Think invasive advertising couldn't get worse? Urine for a surprise!

via adweek.blogs.com

I've always considered myself to be a hard sell. I like to think that advertising doesn't work so well on me. In fact, I usually look at the campaigns I work on from this perspective, constantly asking, "why the hell should anyone care about this?" I find it helps me to step back and think just a bit harder about the concept we're proposing.

See, I think a lifetime is the most precious thing we've got... because it's 100% limited, and that's what advertising does. It asks for your attention, and your time... your finite resources. Once you've given those away, the sender hopes you'll retain the information, or act on it.

Don't get me wrong. I still strongly think that advertising can be a good thing. It can inform us about things that could better our lives. It can motivate us to change. It can entertain us. It can encourage us to act. Advertising drives the pulling and hauling of our society, and without it our economy would come to a screeching halt, becoming fully dependent on word-of-mouth marketing (I feel like I'm selling myself here).

Still, more often that not, advertising is an invasion of our privacy, a cluttering of the landscape, reminding us to dig deep into our pockets and spend our earnings on a service, or thing. That's the way things work, and I can live with it, for the most part. In fact, this is the same message I give my clients. It is what it is and if you can't generate a successful word-of-mouth business, then you need advertising to get your message out to the public.

Every now and then a new form of advertising comes along that just grates on me, reminding me of everything that I loathe about our industry, hence these new restroom mirror displays. As if advertising's worst wasn't invasive enough, we are now destined to be exposed to more of in the worst place imaginable.

Meet the restroom mirror digital display.

Look, mens' restrooms aren't places that I tend to linger, and I think most men feel the same way. Public restrooms are usually pretty filthy, disgusting places, with the fine odor of mint and human waste floating like a cloud. I get in, wash up, and try to get out using elbows and knees, taking as few breaths as humanly possible.

News flash! These displays won't work on me... at all.

I think that really good advertising plays on all of the human senses, leaving subtle triggers in the human mind. This is basic psychology. You see, smell, touch, or hear something enough times in relationship to a message then you will eventually begin to retain and recall that information.

Simple stuff. Branding 101.

I guess my question is do you want your brand associated with the your service and message, or restimulating the fine scent of fresh pee and urinal cakes?

Hey... I think I just found my next sales pitch. -Oran

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

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Planning a Kid's Birthday: A Few Advertising Basics

via adweek.blogs.com

This video has been making the rounds online and I've got to say that I really, really love it.

First off, it's pretty funny, especially if you work in the advertising industry. But, beyond the obvious humor, what I love most is that it really does show you that most of what we do in advertising can be pretty standard. There are rules that seem to apply to planning and promoting any event, large or small.

I think what really gets me the most that there are businesses that put less effort into their marketing and promotions than they would for a child's birthday.

I'm not suggesting that we all go out and offer free pony rides (or whatever the relevant equivalent for your business might be), but I am suggesting that there are some basic actions that can be taken to get the word out (many are very inexpensive) and keep the message moving.

Sure it takes planning,... and money,... and time, but if those kids are any kind of reflection of what an engaged, happy customer might look like, then I'd say it might be worth the effort.

Watch the video. Take notes. Take action.

-Oran

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

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A Brand New Day

via presentationzen.com

I wasn't familiar with Brene Brown until I came across her TED presentation over at Gar Reynolds "Presentation Zen" feed. I didn't watch the presentation initially, but instead focused in on the title of her book, "The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are." Stop. Now, read that again.

I got up this morning with the intention of writing a post about letting go, reinventing, and starting over, and as I scanned through my favorite feeds this came back to the top.

You see, today is the first official day of a new direction for my personal brand, the Parker Brand. For years my personal brand has been walking along side me like a shadow, always pointing the way, while attracting the right individuals into my life. It wasn't a personal brand in a marketing sense. It was a personal brand that I recognized to be the "stuff" that makes me who I truly am, serving as a signpost for me, a guide that reminds me to be mindful, and always cultivate a deep awareness of things.

Some of that awareness has to do with advertising, marketing, illustration, and design, so naturally most would assume that the Parker Brand was just another commercialized brand trying to make its way. That would be the wrong assumption.

