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Posts Tagged ‘West Des Moines’

My Thanks…

Tags: "Love Scott & Associates", Advertising, advertising agency, blog, Des Moines, Inspiration, Iowa, marketing, Mission Assist, motivation, non-profit, West Des Moines
Posted in Public Relations | No Comments 11/26/2010

In honor of the holiday, this post will simply be one of thanks. While we give employees the Friday after Thanksgiving off, I like to take advantage of the quiet office to get things done…like write a blog post. When I was brainstorming what to write, I just kept reflecting back to a comment made by a member of the staff last week about being thankful for working with truly good people. It shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did, and I’ve thought a lot about it since. I’m not shy about proclaiming how much I love my job, but I don’t often say why. So here are the reasons I’m thankful for where I’ve landed:

1) I’m thankful for truly talented staff. There is not one person in here that I don’t trust to do their job, and do it well. I’ve experienced the opposite before, and it’s not fun. It’s incredibly comforting to know that I can do my job without worrying about what everyone else is doing.

2) I’m thankful for the good people working around me. Not only do I trust everyone in here to do their work…I trust everyone in here. Period. We’ve surrounded ourselves with great people. Honest. Genuine. Caring. Committed. I’m proud of our team, not for who they claim to be, but for who they really are (and trust me…we’re small enough to have seen the good, bad and ugly from all!)

3) I’m thankful for a shared vision. With the addition of Mission Assist to our service offerings, which took a year to develop and required an incredible amount of patience, I feel blessed that everyone understands the purpose and feels the passion. I believe it was divinely inspired and could only have happened with the support and conviction of the whole team. It was literally a leap of faith…and each time someone from an organization actually gives me a heartfelt thanks for what we’re offering, I am grateful for a team that believes in a mission bigger than ourselves.

4) I am thankful to be working in Des Moines, Iowa. This town is a great place to live and work. I’ve worked in Phoenix and St. Louis, and there’s no comparison. The connections, the loyalty and the enthusiasm of Des Moines businesses and their employees cannot be matched. It creates such a sense of community and goodwill. I’m willing to overlook the blustery winters for this fact. And coming from someone who hates cold…that says a lot.

It’s a short list of thanks, but these are at the very core of why I love my job and the people with whom I spend 50% of my life. What are some things about your job you’re thankful for? Hopefully there’s a list…or you better be moving on

The Best Reason I Can Think Of To Be Ruthless!

Tags: accountability, ad agency, Advertising, advice, agency, Alice in Wonderland, art, Bill Love, blog, Des Moines, graphic design, interactive media, Iowa, iowa advertising agency, John Ortberg, marketing, Public Relations, reading, social media, Time management, West Des Moines, white rabbit, work life balance, writing
Posted in Advertising | No Comments 7/28/2010

John Ortberg ( Twitter @JohnOrtberg ), one of my favorite authors, once asked a mentor of his for the one piece of advice that would make the most difference in someone’s life. Without skipping a beat, the mentor answered, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”

When I first read this a few years ago, I did some thinking about the way I was living and resolved to begin eliminating hurry from my life. It seemed like a great idea at the time, and still does. But I soon learned that eliminating hurry from my life is easier said than done.

Civilization has been gathering speed since day one. Every important advancement mankind has made has brought with it the capacity to do things faster. And so we have. The more we can get done, the more we can get done. The ability to multi-task has somehow become an admirable quality in today’s hectic world. Busyness is often confused with productivity and most of the time, the busier we are the more in a hurry we are. But being busy does not mean you have to be in a hurry.

The simple truth is, nothing truly important… nothing… can be done in a hurry.

You can’t do your best work in a hurry. You can’t establish meaningful relationships in a hurry. You can’t spend quality time with your kids in a hurry. You can’t be there for your friends in a hurry. You can’t rest in a hurry. You can’t plan for and live a healthy, productive life in a hurry.

So I have recently redoubled my resolve to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from my life. I’ve discovered the operative word here is “ruthlessly.” Eliminating hurry is simply not a casual occupation. It involves a purposeful, “ruthless” turning away from the way I’ve lived most of my life and an equally “ruthless” resolve to re-learn how to live at a manageable pace. It involves an almost minute-by-minute realization of how I am reacting to the pressures that cause hurriedness. It involves a lot of talking to myself and a lot of accountability to those who know about my quest and aren’t shy about calling me on it when I begin to give in to hurriedness.

I’ve discovered that hurry does, in fact, breed waste. I find the old sayings “haste makes waste” and “the hurrieder I go, the behinder I get” to be absolutely true. Hurry is a terrible waste of valuable time. When I’m in a hurry, it takes me much longer to do something than when I’m not in a hurry.

