Friday, April 26, 2013

Charge More for Your Creative - And Get It!

It's time to stop giving away your creative efforts, both literally and figuratively.  Just because it's a buyer's market is no excuse to do projects on spec or reduced rates every... single... time!

The Promo Code believes you should be charging more!  That's not a typo - You should be charging more for your creative!  (I can hear your head nodding.  Read on...)

But it's hard to sell creative at the old rates these days, you reasonably argue.  Part of the problem is that you've bought that premise and are willing to settle for less.

Here's the thing: You're probably better than what you're charging; however, you don't want to miss any opportunities, no matter what your gut tells you.

You can see these conundrums coming a mile away - even without binoculars!  It invariably goes something like this, "Give me a break this first time, then we can adjust next time."  Trouble is, there rarely is a future where you're greeted with flowers and candy.  (Hmmm, where have we had that before?)

If you agree to a deal that fills you with regret, it doesn't go away.  More specifically, the regret never leaves, but the projects often do, because higher budgets rarely materialize.

But what about doing projects on spec, you counter?  Certainly, they represent a foot in the door and, in many cases, are the only way to win business.

In this instance, it's key to differentiate between spec and a pitch.  The former is smaller in scope and is often a representation of what you can do for a single project. The latter is for much more and focuses on an entire campaign.  If you know the deal going in, then pitch away!

Working for free is fine when it's explicitly for charity, not so much when it's charity at your expense.

So, how can you charge more for your brilliance, and get it?  Glad you asked...

Charge by the project, not by the hour.  Readers of The Code know that charging for creative by the hour is a terrible idea.  For details, see here

Establish a budget before you start.  This can be achieved by asking one simple question, "How much is allocated to this project?"  Once determined, it's much easier to work backward.  Your first vendor?  Yourself.  Then you know how much to spend elsewhere. 

Manage expectations.  Smaller budgets yield less expensive productions.  Larger budgets, well, you know...  And "revisions" is not slang for "an infinite number of changes."  Set limits from the beginning, including the meaning of the word, "reasonable."

Be confident.  You got the gig because they wanted you.  If not, they would have chosen someone else..  Remember that when you're asked to do more for free (See "Manage expectations.")  Note:  Cocky is not the same as confident.

Don't half-ass it.  OK, you've agreed on the budget and scope of the project.  Plus, you're off the clock.  Let the fun begin!  Is this something you'd put on your website or in your portfolio?  If not, find a way to make it a contender.  Hey, not every project or campaign is going to bring hardware, but every project can represent your best effort.

Keep getting better.   Learn from other professionals around you.  This works both ways.  Chances are, the wunderkind just out of college has an innate understanding of digital media, while the veteran knows how many frames to hold in order make the scene a tear-jerker.  No matter what you know, you can always know more.  And that makes you better.

Remember, you are a professional creative and possess skills that others need.  Not everybody can write/design/edit/produce like you.  Acknowledging your own worth while earning a living isn't just admirable.  

It's essential to your professional growth and the health of our industry.

Now get out there and... charge!

-Ed Roth
edrothshow@gmail.com

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Six Things You Can Learn from a Musician

After years of spending all my time around broadcasters, these days I spend a lot of my time hanging around with musicians.  In fact, I'm a second-rate trombone player who comes from a family of musicians.  My brother plays and teaches trumpet and my father played the trumpet.  My daughter has mastered seven instruments from piano to ukelele.  Occasionally, I am even guilty of marking my slide positions on my music, which is inconceivable.  Hey, shut up!  Don't judge me.

What I've discovered is how much everyone working in business can learn from musicians.  Whether you're a concertmaster accountant or a low brass player who coaches soccer, it's a rhythm that professionals hit that provides the clues to real success:

1.  Teamwork

Musicians know that working together is the only way to achieve harmony.  I know your boss is always yammering on about how they want everyone to work together smoothly and be a team player.  It makes sense.  Consider that the last time you saw the Stones, all four of them were playing a different song at the same time.  Then they would sound like some of the progressive bands playing today (I kid because I love).   Musicians know that their part will be different in each song (or project) and that knowing what each person contributes, no matter how small the part, is crucial to the final tune.

