Tag: Blake Pieroni

Do you love your work as much as Jim Cantore loves thundersnow?

During the spring of my senior year of college I was approached by a major pharmaceutical company about an entry level sales position. They recruited college athletes, because they wanted competitive go-getters to go sell, sell, sell for them.

Wearing a suit I borrowed from my Wisconsin track teammate, Greg Gill, I did 2 rounds of interviews. The pay, bonus structure and the benefits all sounded amazing for a kid right out of school. But I had no passion for pharmaceutical sales. Or for wearing business suits. So I passed.

Advertising!

Instead, I looked for opportunities as a copywriter with an advertising agency. I got informational interviews at 2 agencies. I was then offered jobs by both companies. The pay was half what the pharmaceutical sales job would have paid. But the work excited me. So I jumped at the chance to join Cramer Krasselt, one of the country’s best advertising agencies, for $21,000 a year.

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Me and my man Lucian McAfee on a shoot at the Atlanta Braves’ spring training facility in Florida.

Just An Excitable Boy

I loved my low paying job, and it showed. I got my first raise 3 months later. I got another raise 6 months after that. And another raise 6 months after that. Then I got a promotion, and another raise. It was clear I was doing the work I was supposed to do.

 

Love Will Keep Us Together

The quick success and pay increases happened because I loved my work. I was all in on the work. Working hard as an advertising creative was extremely fulfilling. Many advertising creatives will say they didn’t choose the work, the work chose them. That’s exactly how I felt. Somehow the work didn’t feel like work. It felt like playing. And it still does today.

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Me and my fellow Weapon, Adam Emery are the bread in a Blake Pieroni sandwich. Blake is an Olympic Gold Medalist. Guess which sport…

Jim Cantore

I once saw a clip of Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel capturing the super-rare phenomenon of thundersnow on camera. According to a Royal Meteorological Society study (I read all of their stuff), this phenomenon occurs in only 0.07 percent of snowstorms in the United States. And only 6 occurrences are reported each year. In the video, Jim is about as excited about thundersnow as anyone could be about anything, ever.  Here is the clip:

Straight Outta The Upper Connecticut River Valley

Jim Cantore and I grew up in neighboring towns in Vermont. I am from Norwich. Jim grew up 5 miles south in White River Junction. I am super proud of the passion of my  fellow Green Mountain Boy. I wish everyone loved their work as much as Jim loves his.

Passion Powered

I recognize the excitement that Jim showed. Because I feel like that all the time. My enthusiasm for my work has made my entire career feel like, well, not work. My clients and coworkers can feel how much I enjoy the work I do. I think my enthusiasm makes me more enjoyable to work around. Granted, there may be a point of diminishing returns.

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That time me and Danica Patrick filled a Prevost motorhome with ping pong balls for work.

Entrepreneurship

When I first launched my own advertising and idea agency, The Weaponry, I knew it would be successful. Because I loved the work, and was willing to do all of the hard work necessary to make the business fly. As it turns out the work has been just as fun as I thought it would be. Solving problems is fun. Developing ideas is to help my clients thrive is extremely fun. And I never tire of the demands of business ownership.

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Gung-ho in gingham, with Jon Mathews.

Key Takeaway

If you haven’t found work you are passionate about yet, keep looking. Find that thing that makes you lose your mind, like Jim Cantore in thundersnow. Find something that make you pound the table like I pound the table when we have found another great idea that will help our clients win. Don’t settle for good pay, nice benefits and a safe existence. Energize yourself by doing something you really love every day.

Note: I first witnessed thundersnow while snowmobiling with my great friends Greg Gill and George Mort in Saint Germain, Wisconsin. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It’s like seeing lightning in a snow globe. It’s my favorite weather phenomenon.

Introducing our new work for one of the world’s greatest athletic brands.

I have had many great opportunities throughout my career. The kind of opportunities most people who work in advertising never get. I’ve never taken any of it for granted. But when I started my own advertising agency, I wondered if I would be able to create the same kind of opportunities for my own agency. Or if we would spend most of our time creating coupons for gerbil food and pro bono flyers for Book-A-Roo at my kid’s school.

