Case Study: WinWynn Producer Contest
Read this case study from Gail Gonzales, Manager
of Creative Services for Asset Marketing Systems (AMS) that documents
how the Creative Services team developed a theme, name, strategy and
more for a Sales Contest to drive attendance at the 2007 Sales
Symposium. Click "Learn More" to download the case study and view
samples of the WinWynn Campaign.
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Newsflash from GDUSA...
GDUSA magazine recently named three active InSource
members – who volunteer their time and talents
serving on the InSource Board of Directors – as
"
People To Watch in 2008." They are recognized
by GDUSA as "creative, talented, successful,
newsworthy, and influential" individuals "who embody
the spirit of the creative community."
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UPCOMING INNOVATION PROGRAMS AT FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON UNIVERSITY
June 11-12: Innovation Management Program
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INSIGHTS INTO DESIGN MANAGEMENT
Read this article by
Meredith McCain who provides helpful tips and insights to keep your life sane and make your job easier.
Meredith McCain has over five years experience in working for Fortune
50 Companies such as Procter & Gamble and the Coca-Cola Company as
a Global Design Manager.
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Letter From InSource President, Martin Shova
I want to reach out to all our members and say “Thanks” for your support of the in-house design community in 2007. InSource is working hard to provide valuable insights and tools that help corporate creatives achieve and surpass their goals.
We’re looking forward to 2008 as it promises to be another year of growth for InSource as our membership continues to grow and we continue to champion the value of in-house design.
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February 13th Creative Connects is CANCELLED due to weather!
Stay tuned for the new date.
Creative Connects is a free monthly social event hosted by
The BOSS Group for creative, marketing, communications, advertising and web professionals. Come network with colleagues, meet new people, keep up with industry news and get leads on jobs and business opportunities.
This month the featured guest is
Glenn John Arnowitz, Director of Creative Services with Wyeth and co-founder of
InSource.
Learn more about Glenn and Creative Connects...
A New Dimension to Performance Management – Part 1
Read this article by
Steve Benfield, Senior Director, Corporate Communications and Creative Director, SAS Institute Inc. and
InSource Board Member, and learn Steve's unique approach to measuring performance.
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OCTOBER EVENT – WHITE NOISE
Click "Learn More" to read about the InSource October Event,
“White Noise – How A Predominantly White Label Created So Much Noise For Publix And Its In-House Team” and learn firsthand how this work has generated success for Publix.
Tim Cox, Creative Services Director for Publix presented an in-depth case study of the Publix private label redesign.
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Tip from InSource Board Member, Ivan Boden
A THESAURUS IS NOT A DINOSAUR
Digging around for creative inspiration can be time consuming, and all too often designers hit rock bottom. The hidden idea or meaning that connects is just not there.
No doubt we use eons of methods to inspire creativity, however there’s one tool that should not be forgotten. The thesaurus.
Design begins with meaningful words. Unfortunately we’re not always provided good ones to work with.
The thesaurus can help!
Read more about this helpful tip from Ivan Boden.
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JUNE EVENT GENERATING IDEAS THAT STICK
Creative professionals are acutely aware of the ongoing need to develop good ideas and communicate these ideas in compelling ways. However, it takes more than good ideas to achieve maximum business success. Creative teams must do their best to generate “ideas that stick,” which means ideas that “are understood and remembered, and have a lasting impact” to change the thoughts and behavior of the people who are the focus of one’s attention.
Dan Heath was the featured speaker for a half-day InSource event held on Thursday, June 21, 2007, at SAS Worldwide Corporate Headquarters in Cary, North Carolina. His lively presentation explored some of the reasons (including fear, greed and lack of empathy) why people have good ideas that don’t stick, described the 6 principles of “sticky ideas” (namely, “simple unexpected concrete credible emotional stories”) and offered practical insights that in-house creative managers and their teams can use to generate and champion well-constructed ideas in the corporate environment.
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In-House & Online
To further the mission of InSource to enhance the understanding, impact and value of in-house design by sharing expertise, ideas and support, the InSource website recently underwent a redesign. The new InSource website offers a central gathering place for far-flung, often-isolated in-house designers to share ideas, information, concerns, questions and advice. Read this article by Laurel Saville that is featured in the June/July issue of
Dynamic Graphics about how the InSource website went from a site with limited functionality and interactivity to a new site designed by Morris Communications that reflects InSource values by being businesslike, friendly and inviting.
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Promoting Your Department
Just sit back and wait for the work to come to you? It’s easy to feel that just because your group is part of the company, all creative work will stay in-house. And even if that’s the case, does that bring inspiration and motivation to you and your staff? I say no. Read this article by InSource Board Member, John Baker, about how to promote your department.
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Successful Creative Briefs: Linking Business Objectives and Creative Strategies
In-house creative teams often feel their clients treat them as vendors
(someone to execute their vision) and not as trusted, value added problem
solvers. And, clients often feel their business objectives are disregarded
during the creative process. A Creative Brief when properly developed
and adhered to will largely eliminate this internal power struggle.
Read this article, by Emily Cohen, a consultant to creative professionals,
to learn how a well crafted Creative Brief is one of the most valuable
tools in the design process, providing a vital connection between
business objectives and creative strategies.