2.  Follow the leader
 
Unless it's just two guitars strumming at a campfire, most groups have a leader, even a conductor.  Every conductor has their own style, but it is the job of each musician to adapt to the leader, while applying his or her own particular skills to the ultimate success of the group.  The conductor does not adapt to the group.
 

3.  Musicians move to their own beat
 
Nobody would pay money to see a musician who only shows up on time, wears a nice suit and sensible shoes and eats a balanced dinner before turning in early.    Musicians do what they want, when they want, just like cats.  While a certain amount of business decorum is appreciated (see two items above), it's that individualism that really propels a company.  It really is the people who make a place great, and it's the unique characters we work with that provide a new perspective. The lemmings who all dress and act alike may get ahead, but it's the weekend shredder who makes my place of business fun.  As you're sitting at your desk today, don't forget to release your inner rock and roll and be very much your bad self.

4.  Feel the joy
 
Did you ever see a group of musicians just sitting around and playing together?  Next time, don't look at their hands, look at their faces and see the unbridled joy.  It doesn't matter if it's a Beethoven symphony or an original tune about living in Portland, OR, there's real joy in playing and harmonizing that is unmatched anywhere.   If you could feel ten per cent of that joy when you were doing your job today, how great would that be?  If you're going to do a job...any job...look for the joy of those around you, of being paid every two weeks or just..being alive.  It's all a gas, man.

5.  Practice, practice, practice

You wouldn't want to hear a musician who didn't practice, would you?  There is a sense of discipline the best musicians have, and a desire to play until they have mastered the piece they are playing.  The same is true in business.  There is nothing that compares with working on behalf of a company or client and seeing  them succeed.  In doing this, you are practicing.  You are working toward perfecting something which will be enjoyed by and benefit another person.  Just the simple idea of practicing is in the routine of every musician, athlete and artist.  Are you practicing to succeed at your job today?

6.  Rise to the challenge

Two weeks ago, my symphony friends played the monumentally difficult Mahler No. 5, a seventy-five minute marathon of great musical highs and lows not for the squeamish.   To a person, the musicians I talked to mentioned the love of the challenge of playing this piece, and of the love of extending that challenge to the audience.  In a nutshell, every musician looks forward not to rehashing past glories by playing the same piece all the time, but in mastering something new, something which may potentially baffle them at first, but that they hope to conquer and give them and the audience great joy.  Look for that next challenge and rise to it.

All of this is not meant to make us abandon our rather mundane jobs to take gigs for $25 and all the
Long Island Iced Teas we can drink, but we can all take a page out of the scores of those who delight in playing together, following the leader and practicing until their fingers bleed, all while being very much themselves.  The great ones simply rise to challenge after challenge, no matter how daunting.

I may not be a great musician myself, but being around so many great ones has made me appreciate that the things they know extend far beyond the notes on the page and they teach me a lot every time, though I'd never admit it to them. 

--Rich Brase
redrich24@yahoo.com
Proudly affiliated with The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
www.vancouversymphony.org






Friday, April 19, 2013

Who Do We Think We Are?

Recent studies show that close to 80% of the population believes that advertising claims are exaggerated.  The big surprise here is where they found the other 20%. 

However, just because a spot is bigger than life, that doesn't mean it's a lie.  We're always trying to find innovative ways to make emotional connections with viewers, whether in entertainment or news (assuming there's a difference).

It's our craft.  It's what we do.  It's the esse of promo. And if our exaggerated message compels viewers to watch, then our work is done, right?

Not so fast, buck-o!

The problem with promo duplicity is that it's a short-term sugar rush that inevitably crashes.  Too often, viewers are intrigued by promos.  However, once they come to the party, the show (or newscast) had better deliver.

