Crazy Savvy

Summertime Dreaming

2010-08-02T08:22:00.003-05:00

Hello, long lost readers! I have returned from the North and South Shores of Lake Superior....aah. Forest, volcanic rock formations, waterfalls, and freshwater majesty—it doesn't get much better than this. It feels good to be home, but I have to admit that when I looked out at vistas such as this one, I seriously started dreaming of a summer house. A beautiful location + internet access = creative, inspired work, don't you think? Something for me to ponder, perhaps.

Preparing for a Post-Jen Landscape?

2010-07-23T09:07:00.002-05:00

Greetings, all! Hard to believe another whirlwind week has passed at C/S hq.

It is such a bittersweet feeling as I prepare to bid Jen a fond adieu! I’m so excited for my friend on the cusp of some amazing professional and personal accomplishments. But of course, at the same time, I’m going to miss that girl!

So, you might be wondering: How does this announcement change Crazy Savvy? In the short-term, it doesn’t. Jen and I shared creative and administrative heavy lifting pretty equally, so C/S core capabilities remain unchanged.

But looking ahead, yes, the business probably will shift and evolve to reflect my passions and specialties—an exciting planning endeavor to be sure! For instance, right now I am considering the merits and drawbacks of positioning oneself as a specialist vs. a generalist within the field of communications. There is something to be said for a tight focus, but on the other hand I love the challenge of new projects, new subjects to research, new audiences to analyze.

So, no announcements from me just yet!

And now, dear readers, I'm preparing to head to the shores of Lake Superior—one of my favorite places in the world. Proposals and projects and updates are out the door. Now all that remains is to pack! Here's hoping summer is treating you equally as well!

Some big news ...

2010-07-14T09:26:00.002-05:00

Hope everyone had a safe, happy, fun Fourth of July weekend. Yes, it's been awhile since we've updated our blog .... but I assure you there's a reason! A reason related to the events of the 4th of July holiday, indeed. Aside from breaking a new iPhone (not mine), cutting a foot open (yes, mine), and having to tow my brand spankin' new car 200 miles back to Minneapolis behind a 26 foot semi-truck (sans air-conditioning), there were even more momentous events in store.

After connecting privately with my clients, colleagues, and business connections, it's with both excitement and a bittersweet feeling that I share the following news with the broader Crazy Savvy universe .... I'm moving to San Francisco at the end of the month! Some opportunities came up for my better half and me that were simply too good to refuse — so the packing and relocation has commenced. Of course, I couldn't be more thrilled: living in the Bay Area has been a long-time dream for the both of us, and I'm excited to jump into the heart of the agency world out there and do some really nifty work. (Living near the beach, the mountains, and wine country doesn't exactly hurt, either.)

At the same time, of course, it will be hard to leave not only family and friends, but also this amazing business I've had such joy in building with Erin. She and I have (natch) been on the same page about this throughout, and C/S will remain in her more-than-capable hands here in Minneapolis. She's already tackling some major projects for the later summer and fall, and the future is looking bright. I'm sure she'll share more about these endeavors in the coming weeks!

I feel so very fortunate that I've had the opportunity to realize the dream of building and running a successful business in this industry. It's been hard saying goodbye to our clients — truly great people — but I'm overwhelmed and moved by the goodwill and gratitude they've expressed to me. San Francisco may be on the other side of the country (no tears for leaving Minnesota winters behind!), but I'll always be a phone call or email away. Who knows, maybe Erin will even let me guest blog here from time to time! :) And of course, I promise to send postcards. Who could be a bigger fan of C/S than me, after all!?!

Thanks, Crazy Savvy nation, for being a part of this amazing adventure. Erin will keep the updates coming — I couldn't have asked for a better business partner. As I begin the next chapter of my career in the ad biz, I do so with a wealth of experiences and insights that could never have been gained without Crazy Savvy. I feel truly blessed.

In closing, I'll share the postcard I sent C/S before my 4th of July took a turn for the even more interesting ....

So ciao for now, friends ..... it's truly been a pleasure, and I know more adventures are in store. This may be farewell, but it definitely isn't goodbye.

Fireworks, family, & fun

2010-06-29T14:19:00.002-05:00

Wow — this week has been a crazy one for us thus far (I guess with a name like Crazy Savvy, it's no more than we should expect!). As the 4th of July weekend approaches, we've been hustling and bustling, running business errands, updating our books, and — most importantly — getting a major project draft for an out-of-state client out the door. All this, though, so we can have a long weekend of (relative) peace and relaxation as we celebrate not only our nation's independence, but also our own.

Yours Truly will be heading out of town with her sweetie and some good friends, enjoying the comforts of cabin living in Minnesota's northwoods. (After the adventures of the past few months, we're all hoping there are no more poisonous spider encounters!) My dear biz partner will be sticking around closer to home, holding down the C/S fort and basking in some much-deserved R&R. This is the first year in the past three that Erin and I won't be spending our 4ths together (alas!) — but I am confident we will persevere.

When we're at last reunited next week, we'll have plenty to catch each other up on. In addition to the requisite recounting of holiday stories, we'll be putting our freckled little noses to the grindstone, finishing up a ginormous, content-heavy writing project (among other things) and starting some fun design and photography work. Some of us will also be awaiting with bated breath the conclusion of the World Cup (Spain, Spain, Spain). (Others may also be awaiting its conclusion, if only so I shut up about the whole thing!) In any case, the dog days of summer are nearly here. Happy Fourth, to all our U.S. readers — we'll be tuning back in next week for more!

My dream campaign, and other stuff

2010-06-23T10:59:00.009-05:00

OK, now that I've managed to scream my vocal cords into non-existence after the dramatic U.S. World Cup win to advance into out-rounds .... I think I'll sit down and write a blog post. Because I surely can't talk right now, or perhaps for the next few days. Yes, adoring readers: World Cup fever has set in. The recent paucity of blog posts mayyyy be somehow attributable to this little distraction; usually I am more than content to scribble a post during my downtime, but the past few weeks have perhaps found me planning my free time around certain soccer matches. (Particularly matches in which Spain is playing.)

Anyway, I'm here now, and glad to be with you (albeit a bit breathless still). Mid-June already, no? This month has been a blur for us here at C/S. We've been getting rolling on some projects, figuring out logistics for others, and doing some in-house cleaning, planning, and tidying as well, as we look forward to the next quarter and beyond. We should have some sweet new stuff to share with y'all soon, so be sure to stay tuned!

On a broader industry note, I've been enjoying (of course) all the advertising hoopla surrounding the World Cup. Ad Age this morning leads with a great article about marketing and the games, highlighting Nike's amazing "Write the Future" campaign (um, more Cristiano Ronaldo, yes please). If you're watching the games en español as I am (thank you, Univision, for giving me coverage of every game on network tv and brushing up my Spanish skills in the process — te amo!), the campaign becomes "Escribe el Futuro" — but no less charming for all that. Basically I watch this with severe agency envy .... if I could work on one campaign, it would likely be that! But until Crazy Savvy gets to shoot C-Ron and the rest, I guess I'll amuse myself with this piece of ad candy. Enjoy your Wednesday, one and all!

The name game

2010-06-14T10:41:00.004-05:00

Happy Monday, Crazy Savvy Nation .... hope the weekend treated y'all well. If you were in the Twin Cities, hope you managed to stay dry, too — this weather is soooooo not pleasant!

Just a quick Monday update to announce a change — I have at long last returned to a family name and will now be going by Jen Fluke. For anyone who had to spell — or try to pronounce — Emelianova, this will no doubt come as a huge relief.

More updates on the biz later this week, so stay tuned! (And if you're not in MN, please send some sunshine our way.)

Thursday musings

2010-06-10T15:11:00.004-05:00

Can't believe it's already Thursday (again) .... this month is absolutely flying by. Although both Erin and I have been done with the classroom for quite some time, there's something so very school's-out-for-the-summer about this time of year.

We've been busy all week trying to find the best printing solutions for a fun new client project with some nifty (but thought-requiring) environmental components. Fortunately we have a slew of talented printing and production experts at our disposal, and they've been weighing in with fantastically helpful advice. We're also gearing up for some bigger content-driven projects on the horizon. From messaging manifestoes to annual reports, development consulting to social media campaigns, our brains (and coffee makers) are busy as we begin assimilating project specs and tons of information. Of course, we wouldn't have it any other way!

Yours Truly is also gearing up for another very special event, one that only happens once every four years (alas!) Yes — it's World Cup time. If the next month's worth of posts find occasion to link to information about Mr. Fernando Torres, well .... indulge me.

Fortunately a few members in good standing of Crazy Savvy Nation are lucky enough to find themselves in South Africa for the World Cup, so I'm sure we'll have all sorts of exciting postcard updates. Let the games begin!

And, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this weekend heralds the birthday of my beloved biz partner. I'm wishing the fabulous Erin the very best in the coming year — and I know you all share my sentiments on that account, too!

June so soon

2010-06-02T15:14:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's June so soon — happy summer, one and all! Our apologies for a post-less week last week, but things in Crazy Savvy land have been, well, crazy busy. Last week found all sorts of exciting new projects being thrown our way — great news, but it left us little time to write, alas!

Fortunately after all the hustle and bustle of getting contracts signed, scopes of work written, and creative briefs solidified, we had a lovely long weekend at our collective disposal. Yours Truly relaxed at a lakeshore cabin in the northwoods of Wisconsin with her sweetie, Pushkin (woof woof), and some dear friends. Despite some scary creepy crawlies, it was a great time .... and I even managed to come home with a bit of a tan! My biz partner better half, on the other hand, stuck closer to home, enjoying the Minneapolis sunshine with plenty of cookouts, walks in the park, and even a new patio set. Much excitement abounded.

But now we're back in action, getting ready to dive into some great new work (which, of course, we're so excited to share with you!). And, we're also able to kick off the month of June with a bit of fan-mail — this time from our upstairs neighbor, aka Canada. Thanks, Krystal! Now, let the summer fun commence.

Time flies when you're having fun (Happy 1-Year Anniversary, C/S!)

2010-05-19T16:04:00.001-05:00

Wow. It's been a full year for us here at Crazy Savvy. Pretty hard to believe. I guess the old adage really is true: time flies when you're having fun.

And what fun we've had! The thrill of setting out on our own, the strategic challenges of building our agency from scratch, the elation of signing our first client, the satisfaction of launching our website and printing our business cards and collateral — all these moments (and so many more) were relived today as Erin and I enjoyed a celebratory lunch on Le Meridian's sun-kissed patio. Naturally, champagne was consumed. Laughter was shared. Memories were rediscovered. Projects were rehashed and the future was discussed, not at the conference room table or at an intense planning meeting, but over crepes and chocolate confections (yum, yum).

A year ago, as we officially made the leap into the Great Unknown (aka entrepreneurship aka potential insanity aka welcome to advertising, baby), it was swelteringly hot. We locked ourselves in a variety of un-air-conditioned war rooms, wishing and hoping that our best laid plans would not go astray as we ventured out on our own.

Since then, those early days before we had a logo or client base or articles of incorporation, both Fate and Fortune have been kind. (Maybe they were amused by the name Crazy Savvy? I know many of our clients are!) We've been able to do some really nifty work, partner with clients we're genuinely enthused about, build an agency brand that we find both authentic and compelling (hm .... perhaps the two are intertwined!?)

There have been countless deadlines, briefs, budgets, conference calls, plane flights, business card exchanges, proof sheets, invoices, spreadsheets, pitch decks, Post-It notes, 3-a.m. emails, Twitter updates, client meetings, and (of course) blog posts since those early days. We've both learned so much — from our experiences, from the industry, from our clients, and, natch, from each other. In the past year, our lives have changed in so many ways, both professionally and personally .... decidedly for the better. It seems there are some very exciting things on the horizon, as we look to the next chapter of life at C/S. We're ready to seize the day.

But some things don't change. We still finish each other's sentences, often enough to be spooky. We still love the challenge of combining strategy and creativity to tackle the communications and marketing needs of our clients, near and far. We still believe in transparency, sincerity, hard work, curiosity, courage. We still enjoy conducting our staff meetings on the patio rather than in the board room. Most of all, we're still so profoundly grateful to have been able to pursue our dream and run a satisfying, successful business. We're still not only colleagues and business partners, but also the greatest of friends. Hell, there's enough change in the world — it's nice to know that some things stay the same, too.

So these are the things we celebrated today, sipping champagne and soaking in the sun. We can scarcely believe how far we've come — and we're both excited at the prospect of where we're going. So cheers, cheers to a fabulous year at Crazy Savvy!

Presenting in a Bullet Point World

2010-05-18T10:40:00.004-05:00

While I was prepping for a presentation yesterday, my mind turned to PowerPoint. Oh, PowerPoint, almost universally reviled PowerPoint, how people love to hate you. We've all struggled to stay awake through presentations in which people read their PowerPoint slides, bullet point by monotonous bullet point.

*Yawn*

I have a few quibbles with PowerPoint. First, it's ugly. Horribly, unforgivably ugly. Yes, it's possible to create an attractive slide show using this program, but as someone who has wrestled with it herself and seen designers tearing their hair out over the program, I find myself wondering how many hours of productivity have been wasted in this manner? Particularly when alternatives like Apple's Keynote can effortlessly create presentations that don't make your eyeballs bleed.

Of course, aesthetics only go so far. My bigger issue with PowerPoint is its fixation on bullet points. Is this always the best way to present information? Let me go out on a limb here and exclaim: Hell, no! And yet this is the default standard in presentations thanks in no small part to Microsoft's continuing dominance in the market.

You likely saw the article "We Have Met the Enemy and He is PowerPoint" recently, which featured an insanely complex chart designed to illustrate the complex strategy under way in Afghanistan. As the caption dryly notes, it "certainly succeeds in that aim." If you haven't seen it, take a look. That's one heck of a chart.

I would love to show some examples of brilliant slide presentations. I have seen some, but can't seem to put my hands on them at the moment. I welcome your suggestions...maybe this will be a future blog post!

So anyway, after all this, it will come as no surprise that Jen and I chose not to use a PowerPoint in our presentation to a Board of Directors last night. We were aiming for something more personal and down to earth. This was a small enough group that we were hoping to share some information and spark a dialogue about our topic (the nuts and bolts of strategic communications plans), rather than leave our audience with the feeling they should have earned continuing education credits for enduring another consultant clicking through yet another PowerPoint presentation.

Hitting the jackpot (in so many ways)

2010-05-13T10:25:00.004-05:00

I'd love to post something really witty and substantive today, but I just don't think it's in the cards. My brain is still a little fuzzy from last weekend's medical adventure. (I think I belong on House. Although as the good doctor or one of his patients, I'm really not sure.) After heading off to the ER for what seemed to be a cut-and-dry case of appendicitis, we instead discovered (many hours later) that I was suffering from the bite of a black widow spider. Two bites, to be precise. Rare in Minnesota, but not unheard of .... go figure.

Anyway, much excitement abounded, but now I'm on the road to recovery .... a road navigated largely from the comfort of my couch in front of the fireplace. And believe me, the fireplace is a necessity, because here in Minneapolis, we've been going on nearly two weeks of solid rain. Delightful.

But never fear, even with half its leadership team temporarily down for the count, Crazy Savvy continues its adventures in communications and marketing. With some exciting presentations on the horizon, it's looking to be a satisfying end of the month. We're getting back to our roots, tackling a number of projects that combine strategy and creative in stimulating ways. And we're fast approaching our official one-year anniversary — look for more news about the celebration next week! Hard to believe it's been a year .... I guess time really does fly when you're having fun.

But it's back to the couch for me (actually, I haven't left it .... how did people survive before the days of laptops and wireless?). To brighten up this very wet and dreary Thursday, we'll share some fan-mail from a much-loved (and jet-set) client of ours. I have no doubt that the weather in Vegas is infinitely nicer than ours here ....

More Than Yes (Wo)men

2010-05-11T10:21:00.003-05:00

Allow me to get on my soapbox for just a minute today.

Communications professionals of the world, let me entreat you to join me in acknowledging our collective responsibility to be more than yes men (or women, as the case may be) when clients come to us with ideas that could benefit from more thought and planning.

So often in my career I have witnessed professionals shrug somewhat indifferently and say, "Well, that's what the client wants." End of discussion.

That's the easy way out, dear colleagues. And it's also missing a tremendous opportunity.

Certainly, nobody wants to offend or alienate their clients! (That's where tact and diplomacy come in so very handy.) It's infinitely more difficult to dig deeper and discover the root of the idea, but this is also precisely where the best solutions can be found, where we can do our most creative, strategic work.

After all, our clients presumably come to us for our expertise and counsel. As an industry, we do a disservice to our clients and to ourselves by taking the easy way out just to avoid a difficult conversation.

Facebook fail

2010-05-04T13:06:00.003-05:00

So while we're on the topic of social media (see my penultimate post for more on the subject), I want to chat a bit about Facebook's latest iteration. Since the website was launched in .... let me see, 2004? .... it's pretty much been my social networking bible — my electronic little black book, if you will. There have been a number of tweaks to its look and functionality over the years, but it's the latest iteration that has my dander up.

Facebook has helpfully (!!()(**&^%#$) translated one's likes and interests into quasi-fan pages, presumably designed to link people together by shared interest. Sounds nice, granted — more layers of interconnectivity and all. But it's driving me batty. I dunno, maybe it's my peculiar tastes, but I put some thought into what I put under my likes + interests category. Much of it was insider information, things that my friends would laugh about and understand, but things irrelevant (and often nonsensical) to the greater world.

