Les belles lettres

I sometimes pause to consider just how exactly I ended up in this industry. As a kid, I wanted to be a microbiologist — until I paused to consider the number of math courses I'd have to take in college and beyond. High school had me thinking law. College found me, at various times, planning to pursue my career on Wall Street (I pause to breathe a sigh of relief) or enter international relations. Postgrad, I certainly pondered the academic life — get my PhD in Literature or History and teach keen young minds. And yet, here I am, an entrepreneur, working in advertising and communications, writing for others (though I won't pretend there aren't a few ... or more than a few ... half-finished manuscripts on my hard drive, too). But how did I get here? And what was the draw?

It finally occurred to me. I've always loved words — crossword puzzles, Scrabble (I'm vicious competition, warning you now!), and of course literature. I feel particularly drawn to poetry — Milton, Pushkin, Robert Browning, Richard Wilbur: the neatness of form appeals to me in some deeply satisfying way. The same way, I realized, that developing the perfect line of copy nourishes something within me.

Then the gears clicked. Hello, Jen .... they both appeal to you because they're functions of the same thing. Good copywriting is like poetry .... really. Hear me out. It requires word economy, discipline. You don't get more than a line or two to make your impression .... and the best impressions, I think, are engaging, slightly provocative, multivalent, tightly crafted — like you'll find in the finest poetry. To hint at, allude to, suggest imagery through just a few carefully chosen words .... isn't this both poetry and copywriting at its best?

I think so, anyway. For me, the pieces have at last fallen into place. I may not be hidden away in some ivory tower (thank God; I'd probably want to paint it pink), but I still get to play with words and ideas for a living .... I once recall being told by a creative director who crossed my path, "Good copywriting isn't exactly rocket science." At the time, I was ready for some serious eye-gouging, but looking back, perhaps this individual was correct. Good copywriting isn't a science: it's an art.

(Not) Just Another Manic Monday....

It’s with sweet, sweet sorrow that I post this and bump that lovely image of Don Draper from our last post. But I want to talk marketing plans, and it had to happen sooner or later, right?

Part of our business planning at Crazy Savvy included the launch of Marketing Mondays, a dedicated stretch of time to ensure that we are updating — and implementing — our marketing plans. (I know, I’m sharing this with you on a Wednesday....that’s because I was busy....marketing....on Monday.) You see, we didn’t want to fall into the trap so many organizations and businesses find themselves in: neglecting marketing and communications in favor of other activities somehow deemed more essential to running an entity.

It’s not that I don’t understand the temptation to put marketing on the backburner. (And in case you are wondering, no, communications agencies are by no means immune from this problem! It happens more than you’d think.) After all, we live by the rule that client work takes precedence. True enough, but hardly an excuse. And let me say, as an introvert, I can understand how the art of self-promotion can be daunting at the least. I’ll toot my client’s horn any day, but my own? It doesn’t come as easily. (Luckily, my lovely business partner has no such qualms!) But as we’ve already established, marketing truly isn’t a dirty word.

So, Monday mornings find Jen and I brainstorming, making connections, following up, and researching (not to mention blogging, and tweeting, as always). No matter how manic our Mondays might be, we’re dedicated to putting in the effort.

(Confession: I’m so listening to the Bangles as I write this. Good thing Jen’s working off-site today!)

Draper iconography

So I don't actually read the New York Times (sorry folks .... but my business partner does!), but this was brought to my attention by a Crazy Savvy fan. Aha! The latest bit of Draper-related ephemera. After taking a moment to pay my proper respects to the lovely picture (hope there are no drool stains...), I dug into the article — only to discover that it has nothing whatsoever to do with Mad Men, and is only tangentially related to the notion of advertising at all.

Hm. What could this mean? It strikes me that Mr. Draper, in all his fedora-ed glory, has become a symbol .... a proxy not just for the ad world itself, but for brand awareness, mystery, style, je ne sais quoi. The article discusses the symbolic implications of car ownership in the 21st century .... but pose Don Draper in front of a fancy Zipcar and the piece becomes a meditation on, what?, consumerism? brand-as-self-image? As far as I can tell, Don is the brand — for a certain type of man, a certain image. Fine, fair enough. I can think of a few Draper doppelgangers from my experiences in the biz.

