Great Creative Happens Here

I like the theme of the Ad Association Hermes Awards this year – Great Creative Happens Here. The invitation came with a sticker and instructions to take a picture to be included in a video montage at the show. We took a couple snapshots to submit.

Character

I spent the day yesterday listening to people talk about the company where they love to work. Then I rushed home to make it to the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner where Joe Nuxhall was honored for what he did and what he stood for.

The day reminded me about the importance of character. On our video shoot, we were working with producer Jeff Cutlip recording oral history interviews for Midmark’s 100th anniversary. The employees really love the company. They talk fondly about what the company has meant to their lives. And they talk about the character of the people they work with.

After the shoot, I checked in with Brian, our editor, who has been taking care of all of the projects while I have been out gallivanting with the video camera much of the week.

Then it was off to home to join my wife at the Hamilton Chamber Dinner (Kelli is plugged in to the Hamilton elite... I was just tagging along). In a moving speech, Joe Nuxhall’s son, Kim Nuxhall, thanked the community for all of the sympathy and support the Nuxhall family received. Nuxhall’s character was also lauded by Reds owner Bob Castellini and citizen of the year Tim Nichting — who led the Hamilton West Side All Stars to the Little League World Series.

Ad Industry

Every organization has a personality. It’s a reflection of the people who work there. I had the opportunity to visit a variety of ad industry organizations earlier this week as we videotaped segments for the Ad Association Hermes Awards Dinner.

Our first experience of an organization was the décor of the building as we walked in. We saw playful, creative environments as well as conservative, corporate environments. Often those conservative facades belied the personality of the creative groups who were able to function quite well within a larger organization of left-brain thinkers.

We went from the corporate-meets-cool offices of Hafenbrack to the lawyer-like, wood-ensconced board room of Excellence in Motivation, from fun and hip ad agency spaces to the design-house-meets-high-school environment of the School of Advertising Art. The common denominator was the creative work being done at all of these places. And some of that creativity will be on display through the videos at the Hermes Awards. See you there!