Katie Brown started working at Grip, for the second time, in November 2010 as a designer within the studio. She migrated to becoming one of our first Social Content Strategists. She is tickled about her new role as an Editor on The Slide and will be happy to help hoist you up on top of our soapbox. Additionally, she will be gossiping about the creative process and what provokes ideas to come to life inside our heads.

It’s like having a child, staring down proudly and saying, ‘that’s right, I created that’. At least I’d imagine the two are similar. In a world where everything seems to be a copy of a copy of a copy, truly innovative ideas are few and far between.

But where ideas have gone stale, advertisers have found a collective desire. There is a need to create and perhaps, even more of a need to lay claim to an idea that we can say is uniquely ours. With the constant ask for better, different, and newer, advertising is both gratifying and anxiety inducing. Though, it’s the endless exploration of the unknown that fascinates me most. A circus that marries the bizarre with the brilliant, it’s an industry that never sleeps, never waits, and almost always surprises you.

Perpetually enthralled by the question of, ‘what’s next?,’ I’ll be venturing into the unchartered areas of advertising – and hopefully coming back with findings worth sharing.

Alex started off as a Social Media Intern, though her affinity for social started long before. Interested in the new and exciting, she’ll be exploring changes in digital trends and anything of the peculiar and noteworthy.

There used to be a time when, as advertisers, we only had to worry about amplifying our message beyond competing brands. Now, not only do we have to beat out the competition, but we also have to break through the clutter of consumer content. Information and ideas are everywhere;  a customer opinion has never mattered more than it does today. We can’t just shout from the rooftops anymore, spray and pray no longer works. We have to engage. Advertising is about community and conversation. A community is organic, it grows and shifts with time, it’s adaptable to our needs and if a crisis happens a community works together to rebuild and fix. At GRIP this is even apparent in how we work as an agency: always growing, listening and interacting in open dialogue to come up with the best ideas for our clients. We have to look to the future and understand where all of this will go, but I’m also deeply focused on right now… What is happening? What are people saying and why? It’s our job to find out. I’ll be looking at all things digital, social and engaging in order to better understand this untethered world of information we are all trying to communicate in.

Patrick Tomasso started as an intern Social Media Planner for a small Toronto agency before briefly working at Apple. He now holds a Social Content Strategist position at GRIP.

Innovation isn’t spontaneous. Amazing and enduring ideas aren’t born from a moment’s thought. The most creative discoveries are cultivated, refined and combined: much like the discoveries we develop here at Grip. That’s what I love most about this industry. The unpredictable nature of ideas, the collision course of inspiration, and the different ways we all achieve greatness. I want to find out where great ideas come from, how fantastic people function, and how the social space is changing the way we think.

Julia started as a copywriter before finding her niche in Social Content Strategy. Expect to see her touch upon all things social and cultural.

We’re all advertisers, really.

All of us from the petulant cicada to the arrogant and murderous peacock have a penchant for self-aggrandizement. And we always have. The moment humankind pulled ourselves from the sticky fingers of savagery in fact, we’ve been doing everything we possibly can to get attention; to show off our remarkable accomplishments, like our giant balls of twine or amazing hair. Early cave paintings might seem like a record of our species’ history, but they’re just primordial YouTube videos that document how awesome we are in simple terms like MAN-SPEAR-ANTELOPE or MAN-SPEAR-MAN or the less popular MAN-SPEAR-FOOT.

What separates us from the other animals, though, is our ability to show off things that we haven’t done, that we haven’t experienced or that aren’t integral parts of our body. Our highly developed human brains give us the unique ability to take something someone else created and create something new that puts that first creation into perspective and makes other people want that creation to create memories or feelings or delicious thin-crust masterpieces of their own. So there, that’s advertising.

And it feels good.

When I used to write more frequently for the blog, Leilah and I had a running joke about how much of my work was whimsy and fiction. And why shouldn’t it be? Fiction is fun. Fiction takes the culture and personality of the advertising industry that so many of us already know and live every day, and it holds a mirror to those quirks to remind us that in the end, we’re all just whiny cicadas and angry peacocks trying to make a living doing what we love. I hope to be able to hold that mirror as steadily as I can.

Curtis has worked in the advertising industry for five years, and has been with Grip for three. As one of the five new editors of Big Orange Slide, he expects to write about advertising culture and the people that make our industry what it is.

It’s been two years and change since a dear friend and ferociously talented writer, Ian Mackenzie, wrote a farewell piece and handed me the reins to his labour of love: the Big Orange Slide. Since that time, I’ve typed, cajoled, all-staff’d, small-group’d and hopefully justified Ian’s faith in me. But as Shakespeare noted, “we are time’s subjects, and time bids be gone.” And so I find myself sitting down to write a similar missive, and hand the Slide over to new parents.