But what does this mean as a modern woman in advertising? What do we bring to the table? Who is our cultural icon, our symbolic representation of what it means to be, well, us? In short, I don't know. I watch, I observe, I raise my eyebrows in surprise or consternation or amusement at times — and then I go back to doing my thing, and not worrying too much about what it all "means." Nevertheless, this latest Draper caper is highly intriguing .... it's fascinating to watch our cultural vocabulary twist itself around this icon-as-idea. But love him though I do, I'll leave Mr. Draper his tweed coats and skinny ties and zeitgeist-altering mystique.... I'll take my Betsey J and call it a day, thank you very much.

All you need is love

Sheesh, if we'd known that launching a website would be this gratifying, maybe we would have actually done it sooner! (Ha, ha.) Both Erin and I have truly been humbled by the incredible outpourings of support and praise we've been fortunate enough to receive. And for those who know me personally, moments of humility are rare indeed .... heh.

In addition to generating some thrilling new business ventures and plenty o' meetings, our web launch has made us the happy recipients of everything from gushing emails to pink rose bouquets. Today's latest vote of confidence comes from our friends at Grandpa George, a wonderful — and fun — design and interactive studio right here in the Twin Cities. Thanks, gents!

And now .... back to work. We're tickled pink (pink, of course) that we've managed to complete not one but two drafts of major projects days ahead of schedule.....many thanks to caffeine, late nights, and tasty lunches prepared by those dearest to us. After so many projects involving consulting, art direction, concept development, and publication planning, it's been fun to get back to actual writing ..... it is, after all, how we got into this crazy business to begin with!

Creative mis/direction

It's only Tuesday, but with all the work we've already done this week, it feels like it should be Thursday at minimum .... Friday if the Fates were kind. Alas. Working on a tight deadline is, we find, great for our creative energies and our productivity, but it can mean that our sleeping cycles take a hit!

So in the interests of levity, we thought we'd share a funny with y'all. As society's recent infatuation with Mad Men underscores, people seem fascinated by the notion of what it means to be a creative director. (For a running tally of Draper-related ephemera, check out the news feed on our Facebook fan page!) It would appear that the role of creative director is shrouded in mystery. I know this was true for me when I first started in the biz. What is the je ne sais quoi that gives one both the visual eye and strategic understanding to conceptualize ideas and turn them into something tangible? (I don't know, believe me. I'm just of the mind that you have it or you don't, and the distinction tends to be painfully clear.)

For those that fall into the latter category, cliche often replaces creativity when developing concepts and preparing comps. That's why this gave Erin and I the giggles ..... particularly because, in a few cases, we've actually seen in use the very stock photos provided as examples of what not to do. Heh! Needless to say, you'll find no such travesties in a Crazy Savvy presentation.

In other news, today's postcard arrives all the way from South Africa. It even contains a pearl of marketing wisdom .... thanks for the shout-out, Kate!

Weekend Round-Up

For those of you not in Minneapolis, I feel it is imperative to share with you this simple joy: sunlight and (a modicum of) warmth returned to our fair city this weekend.

And it was glorious.

(Hmmm, perhaps I should be making a mental note to research full-spectrum lights and Vitamin D as winter approaches?)

The mavens of Crazy Savvy did not squander this opportunity to be outside without suffering, let me assure you. This being Minnesota, we had to get in some quintessentially fall activities while we still could. Scenic drives were savored, fall colors admired. Pumpkins were picked, hayrides heartily enjoyed.

As Jen mentioned on Friday, we also had a number of business tasks to attend to this weekend, the most enjoyable of which had to be attending the incredible volunteer appreciation event put on by one of our clients. Not only was it a ton of fun, but it's great to see an organization with such a thriving volunteer effort. Kudos for doing it up right, L!

After some sunlight and fresh air, we are hitting the ground running this morning, crossing items off our to-do list in a flurry (dare I tempt the weather gods by even using that word?) Three cheers for work/life balance....

Busy signal

Dear Jamaican Postal Service,

How is it that you manage to lose my mail? You're making me look bad, mon! After promising my darling business partner that I would set a good example for our blog fans and be sure to mail a postcard from Negril .... the post office has to go and lose my letter! And it was a dang good letter, too! Now I get the sads every time I check our PO Box and don't find my palm tree-and-sandy-beaches card awaiting me. (Then again, with Minneapolis weather lately, perhaps this is a mercy in disguise.)

Sincerely, Jen

OK, digression over. What a week it's been for us here at C/S headquarters! Phew. Just getting our website launched, blog template updated, and social media platforms in visual step with our brand has been a rather gargantuan task (though certainly a labor of love). Add to that our writing of a major proposal and cover-to-cover content for a client project, and sheesh! It's a busy agenda indeed. And no rest for the wicked, apparently, because we have photo shoots and more over the weekend, too.

