November 2007

I don’t depend on a helmet to protect me. I don’t wear a stethoscope around my neck. There’s never a moment to blow a whistle and look at a clipboard. I don’t get to bang a gavel on a wooden podium. I don’t even get an official badge.

What icon does an advertiser take with them? How are we identified among a society filled with hundreds of thousands of position titles? The work done by an advertiser is viewed everyday, but not many can identify the source. Advertisers push a product or idea. They make the world see what the world can offer. Whether it’s a new car, a laundry detergent, or a trip to the Caribbean, the viewers see and hear it.

When finishing school, some don’t realize what they want to do with their lives until some length of time later. I always knew I wanted to work in advertising: the hustle of the office atmosphere, the catchiness of the campaign headlines, the commercials during the Super Bowl games and the sexiness of the industry portrayed in the romantic comedies everyone has seen. These were the things that caught my interest growing up. However, I never knew what the underlying theme of the industry all entailed; what would define me. It wasn’t until I began working at PlattForm that it all started coming together.

At PlattForm, we offer our viewers opportunity. We offer the chance to see a future or the opportunity to improve a lifestyle. And this is the bottom line for the bulk of our employees’ efforts. The institution of education has begun to be more overlooked than ever, and our citizens are taking it for granted. As the education process evolves, so do those wishing to be educated. Traditional media is holding a smaller and smaller piece of the advertising pie. It’s only normal for the traditional student demographic to do the same. We don’t push a product or experience. It’s more about the big picture. We sell an outcome for the future.

So I don’t carry a ball bag, and I don’t hold a microphone when I am “on the clock.” The thing that defines an advertiser is not as simple as an article of clothing or size of a hard drive. An advertiser’s icon is seen all over the place. One just has to look to realize.

Here at PlattForm, I am one person among many.
I offer opportunity.
I am an advertiser.

For those of you keeping score, it’s been a year since Dave Admire got promoted to President of PlattForm. That’s 365 days of being the Big Kahuna. Twelve months of being the master of all he surveys.

And, boy … has Dave had his work cut out for him. It’s been a year of change, amazing growth and several healthy corporate acquisitions. And, he’s done it all in the midst of knee replacement surgery.

In the last couple years, I’ve been trying to get to know Dave. You know - bond with the boss. Apparently, he was in the military or something … so clearly we don’t speak the same language. Don’t ask me what branch of the military either. I didn’t ask. He didn’t tell. Obviously, we’ve got a don’t-ask, don’t-tell policy going on.

Dave recently moved across the hall from my department. Despite his open door policy, he tends to keep his door firmly shut a lot – mainly because we, in the Video Production department, act like a bunch of deranged eight-year olds. He has the patience of Job.

I quickly learned that Dave commands respect. Dave also commands authority AND the bottom line. It’s the perfect trifecta when you become the head honcho. And he’s big on looking you in the eye. I made the cataclysmic mistake of not locking eyeballs with him early in my career and it nearly proved disastrous.

Similiar to Sears, Dave has a softer side. (You’re not supposed to know that. And he’ll probably make me “drop and give him 50″ for typing it.) He’ll help out or donate to PForm’s charitable endeavours. He’s generous and loyal to his PForm family. Speaking of … Dave’s wife is also a muckety muck here at PForm. His son, daughter and daughter-in-law work here. It’s “Family Affair” – minus Miss Beasley. And he’s worked his way up the ranks – which is something you have to appreciate … and, uh, admire. Pun intendend.

Get him on a good day and he’s chatty and affable. Granted, I’m never quite sure what to say to him … so it always comes out in odd non-sequitors. For instance, he’ll say “Mornin!” in his big booming voice. And I’ll say, “I like your hair gel.” No wonder he always looks at me like I’m half a bubble off. But at least he knows I’m good at what I do and I stand behind my work. Well, that and I ALWAYS make eye contact with him. (After much practice, I can easily go two or three minutes without so much as blinking in his presence.)

So congrats on a great first year, Dave. And congrats on your new knees. You’ll need ‘em to kick us in the arse and keep us in line in 2008.

So, I decided to do it … I’m going green! First, I am tossing my iPod. Then, kicking out the television – NBC presented such a strong argument a few weeks back with their whole ‘Green week’ push that I’ve become convinced the old tube is sucking up far too much power. (They even made their little logo green to show their dedication to the cause!) Throwing away the laptop too – it doesn’t really work anyway.

I’m also resolving to never fly anywhere, ever again. You see, according to the UK’s Environmental Transport Association (ETA), flying creates an Eco-normous carbon footprint, even when compared to the utterly destructive tendencies of my four-door sedan:

“Just one return flight from London to New York produces a greater carbon footprint than a whole year’s personal allowance needed to keep the climate safe.” (“Air Travel’s Impact on Climate Change” www.eta.co.uk)

I’m also working on exhaling a lot less often, since we all know that this is also a fairly irresponsible, carbon-emitting habit. In just one year of normal, selfish breathing patterns, each of us will add a net 290kg of Co2 into the atmosphere, just by exhaling! (www.Buzzle.com)

I’d like to take a moment to personally thank Al ‘Captain Planet’ Gore for helping me see that the Amish have had it right this whole time. I mean, they’ve been in on the whole organic farming scene for a minute. They don’t like cars all that much – and they definitely know how to ride a mean bicycle. As far as electricity, they just don’t dig it.

Lately, Captain Gore has been zipping around the globe (and back again) with his shiny new agenda of saving the Earth. He has seen the (or some sort of) light, and he has come out guns-a-blazin’ over this here earth – informing anyone who will listen that things are heating up faster than Kevin Bacon’s pits in the final scene of Footloose, and its time we take action!

