Does sharing a workspace – or plopping down on a couch instead of at a desk – make you more creative?

I’ve pondered this since reading a Wall Street Journal article about companies shedding permanent offices and cubes in favor of more fluid arrangements – like communal tables and unassigned desks. As more employees start to work remotely and on flexible schedules, this is a smart, cost-cutting move. Still, some workers miss having a space to decorate and call their own.

When I worked in communications at a large nonprofit, I shared a cube with several teammates – a setup that naturally encouraged collaboration. Calling brainstorms is effortless when everyone can swivel their chairs around to face one another. We also had several couches nearby. Sometimes, the change of scenery from sitting there was enough to get creativity flowing. Earlier in my career, when I worked in a newsroom, I thrived on the buzz of the reporters and editors around me – with no boundaries except low, paper-thin cube walls.

At Costa DeVault, I have my own office, which offers privacy and freedom to focus intensely on projects. Our team gathers frequently for brainstorms – usually around someone’s desk or at one of the office conference tables.

There’s a certain camaraderie that comes from rubbing shoulders with co-workers. But it’s also easier to waste time chatting. And, depending on your personality, spending all day in close proximity to others may be anything but productive and fun.

To me, the issue of workspace setups boils down to the tension between creativity and focus, between constant interaction and interruption-free time. Our jobs demand both, and it’s tough to find a balance. Right now, I’m enjoying my little corner of the CD office. It’s starting to feel a lot like my second home.

Staff writer Mary enjoys spreading out odds and ends (including multiple coffee cups) on her desk without worrying about cube-mates thinking she’s messy.

I was super excited when I heard about The Pitch before it came out. I even put it on my calendar (I’m a type-A planner all the way). But life happened. Other DVR’d shows happened. (I’m looking at you, Mad Men). But last night, I finally got a chance to watch The Pitch.

Caution: Spoilers ahead.

To briefly summarize, episode three featured “The Clockwork Account” – where recently acquired Clockwork Home Services was looking to generate business while maintaining their three current brands. The two competing agencies, Houston-based FKM and Toronto-based The Hive, couldn’t be more different. Whereas FKM took an “all-hands-on-deck” approach, including a 24-hour sequester without cell phones and the ability to leave the building, The Hive used key personnel to formalize one idea.

Besides the obvious dissimilarities in the agencies, the show pin-pointed a dilemma that often arises in the world of advertising and public relations: Is it better to give a client what they want or to give them what we think they need? Often, the two concepts are completely different.

In this case, The Hive soft-pitched an idea the client specifically did not want during their “tissue session” four days prior to the final pitch. Clockwork Home Services quickly axed it, resulting in lost time and momentum for the agency. FKM followed the creative brief, came up with several ideas and narrowed it down to one. FKM’s CEO explained:

“[The pitch] should be about the brand, not us or our great ideas.”

This error on the part of The Hive might have cost them the account. Or it could have paid off. I’ve seen it happen both ways. They say that big risks garner big rewards …

What do you think?

In this week’s episode of AMC’s The Pitch, two agencies competed to work with Waste Management (WM). The mission was to educate consumers – specifically a younger demographic – about how they convert trash into energy. We’ve asked Costa DeVault employees to take turns sharing their thoughts on each episode. Up this week: Jenni.

Caution: Spoilers ahead.

SK+G’s “Trash Talk” ad blended traditional and new media perfectly. As soon as I saw it in action, I had a pretty good feeling that they’d win the account. It was clear that they honed in on WM’s goal of attracting a younger demographic by using new media. But, I was still rooting for The Ad Store. “Trash Can” was so simple (in retrospect, probably too simple) and clever (two WM executives commented on the immediate feeling it brought on). The guerrilla marketing photos (“What can power this apartment for three nights? Trash can.”) were smart and achieved WM’s goal of educating.

But there’s more to it than just ads. After seeing just two episodes, I’ve noticed a trend: The Pitch is about much more than winning accounts. The producers are also giving us a look at how agency life affects home life. In the first episode, we saw McKinney’s Liz Paradise balance motherhood and long hours. Last night, we witness the young son of SK+G’s Doug Hentges run outside crying after his father gets called back to the office (easily past 11 p.m. at this point). We also see a sensitive side of The Ad Store’s Paul Cappelli as he discusses his fear of failing.