But the most important realization I’ve come to is that when I’m in a hurry, I don’t have time to be a better person. I can’t be the person I want to be because I don’t have time. How pathetic is that? My goal is to slow down and begin smelling the roses and being an encouragement to someone who needs a good word and pausing to appreciate the natural beauty all around me and contributing my time to serve someone in need and reading a book slowly enough to actually breathe it in and going on a road trip with no particular schedule in mind and stop caring about being interrupted because, after all, I’m in no hurry.

I want to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from my life and I encourage you to do the same. Your life will be better for it.

If you ever see me and I seem to be in a hurry, please call me on it. Be ruthless! Say to me, “You know that thing about ruthlessly eliminating hurry from your life, how’s that going?”

I’ll get the hint.

Bill Love

5.5 Tips For Focused Writing

Tags: Advertising, agency, article, audience, blog, Creativity, Des Moines, des moines agency, education, focus, good writing, how-to, impactful writing, Iowa, iowa agency, laser, marketing, metaphor, photography, Public Relations, story, VanGogh, visualization, West Des Moines, writing
Posted in Interactive | No Comments 7/21/2010

Sit back for a second and think about the word, “Focus.” What comes to mind? A pinpointed laser? Crisp, clear visions of a serene horizon? The brushstrokes of a VanGogh?

All of those are viable visuals for “focus,” but what does “focus” mean to your writing?

Is your writing focused? When I apply the word “focus” to writing, whether it’s a simple blog post, a press release for a client, or a story for my children, I see it as a metaphor derived from my background as a photographer.

Photographers want their images to be “in focus,” as sharp and as clear as they can be (in most cases). As the photographer focuses on their subject by making slight turns and adjustments of the lens, so the writer tries to see the story as clearly as possible through visualization, drafting, revisualization, editing (and more editing) until “the picture” is crystal clear. Then, snap. Done.

So how does focus express itself in your writing? How can you, as a writer, achieve better focus?

Here are some common questions I ask while writing that help sharpen the picture:

1 – Who’s the story talking to?
2 – What’s the news?
3 – What’s one thing the reader MUST know?
4 – What makes this story interesting? (Is it interesting to others or just you?)
5 – What is the story about? (No, REALLY, what’s it about?)
5.5 – Walk away and look at it later with fresh eyes. (Revisualization)

While anyone can pick up a pencil, pen or pull out a keyboard and write, if it’s focused, writing can have impact. With focus, writing can help your community, help make change, help save lives and inspire the world.

How do you focus when writing?

“The Decision” Made Without Thinking

Tags: Advertising, branding, celebrity, Cleveland Cavaliers, Des Moines, ESPN, Iowa, King James, LeBron James, marketing, McDonalds, Miami Heat, NBA Marketing, Nike, Personal Brand, Public Relations, South Beach, Sports, Twitter, West Des Moines
Posted in Advertising | No Comments 7/14/2010

What brand wouldn’t love to be so popular it could put on a one-hour special about their future and have everyone watching, on the edge of their seats waiting to find out the news? That’s what LeBron James did last Thursday. With his impending free agency, he had the sports and advertising worlds on the edge of their seats. By now, you’ve probably heard the critics and basic public relations bust that this was. I think there are several ways to look at it.

Speaking as a sports fan, this was a complete debacle. Maybe I have too many Midwestern values, but you don’t go on national TV to tell the world you are leaving your hometown. He is literally crippling the Cleveland sports economy – perhaps the economy period. Think of all the tickets (tourism), merchandising (shopping) and advertising (business) he is ripping from the city, not to mention their hearts. This is a hometown kid that made it big, put Cleveland on the NBA map for a while, and is now “taking his talents to South Beach.” That statement says it all for me. He didn’t say “I’m going to the Miami Heat.” He said “I’m going to South Beach” – the glitz and glam of celebrity. I may not be a normal sports fan in that I really don’t care how much a player makes because its all relative. Who doesn’t want to succeed and make more money at their job? I think some sports athletes may even deserve a one-hour special if they are popular enough. Good for LeBron that he generates enough interest that people in the middle of July on a Thursday night will tune into a cable channel to watch him. That’s cool. I just think he lost sight of his decision. If Lebron is staying in Cleveland – have the special, donate the proceeds to charity and the city rejoices. He still gets his money and he is still on a good team. His brand keeps moving forward and he is on to even more riches. If LeBron is going to “South Beach” to seek more fame, then announce it like any other player and don’t crush the city that supports and depends on you in front of a nation. Now LeBron’s personal brand has to hit the “reset” button.

As an advertiser, this event poses an interesting question to me – do you want your brand to be associated with this kind of public relations flop? From what I can tell, most people are down on LeBron, and I haven’t heard too much about the advertisers that actually made this special happen. Many of the sponsors were already tied to LeBron – Nike, McDonalds, and VitaminWater. But some were not – University of Phoenix, Microsoft, and Facebook. This article in AdAge, it breaks down the advertising exposure and value of the mention. It also talks about how this TV special came together. What it doesn’t talk about is who was the biggest brand this night?

