Nice bit of press on Westpac's new HomeClub – an online house hunting tool that I've been working on with Westpac! http://www.stoppress.co.nz/blog/2012/08/westpac-climbs-property-ladder-homeclub I've been working on this for the last few months, not only writing all the bits and pieces of copy on the site itself, but also transforming the Home Buyers & Sellers Guide (brochure) into a digital format, which you can access from HomeClub. Has been a really fun time, and I can't wait to see how this impacts both the housing search market, and gives the other banks a bit to worry about!
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I've been working at Westpac a lot recently, and part of our launch DM piece for Indiego's specialist writing service was lying around on many people's desks. I always knew that one day when I truly needed a pencil, this would be the only one I could find... and it happened. This month I've been doing some proofing for Tower Insurance, working on Westpac's upcoming launch of online home loan applications, and frantically helping to get Westpac's HomeClub uploaded and ready for launch. (UPDATE: HomeClub has launched! See www.homeclub.co.nz, it's an amazing tool for the house hunting process, with the ability to import and fav properties from TradeMe, compare recent sales prices and figure out what you can actually afford. PS The answer to that for most people in Auckland at the moment is 'nothing good', haha, ha, oh. Sad reality.) We also initiated a piece in this month's NZMarketing Mag looking at the huge process that was revamping Westpac's website (Indiego writers completely refreshed all the copy, making it a lot more user-friendly and web-savvy). Can't find the PDF but check out the August edition, it is a very attractive looking article if I do say so myself. You can download the PDF below.
And here's some more press for us, cos we rock.
WTF? Last night was the launch of this very important campaign, aiming to raise funds for Rainbow Youth and Outline. Heaps of celebrities came on board to make a video we're hoping will go viral, so watch it below and please pass it on. Funds raised go towards things like Rainbow Youth's education programme where they go into schools to teach gender and sexuality - in an amazing way that connects with the kids I might say (You know how Katy Perry sung that song 'I Kissed A Girl', with the cherry chapstick. Where do you think she might be on the sexuality continuum?). I've been going along to tell my coming out story at these classes for a couple of years now, and I've seen first hand what an impact it has. You've never seen kids so attentive! The aim of the video is to make people realise that discrimination against LGBT people does still happen, with a number of fall-outs from this (such as a suicide rate 4x higher amongst gay teens). Many people don't seem to realise we still haven't achieved equality. Anyway, the video's a lot more fun than this post, so watch and enjoy! (And donate) Indiego is a collaborative agency of independent creatives. Started by Sue Worthington - founder of The Pond, who gave me my first start in freelancing - we come together when needed on projects, and at other times have the freedom of running our own businesses, working for our own clients and so on.
Since October 2011 I've been involved in a few projects through Indiego for Westpac. It's been a great experience, and I've learned a lot about usability and I/A, the strategy behind large-scale projects, and working direct with clients. Just as well, as together with Sue and her business partner Rose, we've just launched a new arm of Indiego called Big On Writing. Big On Writing is a specialist service focused on writing projects - many in the digital space, but not entirely. In fact, we've already found that many of our information architecture and usability strategies can be applied to things such as brochures, for instance. After all, these strategies both involve an understanding of the way people search for and consume information, and what they want to know, when. That's what recently helped us to rationalise Westpac's 50 key brochures into just 30 or so. The key benefits of Big On Writing? Clients come directly to us. Depending on the job, we match them with the right writer or writers for the job, from a pool of the best in New Zealand. Need project management or strategy? We do that too. Big On Writing takes the stress away from those jobs you just need to get done (but get them done well). Having just launched with an update of the Indiego website, we're now sending out a DM piece to anyone we think could benefit from this service (which is almost everyone). After all, writing must be constantly revised and refreshed to keep up with trends in tone, with the demands people expect from business communications, with new technologies. It's our job to be on top of that. So if anyone out there reading this would like a mailer, drop me a line on the Contact form. Our last project at Soda Communications for 2011 was the creation of six TVCs for Fintel Insurance. While creatively it wasn't groundbreaking – as we followed an existing creative format – it is a good story of David beating out Goliath. For the second time in two years, Soda was awarded this project over Aim Proximity, part of the global Colenso BBDO network. It was, of course, our cost-effective price that contributed largely to this decision, as well as our previous high performance. But I think what tipped the balance was our offer of helping with the strategy, from early planning stages. It goes to show that going the extra mile can make a difference, and an affirmation of the approach that I try to take to all the things I do.