Had this been a Hollywood movie, I think The Ad Store would’ve won the account. (Also, it’s worth noting that at the time of this blog post, 71 percent of voters on AMC.com think they should have.) In my opinion, they were introduced as somewhat of an underdog. Cappelli shared that if they didn’t get the WM account, that they would probably be closed in three months. (Luckily, the last scene of the episode says that they did land a major account three days after losing WM.) Aside from being the underdog, Cappelli talked a lot about passion – specifically saying, “You can’t teach passion. You have to hire it.” That, and an employee’s observation that The Ad Store was like a “big family,” stood in stark contrast to SK+G’s obvious tension and constant power struggle between the two creative directors. Did anyone else expect the WM executives to comment on the latter? Watching the presentation from my couch was uncomfortable; I couldn’t imagine being in the boardroom.

What was your overall feeling about The Pitch?

AMC’s newest reality TV show, “The Pitch,” follows ad agencies from around the country as they compete to win work from major clients. At Costa DeVault, we’ve been watching with rapt attention, and we plan to post our thoughts on the episodes. In the pilot, two agencies –McKinney and WDCW – pitch their concepts to Subway to increase awareness and sales of its breakfast sandwiches among the 18-24-year-old demographic. Of course, we know we didn’t see the full story – just an hour-long version of it – but here’s what fascinated us:

Creative culture at agencies differs widely. It’s eye-opening to see how other agencies operate. McKinney struck us as a place where you pay your dues before earning respect … and develop a thick skin until then. By contrast, WDCW seemed more nurturing of younger staffers and their ideas.

The 18-24 age range is critical. It’s telling that the first episode featured Subway hearing pitches from ad agencies in an attempt to capture the brand loyalties of this age group. Subway executives openly stated that locking in the preferences of young adults during their formative years would be essential to the new breakfast line’s success. We predict we’ll see a lot of companies targeting this demographic this season.

Great ideas come from all over. We liked the geographic diversity of the agencies featured – and seeing how regional sensibilities bring fresh ideas to the table. McKinney is headquartered in the college hub of Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, North Carolina, while WDCW hails from the urban, west coast settings of Seattle and Los Angeles. It would be interesting if future episodes showed an agency with international offices – or even one based overseas.

Proven results win the day. McKinney turned to YouTube for research and found winning inspiration in Mac Lethal, a Kansas City rapper known for his spots about pancakes and eggs. The fact that his video already had earned 23 million views bumped this concept to the top. If we were the ones spending millions of dollars on a campaign, we’d want to know it was going to be well-liked. The proven success behind this concept is a big part of why Subway execs bought the idea.

If we’ve made you curious about the show, you can catch it Mondays at 9 p.m. Or, if you watched it, what did you think?

Costa DeVault is proud to announce our latest awards:

• On the graphics side, we recently had an entry advance to the American Advertising Federation’s National ADDY competition. Out of 40,000 entries competing in 200 markets nationwide, only 1,500 make it to the final round.

• Additionally, our PR team brought home an Image Award, Award of Distinction and Judges’ Award from the Florida Public Relations Association Orlando chapter’s local Image Awards competition, which acknowledges outstanding achievement on public relations materials and campaigns.

Earlier this week, Procter & Gamble unveiled its new ad campaign, “Thank You, Mom,” which focuses on the mothers of Olympian athletes. But, you don’t have to be the mom of an athlete – or even a mom, at all – to enjoy the following ads they’ve posted on YouTube:

Maybe it was the lull between new episodes of Mad Men – but lately, the team at Costa DeVault has been on an industry documentary kick. Some of our favorites, in no particular order, include:

1. Art & Copy
2. Helvetica
3. The September Issue
4. Bill Cunningham New York
5. POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Are we missing your favorite? Let us know in the comments and we’ll add it to Costa DeVault’s NetFlix queue.

Is creativity an innate quality … like a sense of humor or 20/20 vision? Or is it a skill that can be sharpened? For Austin Kleon and Jonah Lehrer, the authors of two recent books on the subject, anyone can enhance their innovative thinking … simply by mixing it up.

Everyone will find inspiration in a different way, such as trying a new hobby or taking a break from the cubicle walls. And then there’s the trick of imitating the work of artists you admire.