Still .... we wouldn't want it any other way. Idle hands may or may not be the devil's playthings, but they're certainly no good for business. While we may have a lot to do, it's certainly fun stuff — intellectually stimulating, visually interesting, strategically nuanced. Plus, it keeps us indoors, out of the rain/sleet/snow/general nastiness that is October in Minneapolis.

Still, happy weekend to our beloved fans, and if you're lucky enough to have some time to relax ..... do a little relaxing on our behalves, too!

Jargon-Free Zone

The accolades keep rolling in on our revamped website. Thanks to everyone who has dropped us a line (or sent us flowers) in celebration!

As Jen and I wrote our business plan (and our website copy, natch) this summer, we spent some time getting down to the nitty gritty of what distinguishes Crazy Savvy from other communications and marketing agencies.

At Crazy Savvy, we’re writers first and foremost. We appreciate the value of clear communication. Working with us, you’ll never sit through an “ideation session.” We’ll never explain strategy in terms of “dimensionalizing paradigms” or “synergizing core messaging.” No thank you!

Not only do Jen and I recoil in the face of unnecessary jargon from a style and usage perspective, but we also reject the notion that a consultant must speak in acronyms and jumbled doublespeak in order to be effective. To the contrary, we believe hiring a communications consultant should give a client an objective perspective, nuanced insight, and a wealth of professional experience — all in a format that is actually accessible...and meaningful.

At Crazy Savvy, we’re quite fluent in English (and Russian, and Spanish…) and we express ourselves accordingly. After all, words are infinitely more interesting (and useful!) when paired with actual meaning.

AT LAST ..... Live from Minneapolis

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for ..... the official launch of our Crazy Savvy website!

Check us out and share it with a friend .... or two .... or twelve.

We always love to hear your feedback!

Hope you enjoy the Crazy Savvy web experience as much as we do.

It's like Christmas in October (in so many ways)

We promised this week would be chock full of excitement, and here at Crazy Savvy we keep our promises. Notice any changes? Why, yes! Our blog template is finally updated! Hallelujah!

How exciting to finally reveal our logo publicly. It's been complete for months, but we forced ourselves to be patient (a difficult task for some of us here ....!) and wait until we'd developed a more comprehensive brand identity. I can say with confidence that it's been worth the wait.

Our identity system draws its inspiration from the duality of crazy and savvy. The juxtaposition of the words suggests both dichotomy and synthesis, challenging the perceived paradox between crazy and savvy, creative and strategy, form and function, that lies at the very heart of our approach. (More on this concept later, I assure you.) Our logo and mark feature custom typography from Mucca Typo (thank you, Matteo!), which was then tweaked and stylized by our superb design team. Put simply, we couldn't be happier.

It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows us that we were both intimately involved in the selection of our color palette .... but there is a method even to this particular form of madness. If you were to link our identity colors to their corresponding concepts, you'd likely pair pink with crazy (ahem, ahem) and grey with savvy, yes? Hah, but look again! Even the color selection forces viewers to challenge their assumptions — something we are all about here at Crazy Savvy.

And our tagline — "we put thought into action." Well, we may be biased, but it sure is satisfying to come up with a line of copy that manages to convey so precisely what it is we do, both literally and figuratively. In other words: writing w-i-n.

But for every win, there must be a corresponding fail .... it seems to be a fundamental law of physics or something. Today's fail is unequivocally the weather. Mother Nature .... what's up? What did we do to make you hate us so? Waking up to 4 inches of snow (and counting) in early October ..... scraping my car in open-toed patent leather shoes .... driving through slush on the way to work .... Eliot was wrong, my friends: April is not the cruelest month. October is. This winter wonderland would be apropos around the holidays, but now? I think not.

The long and winding road .....

We’ve talked about it before. For the past few months, we’ve been in the fortunate (but strange) position to find business taking off quicker than we’d anticipated. Client work, of course, takes precedence — but with the slightly ironic result that finds us doing interactive work for clients without having launched our own company website! (If you check us out now, you’ll find simply a splash page with some very basic contact info.)

Fortunately, the times they are a-changin’. The copy is written, the photography shot, the design finalized, the coding complete .... we’re essentially there! We’ve been blessed to work with a team of interactive specialists who have helped us transform our thoughts into action .... or at least, into a pretty sweet website (in our humble opinion, anyway!)

