Category Archives: Writing

RAF 20 Minutes & A Beer :: A Deliberate Life w/ Matt Smythe & Grant Taylor

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As we dive headfirst into the holiday season that for many of us in this industry is filled with equal parts celebrating with family & friends and working to meet the demands of clients with last remnants of budget dollars to spend, I found it fitting to share the November RAF 20 Minutes & A Beer with copywriter and blogger Matt Smythe (@fishingpoet) and Photographer Grant Taylor (@GTaylorPhotog).

Given that the RAF is committed to serving the Rochester Creative Community and knowing that our freelancers and vendors are the lifeblood of both our membership and this creative community, The RAF asked Matt and Grant to share their own account of entrepreneurship and how freelancing is steering their careers.

Instead of focusing on the perks or pitfalls of operating on the fringe of agency or corporate life, the guys stripped away the typical presentation and told a story that went deep into realms of passion, commitment, and desire that feed the creative soul.

Matt Smythe made a proactive decision awhile back to leave agency life and pursue writing for fly fishing and the broader outdoors category — pursuits that define his life and his own personal happiness. A bold move, especially with a family to support. While he eloquently stated that a driving force behind the move was to chronicle his life for his kids, he also spoke of the hard work necessary for taking this personal journey, “In this business you’ve always got to hustle, may as well hustle for yourself.” Matt made deliberate moves to reach his goal that we can all learn from, no matter which path we’re following – as solo practitioners of our craft, or as staff within agencies, design firms, or marketers. He did his homework. He made opportunities for himself. He attended tradeshows where outdoor marketers gather. And soon the small freelance gigs, the stories he was placing within editorial, his blogging all started to shape into his own brand — and that brand found it’s place in a community of likeminded people.

Like so many stories with great intentions, Photographer and avid outdoorsman Grant Taylor shared his own account of wanting to open his own business for years, but was always held back by a thousand reasons why it’s not the right time or that he wasn’t ready to be in business for himself. Meanwhile he diligently pursued personal work (photo projects heavily influenced by his love for the outdoors) amidst his studio duties. But eventually, the unexpected decision was made for him. Grant found himself quickly trying to navigate the unfamiliar world of unemployment after losing his comfortable job of twelve years.

The unique angle to this story begins with the fact that Matt and Grant had plans to begin a collaboration on a pro bono effort for Trout Unlimited that was to kick off the day after Grant found himself on his own. While Grant was trying to collect himself and figure out plans for his livelihood moving forward, he remarkably stuck with his original commitment to work on the pro bono campaign which eventually resulted in award-winning work that got its deserved attention within the outdoors community (view link).

With the Trout Unlimited experience under their belts and some valuable networking by Matt at a New Orleans fly fishing tradeshow, some video production contacts with shared passions of living and working outdoors invited the duo to Idaho to both fish and see if there’s any opportunities to collaborate with one another. So Grant ponied up his frequent flier miles and postponed his plans to start a NY State funded entrepreneurship class and took a leap of faith that exercising their craft would lead them to rich waters.

To make a long story a bit shorter (this is a blog after all), that trip resulted in a statement of intent and treatment for a film masterfully titled A Deliberate Life (view video) that is not simply about being outdoors, but about having the confidence to be in tune with your creative energies, passions, and a commitment to leading a life that best ensures happiness.

Sure, it’s sounds cliché (we’ve all heard those themes expounded upon in everything from self-help books to leadership seminars), but with those ingredients truly fueling your endeavors, success is guaranteed to follow. It certainly has for Matt & Grant. Just days after releasing their 4 minute trailer, internationally recognized film festivals are booking A Deliberate Life for their rosters and the outdoor community is buzzing about the honest and emotional stories of these diverse outdoor enthusiasts set to gorgeous imagery of pristine Idaho and Kansas wilderness. Reviewing comments and posts in social channels around the film, I noticed that the overwhelming sentiment is that the film is speaking to peoples’ souls. Clearly Matt’s words and the imagery Grant has helped capture, along with their collaborators Matt White and Dustin Lutt, are hitting their intended marks.

At the end of the showing, Matt & Grant expressed their thanks for the unique support they’ve received by RAF Connect and the Rochester Creative Community that helped embolden them to take their journey.

But I say that we should all be thankful to the guys for sharing their real-world reminder that prioritizing passion, confidence in your ideas, and a commitment to craft above bottom-line decision-making can result in success and reawaken the wild-eyed creative that we all possess inside.

Jeremy Schwartz
@JSroc

The Strategy of Basketball

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I loved to play basketball when I was younger. Though I wasn’t very good at it. My size and skill earned me the nickname “handicap” but I still enjoyed to play. Some of my fondest memories growing up centered around playing pick up basketball at the Genova house—games like 2 on 2, elimination, and 21 were summer vacation standbys when the sun was out, the days were long and the cicadas were loud.

