Culture Entries

Unlucky 13? Not Us.

January in Minnesota can be cold and dreary – especially this week. Yet at Fusion Hill, it’s also a time of celebration. That’s because January 7 is our 13^th anniversary.

We cherish this date, and we’re amazed that each year keeps getting better. For that, we thank you.

We’ve been fortunate to work with diverse, inspiring clients. To nurture smart, collaborative employees. And to be recognized for our unique culture.

So to all who have been part of these past 13 years, we share our gratitude. No matter how big or how small, each contribution has made us who we are.

Our Work Here Is Not Done. But We’re Making a Dent.

We’ve come a long way from the days of Mad Men, but it’s no secret that the makeup of the advertising industry is still disproportionately male – particularly within positions of creative leadership.

Enter: The 3% Conference.

When the 3% Conference first launched in 2012, only 3% of creative directors in the United States were women. Since then, the conference has helped raise the number of female creative directors to 11% while giving agencies a clear road map of ways to champion female creative talent and leadership.

They made it a mission to teach men and women in agencies and on the client side how to address the issue in new ways and to offer something that has been sorely lacking for female creatives: a sense of community.

And this is where Fusion Hill enters.

We just returned from the 2016 3% Conference held at the Manhattan Center in the heart of New York City. The two-day event was filled with inspiring keynotes, professional development, themed tracks, networking and actionable takeaways.

This year’s theme was “What are you going to do about it?” and we are overflowing with inspiration.

So here’s what we are going to do.

Once a day through the end of the year, we will be tweeting micro-actions (small things you can do now!) to help drive the 3% number upward. Make sure you are following us here to find out how we all can change the ratio together.

@FusionHill

Many Thanks.

Thanksgiving ranks high on our list of best holidays. Spending time with friends and family, eating way too much and maybe even tackling the lines on Black Friday. It’s the kickoff to the holiday season and a time when we like to step back and think about all that has happened the past year.

When we reflect on what Fusion Hill is thankful for this holiday season, a few highlights come to mind:

• We traveled all over the country uncovering insights for top financial and health care companies including one project that allowed us to explore the intersection between managing credit cards and rewards.
• We’ve had a number of health care projects that went from research to strategy to design – our specialty and sweet spot.
• We added a few accolades to the office. In addition to being named one of Minnesota Business Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, we had two team members recognized as leaders in the industry with Women and Business, and 32 Under 32.
• We found inspiration in organizations including AdFed, MIA, MPLS MadWomen and The BrandLab, from which we welcomed a talented high school student as a summer creative intern.
• We’ve grown again this year, adding 11 more people to our team – and we’re looking to expand again!
• We reconnected with several past clients – including a top medical device company and a financial company.

The years keep getting better, and it wouldn’t be possible without great partners, a solid team, and good friends and family around us. We hope you’re finding much to be grateful for this season as well.

Leaders Inspiring Leaders.

In the United States, women account for over half of the population. In the creative industry, it’s about half of that.

So how do we get to parity?

We have to talk about the challenges, issues and opportunities for women in the field. That’s one of the goals of the Women’s Leadership Panel, which we attended recently. Hosted by AdFed MN and Ad2, the event brings professionals from all over the Twin Cities to network and hear stories from female leaders about their experiences in business and in the creative industry.

Panelists were from leadership positions in several agencies, and they spoke about their challenges, triumphs and defeats – and how they got past them.

We thought we’d share some quotes from the evening that we found particularly memorable:

• “The rise of me is not the demise of we.” – Alex Steinman, communications director at Fallon
• “You don’t have to tell people how good you are. They’re going to see how good you are.” – Amy Van Ert, vice president & group creative director at The Lacek Group
• “Always assume good intent. We can all benefit from that.” – Liz Ross, president & CEO at Periscope 
• “For crying out loud, stop apologizing.”  – Amy Van Ert, vice president & group creative director at The Lacek Group
• “Do it. Just jump. Don’t be afraid to just jump.” – Dara Beevas, co-founder & chief strategic officer at Wise Ink Creative Publishing 
• “Be comfortable being uncomfortable.” – Maija Hoehn, vice president of director engagement at broadhead 
• “How you come out of failure is more a reflection of you than the failure itself.” – Alex Steinman, communications director at Fallon

To learn more about the event, visit AdFed and Ad2.

Creating Paths Through Ethnography.

In August, we attended the EPIC conference, an international gathering on ethnography and design in business. EPIC promotes the use of ethnographic research and its principles in creating direct connections between businesses and the consumers they serve. The theme was “pathmaking” and how creating links between ideas and people is at the core of innovation and understanding consumers.

Recently, some ethnographers have expressed feeling encroached upon as designers have taken ethnography and research – often terming it “design research” or “design thinking” – and made it their own. Here at Fusion Hill, we think a bit differently. We see the value of creating paths amongst ourselves as a team to tell the whole story and express it in a way that allows our work to reach every one of our audience’s senses. Bringing these consumers to life via rich imagery, expressive language and key insights combined – that’s when the real magic happens.

It’s easy to talk about the value of ethnography in business. There are clear benefits in developing a rich understanding of consumers’ lives and needs in order to design and create solutions. But to blaze these trails, create these paths, form these connections, we as researchers/designers/strategists need to connect with each other.

Bryony Wilson – presenter of “When ‘Design Thinkers’ Prototype: Through an Anthropologist’s Eyes”– really brought this point to life when she said, “While we do have different tools, we’re all playing in the same sandbox.” Indeed, it is the celebration of this unity, as we create paths in the sandbox together, that we loved most about EPIC.

Our team found two additional areas of human-centric innovation coming out of collaborations between research and design particularly interesting as well:

• Prototyping: Bryony Wilson presented on how prototyping can be used to engage participants in concept testing by allowing them to more naturally interact with the product on a personal and physical level.
• Performance: AnneMarie Dorland, from the University of Calgary, described how designers can “perform” their findings by observing their target audience and then physically performing the actions they observed.

We think this trend toward a more integrated approach among us pathmakers is the way of the future. What do you think? Join the conversation.