Number one on my list (as anyone who knows me would instantly grasp) was Pushkin. Now, when Facebook made the change to its newest version, it helpfully (%#$$#&*(!!) suggested the fan page of the great Russian poet for said entry. All fine and well: I do indeed like the writings of the literary great ..... but I was in fact talking about my dog. Another interest was "winning at Scrabble" — not just a game at my house, but more of a blood sport. Oh, thinks the new Facebook, you must be a fan of Scrabble. Well .... sort of, but what I really like about it is the winning part. Losing doesn't go down too well (especially when dinner at La Belle Vie is on the line, as it often is!)

What Facebook has added in interconnectivity, it's taken away from in originality and customizability. Plus, my understanding is that one's "likes" are now visible to the public. I sure do like champagne, but do I really want anyone from Grandma Suzy to a prospective client to be able to find that out about me from a simple Google search? (A silly example, perhaps, since I'm freely talking about it here — but I think you get my drift.) There have been waves of complaints about Facebook's approach to privacy since it was founded, but this latest seems the most egregious violation yet. I haven't poked around enough yet to determine if there's a privacy control workaround — there probably is, but the whole new system infuriates me to the point that I decided not to post my interests anymore, period — but the fact that the default is to public view is concerning enough.

I don't know. As far as I'm concerned, interactivity and interconnection are good .... to a point. But Facebook just hit that tipping point for me, and it makes me a bit incensed. What this will mean for companies and brands that have Facebook pages, only time will tell — it hasn't seemed to do much to our C/S page yet, anyway. But if this is the latest tweak, I can't help but wonder what's next.

To end on a more sunshiny note, though, I'll leave you with a picture of the "Like" that inspired this entire diatribe. It's hard to feel cross when looking at a smile like that .... clearly, someone is very happy it's spring!

Social media reality check

2010-04-29T12:14:00.011-05:00

Greetings, one and all, on a drab and drizzly Thursday morning. Today I'm going to ponder for a moment the social media phenomenon and what it means for our clients and our industry. At coffee this morning with a friend and colleague, the conversation turned to the subject of blogging and its relative value. It's a question we often confront here at Crazy Savvy as we help clients find the best tools to build their brands, boost their business, and engage their audiences.

What about social media?, clients often ask. There seems to be this perception (misconception, one may venture ....) that social media is some sort of silver bullet. Current marketing initiatives not working out? Let's get on Twitter and Foursquare. Want to build brand awareness among new constituencies? We'll write a blog and hope they stumble across it! You may be rolling your eyes, but these conversations occur — far more frequently than you might think. Social media is perceived by many as a cheap, easy-to-use, dynamic medium that can galvanize followers and turn them into true brand advocates. Done correctly, this is indeed the case. But it takes some work.

It's simply not enough to merely have a Twitter account or a Facebook page or a blog. At minimum, these sorts of channels need to be updated — frequently — for them to remain relevant. There's no incentive to keep coming back to a blog that only offers new posts once every few months. But beyond frequency, there's the question of content. Is it relevant? Engaging? Fun? Does it have an authentic voice? Does it inspire some sort of action? The particular approach, of course, varies greatly depending on the organization: a major retailer of consumer goods is going to have a different social media strategy (and different goals) than, say, a start-up accounting firm or a university. But the fundamental principles of savvy social media use remain largely the same.

It boggles the mind that organizations that place so much thought on their identity systems or website or latest ad campaigns become remarkably blithe about social media. Even (seemingly) little things, like formatting mistakes or typos or off-brand voice and design, seem glaringly stupid to me. Presumably you'd proofread your company's annual report, edit your tv spots, fix glitches on your website, no? But I see these sorts of oversights cropping up time and again on the social media platforms of even some very well respected organizations. And don't get me started on endless repetition or shameless spam-type messaging from outlets that are supposed to be engaging and discursive in nature .... Think! Your social media presence could well reach more people than your latest campaign. So what's it saying about your brand — and why?

At C/S, we often work with clients to develop a social media plan that addresses the aforementioned issues in a way that reflects the organization's voice and serves its objectives. Sometimes we assist with execution as well, helping to author blog posts or identify salient content. Done well, the results can be impressive: we've even been lucky enough to get referrals based on this very blog! But what we always stress to our clients is that there needs to be a method to the social media madness, so to speak — a strategy, a goal, a purpose beyond merely "being there" for its own sake. It's like networking, in a way: it's not enough just to show up to the party. If you want anyone to take notice of you, you'd better find ways to be engaging and memorable. (Unless you want to be noticed for your really horrible shoes, in which case, I will happily oblige! But nobody wants to be the punchline .... and your blog shouldn't be the subject of one either.)

Alright, well, rant over. I'm looking forward to getting out of town for the weekend (in the new car! yes! yes!) for some lakeside R&R .... hiking, fireplaces, scenic drives, picnic lunches, endless games of Scrabble .... sounds like my cup o' tea! As always, Dear Readers, thanks for tuning in.

Updates from life in the fast lane (literally)

2010-04-26T11:04:00.003-05:00

Phew! If you were waiting with bated breath for a blog post last week, my apologies. Our schedule took a turn for the crazy (and savvy, natch) and before I knew it, the weekend was here .... time for gardening, cooking, concerts (caught the Jonsi show last night at Pantages — sweetness), and yes, a bit of relaxation too.

So, let's see what's new around these parts. How'd we spend last week? Wrapping up some bigger projects and going through our traditional client follow-up processes: always a rewarding task, especially when the client is so clearly enthused by the work you've done. Also doing some of those less-than-scintillating (but oh-so-necessary) bureaucratic tasks and spring housekeeping (and bookkeeping). And, as always, meetings, meetings, meetings. A busy week, in short, if a more or less uneventful one.

But, oh! The oversight! When talking about what's new in C/S land, how could I possibly forget to mention our newest team member?! Okay ..... not a staff person ..... or an intern ..... or even a brand spanking new Apple device, as is so often the case. No, this half of Crazy Savvy recently brought home a sweet, sweet, fast new ride. This means commutes to meetings will never again be the same. (Erin will no doubt sit white-knuckled as I test out what my car can really do. In fact, on second thought, she may lobby that we don't go to meetings in my car!) And the car is even in C/S colors — fear not; it's not hot pink. But it is a wicked silver-grey that looks an awful lot like the shade in our identity system! Anyway .... can you tell I'm excited?

Looking forward, this week is filled with more meetings: with great colleagues and collaborators, with clients past and present (and future, daresay!?), with some of our great team of professionals, perhaps even with destiny? Well, we'll see. But suffice it to say, we're getting in the Q2 groove, enjoying spring, keeping busy, and — as always — having a great time.

Gone in a Flash!

2010-04-16T10:56:00.006-05:00

This week has gone by in a flash. I suppose that traveling (and the attendant catch-up game that ensues) had something to do with it. I got to spend some time with those nearest and dearest to me on the east coast. Suffice it to say it was a weekend filled with delicious eats, excellent photography (as shown in the postcard above), and many, many laughs.

Back in C/S land, a few new projects from clients old and new are gearing up to begin. The calendar is booking up with planning meetings and research dates. This makes me a happy girl. Speaking of which, the library calls...

Have a wonderful weekend!

The art of the pitch

2010-04-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I essentially live to pitch. (No, I'm not talking about baseball .... although Twins fever has definitely swept Minneapolis, boy oh boy.) When asked what my favorite part of owning my own agency is, my answer is invariably: the art of the pitch. Whether it's presenting new opportunities to existing clients or bringing in new business altogether, the greatest satisfaction for me is in creating the connections and generating the excitement that forms the foundation for fantastic work and lasting client relationships.

Of course, in my (always humble) opinion, there's a right way and a wrong way to go about doing it. I'll leave matters of presentation style and deck design aside for the moment to talk about broader strategy and messaging (it's what I like to talk about best, anyway). It seems to me that a lot of agencies structure their pitches around how flippin' great they are. And of course, you should walk (or saunter) into a pitch prepared to show & tell about how your firm's work, approach, talent, and results are top-notch .... don't get me wrong. But the kernel of wisdom at the center of a great pitch, I think, is about making the connection between the greatness of your agency and what the (prospective) client truly needs.

It's all fine and well if you do beautiful, wonderful work for fancy-schmancy clients, but if you can't talk intelligently and strategically about how your capabilities and experiences dovetail with the needs of your prospect, you may as well save your breath. Read the memo: the pitch isn't about you. It's about them, the client .... and they want to feel that their agency partners understand that, because who wants to work with an egotistical agency team, anyway? [Awkward pause. This might exclude most of our industry.]

I see the same thing when choosing talent, too. So many creatives want to show a pretty, pretty book — and often times, they're indeed mind-bogglingly pretty, especially when viewed by someone with my limited design skills, for whom making it through an InDesign file of my own creation without crashing my computer is a miracle. But if they can't tell me why their prodigious talents uniquely benefit our company and the client we're working with, I don't want to listen. Talent in a vacuum is irrelevant. It isn't about what you've done .... it's about what you can do, for the client, for their needs, at this moment. That's the art of the pitch .... at least in the C/S book, and so far it's seemed to go pretty dang well. In this day and age, where hundreds of thousands of dollars and billable hours often go into making the perfect presentation, it bears some serious consideration.

Plus, is there any better feeling, really, than walking into a pitch and absolutely rocking it, anticipating the client's needs and questions and addressing them before they're even verbalized, showing great work with panache and speaking both eloquently and strategically about how your agency can help realize their vision and exceed their goals?

No, no there's not. Not for me ... not in the professional sense, anyway. (Can you tell my background includes both theater and debate?) Annnnnd ladies and gentlemen, that's the Crazy Savvy take on the art of the pitch. Now I'll leave you with a very different kind of art — a postcard from sunny Madrid, courtesy of our intrepid world traveler and dear friend Kate. Until next time, friends, adios!

Sweet Satisfaction (or Grant Writing 101)

2010-04-07T09:58:00.005-05:00

Ah.

Excuse me for a moment while I savor the satisfaction of a deadline met (with time to spare, even). A major federal grant proposal is signed, sealed, and delivered. OK, it was actually submitted electronically through grants.gov, but that's not nearly as poetic a process as you might imagine...

Perhaps you did not know this, but Crazy Savvy offers grant writing right along with our core capabilities in strategy, branding, creative services, social media, and copywriting. I don't think it is particularly common for a creative agency to offer grant writing services—but then, at Crazy Savvy it's never been our goal to be common. With a background that straddles branding, publications, and nonprofit development, it's a natural for me to include grant writing in my repertoire.

Plus, there's this: I really like grant writing.

Grants may not be as sexy as creating a flashy billboard, but I find them equally rewarding—and every bit as creative. Grant writing, at its purest, is where the art of storytelling meets strategy. I've always approached grants from a writer's perspective. Each grant is an opportunity to draw the reader into your organization's story. It gives you the chance to construct a prima facie argument in support of your mission, to answer each reader's question before it even surfaces.

The more stringent (and dare I admit, sometimes even arcane) limits proscribed by grant guidelines, the richer my creative challenge. Page limits and checklists of required elements? Bring 'em on!

Beyond the writerly joys, grants give a writer the opportunity to dig in deep and learn about new issues and topics. This is innately rewarding to the lifelong learner in me. Occasionally, it is an exercise in irony, as well: To wit, a recent project found me researching the educational potential of video games....while fending off near-incessant requests from a certain eight-year-old in my life to purchase a video game system. Thank goodness he didn't find my stack of research or I would be doomed!

I also enjoy the deadline driven nature of grant work. Some may call deadlines a cruel mistress, but they do offer a heady adrenaline surge as all the little pieces of a project come together. And a sweet, satisfied exhalation once the deadline is met.

Like right about now.

Aaaah.

Sunshine of our love

2010-03-31T15:09:00.000-05:00

Well, Erin and I are more or less up to our eyeballs in some pretty major projects — but the end of the tunnel is finally in sight. I must confess, it's much easier to immerse ourselves in all this content when we can do it with the windows cracked open and the sunshine streaming in. What a (wonderfully) bizarre March it's been here in Minneapolis. I heard on the radio the other day that this is the first March in some 160 years in which it hasn't snowed so much as a single flake (glory, hallelujah!).

In fact, two years ago to this very date, we had to endure the cruelty of an end-of-the-month snowstorm. (April Fools came a day early, we said.) Indeed, as it just so happens, I can crack out a picture from the Crazy Savvy archives showing my wonderful biz partner and yours truly in our pre-C/S days. What was supposed to be a celebratory happy hour looking forward to spring became instead a soppy, snowy mess of an evening, which we spend huddled indoors, tropical drinks in our hands seeming sadly out of place, watching the snow fall and bemoaning our luck.

But 2010 is ringing those changes, because as I sit here typing this, it's nearly 80 degrees. Needless to say, I heartily approve.

Back to the grind for us, but I'll leave you with a bit of fan-mail — it always brightens our days, anyway. Although, I must confess, the thought of dinner at Spiaggia makes me very jealous (and hungry!) indeed.

Very much my (World) cup o' tea

2010-03-23T09:49:00.004-05:00

Happy Tuesday, one and all. Here in Minneapolis, it's finally primo bike riding weather, which means I've cracked out Old Faithful (my much abused mountain bike) and am using it for all sorts of errands, business and otherwise. Why drive to the post office when I can bike? Why drive to work in the morning when I can bike? (Caveat: it's not as easy to bring a to-go coffee mug on a bike as it is in the car. Consider yourselves warned ... learn from my mistakes.)

Spring is here at last — which means summer is just around the corner. (Hey, a girl can hope.) And if I await this summer even more eagerly than most, well, there's a very good reason: the World Cup. Having grown up overseas, soccer isn't just an idle amusement for me ... it's a passion. (Hey, with players like this, how can one help but feel passionately about the sport?!)

But I'm not the only one taking note. This year's World Cup in South Africa is going to be the subject of ostensibly the most sweeping cross-platform media research ever. ESPN, in partnership with the Wharton Interactive Media Initiative (shout-out to my alma mater!) and a number of national media research agencies, plans to track media consumption of all things relating to the World Cup, laying the foundation for one heck of a bargaining chip in structuring future media deals with advertisers.

According to Ad Age, the ESPN initiative includes a number of industry firsts, including the first commercial use of an electronic mobile panel that tracks mobile media usage, as well as the use of iPhones as "electronic diaries of media consumption."

Huh. Sounds like a pretty sweet gig to me. What I wouldn't give to be the one monitoring the results! Having to watch hours and hours of soccer coverage .... that, truly, would be a labor of love. It'll be interesting to see what ESPN discovers, particularly in terms of smartphone usage and the interactive components of World Cup coverage. Perhaps even more interesting will be the subsequent negotiations with major advertisers, as media buys take on new, cross-platform relevance.

In any case, I'll be doing my own, slightly-less-formal, er, "research", as the games commence.

Tasty Thursday .... done properly

2010-03-18T12:18:00.000-05:00

Needless to say, I couldn't possibly agree with Erin's previous post any more strongly than I already do! Being the mistress of my own destiny certainly has its perks. In addition to the personal-fulfillment and remunerative aspects of such a nifty little arrangement, determining my own schedule means I get to plan days like today.

This sunny Thursday afternoon finds me working from home: connecting with clients, doing some writing, and pursuing exciting leads — all from the comfort of my own dining room. Decidedly a good thing, since today marks my first-ever attempt to bake a cake .... homemade carrot cake, no less! So far, the cake's in the oven and all's well. Indeed, the smells emitting from the kitchen are so intoxicatingly delicious that further concentration may be difficult.

But I will try, Dear Readers, because (as always) there are many exciting things going on in Crazy Savvy land that we want to share with you. (So many, in fact, that we've been too busy to write here all week ... mea culpa.)

We're excited to announce the launch of a wonderful client's website. Based in San Francisco, Proper Suit offers custom-tailored suits in fantastic fabrics to fabulously attire the dapper gentlemen in your lives. (It's a sad thing for me that, thus far, they only cater to men .... because otherwise I would totally be buying things for my closet! As if I need any more clothes.) Proper Suit prides itself on fit, style, and value — and we pride them on their exciting launch, and for being so fantastic to partner with in the development of brand messaging and more. Kudos! We hope a celebratory follow-up trip to San Fran will be in the works shortly, too.

In other news, we've been in meetings all week, and some exciting things are on the horizon. More soon! We've also been working furiously away under deadline for one of our East Coast clients (note to selves: it's an hour later out there .... so deadlines come an hour sooner! Luckily, we're on it), and the results thus far are looking very tantalizing. Tasty. Delicious. .... Oh wait, could I be distracted by the smell of my cake baking?

I think I'd better wrap this up before I get drool all over my keyboard.

A Brilliant Balancing Act

2010-03-12T10:54:00.003-06:00

Before Jen and I founded Crazy Savvy, I surmised (correctly, whew!) that there would be many facets of running my own business that I would find gratifying. Back when I was in the planning phases, knowing that I would be giving up a modicum of security by stepping out on my own, I drafted a list of the potential benefits of running my own show — a list heavily dominated by themes of autonomy, freedom, and flexibility.