I've tried to protect the Parker Brand from that world for a long time, often stating clearly that it wasn't a business, but rather a creative way of doing things. Still, it's hard to keep a the true nature of a thing buried for very long.

Today is a brand new day for the Parker Brand. Today my personal brand does exactly as Brene Brown says to do, "let go of who you think you're supposed to be and embrace who you are."

As I sit here looking at the little mark that those around me know as the Parker Brand I can almost hear it speaking, "It's a brand new day, buddy. Let's do something different. What do ya say?"

I say, "Let's."

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

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Creative Marketer, Or Glory Seeker? Who Do You Want Working On Your Advertising?

via tomfishburne.com

I don't participate in advertising contests. I haven't in a couple of years. The ad-toon by Tom Fishburne reminded me that our own ADDY Awards are right around the corner, even more so because our local ADDYs theme this year happens to play on the "Mad Men" motif.

I'm a bit outspoken about the ADDY Awards, and creative award contests in general, but don't mistake my stance as sour grapes; I've heard my name called out many times in association with an award, and have seen it adorn the ADDY star. I've had my time in the sun, and it felt pretty good. Still, I've become disenchanted by the whole process, and I'll try to explain why.

Over the years, I've worked with several talented creative teams, and all have participated in our local ADDY Awards contest. As a team member, I happily followed along and participated with everyone else. It was expected. It was just what we did.

The ADDYs, as an event, can be a lot of fun. It's great to get together with your local advertising peers, and celebrate another year in the industry. There's the drinking, the dancing, the laughing, the entertainment, and the usually great food. And of course, there's always the chatter about who brought home the ADDY glass, who felt like they were robbed, and the curses of those dissatisfied with the judging (unless it happens to lean in their favor).

I participated heavily in the ADDY process for several years, working behind the scenes, acting as ADDY co-chair, eventually moving into the role of ADDY chair for our local organization. What I learned was that while the ADDYs are focused on creativity in advertising, it ultimately comes down to how much money the contest is moving through the organization. I also learned that while the ADDYs do attempt to celebrate creativity, they do nothing to highlight whether a campaign was truly effective, and as a side-effect they foster a sense of accomplishment in the ADDY recipients that is regardless of the advertising's true impact.

And then, there are the ad folk out there that move into each advertising project with winning an ADDY in mind, often sacrificing effectiveness and reach for obscure wit and humor. The participants who've been at the ADDY game for a while enter their creative works with a strategy to win, often retooling creative projects year after year, knowing that they will be exposing the works to new judges with each ADDY cycle. Seeing this led me to wonder how much one can truly get from hearing their name, or receiving the ADDY glass, if the methods by which the accolade was received are empty?

My problem isn't really with the ADDYs, I suppose, but rather with what drives many of the participants. Tom Fishburne's ad-toon really captures this problem in its simplicity. If adding ADDY glass to your case is what drives you then you may be cheating your client out of a solid creative strategy. Creativity, at least in a marketing sense, should always be tempered by strategy. A strong strategy can bridle creativity in a good way, making it sharp and pointed, leading it towards measurable results. But I suppose that's what advertising is to me; strategy driven creative communications with measurable results.

But I digress. I'm picking on the ADDY awards because they are the creative contest I'm familiar with. In the ADDY's defense, it is a creativity based contest, which is good and fine. It never claims to be more than that. There is no hidden agenda, and there are a lot of talented creative people who participate in the process, many that I consider my friends (although, I may be on the brown list after this post).

My problem is not with the award itself, but rather the desire to win that it instills, a desire which can turn a creative marketer into just another glory seeker.

Which leads me to ask, which one do you want working on your advertising?

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

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Blamestorm VS Brainstorm

via tomfishburne.com

I'm always looking for an update over at Tom Fishburne's blog, "Marketoonist." They're usually spot on, bringing to light Tom's thoughts on various advertising subjects that many hard-boiled ad-suits would find too taboo to actually say out loud.

