Ant Hill Marketing

Last night Jon and I attended the “Working in a Creative Economy” event that was put on by the University of Oregon. (I am a Beaver, so it was a bit hard to step inside the White Stag building (which I admit is beautiful) and be immersed in Duck land… but I survived.)

The event was a panel discussion on how those in the creative industry can/should deal with the current economic situation on a personal and business level.  The panelists included Jolie Giese from Nau/Horny Toad, Randy Higgins from Vizwerks, Steve Potestio from 52 Limited, and Susan Hoffman from W+K.

Overall, it was actually a really inspiring event. The attendance was huge (over 100 people) which is telling of how relevant the topic was. What I took away from it is a reminder that we all need to come together as a creative community and work with each other to help strengthen the industry as a whole. There was also a lot of great discussion about Oregon Creative Industries (OCI) and the work they are doing to try and unify the voice for the creative economy (creative services is one player) and give us a seat at the table.  It’s tough times for a lot of people and agencies, but it’s also helping our industry realize that we need to support each other to remain a viable part of the economy.

Plus there were also some good laughs…Susan Hoffman threw out the F’bomb a few times and got the crowd energized.

-Erin

Giving back to the community…Ant Hill Marketing takes it seriously, as our support for probono client, Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center illustrates. We’re helping this great organization – which does so much for those with barriers to quality healthcare – develop and activate their brand.  Part of the activation process includes the development of a new website. In our effort to aid the up-and-coming talent enter Portland’s creative pool, we brought our  friends at Portland Art Institute (PAI) on board. The result is a Web Raising – developing a site in a day. Crazy? No way. We get to mentor PAI students and the start of Virginia Garcia’s new website. Under Ant Hill Marketing’s direction, students at PAI will join together to help Virginia Garcia push their new site live. Check out the new site on April 25^th: www.virginiagarcia.org.

Social Media Club PDX is holding their second meeting tomorrow, Tuesday March 24th at WebTrends. Kelly Feller, Social Media Strategiest for Intel’s Social Media Center for Excellence will be speaking about Careers in Social Media. Below is a summary of  the event.

Getting It: Careers in Social Media

Are there really jobs in social media and if so, how do I get one? With all the self-proclaimed social media pundits, experts and gurus out there, it’s easy to wonder if the only jobs in social media are for consultants or agencies trying to help big corporations “get it.” Well Kelly is living proof that some big companies do “get it” and are willing to put their money where their online mouths are by hiring specialists with expertise in “being social online.”

Join Kelly Feller for the second official Social Media Club Portland meeting where she’ll summarize various corporate social media jobs (hers included) and what they actually entail. She will also explore ways to stand out in this increasingly crowded space and give some hints to agencies and consultants who are helping companies make sense of the growing social media marketing movement.

Date: Tuesday, March 24rd, 2009
Location:
WebTrends
851 SW 6th Ave. Suite 1600
Portland, OR 97204
Time: Networking 6-6:30,  Presentation: 6:30-8pm
Cost: Free. Seating is limited.
Supported by Widmer Brothers.
RSVP

Wondering how Portland will push through the down economy and grow stronger in the future? Mayor Sam Adams spoke with creative industry folk at the PAF event on March 10. He outlined his Sustainable Economic Development Strategy that details a five year plan to promote economic growth and job creation for our fair city. There are lofty goals including building the most sustainable economy in the U.S. and creating 10,000 new jobs. To do so, we (the businesses of Portland) must be leaders in sustainable job growth, sustainable way of life and inclusive prosperity that doesn’t leave anyone out from reaping benefit to growth. 

Recognizing the strength of creative services industry and the subset that includes marketing, advertising, design, and interactive shops, he told those in attendance that he would travel to help local businesses grow and help gain focus on local firms pitching clients outside the city and region. He and his team are also working diligently to aid in bringing new business headquarters to Portland (read – new clients).

Currently the Mayor and his team are working on a “creative capacity” project strategy to be delivered in April. Based on what he explained, this strategy does not include creative firms and is mostly the arts (due to lack of funding and the need to stabilize the arts). However, the plan is to partner with Portland’s creative services industry to aid in – what many have longed to hear – developing a brand strategy for the City of Portland.  He followed by emphasizing that the goal is to be strategic, not simply develop a logo or a look. 

Our Mayor seems to get the benefit of brand development.  But, it leaves me wondering, why not include the creative service industry folks in the planning now? To deliver on the brand, it’s got to be infused into and aligned with all functional areas of our city and needs to be a part of the strategy now, not simply a piece of the delivery.  Just as a private sector organization must align its business and brand strategies in order to deliver on the brand promise throughout the organization, so too should government entities align city strategies and brand. If not, our fair city may miss the boat and wind up with just a logo and a look and another campaign.

This past Saturday I attended Cre8Camp III. This was one of a series of unconferences for creative industries professionals. At Cre8Camp, participants learn, network and share in an open environment. The idea is that when creatives get together, magic happens. Who am I to argue with that?

And so, this past weekend I experienced the Magic. The great thing about this unconference, is that it was clear that the term “creative” encompasses more than just ad-men and artists. It is anyone out there who takes a creative approach to solving problems; whether that be developers, account managers, consultants, or teachers.

We gathered in the morning and brainstormed topics. Some of those included:

• Milk Bath – how do you decompress?
• Unstuck – Getting unstuck in your way of thinking.
• SEO
• Semantic Web
• Bridging the Gap – Communication styles between clients, managers, designers, programmers, etc…
• Emerging Trends
• Branding Yourself or Product
• Designing on a Budget
• and more…

After the topic brainstorm, we broke up the topics into sessions and created a schedule. Attendees were free to join sessions that interested them. The collaboration and brainstorming was very energizing. It was great to peer into what other creatives are working on and how they approach certain subjects.  I am looking forward to the next one, and the mothership event, Cre8Con in September. I hope to see you there!