Like all entrepreneurs, I was motivated by a desire to stretch my wings beyond the confines of my role as an employee. Now, a full nine months into this new life as a businesswoman, I can report that it really does feel wonderful to run my own show. I am continually delighted to observe just how much more productive I am now that work/life responsibilities can naturally flow as needed. To wit, it's parent-teacher conference time once again. How wonderful does it feel to be able to go during traditional working hours without that nagging feeling that I'm somehow shortchanging my employer? So. Wonderful.

This has me thinking about how businesses can structure workplace cultures that are truly supportive of work/life balance. As C/S continues to grow and evolve in the future, this is a value that will be at the core of our work environment. I am enjoying reading about companies near and far with innovative programs in this arena — Clockwork's Babies at Work program immediately springs to mind. Of course, Crazy Savvy is a bit young yet to be formulating such policies, but I'm filing examples like these away for future reference. (Got any to share? Hit me up. I'd love to see 'em.)

Speaking of work/life balance, here's wishing everyone a wonderful weekend. (Please let the sun come out in Minneapolis, weather gods! Please?)

My kingdom for .... a new iPhone

2010-03-09T13:11:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update to say ..... my tech-envy finally bubbled over when Erin upgraded her iPhone the week before last. I tried my best to resist, but in the end, I caved in and found myself, too, at the Apple store last weekend, buying the latest, greatest model of iPhone wonderment.

And I don't regret it for a second!

In other Crazy Savvy news, our corporate taxes are filed (yay for not procrastinating!), our March marketing initiatives underway successfully, and our numerous — and varied —projects keep life interesting. Even a wonky server glitch yesterday hasn't been able to dampen our spirits (although it made for a rather stressful hour-and-a-half — luckily, catastrophe was averted and all is well in C/S Land).

Maybe our buoyant joy springs from watching the snow melt away and seeing the first signs of green (okay, more like brown .... but whatever) grass. Maybe it comes from the satisfaction and excitement of tackling some nifty new work.

But I suspect a good portion of it comes from my burgeoning love affair with my new phone. Off to make puppy dog eyes at it .... more updates later this week!

America's next top (agency) model

2010-03-03T14:00:00.001-06:00

My oh my, this sunshine is glorious. Sunshine, the happy sight of Mn/DOT finally fixing all the potholes ... perhaps the impassioned spring fever pleas from my previous post have been heard by the Powers That Be. Hm ... having the weather gods on speed-dial would be a pleasant thing indeed. But enough frivolity! Today I'm going to ramble a bit about a trend I see in the agency world these days: the changing composition of what an agency looks like and how it operates.

Traditionally — certainly since the 19th century, when the ad biz began coalescing into the structure it still resembles today — the full-service, in-house model was usually considered the way to go. If you had the revenue, hire away, and bring the best and brightest on staff. Sure, the names of the departments may have changed quite a bit; a century ago, social media looked more like some dude in muttonchops and a top hat chatting over cigars and brandy about the wares of his client than Twitter or one of the thousands of other social media apps that now dot our technological landscape. But the principle, I think, remains largely the same. We want the best, and we want them on our team.

I'm not going to argue against that, for sure. To create the best, you've got to have the best talent (and guts, and an understanding client, and often a bit o' luck). But it seems to me that these days, many agencies are moving away from the bigger-is-better approach into something a bit more ad hoc, streamlined, freelance-friendly in terms of relationships with creatives.

I know when we were writing our business plan and figuring out how we wanted Crazy Savvy to function (can't believe that was more than a year ago already — how time flies when you're having fun), we thought a lot about this very question. Did we want to perhaps bring a designer or developer on board with us from day one? It had its appeals .... getting your working styles in sync, knowing you have someone to do the job no matter what. But we found ourselves thinking, what if it wasn't always the right person for the job? Did we really want to be so locked in?

We found the answer was a hearty no. We liked the option to bring in the right creative for whatever project we were tackling. Doing a print-heavy ad campaign for an environmentally-conscious fashion retailer? I know just the lad. Working on a Flash-intense website redesign for a sports team? I've got the right lady for the job. And so forth. We liked that, by keeping things small, we could keep them nimble, and ensure that we were able to bring precisely the right talent on the job to fit our clients' needs and visions. There are plenty of people who are good at a lot of things, but everyone — even the very best — seems to specialize in one or two things, and (just as crucially, in my opinion) have a genuine passion for them. That's the way we decided to set up shop, and for us, it's worked out brilliantly.

Of course, it's silly to think it works this way for everyone. The agency behemoths of the world aren't going to magically become a five-person shop overnight — nor should they. Some projects require a huge team, moving in synchronicity, to tackle all the requirements in a cohesive fashion. But it seems many small-to-midsize agencies are rethinking their approach to talent acquisition. It'll be interesting to see how this trend continues to play out as our economy in the States begins its bounceback from the recession (one hopes). It'll be interesting to see how clients' expectations and the bid and pitch processes evolve. It'll be interesting to see how creatives begin to talk about themselves, market themselves, see themselves. It'll be interesting all around .... and you can be sure to read about it here!

Spring fever

2010-03-01T12:27:00.005-06:00

Now that the Olympics are over, it's time to reclaim our free-time, bid adieu to spangles and spandex for the next four years (Johnny Weir, I'm looking at you), and get ready for spring. What's that?, you may wonder. What is spring, this most elusive and seductive of concepts? Well .... I can almost remember. As I recall, it has something to do with being able to go outside without cursing the gods of weather and your own continued existence in Minnesota. Oh, and sunshine. Green grass. Flowers. Baby animals. Maybe, if we're really lucky, the fixing of the potholes that now dot the streetscape of Minneapolis like chickenpox on a second grader. Yeah. Spring.

We're certainly feelin' the vibe here at Crazy Savvy. This week finds us brewing up some delicious marketing initiatives, both for ourselves and for some of our clients. It finds us putting the finishing touches on some budgets and proposals. It finds us in meetings, at our laptops, on the go. It finds us typing merrily away as we tackle a pretty major writing project. And it finds us really, really longing for spring ... oh, what, did you just insinuate that I have a one-track mind?

Well, perhaps. And nothing underscores spring fever like fanmail from distant, milder climes — in this case, the verdant forests and rocky shores of Oregon. Thanks for the shout-out, Jess .... and come visit Crazy Savvy HQ any time you like!

They love us, they love us, they really love us (just in time for Oscar season)

2010-02-25T11:56:00.006-06:00

Client 1: " Love, love, love it."

Client 2: "Everyone loved it."

We take client relationships seriously here at Crazy Savvy (though we often have fun doing so). Part of our approach to account management includes sitting down with our clients face-to-face after completing a project and discussing what worked, what didn't, and ways we could collaborate in the future. Today was one of those days .... and as the above dialogue indicates, our chat went well. Very well. So well, in fact, that we simply had to stop on the way home for a congratulatory lunch at Lucia's.

(Please don't burn down, Lucia's. I am already bereft over the demise — hopefully temporary — of both Heidi's and Blackbird, my south Minneapolis homes-away-from home. Stay strong, Lucia's! Avoid grease fires!)

I digress. It was great to sit down with some of our clients, including the organization's Executive Director and its Program Manager, and gain valuable feedback about the project we'd recently completed — an annual report and marketing vehicle for a public health institution. Not only did we glean some valuable insight (and hey, the heaping praise never hurts either), we were able to set the stage for next year's report and get the ball rolling early. Plus we were able to explore some other opportunities for collaboration .... always an exciting chat to have!

This Baby Needs a Name....

2010-02-19T13:36:00.003-06:00

Guess what I have in my hot little hands? Apparently its awesomeness is simply too much to capture in a still photo. Yes, I have finally updated my phone to a 32gb iPhone. Oh happy day, you are here. Now finish charging so we can play!

An Olympic feat .... of advertising savvy?

2010-02-17T11:21:00.003-06:00

Here at Crazy Savvy headquarters, Winter Olympic fever has officially set in. In what, precisely, do we find the allure? Is it the thrills and chills of watching the world's best athletes come together on an international stage? The satisfaction of cheering on Minnesota hometown heroes (heroines, more like!) like Lindsey Vonn and Natalie Darwitz? The excitement at witnessing sports that we otherwise wouldn't care less about, but for 2 weeks are transformed into ardent fans? (See: speed skating. Or maybe it's just the charms of Apolo Ohno. Hm .... maybe.) Is it the peculiar spectacle of watching the controversial but undeniably fascinating Johnny Weir prance about in sparkly pink costumes? (Ut-oh, have I just incriminated myself? Guilty as charged!)

Yes, yes — all of these things, and more. But the Winter Olympics are also of interest to us professionally, as they represent a world stage upon which to evaluate and examine advertisements, brand promotions, and corporate sponsorships.

Industry wisdom in the past has always been that the Winter Olympics are considerably less of a draw than the summer games — and less of a pull than other major sporting events, like the Superbowl and the World Cup, too. But with the Superbowl losing its holy grail-like luster for advertisers (you can read our analysis of this trend here) and the Winter Olympics gaining cultural traction with more marquee names and larger-than-life personalities, the times may be a-changin'. Indeed, research suggests that this is precisely the case, with ad minutes, costs-per-spot, and number of advertisers all increasing significantly since 1998. (For more great media insight about the Winter Olympics, check this out.)

Does this mean the ads are better? Well .... jury's out. I'll confess, I'm kind of a sucker for Visa's Go World campaign. (Then again, I could listen to Morgan Freeman read someone's grocery list and find myself rapt with attention and awe.) And Erin was moved by GE's Beautiful spot, which examines the intimate impact technology can have over the course of one's life. But — maybe it's my inner cynic — all the Olympic ads begin to blend together for me into one big, treacly, inspirational ball of mush.

Oh well. I still find myself transfixed to the television set during the Winter Olympics, excited about the various events, marveling (perhaps coveting?) the pink spangles of Mr. Weir.

Not-so-Superbowl

2010-02-09T11:34:00.003-06:00

Well. It took me a full 36 hours to stop licking my wounds about the Colts and their Superbowl loss. [Sniff, sniff.] A win would have (almost) redeemed what was otherwise a pretty lackluster outing ... a terrible halftime show by the Who (Tommy can you hear me? unfortunately I can), uninspired commentary, and ads that were less than stellar.

I remember being a kid and looking forward to the ads almost as much as the game itself. (I guess I should have known long ago where my career passions would take me ....) Particularly when I was growing up overseas, Superbowl ads represented a window into American culture that I otherwise was largely separated from — often gaudy and ridiculous, but also humorous and engaging .... not unlike American culture itself.

But this past year? Sheesh. Even the Budweiser ad featuring its famous Clydesdales was less-than-brilliant (though I'll freely admit it: I am a sucker for those big shaggy beasts and their Ugg-like feet). Of course, many of the Powers That Be in the ad industry are making the case that Superbowl ads simply don't have the cache they once used to. Many big-name brands are forsaking the 30-second spot — more and more expensive each year, recession and diminishing returns notwithstanding — in favor of other advertising channels. This Ad Age article makes the observation that, more and more frequently, it's up-and-coming brands that look to the Superbowl spot as the holy grail for visibility and brand promotion. Seems true enough ... for every ad by Coke or Audi, there was one for a company that left me scratching my head and thinking .... who? Really?

Whatever the case may be, I was underwhelmed by the overall creative. Megan Fox in a bathtub? C'mon .... can't we do better? What about Apple's ingenious 1984 spot, or EDS' hilarious Cat Herders (done by Minneapolis' own Fallon, no less)? Of course .... I suppose I'm not exactly the target audience for these things (see again: Megan Fox in a bathtub). Still, I was hoping to see more ingenuity: an actual concept, well-developed, instead of a few cheap sight gags. Then again, I also would have liked to see a Peyton Manning victory, and it just wasn't in the cards. Better luck next year, indeed.

A taxing business

2010-02-04T12:19:00.004-06:00

If our social media presence and blogging activities have been less focused (and witty) this week than usual .... blame it on the IRS. We've been up to our ears in receipts and paperwork as we bring our 2009 finances to a close. Fortunately we'd kept careful records all year, but we're doing the extra legwork on our end now to ensure we keep our accountant happy. (A happy accountant = a business owner's best friend.)

Happily, Erin is a QuickBooks goddess — so I don't have to worry over columns and sorting functions and ledgers. (Deep, deep sigh of relief from yours truly.) No, no .... my tax season task is a much more enjoyable one: I get to do all the filing. And as anyone who knows me would undoubtedly attest, organizing things is truly a labor of love. (A quick peek into my color-coordinated closet would more than confirm this statement.)

So now that you know we're not trapped in some secret underground bunker away from the world, and are instead merely doing our due diligence to get things ready for our corporate returns, you can rest easy, friends. And I'll get back to filing .... but not before sharing our latest fanmail. Cruel, cruel world! To receive a postcard from sunny Hawaii as we sit inside C/S headquarters on a gloomy, sleeting day — this is indeed a twist of the knife! But of course, we're always glad our jet-set fans think of us as they travel the world ... and we hope they'll be so kind as to soak in some rays on our behalf, too!

New York Groove

2010-02-01T11:20:00.004-06:00

Back in Minneapolis ... again. Phew, the jet-set life is great but I am looking forward to a nice, relaxing week back in the Twin Cities. New York City was fab, of course — as always. It was decidedly a culinary extravaganza: oysters, more oysters, sushi, lamb as rare as the chef will cook it, poached pear French toast, and pretty much every other delicacy known to the world. But enough of that ... it's making me hungry. (I'm always hungry.)

Being in NYC also made me reflect on some trends in technology. Stuck in a cab during rush hour, I was forced to endure the endless chattering of the tv in the backseat .... sitcom promos, ads, news ticker updates .... it made me long for the good old days, when I could listen to the sweet sounds of horns honking, cab drivers screaming out their windows in multiple languages, and brakes screeching as yet another pedestrian is nearly run down.

And so too with plane rides .... being in the airplane cabin used to be the rare bulwark of peace and quiet in the face of relentless technology (well, assuming you didn't have a screaming child kicking your seat, as I did on my flight to La Guardia). But now .... wireless access, in-flight calls .... is there nowhere I can go without being subject to people's private phone conversations (I don't care about your bunions! Or your investment portfolio! Or how potty training is coming along with your baby!) and the endless tap-tap-tap of the iPhone? Especially as an on-the-go entrepreneur, I fully appreciate the advantages of portable technology .... but my inner Luddite longs for a break from the constant barrage of technological input. (That's why it was nice to leave my laptop at home for once and, for 48 glorious hours, shut off my phone. Now if only I could make everyone around me do the same thing...)

But I don't mean to sound cranky. It's nice to come home to Clyde (my beloved Macbook, for those who missed it) and an inbox chock full of emails. It's nice to be able to check the weather (cold and dreary, for the record), the latest news, my buddies' Facebook statuses — all from a device that fits quite literally in the palm of my itty bitty hand. It's nice to hear my phone chirp, nice to hear the alarm go off at ... no, no, wait. That isn't quite so nice.

Annnnnyway. My point is, there is a place for technology — but there's also a place to escape from it, or at least there should be. And speaking of escaping to other places, today's fan mail comes to us from another NY destination — not the City, but upstate, from Albany. As always, thanks for the shout-out!

Colorado recap, etc.

2010-01-27T09:32:00.005-06:00

Phew! What a wild week it’s been. My weekend in Colorado was lovely ... for the most part. Visiting old friends, shopping and ice skating in Vail, sipping wine by the fireplace at our chalet, playing in the snow — these things I like. Getting snowed in on the mountain passes coming out of Vail and missing my flight? Well, I like that somewhat less.

But one of the (many) perks of owning your own business is being able to work from pretty much wherever. So my wonderful, understanding business partner and I were able to conduct all sorts of business over the phone — all while I lied in my king-sized bed at the Westin in Denver, duvet pulled up to my neck, thinking that maybe it’s not such a bad thing to miss one’s flight every once in awhile....

And what business there was to discuss! In addition to wrapping up a good bit of work last week, we have some truly exciting stuff coming down the pipelines. These projects will span the country and our own capabilities here at C/S ... good stuff, folks. And speaking of spanning the country, yours truly is off in just 48 hours to the city that never sleeps. It’ll be, as always, a delicious mix of business and pleasure in New York City ... and hopefully, no blizzards this time around.

In that spirit, I’ll end with our latest epistolary updates .... this time from none other than moi. (Hey, I practice what I preach!) Straight from the Rocky Mountains, plenty of love for (and from!) Crazy Savvy.

Celebrations, Blizzards & Other Adventures

2010-01-25T12:53:00.004-06:00

What a week it has been here at Crazy Savvy! Last week we had the gratifying experience of celebrating the soft launch of a West Coast client’s innovative (and stylish!) endeavor. While the details are not available for public consumption just yet, suffice it to say we had a blast consulting on this project. We celebrated in true Crazy Savvy style at one of our favorite restaurants. Alas, somehow I managed to fail as our photographer documenting the festivities. For this, I’m not quite sure if Jen has managed to forgive me. I’m hoping it’s a dim memory, since the next morning she racked up a few more frequent flier miles and jetted off to Vail for the weekend.

As soon as the mail arrives, I will update this blog post with a postcard image courtesy of Jen, who has apparently so charmed the state of Colorado that it couldn’t bear to part with her just yet. Here I thought walking on the icy sidewalks of Minneapolis was treacherous.....but I must admit it doesn’t quite compare to spending literally hours stuck on a mountain pass. During a blizzard. On the way to the airport. Lucky for her, a missed flight equals a day to play in Denver, in between proposal and contract discussions, calendar coordinations and machinations, et al.

From Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Technology and Back Again

2010-01-19T10:56:00.010-06:00

Yesterday, since the mavens of Crazy Savvy took the day off in honor of the memory of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., I thought it only appropriate to take a few moments with my children to reflect on the reason they had the day off from school. So we took the opportunity to listen to his legendary "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Wow. Sixteen minutes of pure brilliance. It is both sobering and awe-inspiring to see how much of his speech remained not only relevant but also so very resonant today.

Afterwards, I entreated my eight-year-old to come up with some of his dreams for the nation. Once we got past his gut reaction ("I have a dream that one day, this nation will have....more legos!") he had some interesting things to say. One of my favorites was his wish for "more technology." He paused for a moment, shook his head slightly, and offered, "I really don't know why I want that....but I do." This troubled him slightly, but he couldn't put his finger on the reason behind his unease.

He sees more than he realizes. The promise of "more" and "new" and "better" technology is indeed alluring. Will I want Apple's new tablet even though my beloved MacBook is serving me just fine? Well, maybe. As they say, the thrill of new toys doesn't wear off....it just grows more expensive. But also like new toys, the thrill wears off all-too-quickly when technology exists merely for its own sake. (Which is why I probably won't rush out to be the first on the block to have a tablet in my hot little hands.) I'm gratified that on some level, he's already realized this at the age of eight. Perhaps having a front-row seat to Crazy Savvy's approach to social media — helping clients integrate these new tools into a broader marketing effort grounded in strategy — has worn off on him!

I will leave you today with one of my favorite MLK quotes, which is surprisingly relevant to the (admittedly meandering) topic at hand: "The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education." — Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Art & Industry

2010-01-15T10:55:00.004-06:00

On this fine Friday morning, I thought we'd provide a recap of our artistically-driven week — and a look-forward to our weekends! Last night we stepped out for a night on the town, taking advantage of Jazz 88's monthly event Jazz After Work. Erin and I got dolled up in cute dresses and cute shoes (well, naturally) and enjoyed cocktails, snacks, and live jazz at the St. Paul Hotel. Jazz 88 puts these lovely events on monthly, at nifty locations around the Twin Cities — like Cafe Maude and the Artists' Quarter, to name just a few. They're fun, they're free, and they're great networking opportunities. The next one will be held on February 11th at Vic's in Minneapolis — good times, for sure!

.... Even if we did get a parking ticket in downtown St. Paul. Ouch. I guess we should have valeted it. Alas. (But still ... St. Paul Hotel, so pretty at night!)

I intend to continue with an artsy theme for the weekend, kicking off my Friday night with the opening of the spotguess exhibition at the spotArt gallery in northeast Minneapolis. Featuring live music, refreshments, and great art by local artists including the infinitely talented (and inherently wonderful) Jennifer Stano ... it should be a grand time. Plus, I plan to wear a decidedly one-of-a-kind pair of pink stilettos ..... who can say no to that?

Twitter, in decidedly more than 140 characters

2010-01-11T11:21:00.013-06:00

Today I am going to attempt to tackle a thorny subject in the world of social media: Twitter. More specifically, I'm going to rant a bit (consider yourselves forewarned) about the tragic misuse and abuse of this fantastic social media tool.

I have to admit, when Twitter first debuted, I was skeptical. Why in God's name would I want to track the minutiae of other people's lives, often people I don't even personally know? But, as a social media consultant, I thought I should practice what I preached, so I sucked it up and joined the Twitterverse as crazysavvy (you can follow us here!).

Slowly, slowly, my opinions changed. I grew to not only tolerate Twitter but actually, well, like it. In addition to being an incredibly useful marketing and PR tool, it was kind of .... fun .... to read the non sequitur comments and daily happenings of everyone from our clients to long-lost friends to industry colleagues to celebrities. It provided the perfect platform for my often-random mode of thinking. It gave Erin and I the giggles, as we'd race each other to update the latest C/S news or insight or snippet of hilarious banter.

But although Twitter is undeniably a great business tool and vehicle for disseminating information (when used correctly), I frequently find the postings of professionals to be, well, awfully dull. One of the things we tell clients when they're wading into the Twittersphere is to consider the line between personal and professional, and I certainly can't overstate that advice. Clients and consumers aren't going to want to know if you're having your period, just got dumped, or (not so secretly) hate your current project at the office .... trust me. At the same time, though, those who let no personality shine through on their Twitter accounts risk becoming nothing more than a databot bore. Relevant links to news and articles are great — in moderation. But endless retweets of pure content with no editorializing whatsoever clutters my Twitter feed and makes me not only annoyed but (far worse) bored to tears.

The dichotomy between function and fun is something we try to stay on top of on our C/S Twitter account. (I guess y'all can be the judges ...) Of course we'll tweet salient articles, engage in industry discourse, and post key links to content. But we also try to let our personalities come through as authentically as possible (although given my colorful vocabulary, a bit of censorship is frequently called for!) Whether it's snippets from an amusing conversation, thoughts on what's for lunch, or simply something too hilariously non sequitur to ignore, we do our best to pepper in personal commentary along with professional insight.

Of course, we're uniquely positioned to have this kind of latitude. We are our brand, so highlighting our (quirky) personalities is as much a business decision as a matter of personal preference. Running our own company gives us the freedom to say what we want without having to worry about what the higher-ups would think .... God forbid. Plus, we work in advertising, notoriously a more free-wheeling, unbuttoned industry than, say, insurance sales or the clergy.

But I think the takeaway, regardless of industry, is that Twitter is only as useful as how you choose to portray yourself on it. In the tech-saturated 21st century, most users these days are savvy enough to search out pure content if that's all they're looking for. The real value-added of Twitter (in my oh-so-humble opinion) is that you can disseminate information, but in a way that also allows you to be engaging and witty and, well, you. (At least as 'you' as one can be in 140 characters .... )

Case in point? Well, I'm almost embarrassed to admit this .... but, fortunately, I have no shame. Of all the myriad tweeps we follow, I think I most look forward to the ramblings of OGOchoCinco. (Erin is going to kill me for writing this .... oh well.) I mean, yeah, he could use his Twitter to post links to the latest NFL news and results ... but instead his followers (659,722 and counting) get to see the ins and outs of pro football from a decidedly .... unique .... perspective. (For the unaware, Chad Ochocinco is a wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, known as much for his colorful personality as his football skills.)

Now I'm by no means advocating that most people should follow his example and post updates about cheating girlfriends, lame parties, and other drawbacks to lifestyles of the rich and famous. But I do feel there's a lesson here, somewhere beneath all the hilarious insanity. Ochocinco's ramblings — unmistakably his own and not the work of some publicist or agent — have attracted nearly 700,000 followers and the attention of the media ... while 2009 league MVP Peyton Manning's Twitter account boasts a measly 6,442 followers, a tiny number for a much bigger football star. I think this example, silly though it may be, underscores a basic fact: people want authenticity as well as content from those they follow on Twitter ... fun as well as function.

OK, diatribe over. On a more traditional media note, we received our first postcard of 2010! It arrives from Phoenix, AZ, where I have no doubt the weather is considerably more tolerable than ours here in Minneapolis.

Facebook: Where Lingerie Meets Public Health?

2010-01-08T11:44:00.006-06:00

Black

Pink

Polka-dot

White

None (!) ooh la la

Chances are, your Facebook news feed of status updates looked a bit like this yesterday and this morning. Why, what is this we have on our hands? A viral phenomenon? Well, yes, it is true that this morning I know a lot more about the bra colors of my friends and family than I did 36 hours ago. But to what end?

Ostensibly, our newfound lingerie knowledge comes courtesy of a campaign to raise awareness of breast cancer. A worthy cause to be sure. And I'm certainly not averse to the use of bold, even provocative, strategies to raise awareness of health issues — when they are used effectively. But this little escapade is today's reminder that a campaign devoid of substance is meaningless, no matter how wide its reach. I particularly enjoyed this take on the matter.

And thus concludes today's mini-marketing rant. Have a happy (and warm) weekend, all!

Top Ten in 2010

2010-01-06T10:01:00.009-06:00

In honor of the new year and new decade, it seems apropos to kick off my first post of 2010 with a top ten list. So ..... here are the top ten things the ladies of Crazy Savvy are looking forward to in the coming year:

10. Crazy Savvy website, 2.0. We so love our website. (Well, okay, maybe we're a bit biased ... ) And that's why we're excited to unveil its next iteration early this year. More content, more photos, interactive case studies ... prepare to be amazed.

9. It's going to be a jam-packed year in the world of sports. We're super excited for the Winter Olympics ... and yours truly is hoping for a Colts - Vikings Superbowl. (Erin is rolling her eyes and wondering how I can follow football so passionately.) I'm gearing up my brackets for the annual father-daughter March Madness extravaganza (the prize? $10, wasabi peas, and bragging rights for the next 365 days .... priceless). And in the realm of soccer, this summer is the World Cup .... Given my fondness for certain team members, I will be pulling for Team Spain.

8. As we get in the '10 groove, we're excited to partner with some great new clients and embark on some nifty new projects here at C/S. From web design to branding initiatives to ad campaign copy, we've got some fun things to look forward to as we start our year! Check our blog for updates and more ....

7. In the realm of beauty and fashion, my wonderful business partner is excited to begin the new year with a new haircut .... commencing tomorrow. Yours Truly is already dreaming about the Fall 2010 collections .... because it's never too early to plan your wardrobe.

6. The unveiling of the Mac Tablet ... we're curious to see how Apple's latest confection will be received by the market and how it'll affect our industry in particular. And dare we hope for a new and improved iPhone too? (I am hoping they'll launch one in pink .... )

5. Trips and adventures, large and small. Both Erin and I have plenty of plans to travel in the coming year ... our calendars kick off with my flight to Denver in 2 weeks, for a mixture of work and play and (maybe) embarrassing attempts at winter sports. (If I don't come home in traction, the trip will be considered a success.) And this is just one of many trips on our agendas .... as our plans will take us everywhere from the East Coast to the tropics to (maybe) Paris for Christmas.

4. In terms of pop culture, we've got high hopes for 2010. I'm dying for the 7th Harry Potter movie and the release of the new Fleet Foxes album. Erin can't wait to devour a new paperback collection of short stories by Minnesota native Louise Erdrich. We're both drooling to see Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, out this March. And it goes without saying, but ..... Mad Men Season 4 can't air soon enough! We need more Don Draper in our lives.

3. Summer. End of story.

2. In September, Proud Mama Erin will send her littlest one off to kindergarten .... she's on her way to an empty nest! And in less momentous but equally thrilling (for me) news, I'm excited to crack out The Dress for a decadent dinner at La Belle Vie .... the result of a Scrabble wager decided most deliciously in my favor.

1. And .... drumroll please .... we're super excited (already) for the 2010 Crazy Savvy Postcard Contest. We had so much fun with last year's that we decided to make it an annual C/S tradition. So, ladies and gents, get scribbling!

Yeah, all in all, I'd say we have a pretty exciting year in store .... assuming we can survive the hell that is January in Minnesota.

Happy New Year! And the Winners Are....

2010-01-04T11:08:00.003-06:00

Now that we've officially rung in the new year, Crazy Savvy style, the time has come to announce the much-anticipated winners of our postcard contest.

With so many great postcards received from destinations near and far, your judges found it necessary to establish two categories for awards: national and international. Even with two categories, we found it difficult to select a winner!

***drumroll, please***

....In the National Category, our winner is this saucy Marc Jacobs postcard hailing from Chicago:

...And in the international category, our winner is this classic postcard from Finland (which is, incidentally, perhaps the only place in our readership colder than Minneapolis today!)

Lucky readers, be on the lookout for prizes coming your way shortly!

And while we're on the topic of mail, can I just say how much I have enjoyed the still-growing cache of holiday cards and letters we've received? We are lucky to collaborate and convene with such a creative and talented bunch of professionals. Special thanks to our friends everywhere from Target, Coldwell Banker Burnet, and Edina Realty to Jump New Media and the studio of Kristian Bjornard — not to mention the many others who took the time to send us holiday greetings!

A year to remember

2009-12-31T10:57:00.007-06:00

As we close out not only the year but the decade, it seems apropos to reflect a bit on where we've come from and where we're going. It's hard to believe tomorrow will mark the first day of 2010. It doesn't seem like all that long ago that the world trembled at the prospect of Y2K, with the more intrepid worrywarts stockpiling canned goods and avoiding technology. (Don't worry, for those folks, they can now wait with bated breath for 2012 and the Mayan calendar's prognostications of doom and destruction.) A lot changes in a decade .... ten years ago, it would never have occurred to me that I'd end up working in advertising, or that I'd be an entrepreneur before I hit 30, or that I would come to love cooking, soccer (um .... Fernando Torres in specific), and the color pink. Who knew?

It's odd to think back even a year ago. Crazy Savvy was as yet nothing but a gleam in our eyes (ha ha) and a plan for the distant future. We would never have guessed that opportunity would come knocking so soon, or that we'd have the wherewithal and the gumption (and, let's face it, the luck) to get our business up and running so quickly and so smoothly. Yes, 2009 was a good year in a lot of ways, for both Erin and yours truly .... professionally and personally, we've embarked on plenty of adventures and turned over lots of new leaves.

Speaking of adventures, it's time to recap our 2009 Crazy Savvy Fan-Mail-Extravaganza. As promised, we will be crowning our postcard contest winners early next week (prizes to follow!) .... Erin and I will confer and pick the cream of the crop. In the meantime, though, let's take a trip around the world together as we revisit some of our favorite bits of fan mail.

Since we sent out our call for letters in early August, we've received postcards from 4 continents and 7 different countries. Our longest distance love letter arrived from Johannesburg, South Africa (8,979 miles) — although Kyoto, Japan was a close second at a distance of 8,682 miles. Our nearest bit o' fanmail came from Grand Marais on Minnesota's North Shore — a mere 289 miles from C/S headquarters. The postcard arriving from the place with the warmest average temperature would be my lovely missive from Negril, Jamaica (oh what I wouldn't give to be back there right .... about .... now), while a letter from Finland takes the cake for the coldest. Every time we check our mailbox and find that a new note awaits us, we're giddy with delight .... so keep 'em coming in 2010!

We wish all our fans, friends, and followers a very happy new year and best of luck in 2010. As for me, I'll be ringing in the new decade with Veuve Clicquot and plenty of exciting plans for 2010 and beyond!

Madcap Holiday Recap

2009-12-29T14:02:00.007-06:00

From the shores of snowy Lake Superior to the banks of the mighty Mississippi, both Jen and I got some travel in this holiday season and I'm happy to say, we're no worse for the wear (if a little tired!) — and that's saying something given the weather bookending our travels!

As Jen mentioned, I was off in St. Louis visiting with my main squeeze's near and dear. Great conversations, terrific food, adorable children, and lots of laughter — in short, everything a holiday should hold. All too quickly, we were on our way back for round two of celebrations closer to home.

Jen did her traveling in reverse fashion, heading off to a beautiful inn on Christmas Day for some much-deserved pampering and fireplace time.

Finally, for those of you who may not have yet seen them, here's a peek at Crazy Savvy's original holiday card, featuring the original illustrations of artist Anthony Kamstra. Happy New Year!

A Crazy Savvy Christmas

2009-12-22T09:04:00.004-06:00

With t-minus 3 days until Christmas, it's time to send holiday cheer to our C/S fans ... and then take a well-earned break! The past week at Crazy Savvy headquarters was as busy and bustling as the Elves' toyshop up there at the North Pole. In addition to posting our holiday cards (thanks for all the great feedback!), baking and delivering chocolate chip oatmeal cookies to clients and vendors (and maybe eating more than a few ourselves ... ), and tidying up our accounts and bookkeeping in anticipation of the year's end, we also saw the completion of a major project ... phew!

For this particular client, Santa came a little early, as we were able to deliver their annual report (lookin' pretty awesome, if we do say so ourselves) from the printer — ahead of schedule, no less. To say they were thrilled would be the understatement of the year. Woo-hoo!

With this checked off our to-do lists (going to find out if we've been naughty or nice ...), it's time for a holiday roundup. My wonderful business partner is currently vacationing in St. Louis (no doubt warmer than it is here!), and will return to the Cities in time to spend a peaceful Christmas at home with family. I am reversing the trend, first spending Christmas Eve with kith and kin, and then heading up to Bayfield, WI for a peaceful long weekend at a bed & breakfast on the shores of Lake Superior. Merry Christmas to us, indeed!

These relaxing holiday trips will no doubt leave us feeling refreshed, energized, and ready to kick off 2010 in high style. And speaking of high style .... today's image is a snapshot from last weekend's birthday-holiday soiree .... I feel like, with a dress this rockin' (thank you Betsey Johnson), who needs actual ribbons and bows under the tree? (Well, ok, I probably still do. You know our PO Box address ... ha ha ha!)

So, we're wishing all our fans and friends a very merry holiday season. We'll be back in action soon, but in the meantime, have fun, drive safe, and stay warm! (Oh yeah, and send us postcards .... because when we're back from Christmas respite, we'll conduct the C/S Card Contest 2009 and crown our champion!) Happy holidays to all!

Spreading holiday cheer... And a few extra calories!

2009-12-16T13:06:00.012-06:00

With our holiday cards in the post, Jen and I turned our attention to matters of a culinary nature yesterday.

