What do Hard Rock Café, REI, and the Cerritos Library have in common? They have all mastered the art of the experience – the notion that consumers are increasingly buying experiences rather than goods or commodities

Acclaimed author and speaker Joe Pine recently graced our halls as the May Innovation Series speaker, and spoke about his above-mentioned idea of the Experience Economy.

In The Experience Economy, Pine and his partner, Jim Gilmore, offer new models for an “insightfully different perspective for our digital age.” As growth occurs within the experience sector of the economy, there will be increased opportunity for innovation. It is here, that we create new ways for our clients to deliver brand experience to a next-gen target.

The experience IS the marketing. Starbucks gets this. So does the Geek Squad. Who will be next to capitalize on the Experience Economy?

To view Joe Pine’s TED Talk on “What Consumers Want,” click here.

1. The photo phone list is your friend: With all the new faces and people you see on a regular basis, the phone list is a great way to keep track of everyone – the pictures are key!
2. Meet someone new everyday: It is easy to get lost in the daily shuffle of client work. It is important to get to know people outside of your department, and let’s face it, we all want to meet new people and make new friends—plus, who doesn’t love a new LinkedIn connection?
3. Collaboration is Essential: You have the opportunity to work and interact with almost everyone in the company in one way or another. Make an effort to do so and learn from others.
4. Stay Organized: With 300+ employees, there are many things the company does to ensure we all stay organized and efficient. Take advantage of the different resources available here at the agency.
5. Get Involved: From participating in the ‘Do Good Fridays’ initiative, attending weekly Stand Up meetings and entering the flower drawings on the 7^th floor (it only took me 4 months to win), the agency provides plenty of opportunities that allow you to get involved.

Team One creative team continues to grow with the addition of Creative Director Jesse Blatz.

Blatz hails from Mullen Boston, where he was an integral part of the creative leadership. He was instrumental in winning the Zappos.com account during a highly competitive review that included over a hundred agencies. He also led jetBlue’s colorful You Above All campaign, for which he set the overall look using his own illustrations. He created the award winning and fan favorite Bruins Hockey Rules campaign for the Boston Bruins, as well as notable campaigns for iRobot (maker of the Roomba), Fage Greek Yogurt, and most recently, a global TV effort for Google’s Nexus 10 tablet.

Jesse’s work has been recognized at Cannes, One Show, and Communication Arts, among others.

He will be teamed up with Associate Creative Director Eric Arnold.

“We’re always looking for remarkable thinking. Jesse has the combination of integrated creative leadership and branding skills that any agency would covet. His talents fit perfectly with where we’re going as an agency,” said Chris Graves, Chief Creative Officer, Team One.

At Team One, we know the holidays are not as much about opening gifts as they are about opening our hearts. Team One’s annual Day of Good has become a cherished tradition that we look forward to each holiday season. This year was bigger and better than ever! With the addition of our fields teams, we were able to add hours of volunteer time as well as a brand new charity; Project Angel Food.  Our volunteers and team leaders alike were so inspired by the day that a few have committed to additional volunteering with the charities throughout the year.  Here are few words about the experience:

Click here for a full gallery from our Team One Day of Good 2012!

“Rainbow Services is so grateful to Team One Advertising for all of the wonderful gifts you collected for the families fleeing violence at home that come to us for service.  You will never know whose lives you touched and they will never know your names, but they will always remember that good people cared.”

- Director of Volunteers & Education, Rainbow Services, Ltd.

“What an absolute delight to meet all the adorable little ones at The Children’s Institute in Torrance, CA! Team One joined hands with Free Arts for Abused Children and provided a colorful, fantastic array of arts and crafts — holiday ornaments, wood picture frames, festive hats, airplanes, and all things glitter — just to name a few.  Without knowing the children’s full backgrounds or family situations, it was the best opportunity to leave a positive, lasting impression through life’s simplest joys: laughter, playing, and creating art.  We will never forget their sparkling, clear eyes — truly a blessing this holiday season.”

-  Sharon Rho, Free Arts for Abused Children Team Leader

“Even though I was not able to take home every dog I laid eyes on at the Amanda Foundation, it was nice to be able to give back to the community. From dog walking to kennel cleaning, we all had hands-on experience and got to individually spend time with the furry animals. It is great that Team One allows their employees to take time out of the work week to give back to organizations that are near and dear to their hearts.”