His recent ad-toon coins the phrase "blamestorming," and while my take on the phrase may have a bit different spin, I believe Tom is revealing a very real brainstorming problem, where creative teams, bloated with multiple swollen egos, devolve into finger pointing pros who miss the point of why they gathered.

In my experience, a brainstorm morphs into a blamestorm when a creative team meets under the guise of getting something creative done, but instead uses the time to criticize or poo-poo on any ideas that may come out during the jam session. Do any research on brainstorming and you'll hear the popular phrase, "there is no such thing as a bad idea." Everyone likes to say that, but as Tom Fishburne points out, too often it's more like, "remember, there's no such thing as unconstructive criticism."

I've sat through many of these blamestorms over the years. I've always wondered if the folks running the creative meeting had any sense of what a brainstorming session was at all.

A brainstorming session should be a place where ideas are born and captured, regardless of value or correctness. Then, after the ideas are all out on the table, every rabbit hole having been explored, the ideas are sifted through, then paired with one another, allowing something new and great to be born. Working in this way allows a true team to form, every member seeing their input play an important part in the final direction.

When's the last time you've worked on team where the brainstorming session truly created something wonderful and new? Was it painful getting there? In my opinion, it should never be a challenge of egos in a brainstorming session, with each individual trying to out create the other, or prove that they're the saltier marketer.

A brainstorming session should always be about the client and their project, the goal being to determine the best direction, and hopefully that direction will be fueled by the collective creativity of everyone involved, the client included.

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

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Dissatisfaction=Action (Time To Do Something Different)

I've always been bothered by excessive consumption. It has never really sat right with me, and there were times in my life when I would try to make sweeping changes in my life to rectify this. Each time I've went down that road I've realized pretty quickly that it's near to impossible to go all-or-nothing, especially raising a family, in our country. I've tried to find ways to satiate this dissatisfaction, but I would fall back into old habits and go about business as usual.


Well, the old sting has come back, but this time I've decided to make small, easy changes that I can truly implement on a personal level, and some that I can apply at home daily with my family as well. I want to share the journey, and my thoughts, with you.

I've openly shared my thoughts with others and I often get asked, "How does this fit in with your job? Aren't you in advertising?" I think this is a very good question, and it makes me look even harder at my chosen profession. I often ask myself this very thing. Being in advertising, a field that is very obviously geared towards the buying and selling of goods, can I honestly be true to my own feelings about consumerism without being a hypocrite? And on a side note, does this perspective that I embrace keep me from being good at my job? 

I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle for me. I've always sort of half-joked that the reason I'm decent at small-market advertising is because I'm not a victim to it. I resist being "sold," always keeping a healthy dose of skepticism about the advertising I am exposed to.

I think that advertising can be creative field that can do a lot of good, especially if the program, event, business or group is offering something this is truly beneficial to the community. Of course, there's also the reality that it's just pushing another plastic bottle, or styro-foam cup, encouraging people to "buy and toss," rather than reuse.

I've decided to walk that tightrope, and live in the middle-grey area, for now. I think that embracing these thoughts and finding a way to apply them to my craft will be good for me and my clients. It will help me look deeper into what they do, and the message they are trying to communicate to the public by approaching it with honesty, looking for ways to create the most impact with the smallest drain on resources. 

In presentations concerning social media I've often said that the dissatisfied will light the world on fire, while the satisfied sleep in the flames. That seems to apply here. Often, satisfaction breeds complacency, but dissatisfaction leads to action. Small actions. Small steps. Real, workable application in everyday life. That's the path I plan to take. I'll keep you posted on how it's going. -OP

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A Couple of Tools Named "Mike" (What Should Craftsman Do?)

So, I'm scanning through a few of my favorite Facebook fan pages this morning and I came across this lovely little conversation taking place over on the Craftsman Facebook fan page. It started out harmless enough, then a fella by the name "Mike" went off the rails with a pretty sexist statement. Needless to say, this was like kicking open an bed of fire-ants. What surprised me was that later on another fella named "Mike" popped in and supported the original Mike's statements.

I've captured the conversation here, and created a color-key so you can see the "Mikes" in question (I'm sure the conversation is still growing, so pop on over to the Craftsman Facebook fan page to follow along).