If not, it can lead to disappointment, anger, or even turning off the set completely and reading a book. (Oh, the horror!)

Case in point:  I was with an agency that did a news campaign for a local station.  The crux of the message was a very personal one:  The viewer's identity was directly connected to the news they watch.  

People were intrigued and sampling went through the roof.  However, the newscast wasn't very good. 

Viewers bought the premise, perhaps too much, because they left in droves.  If my news reflects me, they reasoned, then this surely isn't my news.  The campaign actually led to lower ratings. 

Ironically, the GM loved the campaign and ordered up Round Two.  Didn't work.  No matter how much we tweaked, we had no control over the newscast itself.  

History buffs, please note:  This was the beginning of the end of campaigns that aren't Coverage You Can Count On, Live, Local, Late-Breaking, or ______'s News Leader.  

Moral of the story:  Be sure you can back up your advertising, or it can backfire on you.

Naturally, this doesn't mean your video has to be literal, unless you're creating a literal video (the first one here).  Bites/clips don't even have to follow each other in the same order they appear in the show.  But the message must reflect what's being promoted.  

For example...
- You can't position an Elizabethan drama as a teen comedy.
- You can't tease big changes in the weather, then forecast an increase of 3 degrees. 
- You can't announce that this round of your singing competition is the ultimate showdown, bigger than life itself... then make the same claim the following week.

You may attract more viewers this time, but you risk credibility, a precious commodity that's not easy to regain.

Just ask the professionals that people trust least (according to Gallup):
Members of Congress, car salespeople and, um, advertising practitioners.

Ruh-roh!

-Ed Roth
edrothshow@gmail.com



Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Is the Freelance Life for You?


Most of us are used to working for others, and love getting a paycheck every two weeks.  But for a select few, living "La Vida Freelance" is invigorating and a little bit scary.  If you're thinking about making the move to working alone, you have company. 

Today, The Promo Code welcomes special guest contributor Kathy Aicher.  Kathy's a long-time friend and esteemed award-winning member of the promo community who has left the daily grind to live the sweet life free-lancing in her home state of Vermont.  Welcome, Kathy! 

My freelance life began in the late-1990’s following my third “restructuring” of a television company within a six-year period.  I’m not sure I ever truly decided that this was my new path.  Truthfully, I’ve probably referred to myself more often as a survivor.  But it’s been 15 years, and I’m still making a go of it.

When I was just out of college looking for my first job in television, we used the term “freelance” to hide the fact we were “between jobs.”  I couldn’t imagine actually WANTING to be freelance.  No regular paycheck?  No benefits?  No safety net?  Nowhere to GO everyday?

Fast forward, years later, working for a network on the West Coast, I discovered that all the cool kids in the sandbox --  the writers, producers, directors, crew -- they were all freelancers.  Here, the term was more synonymous with “entrepreneur,” “self-employed” and “creative.”  It was seductive, working so close to this culture but not quite being part of it.  I liked my network job, but the adrenaline junkie inside me wanted to be in production 24/7.  So when the opportunity came, I jumped.  It probably would have been a much faster and more lucrative transition if I had stayed put in Los Angeles where production is endless.  But I was also making some personal changes, and my new home base was Vermont, where there are more cows than television viewers.  So, in addition to finding, negotiating and securing work, I also had to be willing to go wherever the work was.    

Pros and Cons
For me, the best part of freelancing is the freedom to say, “Yes!” when a call comes in for a project.  I love the variety of work that freelancing brings, and the places that work takes me.  The worst part?  Not knowing when those calls are coming.   

Freelancing is not for the faint of heart. Those of us who freelance are familiar with the emotional roller coaster that comes between projects.  Sometimes it feels like the phone is never going to ring again.  And if you work from home, it can be extremely isolating. 

