Creative Services | T2 + Back Alley Blog

Latest Tweet

August 26th, 2010
by Teri Rogers
, , , , , , , ,
0 Comments
Retweet

Objects: Becoming a Part of the New Business Win

iPad

Reading a piece in the Harvard Business Review about devices and how integral they’re becoming to the art of the pitch really struck home with me.

As a creative services shop, we pitch new business all the time. And, being immersed in the digital space, we’re always considering how our clients’ products and services can best be maximized in that space. So even when our clients come to us asking for what they think they need, we’re always thinking about what they might not know they need, but what would make their end result even more impactful.

The reason the HBR piece hit home is because it mentioned that at Fortune’s recent technology conference in Aspen, it was not unusual for innovators to pull out their smartphones and run through a quick presentation on their device when asked for more information. Seeing really is believing and the author of the piece said just that. When you can touch, feel and experience a concept, and see all the different applications while holding a device in your hand, it really makes the selling process more personal.

It’s not unusual that we use our seemingly omnipresent iPads during new business pitches or even during meetings with existing clients. We use them to demonstrate an idea or walk them through a presentation or an experiential design piece and that really seems to resonate with them. Sometimes we even build a technology element into a project for a client, that they can subsequently use for their new business pitches.

In fact, Michael Schrage, author of the HBR piece, put it this way:

“My professional bet is that “hand-it-over” innovation pitches will double smartphone and mobile device sales worldwide. Entrepreneurs, salespeople and innovators alike will socialize with at least two devices in the backpacks and breast pockets — one for their personal/professional use and the other to “hand over” for interpersonal play.”

Technology – it pretty much rules all of us these days. Thoughts?

June 16th, 2010
by Teri Rogers
, , , , , , , , , , , ,
0 Comments
Retweet

Our Business Mantra: Turn And Face The Strange

Changes Bowie

Not unlike most businesses, ours has undergone many changes over the course of the past several years. And our strategy has guided it at times and tried to keep up with those changes the rest of the time. This post was inspired by David Bowie a veritable master of change. Listen to the song while you read this post and you’ll see why I was inspired.

Take Two used to be known mostly in the Kansas City market for our post-production work. In order to keep up with a changing industry, we created Back Alley Films to do original film production and motion graphics design. We then created our Integrated Experience Lab to focus on emerging digital and multi-platform work: things like augmented reality, interactive design and experiential design. We’re now known as T2 + Back Alley Films and, while our client base still includes Kansas City based companies, it has expanded to include clients all over the world.

Change has been a great opportunity for us to reinvigorate our business, reinvigorate our staff and completely reexamine our business model. As a result, it has literally changed the way we do everything.

These days, from the very first moments of working with a new or prospective client, the people that we bring to the table is an eclectic group — and a strategically formed one. No longer do we rely on our new business development team — or our producers — to do all the work, instead, we bring the talent to the table. We combine the strategic and the creative thinkers – for a new age of strategic/creative thinking. That means our team, our creatives, our brand experts, our interactive and experiential design teams, our mobile technology team and our social media strategists are part of just about every project or idea, from its earliest inception.

The reality of our business – and any business, really – is that change IS the reality. And in this case, we’re finding that change is making us better at what what we do. It’s creative services — but it’s broader than what it used to be. I bet it’s happening everywhere. What about you? How are you changing the scope of the way you do business? Our generation will be defined by this. Let’s talk about it — and learn from each other.