Year: 2017

11.17.17

Collettey’s Cookies

“Come to me with solutions, not just problems.” This is something I tell my team all the time. In our business, and our world, we encounter problems every day, but the question is – what do we do with the problems we encounter?

The story of Collette Divitto and Collettey’s Cookies is an inspiring example of turning problems into solutions, rather than focusing on the problem.

After graduating from a LIFE program at Clemson University, Collette spent three years trying to find a job. Interview after interview, she was told, “We enjoyed meeting you Collette, but we don’t think you’re a good fit for our company right now.”

Collette was born with Down Syndrome, and each organization she interviewed with saw her disability as a problem.   However, Collette saw a solution. She decided to focus her time, entrepreneurial spirit, and passion for baking on her business Collettey’s Cookies.

“I was not only determined to show everyone how capable people with (dis)abilities are, but my mission is to open production facilities across the country and employ thousands of (dis)abled people! ONLY 17.5% of people with disabilities were employed in 2015. Most people with disabilities live on poverty level.” – Collette Divitto

Since the inception of Collettey’s Cookies, Collette has sold 50,000 cookies (and counting!) She has now hired two other people with disabilities, and she sells her cookies across eastern Massachusetts and in Santa Monica, CA. And, she now has a customer in Charlestown, MA. (MK3 has ordered our first batch!)

We don’t all face the same challenges as Collette, but every day we face problems large and small. And when problems arise here at MK3, we try to embrace Collette’s attitude. We don’t let bumps in the road get in our way. We get creative and come to the table with solutions. Just like Collette.

By Joel Kaplan, Principal

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11.17.17

Collettey’s Cookies

“Come to me with solutions, not just problems.” This is something I tell my team all the time. In our business, and our world, we encounter problems every day, but the question is – what do we do with the problems we encounter?

The story of Collette Divitto and Collettey’s Cookies is an inspiring example of turning problems into solutions, rather than focusing on the problem.

After graduating from a LIFE program at Clemson University, Collette spent three years trying to find a job. Interview after interview, she was told, “We enjoyed meeting you Collette, but we don’t think you’re a good fit for our company right now.”

Collette was born with Down Syndrome, and each organization she interviewed with saw her disability as a problem.   However, Collette saw a solution. She decided to focus her time, entrepreneurial spirit, and passion for baking on her business Collettey’s Cookies.

“I was not only determined to show everyone how capable people with (dis)abilities are, but my mission is to open production facilities across the country and employ thousands of (dis)abled people! ONLY 17.5% of people with disabilities were employed in 2015. Most people with disabilities live on poverty level.” – Collette Divitto

Since the inception of Collettey’s Cookies, Collette has sold 50,000 cookies (and counting!) She has now hired two other people with disabilities, and she sells her cookies across eastern Massachusetts and in Santa Monica, CA. And, she now has a customer in Charlestown, MA. (MK3 has ordered our first batch!)

We don’t all face the same challenges as Collette, but every day we face problems large and small. And when problems arise here at MK3, we try to embrace Collette’s attitude. We don’t let bumps in the road get in our way. We get creative and come to the table with solutions. Just like Collette.

By Joel Kaplan, Principal

10.23.17

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Stock Footage

Stock footage.

To me, and others like me, using stock footage always felt like…cheating.

Let me explain.

If you know anything about MK3 Creative, you know that we’re a digital marketing agency that specializes in many things, but mostly video. And we do everything in-house – concept, copy, casting, production, design, animation, shooting, directing, editing…and everything in between.

All three of our Creative Directors are award-winning field directors who love to crank up casts and crews and bring our visions to life. When it comes to a live action video, our motto is “shoot first, ask questions later”…so using stock footage always felt like shooting blanks. Where’s the pride of authorship? I always considered it cheating – the easy, cheesy way out. Until it wasn’t.

Recently, a few projects came my way with tight budgets, tighter turnarounds, and aspirations to create a global look and feel – something that could only be achieved with stock, given these real-life constraints. I had to change the way I flexed my creative muscles and take pride in the stock footage I found and how I chose to use it.

All stock footage is not created equal, so to the sharp eye of a Creative Director, footage research took the place of casting and directing – with look, lens, and lighting playing just as important a role.

