Adam Mc

Thoughts on the web.

May 13, 2012
by amccrim
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Let’s Evolve

Before I get into this topic I should mention that I work in advertising, though I don’t mention it specifically very often. Working in this industry I’ve been thoroughly surprised at the approach taken by many advertising professionals in regards to digital advertising. (Even those individuals who come from “digital” shops.) Enough so that I thought it was important to write this piece about the state of the ad world and how the current advertising process must evolve and grow to truly embrace the world we live in.

In the 1700′s English newspapers started to run the first mass reproduced print ads. Around 1920 the world heard the first radio ads. The 1940′s brought our parents and grandparents the first TV ads. And the first banner ad showed up in 1993. We’ve had a long time to get good at “traditional” advertising but digital advertising is only 18 years old.

Correction: Digital advertising is already 18 years old.  Continue Reading →

May 2, 2012
by amccrim
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Creativity

Few things are so identifiable yet so incalculable as creativity. Sometimes the line between great and awful is so small it’s hard to tell if it’s even there. No matter what role you play, we’re expected to understand, qualify and quantify creativity. Everyday we’re asked to be creative. To solve problems and communicate ideas in a way that logic, order and process just can’t.

With that in mind I’d like to present two quick stories around the subject of creativity. Each taken with a grain of salt and as food for thought. Continue Reading →

March 27, 2012
by amccrim
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Think Big. Go Small.

There’s an elegance that comes with simplicity. A focus that can only be achieved through subtraction. Companies regularly push to “do more with less”. What if instead, they tried to do less and focus more?

Spotify is great because it just focuses on music. Twitter because they just focus on quick communication.

When you try to do everything you fail at everything – like a movie with too many plot lines.

Doing less doesn’t mean thinking small. It doesn’t mean being “risk adverse”, “conservative” or “unimaginative”. The best organizations push the limits of possibility in select areas. The best products and services follow this same pattern.

Think big. Go small.

The web gives anyone with an idea a chance to make something more. Too often those ideas become creations that are corrupt with extras that detract from their core. It’s easier to add than it is to subtract – but often it’s better to subtract than it is to add.

Don’t cut for the sake of cutting, just ask “why” more often. Why do we have that many products? Why is this feature here? Why does that page say that?

 

March 25, 2012
by amccrim
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Brands as Patterns

This is the first in a series of in-depth looks at the topics, sessions and ideas that came out of this year’s trip to SXSW. 

(Brands as Patterns – SXSW – Friday March 9th 2012)

Establishing a brand relies on the principal of consistency. Traditionally that came down to using the same elements in multiple places, telling the same story in varied mediums and using a universal voice. But today’s brands can exist in multiple mediums and are defined by many voices – both by the brand and by the consumer. This has presented us with a challenge: How do we maintain a brand through so many varying communication channels?   Continue Reading →