Armed with a recipe developed by a friend of ours who happens to be an extraordinarily talented chef and food stylist, we cranked up the holiday tunes — everything from classics like Nat King Cole to punk rock renditions that made Jen cry.

We had the good fortune to find an enthusiastic young assistant who specialized in quality control — are those chocolate chips up to snuff? Better try another just to make sure.

I totally put Jen to work in the kitchen. I'm happy to say she rose to the occasion. Just look at her wielding that spatula! You'd never guess that this was the first time she's baked cookies as an adult.

The results were so delicious — and a select few of our beloved readers (and clients!) have firsthand knowledge of this fact! — that we have decided to make this an annual Crazy Savvy tradition.

A recipe for fun

2009-12-15T09:13:00.004-06:00

Ingredients:

2 business partners, slightly addled

1 great holiday card concept

1 bottle of wine (not cooking wine, s'il vous plait)

10 sheets of notebook paper, to be used for sketches by a decidedly untalented sketch artist (ie, yours truly)

4 sheets of drawing paper, to be used for sketches by an artist who can actually .... draw (that would be our talented illustrator Anthony)

2–5 hours in InDesign, depending on who's using the program (considerable time is saved if this is Erin and not me)

4 lines of whimsical, slightly irreverent copy

1 hour of focused proofreading (optional, but highly recommended)

Liberal use of the color pink, as garnish

Directions:

Combine business partners, holiday card concept, and bottle of wine; mix well. Add irreverent copy and sketching paper. Remove sketches by Jen; insert sketches by Anthony. Garnish with a healthy dose of the color pink and complete the process with a highly focused round of proofreading (Note: this step particularly useful if amount of wine added to the recipe is increased.) Send cards to printer; await delivery with bated breath.

Yield: 250 amazing holiday cards

And folks, they're in the mail now! Check your mailboxes this week for some holiday cheer, as only we can provide. (Yes, we will eventually post pictures of our cards, but not until they've been received and thoroughly drooled over by our fans. There's no way we're spoiling the fun here!)

And to compound the holiday cheer, this afternoon the principals of Crazy Savvy will find themselves in the kitchen, whipping up delicious confections for our most beloved clients and vendors. As anyone who knows me well can attest, this would have been a highly frightening proposition a year ago .... but my cooking skills have rather improved since then. My eating-cookie-dough skills, though, remain unparalleled. Mmmmmmmm .....

On an unrelated but equally tasty note, today's postcard comes to us all the way from the Czech Republic! Our literary postcard (thankfully featuring Kafka himself and not, say, a cockroach ... ) arrives from Prague, city of gorgeous buildings, music, and really good beer. Thanks, Jen & Scott!

Hot off the presses

2009-12-11T10:48:00.004-06:00

The digital age has revolutionized the creative industry. Darkroom magic tricks give way to the miracles of Photoshop, illustrators with pen and ink have been largely replaced by Illustrator (though not completely .... see our holiday cards for proof that this fine art is still alive and well!), and promotion these days is as much about social media and viral buzz as it is about media buys. For us in the field, this often changes the nature — though not, one hopes, the spirit — of the day-to-day work we do.

That’s why there’s something oddly fun about the printing and production process. Wait, wait — hear me out. Yeah, no one in their right mind likes 4 a.m. press checks or frantic calls from proofreaders on Saturday nights. But there’s something viscerally satisfying, at least for me, in getting to lay my hands on a piece we’ve created as it comes hot off the presses.

So few things in our line of work are tangible, tactile. We create websites and other interactive applications, but the work itself is something off in the ether (behold: my amazingly sad grasp of how the Internetz actually work ... ) You can click it, send it to a friend, tweet it ... but you can’t touch it. It’s a similar phenomenon for branding initiatives, in my eyes anyway. We may create an identity system and work on the collateral it generates ... but just as often, we hand off a logo, style guide, and identity system to the client, and step away (and pray that our hard work isn’t bludgeoned to death in bad in-house PowerPoint presentations and internal communiques .... but that’s another ballgame entirely!) Needless to say, this sense of distancing is true in our pure consulting work as well.

I’m not in any way complaining .... variety is the spice of life, and for a creative, it seems as necessary as trendy glasses and an iPhone. But it’s always a secret (not so secret anymore, I suppose) delight to work on a print project and see it through production. It’s nice to hold the finished product in your hands and think .... this is mine, my baby, my precioussssss .... (cue creepy music). It’s a nice reminder of the way things used to be, although I certainly wasn’t alive to see them that way! (Thank you, Mad Men.)

Anyway, that’s been the week’s experience for us ... a project we’ve been working on for months is at last at the presses (oh, more beautiful words have ne’er been spoken!) A more perfect end to our week could not be imagined!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

2009-12-09T09:58:00.003-06:00

Today is the kind of day that I'm so glad that I get to call the shots. You see, the first big snowstorm of the season is under way in Minneapolis right now. It's ugly out there. And yet the true Minnesotans all around me are trudging forward. (Needless to say, I do not count myself in this hardy group.)

You can't turn on the news without hearing words like "blizzard," "snow emergency," "winter storm warning," and "wind chill."

I would like to replace those words with "down comforter," "laptop," and "coffee."

And the beautiful thing? Voila! Done. I am the mistress of my own working environment, after all. Which is not to say that I'm not working today, for I most certainly am. But in our line of work, I've always failed to see the reason for trudging through snow drifts and traffic jams to congregate in an office setting. If ever there was a good reason to collaborate via technology, I'd say winter in Minnesota qualifies nicely. And dare I say, working with a down comforter close at hand might even boost my productivity.

Keep warm out there, locals!

The art of naming

2009-12-07T13:05:00.006-06:00

When I hand someone my business card (a treat that, honestly, will probably never grow old), one of the first things that I almost always hear is .... Crazy Savvy, huh? Where did you get your name?

Well, it's a fair question. When Erin and I began to finalize plans for our business, of course we devoted ourselves to the momentous task of picking a name. Much like naming a child (something I know nothing about) or a pet (something I know all too well!), choosing a name for your business is a Very Big Deal. It sets the tone for who you are and what you do, and very often makes the difference in whether or not you can successfully market and promote your business. Too bland of a name and people are liable to forget who you are. Too avant garde, and people may not take you seriously. (Thankfully, working in advertising gives us a bit of leeway on that account. Crazy Savvy works fine for an ad agency, but maybe not so well for, say, an insurance company ... or school ... or mental health services provider ... )

Plus, there are pragmatic concerns. Can people easily spell your company name if they're looking for you in a search engine or if you tell someone your information over the phone? Are there other companies in your industry or in the local marketplace that share your name or have something so similar it will lead to confusion? Does that oh-so-witty name that you thought up have other connotations to broader audiences, connotations which may be less than savory? We've seen all too many cases where these factors aren't considered, leading to emails lost to the void, embarrassing mixups, last-minute name changes, and worse. (With a last name like Emelianova, I am empathetic to business owners with complicated-to-spell company names .... but I vowed, this time, it wouldn't be me!)

So .... the naming process. One of the first things we did was fill a gigantic whiteboard with adjectives that described who we are and the sort of agency we envisioned ourselves running. Crazy and savvy consistently rose to the top of this list. We liked crazy because it spoke to creativity, to a certain willingness to push the envelope, the desire to take risks in pursuit of creative solutions. We liked savvy because it seemed to capture the other side of what we do ... strategic, canny, intellect-driven, worldly, eyes open to our constantly shifting milieu.

We tried to come up with names that reflected this notion of duality, names that would convey the connotations behind crazy and savvy in a succinct, memorable, professional way. To put it mildly, we failed. As writers, we could come up with plenty of names .... and we did, oh believe me, we did ... but nothing quite felt right. Indeed, the process grew so protracted that we took to calling our company by shorthand, using the two adjectives we liked best — crazy and savvy, natch. Our business plan near completion, launch strategy in place, legal forms and accounting procedures double-checked ... and we still had no name, aside from the Crazy Savvy moniker we had come jokingly to use.

And then the lightbulb went on.

Why don't we just, well, call ourselves Crazy Savvy?

The rest is history. I can still recall the precise conversation in which our name was decided, and the deep sigh of relief we both breathed (at the exact same time, of course) as we realized we'd both been secretly hoping to call the agency Crazy Savvy all along. It just .... fit. It was pithy, easy to spell, rolled nicely off the tongue. It was fun to say, fun to write, and memorable. It spoke to our capabilities, our approach, and our identity, and it provided the foundation for tying together our brand and promotional materials cohesively. Most of all, it was unequivocally, organically us.

These are some of the lessons and experiences we return to now as we do naming and brand development work for clients — often, work that involves devising taglines, naming products or services, crafting a messaging platform around a brand identity. As Scrabble and crossword puzzle aficionados, it's work we enjoy greatly! And each and every time we sign our name to a proposal, contract, or letter (or, you know, sign autographs for our adoring fans ... ha), we both smile a little as we remember the adventures through which we became Crazy Savvy.

Confess-o-meter

2009-12-03T12:12:00.003-06:00

I have a confession to make.

I don't really watch TV.

Disclaimer: It's not exactly true to say that I don't watch television, period. I do tune in to the Daily Show whenever I remember to do so... (Oh Jon Stewart, how I adore you.) And my Mad Men predilections are well-documented. It's just that...my evenings do not routinely involve turning on the television.

Digression: This was aptly illustrated last night, when I did, in fact, turn on the television with my children to watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. At the first commercial break, a look of horror came over my four-year-old's face and she wailed at the sudden and cruel disappearance of the show. It quickly became apparent that she does not know what a commercial break is.

So is all of this just awful of me to confess as a marketing professional? Shouldn't I be immersing myself in pop culture, after all? Don't I need to tune in to keep up with the latest trends in advertising and branding? Well, actually, no, not at all. I do just fine via the Internetz and other media consumption, thankyouverymuch.

And of course I do have Jen to fall back upon in case I need someone with more authentic broadcast cred....at least when it comes to the NFL, anyhow. (Uh, go Colts?)

Guilty pleasures

2009-12-01T11:32:00.003-06:00

We are lucky, here at Crazy Savvy. We choose our own clients. If we don't want to work with an organization or company .... we don't. It's pretty simple. Both Erin and I have learned, from our years in the industry, that life is too short to take on migraines knowingly .... life is bound to throw you some one way or another, but there's no sense looking for trouble. One of the myriad advantages of owning your own agency? You get to make decisions like that ..... no means no.

Others in our field aren't so lucky, though. And that's why this website has become our newest guilty pleasure (well, that along with Go Fug Yourself, Garance Dore, and Kickette, of course).

Happy reading! More later this week .... right now we're busy putting the finishing touches on a big project and sending it off to press. Happy December!

Giving Thanks

2009-11-30T11:47:00.004-06:00

As I sit down to write this, I've just enjoyed a piece of homemade pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream (ah, the advantages of having a kitchen at the ready!). After a long weekend full of gourmet delights and laughter with friends and family, it's only fitting to consider a few of the things I am thankful for this year at Crazy Savvy:

First on the list, natch, is the birth of Crazy Savvy! As faithful readers are well aware, the fates aligned and we took the big step to open our doors for business earlier this year and we've never looked back. The experience of building a communications agency from the ground up has been such a satisfying endeavor.

Which brings me to a most important entry on my list: Our clients! We feel so blessed to have the opportunity to work with smart, engaging, creative individuals. You know who you are. Look for a more tangible token of appreciation in the weeks to come!

Of course, we are also thankful to have a growing corps of talented, trusted collaborators with which to partner. From photography to web design, proofreaders, and many other talented professionals, we work with the best. (Want to join the ranks? Drop us a line at info AT crazysavvy DOT com. We'd love to talk.)

Go ahead, call me shallow, but I also give thanks each day for my MacBook Pro. It's a thing of beauty. 'Nuff said.

I'm also so thankful for the support of my family and loved ones and thankful for the flexibility that being a business owner affords me to be present in their lives. (Oh what a wonderful feeling it is not to have to explain that you will be late to work, again, because of a parent-teacher conference, school performance, doctor visit, fill-in-the-blank.)

Finally, I'm thankful for a business partner who is the yin to my yang. The savvy to my crazy. (Or depending on the day, dare I say the crazy to my savvy?) Seriously, I couldn't ask for a more talented, dedicated partner in business.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you from Crazy Savvy!

Post, Script

2009-11-23T13:58:00.003-06:00

Happy Monday! We're busy, busy, busy on deadline so this will be brief .... but speaking of deadlines, if you want to be considered for the coveted title of Crazy Savvy's Coolest Fan (ok, maybe we can work on a wittier name for that ..... hm ....), you'd best get your postcards in by the end of the year! We'll announce our favorite letter at the close of 2009, and the winner will get .... something. A prize, glory, undying respect .... yeah, still working on the incentive program, too.

To inspire y'all to great epistolary works of genius, here is a postcard we just received in our mailbox today. It's from none other than ..... me ..... and it was sent two whole months ago from Jamaica. (Take it slow, mon, indeed.) I never thought I'd get it. But, better late than never, right?

Now, kidlets, get writing!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-11-19T11:27:00.005-06:00

We are very excited to say that this week marks the six-month anniversary of the founding of Crazy Savvy. Of course, we had been dreaming and scheming, planning and hoping for a long time beforehand. But it was this week in May, six months ago, that we finally made the jump — and we haven't looked back since. (Today's photos come from our celebratory excursion to Blackbird .... yum-a-licious.)

It's hard to believe that it's been six months. On the one hand, it feels like no time at all. I can blink my eyes and recall the very first days, when we were so busy getting things up and running — talking to our accountant, determining our legal structure, filing all the requisite papers, developing our business plan. I remember how giddily we turned to the task of creating our website, our brand, and our promotional materials, and the many Saturday and Sunday morning design and concepting meetings that accompanied these endeavors. I recall (with great fondness) the day we signed our first new client, and how validating it felt to be able to take it (quite literally) to the bank. It seems hard to believe, in light of these vivid memories, that we've already been running full steam ahead for a whole half-year.

On the other hand, though, it feels like we've been doing this forever (maybe because, in one capacity or another, we have been!) It was a dream for both of us for so long that finally being able to live it feels right, feels natural, feels ... well, feels great! When we look at our base of clients — spanning industries, corporate & not-for-profit sectors, geographic locations, project types, and more — and the identity materials, operations procedures, and routines that have come out of running C/S, both Erin and I feel like they've been there practically forever. Our lives have changed in so many ways over this past half year, and yet it feels incomprehensible that we were ever — or could ever — be doing anything but this.

We want to thank you, Loyal Readers, for accompanying us on this adventure! We've been truly blessed by the support, encouragement, expertise, and connections that our C/S faithful have shared with us. We hope to return the spirit of the favor by taking on some interesting pro bono work around the holidays — more on that later, too! As we look ahead to the next six months, we're excited to continue growing our business, honing our skills, exploring new partnerships, and creating great (we hope!) work.

The timeworn axiom goes: The more things change, the more they stay the same. In many ways, we've witnessed the very inverse of this statement, as our lives have been marked forever by the C/S experience, in ways we are only starting to understand. But in some fundamental fashions, the axiom also proves true .... for all the change and upheaval and newness we've experienced, we still love working together, still experience the thrill of getting paid to (essentially) be creative, think, and have fun. We still drink too much coffee, duel at Scrabble, giggle a little too loudly (in the privacy of our own office!) We're still, at heart, crazy and savvy ... and that, folks, is what it's all about.

Crazy Savvy Mishmash

2009-11-17T09:34:00.002-06:00

I don't think "busy" even begins to describe the current state of affairs here at Chez Crazy Savvy. But since idle hands are the devil's playthings — and since we're both looking forward to Christmas shopping, vacations, and other fun holiday-time expenditures — you'll hear no complaints regarding workload from us. What you will hear (um, read), though, is a brief update on what we're up to right here and now!

Client work is cracklin'. After a wonderful presentation to a client's Board of Directors Wednesday night, we're busy putting the finishing touches on a big marketing and communications piece designed to hit our client's doorstep just before the holidays. Since we're doing much of the design, in addition to all of the writing, creative/art direction, and production in-house, it means our lives have been taken over by InDesign and Photoshop .... oh joy. We're also getting acclimated with some new clients and projects, meaning scores of meetings and creative briefs are on our to-do lists. A website we've been working on is getting ready to go live in December, touch wood, so we're certainly looking forward to that, too!

On the C/S home-front, we're continuing to pursue business development leads .... some exciting things on the horizon ... and of course throwing ourselves into the design and concepting for our annual holiday card extravaganza. Phew! My brain hurts just thinking about it all. And these are but snippets of everything that's on deck here at Crazy Savvy ... yet, of course, we wouldn't have it any other way. As Thanksgiving approaches in (yipes) almost a week, we're so grateful for the opportunity to do the sort of work we love, partner with amazing clients, and have a fun time at the office each and every day. (Indeed, moments of stress are quickly diffused with an inane comment or quip, usually resulting in prolonged giggling fits.) We'll be back soon, ladies and gents, and in the meantime — don't forget to write!

MNAMA '09 Recap, Part III: Get Your Shop On

2009-11-13T09:28:00.005-06:00

Happy Friday! (And Friday the 13th, no less .... ) I'm afraid we'll be spending our weekends working, but that doesn't mean we can't breathe a sigh of relief that Friday has, at last, arrived. This has been one heck of a week here at C/S — wonderful, undoubtedly, but I don't think either of us has been able to catch our breath!