Here are a few of the ads (link through to YouTube). Weber BBQs: a Soda Communications client. We helped Weber show their support for the All Blacks in the build-up to the 2011 World Cup. This is the first of three, running through September. While the World Cup tournament was running. And the most pun-tastic headline you've ever seen, but I rather enjoyed it. See below for our alternative billboard, prepped in case we lost!
So I've been hugely neglectful of this blog, having been tied up with a lot of work including some large writing projects for big corporates recently. It's great to be busy up 'til Christmas, as freelancing often goes through a dry spell over the summer holiday months.
Watch this space for some images of my latest work over the last few months, an update on how a reading of my play went, and what else I've been scheming! Lil Infographics is such a huge part of everyday life for those of us who like to read things, and learn stuff and shit. They've become such a standard communication mode, that I'd argue many of us don't remember what came before. Simple ones like those that were often displayed in the Sunday magazine come to mind, but the true art is revealed the more complicated the topic gets.
I was pretty blown away by the article in The Washington Monthly recently about Edward Tufte, who's pretty much the man when it comes to infographics. Here's the link: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/mayjune_2011/features/the_information_sage029137.phpweeblylink_new_window And in honour of infographics, see below for a couple of interesting ones - one about Google's ongoing attempts to clamp down on SEO cheaters and the like, and one with some interesting facts about Facebook use. If you were to interview yourself, what would you ask? One day I sat down and d just this. I wrote exactly what came to mind, with no editing nor much forethought. The result strikes me as a snapshot of my life and my interests at this moment. It is a petri dish, if you will, full of all that is festering in my mind at this point in time. Ew, gross.
I quite enjoyed the result though. Take a look: I ask myself questions. Who is your favourite author? Author? Or writer? Is there a difference? Well, an author I relate to books specifically. A writer, to me, could be any medium. It’s more of an umbrella term (although there are a few authors out there who I would certainly hesitate to call writers). But anyway. My favourite writer is Heather Hogan. She was plucked out of the comments section of my favourite website, Afterellen.com, and began writing for them. She’s so amazing. She has such a sensitive, magical way of putting things. Even when she recaps TV shows, she sees things that most of us didn’t, but when she talks about them we realise they were there all along and we just weren’t looking hard enough. She does have this strange ability to make what should be just an ordinary piece of writing magical. Wow. So you’re pretty passionate about that? Yes. Sometimes I get so passionate about it that I make myself want to cry. What? Why? Because I have no one who understands my passion. Well, who feels it like I do. There probably are but they live on the internet as commenters and bloggers and fan fiction writers. And also because of frustration that I can’t express well enough why I’m so passionate about it. I’ll just be stuck with this passion burning me up, or I might write it into journals that no one will ever see and then I’ll die and that’ll be the end of it. Jeez. Uh huh. Right, so, next topic. What’s your favourite media? Hmm, that’s a difficult one… I’m going to have to say the internet, but the internet would be nothing if it didn’t have the other media to comment on. What I mean is, all the sites I love the most spend a lot of time talking about television and media representations and the like. If I had to choose another one it would be television, for sure. You could argue that television would be nothing if it didn’t have life to comment on. But anyway, why television? That’s not true, there would still be vampire shows. In terms of why television, I guess it seems a lot more natural to me than the format of a film. Or a novel. TV shows, they just kind of pop into someone’s life, show it to us, then pop out again. It’s not like a complete story that has to be crammed into an hour and a half of film, or 500 pages of a novel. I know that’s a huge generalisation about those media and not entirely correct. But I can’t explain myself further. Well, what’s your favourite television programme then? And why? I love a lot of them – 30 Rock in particular I find so groundbreaking. The humour is so fast and I love that it was created by a woman. Tina Fey is amazing. But overall, the TV show I respect the most is Skins. The UK version. Don’t even talk to me about the other one. Anyway, Skins to me is so much of what I’m into. They get young people to write it, they have all this interactive media for fans, and extras for characters, like they have video diaries or they might post YouTube videos that were ‘made’ by the character. Things like that. It’s the only mainstream thing out there that I really feel embraces youth culture and the way people consume these days. And then