Keeping Emotional Balance
Everyone has their own way of coping with the downtime.  I try to stay busy with exercise, hobbies, home improvement projects and volunteer activities.  I actually bought an antique farmhouse just so I would always have something to do.  I golf, ski, hike, garden and otherwise enjoy the outdoors as much as possible.  It keeps me centered and focused.  Downtime is also a great time to work on professional development, and new business development.  

Putting Your Skills to the Test
As a TV promotion manager your skills are vast and varied.  You are a writer, producer, editor, public relations professional, media buyer, negotiator, creative strategist and more.  What other industry requires such a mix of right brain and left brain in a single job description?  When someone asks me what I do, I ask them what they need. 

If you like stability, company benefits, a retirement plan and paid vacations, you should probably steer clear of freelancing.  For me, I love having an entrepreneurial spirit, and skiing on Wednesdays.  Maybe I’ll see you in the sandbox!

Kathy Aicher
kathyaicher@gmail.com

Check out some really cool design work, too:  LMW Design




Friday, April 12, 2013

Pulling a Costanza and Going Opposite


In my favorite Seinfeld episode, George comments that every instinct he has ever had has been wrong.  Jerry convinces him that, if every instinct he has is wrong, then the opposite must be right. (You know the episode. If not, you can find the key scene here)

With this new "opposite" approach to life, George meets a beautiful woman by announcing that he's unemployed and lives with his parents.  It continues with him insulting George Steinbrenner and getting a great job with the New York Yankees.  And so on.

What a great concept. But does it really work?

Today, I weigh my life's successes and failures and wonder if it's time to pull a Costanza.  Perhaps, I've been Costanza-ing all along and didn't even know it.

Professionally, I trust my creative instincts, which have usually turned out pretty well.  My career choices have been solid, if not perfect.  I always encourage younger producers to make decisions in the moment and keep moving ahead.  Live with it; if it's really that bad, you can always go back and adjust (well, usually). 

On the other hand, despite my decisiveness, my creative choices are not always right.  What's more, I've let some fantastic opportunities slip away.  I mean, fantastic.  Many a night I've wondered, What if...?

Personally, my life's full of hits and misses; I think the jury will always be out on that one.  I figure, if I've made the right choices 51% of the time, I'm ahead of the game.

So, would I be better off by following my gut or doing the opposite?   My gut is to pull a Costanza.  But only on the decisions that turn out wrong.

But seriously... The allure of knowing that anything is certain - whether it's my gut or the opposite - is fool's gold.

With so many uncertainties in life, and seemingly more each day, I can't worry about whether my decision is right or wrong.  There's simply no way to know.  I can only rely on experience, sensibilities and clear thinking.

And since my instinct is pull a Costanza on my Costanza, the answer is clear:  I will continue to trust my gut. 

Back to "What if...?"

OK, I've danced around my big Costanza Moment.that still keeps me up at night.  Here's what happened:

During the dotcom boom, I was EPing a Cable/Internet show.  We were creating two original hours each week, the group was very tight, and life was good.  

Then word came down that the show might be folding due to funding.  No worries, I was reassured that there would always be a place for me within the parent company.

Serendipitously, I received a call from a friend/client who was leaving his great job in cable news and was looking for his own replacement.  If I was interested, the job was mine.  It was a corporate position that paid very well, but I'd have to give up on my venture and move to another town.

For both logical and subjective reasons, I passed.  About a month later, the show shut down, and I returned to Promo World.  To this day, I occasionally check to see if the person who took the job is still there.  He is.

Since then, I've rationalized my decision ad nauseum.  If only I'd ignored my gut and pulled a Costanza...

Now I realize - everybody's had a Costanza Moment and I'd really like to hear yours.

Serenity now!
-Ed
edrothshow@gmail.com

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Don't Screw with Karma

Karma is all-knowing and all-powerful.  Of that, there cannot be any question.

I know of more than one executive who chronically would never return phone calls or e-mails and were generally not nice people, only to land on the scrap heap themselves.  Boo-hoo.