- Erica Ramirez, The Amanda Foundation Volunteer

“Team One and the Felton School in Lennox, California have had a longstanding relationship. Upon starting at team one two and half years ago, I had never heard of the Felton School and its needs. My previous supervisor at Team One introduced me to this “charity” and I have been involved ever since. This is my second year heading the Felton School charity for our Day of Good and the giving never gets old. Like in years past, we shopped for six families (32 people in total), wrapped gifts, and delivered the gifts, a turkey dinner and Christmas trees. This year was especially rewarding in that our field offices got to participate in the delivery process. Upon returning to Team One after a delivery, they took their own time and offered their own money to purchase a table and chairs for the family that had no furniture. Taking the initiative to make sure the family was able to eat dinner around a table this holiday season showed what can happen after people are made aware, are determined to help, and why Team One is full of the best people around!”

Justine Kleeman, Felton School Team Leader

“Our Day of Good visit to the Friends of Animals Foundation was exceptional.

After some general information, paperwork, and meeting the FoA Team of Volunteers, we set out and began walking dogs around the neighborhood.

All of the animals we spent time with are seeking permanent homes and so in addition to making sure they got exercise and were able to enjoy time outside, we were also asked to help maintain the impressive training routine they receive as part of their time at the Foundation.

Between walking sessions, we heard how lives full of sadness replaced by those of hope, thanks to this incredible Foundation and it’s amazing support network of resources.

It was inspiring to know that an organization like Friends of Animals exists thanks to the help of Volunteers and Community support.

Our T1 Team of Volunteers did an amazing job and the FoA Team expressed overwhelming gratitude that we took time out of a very busy Holiday Season to improve the lives of their Animals.”

- Kit Hennessey, Friends of Animals Team Leader

“Project Angel Food’s mission is to nourish the body and spirit of men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses. Team One members donated their time and the agency donated money to Angel Food’s cause. We helped to prepare 1100 meals that day. It was a rewarding experience for all of us knowing that we made a positive impact in the daily life of so many people in the community.”

- Michael Nnadi, Project Angel Food Team Leader

“Team One is committed to making a difference in the local community and has found a way to help thousands of people in the area by volunteering at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank every year. From sorting food to repackaging personal care supplies, the team of over 75 people who spent hours lifting boxes, organizing donations and cleaning the storage warehouse left the day with not only sore muscles but also, and more importantly, warm hearts. With the sweat on their brows and the compassion in their efforts, the teams working at the food bank happily got their hands dirty for the benefit of those who lack the capacity to support their families with the basic necessities of a clean home and a healthy meal. Thank you to the LA Regional Food Bank for letting us help make a difference through supporting your phenomenal year-round services.”

- Grady Wieger, LA Food Bank Team Leader

When I think about advertising campaigns during the Holidays three words come to mind: Enough. Enough. Enough. More specifically—Is it late enough? Is it relevant enough? And is it different enough?

Late Enough.
Too early is worse than too late. People’s lives are busy. Very busy. And seasonal advertising that overlaps really compounds that. Can we at least wait until the Thanksgiving turkey is cold before Santa invades our living rooms? Holiday advertising is fine. Some of it is even damn good. We all get that. But let’s just wait till the right time. Marketers, think of it as your gift to your audience.

What next? ValentineEasterPassoverCincoDeMayoMemorialIndependenceRamadanLabourRosh-HashanaVeteransThanksgivingChanukaChristmasKwanzaaNewYears Day?

Relevant Enough.
Poor Santa. He signed up for a one-day-a-year job, and now he works more every single year. You can use the icons of the Holidays as long as you make them relevant. Too much is still just “decorating” rather than thoughtfully making a relevant point to a prospective customer. Human truths are more powerful than overused clichés. This is true all twelve months of the year.

Different Enough.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for advertisers during the Holidays is simply standing out. While this is obviously an evergreen rule, during this time of year it’s even harder to see the woods for the Christmas Trees. This point cannot be overstated. The noise level is high and when it’s all on the same frequency, it’s deafening.

Okay, enough from me.

Happy Holidays.

Cartabiano has had a “dangerous addiction to cars” since childhood. Even at the early age of 8, he was drawing cars on flashcards—and quite well at that [see above].