(CLICK THE PICTURE FOR LARGER VIEW)

I see this sort of thing happen a lot, and I'm always curious to see how brands such as Craftsman will handle themselves. Do they get involved? Kill the conversation? Take a stance? Or will they simply hope that the conversation will fizzle out? I think doing nothing can be just as dangerous for the brand as doing something.

I'd be very curious to know you folks think about this. What do you think Craftsman should do in a Social Media situation like this? I think this is an important question to ask, especially for those in business who have put their feet in the Social Media waters. It definitely reminds me of these slides from a few of my presentations...

From the presentation "My Tweet Story"

From the presentation "Social-lite"

From the presentation "I.D. Thy Self"

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Living in the Sunshine, Having a Wonderful Time!

I've been really busy for the past few months... I mean really busy. When most folks ask me how I've been, that's usually my answer, "It's been busy." Their reaction is, "That's good. Better than the alternative." I agree. It really is better than the alternative.

I love my clients. I love making their advertising look great, getting it done on time, and working within their budget. That's what I do. It's pretty rewarding to go from the initial meeting with the client, to work on their proposal and then finally see the project come to completion.

Here's the rub

When you do what you say you're going to do, do it well, on time and on budget word gets around. Again, this is a good thing. The problem arises when too many projects converge at the same time. It doesn't mean that the work can't be done at the same level, or on deadline. It just means that every minute is precious and that you have to do things by the numbers, with no hick-ups.

In time

Every project has to happen in time. I say this a lot, but I don't think many truly comprehend the weight of that statement. Time is a resource; a commodity. Our culture runs on a linear time system (I believe that we operate this way because our human lives are finite... or at least that's what we think). Time, for us, starts here and finishes over there. There is only so much of it available and every single thing we do is framed by this outline. So, when projects exist within the same time-frame you've got to be able to allot a certain amount of your time resources to specific tasks. To make this work effectively you've got to know how to do your job quickly and well, then properly manage your time. If you don't, then the whole system falls apart and that's when deadlines get missed.

Having a wonderful time

Anway... I love my job. I love my clients. I love making them happy... even if every now and then things get a little tight. I'm glad that they all trust me to do what I say I'm going to do, which is help them get their message out there in an effective, attractive and creative way... even if every now and then I feel like this.

Here's wishing all of you, and all my clients a wonderful time in the sunshine! Now, back to my linear scheduled program. -OP

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Hello, Ladies!: A Neat Product & Packaging Design That Caught My Eye

For a product to sell it has to get noticed first. Once it's noticed, it can be purchased and used, then if it's really innovative someone will tell someone else about it, etc., etc. We all know how that works. While creating something innovative can really give a product it's legs, but it's the "getting noticed" that really gets those legs moving.

This weekend as I was shopping I noticed a product called "Brushing Beauties" on the shelf of our local "Bed, Bath & Beyond." Why did these little gals grab my eye? Well, not unlike the Pringle's can that I discussed a while back, the Beauties take things that we know (and are often disregarded), then twist them ever-so-slightly so as to cause our brain to question what we're seeing.

Now, these products aren't exactly innovative. They don't solve a problem, or introduce anything new. If anything, they're just scrub-brushes with a really cool paint job. But, that's not a reason for me to fault the company that makes them; quite the opposite. I think the Beauties are great!

The combination of the faces, hair & colors, married to the packing formed into their dresses, really makes them jump out at you in hard contrast to the other items on the shelves. I'm a hard sell, but I instantly found myself trying to think of someone to buy one of these for. In fact, I would have bought all three if I could have justified the purchase (I'm a hard sell). 

In the end, was the product itself that great? No. Would I go back to pick these up for someone? Absolutely! There's no doubt in my mind that someone would be excite to have these... especially if I got the whole set.

The folks behind this product are putting their innovative brain power on the packaging design, and I think it works! I don't imagine that they're trying to change the world here. They just want you to see these brushes, and buy them. It's probably not any heavier than that. If that's the case then I'm going to call this an innovative packaging design win. What are your thoughts?

