The Industry – Business Musings | T2 + Back Alley Blog

The Industry – Business Musings

February 10th, 2012
by Pete Meyer
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Pete Meyer: Radio Personality

They probably won’t be giving me my own radio show any time soon, but I did manage to bluff my way through an hour of live broadcasting on our local NPR affiliate KCUR during their annual recap of Super Bowl spots.

You can listen to it here as long as you promise to perceive my (brief?) moments of incoherence as folksy and charming.

And since I’ve now been able to gaslight a portion of Kansas City NPR listeners into believing I’m an “advertising expert”,  I figure, why stop there?  There are other media channels to conquer.  The internet is not going to fill itself with blinding wisdom. So, here are my top five spots that ran in the superbowl.

Everyone seems to love the Twinkie reference, but Barry Manilow and the raining frogs are what really make me love this commercial.

So many of this year’s spots weren’t fun.  This one was.

The fact that the right-wing blogosphere is convinced this is a thinly-veiled Obama campaign commercial seems crazy to me.  But the fact that this controversy has kept the spot in the news cycle running over and over for free makes me think Chrysler knew it would play out like this.

Rodeo Rhino recurs in my dreams, too. I don’t feel so alone now.

This only ran in North Platte, Nebraska during a local pod.  It makes me want to drink Old Milwaukee.

January 10th, 2012
by Linda Buchner
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“Risk Taker” A Requirement for Urban Hero Award

Teri Rogers was recently honored in a HUGE way, being named a 2011 Urban Hero at the DowntownCouncil of Greater Kansas City’s annual meeting for her contribution to making downtown a more vibrant place to live, work and play with her company T2 + Back Alley Films.

Teri has been operating T2 in the Crossroads since 1988 when there was nothing but tumbleweeds and dark, scary parking lots surrounding her business. She believed in the potential of the area and set her roots there in 2005 when she purchased her building at 1906 Wyandotte and designed a beautiful, modern, inspirational work space for her creative staff and clients. Since then, the area has transformed around her with restaurants, retail boutiques, coffee shops, event spaces and now, the crown jewel of Kanas City ~ The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts as her neighbor to the north.

“Being honored in this particular year, when Julia Irene Kauffman was presented the J. Philip Kirk Urban Hero Award is very special to me since we were involved in the two-night launch party celebration of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Her vision, guidance and commitment to the revitalization of Kansas City’s downtown has been an incredible inspiration,” says Rogers.

Nominees for this award were required to be “risk takers” and founders of small but mighty, fast-growing businesses helping to grow Kansas City’s downtown economy.  You had to be brave enough to believe in the vision, and to carry your own unique vision, of fitting into the revitalization process that Kansas City has been undergoing for many years.

Teri was the Executive Producer of the documentary film “The Next American Dream”, which conveyed that very theme, using Kansas City as the business model for how to build back the urban core of a city whose residents had fled to their cozy suburban homes, only to return because of their yearning for pop culture, the arts, and a vibrant dining and entertainment experience.

This is a group with whom anyone would be proud to share company ~ the other Urban Hero Award recipients are: Christopher Elbow, Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates; Danny Gosserand, Danny’s Big Easy; August Grassis, III, Handmark; Shaul Jolles, Office Port; Sam Meers, Meers Advertising; Keith Novorr, Michael’s Fine Clothing For Men; Danny O’Neill, The Roasterie; Ryan Sciara, The Cellar Rat; and Emily Voth, Indigo Wild…all GREAT businesses that work, play and create wonderful cultures for their staff and clients in the downtown of Kansas City.

November 8th, 2011
by Teri Rogers
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eCamp – KC style

Back in May, I blogged about eCamp (We all hate that name, but it seems to have stuck) , a grass roots organization that I’m a part of – made up of folks from all over the country and from within our industry — who get together for two days twice a year.  Last spring the eCamp group met in San Francisco and the previous fall, we met in Boston.  It was my turn to host this fall, so it became my pleasure to have 15 colleagues here for two days of full agenda items – followed by some serious partying at the end of each day.   That’s a key part of the agenda- and we are all a bit competitive about that part.  In all honesty, I have to say that Beyond Pix in San Francisco  had us beat on the entertainment agenda items.  Hard to believe, I know.