Luckily, coming from a family of car lovers and artists, his passion was not stiffened. Cartabiano has worked at Calty since he graduated from the Art Center College of Design and over the past fifteen years, he has contributed to the design of the Toyota Avalon, Sienna, Prius C, and most notably, the Lexus LF-LC.

Through these designs, Cartabiano and his team aim to prove that designers do more than draw with crayons. They have the power to change a company/brand.

Given that the Lexus LF-LC won the Best Concept Award at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, we’d say they proved that notion.

Everything is a Presentation

After a brief hiatus, the Innovation Speaker Series is back in action at Team One. And what better way to start than with a visit from Peter Coughter—VCU Brandcenter professor and author of The Art of the Pitch.

Coughter spent over an hour walking through a number of best practices delivering presentations with real impact, and yet, it hardly felt like a presentation (I guess that’s why he’s the best in the biz…)

Based predominantly on the idea that you must be authentic when presenting, Coughter outlined a number of tips that will help us all become masters of the art of the pitch. Including:

1. People do not respond to the empirical, they respond to the emotional

2. Knowing your material is different from memorizing—spontaneity is the product

     of practice

3. Relax and be personable

4. When you’re confident, people assume competency

5. Defy convention and create the exception(al)

6. Make an ad for your ad (presentation)

In short, it doesn’t matter how good your idea is because it’s worth nothing if you can’t sell it.

Super blurry Ad:Tech photo ^^

It’s been years since I was last at an Ad:Tech conference.  In fact, if I’m not mistaken, the last one I attended was around 2006 in San Francisco.  This was just before the downturn but you could feel the winds of change coming.  The conference was relatively sparse and the material largely recycled.  Not so with the 2012 Ad:Tech that transpired in NYC just over a week ago – one week after Sandy tore through and left millions without power and thousands without homes.

To be honest, I was a bit surprised that the conference organizers pressed forward, committed still to holding the conference at the Javitz center where the basement had flooded and repair crews were furiously working to restore drywall and insulation.  I was even more surprised at how well-attended the conference was, how fresh the material seemed, and at the air of optimism and renewal that echoed through the halls at the Javitz.

Although the overall theme of the conference is digital in all its forms, there was distinct focus this year on the necessity of brands to engender authenticity and transparency, clearly a by-product of brand engagement in social media.  Also, mobile and tablet sessions were abundant.  It would appear that the year of mobile  (next several decades, probably) has finally arrived.  In fact, I understand that one of the more exciting sessions (I was unable to attend it) was a master class on tablet content and audiences led by friend and colleague, OMD Chief Innovation Officer, Jon Haber.

And what about Team One’s role?  Well, I had been invited to sit on a panel and to present some of the ‘best of the best’ of 2012 with co-panelists from Something Massive, Weiden+Kennedy, and Ansible.  Together we reflected on some of the more interesting executions we had seen during 2012, largely using “did it make us jaded industry types want to share?” as our filter.  As Mediapost and Allvoices reported, I was specifically asked to consider shortform and longform online video.

For a more general review of the entire session, take a peek here:  http://bit.ly/T0A95u

Thank you to Ad:Tech for the invitation and to Team One for the opportunity to speak on the agency’s behalf.  Let’s do it again next year!

Finding inspiration before the last spot, on the last day, and the last plane out.

There have been more imposing presentation settings before.  Being the incumbent when the account is in review, showing creative to a client that your agency had fired in his previous position, both being true at the same time (actual story).

So, presenting The Ritz-Carlton “Let Us Stay With You” case study at the recent Digiday Agency Summit in the very last spot, on the last day and hoping that the afternoon flight to DC could get out before Sandy struck wasn’t the most daunting…technically.

Luckily, however, we met Kathy from The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach on our drive to the venue.  Among her other duties, Kathy also visits other Ritz-Carlton hotels as a trainer.  Her stories of how she was treated by her fellow Ladies & Gentlemen, how they could not have been more attentive and giving to her special needs child, how she could truly see the experience through the eyes of a guest, how much she was moved and motivated by Let Us Stay With You, and how excited she was to further her career with The Ritz-Carlton provided a bolt of inspiration for our case study.

The lesson here is that a handful of slides, no matter how well crafted, can never top the very personal, very human stories that sometimes live within our work.

