eROI Days Email Agency

Kate Ertmann, Executive Producer and Owner of Portland-based animation agency, ADi, shared her Commencement Address with Jerry Ketel (owner of Leo Ketel + Partners) and me.  I was so inspired, I felt compelled to share it with you.  Here goes:

“Thank you very much, Cassandra, and I want to first say congratulations to the women and men who are graduating – after some long days and nights of hard work, your determination has shown through and propelled you to this day. I also want to say congratulations to the families and friends who have been a support system for you – be it monetarily or emotionally or whatever, I’m really glad to see all of you here today too. And I don’t want to leave out the faculty and staff at the Art Institute who were also certainly a part of making this day possible for everyone graduating today.

As Cassandra said when she introduced me, I am the owner of ADi, an animation company here in Portland. When I graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelors of Science in Radio / Television broadcasting, I had no plans at that time to be involved with animation, let alone own an animation company.

I grew up in television. My parents met at CBS in the 1950’s where my mom was a Producer and my dad was Director. I grew up in NY and from the ages of about 8yrs old till I was about 16, I had a pretty successful career as a child actor. I was in commercials, I was on All My Children, I was in a Broadway play.”

(more…)

Jerry Ketel, one of the principals at Leopold & Ketel, was the commencement speaker at the Art Institute of Portland last week and he blew me away. Unbelievably good - here’s a transcript below:

Jerry Ketel’s Keynote address:

Thank you, it is a pleasure to be addressing you, my fellow creative professionals. And thank you for the introduction, although I think I will read to you what the Willamette Week wrote last week about this address, and I quote:

“This graphic designer managed to graduate art school AND get a job. Now he has to convince everybody else there is a future for art majors.”

Well, I don’t have to convince everybody that the world needs art majors. I mean, have you been to Gresham? Or Beaverton? Or Detroit? The world needs some imagination, don’t you think?

I mean, look at us (directing attention to commencement faculty all dressed in cap and gown). Can’t we get some help from the fashion designers in the house?

We creative types have a whole world to change!

Willamette Week then suggested that someone who would be more qualified to address you would be servers, personal assistants or telemarketers, (you know, for an approximation of what art school will really be like.)

Well, believe it or not, a former waitperson and bartender IS addressing you today.

OK, I know, I’ve probably shattered your image of me as a demi-god, among the pantheon of artistic greats like the guy who invented paint splattered aprons. The truth is, I was simply the guy who outlasted the competition. My very first job as a creative professional, I was fired. In fact I was fired 3 times in my career as an art director.

(more…)

It’s Easter morning before the kids wake up and I wanted to quickly write this blog post. On Friday afternoon, I gave the Commencement Address to the graduating class of the Art Institute of Portland and I must admit that it was a phenomenal experience. I had attended their Portfolio Show just a couple hours before and was awestruck and inspired by their design talent, creativity, and diversity of design in web, apparel, gaming, interior design, print, advertising, and more. Everyone has heard about Portland being recognized for its “Creative Class”, but the Art Institute is at the center of it all. They teach their students to not only design well but present their designs with maturity and confidence. After the ceremony, I had drinks with many of the professors and administrators and was encouraged to see their passion to continually improve and draw inspiration from their students. I’m excited to see the future of the Portland creative community as more talent comes out of a growing Art Institute of Portland and more agency owners are collaborating on client work and community projects.

So here is my 15 minute speech (which is slightly more formal than when I presented it and had all the graduates stand and the audience of 350 people give a huge round of applause, high fives, etc for their milestone accomplishment):

“• I’m honored to be here. Thank you. I’m not a traditional choice for a Commencement Speaker of this esteemed college of insanely talented designers and professors. I am not a designer and do not have a design background.

• However, I am inspired by design, creativity, and innovation. Five and a half years ago, I started an interactive agency called eROI that is now 50 people strong. In just the past couple years, I’ve hired 7 of you - graduates of the Art Institute of Portland. And, I’ve got to be honest, you are some of the smartest, most talented creatives in the country, making folks from brand-name New York design schools pale in comparison. I’m even more convinced of this after visiting your Portfolio Show earlier today - wow, some great work there.

• Management guru, Peter Drucker, said that business has 2 functions: marketing and innovation. And, if you look at the market today, you’ll notice that companies like Apple, Google, and Nike are rewarded with huge premiums in their stock prices due to a sense of creativity and innovation through every element of their products and how they conduct business. From this, we know that design isn’t just about making pretty pictures, it’s about having a profoundly positive impact on the world.

more…”

(more…)