And using stock also enhances the design/motion graphics challenge. On-screen text call-outs and graphic framing devices become even more important as elements of visual consistency.

So the next time clients, concepts, or budgets paint you into a corner, stop worrying about library footage and take stock in it.  It’s not as bad, or as expensive, as it used to be. Embrace the power of stock footage…as long as you promise to use this power for good and not for evil.

By Jonathan Markella, Executive Creative Director

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10.23.17

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Stock Footage

Stock footage.

To me, and others like me, using stock footage always felt like…cheating.

Let me explain.

If you know anything about MK3 Creative, you know that we’re a digital marketing agency that specializes in many things, but mostly video. And we do everything in-house – concept, copy, casting, production, design, animation, shooting, directing, editing…and everything in between.

All three of our Creative Directors are award-winning field directors who love to crank up casts and crews and bring our visions to life. When it comes to a live action video, our motto is “shoot first, ask questions later”…so using stock footage always felt like shooting blanks. Where’s the pride of authorship? I always considered it cheating – the easy, cheesy way out. Until it wasn’t.

Recently, a few projects came my way with tight budgets, tighter turnarounds, and aspirations to create a global look and feel – something that could only be achieved with stock, given these real-life constraints. I had to change the way I flexed my creative muscles and take pride in the stock footage I found and how I chose to use it.

All stock footage is not created equal, so to the sharp eye of a Creative Director, footage research took the place of casting and directing – with look, lens, and lighting playing just as important a role.

And using stock also enhances the design/motion graphics challenge. On-screen text call-outs and graphic framing devices become even more important as elements of visual consistency.

So the next time clients, concepts, or budgets paint you into a corner, stop worrying about library footage and take stock in it.  It’s not as bad, or as expensive, as it used to be. Embrace the power of stock footage…as long as you promise to use this power for good and not for evil.

By Jonathan Markella, Executive Creative Director

08.28.17

The Constant

As a marketing professional, it’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day of the “everyday.” New challenges, new ideas, and new solutions await us with every new project. In an industry driven by the “new” there is one thing that remains constant, the one variable we can control – great service.

After all, we are in a service industry, and success isn’t achieved without great service. There are many different ways to provide it, and sometimes it’s worth taking a step back to experience it through the lens of another.

MK3 was afforded this opportunity when we produced the annual SHI Global Sales Conference in July, spotlighting major software service providers like HP, Dell, Microsoft and Apple. With keynote speeches focusing on new ways of motivating and inspiring sales, MK3 would like to take a moment to recognize one inspiring perspective.

Marcus Luttrell, the former Navy Seal and author of the book-turned-movie “Lone Survivor,” recently was a guest speaker at this year’s event, commanding the stage in his understated way, telling us his story and what it meant for him to do his job. It was an inspirational speech that delivered a message of service – no matter what you do or what situation you find yourself in, you are in control of the service you provide. And that level of service is what makes a difference.

So as we focus our eyes through our own respective lenses, we should remember that clients, projects, and ideas change, but no matter what you do, great service should remain the constant.

By Mark DiTondo, Creative Director

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08.28.17

The Constant

As a marketing professional, it’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day of the “everyday.” New challenges, new ideas, and new solutions await us with every new project. In an industry driven by the “new” there is one thing that remains constant, the one variable we can control – great service.

After all, we are in a service industry, and success isn’t achieved without great service. There are many different ways to provide it, and sometimes it’s worth taking a step back to experience it through the lens of another.

MK3 was afforded this opportunity when we produced the annual SHI Global Sales Conference in July, spotlighting major software service providers like HP, Dell, Microsoft and Apple. With keynote speeches focusing on new ways of motivating and inspiring sales, MK3 would like to take a moment to recognize one inspiring perspective.

Marcus Luttrell, the former Navy Seal and author of the book-turned-movie “Lone Survivor,” recently was a guest speaker at this year’s event, commanding the stage in his understated way, telling us his story and what it meant for him to do his job. It was an inspirational speech that delivered a message of service – no matter what you do or what situation you find yourself in, you are in control of the service you provide. And that level of service is what makes a difference.

