Join us in celebrating two of our favorite things: advertising and the holiday season. With this digital recipe book, we’ll give you festive cocktails you can craft at your family get-togethers. Plus, you’ll get a peek behind the orange curtain to see how this crazy thing we call advertising all comes together. It’s our way of saying we appreciate your business, and we hope you have a happy holiday season.
Monday morning. The sun rises slowly above the Mile High City as bright rays of light illuminate Heinrich’s home on 2228 Blake St. The Account team is already wide awake, doing a little finger yoga to prepare their digits for a day of banging out briefs. Give or take three espressos worth of caffeine (a modest amount) flows through their system as they navigate the nuances of their latest project.
Account Executives kick off our projects, so it’s only fitting that their drink help kickstart you too. It’s a simple recipe because when your job is to get everyone aligned, it’s better to be direct so things don’t get muddled. This cocktail takes a few ingredients and a little stirring to energize you and your tastebuds.
After a whole lot of keyboard tapping and probably another cup of coffee, the need-to-knows of the brief are done. Now, it’s the Strategist’s turn. They glue eyeballs to screen in search of strategic inspiration, leaving no pixel unturned. If you tossed a detective, a brain scientist and an excavator into a blender, you’d pour out a Strategist.
The goal, of course, is to come up with a communication strategy that’s simple, yet shakes things up. Much like their drink. It takes four ingredients (not including ice), gives ‘em a shake and pours out something new.
The brief is almost done. The strategy is developed. And Hispanidad is ready to help chart the course of our campaign. They’re masters of multicultural marketing who tap into professional and personal experience to see what resonates. When we need to speak (often literally) to culturally and ethnically diverse communities, Hispanidad is our go-to.
Authenticity is always the goal of advertising, but it’s even more important for under-represented audiences. That’s why this drink isn’t inspired by stereotypes (like, say, a Margarita). It’s based on an entirely different (yet popular) drink called a Paloma. But since Hispanidad always helps us switch things up, their drink comes with a pomegranate-flavored twist of its own.
Three steps down, one to go before the brief is complete. Members of the Digital team hit the internet in search of specs, but they don’t stop there. They’re also tirelessly mapping out digital journeys, honing in on each step to make sure it leads seamlessly to the next. After all, when it comes to user experiences and making a good cocktail, the details are what make the difference.
From strategists to digital producers and content writers, Digital is a team of all trades. Naturally, their drink has to follow suit with (almost) all the spirits you could ask for in a single drink. When you’re not sure what you want or you just want some of everything, follow best practices and make yourself a Digital Technologist.
This is the point in the story where everything comes together: it’s time to kickoff the Creatives. Everyone gathers together to talk specs, strategy and timelines before the Creatives start dreaming of their crazy ideas. When they meet up to brainstorm, you’ll hear the usual refrain of, “Ok, but what if we…” followed by a few childish giggles as they start taping their paper-bound dreams to a wall.
Creatives are the type of people who like to stir instead of shake to see if there’s a better way of doing things. Their job, after all, is to add some unexpected flair to every project, which is why their drink brings a little twist to an old classic. It’s a bold change that’s still on-brand because the Creative team wouldn’t have it any other way.
After the Creatives are done writing, designing and chortling, Media makes sure the work gets where it needs to go. They start by diving headfirst into their favorite search engine, investigating every corner of the web to learn how to inhabit the mind of whoever they’re trying to reach. Then they break out their chisels to carve out the best place for the work to live. A place that’ll reach a diverse group of people where they already are.
What the Media Buyer digs up is sometimes unexpected, but it’s backed by the facts. Their drink, similarly, is a little unconventional yet certified delicious. It combines gin—a British classic—with the tropical taste of coconut to create an experience that’ll make your tastebuds stop to take it all in. Just like when the audience sees one of our ads.
Now that the media mix is set, it’s time for the Creatives’ vision to come to life. Often, that means bringing it to the page (or something else non-digital), at which point our Print Producers answer the Team’s call. They tap into their well of knowledge to help guide the Creatives so their work is printed beautifully and on-budget. All while doing some research of their own to find the efficiencies.
As the bosses of embossing and the supervisors of CMYK, they know how to mix and match colors. So, of course, their drink couldn’t be clear or run-of-the-mill brown. Instead, it’s bright and colorful, like the printed pieces catching eyes from mailboxes every day.
The last step of the process is, unsurprisingly, pretty dang important. As the rest of the agency writes, researches and reviews, the Financial Accountants balance budgets and send off purchase orders. They keep the whole ship sailing so everyone else can keep their eyes on the horizon.
Financial Accountants are obsessed with getting the small details right, and their drink has to match. So don’t let the simple ingredient list fool you. Make sure you add ice and shake it long enough and add sugar to the rim to make it as smooth as your next status meeting.
Long before the Heinrich process got its start, Heinrich itself had to get started. This crafted cocktail celebrates the man behind the name. A man who saw a business need that wasn’t met and started a certain orange-branded agency to fill it. 44 years later, his legacy lives on through our work. And now, through this drink.
The George Heinrich tastes best after a hard day’s work. It features a smoky bourbon to give every sip a little bite. And it has strong hints of orange because, after a long day of bootstrap pulling and diving into details, you should get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. In both business and at the bar. George Heinrich sure did.
As the sun starts to set behind the blue silhouette of the Rockies, the people of Heinrich close their laptops with a soft tap. The brief has been written, the strategy found, ads created and placed and… well, you read what happened. Now, it’s time to enjoy a drink you can take anywhere and sip anytime.
Featuring club soda, lemon and some lavender syrup, this mocktail keeps things clear, just like we try to be every day. It’s the perfect complement to sitting back with a closed laptop, ready for the next project coming down the pipeline. Chances are, it’ll be one of yours. And we can’t wait to start the process all over again.
Before you close this book, we want to say thank you one more time. From our Account Executives to our Financial Accountants, we love what we do. We love that we do it for you. And we hope these recipes add a little extra warmth to your time with friends and family this season.
Your friends at Heinrich