While many believe you have to be on the first base line to capture the money shot, Fine is a firm believer that good pictures can be taken anywhere. He feels that photos give the viewer a sense of place—the feeling that they were there, in the moment, experiencing sporting history firsthand.

And believe me, after the visceral feeling I got from seeing the top 150 “heavily-emotional-often cringe-worthy” photos from the London Olympics, he’s mastered this technique.

^ Power Badge ^

As my fifth week comes to a close, I feel confident reflecting upon my time as an intern thus far. And by “confident” I mean this article has been posted under another intern’s name.  (Kidding…Obviously!)

On my first day I arrived excessively early and full of new-job jitters, extremely excited for what the summer had in store. Little did I know that upon entering I would be given everything I’d need: a Team One laptop case and lunch box full of all my favorite office supplies (keep in mind, I was THAT kid, who, every year – and yes that includes college – looked forward to summer ending so I could go to Staples and stock up on back-to-school supplies) as well as my very own mentor to guide me through the internship (Editor’s Note: woohoo!).

Since that first day I have been given the freedom to write, collaborate and create. It has become clear that Team One is a place where personal and professional growth is interwoven and where good people inspire great work.

To be honest, I am more than halfway through my internship and it still amazes me that I could do what I love all day, every day, as my job. Here’s to an amazing final few weeks!

White Sox’ Gordon Beckham and Team One Central intern Maureen Stroka hang out at ‘Out of the Park’ event

When Team One Central presented Lexus the opportunity to partner with White Sox Radio, they jumped at the chance. Not only are they able to get their advertising message out, they are also able to support White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham and his “Out of the Park” Foundation. Throughout the baseball season, every time the South Siders hit an RBI, the Chicago and Northwest Indiana Lexus Dealers make a donation to help Beckham in his mission to eradicate Parkinson’s Disease.

Recently, Team One Central was able to spend the day with Gordon Beckham and see the good work of his foundation first hand. During an event at Chicago’s U.S Cellular Field (Comiskey Park, if you’re legit) Beckham thanked Team One, the Lexus dealers, and others for their support of the National Parkinson Foundation. Gordon Beckham also spent time with Parkinson’s patients and introduced his grandfather who suffers from Parkinson’s disease. His grandfather’s battle with this neurological disease inspired him to start the “Out of the Park” Foundation.

The event showcased Team One’s ability to reach out to the local community with positive campaigns that leave a lasting impact. Community service and involvement is in Team One’s DNA. Looking at advertising opportunities through an altruistic lens allows us to expand the reach of our campaigns and tie Lexus to the local community.

For more information on Parkinson’s Disease and upcoming philanthropic events, visit: http://www.parkinson.org/

And check out Out of the Park’s website to track its progress and get involved: http://www.outofthepark.org

One of our favorite Felton teachers Mr. R

Team One stresses the importance of giving back to our community and we embrace the ability to do so in a supportive work environment (and during work hours, just sayin’).

Felton School, located in nearby Lennox, CA, is an elementary school that Team One has been partnering with for more than 15 years. Yes, 15 years. We use our December Day of Good to go shopping for Christmas gifts (buying everything from Wii gaming systems and bikes to jackets for the whole family), wrapping and delivering everything, along with a Christmas tree and turkey dinner to five struggling local families during the Christmas season. In March, we celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday and participated in Read Across America with Felton School. Our partnership, now friendship, and support of Felton School is one that runs very deep for many Team One employees.

Most recently, Scott Wilcox, principal of Felton School, reached out to Team One to ask for our support and promotion of a contest they entered in order to win $20,000. They plan on buying iPads for all of their Autistic students.

Please take a moment to click the link below in order to vote and help us support Felton School and their quest to better the education of their students. Once you click the link, please find “Our iPad Dream” Felton Elementary School, Lennox, CA.

You can vote three times a day, now through July 8. Please do so, we are!

http://www.biglots.com/lots2give/vote/link?videoId=2c9461ee372753700137284ed9f10001

The way we experience the web is changing. We are moving from the large screen world of the desktop towards the small screen world of the smart phone and tablet. In response, builders of web sites have begun to embrace ideas like Mobile First and Responsive Design to align with the coming prominence of the mobile web.