So as we focus our eyes through our own respective lenses, we should remember that clients, projects, and ideas change, but no matter what you do, great service should remain the constant.

By Mark DiTondo, Creative Director

08.22.17

MK3 Takes on the Charles

Sometimes we just need an outlet for our competitive spirit.

One Friday in August, MK3 spent an afternoon rowing on the Charles with Community Rowing Inc, a non-profit that seeks to provide “community rowing for all.” CRI runs corporate outings to support their mission of providing rowing lessons for high school youth and kids with disabilities, making the sport accessible to those who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to compete.

After learning the basics and getting comfortable on the water, MK3 broke off into teams and raced along the river. (My team won, in case you were wondering). Thanks to our friends at CRI, no one fell in the water, no oars were broken, and we all had a good time.

On Monday though, it was time to “way enough” (that’s rowing lingo for “stop!”) and return to what we do best—storytelling.  We’ll leave the rowing to CRI.

By Ann Gennaro, Project Manager/Associate Producer

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08.22.17

MK3 Takes on the Charles

Sometimes we just need an outlet for our competitive spirit.

One Friday in August, MK3 spent an afternoon rowing on the Charles with Community Rowing Inc, a non-profit that seeks to provide “community rowing for all.” CRI runs corporate outings to support their mission of providing rowing lessons for high school youth and kids with disabilities, making the sport accessible to those who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to compete.

After learning the basics and getting comfortable on the water, MK3 broke off into teams and raced along the river. (My team won, in case you were wondering). Thanks to our friends at CRI, no one fell in the water, no oars were broken, and we all had a good time.

On Monday though, it was time to “way enough” (that’s rowing lingo for “stop!”) and return to what we do best—storytelling.  We’ll leave the rowing to CRI.

By Ann Gennaro, Project Manager/Associate Producer

07.10.17

And the winner is…

MK3 Creative has been recognized with an award for Creative Excellence by NEDMA, the New England Direct Marketing Association, for our collaboration with Santander Bank. Congratulations to Creative Director Mark DiTondo and the MK3 team for their great work on our award-winning Santander HR Video Series.

Check out the online video series here, and learn “How to Santander”!

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07.10.17

And the winner is…

MK3 Creative has been recognized with an award for Creative Excellence by NEDMA, the New England Direct Marketing Association, for our collaboration with Santander Bank. Congratulations to Creative Director Mark DiTondo and the MK3 team for their great work on our award-winning Santander HR Video Series.

Check out the online video series here, and learn “How to Santander”!

06.07.17

The MK3/Heritage Story

Heritage Plumbing had a modest beginning with two brothers and a pickup truck. Now, twenty years later, they are a regionally recognized brand employing 90 individuals and driving 55 trucks.

What is the key to their success? Their dogged focus on being “the very best service provider with the happiest customers.”

MK3 Creative was welcomed into the family business about a year ago, to assist Heritage in naming their key differentiators. What services are they providing that their customers considered the best?   How is it they have been keeping their customers happy? Three key words rose to the top: cleanliness, expertise, and convenience.

From these, it was difficult to choose only one to take to the “airwaves.” After much thought, they decided that all three were essential to who they were as Heritage. The team jumped all in, deciding to create three thirty-second commercial spots.

Here’s how MK3 and Heritage highlighted “cleanliness,” “expertise,” and “convenience”!

By Joel Kaplan, Principal

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06.07.17

The MK3/Heritage Story

Heritage Plumbing had a modest beginning with two brothers and a pickup truck. Now, twenty years later, they are a regionally recognized brand employing 90 individuals and driving 55 trucks.

What is the key to their success? Their dogged focus on being “the very best service provider with the happiest customers.”

MK3 Creative was welcomed into the family business about a year ago, to assist Heritage in naming their key differentiators. What services are they providing that their customers considered the best?   How is it they have been keeping their customers happy? Three key words rose to the top: cleanliness, expertise, and convenience.

From these, it was difficult to choose only one to take to the “airwaves.” After much thought, they decided that all three were essential to who they were as Heritage. The team jumped all in, deciding to create three thirty-second commercial spots.

