Just as man cannot live on bread alone, marketers need to fuel their creativity from many different outlets in order to deliver the coveted “breakthough” idea. After all, we’re not one-dimensional people, but folks with diverse passions and interests.
So, we are embarking on a series of video blog posts to share the multitude of ways our associates enliven their creative spirits outside of the office. The stories are many and the experiences varied. Collectively, these hobbies enrich our ability to connect with the audiences we aim to reach as marketers.
Check back tomorrow for the first post in our After Hours series.
Photo courtesy Jeff Christiansen, FlickrWho knew such valuable, well-tested business and branding advice could come from a cartoon artist and amusement park guy?
Okay, well, he never was just that. Walt Disney is the visionary behind one of the most successful entertainment corporations ever built.
His leadership, principles and vision were simple and forthright.
Check out the above article link for additional editorial on Disney’s secrets to success.
These principles can guide all companies striving to create a brand, product or service that stands out from the rest and an experience that turns into repeat business and customer loyalty.
In an attempt to squash a pretty serious case of cabin fever, I’ve been looking for opportunities to get outside and do something active besides shoveling snow. In the warmer months I try to go running or bicycling over my lunch hour when my schedule permits, so I started to wonder — what could I do outside in the winter time?
Fortunately for me, Bader Rutter’s Brookfield offices sit in a rather unique campus called Bishop’s Woods. Bishop’s Woods is a true dichotomy — a suburban location set against an urban backdrop with a rural feel to it. I’ve often wondered, what’s in those woods lying so ominously to our east (ironically the same direction as downtown Milwaukee, only twelve or so miles away)?
So one day after a recent snow storm, I dusted off my snowshoes and decided to use my lunch hour to get some exercise and go exploring. Heading outside, I could hear the freeway (I-94) to my right, so I headed left. I shuffled down a gulley between two neighboring buildings and over a frozen creek and then stopped. As I looked around, all I could see was trees and snow. I could have been in a forest in the middle of Alaska as far as I was concerned.
Turns out, Bishop’s Woods actually is in the woods. I saw some deer tracks to my right and decided I would follow them. Grinding my way up-hill, I saw another building off in the distance. The building looked familiar and as I approached I realized it was the building that Bader Rutter used to occupy before moving across the way a few years back.
While my creative writing instructor in college loved my distinct and detailed prose, my first editor at a major daily newspaper taught me a brutal lesson on the beauty of KISS — Keep it Simple Stupid.
My editor believed in the sink or swim interview method for the wannabe reporter. Send the newbie out into the wild to cover an event and see what the cub turned in by the 5 a.m. deadline. If it didn’t work out — buh-bye. My first assignment was a packed city hall meeting with 100 hot-tempered citizens speaking out on a critical neighborhood development proposal. Following the four-hour meeting, I tapped away at my computer keys until I could no longer see the screen. As my eyes grew heavy, I hit “send,” then hit the pillow.
I felt confident the editor would love my first article, with details on how the angry mob delivered its opposition with clenched fists, furrowed brows and bellowing voices. I wanted readers to smell the mob’s hot breath and feel the angry energy in the room. I woke up at 5 a.m. to check my inbox.
Recently, we had several members of one of our client teams visiting our Brookfield office. While we had plenty of time slated for the conference room, we thought it might be nice to spend one evening doing something a little different.
Needless to say, when I found out one of my BR team members organized a cooking class at the Milwaukee Public Market, I was slightly terrified — let’s just say I don’t spend much time in the kitchen. Turned out that I was worried for nothing!
The team: Getting our cook on at the Milwaukee Public Market.
For this particular cooking class, we formed teams of two and each team was responsible for one course of the menu: pork tenderloin, asiago cheese potatoes, carrots and kale, and for desert —and the course I was assigned to — apple crepes. In the end, the food was fabulous. But this turned out to be a lot more than just a cooking class.
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