CS Creative Employee Blog

In an earlier post, Kevin discussed the design of CARBO’s recent event marketing campaign and its successful market response. The client was delighted, and so were our peers. We were honored as a finalist for the AMA Crystal Awards!

CARBO and CS Creative were selected as finalists in four categories:

• Marketing Campaign – Business-to-Business
• Marketing Campaign – Medium Budget
• Online Marketing Campaign
• Mobile Marketing Program

As we took home the Crystal Award for the best B2B marketing campaign! Cindy attended the event with Steve, Lara and Cynthia, the marketing team from CARBO. You can see by the photos that they had way too much fun!

Cindy and Steve pose with their Crystal Award

Lara, Cynthia and Cindy (plus a little extra flair)

Congratulations to everyone on a successful (and now award-winning) campaign!

Whenever I attend association meetings for project managers, I’m surrounded by professionals from many fields—logistics, pharmaceuticals, technology, construction—but rarely is there another PMP from a creative agency! Although many designers don’t typically use Gantt charts and other standard project management tools, the basics of project management are hugely important to what we do everyday. Here are just three of the reasons why.

Keep the Client Happy

As the primary contact with the client, I want to keep our clients happy. Timelines are kept current so that we’re all working toward the same goal. I proactively provide them with consistent updates so they always know the status of their projects. These updates include bad news, too. In case of an issue, it always works out best when it’s discussed early so that a little bump doesn’t become a roadblock.

Keep the Designers Happy 

I love working with designers. Their creativity is inspiring, and their enthusiasm for their work is contagious. Usually, I’m their biggest cheerleader. However, their enthusiasm can turn, especially when a design they love is critiqued by the client. I help translate client-speak into design-speak, as sometimes what the client actually says isn’t what a designer hears (and vice versa), so that the next version is even better than they both expected.

Keep It All Organized

Creatives are exactly that: creative. So their time is better spent developing brilliant concepts rather than keep up with the minutia of project details and trafficking. That’s where a project manager comes in. I play a role from start to finish on any project. By creating some simple processes, projects can kick-off consistently every time. You’ll never hunt for files on the media server again, as your project manager will likely create an easy filing system.

At the end of the project, I usually hold a wrap-up meeting to discuss how the project went and what could be done better next time. You’ll be able to easily look back on old projects because your organizational wizard meticulously archived it.

And this is just the start. Project managers are trained to keep projects on time and on budget; imagine how much they could help out with both your projects and your day-to-day operations!

As a member of the Women’s Business Council – Southwest (WBCS), I have the honor of serving on the committee that coordinates and hosts our CEO Roundtable series. These luncheons cover topics like communications, cash-flow management, social media and negotiations in an intimate setting, with discussions led by subject matter experts (SMEs) at each table. What better way to learn and network than at a table for five!

Last week’s luncheon topic was mobilization. In our increasingly mobile society, every company has to adjust – and adjust quickly. This movement affects everything from websites to e-commerce to customer communications. In the last year, mobile searches have quadrupled. And according to eMarketer Online, 66% of Americans ages 25 to 34 own a smartphone.

We were joined by an impressive panel of SMEs. Our experts included Kirk Ballou of Flash Widgets; Will Bralick of Paladin Logic; Bear Cahill of Brainwash, Inc.; Michael Christopher of Elemental Methods; Bryan Schneider of AT&T; and Craig Thompson of Global Web HQ. These guys weren’t shy about sharing knowledge and best practices. (I’m sure that sitting at a table full of women helped.)

Most importantly for the food-lovers in the group, lunch was held at Ocean Prime, a fabulous restaurant here in Dallas. Roundtable attendees had the choice between a ginger crusted salmon or filet mignon. I chose the filet, or course. Yum!

I was surprised by how much I learned in such a short time. Did you know that when browsing on their phones, 40% of smartphone users will immediately leave a site if it’s not mobile optimized? They’ll bounce over to the first competitor that has a user-friendly site on their device. With one-in-seven searches coming from smartphones, it is a sound and strategic move to be optimized for mobile.

If you’d like to learn more about the WBCS and our CEO Roundtable series, feel free to contact me. Who knows? You might be a SME at our next event!