Here’s how MK3 and Heritage highlighted “cleanliness,” “expertise,” and “convenience”!

By Joel Kaplan, Principal

04.28.17

Looking in the Mirror as a Marketing Professional

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Maybe you identify yourself by your profession and you see an accountant, a police officer, or a school teacher staring back at you. What do professional marketers see when they look at themselves? Well, that depends on what they’re working on that day.

The term “mirroring” is often used in the service industry to describe the process of adapting and altering your personality to match another person, with the goal of making them feel more comfortable. For many it’s done subconsciously, but others work and develop mirroring like they would with any other skill. It’s a valuable tool that promotes human connection and it can lead to better results with customers and clients. Mirroring is a major facet of providing great service, but it’s also related to a very important aspect of becoming a successful marketing professional.

Within the last month, I’ve worked on projects for financial institutions, doctors/physicians, software engineers, consumer banks, higher education institutions, and many others. For each project, I took the time to research my client’s history, and also looked into their specific industry enough to understand what makes that particular business successful. I looked at the culture, differentiators, challenges, and leadership, and, most importantly, I listened carefully to each of my clients.

Many people in the workforce dedicate themselves to a single profession. It sometimes takes years to figure out exactly what area to choose, but most of the time people spend the duration of their career developing and mastering a specific industry. For those of us in marketing, part of that same process involves learning a little bit about everything. Clients look to us to provide creative solutions, and developing those solutions is dependent on knowing the arena in which that company functions. We spend hours teaching ourselves about those industries, and combine that knowledge with our creative experience to develop an approach.

So what do I see when I look in the mirror? I’m a financial adviser at a global bank, but ask me again next week and I’ll have a different answer.

By Eric Anderson, Account Manager/Producer

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04.28.17

Looking in the Mirror as a Marketing Professional

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Maybe you identify yourself by your profession and you see an accountant, a police officer, or a school teacher staring back at you. What do professional marketers see when they look at themselves? Well, that depends on what they’re working on that day.

The term “mirroring” is often used in the service industry to describe the process of adapting and altering your personality to match another person, with the goal of making them feel more comfortable. For many it’s done subconsciously, but others work and develop mirroring like they would with any other skill. It’s a valuable tool that promotes human connection and it can lead to better results with customers and clients. Mirroring is a major facet of providing great service, but it’s also related to a very important aspect of becoming a successful marketing professional.

Within the last month, I’ve worked on projects for financial institutions, doctors/physicians, software engineers, consumer banks, higher education institutions, and many others. For each project, I took the time to research my client’s history, and also looked into their specific industry enough to understand what makes that particular business successful. I looked at the culture, differentiators, challenges, and leadership, and, most importantly, I listened carefully to each of my clients.

Many people in the workforce dedicate themselves to a single profession. It sometimes takes years to figure out exactly what area to choose, but most of the time people spend the duration of their career developing and mastering a specific industry. For those of us in marketing, part of that same process involves learning a little bit about everything. Clients look to us to provide creative solutions, and developing those solutions is dependent on knowing the arena in which that company functions. We spend hours teaching ourselves about those industries, and combine that knowledge with our creative experience to develop an approach.

So what do I see when I look in the mirror? I’m a financial adviser at a global bank, but ask me again next week and I’ll have a different answer.

By Eric Anderson, Account Manager/Producer

04.05.17

Embrace the Box

Think outside the box.
Meh.  Enough about the box already.
For years, “think outside the box” has been the measuring stick/mantra of creativity.  It’s become a catch phrase, a meme, and ultimately, meaningless.

But then again, I’ve never felt it held any meaning at all.  It’s easy to be creative with no real world boundaries.  It’s harder to light the idea bulb in the pitch black that only a box can create.  Close that cardboard up with industrial strength packing tape and Houdini your way around in there.  That’s creativity.

And by the way, there’s always a box.  Budgets, print ad space, commercial running time, and corporate brand standards – they all box you in, or out.  Only the Rolling Stones always get what they want.  The rest of us need to work with “what we got.”

So, don’t try to excite or impress me when you offer, dare, or demand that we “think outside the box.”  Show me someone who can hop in the box and stick his or her creative elbows out – that impresses me.