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What's Behind Button Number 4?

So, I stopped to fuel up this morning, and before I could get out of my vehicle I was bombarded with the sound blaring from the little screen at the left of the pump. Look, I'm all for advertising. In fact, good advertising can actually be entertaining and beneficial to society (I'll defend that another time). All that being said, good advertising is not what comes to mind when I run into one of these devices. They're very annoying, and nothing short of noise pollution.

I reached out to look for the magic mute button, and what did I see? If number 4 is any indication, then I'm not the only one who can't tolerate these things.



Thoughts?

"Reach For The Sky" A Logo Goes Into Action

I recently started working with a new client. I was hired to help them develop their logo, and am now working with them on the signage for their new location. We installed their "Coming Soon" banner last Friday and it turned out great! It's highly visible from the street and the colors really stand out. I've got to say, there's something pretty rewarding about seeing a logo go into action. It's even more rewarding when you know you did your job well and on time, and left your client satisfied.

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

A Gator Update

Not much to report. Watching the kids play, cooking Great Northern Beans, talking with Twitter pals about complete, double-rainbows and working on my "real" gumbo gator drawing. Still pecking at this thing in between other things. Oran out.

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

FedEx: Delivering Rainbows (A Caption Contest)

Oran Parker took this picture. He owns it. Yeah... it's not great, but don't swipe it, okay?

So, a while back I was driving down Interstate 10 near Lake Charles, Louisiana right after a big rainstorm. The sky had that really pretty, right-after-the-storm glow where just a bit of light peeks through the clouds. Trucking along, I noticed a rainbow dropping out of the sky, and it seemed to land right on top of the Federal Express Ground truck that was driving in front of me. I grabbed my iPhone and took the best photo I could, what with all the highway bouncing and my shaky hands (yeah, yeah... I shouldn't be taking photos while driving). It's not very clear, but it's still a fun little shot and I figured we could have some fun with it.

Drop by my blog, the Parker Brand Way, and leave a caption in the comments section. There are a lot of creative individuals who pop in from time-to-time, so I'm sure you folks can come up with something great! The best caption I receive by this Friday (July 9th, 2010) at 3pm CST will receive a full set of Parker Brand Sketch Card Prints (you can check those out here). I may throw in some bonus prizes for runners-up, as well.

So, have fun and let's get those captions coming in.

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

Make 'Em Curious: A Packaging Design That Works For Me

I was shopping with my kids on Sunday. While standing in the checkout line a series of bottles caught my eye. Normally, bottles wouldn't made me stop, but these did. When I took a second look I realized that they were Pringle's chip cans.We love Pringle's in our home, and actually had three flavors in our buggy for check-out.

So, what made me stop on these? I believe it's all about signals. If you're used to seeing Pringle's with different colored cans & flavors then you may walk by a whole row of them without giving the product a second thought. But, these cans send out the traditional Pringle's "signal" to the brain. The design on the can, set in it's optical-illusion style, says "I'm a bottle." I believe the mind has a hard time reconciling these two signals. In an instant it realizes that there is a problem to be solved, then you stop to solve this mystery. This all happens very quickly, mind you. My family and I had a decision to make; are we interested enough to try them?

Being fascinated by this little design & product placement tactic, I bought all three cans. It turns out that all three flavors are pretty good, but none so good that I would seek them out again, of course I would imagine that is not Pringle's goal. They want to move these flavors right now. That's it. It puts the brand in your cubbard for you to try. If you like any of them then you'll be willing to try the other products that are coming out of the line.

We'll finish the chips, and I'll keep the cans in my office. They'll serve as a reminder of an age-old marketing strategy; be consistent, make folks comfortable, then break your own pattern from time to time to grab attention. Now, I've got some Ketchup flavored chips to eat. Thanks for stopping by.

An Ink And Water Color Sketch. "Super" In Name Only.

I've never used water colors before, but I went to Hobby Lobby with the family this afternoon and a cheap set of water color paints caught my eye. I experimented with an India Ink wash last week, so I kind of figured that this might be something like that. I wanted to start with something simple, so I picked "Supergirl."