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Driving Innovation through Design
Innovation was the focus of an in-depth discussion
for the InSource community by panelists James Barrood,
Gordon Kaye, and Bob Wagner...
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Processing the Process Process
In the midst of tight deadlines, client revisions and staff meltdowns its difficult to find the time to create and document processes and procedures for the execution of your projects. But process is important. It protects your group from performance and financial risk and may even afford you and your team more time to do what you enjoy most - design. Read this article by Andy Epstein, Director of Graphic Design and Print Production at Bristol-Myers Squibb, and find out how to make nice with workflows and work instructions.
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Talking the Talk
How to Communicate up the Food Chain
Every year a number of great ideas meet untimely deaths. The
culprit? Communication breakdowns - those frustrating occasions when
you just can't seem to connect with your clients or convince them of
the merits of your concepts. Few situations are more aggravating than
going back to the drawing board when you've just come up with the Pablo
Picasso of ideas or, worse, watering down your Picasso so thoroughly
that it begins to resemble a toddler's art project. InSource co-founder
Glenn John Arnowitz contributed to this article that appears in the
current issue of HOW magazine.
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Business Etiquette Survival Guide
Navigating Sticky Situations at Work
Workplace dilemmas crop up in every professional's career, whether you
have two or 20 years of experience on the job. But most people don't
think about these situations until they arise, resulting in hasty
decisions they sometimes regret. While there's no sense adopting a
worrywart's mentality, familiarizing yourself with common career
predicaments can help you handle them diplomatically if - and when -
they occur. To help you prepare for these sticky situations, we tapped
four industry experts, including InSource co-founder, Glenn John
Arnowitz, for their recommended strategies. Click on this link to read
the article:
TCGeZine2.pdf
(PDF, 100KB)
Creativity Rx
Coming up with clever concepts is a common challenge faced by all
creative professionals. But for in-house designers who work on the same
brand day in and day out, keeping fresh can be even more of an uphill
battle. Yet experienced in-house professionals will tell you there's
plenty of room for innovation in a corporate environment. Take it from
Glenn John Arnowitz who helped build - and now manages - an
award-winning team of six designers in the creative services department
at Wyeth, a research-based, global pharmaceutical company. He and his
team have learned valuable tactics for sustaining a strong creative
spirit no matter what hurdles they must cross. Arnowitz shared some
common inspiration obstacles and real-world cures for overcoming them
and motivating team members. Click on this link to read the article:
TCGeZine-Interview.pdf
(PDF, 156KB)
Business of In-House Design
Jeni Herberger provides valuable insight into the "Business of In-House Design" at the InSource November event...
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Top Download
InSource top download: "80 for 50"...
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InHOWse Designer Conference
The 2006 In-HOWse Designer Conference agenda was jam-packed with
informative and inspirational sessions that offered solutions to the
many challenges faced by in-house creative managers. Topics ranged from
expert ideas on how to manage and motivate your staff, to in-depth
details on how to convince upper management that cutting-edge equipment
actually HELPS the bottom line. Attendees walked away with invaluable
information on how to grow both their brand and their business - along
with their in-house group. Now that's the way to make your in-house
creative team downright indispensable to your company! Andy Epstein and
Glenn John Arnowitz presented "The Scary Side of In-House" and
discussed strategies to overcome the sometimes stifling and uninspired
corporate culture, which often includes limited access to key decision
makers, minimal advancement opportunities, and lack of respect within
the design community.
http://www.inhowseconference.com/
2006 HOW DESIGN CONFERENCE
The 2006 HOW Conference in Las Vegas may be over but Glenn John
Arnowitz and Andy Epstein are still reeling from the excitement and
spectacle of the enlightening sessions all held at the Mandalay Bay
Hotel against the Vegas backdrop. This year's conference was sold-out
with over 4,000 design industry professionals in attendance and
featured 45+ speakers and more than 50 sessions and workshops. This
year, the conference featured an entire in-house track with sessions
devoted to in-house issues: creating effective brand identity, project
management, working with outside studios, keeping inspired and more,
including two special sessions by InSource founders, Andy and Glenn.
They've made their presentations available here. Viva Las Vegas!
Downloads from the event:
Get Your Game On
(PDF, 5.2MB) In House Inspirational
(PDF, 1.2MB)
IN OTHER NEWS
"Today, many of these issues are becoming more and more critical.
Corporate creative teams are under tremendous pressure to do more with
less. They are working with less time, fewer marketing dollars and
increased expectations driven by businesses with lofty goals delivering
increasingly standardized products. Many companies have recognized the
importance of maintaining the personality and culture of a brand, and
proper design management is the cornerstone to insure brand equities
are maintained. That is why groups like ours remain dedicated to help
these creative teams by providing the tools and real-world solutions
that help showcase in-house design as a strategic marketing function."
Read more of Marty Shova's comments on the state of in-house design in
the July issue of GD:USA.
GDUSA InSource Feature.pdf
(PDF, 150KB)
President's Letter
On behalf of the InSource Board of Directors, I want to thank you for your continued support of our creative community...
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