Strategists, Speakers, and Success Stories
One of the many stressors in the world of creativity is the simple aspect of “getting out of your own head,” as my former marketing professor used to say. For you, maybe getting out of your head can be difficult as far as marketing strategies. Or, maybe you don’t have many networking opportunities. Maybe it’s not utilizing the World Wide Web to your advantage!
The good news is that there are plentiful resources available to get out of your head, out of the box, and straight into opportunities for growth. For more than 50 years, the American Advertising Federation (AAF) of North Dakota has helped to educate members of their chapter with professional development strategies and networking opportunities. Each month, the AAF holds a luncheon to present a speaker who specializes in different areas of expertise within the communication-related field. In this week’s blog, we’d like to relay a few helpful tips that we’ve had the opportunity to learn from our some of our AdFed speakers.
The Power of Authentic Content – Cameron Potts
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| Cameron Potts – Photo by AAF of ND |
Cameron Potts, the Vice President of Public Relations and Community Management for Deluxe, was the featured speaker on behalf of AAF for November. For those who may not know, Deluxe is one of the largest check printers in the United States. Along with that, they provide various services to small businesses. Does the show Small Business Revolution ring any bells? Now it’s starting to click. That show is “Championed by Deluxe” to bring opportunity to small businesses throughout the United States that otherwise might not have a chance to grow.
A few members from Office Sign were able to sit in on Cameron Potts’ presentation last November, and one of the biggest takeaways we gathered from him was simple: allow your marketing strategies to have a “show, don’t tell” mentality. Small Business Revolution is a success because of the brilliant strategies used to think outside the box and let the event speak for itself. There is little advertising to the Deluxe brand within the show, yet it is just visible enough to notice. Journalists aren’t the only profession that can use “Show, Don’t Tell.”
Challenging Assumptions in Creative Problem Solving – Eric Melin
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| Eric Melin – Photo by AAF of ND |
Eric Melin, Senior Social Media Manager at Callahan Creek, spoke to us in December about creative problem solving. What made his speech really stand out is the fact that he is a World Champion Air Guitarist. Yes, you read that correctly! Side note: his accomplishments weren’t as easy as they may seem.
Through the trials and errors of perfecting his air guitar solo to win the world, Eric was able to connect it back to problem solving process we encounter each day. He worked for days, months, and years to perfect his air guitar solo in order to solve the problems that he learned from his trials and errors. Even an Air Guitar World Champion gets a mental block sometimes, too. He adapted to his audience and essentially gave them what they wanted to see with his own personalized twist. Though he didn’t whip out the air guitar for this luncheon, his connection to the creative problems we encounter each day engaged everyone in the room. After Eric’s speech, there was quite a bit of motivation to get out of the box! Maybe a few of us wanted to try our hand at the air guitar, too…
Through the trials and errors of perfecting his air guitar solo to win the world, Eric was able to connect it back to problem solving process we encounter each day. He worked for days, months, and years to perfect his air guitar solo in order to solve the problems that he learned from his trials and errors. Even an Air Guitar World Champion gets a mental block sometimes, too. He adapted to his audience and essentially gave them what they wanted to see with his own personalized twist. Though he didn’t whip out the air guitar for this luncheon, his connection to the creative problems we encounter each day engaged everyone in the room. After Eric’s speech, there was quite a bit of motivation to get out of the box! Maybe a few of us wanted to try our hand at the air guitar, too…
Simple Strategies to Skyrocket Website Conversions – Jennifer Bourn
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| January AdFed Luncheon – Photo by AAF of ND |
At our most recent luncheon, the AAF presented Jennifer Bourn to speak about building, maintaining, and refining our websites. One of the greatest takeaways from Jennifer’s speech was that a website is not the last step – often times it begins the process of improving it and potential growth! Jennifer’s tips were simple enough to implement for all websites, but even these simple tips are often times overlooked. As she mentioned in her speech, “Small actions equal big results.” The key to a successful website is optimizing it for your already captivated audience.
Unfortunately, Jennifer was not able to present in person, but her expertise did not go unnoticed. Like all of the speakers that the AAF has presented us with, new insights were learned and we were allowed to get out of our own heads. Sometimes, seeking advice from strategists, speakers, or success stories is just what the doctor (or CEO) ordered. Just in the last three months, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from highly successful strategists within web development, content creation, and marketing strategies. Creativity can be tough. But thanks to the American Advertising Federation of North Dakota, we are presented with new opportunities to learn from experts and grow our businesses each month. Get out of your own head – you’ll be surprised what you learn!
Written by: Rylee Wznick in reference to AAF speakers
Photos by: AAF of ND
Contact: rylee@officesigncompany.com