there are the actual characters in the show, and the themes they cover without ever seeming try-hard. Like what? Well, the one that springs to mind – because it’s most relevant to me, is the Emily and Naomi romantic storyline. They build this relationship, and they struggle with labels and what their feelings mean and homophobia and all that… but at the same time it’s never a story about a lesbian relationship. It’s a story about the struggles of love. It just rings so, so true. And then when I thought the Skins writers could never do anything that topped that – it truly was a groundbreaking representation of a girl-girl relationship – they bring in Franky Fitzgerald. A genderqueer character. I guess I should clarify that. In Franky’s case it means she dresses traditionally masculine, but doesn’t identify as male, and as far as we know she’s not lesbian or anything. I think she’ll end up being a straight character who just happens to dress rather like a boy. So that’s pretty interesting. And again – they’re showing something that has never been seen before on television, but it’s completely normalised. Not like Glee, which feels like an after-school special. The disabled kid, the gay kid, the black, fat chick, the ambitious chick… I know that Franky has made as much of an impact for genderqueer people who have never seen themselves reflected before on television as Naomi and Emily did for me. So there are still stories left to be told? Absolutely. There are so many stories. It doesn’t seem like it because we see the same characters and the same storylines over and over again. And again, something ‘different’ doesn’t have to be an extreme or something rare, like a gay cowboy in the US wilderness or something. That’s a bad example. Maybe something like a pregnant drug-dealing clown who struggles with Tourettes. Something ridiculous like that. I guess I’m trying to say that there are characters who can be subtle but also groundbreaking. Do you think that you have a story worth telling? You mean, do I have one in me that I should put ‘on paper’? Or are you asking whether I think my story is worth telling? Um… both. Huff *holds breath then exhales slowly*. Well, I have a gazillion stories in me that burn to get out. But whenever I start writing them they kind of just turn into a version of my own story. I mean, a version of the narrative of my own life. I guess I’m not a very good fiction writer. All my writing is really just a version of a true story. What’s wrong with that? Well, yes. They say to write about what you know. But J.K. Rowling didn’t necessarily know about wizardry and magic. Although… they also say that every character is just a version of the author. No, what is it? That every character is not necessarily the author, but that the author is in every character. Something like that. My point is, when you listen to J.K. Rowling talk about the Harry Potter series, all those creatures and situations have come from somewhere. Like the Dementors in Harry Potter, she talks about them being a representation of her own depression. So maybe I’m not stuffed yet. Maybe one day I’ll be able to write fiction. What kind of a writer do you see yourself as? You know, I remember the first time I heard the term ‘writer’ applied to me. It made me buzz with this extreme feeling of happiness. A writer! Me! Mind you I very quickly reminded myself that I was only an advertising copywriter and we don’t really deserve to be called writers. I still don’t really feel like I deserve to have that descriptor attached to my name. Even thought I’ve tried my hand at rather a wide range of types of writing and writing mediums! When do you think you’ll be able to comfortably call yourself a writer, and truly believe you’ve earned the title? I don’t know… I mean, I feel like you have to be continually writing to call yourself a writer. If you wrote one play, would you call yourself a playwright? Could you only call yourself a playwright if that play got produced? Then there’s the fact that being a ‘writer’ is such a general term. Most people are ‘novelists’, or ‘playwrights’ or ‘journalists’ or ‘copywriters’. What kind of a tosser would just call themselves a ‘writer’? It’s actually quite a romanticised term. You’re really making this a lot more difficult than it needs to be… Sorry. I guess I would call myself a writer if I were employed – and paid – to write. But you are. Yes but we’ve been over that, that’s only copywriting. It doesn’t feel as honourable. Like anyone could be a copywriter. But I think you know that’s not true. Okay, so that’s not true. Copywriting is a particular skill. Not all “writers” – there’s that problematic term again – could be copywriters. Copywriting is often about just being able to strip things down to their most simplest, so that the average joe can understand what you’re trying to get across without straining himself. And sometimes there is a clever play on words. But it can’t be too clever, because you’re talking to a mainstream audience most of the time. And on the whole, they’re dumb. Yes, yes they are. Hard writing for easy reading. There’s another thing they say. You really are full of helpful quotes and sayings. I know. It’s a fault. Many people think it makes me smart, but in