Given the spirit of experimentation that bore it in the first, we’re going to try something new. Editorial duties will expand from a single editor to a full set of talented and dedicated social content strategists. Their writing skills, ingenuity, wit and insights into engagement will surely help take this already awesome thing to eleven. Doubtless, even twelve.

These editors are inheriting a project that has been coaxed through its mewling infancy to become a viral, ADCC award-winning beacon of our agency’s opinions, quirks, musings and graphic prowess. They’ll likely find their own lessons in what it’s like to be involved with such a thing. Since these are my twilight hours as a contributor, I’d like to subject you to some half-baked ramblings on what I’ve learned, because innate cynicism firmly aside, it really has had a tremendous impact on me.

1. A “spirit of making” changes everything at an agency.
When an agency is adamant about making projects for itself, every aspect of its culture and image is affected. The process itself forces you to define your brand. Defining your brand gives your population a stronger “tribal” feeling. When that happens, morale is boosted. Which leads to people wanting to work with you. And when that happens, people want to step up their game. Suddenly, you’re no longer inhabiting a “company.” You’re building a world from scratch and collaborating on its unique, shared history. Every bit of that was obvious throughout every aspect of the blog’s production: from blog meetings to individual pride in seeing one’s name “out there” and the electricity of seeing something go “viral.” I only ever want to work in places that know how magical that process can be.

2. Never surrender.
As with any creative project, having something like the blog can wear you down. In a busy agency, desire can easily exceed capacity, slow content, and deflate the whole damn enterprise. On this blog, we collaborate on original writing, align it with original illustrations, approve those, and push the whole enchilada through a process of further editing and (hopefully) proofreading. It’s a lot to ask of a lot of people. Accept that ebbs happen and inundate the agency with annoying all-staff emails containing cheerful cat photos. Chances are, at least two people will rise to the occasion, and you’ll be off to the races again.

3. Be unapologetic.
One of the most memorable moments this blog has experienced was Trevor and Julia’s “Anatomy of an Agency” infographic. And you know, for all the positive attention it got, there were a handful of people who grumbled about negative connotations or being passed over. You can’t please all the people all the time. But if you please some people some of the time, you’ve won half the battle. Shying away from being contentious in this industry is like serving near beer at a frat party.

4. Internal projects are key teething rings.
Want to test the mettle of new creatives? Give them a project that isn’t just easy enough. Give them something that has internal profile. Something that allows them to shape their voice. Something that will allow them to build confidence. We have had a number of interns come through Grip, and the first thing they get hit with on a slow day is: “Have you written for the blog yet?” This resulted in our awesome “New Kids on the Blog” series, numerous insight pieces geared towards an appreciative student audience, and all sorts of other awesome stuff. Suddenly, you’re not “just an intern.” You’ve become a producer of original content, with the latitude to show off a little. That’s sort of the point, no?

5. Line their palms.
Nothing helps out a little friendly competition like small rewards. The lovely Sara Vinten hand-sewed plush orange “slideys,” and we hand them out together with gift certificates to reward contributors to the blog who go above and beyond. Ok, maybe it didn’t dramatically increase our volunteers, but it made people smile. And it forced a little monthly retrospective, which shows what is working, what isn’t and who you can repeatedly bug for stuff.

6. Give everyone a toy to play with.
I’m a writer, and even I get cowed by putting my opinion out there. A single-minded content creation process alienates people and narrows contribution. Break your project down and figure out if there are other ways to collaborate. Maybe people don’t have time, but they have an idea for a post. Maybe they can’t write, but they can draw. Maybe they can herd the cats towards delivery dates. Maybe they can edit or animate. Everyone should feel welcome to the sandbox.

Six points seems too few, but I have to cut it off somewhere. I’m something of an editor, after all.

Please join me in wishing Grip’s fantastic social content team the best of luck. It won’t always be easy, but it’ll be worth it.

April flowers may bring May glowers, owing to a degree of bloggerly genius near-impossible to recapture.

For the love of language: it’s “flesh” not “flush” – by Sara Vinten
Our delightful (and typically mild-mannered) Ms. Vinten addresses an issue dear to those who quietly mourn the erosion of the English language.

The rise and fall of the Blue Jays brand – by Randy Stein
Randy – an avid Jays baseball fan – details the phoenix-like reemergence of one of his favourite brands.

From sandbox to…just a box? – by Jon Finkelstein
Does social media pave the way to greater digital endeavours? Or does it paint us into a corner, repelling new talent?