I believe strongly in collaboration – both internally and externally (though that can sometimes be challenging in a competitive market).   Inside T2 +Back Alley Films, our groups and skill sets are integrating more and more in every job we do.

The Kauffman Grand Opening work this past September was a perfect example of that – with four internal groups – interactive & Experiential combined with motion graphics and animation, editorial and Smoke finishing, and Back Alley for the production and shooting with the Weiss camera – working together to make it happen.   No single group could have achieved what we did on that project without the creative input and skill sets of the other groups.

This is essentially why eCamp started; a group of people in the production and post production industry got together and decided that we could only benefit from sharing what we know. We each come from a different market, but the same industry and so, without feeling the need to be competitive, we are able to talk frankly about what has worked for us and what hasn’t — the challenges we face, and our best operational practices. This has been particularly helpful these past few years – as our industry was struggling with the recession and technology advances that were significantly changing the nature of our business.   It has been interesting to see how each business is evolving to meet the needs of the changing world we are all experiencing.  It was also interesting to note that most of us  had called on other companies within the group this past year  – to collaborate on a project or two.

A definite perk.

I was thrilled to introduce my colleagues to a local genius right here in KC – who was our guest speaker.  Stefan Mumaw is the author of several books about the creative process – but he focused on his latest, Chasing the Monster Idea, which explored the difference between good ideas and great ideas, and how to deploy the great ones. Several in the group plan to book Stefan to speak in their own markets.  Finally, we ended our time together by a work showcase – where each company got 10 minutes to show their best work.  It’s always my favorite part.

Thanks to the eCampers for a great weekend.  And those of you who couldn’t make it this time, we missed you.  Next time – in Columbus, Ohio.  See you all there!

May 27th, 2011
by Teri Rogers
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T2′s industry peer group: Next stop – KC

I’m a big believer in serendipity — and that’s how I became a part of eCamp, an amazing trade group of industry leaders. I ran into one of the founders of eCamp in Las Vegas where we were promoting our documentary, “The Next American Dream”. He asked me to join and, not being a big “joiner,” I hesitated. But I said I’d give it a try, and when eCamp held their next meeting in Boston, I joined them. I was amazed at how much I learned from others in my industry — and how much I referenced what I learned when I got back home. It’s a great concept, and one of my colleagues in Dallas wrote about it. It’s a fun read and includes some pictures from our last meeting in San Francisco.

And believe it or not, they are all excited to come to Kansas City next September when T2+Back Alley Films will host the group. Boston, San Francisco…Kansas City? Why not?

March 6th, 2011
by Teri Rogers
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Sears: Pitch Your Ideas, Then We’ll Own Them

Sears LogoThe Sears account is in review and the opportunity to land the account is tempting. Very tempting indeed.

Not only is it a huge account, it’s one direly in need of a new creative direction. What an opportunity  to attempt to make Sears relevant again to multiple generations of consumers who have mostly lost interest in the brand except when they need an appliance or some tools.

The problem is, agencies are opting out of the opportunity to participate in the pitch because of language in the NDA by Select Resources International, the consultancy heading up the review.

That small print requires that participants in the pitch essentially sign over the rights to both the ideas and the materials – even if they don’t win the pitch. Talk about a complete and total lack of respect for intellectual property, never mind the talent, effort energy AND financial investment required for a pitch of this size.

Interpublic Group of Cos.” Deutsch, Publicis’ Leo Burnett Worldwide and Omnicom’s DDB Worldwide and TBWA Worldwide have opted out and I’m sure they won’t be the only agencies smart enough to do so.

According to AdAge, the 4As have gotten involved, requesting Sears to allow the agencies to retain ownership of the materials.

AdAge’s Agency reporter Maureen Morrison and AdAge’s podcast Host Bob Knorpp did a podcast on February 22, 2011 discussing the controversy, and that podcast is linked here if you’d like to have a listen.

As agencies begin the process of trying to recover from some really tough economic years, I’m sure there will be agencies who believe the benefit of giving their ideas away for free is worth the risk. I can’t speak for everyone, but to me, this really devalues the creative process and the talented people behind it.