Morawski & Company Business Development for a Left Brain World Through Social Media

That was not a misprint. He only spent $100.

Why settle for lemons when you can make lemonade? Sometimes you have to think outside the box. Those are two very well-worn lines. Louise Grant is an Illustrator that really gives them meaning rather than just paying lip service. Illustration is a business that has been in a 40 year decline. Even in a good year it’s safe to say that it’s extremely hard to be a successful illustrator.

Traditional outlets for creative work are dropping like flies these days. We constantly see stories about newspapers, magazines and anything print related shuttering their doors. Everyone is reading online. Sometimes to get work you have to make your own market. Louise was tired of not being able to sell her illustration services. She writes in her blog;

“This project came about at my frustration of not getting illustration work in the picture book industry. I just wanted to create books. At the same time I got an iPhone and was totally in love with it. I think it is a fabulous medium and kids use them so intuitively it seemed silly to not create a book.

There was and is a number of companies selling kids books for the iPhone but I found that most of them were simply scanning books and making them fit the iPhone screen size. I wanted to create a book specifically for the iPhone and utilising all the features such as voice over, sound effects, music etc.”

She has created the first of three new picture book apps for the iPhone. You can go here to iTunes and get them. They are lovely. The illustrations are fabulous.  The little tricks of voice-over and voice recording are way cool and personalize the experience for readers. She designed and illustrated the books. Her husband spent $100 for the SDK developer kit and did the programming. That was not a misprint. He only spent $100.

Read the entire story on her blog. Then, let your mind wander and see how you can create your own market. Be inspired.

Mike Morawski

Chief Instigation Officer

Who should be your new best friend at the agency?

Are you looking for opportunities to show your creative moxie? Looking for a client who is willing to think outside the box? In fact, insists that you think WAAAAAY outside that box? Who actually is willing to listen to your ideas and accept your input?  Want to build a portfolio of new samples that are different from anything you’ve done previously?

Then you need to go meet the agency New Business person. If it’s a small to midsize agency then it might be the CEO, CFO or the Head of Accounts. Sometimes, they even have original titles like New Business Developer or Chief Development Officer or better still, The New Business Committee. No matter what they’re called these are the people who fish for new clients for their agencies. They are hungry for a way, any way, to get their toe in a client’s door. They are desperate to find that new hook, solution or idea that will get the client’s attention, solve a client problem and separate their agency from the pack.

These are new business opportunities ripe for the picking. Sure, most likely you’ll pay for the work out of your own pocket. Or at best, there will be a nominal dollar amount to defray costs. What does that matter? You were going to do those new samples anyway and who was going to pay for that? Your ROI will far outweigh the costs. Suddenly you’re cast in a different light. You’re a giver not just a taker (remember the idea of Pay it Forward). You’ve become a partner eager and willing to help. Not simply a supplier. You’ve developed new relationships. If the agency wins the account, guess who’s going to be first in line to execute it? Finally, win or lose the pitch, your level of awareness has been increased within the agency.

After all, isn’t being top-of-mind the name of the game and half the battle?

Mike Morawski

Chief Instigation Officer

Sooner or later you gotta back it up

OK you’re networked. You’ve Facebooked, Tweeted, emailed and LinkedIn your way to a myriad of new friends, prospects and clients. You’ve piqued their interest. Now what?

Like they say, “Now is when the proverbial rubber has to meet the road”. Now is when you deliver.  Give them reasons to consider you. Shooting new tests and experimental work is crucial to developing your talent and vision. Letting people look over your shoulder during the process deepens those new relationships. Watch the video.

 

 
Don Johnston is a photographer. Don’s added another layer to the Social Media mix by giving you a feel for him as a photographer and as an individual. He chose video to let the viewer look behind the curtain and yours truly for the open and close. Any media works though. Just remember that the important thing is…

Let them discover you. Make it personal.

Mike Morawski

Chief Instigation Officer

21 New CMO and VP appointments- Trick or Treat

It's Halloween weekend and time for a little new business Trick or Treat. Today is our semi-regular listing of client changes. There have been at least 21 new VP's or CMO's of Marketing/Advertising appointed. Each new appointment represents an opportunity for new agencies and creative suppliers to get that ever-precious foot in the door. And if one of these listed is your client? What steps are you taking to insure that the door stays closed?

1. Mark LaNeve- was the former Vice President of Marketing and Advertising for GM, is now Allstates new Chief Marketing Officer.
2. Sean Menke- formerly with Frontier Airlines President & Chief Operating Officer, has been appointed as Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer at Republic Airways Holdings.
3. Barry M. George- has been named as Chief Marketing Officer for CelLynx.
4. Drew Paxton- former Chief Executive Officer at Alta Mira, now joins OneRecovery as Chief Marketing Officer.
5. Liz Cuddy- was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer at The Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.
6. Alissa Goren- has been appointed as Chief Marketing Officer for The Rapaport Group.
7. Cheryl McKinnon- to Nuxeo as Chief Marketing Officer.
8. Carl Sparks- Chief Marketing Officer of Gilt Groupe Inc.
9. Derek Perez- has been named as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Predators.
10. Chris Wirth- has been appointed as Chief Marketing Officer for Solar Energy Initiatives, Inc.
11. Jared Macke- has joined Scottrade as Online Marketing Manager.
12. Barry M. George- has been named as Chief Marketing Officer for CelLynx.
13. Drew Paxton- former Chief Executive Officer at Alta Mira, now joins OneRecovery as Chief Marketing Officer.
14. James Freeman- has been promoted to Chief Marketing Officer for Zedi Inc.
15. Anthony M. "Tony" Lavely- Chief Marketing Officer at Church's Chicken.
16. Bob Bahramipour- has joined InXpo as Chief Marketing Officer.
17. Sue Dooley- has been named as Vice President of Marketing at Airstream
18. Benjamin Baer- has been named as Vice President of Marketing for ScaleMP.
19. Alex Gault- Vice President of Marketing at MoboVivo Inc.
20. Dakota Sullivan- Vice President for Marketing at Velti.
21. Sheherazade Chamlou- promoted to Vice President of Marketing & Sales for SGD North America.

 

Opportunity...let's go get some. How will you reach them?

 

 

Mike Morawski

Chief Instigation Officer

 

“Opportunity… Let’s go get some”

I went to TEDxDETROIT this week. It was a great mix of speakers, subjects and a nice sprinkling of musical and artistic interludes. TED is an acronym for Technology, Entertainment and Design. People give talks on any subject of their choosing. The idea then is to promote a discussion amongst the attendees during the breaks.

Wow, talk about coming away with lots of ideas! Some I’ll use immediately, others are bumping around in the back of my brain box to see what shakes out. An idea I liked immediately was a quote from Aaron Crumm, CEO, Adaptive Materials Inc. “Opportunity…Let’s go get some”. The simple joy and wide-eyed, child-like naiveté of that statement just amazes me. It’s outrageous  to think you can just go out and find opportunity. It’s as if all we simply need to do is walk out the back door and pick from the opportunity tree till our hearts are content. It would be the tree right next to the money tree.

 

I like this thinking, A LOT! We absolutely can make our own opportunities. I have always believed that 99% of the time there isn’t such a thing as being lucky. Rather, I define being lucky, as someone who is prepared for and able to recognize genuine opportunity.  It takes a lot of work to be lucky. Each client personnel change represents a new opportunity. If you know where your tree is go pick some. If you need a little help, here are links to 3 recent posts with new client changes, post1, post2, post3.  Opportunity…Let’s go get some.

Mike Morawski

Chief Instigation Officer