I think it was LeBron James, because it’s easier for people to identify with a person over a product. LeBron made it very evident he was the brand “taking his talents”, which include marketability, to South Beach. That’s where he lost relevance to his “corporate brand.” It became his decision without considering his brand community.

In this day and age, sports figures have a lot of control over their message – to the point that they easily make a “corporate brand” out of their celebrity. They no longer have to rely on the media to break a story or message for them, they can take the message to the media themselves and monetize it by asking, “What is it worth to you?” They can even go one step further to break news themselves via Twitter, Facebook or their own personal websites. This is all a public relations puzzle as much as an advertising puzzle. Because the relationship that the person has with their consumer (fans in this case), is what drives the brand they’ve created.

LeBron thought his personal brand was above scrutiny and that people would realize it was a “business” decision. Yes, there is absolutely a business side of sports, but the core of what drives that business is the fans and the personal connection the fans have with a team or a player. LeBron failed to see where his brand starts. He thought that LeBron James creates marketability with his talents. No, the fans create his marketability because they admire his talents. When you tarnish your connection to people, you lose your brand.

The great thing about sports and America really, is there are usually second chances. LeBron’s brand took a big time hit last week. He might think he can just garner new fans in a new city and things will be repaired. I think its going to be more than that. He needs to connect again, which is going to be tough. He had a big advantage being the hometown kid. Cleveland likely would have loved him no matter if he won or lost championships. Now in Miami, he has to win. He has to build relationships and find a way not to come across as a narcissistic celebrity trying to be seen. Winning could be the cure, but a lot of people have a new view of him after last week.

Do you think his brand will be repaired? How might he do it?

Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Tags: Advertising, Agency size, big agency vs small agency, cost effective, creative, decision makers, different kind of ad agency, fitness, hard work, Iowa, lean, marketing, mean, nimble, Public Relations, relevance, rewards, West Des Moines
Posted in Advertising | 1 Comment 6/17/2010

Scale I recently started a 10-week fitness boot camp to whip myself into shape. At times I have wondered what I got myself into and why I actually PAID to do it! I have been concentrating on my health and fitness the last year or so and finally felt like I could take the next step and really push myself. I’ve lost about 80 pounds now on my own, so I thought this class would help me reach my goal. I started the fitness class around 10 days ago. This is what I’ve learned about myself and life…

• Waking up at 5:45 to workout at 6:15 is not cool. But, there are other people awake at this time and some seem to have been up earlier. They need a mental screening or a sedative.
• Your body can literally keep sweating and sweating and only stop when it literally runs out of sweat.
• A dirty dream can involve yourself, at a table, eating pizza. That’s it. It was a good one.
• I have zero flexibility. Zero. The Tin Man bends better than I do.
• I kick and punch like a girl at times. I also wimper and cry like a girl at times.

Okay, it might not be that dramatic. Its actually been a really great experience and in less than a week and a half I’ve discovered how to push myself even further than I thought I could. I can only hope to see where I can go in this 10-week time. The goal would be to get smaller and leaner and meaner. I’ve been a larger guy for most of my life. I always wondered what it was like to be skinny. To eat whatever you want, bathe it in ranch dressing and lay around. Must be nice skinny people. Well, what I’ve discovered is that a lot of skinny people are skinny because they work at it and they want to be skinny. They are okay with the work you have to put in, the discipline it takes and the rewards of the effort.

At Love Scott, we are a bit smaller than your average large agency. But we like it that way. We’re not ashamed of it and we love the work and effort it takes to see the rewards. We’re different that way. To steal an excerpt from our company manifesto…

“The larger the army, the slower it moves.

That’s a fact. So it’s also a fact that sometimes smaller is better. We’re a different kind of ad agency in that we’re smaller and okay with that. There are lots of smaller ad agencies, but most of them are not okay with that and live for the time when they can be much larger (and as a result, much slower). If cumbersome is what you seek, hire a large ad agency. Spend lots of time working your way around and through the various layers and empires built without regard to responsiveness… not to mention cost controls. Get used to “taking a meeting” whenever you need an answer and whatever you do, don’t cross the prima donnas in the creative department. They’re very sensitive.”

Although this is written in an entertaining way, its as simple as saying the people you meet at Love Scott are going to be the people you see and work with every day. We’re lean. We’re mean. (in a good way) We’re nimble. We like it that way. If you’d like to work with a company willing to work directly with you and you want to reach the decision makers when you need them, we’re your kind of people.

And by the way, the prima donnas in the creative department are sensitive. I’ve found body parts I didn’t know I had that are sensitive these days.