But how do we as an agency begin to embrace this mobile shift? We know we need to think more “mobile”, but how do we really get there? How do we ingrain this change into our thinking? One practical way is an experiment one of our teams is trying now. One day per week we have agreed to access the web only through smart phones and tablets. No desktop browsers. Period.

We call it Mobile Monday.

The immediate objection raised was this experiment would be very annoying. There are so many nuisances and limitations with the mobile web. And that, my friends, is the point. We must face the problems head on.

Too often we downplay and permit the annoyances of poor mobile experiences when desktop browsers are right at hand. “I tried to do that on my phone and it didn’t work, so I will try it on my laptop later,” the thinking probably goes. We accept that the mobile web is still in its infancy and after so many bad experiences, we set the bar of expectations below the knee.

But that mindset is changing. The window for brands to ignore the mobile shift is quickly swinging shut. With the explosion of apps and the rise of devices like the iPad, our tolerance withers for brands that fall behind.

By taking away the desktop, the frustrations we have with the mobile web cannot be avoided. We cannot run from the problems, but we can hopefully take steps towards real solutions and take advantage of the medium’s possibilities. From constraints spring inspiration and that is the aim of this experiment.

We are just now trying out our first Mobile Monday so it’s too soon to know if it will help us create better mobile experiences. But perhaps we can impact the culture of our agency by embracing both the shortcomings and possibilities of the mobile web.

Team One was recently named #12 in Ad Age’s annual list of Best Places to Work in Marketing and Media and the highest-ranked full-service creative agency that houses media planning, media buying, social media and public relations teams.

What does that actually mean?

• More than 15,000 advertising professionals surveyed
• 297 mimosas poured
• 5 offices virtually cheering each other
• Closing the office early today for an agency-wide happy hour

Click here for the full feature, and here for the online version.

Want to copy and paste this to Twitter? Go ahead:

I think @TeamOneUsa rocks too: 2012 @adage “Best Place to Work” http://t.co/SvhZBmkM

Just for fun (and not because I’m job hunting), I also checked out Ad Age’s Best Places to Work Job Finder 2012, and selected key characteristics I look for in a new job (Compensation, Employer Relations/Social Responsibility, Special Perks).

What was the #1 choice? Team One.

Team One recently participated in our first-ever build day with the non-profit organization Habitat for Humanity. Habitat has always been an important part of my life. I served as chapter president in high school where we built four homes over the course of two years. I strongly support the organization’s efforts to operate under a “hand up” instead of “hand out” mantra. Each partner family must first meet needs criteria, but also volunteer a certain number of hours working on Habitat homes, called “sweat equity;” a crucial element to the program as it creates a sense of pride and ownership for the partner family.

15 Team One-ers arrived early on a Saturday morning and immediately went to work painting the exterior of a house and demolishing interior walls. We were working on a “rehab home” in LA, a main focus for Habitat for Humanity in 2012. By lunch, we had completed most of our scheduled tasks, so we started framing up new interior walls and transporting materials over to another nearby rehab home. By early afternoon, we departed the build site one important step closer to providing a safe and comfortable home for a partner family.

I highly recommend spending a day on a Habitat for Humanity build site. Not only do you volunteer your time for a good cause, you also bond with your fellow comrades AND learn useful construction skills. We plan on coordinating future build days, but if anyone would like to volunteer individually or with a small group of friends, please visit  http://www.habitatla.org/.

Working closely with the children shelter’s new Executive Director, Christie Smith, Team One Atlanta was tasked to decorate the Holiday House, gather in-kind donations and invited to be personal shoppers for the families on their assigned shopping day. We spent two weeks gathering donations and brainstorming for the Gingerbread-themed decorating. On the Monday of the week-long event, the decorating began with gingerbread-man garland, gigantic gift-wrapped presents with Lexus’ iconic “red bow,” a gingerbread wonderland that greeted families in the reception area and a stocking stuffer station.

The shelter’s Board of Directors toured the Holiday House that evening and claimed it was the best-decorated house to-date. They were thoroughly impressed with the creativity and thoughtfulness displayed through the decorations.

Thursday brought the opportunity for Team One associates to participate in the shopping experience with the families. We worked the family check-in station, assigning nametags, shopping bags and shopping guidelines for families. A few associates had the honored task of being a “personal shopper” for the families and spent the fully assigned hour assisting parents with selecting each gift based on their children’s likes, personalities and style. Clothing was also chosen for family members based on their age.

