PAVE is a group of creative strategists who operate at the intersection of design, ideas and your business.
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PAVE Creative Group
Genius is everywhere.
One of the best parts of being in a creative field like advertising, is that part of your job is just to find cool stuff. You never know where it will pop up. Sometimes it's in packaging, sometimes it's in a new product...this time, it's in a music video. I won't go on and on about it, because I have a lot of work to do today, but this is pretty amazing. This entire video is made of stills...no moving pictures were used...and ingenious typography. It was made by one guy on one computer. The great part about it (and this is the real sign of good creative) is that it makes the product it is promoting (in this case a Jay Z song), better.
--joe
The place to be.
(Pool view from cabana. Visited the lake this weekend.)
When writing? As a twenty-something female inspired by fashion, I have to take a page from Carrie’s book. I love to write at my home desk in silence. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker, SJP for short,) is the relationship columnist/central character in Sex and the City. I refer to her by first name, it’s true.
Where do you like to work? Let me know @PAVECreative
Nice Package.
Have you ever been walking down the aisle at the grocery store looking for your favorite bag of chips or salad dressing when you realize you can’t seem to find what you're looking for? Last year I was in my favorite Publix Supermarket in Atlanta (they seriously need to bring Publix to North Carolina, by the way) and I overheard something that caught my attention. “I can’t believe they don’t make Baked Lays anymore!” said a twenty-something man abruptly into his telephone. I way overstepped my boundaries, perhaps, by jumping into his conversation, but my graphic designer friend and I had just discussed the same exact thing, so I felt the urge. “Excuse me,” I offered. “They are actually right over there, but their packaging changed.” “Holy crap,” he said. “I would have NEVER noticed that.”
As happy as I was to send him on his merry way chips in tow, I couldn’t help but think how much the design of something as simple as a bag of potato chips (or the roll out of a totally new branding concept with no communication) has an impact on someone’s life, even if it is just momentary dissatisfaction.
Having written the copy and concepted the design on many packages for a company known for their out-there and eye-catching branding, I was forced on a daily basis to think through the consumer experience. Something seemingly simple (choosing one word over another) can keep the consumer engaged and win their attention. You really do only have 10 (maybe less) seconds to grab someone and if they’re unimpressed, your product is passed over for another potentially worse product with better packaging.
There are the times, however, when packaging is so damn good it sells you on something you don’t need. Case in point: this weekend I went grocery shopping and tissues were nowhere near on the list. Yet when I saw the Kleenex “Slice of Summer” boxes, I had to have one, no two slices of watermelon. Ok, so I have a thing for smart packaging, but I (a marketer) was TOTALLY sold.
Are you as influenced by packaging as me? Sound off: Twitter.com/PaveCreative
Fan-tastic!
Second soccer post in as many days.
Nike's brand manager said this was one of the best spots they've ever done. Watch it. It's hard to argue that it's not. This is filmic brilliance. Why is Nike so good at marketing? Because they understand the value of telling a story and of having a conversation. They understand aspiration and how that translates to brand zealots. No one aspires to product features (better rubber in the soles, longer shoelaces) the aspire to product benefits (a country will build a frickin' statue in your honor if you are good enough to change the world). I LOVE this spot. I don't play soccer. But because of this commercial, I may have to buy a pair of Nike cleats, a Nike ball and hit the pitch.
Take dead aim.
I'm a big sports fan. So from time to time, I'll post sports stories or videos that I like. But there is a lesson we all could learn from this ridiculous goal: Sometimes your best option is simply to take dead aim, and pull the trigger. It's the very last thing the competition expects...which is precisely why you should try it.
Free is better than expensive.
Do you see what I see? Wow-worthy logos.
Want to find your hire power? Here’s how.
As a semi-recent college grad (has it really been two years?!) and a see-a-job-I-want, land-it kind of girl, I had to share something I found last night. This job-seeking experiment struck me. I was as inspired as I am perusing through the shoe department at Saks Fifth Avenue. And you should see my shoe collection.
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1935649
I’m lucky. I’ve found and secured two fabulous jobs since graduating. The first, I found the old fashioned way as it was posted on my school of journalism list-serv. Though the interview process was longer than I would have liked, the call came and I started within the month.
The second job was one I sought out as I was planning to relocate. I took a self-promotional approach, and although I didn’t use the same tactics as this bright brander, I sent a quick yet extremely thought-out email and caught the attention of my now boss.
And really, that’s what it’s all about. You have five seconds to make yourself stand out. You have to be so enamoring, so engaging, so wow-worthy that it’s worth their time. Sure, hiring managers exist and serve great purpose. But who makes the judgment call on whether or not you join the team? Right. The name of the game is catching their attention.
So, don’t be bashful. You’re already putting yourself on the line and selling your strong suits. Why not go all the way. You’ve got nothing to lose…besides the chance at your dream job.
Full disclosure: Creativity lands the interview. You and your resume really have to back it up once you’re in their office.
Totally full disclosure: This methodology is probably most effective in creative/marketing/advertising work environments. Let’s be honest, I don’t expect that Wall Street is following such hiring practices.
Want to understand the importance of smart marketing? Start a business.
A few years ago, I became a little disillusioned with traditional advertising agencies. They simply weren't structured to really help their clients grow. They were only structured to produce better advertising. And while those two aren't mutually exclusive, neither are they mutually beneficial. I wanted to try something different, but I wasn't at a place in my life to launch into anything crazy. So I baby-stepped into something crazy.
I thought I was good at creative. I thought there wasn't a product or service that I couldn't help make more compelling. So what does a young man do when he believes there isn't a product or a service he can help sell? He creates a product or service. After years of trial and error, I finally thought of something...a boardgame, more or less...that I felt really passionate about. This was going to be it. This would be THE thing. So I poured every penny I had into creating Hookum (http://www.playhookum.com).
I never quit my day job, but I certainly started to pull away from it, as my focus shifted to making this Hookum dream a reality. It was a long road with a steep learning curve, but the product finally arrived just after Christmas of last year (lesson #753: Don't launch a boardgame just after Christmas!). It was great to have the product in my hands. But at that very second, I felt exactly what all of my clients must have felt as I was trying to sell them an advertising campaign: "I DON'T JUST NEED A CREATIVE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN!" I needed creative thinking across my entire business. Fortunately, the things that I enjoyed doing for other businesses worked for my own; we sold out of our first order of Hookum in fewer than 5 months, and several product extensions are in the pipeline.
That experience led me to step away from BIG advertising altogether. I wanted to help lead a new kind of communications firm. One that applied creative, smart thinking early and often for their clients. One that allowed clients to take advantage of an agency's insight further upstream...before the $200 million TV campaign. With the team at PAVE, I found a group of incredibly smart, motivated people who felt the same way. We're excited to re-introduce PAVE and eager for our clients to reap the benefits of a holistic approach to marketing.