Tony Whitehead

Remember that we are not digging ditches or doing anything death-defying. We are drawing on our imagination and creativity. This should be fun. Who ever taught us that we are too old to play is just plain ‘rong. Make mistakes. It’s in our play mindset that we opened ourselves up to brilliance.

Just like everything else in life, you will face rejection from time to time. Face it. Not everyone will like what you have to offer. Depressed yet? Don’t be. Burn this fact into your brain…it doesn’t matter. If you believe that you have created something special, take it to their competition and pitch it again. If the idea still needs work, hone it and pitch it to another. Make your time worthwhile. There’s a baby in that thar bath water.

Connection. This is the primary way to make your message effective. Always remember that no matter the supposed bullet points, mandates from the client or the dreaded focus group feedback, NOTHING matters if you don’t have a connection with the customer. Put yourself in their shoes. Look through their eyeballs. Listen to their concerns. If you do this, most likely you’ll find that the copy will write itself. You can always fit some of the ideas from above into your final pitch and make the outside voices feel happy, but you need to be true to first principles.

With the affordability of video production equipment in today’s world, my opinion is that No Job is the perfect job. Don’t work for anyone else. Follow your dreams and don’t let anyone tell you when to clock in, what hours to work or what you should charge for your services. Learn your craft by doing your craft with your own equipment and at your own pace. Start with “good enough” equipment and let the results of your work pay for updates and upgrades, all the while keeping a roof over your head and gas in your tank. Done let anyone tell you that your dream can wait. If you listen to that advice, your dream will remain a fantasy.

Don’t over promise and overhype the client’s marketing. Keeping the message simple, clear and direct is always the best strategy and policy. Don’t talk down to their customers, either.

In my opinion, there’s nothing more important to successfully connecting with your audience than to do everything possible to try to experience your product or service through your customer’s senses. In the case of television advertising, I always liken it to “sitting on their couch and becoming them”. What would interest or inspire you (as them) to become attracted to your product and/or service? I am not one for focus groups or surveys. Simple common sense trumps that in most circumstances. Of course, your mileage may vary.