Bring us your boxes, large and small.  You’ll be amazed at what we can do with a little corrugated cardboard.

By Jonathan Markella, Executive Creative Director

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04.05.17

Embrace the Box

Think outside the box.
Meh.  Enough about the box already.
For years, “think outside the box” has been the measuring stick/mantra of creativity.  It’s become a catch phrase, a meme, and ultimately, meaningless.

But then again, I’ve never felt it held any meaning at all.  It’s easy to be creative with no real world boundaries.  It’s harder to light the idea bulb in the pitch black that only a box can create.  Close that cardboard up with industrial strength packing tape and Houdini your way around in there.  That’s creativity.

And by the way, there’s always a box.  Budgets, print ad space, commercial running time, and corporate brand standards – they all box you in, or out.  Only the Rolling Stones always get what they want.  The rest of us need to work with “what we got.”

So, don’t try to excite or impress me when you offer, dare, or demand that we “think outside the box.”  Show me someone who can hop in the box and stick his or her creative elbows out – that impresses me.

Bring us your boxes, large and small.  You’ll be amazed at what we can do with a little corrugated cardboard.

By Jonathan Markella, Executive Creative Director

03.06.17

This is How You Santander!

Santander Bank just released a series of videos created and produced by MK3. The goal is to attract good candidates for new positions in the bank’s consumer and business banking divisions.

From branch managers to financial consultants, Santander and MK3 worked together on the description of multiple jobs within the bank.

From concept to execution, MK3 is proud of this recruiting effort to help attract the region’s top talent to Santander Bank.

Take a look at the link to explore all of Santander’s consumer and business banking jobs and as the bank says….This is how you Santander!

 

 

By Ted Wayman, VP Sales

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03.06.17

This is How You Santander!

Santander Bank just released a series of videos created and produced by MK3. The goal is to attract good candidates for new positions in the bank’s consumer and business banking divisions.

From branch managers to financial consultants, Santander and MK3 worked together on the description of multiple jobs within the bank.

From concept to execution, MK3 is proud of this recruiting effort to help attract the region’s top talent to Santander Bank.

Take a look at the link to explore all of Santander’s consumer and business banking jobs and as the bank says….This is how you Santander!

 

 

By Ted Wayman, VP Sales

03.01.17

Out of the Tank

What do ABC-TV’s Shark Tank and MK3 Creative have in common? Both recently sent their top sharks to Austin, Texas, for the annual SHI Corporate Sales Conference.

We’re a creative agency, and we pride ourselves on storytelling. A live event is a meaty storytelling medium to sink our teeth into, and every year our client SHI lets us do just that.  SHI is a leading corporate reseller of software, hardware, and information technology products and solutions.  They partner with MK3 to produce and execute a multimedia event that incudes room layout and stage design, A/V technology, and content production.  In other words…we help bring their story to life, live on stage.

What does that have to do with ABC’s Shark Tank?  Aside from hosting major industry players like HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Apple, SHI also features special keynote speakers to motivate and entertain. Robert Herjavec, founder of The Herjavec Group and one of the leading Shark Tank investors, was this year’s “big fish.”

MK3 worked with Herjavec and the SHI team to deliver a live presentation for their sales force that was motivational, entertaining, and ultimately worth the investment.

By Mark DiTondo, Creative Director

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03.01.17

Out of the Tank

What do ABC-TV’s Shark Tank and MK3 Creative have in common? Both recently sent their top sharks to Austin, Texas, for the annual SHI Corporate Sales Conference.

We’re a creative agency, and we pride ourselves on storytelling. A live event is a meaty storytelling medium to sink our teeth into, and every year our client SHI lets us do just that.  SHI is a leading corporate reseller of software, hardware, and information technology products and solutions.  They partner with MK3 to produce and execute a multimedia event that incudes room layout and stage design, A/V technology, and content production.  In other words…we help bring their story to life, live on stage.

What does that have to do with ABC’s Shark Tank?  Aside from hosting major industry players like HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Apple, SHI also features special keynote speakers to motivate and entertain. Robert Herjavec, founder of The Herjavec Group and one of the leading Shark Tank investors, was this year’s “big fish.”

