PREVIEW WITH RUTH STRICKER
Pulse : As an entrepreneur and co-founder of values-based communication firm , Free Range Studios , what has been the most important lesson you ’ ve learned about running your own business ? Louis Fox : I ’ ve learned the importance of working on things you truly believe in . Knowing that you have left the world a better place and that you have integrity is more rewarding than working on something you don ’ t feel good about , but pays well .
P : What was the motivation that led you and your firm to focus on social cause marketing versus other types of marketing ? F : Aside from being extremely rewarding , working on social cause marketing is a stimulating challenge . Projects that really need the exposure require one to jump through several extra hoops . You often have to break though psychological blinders that people have adopted in order to avoid difficult issues . I love the challenge and the thrill of sometimes breaking through and changing the way people see and act in the world .
P : What ’ s the one habit you are trying to develop in order to help recharge your creative energy ? F : The simplest habit is to get enough sleep . Unfortunately , I still haven ’ t fully developed this habit yet . I struggle with shutting down at night and end up not always at my full creative potential during the day — but I ’ m working on it .
P : In the past few years , what has been some of the gamechanging innovations you ’ ve seen in the field of marketing ? F : I can ’ t really say . “ Empowerment Marketing ” was a term coined by my co-founder at Free Range , Jonah Sachs , which refers to the practice of placing the customer in the role of “ hero ”, and making the brand the “ mentor ”, instead of the the brand the hero .
Pulse : What prompted you to help fund Louis Fox ’ s latest film ? Ruth Stricker : Last October , Taoist master Chungliang Al Huang asked if I would critique a film that Louis Fox was working on . After viewing a three-minute trailer , I was in awe and knew that his work and message must be known globally . After many conversations and the discovery that both of us are very interested in “ Relational Reality ”, I decided to help with funding the production of his film , The Flow .
P : Why should ISPA Conference attendees attend Ruth Stricker ’ s Wise Voices and listen to Louis Fox ? S : We need to hit pause to our busy agendas as well as view and experience a poetic , lyrical and subtle yet profound film of being in “ the flow .” The film suggests that we may simply need to look at things in a different way ; that when we are able to “ lose ourselves ” and dwell in the present , we can find flow in anything . This message is conveyed with a constant stream of images from pro athlete superstars , scenes of making tea , and the migration of Monarch butterflies , to the everyday world of bike messengers , window-washers and graffiti artists . Louis Fox is sharing a gift with us [ by giving us a sneak peek of visual clips from the film ]. It is a wonderful way to kick off this year ’ s ISPA Conference & Expo !
P : How do you keep the creative spark and inspire your team to always innovate ? F : I find that it helps to be inspired yourself , and not just about aesthetics or the creative task at hand , but about things that really matter , such as the context in which all of us exist , what the world could be , imagining the big , best-case scenarios .
Go with the flow and join LOUIS FOX at this year ’ s
Ruth Stricker ’ s Wise Voices Monday , Sept . 12 4:30 – 6 pm
July 2016 ■ PULSE 51