In-depth PR case study materials follow. Last Updated 3 May 2016
Read moreVisual timeline and PR case study: The Uprising Creative
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Great to know: Filmmaker Jonathan Lim
I recently had the chance to meet filmmaker Jonathan Lim, whose dramatic feature film “Pali Road” is opening in theaters in 20 U.S. cities across America later this week. Jonathan wrote and directed the film, which was entirely shot on-location in Hawaii and is the first Hawaii-China co-production in history. While Jonathan describes it as a mystery and a romantic thriller, here’s how it’s introduced by the programmers of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, who have chosen the film to close the festival’s 32nd edition, this Thursday night, 28 April:
“…As stylish as it is mysterious, ‘Pali Road’ by Jonathan Lim echoes the most daring and challenging of classic Hollywood mysteries. If you look closely, you’ll find a hint of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 romantic mystery “Rebecca” starring Joan Fontaine; and maybe even espy a nod to George Cukor’s legendary “Gaslight” (1944) starring the great Ingrid Bergman…”
What’s the impact of winning a Cannes Lion?
Happy Friday, friends! I hope your work week is wrapping up nicely and that you’ll soon be able to enjoy some well-earned downtime, like a lot of people have been doing all week in Cannes (kidding, of course). Before ending this week, I wanted to share this video I’m embedding here from experience design agency Freestate, and a few more comments about the significance of winning a Cannes Lion award.
As you can hear first-hand from FreeState’s creative director Adam Scott in this video directed by Ilan Metev, FreeState won a Gold Design Lion at Cannes in 2013 after designing the world’s largest kinetic sculptures for Blackpool’s promenade. Under the heading of “Why Winning a Lion Matters – An Agency’s View,” Mr. Scott enlightens us while pedaling his bike around the city: “Sometimes it’s hard to find your way, and especially hard given it’s so darn crowded out here…. How do you stand out,” he asks.
And about the results of winning Cannes Lion Gold, he continues: “I would say people are far more interested in our approach, and that has to be a good thing. And well, if it can happen to us then it can certainly happen to you.”
Isn’t that lovely? Also, to me, it’s a perfect summation to what it means to win a Cannes Lion.
Meanwhile, the image I’m providing here offers a newer angle into this discussion. Taken hours ago
Case Study: Changing Stares
Last Updated May 13, 2015: Scott Darnell Wins Top Mobility Industry Engineering Award, Brings Custom Mobility Solutions to Market
Creative and Communications Campaign Designed and Executed by The Darnell Works Agency Supports Growth For Ambitious Entrepreneur
See also: WEBSITE
Adaptive mobility expert Scott Darnell is a consultant and developer of innovative solutions for wheelchair users.
Executive Summary
In 2003, DWA began its role as the creative and communications agency of record for Changing Stares, Inc., a privately held start-up focused on creating important new mobility options for wheelchair users. With Scott Darnell (brother to DWA principal Roger Darnell) unveiling his first product at the 2006 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, DWA took responsibility for all facets of brand communications for the company’s successful launch. In 2009, Scott was invited to attend the annual conference for the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association, where Adaptive Driving Alliance leaders presented him with their New Technology Award for innovation in engineering and technology for the physically challenged. As the venture has progressed, it has tapped DWA’s expertise to cost-effectively advance essential facets of its business, including sales and customer service. Thanks to Scott’s perseverance and DWA’s ongoing support, CSI has earned vital media exposure and consistently expanded dialogues with industry experts and customers through adept communications that include dynamic use of social media.
Case Study: ATTIK
Last Updated April 30, 2015: Global Creative Agency ATTIK Evolved, Continued Delivering Spectacular Client Returns Into 2015
Dynamic Public Relations Campaign Effectively Positions Company and Its Key Customers, Sustains Growth
See also: ATTIK MEDIA COVERAGE
Established in the mid-1980s in northern England, ATTIK Ltd. quickly earned a worldwide reputation for sensational design, and by the late 1990s, had successfully expanded across the U.S. and into Sydney, Australia. In 2001, the company scaled back, refocused, and soon emerged with a boldly expanded approach — and an extraordinary new client: Scion. Acquired in 2007 by Dentsu, ATTIK was a highly successful global creative agency. Its doors closed in 2015.
Visual timeline and PR case study: Sid Lee USA
In-depth PR case study materials follow. Last Updated 21 Jan. 2015
Great to know: Anson Williams
My relatively short career as a professional working in episodic television production took a giant leap forward in 1995, when I was hired to assist the Florida-based producers for NBC, Universal Television and Amblin Entertainment’s SeaQuest 2032. The year before, I had worked on a different series for Fox, BBK Productions and Columbia Pictures TV, where the many producers, directors and talents I met became inspirations for me. Nonetheless, I was very surprised to meet – and have lots of opportunities to work with and get to know – director Anson Williams as one of the many all-stars involved with SeaQuest.
Best known for his Golden Globe-nominated role as Potsie Weber on Happy Days – the single greatest TV series of my youth – Anson is also an award-winning television director, as well as being a writer, singer, producer and entrepreneur. By 2014, Anson has directed over 300 hours of television for scores of world-famous TV series, including Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager, to name but a few.
Sharing secrets: Scion Motivate’s “Visual Identity” panel
I have written in the past about the serious 2013 campaign automotive brand Scion launched to help motivated young professionals scale their careers upward. Those multifaceted efforts included a series of brand films where they convened very bright and successful creative industry achievers to provide spot-on insights about key business imperatives. You can see for yourself that what they created packages the real, proven stuff. In the 10-minute episode embedded above, in order of appearance, you get to meet Justin Thomas Kay of Doubleday & Cartwright, Joshua Prince aka Dust La Rock of Fool’s Gold Records, Cody Hudson of Struggle Inc. and Longman & Eagle, and artist Kenton Parker… and hear their candid responses to these questions:
Read moreSharing secrets: Scion Motivate’s “Visual Identity” panel
Great to know: Allison Dollar
It’s safe to say that the illustrious Allison Dollar has had a huge impact on my professional career, beginning with assignments she gave me in 1993 and 1994 to write the annual Florida Regional Production Guides for the national film and television industry trade magazine “In Motion,” which was published by Phillips Business Information (PBI). Allison and I have kept in-touch over the years, and her unique expertise and first-hand knowledge of cutting-edge innovation across the media landscape is a constant reminder of how lucky I am to know her. Read on for more of Allison’s background, and to learn about a fascinating upcoming panel discussion she is co-hosting on 21 August through the Interactive Television Alliance (ITA), the non-profit she established in 2002 to represent the interests of companies that create, distribute and enable interactive programming.
Spotlight on innovation via yours truly and Fast Company
Reviewing the nine-year history of this blog, innovation is one of the most oft-recurring themes. With the main goal of providing you with more information about myself and my business activities, but also seeking to incorporate developments I find illuminating from the fields of marketing, science, technology and entertainment, anything that might provide insight into new thinking or new ways of achieving success in these areas makes it onto my shortlist for universal positive posts.
To me, the above video produced by Fast Company during its 2013 Innovation By Design conference is a perfect example of the type of inside information that really helps us all understand specific ideas and strategies we can adopt to do things differently, and most likely, better. Here is another great story connected to innovation in product design.
. 10 Lessons My Startup Team Learned from a Massive Product LaunchOn 14-15 October, Fast Company’s Innovation By Design Awards and Conference will return to NYC’s Metropolitan Pavilion, and advance registration is now open.
Read moreSpotlight on innovation via yours truly and Fast Company