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