We were inspired by the entire “Holiday House” experience and by our ability to give back to those less fortunate. We look forward to volunteering for next year’s event and making the 2012 holidays a season to remember for all of us.

“Perfect is the enemy of done.”  The words stopped me in my tracks. I had never heard this adage before. I don’t remember the circumstances, but I do remember the impact it had the moment my friend blurted it out at me. It was a bit of an epiphany, actually.

You see, I’m a perfectionist. This much wasn’t news. I’ve been aware that I was a perfectionist for a long time. My Aunt Sissy identified it decades ago as a family trait…or more like a curse.

We could joke about it, but we also recognized it as an affliction that could work against us because it so often led us to frustration.

What I hadn’t considered — and what hadn’t been proffered before – was the more practical cost of absolute perfectionism. I add the “absolute” qualifier because there is certainly an upside to the pursuit of perfection. It breeds excellence.

However, when it is so absolute that it leads to inertia or a delay that makes the final result obsolete, then it is no longer an asset, but a detriment.

So I try to be mindful of my friend’s words. Of course, the real challenge is knowing the right moment to let go and allow the near-perfect to move forward. To paraphrase the prayer often attributed to theologian Reinhold Niebuhr:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things that cannot be perfected; the courage to perfect the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.

We are extremely proud to share that Team One is featured in the February/March issue of Southbay magazine. In a cover featured titled “The Real Mad Men and Women of the South Bay,” members of our Ritz-Carlton team are featured for their recent work on the brand’s Let Us Stay With You platform launch.

The article also features a fantastic, locally flavored recap of the career of Chiat/Day frontman Lee Clow, as well as spotlights on our friends at Saatchi LA and Paolucci Communication Arts.

As it turns out, Madison Avenue’s got nothing on the South Bay!

Read the full feature here and see the online version here.

Click here for a full photo gallery from our Day of Good 2011!

This is why every holiday season Team One follows a tradition of spending a “Day of Good” lending a hand to local charities.  As in years past, Team One jumped in to help walk dogs for Friends of Animals, sort through food at the LA Food Bank, distribute holiday gifts to the families of Felton Elementary and play with the boys and girls of Free Arts for Abused Children.  But this year, the love expanded to include two more much-deserving non-profits: the Amanda Foundation Animal Shelter in Beverly Hills, where participants played with the animals and cleaned kennels, as well as Rainbow Services, for which Team Oners purchased and sorted through much-needed supplies for this San Pedro-located women’s shelter.

The “Day of Good” was a fun way for Team One to get involved in the community, but was also greatly appreciated by the charities and those they assist.  Charity Team Leaders came back to the agency with stories of heart-felt experiences and touching feedback from the organizations.  Here are just a few of their accounts…

“At the Amanda Foundation, the Team One crew jumped right in to walk dogs, brush cats and clean the kennels.  For people that usually work at desks – this was hard work!  It was sad to see so many great pets without homes but it felt good to give back and to get to know some fellow animal-lovers here at Team One.  Everyone showed up ready to get their hands dirty and do whatever was needed.”

-       Kat Kirsch, The Amanda Foundation Team Leader

“The (Rainbow Services Women’s Shelter) Director was completely overwhelmed by the generosity and the hours of shopping, sorting etc., that means so much.  For those that were not part of the delivery crew…I wish you could have seen her face when we began to unload everything.  This charity does so much to break the cycle of domestic violence and I know that what we did as a group will go a long way in helping.”

-       Cait Drury, Rainbow Services Team Leader

“For Felton School Elementary, we purchased and delivered gifts, Christmas trees, and restaurant gift cards to families unable to provide these things for themselves.  We took on the job of shopping for some of the gifts, taking the time to make sure everything matched and that siblings received different colors. Four and a half hours and thirty-four complete outfits later, we now know the layout of every Target in a ten-mile radius.  It was no easy task, but worth every minute when we were able to deliver the items to the families who deserved them more than anyone.