Like most of the comic characters I do, I started with a quick pencil sketch first...

Then I moved on to the inks...

Added the India Ink wash...

And finally tried my hand with the water color...

For a first try, I'm pretty pleased. It's definitely like trying to control chaos, but I think that I could learn to like working in water color. If it anything, it was nice to do something different. I hope you folks dig it.

You "Mite" Like This Billboard (or "Local Outdoor Concept Gets The Parker Brand Bump")

Outdoor advertising is one of my favorite forms of communication. That may come from the roots that I laid down in the sign industry when I first got into the advertising field. Like most medium-sized markets, we've got our fair share of billboards. Most of the time they're just more noise on the landscape, but from from time-to-time something really cool will pop up. This time, it popped up right across the street from my office.

So, what's so exceptional about this particular billboard? Well, there are few things, but I'll get to that in a second.

On the surface it looks like just another pest control advertisement. It does the job of telling you who the company is, and what they do. It's not overloaded with text. I do happen to know that the logo was inherited by a local sign company, and then they created a set of graphics for a vehicle-wrap (which is pictured in the layout), and it seems that those graphics have set the tempo for everything you see here. I'm assuming that the jeep is a large part of this company's advertising campaign because I've seen it used in their print advertising as well.

Now, on to the good stuff. This is actually a double-stacked billboard. If you look closely you can see the backside of the board. I think purchasing both boards is a great idea. You get all of the attention that way.

They've utilized an extension from the top of this over-sized outdoor purchase to draw attention to their "100% Effective" message. If that's what they wanted folks to see, then it does the trick.

All of those things are great, but what really made me stop (literally... I pulled over) was the pole. Who uses the pole? In this market, just about no one. This company wants you to know that it's termite season and all of those little termites crawling up the pole do the job just fine. What a creative way to draw a potential customer's eyes up to the message.

This pest control company owns this side of the board, 100%! It's the only board on this side of this particular stretch of highway, so if you're scanning the horizon as you drive then chances are they'll own your attention as well.

I'm not sure which agency advises this particular company. Maybe they make their own media decisions, or maybe they were advised by AdSource Outdoor Advertising. I know that Henry "Rock" Hardy is an experienced outdoor man, so I wouldn't be surprised if this little morsel wasn't cooked up by him.

No matter where is came from, this local piece of advertising get's the Parker Brand Bump! I hope that we see more of this type of creative thinking in this market. Good job!

"Batter UP!" Updating A Package Design Without Leaving the Existing Brand Behind

I've been working with a Cajun food product manufacturer for quite some time. Most of the designs that I've had to work with were inherited from those who came before me. My challenge has always been to update the look of the company's advertising and packaging, without leaving the brand identity established by the original designers.

I've been working on a packaging update that addresses this point exactly. The company is rolling out a new fish fry and all-purpose batter. These products will be packaged in the same size bag as the company's already popular seafood boil. When I came on board, the seafood boil packaging was already in place.

Here is the original seafood boil design:

New products don't roll out every day. When they do, I usually do what I can to move the packaging design forward. I don't like to upset the status quo of the brand too much, but if I think I can improve on the product's shelf appeal by enhancing the brand's existing elements, and adding a few, then I do.

On the new batter and fry products, I wanted to start introducing some new color schemes and tactile elements. I felt like it was important to show food cooked with the product, and to choose textures and colors that may trigger specific feelings and emotions about the food.

The new direction for the batter and fry packaging:

If feel like these design updates are moving in the right direction. I've left most of the staple branding elements intact, such as the logo, mark, banners, framing and font choices, but what I've changed has made a huge difference in the way the bags will stand out on the shelf. 

This may be the new direction for all future packaging designs produced for this company. As product is sold, and existing packaging and labels are used, I may eventually have an opportunity to revamp the look and feel of every product in the line.

I always find it challenging to take an existing brand and update it without actually doing a complete 180 from where it stands. This product line poses that challenge to me, which makes working on it a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to updating more of their packaging designs in the future.