I did want to take the opportunity, though, to reflect on another great presentation from the MNAMA conference while it's still fresh in my mind. Entitled "Leveraging Customer Marketing to Drive ROI at Retail," the session was led by Amy Dragland-Johnson at SC Johnson and Shelly Sinas at Pepperidge Farm. The dynamic duo provided a fascinating overview of customer marketing — a topic about which I had much to learn!

Customer marketing, the guru-istas explained, essentially means approaching marketing from the retail perspective. Insights are developed from the shopper's point of view, and leveraged in retail situations to facilitate product purchase. There are tons of opportunities for creative approaches here — the presenters discussed, for example, an initiative debuted at Target stores that paired Ziploc baggies and Goldfish snack crackers on aisle endcap displays. Brilliant! Like Forest Gump would say, they go together like peas and carrots .... heh. The initiative was a smashing success, leading to sales growth for both products and resulting in increased overall brand visibility for both companies.

It was fascinating to take in this unique marketing perspective. As someone with an agency-side background, most of the work we do for retail products is complete well before the actual item hits stores. We're used to developing the back-end concept and creative for products, but tend to have very little interaction with the actual retailer or the consumer at point-of-purchase. It seems to me that there's a wealth of opportunity for enterprising agencies to utilize their creative talents to devise strategic customer marketing solutions — and both presenters echoed the client-side desire to work with agencies that can bring this skill to the table. Definitely something we'll explore more here at C/S!

But now, back to InDesign, photo selection, copywriting, and those other parts of The Biz .... Happy Friday, one and all!

MNAMA '09, Part Two: Social Media Roundup

2009-11-12T09:21:00.006-06:00

Now that Jen has had the opportunity to share a few of her impressions about the MN-AMA conference, it's my turn to dish a bit about the social media presentations we attended. I'll admit this right up front: I was curious to see if the presenters would be building up the Social-Media-as-Panacea Phenomenon that I see all too often. I was happy to see that my common sense manifesto was the prevailing theme of the day.

To shamelessly paraphrase James Carville, "It's the relationships, stupid."

As a social media consultant, I see my role as demystifying social media — taking down the veil of mystery (and the accompanying wave of panic!) that social media represents for so many savvy, intelligent people. Jen and I live and breathe social media — it was a no-brainer that it would be a core element of our business model. Just imagine the look on our faces when one of the introductory speakers for the keynote address was discussing the (large) proportion of Facebook users who log in daily and she extemporized, "Who are these people?" Seriously? At that point, I began to wonder just a bit at what the day was to hold for me on the "social media" track.

My fears were quickly assuaged when I entered the hall where the Geek Girls — Nancy Lyons and Meghan Wilker of Clockwork took the stage. Entertaining and engaging, they had me cheering internally with their message that social media is less about "fabulosity" and more about forging real connections. I guess you could say they were preaching to the choir.

My favorite moment in the presentation came when an audience member asked a statistical question and moments later, an iPhone-wielding librarian in the audience handily provided the answer. Now that's the power of technology (not to mention librarianship) in action.

Next up was John Olson, who also aimed to back up from the "noise" surrounding social media, focusing his speech heavily on connection. In a professorial fashion, he took us from La Belle Epoch to Palermo's grassroots anti-mob campaign fueled by black-and-white flyers up to the use of Twitter in the Iranian election in June in his overview of how various tools have been used to forge connections. It was refreshing to see social media given a bit of grounding in a historical perspective.

I was surprised when Olson — who spoke at length about his agency's approach to thinking in social circles — claimed to utterly neglect his own Facebook profile. "I don't really understand broadcasting your life," he opined. "Perhaps someone here could explain it to me." I didn't take him up on that particular challenge, but I did note with no small amount of irony he followed that rejoinder up with an incredible story of how through Facebook he was able to reconnect across countries and languages with a former caregiver for his adopted son. Pretty incredible stuff.

So there you go, folks. Social media offers you a new set of tools to be used in service to the timeless human goal of creating connections with those around us. This is true whether you are thinking in terms of your private life or your business. Not exactly groundbreaking in terms of my own professional development, I'm afraid, but a most enjoyable day all the same.

MNAMA '09 Conference Recap: Keynotes, Lovemarks, & Other Compound Words

2009-11-11T09:13:00.000-06:00

Hi. Now that my brain has stopped spinning from the endless PowerPoint presentations (and my feet have stopped bleeding from my adorable but not very practical Burberry heels), let's reflect on this year's MNAMA conference, entitled "Get in the Game: Smart Moves to Optimize Marketing ROI." (Wow, the very title gets my blood pumping faster .... not.)

I'll add some miscellaneous notes at the bottom, but for the moment I'll focus my attention on the morning's keynote speech. A la our beloved Wonkette, I'll try to recap the presentation somewhat line-by-line .... though with considerably less profanity than Wonkette serves up (alas).

The presentation was called Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands and was delivered by John Bowman and Peter Hubbell of the NYC-based ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi. Clearly they were smart guys, and with impressive credentials to say the least. My stream of consciousness thoughts appear below, along with the speakers' remarks.

They introduce the presentation. Lovemarks .... hm, makes me think of how my mom would refer to hickies back in high school. Interesting. The term is intended to denote brands that inspire "loyalty beyond reason" in their faithful consumers. Affection beyond reason? Hm, definitely reminiscent of high school!

So apparently in this brave new world of post-recession marketing, emotion, rather than reason and analysis, leads to action. Great, I agree completely. But it cracks me up that they then proceed to show myriad charts and analytics to substantiate this point. Gee, practice what you preach? But the graphs plotting the concepts of love and respect on a matrix do have their own amusing charm .... reminds me of marriage counseling or an Aretha Franklin song.

After a lot of great ad clips from brands like Toyota, Cheerios, and T-Mobile, we get to a rather astonishing denouement: people like things that make them feel good. I want to laugh at the obviousness of this statement, but then it occurs to me that perhaps, for many people in the marketing world, it isn't all that obvious. They can think of a thousand points of jargon (ha) and point to mile-high stacks of market research and analytics, but when it comes to understanding what motivates the consumer, I think our industry is often guilty of not seeing the forest for the trees. Marketing, to me, is fundamentally about common sense, and I think a lot of people in our field get paid a lot of money to complicate things .... which gives us all a bad rap. But rant over, back to the presentation.

The gurus sayeth: We should look at consumer relationships not as transactions but as means of involvement, participation, and relationship-building. "Join" has become the buzzword for the new marketing world order. Yeah, okay, I buy this. I think one of the reasons social media has taken off is that people want a dialogue, not some endless advertising soliloquy. But phrases like "participation economy" make me want to cry. The way to galvanize consumers to "join" isn't by replacing sterile phrases like "return on investment" with the equally (in my humble opinion) impersonal notion of "return on involvement." But maybe that's just my affinity for semantics coming out .... we don't like marketing jargon here at Crazy Savvy.

The gurus continue: Effective advertising means telling a story. Yes! Indeed! Brevity is key — the biggest laughs of the morning came when the presenters showed a series of ads, Life Compressed By Stuffit. Brilliant! But I am sick of hearing about "journeys." The presentation ended with advice for the industry. Most of it was great, but I had to laugh when they told us to "boost mystery, sensuality, and intimacy." Hm .... well, I will suppress further commentary here so as to not offend the sensibilities of any delicate reader, but that sounds more apropos for a Viagra ad or a honeymoon to me.

OK. So some random thoughts on the rest of the day:

It's freezing here at the RiverCenter .... for the love of all things wonderful, can someone turn up the heat? (No. No one did.)
If I see any more bad stock photography in PowerPoint presentations, I will gouge my eyes out. Although I suppose I should fortify myself for the eventuality ....
The visual theme and motif for the conference this year was chess. As somewhat (ok, "somewhat" being a massive understatement) of a chess aficionado myself, I found myself wandering around the various booths wanting to sit down and play at one of the chess boards on display. Even the culinary highlight of the day was a piece of dark chocolate in the shape of a chess piece (the queen, natch). Mmmm.
On the matter of giving presentations: Presenters, please assume your audience is functionally literate. There's no need to read verbatim off your slides. Kthnxbai.

All in all, my snarkery aside, it was a great day — met some wonderful people, gleaned interesting insights, arrived at new business ideas for C/S and our clients. Erin will check in tomorrow with more on the social media aspects of the day, so stay tuned!

Notes from the underground

2009-11-09T12:21:00.003-06:00

Manic Monday begins ..... oops, not now, but quite a few hours ago. We are busy! But it was a nice weekend. Business Partner Dearest took on the gargantuan task of repainting Crazy Savvy's world headquarters .... why do I have a nagging suspicion that my lack of involvement in this project may be due to my conspicuous predilection for pink paint? Heh. I kept busy enjoying the surprisingly temperate weather here in the Twin Cities, taking Pushkin for a long hike one day and spending tons of quality time with my wonderful pony on the other. But enough frivolity! We have business to attend to, after all.

It's a crazy (savvy) week for us indeed. After a wonderful client presentation first thing this a.m., we're energized and excited about the progress on our project together — a communications calendar for 2010. Tomorrow will find us heading off to the AMA's annual conference here in Minnesota, where we'll be up close and personal with one of the fantastic presenters (and a great friend!) Meetings, project drafts, proposals, and marketing materials round out our busy week. Phew!

But I would be remiss if I didn't mention one of the most fun (and near to our hearts) projects that we've got on our hands right now. Yes, the annual holiday card brainstorming has begun! We have a concept that we love, and are working on details and production specs as we speak (um, type). Try not to be too excited ..... cards won't be in the mail for another six or so weeks .... but, as with most of our other endeavors, they'll be well worth the wait! We promise. And if you know of any great design interns or illustrators who'd like a crack at this (and many other fun gigs) .... well, you know where to find us.

Fodder for Your Procrastination

2009-11-05T12:35:00.007-06:00

Jen and I often spot typos, egregious errors, and assorted grammatical failures in our travels. However, it just wouldn't be nice to share them with you here, now would it? (Little known fact: we once ran a blog that did just that in our pre-entrepreneurship days!) Still, I know we're not alone in our proclivity for enjoying English-language mishaps so I thought I would share a few of our favorite destinations when we need a respite from deadlines and the to-do list.

First off is the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. I will never tire of this site! It makes my head spin that so many people truly and utterly Do Not Understand the function of quotation marks. Always a pleasure.

We've also spent many a moment laughing ourselves silly over at the English FAIL blog. Good times, lovelies, good times.

Perhaps you are not a grammar geek? Well in that case, might I suggest you check out the ever-dependable Passive Aggressive Notes. It's always a happy distraction, I promise you.

Finally, anyone who has spent much time on Etsy will undoubtedly enjoy Regretsy. I'd tell you more, but, frankly, this is one you just have to experience for yourself.

And thus concludes my brief little tour of Internet amusements — my go-to sources for when I need a little pick-me-up. Got a good one I missed? I'd love to hear about it.

Casting call

2009-11-03T10:16:00.018-06:00

First off, hope all of our Devoted Readers had a very happy Halloween. We sure managed to keep busy: my beloved business partner attended a costume party and took her darling children trick-or-treating. (I am sure she's just thrilled with the copious amounts of candy they managed to snag ... nothing like a sugar-high before bedtime!) Yours Truly had a quieter night ... whipped up some homemade curry that was scary-delicious and lazed about on the couch watching horror flicks. Perfection! It was also a birthday weekend for moi ... Sunday the first found me older and, perhaps (if I'm lucky) wiser, too.

All in all, an eventful weekend.

But back to work. We’re excited to announce an opportunity to join the Crazy Savvy team! We’re looking for a talented, motivated graphic design intern to work with us on both client projects and some nifty promotional materials. Flexible schedule, roughly 10/hrs a week, and a great window into the Minneapolis creative world ... pretty cake, if you ask me. Tell your friends! Although we may be more-than-slightly biased, we think C/S is a pretty fun place to work.

If you go to MCAD, you can check out our job posting here. If not, shoot us an email at info@crazysavvy.com with a letter of introduction detailing your qualifications and interest in the position. (No unsolicited portfolios, please, though links to online portfolios are just fine.) We wait with bated breath ....

Les belles lettres

2009-10-29T10:42:00.006-05:00

I sometimes pause to consider just how exactly I ended up in this industry. As a kid, I wanted to be a microbiologist — until I paused to consider the number of math courses I'd have to take in college and beyond. High school had me thinking law. College found me, at various times, planning to pursue my career on Wall Street (I pause to breathe a sigh of relief) or enter international relations. Postgrad, I certainly pondered the academic life — get my PhD in Literature or History and teach keen young minds. And yet, here I am, an entrepreneur, working in advertising and communications, writing for others (though I won't pretend there aren't a few ... or more than a few ... half-finished manuscripts on my hard drive, too). But how did I get here? And what was the draw?

It finally occurred to me. I've always loved words — crossword puzzles, Scrabble (I'm vicious competition, warning you now!), and of course literature. I feel particularly drawn to poetry — Milton, Pushkin, Robert Browning, Richard Wilbur: the neatness of form appeals to me in some deeply satisfying way. The same way, I realized, that developing the perfect line of copy nourishes something within me.

Then the gears clicked. Hello, Jen .... they both appeal to you because they're functions of the same thing. Good copywriting is like poetry .... really. Hear me out. It requires word economy, discipline. You don't get more than a line or two to make your impression .... and the best impressions, I think, are engaging, slightly provocative, multivalent, tightly crafted — like you'll find in the finest poetry. To hint at, allude to, suggest imagery through just a few carefully chosen words .... isn't this both poetry and copywriting at its best?

I think so, anyway. For me, the pieces have at last fallen into place. I may not be hidden away in some ivory tower (thank God; I'd probably want to paint it pink), but I still get to play with words and ideas for a living .... I once recall being told by a creative director who crossed my path, "Good copywriting isn't exactly rocket science." At the time, I was ready for some serious eye-gouging, but looking back, perhaps this individual was correct. Good copywriting isn't a science: it's an art.

(Not) Just Another Manic Monday....

2009-10-28T11:19:00.010-05:00

It’s with sweet, sweet sorrow that I post this and bump that lovely image of Don Draper from our last post. But I want to talk marketing plans, and it had to happen sooner or later, right?

Part of our business planning at Crazy Savvy included the launch of Marketing Mondays, a dedicated stretch of time to ensure that we are updating — and implementing — our marketing plans. (I know, I’m sharing this with you on a Wednesday....that’s because I was busy....marketing....on Monday.) You see, we didn’t want to fall into the trap so many organizations and businesses find themselves in: neglecting marketing and communications in favor of other activities somehow deemed more essential to running an entity.

It’s not that I don’t understand the temptation to put marketing on the backburner. (And in case you are wondering, no, communications agencies are by no means immune from this problem! It happens more than you’d think.) After all, we live by the rule that client work takes precedence. True enough, but hardly an excuse. And let me say, as an introvert, I can understand how the art of self-promotion can be daunting at the least. I’ll toot my client’s horn any day, but my own? It doesn’t come as easily. (Luckily, my lovely business partner has no such qualms!) But as we’ve already established, marketing truly isn’t a dirty word.

So, Monday mornings find Jen and I brainstorming, making connections, following up, and researching (not to mention blogging, and tweeting, as always). No matter how manic our Mondays might be, we’re dedicated to putting in the effort.

(Confession: I’m so listening to the Bangles as I write this. Good thing Jen’s working off-site today!)

Draper iconography

2009-10-26T11:19:00.006-05:00

So I don't actually read the New York Times (sorry folks .... but my business partner does!), but this was brought to my attention by a Crazy Savvy fan. Aha! The latest bit of Draper-related ephemera. After taking a moment to pay my proper respects to the lovely picture (hope there are no drool stains...), I dug into the article — only to discover that it has nothing whatsoever to do with Mad Men, and is only tangentially related to the notion of advertising at all.

Hm. What could this mean? It strikes me that Mr. Draper, in all his fedora-ed glory, has become a symbol .... a proxy not just for the ad world itself, but for brand awareness, mystery, style, je ne sais quoi. The article discusses the symbolic implications of car ownership in the 21st century .... but pose Don Draper in front of a fancy Zipcar and the piece becomes a meditation on, what?, consumerism? brand-as-self-image? As far as I can tell, Don is the brand — for a certain type of man, a certain image. Fine, fair enough. I can think of a few Draper doppelgangers from my experiences in the biz.

But what does this mean as a modern woman in advertising? What do we bring to the table? Who is our cultural icon, our symbolic representation of what it means to be, well, us? In short, I don't know. I watch, I observe, I raise my eyebrows in surprise or consternation or amusement at times — and then I go back to doing my thing, and not worrying too much about what it all "means." Nevertheless, this latest Draper caper is highly intriguing .... it's fascinating to watch our cultural vocabulary twist itself around this icon-as-idea. But love him though I do, I'll leave Mr. Draper his tweed coats and skinny ties and zeitgeist-altering mystique.... I'll take my Betsey J and call it a day, thank you very much.

All you need is love

2009-10-21T12:30:00.004-05:00

Sheesh, if we'd known that launching a website would be this gratifying, maybe we would have actually done it sooner! (Ha, ha.) Both Erin and I have truly been humbled by the incredible outpourings of support and praise we've been fortunate enough to receive. And for those who know me personally, moments of humility are rare indeed .... heh.

