My 2015 in review ... Part 1 of 2
For the last six years, I’ve found it rewarding to reflect on the past year as it ends (read: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009). It’s fascinating how much happens in a single year, and looking back in this manner for the 7th year now has proven to be one of the most fascinating yet. It was a big year ... most interestingly, for me personally; Typically my life and the events in it all revolve around work, but with a new addition to my family, among other things, I have a lot to note about those few hours a day outside of Carrot too. :)
A lot happened this year ... so I have broken it up into two separate posts. This one is about the professional side of my life. So, lets get started!
2015 Professional
We are now an army of 140-ish people in two offices: our flagship in Brooklyn, and the late 2015 launch of Venice Beach (L.A.) with a largely Creative, Design and Strategy staff.
Culture ...
A big theme for me this year was culture. Carrot’s culture has always been the lifeblood of the company ... before great clients, office perks, competitive pay, all we had was raw talent and ambition to make the most of, a concern for the welfare of everyone at Carrot (by everyone), and a love for exploration of technology and creative uses of it. I am so proud that our culture is still very strong at our current size, having survived and thrived past the 2013 sale to VICE Media, rapid growth, and increasingly higher stakes with massive opportunities for Carrot everyday. It was important for me personally to meet and get to know every new person who has passed our very scrutinizing round of interviews and who in return deemed Carrot worthy of their time and talent. That isn’t easy with multiple people starting nearly every week ... but I made it happen over coffee, 30 minute chats in our exec office or the apparent 73 lunches at my favorite spot in DUMBO. Every single person I talked to has a different story, a different path to Carrot, but all are here for the right reasons: to give and receive from Carrot, the very best to be had for their ambitions and talents. I believe it is necessary for incoming staff ... interns to directors ... to know what it is important about Carrot beyond the work: our ideals, our “Why.” I also want to see what makes them unique and different, and not just another number in our scaling army. I need to care about them as individuals, for me to continue to care about Carrot. Among every other reason we founded Carrot, the family environment and respect for those in it, was always an important element to us as humans. I want to know the names of people I pass in the kitchen or sit down for a meeting with. And, I want to be accessible to them. As much of a disaster as my schedule tends to be, and as difficult I may be to get ahold of at times (kudos to Brittany for somehow managing that ... she is a wonderful woman crafted by the finest Gods themselves), in theory anyone can pull me aside and talk about whatever: a concern, questions or just to talk Star Wars. I need to care, and because I get to know everyone even just a little bit ... I still do. Maybe too much, according to some ... but I don’t think so :) We still have something special. You can go anywhere with talent these days, and find competitive pay and cool clients ... but what makes Carrot -Carrot is everything else. The stuff you can’t throw money at ... the intangible mood, spirit and reason for it all.
Speaking of People ...
Historically, Carrot has not been big on awards. A lot of the industry stuff is bullshit ... but in fairness, it’s something tangible to put on a resume and stand out. It’s particularly important to a creative team, which has grown and matured immensely this year. I get it, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it :) That said, there are two awards this year that I am really proud of so I’ll mention them at least: 2015 Crain’s Best Places to Work and a Webby Award for our work with the #SaveElephants campaign for The Nature Conservancy. The former is amazing because it’s our second year in a row winning this award which is determined directly by our staff and their opinions of Carrot. It isn’t something you buy or politic for, or need a lot of press to earn ... just the honest feedback from the people at the company saying Carrot is better than everyone else, which they did. We are in the top 50 places to work in NYC across all industries, but importantly, we are #1 for Advertising /Marketing /PR Agency workplaces with 100+ employees! I am so proud, and humbled. The Webby award is also great because it was for a fantastic initiative, it was voted for by the public, and it was a project that I was heavily involved in and directed the Strategy, Creative, Design and UX of.
In other Client news ...