-               Justine Kleeman & Nicole Donanian, Felton Elementary School Team Leaders

“There is nothing more rewarding then waking up the next morning and realizing that you not only helped to feed 1 million people (a quarter of the LA population) but also got a great ab and forearm workout in.  Sorting food at the LA Food Bank was a great way to bring people from around the agency together for the common good of feeding LA.  It made us aware of the constant need for volunteerism throughout the year.  Hunger is not just during the holidays, but is a struggle that people face daily”

-               Rebecca Reingen, LA Food Bank Team Leader

The “Day of Good” was rewarding for everyone, from our furry friends at the animal shelters, to the grateful kids at Free Arts for Abused Children, to the Team Oners who got to experience these six charities first hand.

I guess it is true what the Grinch thought that fateful day: “‘It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.’ And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before: ‘What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store…What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.’”

Chicago is a sporting town, no doubt about it, so when one of our Lexus clients asked me to help them out with a recent request from an employee, I knew it would be for NHL or NFL tickets.

Turns out, it was one of the most important ticket requests of my 20+ years in automotive advertising. Dave grew up with his cousin Mark and they have remained best friends throughout their adulthood. When Mark told Dave he was leaving for his fourth deployment to Afghanistan in mid-December, Mark knew he had to have something big planned for their next visit. Since Team One Chicago enjoys a spectacular media relationship with WGN-AM radio, I went to them for help.

My station rep, Jon Greene, gave me four Chicago Blackhawks tickets on the glass for Dave, Mark and their fathers! Just like life, advertising is all about relationships and good faith. Thanks, Jon and WGN-AM radio for making this soldier’s first hockey game an unforgettable experience!

Dave sent us a breathtaking, hand-mailed letter sharing with us the gravity of the experience with his cousin. If you don’t mind a few goose bumps, read it here.

Happy Holidays, from our teams to yours!

Finding the perfect match for specialized positions like the Director of Experience Design (xD) required that our two recruiters work together.

We are using this post to explain how and why we work together:

Susanna Leighton

I’m the Director of Creative Services and I’m responsible for many things – one of which is recruiting for the creative department. I’ve been at Team One for 4-1/2 years in this position. I work closely with our CCO and Creative Directors to acquire and manage talent. If you would like more details about me, please see my bio.

When the xD Director position opened up in the beginning of spring, I immediately started a search. There was quite a bit of anxiety surrounding this within the agency. While xD or the more common UX discipline is robust within the start up world, it is relativity new to advertising. This posed an interesting challenge for us; we have to sell advertising as a career path/accelerator to people who might not have considered it.

The pressure was on to fill this position fast (as our digital workload continued and continues to increase) and with an extraordinary talent; someone who could bridge the gap between creative, planning, account and production. Finding prospective candidates proved to be difficult which is when I turned to Stephanie.

Stephanie Silvera 

I joined Team One in March as the agency Talent Recruiter. Prior to my arrival at Team One, I ran my own external recruiting company specializing in Entertainment and commercial real estate/hospitality. (Here’s my bio.) When we partnered to recruit for this position we discovered we made an amazing team.

Just like all of my searches, I use my contacts and experience; I scour the internet linking in to potential candidates, cold calling and passing along portfolios to Susanna, who has a very keen eye on innovative, ground-breaking talent. After several months of connecting with and interviewing various potential candidates, I came across an Experience Lead working at a very creative shop in L.A. I thought I would give him a ring. We connected instantly. His well-rounded background that includes a unification of xD, journalism, psychology and content strategy brought forth a wit and passion that had yet to be seen in other candidates. His vision for where he wanted to take this department was inspiring and clear.

You know how you just know when you have found the perfect match? Good things come to those who wait? Susanna, with her impeccable level of taste along with the entirety of the team finally felt we found our creative leader.

Jod Kaftan

At my previous job, I would often receive messages on Linked In about UX opportunities. Most of the time, I tuned them out—many recruiters seemed to just see “ux” in your profile and were writing about jobs that either were too junior for me or were not relevant to my background. With Stephanie’s message I could tell she took the time to read my profile; that she knew where I was working and what it meant and that it would take a special opportunity for me to consider leaving my current role.

Once I spoke with Stephanie over the phone, things moved really fast. I met the team at Team One and really liked the quality of the people I spoke with as well as the agency’s perspective on a dynamic future. When it came time to making a decision, I felt that Stephanie was genuinely understanding of the gravity of my choice (as it turned out, my company chose to counter, which made the decision to leave especially hard). Both Susanna and Stephanie were very real with me—No B.S.—and supportive during this time. At the end of the day, I felt that Team One really wanted me to join them, not just for my qualifications, but also because of who I am. And that’s the highest compliment you can pay any organization that recruits you.