In addition to generating some thrilling new business ventures and plenty o' meetings, our web launch has made us the happy recipients of everything from gushing emails to pink rose bouquets. Today's latest vote of confidence comes from our friends at Grandpa George, a wonderful — and fun — design and interactive studio right here in the Twin Cities. Thanks, gents!

And now .... back to work. We're tickled pink (pink, of course) that we've managed to complete not one but two drafts of major projects days ahead of schedule.....many thanks to caffeine, late nights, and tasty lunches prepared by those dearest to us. After so many projects involving consulting, art direction, concept development, and publication planning, it's been fun to get back to actual writing ..... it is, after all, how we got into this crazy business to begin with!

Creative mis/direction

2009-10-20T09:53:00.006-05:00

It's only Tuesday, but with all the work we've already done this week, it feels like it should be Thursday at minimum .... Friday if the Fates were kind. Alas. Working on a tight deadline is, we find, great for our creative energies and our productivity, but it can mean that our sleeping cycles take a hit!

So in the interests of levity, we thought we'd share a funny with y'all. As society's recent infatuation with Mad Men underscores, people seem fascinated by the notion of what it means to be a creative director. (For a running tally of Draper-related ephemera, check out the news feed on our Facebook fan page!) It would appear that the role of creative director is shrouded in mystery. I know this was true for me when I first started in the biz. What is the je ne sais quoi that gives one both the visual eye and strategic understanding to conceptualize ideas and turn them into something tangible? (I don't know, believe me. I'm just of the mind that you have it or you don't, and the distinction tends to be painfully clear.)

For those that fall into the latter category, cliche often replaces creativity when developing concepts and preparing comps. That's why this gave Erin and I the giggles ..... particularly because, in a few cases, we've actually seen in use the very stock photos provided as examples of what not to do. Heh! Needless to say, you'll find no such travesties in a Crazy Savvy presentation.

In other news, today's postcard arrives all the way from South Africa. It even contains a pearl of marketing wisdom .... thanks for the shout-out, Kate!

Weekend Round-Up

2009-10-19T11:36:00.004-05:00

For those of you not in Minneapolis, I feel it is imperative to share with you this simple joy: sunlight and (a modicum of) warmth returned to our fair city this weekend.

And it was glorious.

(Hmmm, perhaps I should be making a mental note to research full-spectrum lights and Vitamin D as winter approaches?)

The mavens of Crazy Savvy did not squander this opportunity to be outside without suffering, let me assure you. This being Minnesota, we had to get in some quintessentially fall activities while we still could. Scenic drives were savored, fall colors admired. Pumpkins were picked, hayrides heartily enjoyed.

As Jen mentioned on Friday, we also had a number of business tasks to attend to this weekend, the most enjoyable of which had to be attending the incredible volunteer appreciation event put on by one of our clients. Not only was it a ton of fun, but it's great to see an organization with such a thriving volunteer effort. Kudos for doing it up right, L!

After some sunlight and fresh air, we are hitting the ground running this morning, crossing items off our to-do list in a flurry (dare I tempt the weather gods by even using that word?) Three cheers for work/life balance....

Busy signal

2009-10-16T11:06:00.004-05:00

Dear Jamaican Postal Service,

How is it that you manage to lose my mail? You're making me look bad, mon! After promising my darling business partner that I would set a good example for our blog fans and be sure to mail a postcard from Negril .... the post office has to go and lose my letter! And it was a dang good letter, too! Now I get the sads every time I check our PO Box and don't find my palm tree-and-sandy-beaches card awaiting me. (Then again, with Minneapolis weather lately, perhaps this is a mercy in disguise.)

Sincerely, Jen

OK, digression over. What a week it's been for us here at C/S headquarters! Phew. Just getting our website launched, blog template updated, and social media platforms in visual step with our brand has been a rather gargantuan task (though certainly a labor of love). Add to that our writing of a major proposal and cover-to-cover content for a client project, and sheesh! It's a busy agenda indeed. And no rest for the wicked, apparently, because we have photo shoots and more over the weekend, too.

Still .... we wouldn't want it any other way. Idle hands may or may not be the devil's playthings, but they're certainly no good for business. While we may have a lot to do, it's certainly fun stuff — intellectually stimulating, visually interesting, strategically nuanced. Plus, it keeps us indoors, out of the rain/sleet/snow/general nastiness that is October in Minneapolis.

Still, happy weekend to our beloved fans, and if you're lucky enough to have some time to relax ..... do a little relaxing on our behalves, too!

Jargon-Free Zone

2009-10-15T12:33:00.010-05:00

The accolades keep rolling in on our revamped website. Thanks to everyone who has dropped us a line (or sent us flowers) in celebration!

As Jen and I wrote our business plan (and our website copy, natch) this summer, we spent some time getting down to the nitty gritty of what distinguishes Crazy Savvy from other communications and marketing agencies.

At Crazy Savvy, we’re writers first and foremost. We appreciate the value of clear communication. Working with us, you’ll never sit through an “ideation session.” We’ll never explain strategy in terms of “dimensionalizing paradigms” or “synergizing core messaging.” No thank you!

Not only do Jen and I recoil in the face of unnecessary jargon from a style and usage perspective, but we also reject the notion that a consultant must speak in acronyms and jumbled doublespeak in order to be effective. To the contrary, we believe hiring a communications consultant should give a client an objective perspective, nuanced insight, and a wealth of professional experience — all in a format that is actually accessible...and meaningful.

At Crazy Savvy, we’re quite fluent in English (and Russian, and Spanish…) and we express ourselves accordingly. After all, words are infinitely more interesting (and useful!) when paired with actual meaning.

AT LAST ..... Live from Minneapolis

2009-10-13T12:38:00.002-05:00

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for ..... the official launch of our Crazy Savvy website!

Check us out and share it with a friend .... or two .... or twelve.

We always love to hear your feedback!

Hope you enjoy the Crazy Savvy web experience as much as we do.

It's like Christmas in October (in so many ways)

2009-10-12T09:53:00.005-05:00

We promised this week would be chock full of excitement, and here at Crazy Savvy we keep our promises. Notice any changes? Why, yes! Our blog template is finally updated! Hallelujah!

How exciting to finally reveal our logo publicly. It's been complete for months, but we forced ourselves to be patient (a difficult task for some of us here ....!) and wait until we'd developed a more comprehensive brand identity. I can say with confidence that it's been worth the wait.

Our identity system draws its inspiration from the duality of crazy and savvy. The juxtaposition of the words suggests both dichotomy and synthesis, challenging the perceived paradox between crazy and savvy, creative and strategy, form and function, that lies at the very heart of our approach. (More on this concept later, I assure you.) Our logo and mark feature custom typography from Mucca Typo (thank you, Matteo!), which was then tweaked and stylized by our superb design team. Put simply, we couldn't be happier.

It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows us that we were both intimately involved in the selection of our color palette .... but there is a method even to this particular form of madness. If you were to link our identity colors to their corresponding concepts, you'd likely pair pink with crazy (ahem, ahem) and grey with savvy, yes? Hah, but look again! Even the color selection forces viewers to challenge their assumptions — something we are all about here at Crazy Savvy.

And our tagline — "we put thought into action." Well, we may be biased, but it sure is satisfying to come up with a line of copy that manages to convey so precisely what it is we do, both literally and figuratively. In other words: writing w-i-n.

But for every win, there must be a corresponding fail .... it seems to be a fundamental law of physics or something. Today's fail is unequivocally the weather. Mother Nature .... what's up? What did we do to make you hate us so? Waking up to 4 inches of snow (and counting) in early October ..... scraping my car in open-toed patent leather shoes .... driving through slush on the way to work .... Eliot was wrong, my friends: April is not the cruelest month. October is. This winter wonderland would be apropos around the holidays, but now? I think not.

The long and winding road .....

2009-10-08T15:02:00.003-05:00

We’ve talked about it before. For the past few months, we’ve been in the fortunate (but strange) position to find business taking off quicker than we’d anticipated. Client work, of course, takes precedence — but with the slightly ironic result that finds us doing interactive work for clients without having launched our own company website! (If you check us out now, you’ll find simply a splash page with some very basic contact info.)

Fortunately, the times they are a-changin’. The copy is written, the photography shot, the design finalized, the coding complete .... we’re essentially there! We’ve been blessed to work with a team of interactive specialists who have helped us transform our thoughts into action .... or at least, into a pretty sweet website (in our humble opinion, anyway!)

Of course, there’s even more excitement to be had here. Although our logo and graphic identity have been complete for months, unless you’ve seen a sneak peek of our business cards or stationery system, the launch of our website will mark the unveiling of our complete graphic look .... EXCITING. We’re excited, anyway. (Can you tell?)

Not to tempt fate here, but it’s looking like Official Launch will be next week. In the interim, feast your eyes on this tasty postcard from Kyoto, Japan. Bon voyage to its sender, the lovely Krystal!

On Self-Discipline & Sunshine

2009-10-07T09:26:00.004-05:00

What a difference sunshine makes. Anyone who is in the vicinity of Minneapolis can readily attest to this fact, I'm sure, after a week straight of unseasonably cold — and wet — weather. Today, however, is another story. After a week of darkness, sunshine has returned. Hallelujah! And with the sunshine, our ability to see the world in a new, er, light is also renewed.

As a creative, I think the ability to step away from one's work and examine it from a fresh perspective is absolutely essential. Perhaps this comes from my training as a writer, in which I learned the value of careful editing to improve one's work. Don't get me wrong, I'm not immune to the creative spark a deadline can bring — I've done some of my best work within the structures of tight deadlines. But equally essential, in my eyes, is the self-discipline to set aside enough time to come back and look at creative work with a clear head and a bit of distance. Crazy Savvy clients can rest assured that this is part and parcel of our work, not something dependent on the whimsy of the weather gods to inspire!

Autumn: An Ode

2009-10-05T13:19:00.021-05:00

Happy Monday, one and all! It was a satisfying weekend for the ladies at Crazy Savvy — Erin road tripped to St. Louis for a wedding, while Yours Truly undertook that most gargantuan of tasks: changing my wardrobe from summer to fall. Yes, ladies and gents, autumn has finally arrived in Minneapolis — and not with a whimper but a bang. (The whimpering is probably me, huddled on the couch, shivering and mourning the loss of sunshine.)

Don’t get me wrong — autumn is my favorite season. Beautiful leaves, Halloween, amazing fashion (of course), crisp weather for riding my pony, football, fireplaces, my birthday ... what’s not to love? But the changing of the seasons marks a transition, underscores the passage of time, compels us to consider where we’ve come from and where we’re going. (There’s a reason, after all, that great poets from Keats to Pushkin found themselves most inspired — and melancholy — during autumn!)

Autumn is a time of change, of preparation. This certainly seems to be true for our clients. After summers often filled with pet projects or edgy new endeavors, fall seems to mark a return to focused work ... business as usual, one may say. For clients in education, fall marks the beginning of the school year — always a busy time! For our retail clientele, now is the time we gear up for the holidays in earnest, after many months at the drawing board. Many corporate clients close their fiscal years midsummer, meaning an autumn of new beginnings. And non-profits begin to target their development efforts for the holiday season, often the most rewarding time of year in terms of charitable giving. In short, fall in our line of work is busy-busy-busy!

But as we look forward to an exciting slate of projects, we can’t help but look back, too. After a winter spent in intensive planning mode, figuring out how to launch our business, then a spring when we actually took the plunge and set up shop, and a summer when we were fortunate enough to build up a client base and grow our business faster than we could ever have dreamed (still pinching ourselves!) ... fall is when we’re able to step back and think, Wow, we’ve made it. And of course, the logical next question — what next? Because with two such ambitious, driven, inquisitive minds, we’re always looking to the future! We know we’ll soon have some very exciting Crazy Savvy updates to share with you, loyal readers. And we’re taking stock internally too, thinking how we’d like to expand and continue to develop our own skills and business (ad)venture.

But amid changing leaves, changing wardrobes, changing temperatures (alas!), some things remain the same: We couldn’t be happier, or more fulfilled, having the privilege and opportunity to do what we do, each and every day. And, as always, we’re looking forward to new adventures, too!

Wonder Twins Activate!

2009-10-01T10:31:00.006-05:00

If Jen and I ever publish a FAQ, it might just lead with a question that we hear ever-so-frequently in our travels and travails:

Are you sisters?

Perhaps it's the alabaster skin or ginger hued hair we both come by naturally. Or that our ability to finish each other's sentences borders on the uncanny. (Next up? I think we should hone our telepathy skills.)

Generally, questioners drop the subject when we smile sweetly and shake our heads no. Once in a while, however, it takes a bit more effort to dissuade the curious sort. "Cousins, then?" pressed the incredulous clerk we chatted with yesterday. "Nooooo," I said, pausing for emphasis. "Business partners."

I've often heard that people tend to resemble their pets. (Or is it vice versa?) And of course, we all have heard stories about how after years, couples tend to look alike.

But is this true of business partners as well?

Take it slow, mon .... and read the road signs

2009-09-30T10:07:00.004-05:00

Hello, Loyal Readers ..... I am back from Jamaica, mon! It was a lovely trip and just what I needed in terms of relaxation .... swimming in the sea, cliff diving, dining on lobster and the most delicious hot sauce known to mankind, sleeping in and listening to the waves .... bliss. I returned to the Twin Cities refreshed, recharged, and ready to tackle some exciting new Crazy Savvy projects. Indeed, the only bummer about returning was the weather ..... after 100 degrees of West Indies sunshine, coming back to a place where you can see your breath in the air is kind of a rude shock. But ah, c'est la vie.

In light of Erin's previous post about messaging, I wanted to share some more examples of what not to do. To wit: If you are going to be making informational signage, it's important to consider your message (see previous post if you don't believe me!), but also important to obey basic rules of grammar and, well, common sense. This appears to be a bit of an issue when it comes to the Jamaican Dept. of Transportation. Case in point:

Mwhahaha. Perhaps in another life, I can be reincarnated as a copywriter for Jamaican road signs. Lie on the beach, sip some rum, write similarly amusing road signs ..... no, no, back to work, Jen!

Why Messaging Matters

2009-09-24T16:03:00.003-05:00

Today, I offer you a bit of humor (and a nice illustration of why it is essential to fully think through one's message before going to print!)

This little gem caught our fancy on a recent downtown trek. Let's just say we certainly were glad to be in this particular parking ramp during operating hours! Because as we all know, a response to an emergency alarm is most likely to be needed during normal operating hours...

Running errands with art directors (and other tangents)

2009-09-22T11:58:00.003-05:00

It's not particularly easy to do. In fact, as Erin and I embark on one of our many lunchtime productivity sessions together, swinging by bank / supermarket / liquor store / other crucial daily haunts (ha ... kidding ... ), we often find ourselves distracted by the abundance of bad advertising there is to behold. Frequently this involves us stopping traffic as we deride a nearby billboard, bus stop sign, or store facade.

"That's so bad," says Erin.

"Hello .... don't they get it that the visual and the copy should work together?" adds Yours Truly.

HONK! goes the angry person in the minivan behind us.

Meh. A day in the life, folks.

Occasionally we're pleased by what we see — particularly if it's one of our own. I have a distinct memory of cruising down a major road in downtown Minneapolis, only to see one of our billboards looming above us. Although it may not have been 100% legal for me to open the sunroof, stand up, lean out, and snap a photo, it sure was satisfying.

Also satisfying? The thought that, in 24 mere hours, I am going to be on a beach in Jamaica for some well-earned R&R. Fear not, though, Loyal Readers: Crazy Savvy will be in my wonderful business partner's capable hands (hands that may be clenched into jealous fists as she contemplates the thought of me sunning myself and dining on lobster and conch while the Minneapolis forecast is drizzle, fog, and cold).

Hah! I will stop being smug. Plenty of updates when I return. Ciao for now!

Information Lovefest

2009-09-17T12:23:00.005-05:00

Let me take a minute now to sing the praises of one of my favorite stages in any new project: information gathering.

One of the reasons I love running my own agency with Jen is the constant opportunity to read and think about new issues, topics, and concerns — there's no same old, same old here. From marine biology and equestrian innovations to best practices in special education and health disparities, I'm constantly broadening my base of knowledge. This makes for a happy and productive Erin.

And then there's the innate satisfaction I gain from the process of sifting through information. After years of talking to clients about this topic, I know that it takes a rare individual to enjoy this kind of task. I'm used to looks of skepticism as I tell clients to bring on the information — reports, brochures, notes, web resources, books, competitors' materials, research, statistics — the more, the better!

I'm unabashed about the joy I find in curling up in a soft chair with piles of paper and a cup of coffee in one hand, highlighter in the other, all set to jot down the notes that will help form the crucial elements of my publication. Connecting the dots between disparate pieces of information, identifying where I need to dig deeper, and formulating a structure in which to put all of this information....ahhh, it is good for my soul.

I'm lucky enough to be immersed in this process right now for an annual report for a fantastic client. Today is definitely one of those days in which it is very clear I've chosen the right line of work for myself.

P.S. Today's postcard comes to us from Tokyo. Thanks, Krystal!

Never surrender, but sometimes retreat ....

2009-09-15T14:31:00.007-05:00

(Ah, how I love tweaking the immortal words of Buck Travis, childhood historic interest o' mine. /random history tangent over & out) But the sort of retreat I'm talking about isn't a tactical battle decision (I'm not much for retreating in that sense, unsurprisingly) but rather .... a marketing retreat! Crazy Savvy's marketing retreat, to be precise.