Hang On Every Word

Tags: ad copy, Advertising, auto ad, communication, compelling, copy, copy writing, copywriter, copywriting, creative, Des Moines, genius, good copywriting, IA, Inspiration, Iowa, Mark Twain, marketing, power, quality, Volkswagon, West Des Moines, written word
Posted in Interactive | No Comments 5/19/2010

I love words. I love how they form in your head, rattling around like jellybeans in a glass jar until they come clinking down through your inner ear, into your throat and out your mouth. With steamy, sensual passion or sand-blown rage these simple words change the world around us one syllable at a time.

As consumers, listen to the words that are spoken to you. Don’t just hear what the voice over is saying, but listen to the tone, the timbre and the way that they form the words before they roll out. Do they feel crafted? Do they have substance? Are they soothing or inspirational? Do they feel rehearsed or recited? Do they grate and scale against the soft parts of your emotional under belly?

Words have a lot of power. Especially when it comes to marketing and advertising. A client’s need to move a product or provide a service must be communicated to the audience in such a compelling manner that the burden on copywriters is sometimes overwhelming. But with that responsibility, a lot of ad copywriters have genius when it comes to crafting copy or dialogue that moves people. Think of your favorite television spots or your favorite print ads – ads that made you think or moved you into action. That’s copy writing genius.

***

On the other hand there is the dry, uninspired, rote, garish and simply boring side to that world as well (We’ve all seen those, so no need to embed one here…).

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.
– Mark Twain

Clients need to understand that the message with which their brand is associated will last long after the commercial has gone off the air or the magazine has been thrown away. If the words move a person to turn the channel or flip the page, then they’ve just embedded their perception to your brand. If the words, dialogue or copy make the reader pause and takes them to an emotion other than boredom or frustration, that too affects the brand perception. Which would you rather have? Good language can be wasted in a matter of seconds and redemption takes an eternity when it comes to building and maintaining a strong brand.

The common denominator we have in communication is the word. Whether spoken, written, illustrated or otherwise, don’t underestimate the power of being human.

Sincerely,
Andrew B. Clark, Interactive Director

How Do You Create Value – Invite To Invoice

Tags: account management, ad agency, add value, advertising agency, Andrea James, communication, customer servive, Des Moines, Iowa, marketing, Pitney Bowes, Public Relations, response, Service, social media, Successful branding, Twitter, Value, value added, West Des Moines
Posted in Public Relations | No Comments 4/23/2010

We had a discussion among the Love Scott staff the other day about how businesses create value. When it comes time to pay a bill, you automatically measure the perceived value of that item against the price before handing over your money. If the value is considered less than the price tag, there are bound to be complications. But creating value is so much more than a product or service – it’s really about the entire experience.

When was the last time you walked away from a business transaction thinking, “WOW! That was worth every penny AND my time!” What was it that made you feel that way? Was it a unique product? Was it outstanding service? Most likely, you were “wowed” through the entire experience – from invitation to invoice. Or in this digital age, from log-on to log-off, because your website is certainly an extension of your brand’s perceived value.

Customer service/relations has changed a lot in the last decade with the emersion of social media in business. I still see ambiguity from business leaders to the idea of getting involved in social media marketing. While there’s definitely been a shift from the idea of social media being a “phase” to a general acceptance of it as a tool that will be around for awhile, many businesses are still not completely understanding the magnitude it can have in terms of hearing the customer, communicating with the customer, and improving customer service.

I faced it head-on a couple weeks ago when I innocently tweeted about trouble I was having with our postage machine. This is what I said:

I didn’t expect anyone to really care or even pay attention. Not five minutes later, I got this response from @PBCares:

It was, in fact, a Pitney Bowes machine, and long story short, there was a repairman in our office within 24 hours. Voila! Without even a phone call, Pitney Bowes made it clear that they noticed, appreciated our business, and valued us as customers. They created very real value. And my response was – WOW. Their Twitter handle is “@PBCares”, and they proved to me that they do.

As a necessary brand-building exercise, we are focusing on how we create value for our customers. From invite to invoice, do we go the extra step to help them understand the way we do things? Can we help them to feel more comfortable, even if it takes us a little out of our own comfort zones? When they get our invoice, do they scratch their heads or do they accept it knowing we created real value equal to the price on the paper?

So, how do you define value? How do you make sure your clients/customers are feeling valued? Put some thought into it and let us know what perceived value your customers should expect. Because at the end of the day, without value, what are you providing to your customers?

Andrea James, President / Public Relations Director

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Posts Tagged ‘West Des Moines’

My Thanks…

5.5 Tips For Focused Writing

“The Decision” Made Without Thinking

Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Hang On Every Word

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Posts Tagged ‘West Des Moines’

My Thanks…

The Best Reason I Can Think Of To Be Ruthless!

5.5 Tips For Focused Writing

“The Decision” Made Without Thinking

Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Hang On Every Word

How Do You Create Value – Invite To Invoice

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Who is Love Scott, anyway?

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