Today I am thrilled to say The Weaponry, my advertising and idea agency, has worked with an American president (Jimmy Carter), an innovative sport aircraft brand (Icon Aircraft) and the people who rescue climbers on Mt. Everest (Global Rescue). We’ve worked with fun brands from Quebec (SeaDoo, BRP, Prevost & Volvo Bus) to California (Sunrun). And since 2016 we have worked with the international sporting goods powerhouse, Mizuno.

Mizuno

Mizuno is a Japanese sports equipment and sportswear company. It was founded in Osaka in 1906 by Rihachi Mizuno (who is on my all-name team, along with my college buddy, Azree Commander). Today, Mizuno is a major player in baseball, softball and volleyball around the world.

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Adam ‘Henry’ Emery clubbing every minute of our recent shoot.

If you are a serious golfer you know that Mizuno makes the best irons in the business. Mizuno makes the best racing suit for competitive swimmers. They also make amazing running shoes. Including my favorites, the Wave Riders. I currently have them in Badger Red and Anatomy Gray. (Ok, maybe I just made up those color names.)

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Guys from The Weaponry and swimmer Blake Pieroni.

Reach Beyond

In the fall of 2018 The Weaponry began work on a really fun new project for Mizuno North America. Mizuno had already introduced their new Reach Beyond tagline internationally. But they wanted our help to determine how the theme should be adapted for the US Market.

Exploring Like Dora

We explored a broad range of options for Mizuno. We shared 7 different campaign angles. Each direction brought the brand message to life in its own unique way. In the creative process we always explore a wide variety of looks, language and tones. It’s a hallmark of The Weaponry Way. Which is why clients turn to us when they want a fresh new perspective and a variety of creative options.

Beyond Training

There was one brand direction that Mizuno especially liked. It was not about winning and losing. Or being the best in the world. It was about the training you do to compete with yourself. We call it Beyond Training.

This commercial features Olympic swimmer Blake Pieroni. And a lot of bubbles.

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Here’s a look at some of the outdoor billboards you may see this year.

Beyond Training is about putting in the work to set new personal records. It is about you reaching beyond your own previous bests. I think this is the greatest mission in life. And one of the greatest elements, if not the greatest element of sports.

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Push Yourself

We believe that Reaching Beyond is about continuously pushing yourself to see just how much you are capable of. I love that this idea accommodates for athletes at all stages of life. It allows us all to frame our best in whatever way is most relevant and most motivating today. As an athlete in my 40s I am encouraged to reach beyond the best I have done this year, or this decade. That idea is exciting to me, and keeps me pushing myself.

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Self Improvement

We found that athletes are good at creating a relevant frame of reference for self improvement. This is true whether you are a world class swimmer at the top of your game, a 70-year old golfer who wants to be the very best they can be this year, or a 7th grade track athlete just getting started. The key is to continuously work to better yourself. And that is the spirit the Mizuno Reach Beyond brand campaign captures.

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If you went to The Masters you may have seen this billboard along the way.
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Cant you spot the golf tee in this pic? (hint: it’s above the space between ‘is’ and ‘your’)

The Goods

We have created a series of brand commercials that will run both online and on TV. We have also created a billboard campaign that we will roll out throughout this year.

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The Athletes

We worked with Olympic gold medal swimmer Blake Pieroni in Atlanta. We filmed professional baseball player Austin Riley at the Atlanta Braves spring training facility in Orlando. We filmed runners Ali Ritter and Alexa Crow, on urban trails in Atlanta before dawn. And we shot golfers Jackson Kemper and Todd Ormsby at a driving range at night, in the rain. (Sorry guys.)

One of several commercials that are part of the Mizuno brand campaign. This one features pro baseball player Austin Riley. 

The Photographer

To create this work we hired a phenomenal Milwaukee-based photographer, Lucian McAfee. He’s a great shooter. But more importantly, he is a really fun and nice guy. Fun fact, Lucian’s brother Jesse was a track teammate of mine at the University of Wisconsin. Go Badgers!

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Lucian and Blake, each bringing it the best they can.

