Year of the Dragon

Friday, the STUDIOS team had Jason Craig, Illustrator, Designer and Speaker, give a talk, titled, "Year of the Dragon".?

His main point was referencing last year, Year of the Rabbit, against this year, being the Year of the Dragon, speaking to it as an approach to business, design and the relationships we have internally and externally.

He likened his "process" from the previous years to that of a rabbit's mentality… being nervous, scared, running away from confrontation vs. meeting it head on… like a dragon.

Before, he was waiting for jobs to come in instead of identifying the ones that made the most sense for his skill set/offering and going after them with a well thought out proposal/RFP. Typing up a what he's great at, then using AI/Chat GBT to finesse it for each unique client's particular palette. He went from not knowing what next month had in store, to now being booked until end of August, having an 80% success rate on RFPs.

He ended his talk urging us to not "survive" but instead, thrive.?

To specifically "recognize rabbit behavior", identify how to change how we approach those around us and "embrace a dragon mentality".

I freakin' love that message.?

Why wait? Step up and win the damn business with the plethora of tools we have at our disposal. Don't put off things today that you can knock out and build on for a stronger tomorrow.

We're already four months into 2024… and I'm asking myself what do we have to show for it??

• Are we still talking about that one client that got away…
• or how it would've been cool if they posted what we suggested?
• Are we feeling intimidated or insecure about approaching?a client to have a conversation about how we can help?

or

Are we recognizing the truth? That the OOH industry continues to grow, continues to have the most recall, we're able to pinpoint any and every audience clients could possibly want to get in front of!

We continue to innovate, not just digitally with 3D spatial and geo spatial AR… but with the most insane new 3D props and builds… this industry is a creative's freakin' playground and it's time we stop being timid and start leading our clients.

Working at OUTFRONT Media it's even more crucial to be aggressive, as we are the leaders in the OOH industry when it comes to the Art AND the Science.

Whether we're designing a campaign for AWAY again, walking into a top fashion brand like Chanel to explore and collaborate on refining the already refined, Speaking to Paramount+, who is already crushing OOH in every capacity… but challenging them to go further, like amazon prime and their moving billboard.

Or making a local campaign as good as any national entertainment brand…We do it with confidence and we win the freakin' business, like Billy Montoya did below…

Confronting our insecurities, not putting off what we can crush today and embracing the fact that we work in an industry that literally can change our market's landscape and mentality for the better is a choice.

It is a decision we make to "not have rabbit behavior" and face the day with "dragon mentality". Let's lean on the incredible team we have around us and continue to help those around us to grow stronger.

Thank you for the inspiring talk Jason Craig