Erin and I just returned from a busy day chock full of brainstorming, scribbling, aha! moments, and ..... Lucias for lunch, yum. Although we love working from our national headquarters at Crazy Savvy, Inc., we find that occasionally a change of scenery helps us think strategically about the Big Picture. So we rented a room downtown (killer skyline view), relaxed in some super-comfy postmodern chairs that looked more at home on the Enterprise than at a business retreat, and talked shop. No phones, no computers (well .... no using them anyway): just Crazy Savvy's founding partners and their thoughts on marketing and more.

Sad to report, the content of our discussions is Top Secret — but let it suffice to say that we emerged hours later energized, excited, and with all sorts of (we humbly think) brilliant ideas. It's often hardest, we find, to apply the same objectivity and strategic acumen we like to leverage for our clients to our own selves .... seeing the forest for the trees can be tough at times. A retreat is a great way to step back, change things up a little, and come up with some exciting new ideas. No doubt you'll discover the fruits of our labors soon!

Madame Kreativ Direktor?

2009-09-14T13:57:00.004-05:00

One of the greatest joys in working in the creative industry, for me anyway, is getting to creative direct a project. I have the distinct impression that it isn't a skill you can properly be said to "learn." You can go to art school to learn graphic design (though I've seen enough atrocious design over the years to be able to say with confidence that an art school degree does not an artist make). You can study English, advertising, or communications and call yourself a writer (though again .... technical skills don't translate into Miltonic dexterity with language, and I will die convinced that true writers are born, not made, and no amount of training can make uninspired language sing). But there's something even broader, even more visionary (and thus fulfilling) about developing a cohesive creative approach for a project.

I think it comes back to something we discuss often at C/S: the nexus of writing and design, style and substance, form and function. It's hard enough to pull off brilliant copywriting, or inspired graphic design, or wicked cool interactive. But the challenge is even greater in identifying — and then articulating, and directing to fruition — an entire concept, something that encompasses the entire suite of creative capabilities needed in a project of scope and complexity (precisely the sort of projects we like to do!).

Both Erin and I have had the opportunity to work with, and observe in action, a variety of creative directors over the course of our careers, and in the best ones we were able to witness a certain nuance and artistic sensibility that translated into visionary work. Likewise, we've seen how uninformed creative direction — without strategic understanding of a project, its audiences, or its purposes — can lead to results that are less than impressive. Now that we're in the driver's seat, it's great to apply these observations to projects of our own.

But I think both Erin and I agree that there's a certain intuition in artistic direction that extends beyond best practices or lessons learned. We so appreciate having the sort of amazing clients that let us exercise our creative discretion and direction (are they really so different, after all?) and bring in talented professionals who can transform concept into tangible results. Because beyond the patina of cynical detachment that often seems to accompany the Don Drapers of this world, there is something incredibly satisfying (dare I say beautiful?) about shepherding an idea of your own invention into reality.

S-M-R-T

2009-09-11T10:03:00.009-05:00

Typos, ah typos! The joy they bring to us here at Crazy Savvy is nearly endless. It's not uncommon for Jen and I to find ourselves laughing at a particularly good typo for weeks.

My current favorite? That would have to be the Craigslist apartment listing my friend just came across, proclaiming the "contentious landlord." Freudian slip, perhaps? At any rate, my dear friend decided he wouldn't be compatible with someone who confuses contentious and conscientious.

It probably comes as no surprise that sloppy typos and grammatical errors rankle me — particularly when perpetrated by so-called communications professionals. It's one thing for the Mom & Pop appliance store I pass every day to post their sign advising that their parking lot is under "survailance" (and that's bad enough, right?) but quite another to see communications firms with grievous errors in their promotional materials. This week alone, I've seen it happen on multiple occasions.

Suffice it to say, Crazy Savvy's clients can depend on copy that is devoid of unintentional hilarity!

No More Wearing White

2009-09-09T13:42:00.004-05:00

Post-Labor Day, kiddos and kidlets. Back to school, back to work, back to reality, back to .... business as usual. (As for the white after Labor Day debate, I humbly abstain. My winter wardrobe is FULL of cream and ivory and .... well, whether those shades constitute white is another topic for another day, potentially a topic involving Pantone chips and a trip to Neiman Marcus for "market research.")

Anyhow. We hope our Dear Readers had as lovely of weekends as we did! My radiant business partner enjoyed the long weekend at an exclusive screening of film classics, dining al fresco at a birthday extravaganza, and hiking in Afton State Park with the kids. Yours Truly had her inaugural Minnesota boating and cabin experience (I know .... took me awhile), chowed down on lobster and foie gras (it's a hard-knock life, eh?), and went for long walks with Pushkin. It was a wonderfully relaxing weekend, but not entirely without work .... both Erin and I carved out time to work on the biz end of things, in preparation for a busy week.

This touches upon one of the greatest joys (and occasionally the greatest challenge) of owning one's own business. Bad news first: if something needs to get done .... you need to do it. Not your boss, not your temp, not your intern, not your colleague down the hall: y-o-u. The buck stops here, so to say. It doesn't matter if it's 11 o'clock on a Saturday night or 5 a.m. on Tuesday — it's your reputation on the line, and you have to find a way to make it happen. (I should note, though, that if you plan your work schedule intelligently, you'll rarely be in such crunch-time situations. But we all know, sometimes there are last minute changes, and these things happen.)

But the trade-off for a bit of added stress is .... glorious. How wonderful — how emancipating — to determine your own calendar, your own working rhythm?! You pick your clients, you choose your projects. If we're not in meetings, we can wear pretty much whatever we want — which, for me, vacillates between high fashion and homelessness, depending largely on how much coffee I managed to ingest in the hour between eight and nine. Our workdays are filled with laughter, errand-running bike rides, and trips to the coffeeshop in addition to plenty of business. We find that this balance keeps us refreshed, energized, and on our toes: particularly in the creative industry, you need to be able to approach your work with a grin and a gleam in your eye, or you'll never find inspiration in anything. It comes back to the simple but oh-so-true mantra: Do what you love; love what you do. At Crazy Savvy, there's never any doubt about it!

Friday at last

2009-09-04T09:17:00.006-05:00

How about some authentic messaging to bring this week to a close?! We're big fans of authentic messaging at Crazy Savvy, so here goes: TGIF! It's been a rewardingly busy week over here at corporate headquarters: new projects, exciting proposals, many meetings, and more. While we wouldn't have it any other way, I must confess, we are looking forward to a most relaxing weekend! After some unseasonably cold weather, the forecast is finally looking promising, meaning Erin and Yours Truly can spend some quality time attending outdoor movies, making appearances at friends' parties, getting out on the water, visiting certain grey fuzzy equines, and other delicious weekend activities.

All of this R&R, of course, will leave us refreshed and recharged to kick off another exciting week — no rest for the wicked, apparently, as we'll be back to work on Monday ... Labor Day doesn't seem as necessary when the boss you happen to be laboring for is yourselves, after all!

We also end this week with some more fanmail, this time from the lovely butterfly garden at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. We're always glad to hear that our blog is a hit, so keep the commentary coming! And, for those of you who are looking forward to a long weekend as much as we are .... TGIF, indeed!

Content is (Still) King

2009-09-03T10:19:00.004-05:00

The advance of technology is a beautiful thing. Really and truly. Just ask Jen, I get as excited by Apple's new product offerings as she does when Lanvin releases its fall line. Beyond the lure of a shiny new toy, technology interests me in part because of its power to democratize the transfer of information. This is hardly a new phenomenon, of course. I won't subject you to my handy dandy little historical treatise on how this has played out from Gutenberg to desktop publishing, but suffice it to say, it's a topic I find fascinating.

The technological frontier du jour is, of course, social media. In an age of monotonous media monopolies, I'm all for knocking down the gatekeepers. And here I'll fall on the blatantly obvious example of the power of social media: the State Department asked Twitter not to shut down for regularly scheduled maintenance in June because it was a critically important source of information in Iran. (Does it get any better than that?)

But here's the thing, loyal readers: content is still king. Are you rolling your eyes and muttering "DUH!" right about now? I was afraid of that...I might be preaching to the choir here. The thing is, with each new technological advance, American society tends to forget the golden rule of communications: if you want people to listen, you must...have something to say.

We are a culture that gravitates to bells and whistles, after all. Which is why a carefully crafted communications strategy executed with all the trappings of the shiniest new technology is so singularly effective — and satisfying to create!

Five four three two one blast off! (Or, notes on launch)

2009-09-01T13:05:00.003-05:00

At Crazy Savvy, we've been in kind of an unusual situation all summer long. Although we opened up shop in spring, we've yet to officially "launch." Obviously, we made our identity materials and website a major priority as we set off on this exciting business (ad)venture .... But we had the singularly fortunate "problem" of quickly getting actual work from clients — meaning our primary focus became, of course, our client work.

But we certainly didn't put our own materials on the backburner, and we're thrilled to say that we're nearly there. Our business cards have finally arrived, our logo and mark are complete, and our website is being coded as we speak .... er, type. We are giddy as schoolgirls waiting to finally show off our stuff to an adoring public (well, we'd like to believe so, anyway). In the interim, we wanted to thank you, dear readers, for joining us as we embarked on our Crazy Savvy journey, and for sticking with us as we take things to the next level. (The fanmail is nice too, and we have more to share with you on the way!)

So though it may be a bit late to authentically call ourselves a startup, we assure you that we're super-duper excited to unveil our suite of identity materials. And we promise ..... they're well worth waiting for. Kind of like this whole endeavor, actually!

Horsing around, but not really

2009-08-28T12:06:00.007-05:00

Friday finds my delightful biz partner and I busy developing some serious strategy for a project with considerable scope and nuance. On the list of tasks, there's little I'd rather be doing! And the great thing about strategizing is that, well, you can do it just about anywhere, provided your brains are all systems go! So we decided to take advantage of a crisp, beautiful morning to take a little field trip, and so, we chatted while we drove.

The destination? None other than Chez Chase, aka Dream Acres Farm, the home of my darling (and extremely spoiled) pony. Erin's horse crazy daughter has longed for ages to meet a real live equine (Is he a Pegasus?, she asks!) and today the stars and our schedules aligned to make precisely such a trip possible. So with our Wellies on, we drove to the countryside, coming up with strategy all the while. The payoff? One very happy young lady, one very happy and apple-fed Welsh pony, and two business partners refreshed, recharged, and in possession of some (we think) pretty dang good ideas.

Serendipity strikes again, too, because today's fanmail — all the way from Geneva, Switzerland — ties right into the day's activities. Perfect! Happy weekend, one and all!

Appearances are (not always) deceiving

2009-08-25T09:15:00.004-05:00

The Mailhouse Powers That Be have presented us the perfect postcard to accompany today's topic. It comes from a dear friend and loyal reader currently based in Chicago, and it hails from none other than the Marc Jacobs' Chicago store address. (Let us pause here to reflect on the joys of good fashion.)

I'll admit it: Couture, like chocolate and chess, is one of my incurable vices. I think it's often hard for society to reconcile intellect, ambition, and gritty determination with a genuine passion for fashion, but then, I've always liked to buck convention. The truth is, though many like to pretend the contrary, appearances do say something about who you are and what matters to you. You can walk into a boardroom with the best ideas, preparation, and presentation, but if you're in your pajamas, you probably won't make it to the projector. How you present yourself provides clues to who you are — it's as simple as that.

Fortunately there are styles to suit every personality and persuasion, and the trick lies in finding a look that authentically reflects your character. The same, interestingly enough, is true for communications and marketing materials. When it comes to advertising, clients tend to get the need for a splashy look — it's an ad, after all, they figure. But making the case for an elegantly presented brochure, annual report, or newsletter is often more challenging.

These pieces are fact-based, many think. They need to carry a substantive message. They're content-driven. ....Well, yes, all of these things are technically true. Believe me, you don't need to sell a writer on the importance of content! But at the same time, it's critical (especially when conveying key information) that the piece itself look good, appear compelling to read and engaging to peruse. Just as with personal style, it's who you are that ultimately counts, but it's the way you present yourself that'll get you in the door.

And, on that sartorial note, I am off to drool over Marc's latest confections ... as soon as we finish blocking out a sweet annual report that will combine style and substance for one of our fantastic clients, that is!

The Magic of Mail

2009-08-24T14:57:00.005-05:00

Is there anything more innately satisfying than opening your mailbox and finding several pieces of handwritten mail? I think not. (Exhibit A: A postcard from Finland, one of several we found in our mailbox this morning!)

Now, certainly, this reaction would be a lofty, unattainable even, goal for direct mail to inspire. A clever promotion, no matter how flawlessly executed, cannot hold a candle to a personal note scribbled in ink. (And a sidenote here to my dear communications colleagues: Please, for the love of God, stop with the "handwritten" fonts. Either put in the time to truly handwrite something or use a real font. /marketing rant)

But I do think that the small moment of simple joy in receiving mail does offer communications professionals a guidepost to keep in mind as we craft direct mail campaigns. The right concept, delivered to the right audience, stands out among the junk mail crowd. When we truly know our audience, and speak to them accordingly, we create an emotional connection of its own right. This is the magic of direct mail. (And pssst, it's key to inspiring action on the part of readers, as well!)

Streaming Live, From Minneapolis

2009-08-20T09:15:00.004-05:00

First and foremost, to our national and international readers who so kindly checked in with us after reading yesterday's news bulletins: Yes, there were tornadoes in Minneapolis — near our HQs, actually! But we're just fine, no worries: a little bit of sickly green sky and eardrum-shattering sirens just added to the week's excitement quotient!

We do indeed have a lot to be excited about. In addition to securing some fantastic new projects, we're getting just about ready to reveal our official Crazy Savvy graphic identity. Let me tell you, ladies & gents ... it's been well worth the wait! We're busy ordering business cards, putting the finishing touches on our website, and developing our stationery system, document templates, and (yes!) blog and Twitter backgrounds .... Soon! Very soon!

Since we're already in the correspondence stream, how about we end today's post with another bit o' fan mail? Today's letter comes from Minnesota's scenic North Shore, home to grey wolves, rocky vistas, really cold winters, and lots of lutefisk. (I'm only guessing at that last bit. I'm not brave enough to try Sven & Ole's legendary pizza to verify ... ) Keep the fanmail coming, and we promise to keep you posted (so to speak!) too.

California Dreaming / Island Vibes

2009-08-18T10:02:00.006-05:00

We've got mail! The inaugural Crazy Savvy postcard, from one of our wonderful fans, has just arrived, and it comes from sunny California — wine country, to be exact. (Mmmmmm ..... nice.) We'll post it below for your viewing pleasure! Thanks, M, and glad you had such a lovely trip.

Also, Yours Truly just returned from a wonderful weekend getaway on Madeline Island. I am embarrassed to confess that, after many promises to my wonderful biz partner, I forgot to send us a postcard .... tsk, tsk. (Guess this just means I'm going to have to go on another vacation sometime soon to make amends, huh?! Ha!) It was splendid to get out of the city and go for ferry rides, swim in the lake, play on sandy beaches, and even take my maiden voyage on a moped! It was terrifying at first (to be fair, probably more for those around me than for me myself!), but I quickly got the hang of it and was zipping around the island like a pro. Hm .... kind of makes me want to get a Vespa now .... pink, natch!

But after a great weekend, it was nice to get back in town and settle down to the week's business — which includes many exciting opportunities and adventures! Stay tuned ...

The dog days of summer?

2009-08-14T08:48:00.003-05:00

Summer, it seems, has finally come to Minneapolis.

Around here, you see, summer is fleeting. Something to be savored. So it is only fitting that my lovely business partner heads off today on a well-earned mini-vacation to frolic — if only for a few days — in sunshine and water.

I'm inclined to do the same, albeit closer to home, after wrapping up a few projects. I'm itching to get on my bike before the heat hits in full force.

And what of you, dear reader? What would you do if you were playing hooky this afternoon?

Painting the town

2009-08-12T14:03:00.004-05:00

I'll admit it: when it comes to organization, I'm somewhat obsessed. (And "somewhat" is being pretty generous, truth be told.) I like order, I like categorization, I like neatness (except when it comes to the backseat of my car, which is a pathetic mix of high fashion, equestrian gear, books, and muddy paw prints). So it comes as no surprise to anyone that the filing side of the business is left to me.

But in order to have a logical filing system, one must first have a functional filing cabinet. Erin, the goddess of good deals, procured a suitable model for a winning price. The only problem was ... aesthetics. Not that there's anything wrong with corporate grey or anything, but at Crazy Savvy, Inc., we thought that even our office supplies should reflect our company character. So it was decided that we'd spray paint our filing cabinet a more suitable color.

Pink.

(Some of us may have lobbied for this color more ardently than others ....)

Today was the Big Day. After childhood memories that involved being told by my (understandably) concerned parents that perhaps it was best to leave the flammable materials side of science projects to steadier hands ... I was excited to finally play with spray paint. Pink spray paint, no less!

Even with a nearly 100 degree heat index, I was pleased as punch, spray painting away in Erin's gorgeous backyard. (Now made more gorgeous by the addition of some technicolor pink grass, might I add!) We unlock our creativity in all sorts of ways here at Crazy Savvy, and this was just one more example of (how we are not quite) business as usual.