What would you say you do here?

Part 1 of an advertising public service announcement series from Freshwater Creative

An Introduction

Hi I’m Pat Morgan, Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Freshwater Creative. When I was 14 I decided that after high school I wanted to go to college to major in art and become a graphic designer. It was shortly after I entered a contest to design a poster for an upcoming summer basketball camp. I loved the process of creating something that looked cool while still clearly communicating important information about an event I was interested in.

When I told my family about my plan, they were happy to hear that I intended to go to college but were a little confused when they heard about my choice of major. “So what do they do?”, “How do they make a living?”, and “What do they design, like t-shirts and stuff?” were common questions that I fielded from aunts, uncles… and my grandma.

Now, years later, as a multi-decade veteran of brand-building and advertising, I’m often asked many of the same questions but now they’re coming from potential clients… and my grandma. “So what do you do?”, “How does that help me make a living?”, and “What do you design, like t-shirts and stuff?”, with the occasional “oh yeah, my cousin does that too” thrown in for good measure.

Why So Many Questions?

What I’ve come to realize is that even though we’re all exposed to thousands of ads and brand messages every day, very few of us ever think about how those messages help the companies that send them, or how they help the consumers, customers, and clients that receive them make a more informed purchasing decision. Even fewer people understand the process for developing high-quality communications that can help their companies grow.

So I’ve taken it upon myself (and the team here at Freshwater Creative) to answer these questions and more. I’m hoping it will be interesting and thought provoking for everyone from the most experienced industry veteran to the greenest amateur, I’m looking at you Grandma.

It Comes Down To One Word

If you made it this far you are either really interested in what I’ve written or you are Googlebot and you’re crawling this content to see how much weight you should give it for search engine queries. Either way, you deserve a little something extra. So I’ll go ahead and answer the question that prompted this series. “What would you say you do here?”

My partners and I started Freshwater because we saw a problem that needs fixing. The problem is this: most people who work with an advertising agency hate their advertising agency. In fact, according to Forbes, just 6% of Americans trust Congress to act with integrity. But there is one other institution that ranks lower, you guessed it, advertisers and marketers. They scored 4%. Ouch.

So we set out to create an agency that exists to build trust in the world. Between our clients and their customers, ourselves and our clients, our company and our employees, and everyone who comes in contact with our company in any way. We want to help build strong relationships by creating an impenetrable foundation of trust.

How do we do it? By helping people tell their brand story in a way that is honest, informative, and trustworthy, then applying that story to any communication vehicle that’s needed to be able to help their audience make more informed decisions. You might be asking “Like what?” “Brand identity & logo creation?” Yep. “Websites?” Uh huh. “Trade shows?” Nailed it. “Packaging? Traditional & digital advertising? Instore promotion? Video? Email campaigns? Lead generation?” Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And hell yeah. Well even design the occasional t-shirt. I know grandma, your cousin does that too.

So in essence we’re a full-service advertising agency that helps brands build trust with their audience, and we’re on a mission to help people love their advertising agency for once. If that sounds like your cup of… uhm water I guess. Then drop us a line. We’re excited to talk with you.

This is the first in our series of public service announcements that will help answer the question “What would you say you do here?”. Some of the topics you can look forward to (if you’re into that sort of thing) include the following:

  • GETTING FUNDAMENTAL

    Defining your brand purpose with the Five Fundamental Human Values

  • THE POWER OF THE PYRAMID

    Building a strong brand identity with a structure that stands the test of time

  • WHAT’S YOUR STORY MORNING GLORY?

    Making your brand story compelling, relevant, and memorable

  • PILLAR TALK

    Setting your brand up for success by clearly articulating your communication pillars

  • EMOTION TRUMPS LOGIC 

    Connecting with your customers on an emotional level to separate your brand from the competition

  • THE TWELVE TYPES OF ADS

    Understanding the storytelling templates that make advertising effective