Party Like a Copywriter fact: Writers always love to talk about writing. Or write about writing.
The great Lee Clow’s Beard Twitter stream aside, Advice to Writers on Twitter has been a great source of writing advice. Some of the bits I’ve enjoyed:
Always carry around a notebook. If you don’t write it down, it’s gone. STEWART O’NAN #amwriting#writing#writetip
We were so excited to meet Vlad, and even more excited that he decided to come join the team! Without further ado, ladies and gentleman, our new Senior Analyst—who would be happy to brave the crowds of Wrigley with you at the next Cubs game.
Vlad Chaykovsky
Where are you from?
Originally from Kiev, Ukraine, but lived in Columbus, Ohio for most of my life.
What do you do at envisionit?
Senior Analyst.
Tell us something you’ve enjoyed about working here so far.
The atmosphere here is really nice, everyone is so supportive and relaxed.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A veterinarian.
Fill in the blank: My favorite thing about Chicago is …
Yesterday, January 12, after an unusually mild start to winter, we finally had our first major Chicago snowfall of 2012! Some people celebrated. Some moaned (must be new to Chicago). But envisonit intern Ben set up his camera in the front window of our office to capture timelapse coverage of the snow accumulation on Ohio St in Chicago.
Good copywriting tells the facts, supports a brand, and speaks to an audience. Great copywriting becomes something bigger—part of our memories, part of an era.
William Bernbach, David Ogilvy, and Lee Clow are just three who have created campaigns that have become just that, cultural references. Take a look
Known for: The “At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls Royce comes from the electric clock” headline, tasting blood through direct advertising*
Once said: “Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ball park. Aim for the company of immortals.”
Lee Clow
Known for: Apple’s 1984 commercial, the Energizer Bunny, Taco Bell Chihuahua.
Once said: “Great brands have a story, our job is to tell them.” (Lee Clow, or more specifically, @leeclowsbeard, has more to say about advertising, creativity, and ideas on Twitter.)
Known for: Pitching ideas and doing whatever he pleases as a partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce
Once said: “Just think about it deeply, then forget it…then an idea will jump in your face.”
Who else do you think has contributed to part of our culture through good copywriting? Tell us in the comments!
*Ogilvy took on a client who had $500 to spend on the promotion of his new hotel. Ogilvy bought as many postcards as $500 would purchase and mailed invites to people listed in the phone book. The hotel was packed at opening. “I had tasted blood,” he later said of the experience.
Happy holidays from envisionit media! 2011 has been a big year for us, and we can’t thank you enough for being a part of it. To celebrate, we’ve collected our favorite 11 blog posts to finish off the year. read the full story...
As Controller and Director of Marketing, respectively, Amy and Ben have been indispensable new members of our team, crafting up innovative marketing plans and keeping track of lots of numbers (don’t worry Amy, we know you do more than that). See what they like about working at envisionit! And what (and who) their childhood selves wanted to be as adults!
Amy Russell
Where are you from?
Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
What do you do at envisionit?
Controller.
Tell us something you’ve enjoyed about working here so far.
Working with such engaging people.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Dancer, which I still am when I’m not crunching numbers.
Fill in the blank: My favorite thing about Chicago is…
Living by the lake.
Ben Cox
Where are you from?
I was raised by horses in Shelbyville, Kentucky.
What do you do at envisionit?
I’m Director of Marketing, so I drive the strategic marketing bus. I’m responsible for understanding our clients and making sure we deliver delightful experiences that matter.
Tell us something you’ve enjoyed about working here so far.
Far and away the people. I love the youthful energy and genuine passion. And working beside seasoned marketers is equally rewarding and challenging.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Indiana Jones.
Fill in the blank: I’m really good at…
Making my three boys laugh until they drool.
EIM intern Adrianna explains the benefits, for students and professionals alike, of presentation software Prezi. Read up to see how you can use it to stand out.
The business world revolves around creativity and originality. One new way to stand out is by upgrading your presentation out of the usual PowerPoint, and into a Prezi. Prezi is an online cloud-based presentation software that allows the presenter to capture the audience’s attention in a non-linear way.
As a student, I have used Prezi to create my professional portfolio. With the features of Prezi, my portfolio will stand out and leave a lasting impression, just as it will do for a presentation, lesson plan, or wherever your imagination takes you.
A Glimpse At The Prezi Editing Page
Prezi has a wide variety of features to help enhance your audience’s presentation experience. There are twelve different drawing options available—including an org chart, process chart, a number of diagrams, timeline, pyramid, and compare table. In my portfolio, I used the timeline to show off important professional milestones, the pyramid to illustrate my values, the balance diagram to show evidence of my multitasking abilities, and clouds to highlight recognition from colleagues. Finally, I used the perspective chart to explain why I am a good match for the job I’m applying for. These drawings can be compared to “smart art” in PowerPoint, but these drawings allow for more flexibility and are more presentation friendly.
One great feature is the zoom tool, which highlights important parts of your presentation. With this tool, you can create your presentation to zoom into different parts of the drawings. For instance, my timeline is long, so I have the zoom tool set to focus on the more important dates. I was able to select where and when to zoom by creating a path, which guides the audience through the presentation, similar to slides in a PowerPoint. read the full story...
The Anti-Cruelty Society is just across the street from our office. We’ll often pass by and see some furry creatures getting the attention and care they deserve from a great team of volunteers.
In the spirit of giving, we thought we’d volunteer our Wednesday lunch hour to making cat and dog toys and beds for the shelter.
We’ve all enjoyed seeing Tyler and Ari’s mustaches grow from mere stubble into respectable, robust mustaches. But alas, as all good things end, Movember has turned into December and Ari and Tyler are now ‘stache free.
The two have raised more than $1,300 for the Movember campaign. Congratulations, guys! Your dedication is admirable, and we’re very sad to see your mustaches go.
While envisionit’s premiere mustache-growers are currently without, we hope to see them again soon. As Chicago is the nation’s most mustache friendly city, they’ll be welcome with open arms.
Ari & Tyler sans mustaches. We'll always have Movember.
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein
You often hear people in this season talking about finding their balance. When they realize the year is nearly over, they cash-in on their New Year’s resolutions, realizing that the year has mostly slipped away again. I have been guilty of the same annual self reflection. Did I juggle my home and work responsibilities to the delight of my family, my colleagues, and myself? Ironically, this self-reflection usually prompts saturations into my family as I realize my addiction to my keyboard. It’s true; the inner ear controlling my work-life equilibrium defects toward workaholism.
But that’s when I realize it really isn’t about finding balance at all. Balance just keeps you focused on achievement, which isn’t necessarily related to enjoyment. After all, that’s what I’ve always thought the “work-life balance” phrase was about: finding equality between enjoyment and achievement. Instead, I’ve come to understand it to be more about harmony. Webster defines harmony as the “pleasing or congruent arrangement of parts.” I’d apply that definition here to be: “the pleasing and congruent arrangement of work, family, personal (hobbies and friends), and spiritual lives.”
I really think that the idea of finding balance between work and home naturally creates competition between the two. It isn’t that they are opposing forces, each competing with the other for your time – although sometimes it may feel that way. Instead, we should each be working toward creating harmony among the four parts for a more pleasing personal concerto. Remember that work is only one of four parts to enjoyment in your life. Also remember that having harmony does not mean each part has equal measure. Some days may be more focused on investing in one part over another. read the full story...