fact it just makes me unoriginal. If I was really clever I’d be able to think up my own way of saying it. It’s a bit like writing fiction that’s just me telling my own life story with embellishments, really. And it’s like fan fiction. Fan fiction? Tell me about that. *Sighs* That’s quite a long story. Go on. If we haven’t already lost everyone with your rambling, they might stick around a bit longer. Okay. Well, fan fiction is where fans of a particular TV show, or movie, or book, take certain characters from within that TV show/movie/book, and write new stories for them. Like, I love Emily and Naomi from Skins, so I write fan fiction about them. That’s rather weird. What do you write about? Well, the technique in fan fiction, I think, is that you can mimic the characters that already exist in this TV show, and you give them life in different settings, contexts etc. Like, Emily and Naomi in a fan fiction story could be in their twenties and aerialists in a circus, instead of 17 year old British schoolgirls like they are in the original Skins TV show. But you’d still recognise them because they keep their speech patterns, or their personalities, or their values… which then informs how they react to things in this fictional story you’ve written them into. That sounds kind of complicated. It’s not really. It’s more like the TV show never ended, it kept running and you can follow what happens to these characters as they continue living their lives. Your favourite show never has to end. Your favourite characters live on forever. It’s rather wonderful. I’ll take your word for it. Don’t be rude. Sorry. You shouldn’t be rude about other people’s passions. No matter how weird they are. Because if you tried them you’d probably get into them. Do you think so? You’d be surprised. If something is worth getting passionate about, there’s usually something interesting about it I think. Can you give me an example? Okay… okay I’ve got one. My business partner is into throwing knives. And I thought it was a bit weird when he showed me all these different knives he has, even a meat cleaver and a tomahawk. But then one day I had a go at it. And you liked it? Yes. I wasn’t, like, crazy passionate about it like he is. He gets drunk sometimes in the weekends and spends hours throwing these things. I’m bored pretty quickly. But I liked it enough to want to share it with other people. So far I have bought two other people meat cleavers to throw. What was the reaction like? Well, like when talking about your own passion, you have to choose your audience. The people I picked totally got into it. But I was slightly worried – I gave one to my sister’s boyfriend and I thought he might think I was a weirdo. But I packaged it up with beer and a CD of bogan songs so there was an idea behind it, which was ‘get boozed, act like a bogan and throw knives’. To show I was aware that it’s a bit of a weird gift. You over-think things a lot, don’t you? Hmm, I don’t know, do I? I guess I do… let me think about that, I’ll get back to you. *Smiles* That’s good. I like that. You think you’re pretty funny, don’t you? Yeah. But I don’t necessarily think that I’m a funny person. Can you explain that to me? You know… some people can be funny sometimes. But you wouldn’t necessarily call them a funny person. I mean, I have a lot of funny friends, but only a few of those I would label as a ‘funny person’. Not everyone likes a funny person. Because they tend to also be the people who need a lot of attention. Ah yes. Would you say that many ‘funny people’ – as in people who are consistently funny rather than just funny occasionally – are also largely the most insecure people? Yes. Often. Humour is a defence, as we all know. So you could almost say that to be a funny person is a double-edged sword because it might also mean you’re insecure. Yes. However, not all funny people are really insecure. Look at stand-up comedians, they have to be pretty secure to do what they do. True… I guess that means they’re just arseholes. Haha. So if you’re a ‘funny person’, you’re either insecure or an arsehole? Exactly. I think that’s the conclusion we’ve reached. I’m glad we’ve reached a conclusion. Me too, because my head is starting to feel crazy after all this talk. Having a conversation with yourself if quite draining. I would agree. Shall we stop then? Yes, let’s. Okay. Do we say bye? I guess so. Bye. Bye. See you round ;) There you go thinking you’re funny again. I know. Shut up now. I found out a couple of weeks ago that my play, iFamily, didn't get anywhere in the Playmarket competition. Being realistic this isn't so surprising, as there were a lot of plays submitted and many, I imagine, would have been from people who do this for a career. But still, I couldn't help but feel a bit down on it. The other option is to apply for a Creative NZ grant but then I have to include a detailed budget and all kinds of things I don't know about. That means I'd have to teach myself all of that and find a director all without knowing if anything would come from this effort. But that's the reality of creative endeavours, right? I guess I've been spoilt by being in the advertising environment, which is such a unique intersection between creativity and the corporate.
