• Hey Clients, Don’t Drink and Draw

    April 28, 2014

    At the ripe old age of 24, I was given the unique opportunity to design a complete corporate identity for a commercial real estate development that was to be erected on the South Shore of Massachusetts, a region that runs south of Boston along the shoreline of the Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays. I …

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  • Habitat Builds a Brand

    March 24, 2014

    A dozen folks stand side by side and lift a framed wall upright, while others around them scramble to nail it in place. Volunteers give their time, energy and resources to build alongside a family who needs a hand up, not a handout. For many, that picture defines the work of Habitat for Humanity. …

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  • The Global Shift

    March 19, 2014

    A recent article in Ad Age detailed the seismic shift in global ad spend over the past eight years (2005-2013) with online spending nearly quadrupling in that timeframe. In fact, online media buys have eclipsed newspaper, ranking second (behind television) and eroding other channels—most notably …

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  • What Makes a Strong Brand?

    March 17, 2014

    The term “brand” has been used to describe everything from company logos to corporate gestalt. In fact, brand is an amalgamation of things including the name or symbol used to identify your company, products and services, the essence and values of your company as well as the assets and liabilities …

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  • Engaging a Global Workforce

    March 10, 2014

    No matter what your business challenges are, the first step is always to build a connection between your employees and your brand. To do this well, you need to provide a meaningful answer to the question “What’s in it for me?”

    We’ve all heard the stats—disengaged employees cost companies billions …

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  • Meet Two New Board Members

    February 17, 2014

    This month, IHAF is exploring the topic of Operational Excellence and what it means to in-house agencies. As part of this series, I asked the two newest members of IHAF’s Board of Directors, Mark Gibson, Assistant VP of Creative Services at State Farm and Wayne Barringer, Director of Creative …

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  • Is Your Approach to Leadership Instinctive or Deliberate?

    December 16, 2013

    As a manager, I never gave much conscious thought to the principles of leading. I simply dealt with daily issues as they arose without considering how to implement a particular approach to leadership. With my career in transition, I’ve been meeting with people to discuss new opportunities and I’ve …

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  • Leading Your Team to Greatness

    December 11, 2013

    Whether you lead the creative, account, production or entire internal agency team, helping your group be recognized, valued and positioned for success within your organization takes focused initiative. It takes more than just putting out good work to get your team in the limelight.

    To lead your …

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  • Meet a Member: Wade Franks

    December 09, 2013

    Wade Franks leads Torque Creative—the 62-person internal agency at TTI Group, an international company that designs, manufactures and markets power tools and household appliances for brands ranging from Ryobi and Craftsman to Hoover and Oreck. Torque Creative was recently honored as a finalist for 2 …

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  • Four Keys to Effective Leadership

    December 04, 2013

    Nothing serves an organization better…than leadership that knows what it wants, communicates those intentions, positions itself correctly, and empowers its workforce. —Warren Bennis, Author

    I came across this quote early in my study of leadership. In one form or another it has guided my work as a …

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