After ten years as a creative services director, I was given the programming reins as well.  It was a proud day for me to be given the additional responsibilities by Ed Piette, a great general manager who knew that I could do little to screw it up, since we had long-term contracts with all the great King World products at the time.  Basically, I just had to keep the ship off the rocks.

When I asked him for his best advice on how to succeed as a programmer, he said, "yeah.   Never treat syndicators like a**holes.  The guy who comes with crap today has a hit tomorrow."

I think these are words to live by--just don't treat anyone badly, for the simple reason that the person you mistreat now will remember it later.  On top of that, it's the right thing to do.

The great Ed Roth wrote very eloquently in our last blog (I Promise I'll Return Your Call) about how he was treated on a recent trip to Chicago.  I'd like to add a few things to his wise words:

Return every personal call and e-mail, if you can.  I know you get hundreds of useless e-mails a day, tut some are really important.  Have you ever been a job searcher who really wants a position?  Remember how hurt you felt when you had the qualifications but couldn't get a call back?  That's how the person feels when you do the same.  People get busy, but a quick e-mail saying "we're still evaluating candidates" is always appreciated.  Don't just ignore people.  It's rude.

Be as honest as you can.  By saying "we're going in another direction" doesn't help anyone. 
Try to be as specific as you can.  Of course, consult your HR director about company policy regarding honesty.  Your honesty jut might help me in my search.

Don't talk down to people.  This might seem like common sense, but think about it.  How many times have people above you in your company, or who were doing the hiring dismissed you?  Remember how that felt?
Hopefully you got your revenge by getting an even better job and are thriving in it right now.

Finally, if you have no openings in your department, or you've already filled it, say so.  Stop jerking people around.  The person on the other end of the phone really wants the job, but I guarantee they're a grown up and deserve to be treated as such.  Maybe it's just me, but I HATE having my time wasted.

There's nothing like adversity to create humility.  I'm a New Yorker who's had a blunt, big, in-your-face personality for a long time.  Living in the Pacific Northwest has been like being in one big "Calm Down Room."   It's easy to get so involved in the importance of the job you are doing that you view those outside your building as an interruption in your routine.

But what if those outsiders were seen as allies who could help us do our jobs better, and give you a chance to help someone who really needs it.

If we could work at returning correspondences, being more honest and respectful, trying not to speak in generalities and be a straight shooter.  Wouldn't that be novel?

What goes around comes around, right?  You can screw with a New Yorker...but never with Karma.

--Rich Brase
RichIdeas
redrich24@yahoo.com



Friday, April 5, 2013

I Promise I'll Return Your Call

I was in Chicago last week, meeting with clients and looking for other opportunities (including going in-house).  As always, I was jacked for the trip.  Returning to my hometown.  The greatest people.  Tons to do.  Best food anywhere.  And, oh yeah, my family.

It used to be very simple.  I would make connections, discuss upcoming projects, re-establish relationships and lament about the Cubs.  Same four chords... just like Axis of Awesome (click on title).

(I'll admit, that was a cheap rhetorical device to incorporate this clip.  Was totally worth it.)

But this time, it was different.  Maybe it was me, but something was missing... a little something called common courtesy.  Changing availabilities, shifting agendas, breakdowns in communication.  Sure, everybody's busy and doing more to get by, but c'mon, we're all in this together, right?  And not just the surface-y stuff, either.  I'm talking major eye contact here.

And then the karma train hit me right between the eyes - Do I do this? 

Am I reluctant to return calls that will be uncomfortable, and then, when too much time passes, resist making the call because it would be even more awkward (like this sentence)?  The answer, unfortunately, was yes.

Wow!  I'd had three meetings re-scheduled already and I was feeling guilty, although some of that could be attributed to being with family.  Right then, I decided I would always return phone calls, and more.