Of course, there’s even more excitement to be had here. Although our logo and graphic identity have been complete for months, unless you’ve seen a sneak peek of our business cards or stationery system, the launch of our website will mark the unveiling of our complete graphic look .... EXCITING. We’re excited, anyway. (Can you tell?)

Not to tempt fate here, but it’s looking like Official Launch will be next week. In the interim, feast your eyes on this tasty postcard from Kyoto, Japan. Bon voyage to its sender, the lovely Krystal!

On Self-Discipline & Sunshine

What a difference sunshine makes. Anyone who is in the vicinity of Minneapolis can readily attest to this fact, I'm sure, after a week straight of unseasonably cold — and wet — weather. Today, however, is another story. After a week of darkness, sunshine has returned. Hallelujah! And with the sunshine, our ability to see the world in a new, er, light is also renewed.

As a creative, I think the ability to step away from one's work and examine it from a fresh perspective is absolutely essential. Perhaps this comes from my training as a writer, in which I learned the value of careful editing to improve one's work. Don't get me wrong, I'm not immune to the creative spark a deadline can bring — I've done some of my best work within the structures of tight deadlines. But equally essential, in my eyes, is the self-discipline to set aside enough time to come back and look at creative work with a clear head and a bit of distance. Crazy Savvy clients can rest assured that this is part and parcel of our work, not something dependent on the whimsy of the weather gods to inspire!

Autumn: An Ode

Happy Monday, one and all! It was a satisfying weekend for the ladies at Crazy Savvy — Erin road tripped to St. Louis for a wedding, while Yours Truly undertook that most gargantuan of tasks: changing my wardrobe from summer to fall. Yes, ladies and gents, autumn has finally arrived in Minneapolis — and not with a whimper but a bang. (The whimpering is probably me, huddled on the couch, shivering and mourning the loss of sunshine.)

Don’t get me wrong — autumn is my favorite season. Beautiful leaves, Halloween, amazing fashion (of course), crisp weather for riding my pony, football, fireplaces, my birthday ... what’s not to love? But the changing of the seasons marks a transition, underscores the passage of time, compels us to consider where we’ve come from and where we’re going. (There’s a reason, after all, that great poets from Keats to Pushkin found themselves most inspired — and melancholy — during autumn!)

Autumn is a time of change, of preparation. This certainly seems to be true for our clients. After summers often filled with pet projects or edgy new endeavors, fall seems to mark a return to focused work ... business as usual, one may say. For clients in education, fall marks the beginning of the school year — always a busy time! For our retail clientele, now is the time we gear up for the holidays in earnest, after many months at the drawing board. Many corporate clients close their fiscal years midsummer, meaning an autumn of new beginnings. And non-profits begin to target their development efforts for the holiday season, often the most rewarding time of year in terms of charitable giving. In short, fall in our line of work is busy-busy-busy!

But as we look forward to an exciting slate of projects, we can’t help but look back, too. After a winter spent in intensive planning mode, figuring out how to launch our business, then a spring when we actually took the plunge and set up shop, and a summer when we were fortunate enough to build up a client base and grow our business faster than we could ever have dreamed (still pinching ourselves!) ... fall is when we’re able to step back and think, Wow, we’ve made it. And of course, the logical next question — what next? Because with two such ambitious, driven, inquisitive minds, we’re always looking to the future! We know we’ll soon have some very exciting Crazy Savvy updates to share with you, loyal readers. And we’re taking stock internally too, thinking how we’d like to expand and continue to develop our own skills and business (ad)venture.

But amid changing leaves, changing wardrobes, changing temperatures (alas!), some things remain the same: We couldn’t be happier, or more fulfilled, having the privilege and opportunity to do what we do, each and every day. And, as always, we’re looking forward to new adventures, too!

Wonder Twins Activate!

If Jen and I ever publish a FAQ, it might just lead with a question that we hear ever-so-frequently in our travels and travails:

Are you sisters?

Perhaps it's the alabaster skin or ginger hued hair we both come by naturally. Or that our ability to finish each other's sentences borders on the uncanny. (Next up? I think we should hone our telepathy skills.)

Generally, questioners drop the subject when we smile sweetly and shake our heads no. Once in a while, however, it takes a bit more effort to dissuade the curious sort. "Cousins, then?" pressed the incredulous clerk we chatted with yesterday. "Nooooo," I said, pausing for emphasis. "Business partners."

I've often heard that people tend to resemble their pets. (Or is it vice versa?) And of course, we all have heard stories about how after years, couples tend to look alike.

But is this true of business partners as well?