In the meantime, to help get me out of my creative slump and to prepare me for the online soap opera I want to write this year, I'm trying my hand at yet another thing I've never tried before - fiction. It's tough! Very different from copywriting. I've found the perfect outlet though. Fan fiction. Around 3 months ago I discovered Fan Fiction.net, and my life hasn't been the same since. I'm going to bare my soul here, and tell you that I am a dedicated pop culture enthusiast, an avid TV critic, and more specifically have an fanatic relationship with the characters of Naomi and Emily from Skins Generation 2. So when I found a website full of stories about these two, I developed a level of obsession that is usually only achieved by the teenaged and the insane. I love the concept of taking fully-formed characters that we already know so well and placing them in different situations to explore how they would act and react. The sign of a good fanfiction, to me, stays true to language patterns and values of the characters, but pushes them to their outer boundaries. They live on, beyond the limitations of the official TV show, as circus aerialists, close protection officers, famous american actors, hotel owners, teachers, hostages... whatever people can dream up . Fanfiction also parallels the format of the online "soap opera" I want to write, which will be told entirely through online media. Readers subscribe to the story and receive emails in their inbox from the characters. It's very voyeuristic. Fanfiction is similar in that you subscribe to stories or authors you like, and as new chapters are posted you receive an alert in your email inbox. Each alert is SO exciting. That's what I want to achieve with my online soap opera. I only call it a soap opera because "online novel" isn't really right. I need to invent a new name for this method of communication. I don't believe it's been done before and I want to be the first. However there is a lot of functionality to work out. But back to fanfiction. Another reason I love it is the sense of community it brings me. I imagine this is much like the pre blogging, pre social media days where fans of a particular thing (Dungeons and Dragons comes to mind) would share thoughts and tips in online forums and chatrooms. You come to "know" the story authors by the comments they write before each chapter, you recognise reviewers, too, and can respond to both. You're brought together with people from around the world by your mutual love for something. Today my story was reviewed by one of the most prolific writers of Skins fanfiction, her pen name Hyperfitched. 'Hypes', as she is fondly referred to by those in the inner circle, is a young circus aerialist in Britain who writes to the most amazing standard. How she hasn't already been snapped up to pen the next season of Skins I don't know. My point being, she's a fricken' circus aerialist!! Internet, you astound be with your ability to connect people from the most disparate backgrounds! Hypes has chosen to set her fanfic in the circus - because SHE is in the circus! As they say, write what you know! And the characters fit as naturally in this environment as if that is the purpose they were originally created for. My my, I do love writing, and I do love the internet. What miraculous things can be created when the two intersect. Some say the internet only creates a false sense of community, but it feels more real to me than many of my interactions with people in the "real" world. So, I'm up to Chapter 3 of my fanfic, called "Letting Go". It's full of angst, overblown descriptions and the hyper-emotion of teenage life that I have never really grown past. My poor ego is so tied up in this story, but so far the reviews have been lovely. This is unusual for the internet environment, but fanfiction.net seems to attract nicer people for some reason. I'm totally hooked on the rush. |
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