Now, it's time to establish a new covenant.  With a moderate degree of fanfare, I present to you (trumpet blare): 
  
The Five Commandments of Corporate Courtesy  

I.   Don't quasi-schedule meetings that are never to be.

II. Don't over-promise and under-consumate. 

III. Don't set floating appointments.

IV.  Don't lie under the guise of "technically, the truth."

V.  Don't change or eliminate budgets after delivery.

I understand people are scared - scared that they'll lose their job, that they'll never get another job, that they'll have too much to do, that their inadequacies will be uncovered, that their being overqualified will be discovered, that their salaries and fees will be reduced, that they'll have to find another line of work, that someone younger/more experienced/more connected/more something will replace them.

Which is way this is more important than ever.

No matter how hard it gets, now matter how many mergers take away jobs, no matter how many downsizings loom, no matter how many budgets get slashed, no matter how many overtime hours are eliminated, no matter how overwhelmed or lost we feel, let's be decent and honest with each other.

So, do we have a deal?

-Ed Roth
edrothshow@gmail.com

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Dog Catches Car

Have you ever heard the phrase "Be careful what you ask for?"

No?  You need to get out more.

It doesn't matter what business you're in, but we're all trying to get to the top--in ratings, in revenue, in importance.  In fact, as a former boss back in Toledo, Ohio said to me that "figures don't lie...but liars can figure."

I'm sure he didn't make that up, but his words ring true.  You can manipulate your sales numbers or research to say just about anything.  But what happens when all your hard work pays off?  What happens when your station becomes Number One in every daypart, every newscast, every demo and are the top biller in the market?  I happened to me at two different stations, but staying on top was tougher than the climb.  We had caught the car.  Now what?

When I was the creative director of a station in St. Louis, were on top of the mountain--our network was
on a roll, we had the top three syndicated products, great news talent and were the Cardinals' flagship station when they were in World Series three times in six years.  Life was good, but so were my competitors.  If I thought I was working hard chasing that car, it was nothing compared to how hard I worked when we had it firmly in our grasp.

There are only two ways you want to go when you are on this sort of roll--get bigger or fold like a card table.  We lived every day as if it were our last and were petrified that we would be caught from behind.
Both of these dominant stations gave me great insight into what to do to stay on top:

Pile it On
There's no such a thing as a big-enough lead.  Continue to look for ways every day to leverage your strengths.  Only partner with organizations whose standards are as high as yours--the largest department store, the top-rated radio stations, websites and charities.  They will want to win as much as you.

Use All Your Weapons
Got the top-rated network affiliation?  Got the top-rated syndicated shows?  It's not enough.
There's power in having the top-rated weather, sports or news talent, to say nothing about your daily talk show or morning news.  You're looking for content.  No matter how strong your partner is, one of their main goals ALWAYS is to get on television.


Stay Hungry
When we reached a 42 share in our late news, our GM announced in a department head meeting that he thought we could do a 50 share.  Excellence was now in our DNA..Everything we did at that station was aimed at reaching the highest highs.  It was a feeling I never wanted to lose.  We wanted to be the highest rated station in the nation, not just St. Louis.  We closely examined every partnership with community organizations, radio and television stations and tried to enhance them...every year...and we made them sign three-year contracts.  If you are not getting what you need out of the relationship, time to move on.

Respect
Always under-promise and over-deliver. Great stations get great results not only for themselves but for their partners.  They make people stars and help them get traction.  Make sure you treat each partner with the respect they deserve and they will "talk you up" in the community in ways your competitors can only dream about.

Make every partner working with your competitors wish they were working with you.

Dominant companies have three things in common--timeliness, focus and consistency.  Every project is aimed at gaining the maximum return utilizing the fewest amount of resources and crippling your competitors on a daily basis.   Good companies hope their new initiative will work.  Great companies KNOW they will. 

Remember that once your competitor doesn't think they can beat you...they can't.  You have caught the car, now try not to let it go.  Grrrrrr!

--Rich Brase
redrich24@yahoo.com