Our photo shoot with Melissa Young

Park&Co has had a long standing relationship with Social Venture Partners of Arizona. Every year we create their annual report and we’ve always used flight as the  creative theme. Last year was SVP’s 10th anniversary, so we made use of a paper airplane to symbolize their presence in the community. I held a paper airplane folding contest at our agency so that I could photograph the various designs and use them in the layout. The piece turned out great, but we wondered if the theme of flight had run its course.

This year we decided to try a different approach, so immediately I began thinking about die cuts, metallic inks, and all sorts of crazy and expensive ways to impress the award show judges. But common sense prevailed when the creative team chose to focus on an affordable way to make this piece really cool, effective and memorable. So I put my own ego aside and got to work.

We decided to create a poster that unfolds to tell the stories of four young people whose lives have been directly affected by SVP. The purpose of the piece would be to  drive people to SVP’s website, where they would learn more about these four subjects and others like them. As a creative theme we focused on the alter-egos of these individuals to highlight the difference SVP has made in their lives. We were able to combine great writing, funky illustrations by award winning illustrator Simon Oxley (the designer of the Twitter logo), and beautiful original photography courtesy of up-and-coming photographer, Melissa Young.

The piece still contains all the other things you might expect from an annual report but the presentation is fresh and new. We hope that people will unfold this poster and really respond to the photos, illustrations and stories in a way that is more meaningful and memorable than what you find in most annual reports. The poster is at the printer now, with no die cuts, no de-bossed metallic inks, and no personal ego. I haven’t seen the final result yet, but it’s already one of my all-time favorite pieces.

Our photo shoot with Melissa Young

Park&Co has had a long standing relationship with Social Venture Partners of Arizona. Every year we create their annual report and we’ve always used flight as the  creative theme. Last year was SVP’s 10th anniversary, so we made use of a paper airplane to symbolize their presence in the community. I held a paper airplane folding contest at our agency so that I could photograph the various designs and use them in the layout. The piece turned out great, but we wondered if the theme of flight had run its course.

This year we decided to try a different approach, so immediately I began thinking about die cuts, metallic inks, and all sorts of crazy and expensive ways to impress the award show judges. But common sense prevailed when the creative team chose to focus on an affordable way to make this piece really cool, effective and memorable. So I put my own ego aside and got to work.

We decided to create a poster that unfolds to tell the stories of four young people whose lives have been directly affected by SVP. The purpose of the piece would be to  drive people to SVP’s website, where they would learn more about these four subjects and others like them. As a creative theme we focused on the alter-egos of these individuals to highlight the difference SVP has made in their lives. We were able to combine great writing, funky illustrations by award winning illustrator Simon Oxley (the designer of the Twitter logo), and beautiful original photography courtesy of up-and-coming photographer, Melissa Young.

The piece still contains all the other things you might expect from an annual report but the presentation is fresh and new. We hope that people will unfold this poster and really respond to the photos, illustrations and stories in a way that is more meaningful and memorable than what you find in most annual reports. The poster is at the printer now, with no die cuts, no de-bossed metallic inks, and no personal ego. I haven’t seen the final result yet, but it’s already one of my all-time favorite pieces.

For fifteen years we have been situated on a busy corner in city not particularly known for ad agencies. We are okay with all of this, but it has always led to the statement “I’ve seen that building a thousand times, but never knew what it was”.  We decided to start telling people in our own unique way.

In the last few months we have made a real effort to put ourselves out there as an agency that is interested in being different and innovative, by buying the neighborhood a free cup of coffee, giving the community free workshops, designing a new website, and now writing our names on the wall…kind of.

We took words like “Philosopher”, “Nerd”, and “Activist” and pasted them on the windows that we look out of everyday while we create ads, videos, websites, and movements. By using words that allude to creativity, and insight, we hoped to create intrigue in relation to our building, so that people would talk about it, google us, or just even look at our space in a different way.

With the word “Composer” on my window for everyone to see, I may even think of my role as part of this city, neighborhood, or agency, in a slightly different way tomorrow morning after I sit down with my cup of coffee and do what I do (art drect). Hopefully it will do the same for someone just passing by.

