Evaluating creative talent is incredibly challenging. The candidate needs to have the executional skills required for the job but execution is only part of the story. You need to feel comfortable with brining in a new personality into your well-oiled machine. One mistake can disrupt your department’s efficiency and jeopardize the happiness of your existing star performers.

Typically, the use of references can reinforce the good gut feeling you could have after meeting a candidate. But when evaluating creative talent right out of school, you will need to rely on other indicators.

After over 10 years of hiring entry level designers, art directors, and copywriters, I have developed my own set of evaluation criteria. Some are very tactical, checklist type items. Some are more emotional. All are critical. Read more…

This past month, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) launched a pilot program offering free WiFi on their commuter rail lines. As someone who has the constant need to stay connected and who takes the commuter train every day to my office in downtown Boston, this is perfect.

I don’t need to preach the full list of benefits for Free WiFi but this service will lure more commuters out of their cars and onto the trains. It’s better for the environment and better for the health of the MBTA.

Although WiFi is not the newest technology, the fact that the MBTA has made the initiative to offer it is a huge win for their brand. I, alone have spoken to everyone I know about how much I love this service. Read more…

Last week I went to my local IKEA with my wife and bought a few picture frames. When I checked out, I learned about a new initiative IKEA was testing out in North America. They were using my local store (In Avon, MA) to pilot the program in the United States. In a nutshell, if you want a bag for your stuff, IKEA is charging $0.05 per bag and is donating that nickel to an environmental charity. Sounds pretty cool right?

Well, imagine how you would feel if this is how it was explained to you:

Cashier: Would you like a bag?
Me: Yes.
Cashier: I know this sucks, but we have to charge you 5 cents for every bag. Read more…

Recently, I had an opportunity to speak to a class of advertising students about my career, my work, and my observations from 10 years in the advertising industry. I figured the best way to sum up what I had learned was to list out some key observations. Some of these were inspired by a similar list created by Michael McDonough.

1. Talent will get your foot in the door but it won’t get you much further. Without hard work, sacrifice, and a little luck you won’t go far. You may be a rockstar in college and your portfolio may open up doors but it won’t do much more. From day one you will have to prove yourself in an agency full of rockstars. It means long hours. It means sacrifice. Half the creative directors I know aren’t as talented as some of the junior members of the team, they are just smarter. Read more…

The recent news of the proposed Google phone has sent ripples of excitement throughout the blogosphere. Could it really be true? Could Google’s partnership with Samsung be more than just bundling mobile Google Search, Google Maps, and Gmail?

If you believe Simeon Simeonov and his High Contrast blog, it would seem so. His insider knowledge has released details, supported of course by the linked photo to Engadget.

But whether you believe the hype or not, the facts brought up by Simeonov, on Google’s recent acquisitions, support a new type of mobile revolution: one that makes it possible to truly do business at your fingertips.

Read more…