Social-Lite: An Introduction To Social Media For Small Businesses

I will be presenting Social-Lite: An Introduction To Social Media For Small Businesses to the West Calcasieu Association of Commerce at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 11.

This presentation was a bit challenging because social media is an extremely broad subject, and the time alloted for the presentation is only 30 minutes. I was told to assume that most of my audience would have little to no knowledge on the subject.

I tried to be as lean as I could on the slides because usually they are only there to support what I'm saying to the audience. I decided to add a bit more content to this presentation in the form of pro tips for the note-takers, or for those who may view it online after the event.

The presentation gives an overview of what social media is, how it's grown and what it means to small businesses in general. In trying to distill the content, I focused on 4 aspects of social media marketing; You Tube, Facebook, Twitter and Blogging.

My hope is that this presentation will stimulate business interest in social media marketing in Southwest Louisiana.

To view my other presentations, visit my Creative Services site.

This Logo is DYN-O-MITE! (or "J.J.'s")

This was a pretty fun little logo update that I had to burn out. The client was in a time-crunch pickle so they hired the Sweet Spot Team to create an identity update. Is it a dyn-o-mite logo? I don't know about that, but I think it'll do it's job for the client, and that's what counts. I do my Parker Brand best to produce modular logos that work hard, so my clients can get a lot of life out of them. Due to production deadlines, I had to crank it out like a fire-cracker, but I made sure that I didn't sacrifice quality for speed. If you're interested in seeing where the logo was before the update, then click here. I've got a few thumbnail sketches in there as well. Now,... what was I doing before I started this?

Posted via email from So, what does Oran Parker post?

Watchin' the Wheel Go 'Round and 'Round... Again!

The Southwest Louisiana marketing & advertising world, like most sub-cultures, has it's own gossip pipeline, and the valve has been opened once again. Since I moved back to the area 5 years ago, I've seen this pipeline pass information from person to person, office to office, email to email, around our area and back again in a matter of minutes (around and around and around we go... where we'll land, nobody knows).

Over the years, there have been names that almost always float to the top of this pool of information. Sadly, these are the folks that I will most likely never have a real, or meaningful conversation with, because the the hard-boiled truth is that my information isn't safe with them...and neither is yours. I suppose, for those folks, being "in the know" is more important than being trustworthy. Who knows?

The local cycle always seems to be in flux (guess that's why it's called a cycle), usually kicking into gear every 6 months or so. Every time one of these shifts happens, the whole advertising community is ablaze with predictions and theories. It's pretty funny to watch, actually.

I remember getting my foot in the door to the local marketing community, hearing the "big" names in the local business (I've worked with more than a few of them). Folks talk. Who's the best at what we do, the most talented, the smartest, on the rise? Who has better clients? Who's working for who? Who's leaving who? Who's unhappy with who?

Since those first days in the market I've seen some folks rise to the top, take a tumble, start over at the bottom and rise up again. Others have shifted job titles and companies multiple times, never finding a semi-permanent home. Heck! I suppose that could even describe me, to a large degree.

It's all a bit silly, actually. Who's the best at what we do? Who is the strongest "agency" in our market? What's going to happen if such-and-such leaves this-and-that company? Now that person-x has left left company-y, and now works for company-z, what does that ultimately mean?

I honestly just do not care (I suppose I care a little, or I wouldn't be writing this post, but I digress). You see, for all of the soothsaying that goes on in our market, not one of these predictions actually does anything to make the market stronger. It just puts the same tired cycle into motion, over and over again...and we all play our part by continuing to pick up the phone, pass emails, tweets, Facebook posts and whisper in each others ears at parties, events and lunches...spreading our delicious information.

Well, you guys have fun with that.

I plan to just stand by and watch the next wave of musical chairs come and go. Folks'll settle in and get comfortable and before long it'll be business as usual...until the next time the wheel rolls around. In the meantime, I'll just focus on what matters to me most as an advertising professional; being honest and straightforward, working hard for the clients who trust me, and getting the job done on time. You see, that's what's really lacking in our market. If we all worried about what was going on in our own house a little more, and about spreading gossip a little less, we'd all have happier clients and a stronger market too.

That is all. -OP