Celebrate Friday – and Our 15th Anniversary – with a FREE Starbucks

Cup of Joe on Us for Our 15th Anniversary from ParkHowell.com on Vimeo.

I don’t care if you’re a venti-double-shot-skinny-hold-the-foam latte, or a tall-drip-with-room, I’d like to buy you a cup of coffee. Just pop in here, today only, and ask for a “Park&Co.” Our friendly neighborhood baristas will gladly pour you the coffee of your choice on us. And please, let’s not be piggy. Just one cup per person, because we have a limited number of pours on our card. So hurry over and help us celebrate our 15th anniversary.

To mark the occasion, we’ve also launched our new website that’s all about telling better stories, as well as this blog, “Extra Cuts.” Listen in as Luis Medina, our creative director will tell you all about about the madness behind our new site.

What’s your story?

Let’s be honest – blogs are pretty much all the same. Everyone giving their opinion and “expertise” on the latest trends or coming up with slick metaphors to relate to the newest marketing theory. In the interest of full disclosure, we were no different.

At least not until now. Welcome to Extra Cuts, a different take on the agency  blog. One that focuses on original stories not regurgitated industry news. There’s no shortage of folks out there pontificating about how the iPad will revolutionize marketing or reviewing Facebook’s latest updates. You won’t find that here. It’s not that we don’t have opinions about those things. It’s just that we think it’s more valuable to give real, honest, transparent insights into how and why we do what we do at Park&Co.

Tune in for a variety of topics ranging from our rationale behind a concept to a funny story that happened on set. And rest assured nothing will touch this blog unless it’s original or relates to something we’re doing at Park&Co.

But we need your help. If you see us straying from this approach, call us out. We mean that. Do whatever you feel you need to do – comment, call, tweet, whatever – to keep us accountable and clutter-free.

So when you’re sick of the flashy headlines or “20 Reasons why” lists, come to “Extra Cuts” for entertaining and always brutally honest stories about our lives at Park&Co.

They say nice guys finish last and a lot of times I think that’s true. It’s hard to be a nice guy in today’s world, especially in business. Just look at Washington, Wall St. and Main St. I think we’d all agree most of the “nice guys” are on Main St and where are they finishing right now? That’s what makes it even more gratifying when a true “nice guy” finishes first. Such was the case last weekend when the crowd at the 25^th Annual ADDY Award’s rose in unison to salute Park Howell as he made his way to the stage to accept the award for the 2010 “Ad Person of the Year.”

It’s not easy being nice. In fact, it’s really hard. It’s far easier to be a jerk. But that’s not Park’s style. Park’s loyalty and modesty are the traits that dominate his disposition. Client service and integrity dominate his agency. Honestly, it’s why it’s taken awhile for Park&Co to get noticed. But it’s also why his clients rave about him, and why you’re hard pressed to find anyone to say a negative thing about Park or his agency.

Honesty, integrity, loyalty. Buzzwords in a industry based on false fronts. But not at Park&Co and not with Park Howell. Take it from me, the guy who’s spent the last two years sitting right next to Park everyday – he’ll tell if he doesn’t like something. But he’ll also challenge you to make it better and before you know it, while you’re working on perfecting a project, he’s made you better.

It’s the same ethic that’s spread to Park’s family, staff, clients and causes. Park&Co isn’t a cause-marketing agency by definition but look at our clients and you might think differently. Park wants to care about the things he works on. Paychecks are nice but paychecks for doing good are even better. If it sounds contrived it’s because you’ve worked with people obsessed with the former. It’s ok to admit it. I’ve worked with them too and I didn’t think it was possible for someone to walk the walk the way Park does.

I’m convinced that talking Park into letting me enter him into the competition was far harder than the committee’s decision to name him the winner. His success over 25 years speaks for itself. The company and reputation he’s built speaks for itself. But Park doesn’t speak for himself. Thank goodness a shameless and obnoxious promoter like me was able to talk him into letting me throw his name in the hat. It’s about time the Park Howell’s of the world got some recognition and I know I speak for everyone who knows him when I say he deserves it.