Presentation by Stephen Bennett, Creative Director of Juniper Park

This week’s speaker was Stephen Bennett, Creative Director of Juniper Park. I have been a fan of Juniper Park’s work since last spring, so I was so excited to meet Stephen and learn more about the company. Stephen loves everything digital. He tells us about some of his story, such as where he has worked. He worked in places he calls “Pure Play,” which means just digital, such as Blue Zone, Mod7, Blast Radius, Ninedots, which then changed it’s name to Henderson Bas. He also worked in “Integrated Jobs,” which involve digital and print, such as McLauren McCann, Grip Limited, and Juniper Park.

Juniper Park is a new company that is less than 3 years old. The company has 75 employees, including art directors, designers, writers, developers, producers, and strategists. Juniper Park is a place where advertising, strategy, and design come into play. The company creates broadcasts, print, out of house, digital, and statements.

 

Juniper Park uses the vendor model and they hire a lot of freelancers, which makes them different. Quaker and PepsiCo are two very big clients. Juniper Park does a lot of work for the United States, but some work for Canada as well. Their clients include:

One of my favorite brands they worked on is Woman’s World.

Stephen asked us to think about if we wake up tomorrow and a company was gone, would we care:
1.)    Companies sell products.
2.)    Brands sell ideas.
3.)    A brand narrative is the story that is shared between people
        as they gather around a brand.
4.)    Great ideas need to be embraced and be talked about.

A brand he explains as one that matters is Apple. Their secret is that they know people are creative, but lack the tools needed to set them free. Apple’s gift is making simple tools to let people become more creative. Apple focuses on humanity, while Microsoft and IBM focuses on efficiency. For example, Ipod's advertisements show a creative and free lifestyle.

He goes on to talk about the secret that SunChips knows, which is one of Juniper Park’s clients. They know each small step can make a difference. SunChips' gift to the consumer is that it is a company that brings you healthy wholegrain chips and makes small steps for a better planet. For example, SunChips use solar panels and their new packaging is the first 100% compostable chip bag.


“Create the bigger stories, so we do care.”



Another one of their client’s is Quaker. This company asks if your breakfast makes you amazing. Quaker’s secret is that amazing mornings can lead to amazing days. Their gift to the consumer is that the right breakfast leads to a great day. Juniper Park and Quaker have also worked with Bob Harper from Biggest Loser, who is the new digital coach for Quaker and has already had a big digital footprint on the web.

A few things he has learned include:

1. It's not about who you know, it's about who knows you.
   
Juniper Park is moving so fast they don’t have time to look through resumes. He selects people for freelance based on who is contacting him and letting him know they want to work for Juniper Park. He told us not to worry about feeling like you are pestering the company by sending many emails.

2. Make friends.

Stephen explained how important it is to connect to the industry since most companies don’t have time to post jobs. People always call whom they know first. A great base for this is attending industry events.

3. Be curious.

The moment you stop being curious, you should think about doing something new since the industry moves so fast.

4. It’s a creative evolution baby. Take your time.

5. Execution is everything.

Great ideas get lost when not executed right, such as spelling mistakes, not sweating the details, and not presenting yourself well.

6. What's your story? Have a story. Use your words to brand yourself, a way for anyone to remember you by.

Stephen also talks about how cultural latency is nearing zero. People don’t want to wait. The web changes constantly and you have to continually stay on top of it or your website will be quickly outdated. You have to be adaptive and ready for change.

Stephen ends the presentation by talking about how searching for things you are interested in is becoming more useful with viewzi. This website helps you find what you are interested in with a new and visually appealing approach.

One last thing we talked about includes what would your brand narrative be if explained with a chair. Below are examples he showed us. What would your chair look like?

Contact Information
2 Bloor St. W. 6th Floor, Toronto, ON, M4W 3R6
P: 416.972.5745
F: 416.972.5486
C: 416.357.8945
stephen.bennett@juniperpark.com