MK3 worked with Herjavec and the SHI team to deliver a live presentation for their sales force that was motivational, entertaining, and ultimately worth the investment.

By Mark DiTondo, Creative Director

02.24.17

MK3 Glidecams

Do you see in 3D? Yes, you do! When you watch most videos online and on TV are you seeing in 3D? No, you are not! That’s the age-old dilemma for directors and cinematographers: how do you create 3D depth within a 2D space – such as a movie screen, a TV screen, a computer, or a mobile device?

One answer is great camera movement. When the camera moves fluidly during a video, viewers begin to feel the depth of the world they are watching. At MK3 Creative, we have a suite of in-house capabilities that help live action projects become more 3D-like, more immersive, and more cinematic.

Our 3-axis handheld gimbal stabilizer is quick to set up, versatile to use, and helps bring a story to life. Our Aerial 4k drone gives your project a whole new vantage point and elevates its production value. Check out a quick example of how we use these valuable tools:

Despite our love for moving cameras, we believe story is king. As a marketing agency, we ask the right questions to help you find the perfect story to tell your audience. But, the nice advantage of MK3 Creative is that we also house broadcast quality production capabilities under the same roof. And, we are constantly looking for opportunities to make great stories more cinematic!

By John Lawrence, Creative Director

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02.24.17

MK3 Glidecams

Do you see in 3D? Yes, you do! When you watch most videos online and on TV are you seeing in 3D? No, you are not! That’s the age-old dilemma for directors and cinematographers: how do you create 3D depth within a 2D space – such as a movie screen, a TV screen, a computer, or a mobile device?

One answer is great camera movement. When the camera moves fluidly during a video, viewers begin to feel the depth of the world they are watching. At MK3 Creative, we have a suite of in-house capabilities that help live action projects become more 3D-like, more immersive, and more cinematic.

Our 3-axis handheld gimbal stabilizer is quick to set up, versatile to use, and helps bring a story to life. Our Aerial 4k drone gives your project a whole new vantage point and elevates its production value. Check out a quick example of how we use these valuable tools:

Despite our love for moving cameras, we believe story is king. As a marketing agency, we ask the right questions to help you find the perfect story to tell your audience. But, the nice advantage of MK3 Creative is that we also house broadcast quality production capabilities under the same roof. And, we are constantly looking for opportunities to make great stories more cinematic!

By John Lawrence, Creative Director

01.30.17

Getting to the Boston Garden

How do you get to the Boston Garden?  Practice.
And a creative eye for marketing strategy, graphics, and animation.  

We’re paraphrasing an old joke to help sum up a new project at MK3 Creative.

Recently, one of our clients tasked us with creating a bold visual presence for them in the TD Boston Garden.  UG2, a facility services management and solutions provider, needed a set of animations to be displayed on the arena and concourse video screens in the Garden.  

The challenge was engage a distracted audience with the UG2 story through an animation package with no sound and animation elements only 15 and 20 seconds in length.  MK3 created simple, clean bullet points highlighting UG2’s services and eye-catching animation environments that featured the text, and circular framing devices that created a consistent visual home for the varied imagery supplied by the client.  

So the next time you get to the Garden, check out the action down on the ice, the talent out on the parquet floor, and our style up on the video screens.

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01.30.17

Getting to the Boston Garden

How do you get to the Boston Garden?  Practice.
And a creative eye for marketing strategy, graphics, and animation.  

We’re paraphrasing an old joke to help sum up a new project at MK3 Creative.

Recently, one of our clients tasked us with creating a bold visual presence for them in the TD Boston Garden.  UG2, a facility services management and solutions provider, needed a set of animations to be displayed on the arena and concourse video screens in the Garden.  

The challenge was engage a distracted audience with the UG2 story through an animation package with no sound and animation elements only 15 and 20 seconds in length.  MK3 created simple, clean bullet points highlighting UG2’s services and eye-catching animation environments that featured the text, and circular framing devices that created a consistent visual home for the varied imagery supplied by the client.  

So the next time you get to the Garden, check out the action down on the ice, the talent out on the parquet floor, and our style up on the video screens.