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Keeping Your Strategic Marketing Plan Top of Mind
September 14, 2015
Most of us are stretched too thin—we fight a million deadlines and are sometimes guilty of missing the forest for the trees. We can get lost in the weeds of responding to day-to-day requests and creating assets without stopping to examine the bigger picture. When I find that my team is overly …
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Stimulating Creativity
July 06, 2015
I was approached to write this blog on stimulating creativity from the point of view of an external agency creative director “out in the field.” Like anyone else confronted with this sort of challenge, I immediately Googled “stimulating creativity.” That brought up a treasure-trove of writing on …
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Idea-Generating Techniques for the Desperate
June 22, 2015
Here’s a general rule of thumb regarding idea-generation techniques: they’re clunky, dorky and time-consuming. Oh, and they don’t work. You reluctantly resort to one when you're under the gun for an idea, then end up wasting valuable time that leaves you even more frustrated and desperate and …
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The Crystal-Clear Winner
June 15, 2015
Each year, numerous winners leave the IHAF Awards Show with accolades in hand. Only one team, however, walks away with the coveted, crystal Best of Show trophy—the clear stand-out among all of the work submitted that year.
The Best of Show winner is chosen at the end of a day-long process where …
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Building a Creative Environment
June 08, 2015
When I was in third grade, my mom and I ran into my teacher (a grim, severe drill sergeant) in the cereal aisle of the grocery store. I still remember how long it took my brain to recognize Mrs. Strictman. Her face was familiar, but foreign in that environment.
The grocery store was all joy and …
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Get Ready to Huddle!
March 30, 2015
The IHAF Huddle is right around the corner with this year’s focus on internal/external agency collaboration. Agencies inside and out are invited to attend one (or all) of our six spring sessions in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, NYC, Richmond and San Francisco, where internal/external agency duos will …
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Professional Development—Let’s Talk About It
March 23, 2015
Not long ago, I joined other members of our agency’s leadership team to celebrate the 30th work anniversary of one of our tenured art directors. We talked over lunch about how her career had evolved—from a call center position straight out of school to the agency’s secretarial staff and ultimately …
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Hiring the Right Person(ality)
March 16, 2015
I was once interviewed by a Japanese magazine on the topic of managing creative personalities. Apparently the personal, emotional side of assessing unique personality traits, beyond the basics like trust and tangible skills, was a foreign concept in their business culture.
For me, it’s the first …
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Looking to Hire? Know Your Audience.
March 06, 2015
Know your audience. Every good marketer understands this. And it’s a principle that directly applies to hiring and retaining talent, as well. Every day, I speak with candidates looking for jobs and considering job offers. And I can attest that if you want to attract the best and brightest at all …
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Three Cheers (and Chances) for Professional Development
March 02, 2015
Professional development is an important part of increasing the contribution of your in-house team. That’s why IHAF’s online seminar series is focused on programming that can boost your effectiveness by teaching new skills. Over the next few months, IHAF is offering three professional development …