In “Steal like an Artist,” Austin Kleon argues that all creative types attempt to copy the work of their heroes. And in doing so, they find their own style. He isn’t advocating plagiarism, rather the “collection” of creative elements that can be combined into something new.

The book is full of funny and inspirational quotes, included to help readers think outside the box about … well, thinking outside the box. I like this one by illustrator Jessica Hische: “The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.”

(However, I’d like to point out that there isn’t much money in trolling Piperlime for the perfect pair of black flip flops.)

Neuroscience writer Jonah Lehrer also explored the subject in a recent Wall Street Journal column and his new book, “Imagine: How Creativity Works.” To Lehrer, creativity is not the mystical, inherent power we often imagine it to be. It’s often the product of relaxing … whether with a hot shower, daydreaming or even a cold beer.

Lehrer points to studies that link relaxation and the brain’s ability to connect abstractedly related information. Anecdotes include the story of Steve Jobs orchestrating creative interaction among Pixar employees by insisting on a single, central location for the studios’ restrooms, as well as the breakthrough of Nike’s famed “Just Do It” slogan.

But Lehrer also concedes that creative problem solving is sometimes the result of grueling, caffeine-fueled work.

Or as Pablo Picasso put it, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.”

Costa DeVault staff writer Erin Heston is so devoted to creativity that she’s willing to borrow from the greats, shop online or even drink a cold beer … whatever it takes.

Photo credit: gwilmore

If you’re baffled by the jargon from the 2,300-page Dodd-Frank financial law or the Medicaid and Medicare reforms, don’t worry … so are federal judges. A recent Wall Street Journal article discussed how legal authorities across the country are lashing out against poorly written, “tortuous” legal texts. From sentences that take two paragraphs to reach the first period … to the overuse of footnotes … to content that requires a thesaurus word hunt, the judges criticize the incoherency of these documents.

Some legal experts say that we live in a complex world and this is just par for the course.  I agree, but there’s a difference between tackling difficult subject matter and abusing words to escape being understood.

Author William Zinsser of the book On Writing Well said that “clutter is the disease of American writing” and verbal camouflage is a national epidemic. Lawmakers and lobbyists should really read his stuff.

As public relations professionals, we strive for clarity in language to help clients benefit from clear messaging. But I don’t live in a bubble. I know that language is abused by many people (including some people in the PR industry).

One of my favorite quotes about language is by author and research fellow at MIT Sloan School’s Center for Digital Business Michael Schrage:

“Let’s never ever forget that language has evolved as much as a medium for ambiguity and misdirection as a vehicle for clarity and explicitness.”

I applaud these judges for standing up for our laws and our language. What’s your ruling?

Doreen Overstreet does not like to read the tax code and commends those who try.

“Um, you have something in your teeth.” If you’ve ever heard these words from a friend, you know the value of someone pointing out an embarrassing detail you overlooked.

The same is true of editing, a stage in the writing process that’s often ignored but always crucial — especially in today’s media environment, when we’re bombarded by thousands of messages every day. Losing your audience’s trust is as easy as making one mistake.

Even the most seasoned communicators realize the importance of editing. In response to a question about his work habits, advertising mastermind David Ogilvy wrote: “I am a lousy copywriter, but I am a good editor. So I go to work editing my own draft. After four or five editings, it looks good enough to show to the client.”

Reviewing your own writing with a critical eye is a good place to start. In a recent column for The Chronicle of Higher Education, writing professor Rachel Toor reveals a few tricks, such as typing in a different font, enlarging the text on her screen so mistakes jump out and proofing hard copies of her manuscripts. Reading your work aloud can help, too.

It’s also smart to have a colleague read your writing — not only to eliminate errors, but to help refine your message. Having a second set of eyes on your work can help you recognize when a point won’t register with your readers the way you want it to.

All of this can add up to a big difference when it comes to reaching your audience. IBM tested edited vs. unedited versions of web content, measuring how many clicks each version received. “The results were astonishing,” they concluded. “We got a 30 percent improvement on the desired call to action for the pages across the board.”

Now that’s the power of editing.

Having finished lunch a few minutes ago, staff writer Mary Tindall just checked for any errant sprigs of broccoli in her teeth.