Hasta La Creative!

Upon reading a recent article on CNN.com, “7 Great Places To Work,” I happened upon Maya, a creative consulting firm in Pittsburgh, PA. At Maya, once an employee and new parent finishes his or her paternal or maternal leave, the creative agency allows the parent to bring that newborn baby to work.

This article got me thinking: if this industry is supposed to be on the cutting edge and creative, then how come more advertising, design, marketing, and other communication companies do not top these types of lists?

As this industry demands more and more hours and brain power, some “big idea power” must be allotted for the HR department.

Jinean Robinson is a CCIO (Chief Creative Infections Officer) in this industry for over eight years, specializing in creative strategy and implementation, 360 branding, and brand development. Join her @Twitter or her firm Germ, LLC.

Ok, ok. The world now knows about my secret Sharpie obsession, or at least all the customers and employees at my local Staples. There it was, a behemoth of Sharpie infatuation, a display with every color you could imagine – teal, sky blue, navy AND in various tips of fine, medium, broad. Could it be? Or was just a mirage?

Ever since my first days of creating art, the Sharpie has been my best friend and we have created some good times and great ideas together. Now my wildest dreams have come true with all the colors of the rainbow to choose from. Sharpie’s new product line and communications tell me one thing: it must be listening to its audience. With a website full of ideas, tutorials, contests, and opportunities for the fellow Sharpie-obsessed, it is deepening loyalty within consumers.

What can we learn from this? Taking our brands and tapping into the true connection they have with their target is key to communication and innovation. Sharpie could have pushed the brand’s connection with meetings, boardrooms, and diagrams, but instead chose to tap into the root emotion – the love to create. Bravo Sharpie!

Jinean Robinson is a CCIO (Chief Creative Infections Officer) who has been in the communications industry for over 8 years, specializing in creative strategy and implementation, 360 branding communications, and brand development. Join her at http://twitter.com/germllc or her firm’s website at http://germonline.com.