Beware the Expert Trap: Ditch Labels And Embrace Curiosity
Experience Is Valuable Yet, if that experience has you self-identify as an “expert,” “ninja,” or “rockstar,” it’s important that the label does not carry on to the approach. Experts often come to projects with answers. But true experience teaches you to approach each project with questions. Don’t assume because it worked before, it will work now. […]
What We Learned From Starting An Agency From Scratch
How a Direct-To-Client Approach Enables Efficiency And Collaboration. Three years ago, my partner Luis Ramirez and I started our agency, Cast Iron LA. We went from working at the biggest agency in LA, to arguably the smallest. It’s been an interesting, rewarding and sometimes scary journey. As an exercise of reflection, we’ve collected some of the […]
CREATING DURING CORONA. How to find work/life harmony in lockdown.
I’m not a fan of the term “work-life balance.” You see, when you define balance, there’s an inherent assumption that work and life are two opposing forces. Positive and negative, assets and liabilities, hot and cold, wet and dry. Right and wrong. Love and hate. In a creative industry like advertising, work and life do […]
Creative Directors. It’s time to create.
Times like these are meant for reflection. Not for holding on to the past, but to figure out how to embrace the future. To ask yourself, Do I really like what I am doing? Am I happy, or just comfortable? I had to ask myself those same questions last year. These days, at my new […]
Short Selling: 3 Steps To Becoming A 6-Second Storyteller
Six-second ads are here to stay as short content becomes the new normal for many platforms. To hammer that point home, Snapchat now considers 10-seconds as long-form video. Yep. 10. If you are a creative reading this, I can feel the collective eye roll. Many teams stress about their ability to tell a story in […]
Intellectual Property In The Age Of Social Media
How BRANDS (AND POLITICIANS) are breaking The Law. These days, the rise of social media has produced a gray area for brands and politicians, as some unknowingly assume high risk in their pursuit to be topical and clever while attaching themselves to celebrities. Most recently, Mike Bloomberg took to the social world to inundate people […]
5 Ways For Agencies To Build Stronger Client Relationships
Recently on LinkedIn, someone posted a battle meme with the caption “Waiting for client feedback on banners.” Yes, it was meant as a joke, but it seemed to be grounded in truth. Many people shared their battles in the comments to the amusement of other agency peeps. Which led me to ponder the following question: […]
Time to leave your ad agency? 6 questions to ask yourself.
In the incestuous world of ad agencies, people rarely settle at just one. Accounts change; needs change; money, titles and opportunity call. So it’s no wonder agency people hop from place to place. If you are considering a move or even wondering if you should settle in, here are some questions to ask before you […]
What I learned from watching the Big Game with non-ad people.
My partner Luis and I have worked on at least a dozen Super Bowl spots in some capacity. Throughout our careers, we have spent countless hours strategizing , creating, agonizing, pre-releasing, hashtagging and working long nights in preparation for that big day in February. Yet, when it come times to watch, we both separate from […]
Seeing diversity with 2020 Vision
Early in my career, I worked the front desk at a small marketing agency in Los Angeles. One day while I was answering phones and ordering lunch, the creative department was crafting a congratulations ad for a major music publication. The award was for Latin Music Producer of the Year. Instead of making it Del […]