We did a lot of cool stuff last year, but this year definitely was a big step forward for Carrot. Our Creative team grew immensely this year, right off the bat in response to a number of Unilever brand wins at the end of last year and continuing with an ever-increasing demand as the year unfolded. We launched the incredible Rickstaverse, a very clever hack and gamification of Instagram (the first of it’s kind, but quickly copied) for Adult Swim’s Ricky & Morty as it premiered its second season. We worked very, very closely with Rolex (a client of 3 years now) to bring their brand to the visual storytelling world of Instagram, a massive undertaking for a 100-year old company who is meticulous in consideration of every word spoken and every pixel shared. We relaunched Malala.org with The Malala Foundation, ahead of the release of an amazing film about her that premiered in October. What an honor to be apart of a movement like education for girls worldwide, lead by such an incredible human being. We got to work with the New York Yankees as their digital agency, covering everything from social strategy to ticket design for the 2016 season ... a massive point of pride for Mike, whose family are die-hard and life long fans ... and an incredibly fun and exciting opportunity for me as fan of experiential brands: we basically got to work with the best, and look forward to more in 2016! We also worked hard with Target to make their sponsored Imagine Dragons performance at the Grammys a massive WIN. We won and oversaw various digital work for Ferrari USA, Suave, AB-InBev, and others. There was work featured at Cannes and work showcased as “best use” by platforms like Facebook in demonstrations to other brands. We were thrilled to announce that we partnered with Jaunt to launch a VR department, and I got to field-test 360 degree video capture with our team. At this point there is more work happening and great success that I have absolutely nothing to do with than I can even keep track of, so apologies to anyone reading this who doesn’t see it acknowledged, but thank you and kudos! We ended the year with a big win we have not yet announced, and another announced by the clients themselves: Chipotle!
The office ...
We expanded from the entire 11th floor of 45 Main st, to reclaim our former 12th floor space (with a sweet entrance mural) and built a formal studio space on the 4th floor as well. The deck parties this year rocked, and we had not one, but two deck sessions with artist performances in addition to a slew of BBQs and events from Spring to Fall. We did beer tastings, celebrated “Respect Canada Day” with Tim Hortons, and a stormtrooper appeared to collect mugs from the 12th floor, where the vagrants working there were hoarding them. We did pumpkin carving and Carrot Halloween was a hit as usual, with everyone stepping up their game for creative, timely or just awesome costumes. I went in my Boba Fett costume (more on that in the next post), but could not intimidate my fearless God-daughter, Sloane Germano. We hosted the best Carrotsgiving so far in the office, as is tradition. We Secret Santa’d each other and also played Santa to some city kids in need of a little Holiday love. I also took a deep breath and let go of a few boxes of Star Wars collectibles (mostly toys) in donation to children this Holiday Season. We did, however, obtain one of those liability fire hazard fun-time things. We are currently working on a deal for a massive space in DUMBO for our next expansion, one we have always lusted for, with the intention to sign ASAP in the new year. From there we will continue to grow and thrive :)
Other things of note ...
We enjoyed a private wine tasting at Rooftop Reds in the Navy Yards, a box suite at Yankee Stadium, and ended the year with an amazing Holiday party at Royal Palms in Brooklyn. Check out our Carrot might! We also re-launched our hiring page this year (yes, we are hiring) ... and if you have ever had trouble explaining to your friends and family what you do in our industry, as we often do (my mother still doesn’t know what I do), check out the children’s book we produced to help: http://carrot.is/acircus .
Oh, and TEN YEARS OF CARROT!
We celebrated our first day of existence 10 years ago (or in Carrot terms, Carrotversary) in June ... but the real party was at the end of the summer. Mike and I have always dreamt of a company camping trip, and we more or less got our wish this summer. Everyone at Carrot was invited to “Carrot Camp” for a couple of days of glamping and celebration. Before we left, we were presented with this incredible video by the staff, and watched it with the entire company surrounding us. The Carrot logo of everyone’s word to describe Carrot now hangs proudly in the office. Anyway: Camp! It was an amazing time, all agreed, and a fantastic way for some of the newer Carrots to make an impression. I am proud to rub in Mike’s face that my green team, not hand-picked like some peoples’ teams ;) ... and also comprised largely of new people ... won the kickball championship! There were water sports, amazing sunsets, the annual awarding of the Carrot Cup (this year’s winner, the very deserving Bridget Brennan), and two nights of very popular Carrot Karaoke (Mike and I sung Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and Sinatra’s “My Way” - very special songs for us), as well as a very weird and amazing talent show. Check out a highlights video here.