But I have come to realize I do not like the game of basketball very much anymore. At 6’4″ tall I am sure I would be a rebound threat, but now I find the game boring. My life in advertising constantly has me thinking about how strategy can help the brand of my clients. How creative that represents the products or services of brands can alter perceptions. Or at least that’s the intent. For me, basketball is flawed in it’s strategy. Now, I am not taking about the game itself. Certainly, there is plenty of strategy that is executed throughout the course of a game. The coach draws up the plays, the point guard executes, picks are set, shots are made and the defense adjusts. What I am talking about is the fundamental strategy of the game.

Scoring is expected, and a guarantee.

For instance, the other major sports of baseball, football, hockey and soccer all follow a different strategy. You are not expected to score. Yes, by nature of sport, I guess you could say I do expect them to score, but it’s certainly not a guarantee. So maybe it’s more about the guarantee than the expectation. One spring evening while living in Atlanta, I saw John Smotlz of the Atlanta Braves masterfully pitch around hitters in a scoreless tie. The Braves finally won that game 1-0 in the late innings. And when the Braves finally scored the crowd erupted in celebration that shook the foundation of Turner Field.

That’s excitement.

In football I’d much rather see a high scoring game, but I live in upstate NY and this is Buffalo Bills country, where scoring is certainly not a guarantee. But when the Bills do score, the freezing fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium Stadium rise to their feet and cheer as one. Playoff hockey or World Cup soccer fans understand this. When the athletes score, there’s a massive celebration. The fans jump, raise their hands, hug. The athletes jump, raise their hands, hug. Again, because while they are expected to score it’s certainly not a guarantee.

Basketball’s one exception is March Madness. College Basketball, with some minor exceptions in rule differences, is essentially the same as the NBA. However, the NCAA tournament is structured win or go home. There is tension in every game. Cinderella’s are born and rivalries renewed. Every possession could mean the difference of advancing to the next round or boarding a plane back home…. just ask Northern Iowa. And winning the tournament is no guarantee either… just ask top seed Kansas. After the NCAA crowns it’s National Champion, April comes and it’s back to boring ‘ol NBA basketball.

I used to play basketball when I was younger. And looking back on it now, I know why…making baskets for me was never a guarantee.

(Originally posted on my personal blog at www.josephmayernik.com)

February 20 Minutes & a Beer Recap

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Hey, thanks again to all you who made it out to Tap & Mallet last night. It’s cool that we’re seeing new faces at every event. Prez Joe just emailed me and asked me to do a quick recap, so here goes:

My talk was about creating websites with great user experience. While “user experience” doesn’t sound sexy (many people don’t even know what it means), it’s a critical part of any website development. At its most basic level, it’s about having good organization and solid content. More specifically, I focus on three things:

  1. Great content
  2. Easy Navigation
  3. A Little Mind Reading

What it all boils down to is asking yourself what your user’s main needs might be and going over the top to deliver on that. Whether it’s letting them embed your videos on their Facebook page, linking them to research that supports buying your product or making your navigation foolproof. The mind reading comes in when you anticipate something they haven’t even thought of yet that delivers even better customer service.

We had some great questions about the value of usability studies (I am an advocate) and about how to talk clients out of their bad navigation ideas :) . A good time was had by all. Hope to see you next time.

Andrea Zuegel

Get Your Freak On.

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Be judgmental. We insist. That’s what I told the 6 judges from various disciplines that judged the work for the 2010 Addy Awards. And well RAF members, we had a very successful first day here in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. They combed through all the print work and were very impressed. We are poised for another solid showing. But our, and their, job is not done. Sunday is the second day where broadcast, interactive, and campaigns will be judged. Pictures from the day one and two festivities will come on Sunday.

Remember to purchase your tickets by March 5th. No tickets will be sold at the door. No matter how much we like you. GYFO!

JOE

Simple, short, and sweet. Period. The end.

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Brevity is de rigueur for PR professionals, especially when it comes to pitching—both traditional journalists and bloggers. And while we’re now using social media to assist with these efforts, these tools have created an entirely new dimension of brevity.

A leader in the PR and social media world, Peter Shankman suggests that brevity is among his four “rules” for communications practitioners in effective social media engagement. If today’s average attention span is 2.7 seconds, then long gone are the days where journalists are reading much beyond your headline!

Surely strong writing helps to crack this nut. The trick is to balance brevity with clarity, as shorter may not always be better. Another challenge is to be brief without compromising captivation. It’s tough when you want to paint a full picture while filtering words that may give your pitch that “oomph” to sell in your idea.

It really boils down to basics for all communicators, not just PR practitioners. Strong writing is clear, concise, and balanced with compelling punches. Condense your idea(s) into a short but sweet message.

Well it was a valiant attempt to practice what I’m “preaching” here. My post was not quite as brief as I had intended, but hey—I’m not on Twitter now, am I?

Anyone have Twitter-esque thoughts on the importance of being brief in communications?