ROOFTOP banter

The Executive Creative Director: What the hell do you do all day?

Posted By: 

Tom Keathley

Date: 

March 28th, 2011 /// Industry Insight, Keathley Culture

I’ve heard this question quite a few times over the years. Sometimes it’s because someone is curious about what my job entails, and sometimes it’s because, to the untrained eye, our office environment seems too good to be true. Recently, I thought that maybe I should keep track of what a week as executive creative director of Keathley Advertising looks like. So, that’s what I did one particularly busy week last fall.

A Week in the Life of an Executive Creative Director

Sunday
Relaxed at home while reviewing artwork that needs creative direction and approvals while I’m traveling Monday morning. Basically, work left over from Friday afternoon. Some may call it procrastination, but I call it strategic planning for a focused state of attention, because “focused” is not a typical Friday-afternoon mindset.

It’s 3:39pm. Packed my luggage in 9 minutes. Took a little longer than normal, because this trip requires two stops before heading back to Cleveland.

6:00pm flight to Las Vegas. Could be going to worse places, but there will be little time for fun. We have a PR event to throw for 60 members of the press on Tuesday, as well as multiple meetings at the second biggest trade show in the world.

Monday
Woke up at 7:00am to my phone beeping. It’s 10:00am back home. I work from my room for a while. Early morning emails. Phone calls creative directing a pitch for a new client due on Thursday. Conference with my associate creative director discussing a photo shoot she’s covering while I’m out of town.

Breakfast with the client at 9:00am. Then pre-event planning with the Hard Rock to art direct the stage and venue set-up.

Met with our account exec and event planner in the afternoon to go over final details and trade show logistics.

Dinner with the client. Played some cards before going to bed. Not a bad day.

Tuesday
Spent the entire day working from my iPhone and paying attention to the details of a client and her business. My mobile devices make it nice to be able to manage an ad agency, as well as view and provide feedback on projects day and night from any location.

Wednesday
Met with a new business prospect for breakfast. Sounds like Keathley’s ability to grow his business is a perfect fit for his marketing aspirations. I promise him a discovery process and strategy in two weeks.

PR event went off without a hitch. Spent a lot of the day making decisions that sometimes seem silly, but all the details are integral to building the brand at every artistic and strategic opportunity.

Celebrated with the staff and clients over a late sushi dinner. Yum.

Thursday
Flew directly to Chicago at 8:00am. New business meeting. Three meetings with potential partners. Meeting with our web team about the final stages of a groundbreaking site. Straight to a commercial pre-pro for one of our biggest clients. Already feels like a full day.

Met my associate creative director and our senior creative writer. We planned out the shoot over dinner and drinks. I’m very comfortable with our team and the spokesperson that we’ve developed. I’m sure it will go smoothly. I drag myself to bed preparing for an even longer day tomorrow.

Friday
16-hour shoot. Location was very upscale and allowed us a breathtaking view and easily designed sets. My day was filled with creative decisions and creative direction that empowers others to run the show. It was a great shoot and we got tons done. Client was thrilled at how much we accomplished.

Saturday
Flying home this morning. Reviewed footage in the airport while waiting for a delay. Then reflected on the week while grabbing a coffee before boarding. It was a busy one. Most of my weeks actually include two days like this, and three filled with helping clients solve their business objectives and keeping the creative atmosphere in our studio at world-class levels. That requires a creative cocktail, and it’s a tricky dance. It consists of one part empowering creative direction, one part landing large brand strategies, one part of fun diversions from work, and one part not worrying what everyone does all day.

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Logo Wars

Posted By: 

2 Cents

Date: 

February 4th, 2011 /// Industry Insight, Marketing Trends

Uh-oh, Starbucks simplified their logo. Will the consumer be able to handle rush hour? Aren’t folks’ Monday mornings hard enough? It’s rough out there for those fond of “their brands;” from the new Pepsi “smiles” and the Gap logo revamp fiasco to Starbucks bringing its little mermaid to the forefront. As we grow old and change, so do the products and services all around us. Even I remember a dark day in ‘03 when I saw that UPS was retiring Paul Rand’s “box tie” logo.

People tend to not agree with what they are not familiar, and may get p.o.’d when a brand they’re close to changes its appearance. And, as with most things in life, change can be great or it can bite you in the butt. Companies will continue to look into the mirror from time-to-time with or without the consumers blessing… but watch-out: social media has created an immediate response-vehicle from the masses.

My personal opinion matters not in response to these recent identity face lifts; for the most part I look upon others’ creative with a “glass half full” eye and I do like when companies throw a curve ball to shock the system. But I’ll end by saying as far as mega-corporations logos go, there have been the bad & good, but I sit here and think the last really clever rebrands seem as long ago as ‘94 (FedEx) and ’98 (Citi).

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Medical Marketing: Tackling the Embarrassing Issues Head On

Posted By: 

Brandi Hensler

Date: 

August 25th, 2009 /// Industry Insight

Whether it’s using humor to raise testicular cancer awareness or invading your personal space to talk about schizophrenia, it seems that tackling the topic head-on is one of the most successful approaches. Bluntly starting a conversation about uncomfortable subjects often has the effect of making them less ominous. At Keathley, we applied this same thinking about a taboo topic with The Accidental Sisterhood. Learn more by downloading the Case Study.

Hands-on testicular cancer awareness.

If you see this dude in the mirror, seek help.

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