Finally, Star Wars.
Carrot has been a close reflection of, among everything else, the passions of the people that populate it... particularly Mike and I. If you’ve met me (or, even if you haven’t) there is a good chance you know I am a life-long Star Wars fanatic. More than that, it has provided a base of inspiration for me and my work ... from a shy kid who moved in high school and freelanced with self-taught skills over the web, to starting to build what is now an incredible company from the aspirations of a remote desert planet basement startup ... Star Wars has always been a major spark for the imagination responsible for much of Carrot’s uniqueness and, by extension, success. Whatever we have been labeled throughout the years, whatever work we did, it was always fueled by passion for where technology and storytelling overlap, and the possibilities of it. That is exactly what Star Wars has always been, and so naturally it powered our imaginations over the many years. So, when they first announced The Force Awakens’ release date, I knew we had to do something for it. I was already losing sleep (seriously) over the idea of fighting the several million people in NYC for opening night tickets, and risking spoilers, etc. So, we did something very Carrot: 6 months before the film’s release and 4 months before public on-sale of tickets, we approached AMC and obtained two theaters for private simultaneous private screenings on Dec 17th, the day before public release (Dec 18), at a special 7pm showing. Everyone at Carrot was invited with a plus one, and it proved to be one of the most amazing things we have done together as a company, and one of the best memories I have in my 32 trips around the sun so far. Words cannot describe how incredible it was ... but it was very, very special ... from seeing everyone decked out in Star Wars shirts and costumes that day at the office, to walking in with VIP passes, to walking out after past lines around the block that we didn’t have to wait in. We even saved a few seats to meet potential clients and recruits and launched a site to collect submissions, and got some press for it. It made me cry reading it, but Mike’s Facebook post summed up the experience perfectly for me. I am so grateful that we have a place like Carrot where people who haven’t even seen the original films (those closeted few ...) can have the time of their lives and really share in the enjoyment. The notes I received after from Carrots, clients and family made my heart soar with pride. I am so, so thrilled. Thank you to everyone who attended!
In addition to Carrot ...
Since we designed the branding and (first) website for Her Universe 5 years ago, I have stayed in touch with and continued various consultive roles with founder Ashley Eckstein (of notable Star Wars fame). This year, I had the opportunity to design a fun shirt for Ashley’s cupcake booth at Star Wars Celebration and also the branding for her latest effort, Her Universe Press. There was also another branding project which I really hope sees the light of day ... We are also on the verge of another investment for Fornino Pizza, the amazing and delicious pizza place we invested in a few years ago and have been enjoying the wonderful benefits of since. Because the deal is still being closed, I’ll have to save the details for next year’s wrap-up :) I was honored, and thrilled, to be featured in the RIT Alumni magazine this summer/fall. The feature on me and Carrot was the cover story! That was pretty epic :D
Moving forward ...
With the birth of my daughter (more on that in part 2) and the perspective that has granted me, I plan to re-structure my work right off the bat in 2016 and refocus my attention a bit. Aside from clients like Rolex, Yankees, and our VR initiatives, a good portion of my time will be (re)dedicated to the Carrot brand for some love and due attention. Websites to collateral, employee experience to internal communications ... as we re-invest in what has made Carrot great for so long, I am excited to play a large role there in addition to overseeing the Design and UX teams. The addition of Len to the team is a very exciting start, and we are already seeing dividends from his efforts. It’s a great time to be a Carrot, and I am very excited for my own re-invigorated involvement. 2016 will be a very big year for us!
Part 2: Personal reflection of 2015 ... here!