Funny thing about this whole “becoming responsible for your own carbon footprint” thingy is that the Captain himself may be responsible for a larger footprint than most of us, at least in terms of the statistics. See, Mr Gore cannot be expected to be held accountable for those private jet trips he most assuredly makes on a weekly basis. This must be seen as mere collateral damage, rather than a selfish lifestyle choice. See, it’s only selfish when you or I, the normal Americans, make such decisions. The kind of decisions that we most likely make as a direct result of watching too many advertisements, such as those aired on NBC, enticing us to consume more, buy bigger cars, and generally just destroy the earth as quickly and selfishly as possible.

Sure, Mr Gore may have had a few years, er … 8 years in the White House to tackle this seemingly life-or-death, exploding planet, Armageddon of an issue – but really, he was only VP. We couldn’t have expected much from the guy. Sure, he probably had loads of connections, and the ability to make more substantial change than his feature presentation, An Inconvenient Truth, but sometimes you just have to stand up and let people know that you have something important to say! And if you make a little change on the side … well, that’s just Mother Nature’s way of saying, thanks Al!

But I do have to wonder … is it possible that saving the planet is like the prom date he’s settling for only because his first, more Presidential choice turned him down? Well, even still, he has certainly found a way to put his face back onto the celebrity stage. And I have to say, he seems pretty happy to be there, especially for a guy who is handing out such dreadful news. I mean, the whole place is burning up, going to hell in a hand basket, and he’s smiling, shaking hands … looking oddly Presidential.

He may not have invented the Internet, but maybe Al ‘Captain Planet’ Gore can do the next best thing, and bring “bring pollution down to zero.”

There are many reasons as to why a direct mail campaign can fail. Time of year, message being presented and type of list are just a few things to keep in mind when preparing your campaign. We take advantage of our Business Intelligence team to provide us even more information on the front end, so we have every possible edge in making a campaign successful.

The Business Intelligence team uses the client’s start data to create a market potential report of each campus. These reports use Claritas software that combines updated Census data, MRI lifestyle, behavior surveys and the full mailing addresses of starts to generate an overall student profile.

Once this profile is created, the Claritas software analyzes the markets on a ZIP code level to find those areas with the most households that match that student profile. This detailed-level analysis allows us to geo-demographically target direct mail lists and produce more quality leads for our clients, focusing only on those communities (zips) with the greatest potential for student recruitment.

For example, if School ABC did a drop for a 30 mile radius, they may hit all of the areas that get leads/starts, but they may end up spending a lot of money mailing to areas that only get very few leads/starts. Using the Claritas information, we are more likely to hit areas that are more likely to respond.

The map illustrates the power of Claritas and the information it provides. The colored areas represent the Claritas software’s opinion of where the best areas for the drop would be based on the student profiles. The dots are the actual starts received from the school. This will allow us to weed out the start-poor areas and focus our dollars on the start-rich areas, leading us to a more successful direct mail campaign.

• Exercise regularly. The brain works better and faster with a good blood flow, and exercise does just that. Exercise also releases endorphins, which can aid in creativity.
• Similarly, eat right. Eating healthy foods helps the brain function optimally. Specifically, eat fish and fresh vegetables. Fish oil has a huge impact on both mood and brain functionality.
• Get out into nature. Studies have shown that green and blue are the easiest colors for the eyes to take in, and actually stimulate the brain to release calming chemicals. Immersion in these colors can improve concentration, calm the body, and take your mind off of everyday stresses. Incidentally, studies have also shown that just cloud gazing for 20 minutes a day can improve creativity.
• Change your approach. If you always write or design on a computer screen, pull out a pencil and some paper for a change. Begin with one element you really like and build an idea around that. Just do something to jolt yourself into a new way of thinking.
• Write down your thoughts, step away, and come back to them later. One thing I’ve learned as a writer is that it’s hard to produce a lot of good writing if you don’t first produce a lot of bad writing. Bad writing can be refined into good writing; no writing remains no writing. You may have to go through a lot of bad ideas to refine a good one, but that’s a good idea you wouldn’t have had otherwise.
• Don’t jump to implementations. Set a block of time and just come up with ideas. Focus on the implementation later. It will be more beneficial in the long-run to have a well-developed idea and then develop the implementation than to have an immature idea and develop it as you go. You’ll end up changing your implementation as you further develop the idea, and you’ll probably miss out on a lot of the potential that that idea has.
• Similarly, don’t jump on the first good idea you come across. Spend some time and gather several good options, and then pick the best one. This also gives you something to fall back on should your idea of choice not work out.
• Get away from your critics. Having someone look over your shoulder as you do something or constantly tell you what to do are two of the top creativity killers. The goal is to eventually have a presentable idea, but if you feel you’re under extreme pressure, get out and allow an idea to develop without initial criticism.
• Have some fun. It may be hard to believe, but simply playing and acting spontaneously are actually huge mental boosters that can increase IQ over time. Take a fifteen minute break to throw a balloon around your office with coworkers, go outside and play Frisbee, or go chase squirrels in the park. (Seriously though, be careful with the squirrels. They bite.) Sometimes creation requires recreation.
• Similarly, remember to joke around. Playfulness is a creative state in its own right. Studies have shown that brainstorming groups that laugh readily are more productive than their more serious counterparts. Don’t lose sight of the goal, but don’t be afraid to joke around for a bit in meetings.
• Eat candy. You’ll see.