product.

So... do you choose the PP or something Better?  To us, the choice is clear.  Live experiences have power, so use it to the fullest, and engage in a process.

Hillary Clinton Stripped Down (to her words)

You've heard us rant before about how much we detest modern presenter's misuse of and dependence upon PowerPoint slides at live events.  This week, we were treated to an amazing display of oratory power by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she addressed the masses from Geneva in recognistion of International Human Rights Day.  This speech, lauded my many (including us) as a historic shift in the cultural landscape served as another reminder of the power of intense, well crafted oratory.

Secretary Clinton's speech is only the most recent example of a political leader offering a face-to-face presentation in which they are able to educate, motivate, stimulate, and march into the annals of history by virtue of nothing more than their voice and their ideas.  Consider some of the most famous orators to have taken the lectern - Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, John Kennedy, FDR... the list goes on and on... and none of these speakers utilized slides in the presentation of their remarks. 

So what would some of these famed speakers have used for slides, had they been speaking in a hotel ballroom to a mass of gathered salespeople?  Would the slides be considered supportive then?  Let's play pretend...

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech":

John Kennedy's "The Decision to Go To The Moon":

Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address":

You get the point - PowerPoint slides would only have hurt Ghandi's "Quit India", Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty..."  or The Sermon on the Mount.  In fact, they would have detracted listeners from the passion and eloquence of the speaker.  The purpose of a face-to-face address is to allow people to engage with your ideas.  Do think these slides help achieve that goal?  Absolutely not.  When people are focused on your bad slides, they aren't focused on YOU or your ideas.  If you want to make handouts, knock yourself out.  No need to show up.  If you really want to convey a message, go minimal.  Strip away the excess, and let your words depict the complexity and intricacy of your thoughts.  

Want to share with us a slide or two from other famous speeches?  Tweet them to us @i_m_creative - We'll post the best here in a follow-up. 

The Holidays are a Branding Opportunity

The holidays are a great time to spend time with loved ones, reflect on the last year's ups and downs, and most of all, engage in consumerism like a fiend.

That's part of why we love it!  The holidays, like it or not, are a commercial holiday, and we've become culturally in tune to brands at this time of year like no other.  The holidays are a time for brands to push their identity through the holiday filter and see what comes out on the other side.  The best brands hold up through this - they do the holidays, but they do it on their terms.  

Put it this way - would you trust a creative agency that sends you a pre-fab holiday card that was clearly mass printed?  

We work hard at the holiday time to reinterpret the holidays looking through the eyes of our brand.  We have special holiday traditions - those of you on our holiday mailing list know what we're talking about - and we try to remember that above all, while it is the holidays, we are IM Creative.  Everything we touch, everything we do, has to feel like it has come from us, and not off the shelf.  

All of this begs the question - how are YOU expressing your brand through your holiday interactions?  Are you non-inclusive in your holiday wishes?  Are you cheap?  Are you pre-fab?  Are you impresonal?  This is an amazing time to engage with customers and contacts on an emotional level.  Make sure you are taking advantage of it, and make that emotional interaction branded.  Your customers and your business will appreciate the time you've taken to add that special something that makes your brand sparkle.  That's what the holidays can do for your brand, so make it happen.  Otherwise, you're just supporting Santa's brand, and he's already over-exposed.  Do the holidays your way!

The Top 7 List of Lists

The universe of social media is filled with blog posts filled with ordinal dos and don'ts, and number lists of stuff.  Here's a list we've compiled of some of our current and old faves.  Its an early holiday gift from us to you.  You're welcome.

7 Steps for Creating Disruptive Retail Experiences

7 Tips for Using Social Media Internally

You Tube Hacks

Best Social Media Metrics

Top 10 Social Media Influencers

7 Secrets of Successful Corporate Rebranding

7 Tips for Better Event Feedback