Strands of Genius: #CopywritersUnite #CopywritersUnite Nights, #CopySafari
Guest Curated by Vikki Ross
This year we’re aiming to highlight 50 creative thinkers that have inspired us, by giving them the opportunity to guest curate this newsletter, Strands of Genius. Rosie and Faris met Vikki while speaking at ZEE MELT last year in Mumbai!
:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, VIKKI ROSS ::
LOCATION: London, UK
PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Copywriter
I'm a Copywriter. I specialise in Branding and Tone of Voice and I travel the world advising brands how to write and talk. I met Rosie and Faris in a bar on the roof of a hotel in Mumbai - we were all in town to speak at ZEE MELT in May 2019.
Editor’s Note (Faris): Vikki is a force of nature, champion of the power and sanctity of words, head warden of the Copy Safari and uniter of copywriters worldwide, and a lovely person, helpful and supportive [with an appropriately critical eye] on Twitter and IRL, we had a great time at the epic gathering that was ZEE MELT, and I can’t wait to go on safari once *gestures widely* this is all over.
Editor’s Note (Rosie): Copy Lover, reporting for duty, today and always! So thankful to have gotten to work with so many fantastic copywriters over the years, who are far superior with their word selection, and editing capabilities. (HA!) Excited for today’s edition, but also for you to discover Vikki on Twitter, so you can get to following her already :)
We goofed last week and sent out a link where the privacy settings hadn’t been adjusted. Oops! We blame #COVIDBrain ;)
If you’d like to join our first ever Out-of-Office Hours, let us know your availability and interest here: http://bit.ly/GS-OOOHR
(If we have enough interest, we’ll setup a few in the coming weeks.)
:: THE LINKS ::
#COPYWRITERSUNITE
In my experience, Copywriters often aren’t valued or respected. And some of us work alone either in an agency, for a client or freelance at home. So in 2012, I created the #copywritersunite hashtag on Twitter to tell Copywriters that we are many. And we can support, motivate and celebrate each other all day every day, all around the world. Now, thousands of people use the hashtag to connect, post and share jobs and advice, and find professional partners. (Twitter)
#COPYWRITERSUNITE NIGHTS
A couple of years after creating the #copywritersunite hashtag on Twitter – and off the back of its huge popularity – Copywriters wanted to meet. Like most Creatives, I was happy hiding behind my screen – the thought of social networking in real life terrified me and I put it off and off and off. Andy Maslen asked if he could organise the first #copywritersunite night in London and before you knew it, we had a date.
Five of us turned up.
But it was brilliant. We had so much in common and wanted to meet more like-minded people so I organised the next one a few months later and about 30 people turned up.
Now 40-60 people turn up to quarterly #copywritersunite nights in London, and fellow Copywriters host them in Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Bournemouth, Manchester, Leeds, Reading, Sheffield, Wales and Edinburgh. This year, we went global with nights in Lisbon, Berlin, Amsterdam and Sydney.
The nights are so popular that non-Copywriters come too. I call them Copy Lovers. And each night is a huge success – Copywriters find creative partners, mentors, employers or people to collaborate with.
Follow @copynights on Twitter to find a #copywritersunite night near you. And if there isn’t one, host one. Please host one. It’s easy to do – just pick a pub in a central location, reserve an area and let me know so I can spread the word.(Twitter)
#COPYSAFARI
We look at in-store promotions and consider who the brand is talking to and what their objective is, and we judge their creative execution. It’s one thing to review Copy at work, but it’s another to see it in situ.
The Twitter response has been amazing – I didn’t expect anyone to join in. In fact, it’s so popular that I add the odd #ArtandCopySafari in now and again, and take Dave Dye with me. And I take brands and agencies out with me, giving them a different way to learn how to communicate effectively with their audience. (LinkedIn)
:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::
:: Game :: Making words out of car number plates on road trips
:: City :: London. Then NYC, then Bangkok, then Singapore. What? I can't choose just one!
:: Book :: The Paris Wife by Paula McLain - it gave me a new hobby: consuming the lives of The Lost Generation. I have now read almost every biography, letter and diary by the Hemingways and Fitzgeralds. I have even visited Hemingway's house in Key West and Villa America in the South of France. Robyn Frost told me Zelda Fitzgerald's childhood Alabama home is now on AirBnB so that's next on my list.
:: Podcast :: Dave Dye's Stuff From The Loft
“Copywriting is a direct conversation with the consumer." - Shirley Polykoff
Vikki Ross
email: vikkirosswrites@mail.com
linkedin | twitter
Know someone who could use some inspiration in their inbox? Send ‘em our way!
It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)