Why are ad people so obsessed with Mad Men? – by Ben Steele
Seriously, why?

One last cold snap. At last, an excuse to hibernate for an extra hour to read these, the greatest examples of modern journalism ever to be committed to a blog.

Looking ahead at SXSW – by Patrick Robinson
Patrick reports from the field at SXSW Accelerator, flagging the web-based projects he found most compelling.

Still social by design?- by Dylan Dempsey
One of Grip’s key tech leads examines the path that Facebook is on, and boldly contemplates whether recent innovations still hold up against the mandate to be “social by design.”

…is in an open relationship with Pinterest – Natalie Skaff
Grip issued a challenge to the students of the Centennial College Account Management program to write a post for the Slide. Ms. Skaff’s article was selected as the winner, for its intriguing parallels between psychology and social media.

Grip Interviews: Jeff Koh – by Nancy Ng
An intriguing interview with Jeff Koh, a PhD candidate who is forging a fascinating new path into experiential design.

Comment of the month

“Torben beat me to it. Creativity is based on the three principles below:
Copy – Combine – Transform”

- Andrew in response to “Agree or Disagree: “The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources”

February is Academy Award month. Given that the mysterious gears of time have decreed an extra day this year, it seemed only fitting that we at the Slide use it to nominate our own favourite posts for public accolade.

Disregard the fact that we do this every month anyway.

Trinkets, trash and adult colouring books – by Sylvie Chicoine
After receiving an unexpectedly delightful gift while purchasing an unexpectedly delightful pair of shoes, Sylvie began to muse on the power of enforced “creative wonderment.”

Big Orange Valentines – by Trevor Gourley and Julia Morra
Though the day of love and loathing has passed, these valentines still provide decent inspiration for industry pick-up lines.

Augmented reality: the good, the bad and ugly – by Sean Mayers
Grip’s own “Mobile Guy” handpicks examples of how Augmented Reality can be used properly – or disturbingly otherwise.

Standing on the RIM of greatness – by Randy Stein
So long as RIM recognizes that marketing can play a role in averting disaster, there may be hope yet.

Creativity lives everywhere – by James Adamson
James makes a compelling argument for allowing developers and technologists to help inspire the creative process.

Comment of the month

“As an Art Director I’m always looking for cool references and inspiration. Before Pinterest, my external hard drive was full of cool logos, film references and a whole host of stuff I found interesting.

My Pinterest account started as a way for me to catalogue all the things i find awe inspiring. That was until I jumped from 98 followers to 11,000 in the space of a week. Now I’m on 86,769 followers. Everyday I still pin things I find exciting, but it’s also exciting to check out how many new followers I’ve got.

It’s amazing how many cool things you can find just on Pinterest.

I’m definitely obsessed. And I love it.”  – Marcel Witbooi in answer to Q+A: Are you obsessed with Pinterest?

The first month of the new year. There were some who resolved to do more hot yoga. Others who vowed to forge ahead with those Cantonese lessons. And then a smaller group – the Grippers who merely wanted to write a few good blog posts.

Here, we share the strength of that resolve with you.

Googled out – by Mike Koe
Mike has a vendetta against Google. Or, rather, how much Google wants him to buy foam clogs.

Brand bullying in the social media playground – by Katie Brown
Those who critique brands may do it for any number of reasons. Is immediate, personal response warranted? Or do you allow the rest of the community to circle their wagons naturally?

Is this ad effective? – by Leilah Ambrose
Sometimes a soft sell is the hardest sell of ‘em all.

Over-connected, under engaged – by Sylvie Chicoine
“Know thy audience” may be standard fare for most marketers, but it’s the gospel when it comes to Facebook wall posts.

Self improv-ment – by Warren Haas
Warren started taking improv to improve the quality of his copywriting. Now he’s realizing that there are even bigger lessons afoot.

Comment of the Month:

“If the goal is to improve market share, then I say it is a good commercial. They aren’t going after brand-loyals with this, they are going after the audience of the show (which is by its rating a TV14 which means 14 years and older, and occasionally TVMA which is 18 and older) and using it as a chip snack replacement. In their previous commercials they have tried to rally behind Twitter users (user base is 44% for people aged 18-34), but they were already brand-loyals. This commercial is intended to go after brand switchers, and a good way to do that is through comedy. They display a slice-of-life example, a couple people snacking on the couch, and their repetition ensures you remember the brand. (see HeadOn for example) Sure it doesn’t follow the Ogilvy approach of highlighting the benefits of the product, but I don’t think it has to.

Just my two cents.”  – Steve

In response to: Is this ad effective?