Posts Tagged ‘Creativity’
Sometimes shorter is better.
International Harvester Employees Credit Union faced a problem many credit unions have; their founding SEG no longer existed under the same name. SOLUTION: iDiz was hired to research staff and member feelings on the existing name and collect suggestions for new names via an online survey. Even with favorable survey results and name suggestions, many…
Read MoreEveryone has an opinion
Ask for an opinion and most of the time you’ll get one. As a creative person, you are probably used to getting opinions all of the time — from your boss, coworkers, possibly even clients. Sometimes you’ll get useful, constructive insight that gives you the chance to improve, that helps you turn what you are…
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Not your Grandma’s Credit Union
PROBLEM: Harvester Financial is a small credit union that needs to grow. The manufacturing plant where they started had been closed years ago by their original SEG, which itself had been sold and merged into another company. Even with mergers membership was aging, and the credit union wanted to update their image in order to bring in younger members. While their…
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How to choose and work with a pro photographer
For those of you that have been stuck in StockPhotoLand for most of your career, here’s a nuts and bolts lesson in how to choose and work with a pro photographer, what to expect, and how to get the results you need: 1. Build a plan. Get a good sense of what you want and need before…
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Brainstorming brainstorming
It’s time for yet another loan promo and you’re stuck looking at a blank piece of paper. You’ve got nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip. You could really use the collective input of multiple minds, riffing on anything that pops in their heads, all focused on a single subject. You need a brainstorming session. But everyone else around the office seems…
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5 New Year’s Resolutions we dare you to make
Every New Year we make resolutions to improve our future; go to the gym, lose weight, get a raise, take that dream vacation, finally pay off the credit card…you know the drill. Lists are written and promises are made (mostly to ourselves, and mostly forgotten within a few days.) But what if your department did it as a group? What if everyone resolves to…
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Here’s a stat for your CFO at budget time
We’ve been preaching for years that Marketing should drive the bus, not just go for a ride in the back. Now there’s a statistic that may actually get your CFO and CEO to pay attention: Ten years ago, if you had invested $10K in design-centric corporations you would have outperformed the S&P Index by 228%. That’s right. According to the Harvard…
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Creativity: Calvin and Hobbes Style
Last weekend I visited the Ohio State campus in Columbus Ohio because of a comic strip. Not just any comic strip, mind you – the comic strip that redefined comic strips; Calvin and Hobbes, created by Bill Watterson. Watterson’s genius was in combining the self-absorption and fun-loving mischief of Calvin with the snarky wit and self-awareness of…
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Creativity: only the story we want to hear?
I’ve always been high on creativity. My whole life has focused on the well-designed, the interesting, the entertaining, the cleverly crafted. I read a lot of books by others in the creativity field, from small nuggets of marketing insights to essays to way-too-many-page tomes on the subject. I enjoy watching TED talks to see how…
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Are you telling stories or storytelling?
My brother-in-law tended to exaggerate things a bit when he was a kid. From what I hear, there was always some truth behind his tales, but it was the embellishments that made everyone grin and shake their head. His family knew he wasn’t lying, he was “telling stories” – which, of course, isn’t the same thing…
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