The Production Company

We worked with Proper Medium out of Atlanta for all of the video. We have worked with this team on great projects for UPS, Fifth Third Bank, and Global Rescue, and they always hit it out of the park. Unless we are shooting swimmers. In which case they hit it out of the pool. Proper Medium and Lucian are both really great at what they do. Plus they worked really well together. Like peas and carrots.

This spot tells you why should not reach your potential.

The Great Clients!

Big thanks to our clients Harper Cornell and Tomohiro Ota at Mizuno for leading this work and letting us collaborate with them. Thanks to Shelby Novak and to Clint Sammons at Mizuno for all your help pulling off the swimming and baseball shoots.

I am extremely thankful to The Weapons that worked on this project, including Adam Emery, Kevin Kayse, Jeanne Mayer, and Tony Sharpe. You guys crush things.

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Austin Riley with agents Bryan Figueroa (in pink) and Brian Hannaford (also in pink), looking sick! (In a good way.)

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Key Takeaway

Self improvement is about reaching beyond your previous best. It’s what we should strive for ever day. Whether we are Olympians, office workers or stay at home Moms, we can all get better at what we do. Reaching beyond your previous best in any endeavor is more meaningful and more rewarding than winning. Because it is all about your journey and your personal performance. Reaching Beyond is what I am trying to do in my career and my athletics. I hope you are too. Because as Eminem said, ‘You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime.’

Why it is so important to just keep swimming.

I recently had the chance to work with Olympic Gold medalist Blake Pieroni.  Blake won a gold medal at the Rio Olympics as part of the 4×100 freestyle relay. He is such a strong swimmer that he recently became a Mizuno sponsored athlete. Which is saying something, since Mizuno makes the best racing suit in the pool.

While filming with Blake I asked the Indiana native, and Indiana University student athlete about the major breakthroughs in his career. I was surprised to hear this world-class athlete say he really hasn’t had any.

Slowly Getting Faster

Blake said his progress has been steady and incremental. Day after day he continues to invest time in his training and preparation. As a result, he has slowly gotten faster. Which is a ridiculous thing to write. Yet it’s a proven, oxymoronic formula for success.

Blake’s career is a testimony to the power of slow and steady progress. It is not showy. Or gimmicky. It’s not based on shortcuts, or nepotism, or your mama paying to get you into USC. This is a get rich slow scheme. And if you are willing to put in the work it takes, it is the most certain way to continuously reach beyond your previous best.

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Blake and photographer Lucian McAfee. See if you can figure out which one is the 23-year old Olympian.

My Business

I launched my advertising and idea agency, The Weaponry, in 2016. I bootstrapped the business, which is an Arkansas-sounding way of saying the business was self-funded. We have not grown by adding one giant account. Our growth has come by steadily accumulating great clients, and steadily growing our businesses together.

I was looking at numbers related to The Weaponry’s revenue yesterday when I noticed something interesting. At just 2.5 months into 2019 we have already generated more revenue this year than we did in our entire first year. Yet we haven’t acquired an Amazonian client. We didn’t go Uber-style and quadruple our pricing due to heavy rain and an umbrella plague. We have simply accumulated 17 active clients. And they all matter to our success.

The Blog

I also started writing The Perfect Agency Project blog when I launched The Weaponry. My goal was to tell the story of my entrepreneurial journey. I wanted to share my experiences and challenges, so that others could benefit from my learnings.

Coincidentally, I noticed an interesting statistic about this blog yesterday too.  As of March 20th, in 2019 I have already surpassed the total number of visitors and viewers I had in all of 2016.

Perhaps the blog is getting better too. Because my posts have already generated 14 times (14X) more likes than the entire first year. (And by likes I mean signs of social appreciation from readers. Not likes written into the body of my posts, because I write like a 16-year-old, like, kid from Likesylvania.)

The Reward

The business and blog growth are both very rewarding. Especially because they are growing too slowly to notice on a daily basis. But when I look at the year-over-year data, the results are clear.

Key Takeaway

Just keep swimming. Keep doing what you know you need to do to get better. Whether it is swimming, writing, growing a business, studying or any other pursuit worth pursuing. The progress might never be obvious, or dramatic. But keep at it anyway. Because if you do, eventually you will turn around and notice just how far you have come. It is the cumulative progress that matters. Not the speed. Not the attention. Just the results.