In Jod We Trust! – Susanna & Stephanie

1. A universal icon representing the epitome of authority and raw manhood.
2. The source of all righteous power; the facial hair style of the sophisticated man or woman.
Source: urbandictionary.com
Now, add “symbol of awareness for men’s health” and you’ve got a complete definition! For the past month, these 7 brave souls have been stunning frightening fellow T1′ers with their facial hair, and while at times the growth bordered on creepy, we all know it was for a great cause. Together these ‘stached bros have raised over $1,500 for men’s cancer awareness initiatives. They even got a nice little nod from MSNBC. Bravo, gentlemen!

I had never met fellow Publicis employee Rishad Tobaccowalla (according to his bio–Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer of Publicis Groupe’s VivaKi) but clearly he had found a way to see inside my brain and was kind enough to answer some of my most pressing concerns about life, and more specifically marketing, in the digital age. The only bummer was that he did this in front of ThinkLA at a breakfast a couple weeks ago. Which will make these insights much tougher to pass off as my own.

Seriously, this was an amazing talk from an engaging and unassuming speaker. It offered a framework for considering the changes hurtling toward us hourly, at ridiculous speeds.

Here are some of the points that struck me as either comforting or insightful or both. He started with a truth that I know many of us struggle with–

You can’t keep up with new information. This creates insecurity.

Ironically, in light of this, the more you want things to stay the same, the more you will have to change.

Thus, it’s wise to embrace the state of having incomplete knowledge, and–

Decide what the world looks like and get on with it.

So what does the world look like these days? He pointed out a few striking macro characteristics–

We are in a ”connection engine age”. This is what allows everything to happen.

There are different types of connection engines: sharing engines (Twitter), transaction engines (Amazon), discovery engines (Google).

The internal combustion engine was a connection engine. Cars, trucks, planes connect people. The Middle Ages? Not a connection engine age.

The internet is the biggest connection engine yet.

People are analog

We connect in order to share, discover, express. This is not about IT, at least not as much as it is about understanding humans.

Emotion is analog. People don’t think with data.

We are right in the middle of the most amazing period in marketing history.

Textbooks define marketing as “understanding and meeting customer requirements.” This wasn’t what companies did the last three decades (or more). Now they have to, or their customers will expose them.

Marketing is about understanding culture. Thus, it’s a growth industry.

This is good news for thinkers. It’s a lot harder to outsource people with understanding than it is people with skillsets (sorry lawyers, programmers and CPAs).

Digital doesn’t respect boundaries. We are in an age of “digital leakage”. The above mentioned connection engines bleed into one another. And there will be blood.

Facebook vs. Google. Apple vs. Android. Amazon vs. Kindle.

Apple is no longer Apple Computers. Apple technology has cut into Nikon’s camera business, as well as Nintendo’s gaming business (Angry Birds).

Content and Contact. There are no boundaries between them.

All things analog are becoming digital.

All things digital are becoming mobile.

Thanks to location, all things mobile are becoming analog.

Two things our clients want to know:

Do we know what we’re talking about?

Why aren’t we collaborating better?

Our clients are making us reinvent ourselves. And re-inventing means experimenting. And having a tolerance for risk. And a comfort level with fear.

You get more by being an apprentice than a scholar.

Rishad explains many of these points in more detail in the various blogs he writes (after getting up every day at 4:30 am). He’s a sorely needed source of clarity and simplicity in a world of hype and hoopla. If you can hear him, do, and if you can’t, read him. http://rishadt.wordpress.com/about/

Last month, we had the good fortune of visiting with Mark Barden, partner with eatbigfish, one of the world’s smartest brand and design consultancies. Here’s his attempt at summarizing his fantastic one hour presentation into 90 seconds.

Barden explains his five principles for challenging a major brand competitor:

1. Build something people can believe in
2. Slay monsters for them
3. Practice seeing opportunity yourself… don’t delegate it
4. Always seek to change the criteria for choosing
5. If it won’t start a conversation, why bother?

Visit www.eatbigfish.com for information.