Some marketing and advertising resolutions from your friends at Response.
A few short years ago, when I called Tampa home, I used to drive past a piano store on my way to work. Seeing as how I did not know how to play the piano, I was never tempted to visit the store. Then one day in late December, I decided that I would make a New Year’s resolution to learn how to play the piano. As you probably guessed, I still have not stepped foot in that piano store, or any other piano store for that matter.
I believe the kids would refer to this as a resolution fail. Damn kids.
Still, our failures of the past should not stunt our visions of the future. Though I am not one to claim I will suddenly become a better person simply because the calendar has changed, I am fully in favor of anyone or anything that strives for better, regardless of the motivation. And I am not alone.
When considering this blog, I sent an email to everyone at Response to see if they had any resolutions as it relates to their role or the industry as a whole. Unlike my personal resolutions of owning a penguin and having Adele sing a song at my wedding, I believe everything the team came up with is completely feasible.
Your Humble Narrator Cosmo, Senior Copywriter
I resolve to push myself to develop more concepts and ideas that have the ability to go beyond the intended media. I also resolve to be nicer to the account management team, or at the very least, not scowl when they enter the room. Well, audibly scowl. Baby steps.
Karissa Tuccio, Social Guru
Karissa would like to expand the presence of our agency and our clients on Instagram. She also resolves to be better about adhering to timelines, and we all wish her well on this particular journey.
Matt Durand, Art Director
Matty boy resolves to try and complain less. Godspeed with that, Matthew. He also says he’d like to accept client challenges and try to improve upon the process through which we deliver creative.
Kim DeMartino, VP of Account Management
Kim resolves to not take things personally when an agency-favorite idea is shot down. Considering she’s often our voice of reason, we hope she succeeds. She also resolves to not label any files as final until everyone is super, super, super, super sure we’re ready to launch.
Stephanie Hayes, SEO Maven
Stef resolves to not burden the copywriter with frivolous keywords, thus destroying his otherwise masterful, poetic sentences. (Note from Stef: if anyone asks, Cosmo walked into a door. Didn’t you, Cosmo?)
OK, her real resolution is to convince our clients to spend more time considering their site’s health, how to improve it, and ways to incorporate SEO into all website strategy.
David Klineberg, Partner and Strategy Visionary
Dave resolves to focus on mobile, and not just because he’s a Clash of Clans fanatic (he’ll deny it, but I’m pretty sure it’s true). Dave’s focus on mobile goes beyond just mobile websites, as he looks to create complete mobile strategies that involve ads, content, video, social, etc. He’s also challenging the himself, and the team, to give more thought to the context of our work to better enhance the overall effectiveness of that which we produce.
Carolyn Walker, Partner and Chief Resolution Specialist
Carolyn’s list of resolutions ranges from insights to inspiration. Her resolution wish list includes being more tactical and hyper-targeted with all messaging. She’d also like us to push further and dig deeper to find the tiniest slivers of information that can yield breakthrough work. Speaking of, Carolyn has been known to use the word “disruptive” a time or two. In this spirit, she’d like us to be more brave, more creative, and “scarier” with our ideas, while at the same time challenging the team to be more open and honest with feedback.
A few resolutions that seemed to resonate throughout were to ask more questions to drive better answers, and to look for sources of inspiration in unexpected places.
Personally, I’d like to ask that our clients resolve to bombard us with information and remain open to the insanity that can sometimes yield brilliance. And don’t be afraid to share with us your sources of inspiration or ads/art/books that you love. That’s the type of stuff that helps inform our thinking when considering ideas and concepts that you may enjoy.
As we say goodbye to 2015, let’s welcome in 2016 with a promise that we will solidify our partnerships and work as hard as we can to make each other’s lives easier, more productive, and something to brag about. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to ice down my eye from… that door.