Ogilvy’s Associates program asked its applicants in a creative exercise to answer “what makes you creative?” Here’s my answer.

I opted for the PowerPoint format since in the corporate setting, we’re about presenting and conveying information through images. But we cannot be boring. Not only do I want to show that I can be in the setting to present my ideas to team members and clients, but that I want to go the route that others may not have chosen as their “creative option.” The choice in platform was also one that was made on the basis of which community I would be sharing my exercise with. Showcasing my talent to the right demographic – the creative professionals that can be found on SlideShare – meant that I would be much more likely to be noticed and recognized in the community, as can be seen by the fact that the presentation was marked as one of the top three during the latter week of January 9th and the early half of the week of January 16th. Had I chosen to go the route of a YouTube video, I would be competing with the thousands of hours of other programming uploaded each day, as well as a varied and diverse public. In effect, I would not have had as much success as I did.

In addition, taking a look at the colour palette, you’ll be quick to notice that I’ve picked up some colours from the Ogilvy Associates page – the deep red and light grays (that are almost white). I think about complementing in terms of call (you) and response (me).

I was invited by NYU’s Wasserman Center for Career Development‘s online community manager to present on social media in the university space to the Office of Residential Life and Housing Services‘ January 2012 staff development training week. Wasserman’s focus was on the career center’s use of social media and how it has leveraged that particular NYU brand, whereas my presentation, as seen above, focuses on strategy development for the ResEd department. The audience included all current resident hall RHDs (residence hall directors), RHADs (residence hall assistant directors), RHRMs (residence hall resource managers), and administrative staff. I was also invited to present my ideas to the student resident assistants at Carlyle Court.

The presentation generated almost 4000 views within two days, highlighted on Twitter by various professionals (including @nyuwasserman, @emilybennington, @nycinternz, and @heatherhuhman) and was featured on the SlideShare homepage.

The overall 400% increase in views on the YouTube channel was facilitated through a variety of methods, such as:

• Linking YouTube updates with other TAP social media profiles so as to better
• Creating discussion around the video on relevant forums (e.g. College Confidential)
• Submitting our clips as “video responses” to relevant videos so as to lay a pathway to our channel
• Reaching out to fellow Generation Y bloggers, such as Grace Boyle of Small Hands, Big Ideas, to create conversation about the brand and videos
• Recruiting guests for interviews, such as Matt Weber, an MBA student at NYU Stern, on their experiences to create a more personal approach for our viewers

An example of this success can be observed with the Surviving Freshman Year video in which New York University sophomores were asked to provide tips for incoming freshmen. The video garnered over 1000 hits within the first several days of its release. The video was featured on popular online publications, such as NYU Local and DoobyBrain.

Acknowledging that the targeted demographic for the LinkedIn group differed from that of our other media outlets (i.e. blog, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook), a different approach was taken. More direct communication was used (i.e. personal emails and LinkedIn messages) to attract members of various university career services departments to our group. The group itself engaged in discussion through weekly topics and sharing of links. As a result, membership more than tripled over the course of three months.

End result? The study abroad department declined my help and would prefer to go it alone.