Tag Archives: CM culture
Dear Wonderful People Of Earth,
Earlier this Autumn, our beloved Santa Claus dared to dream the impossible dream.
He dreamt that this Holiday Season, instead of building toys in the Workshop, we Elves would spend our time out in the Big Wide World, spreading Festive Cheer and Holiday Magic.
To make his dream a reality, Santa teamed up with his new digital AOR, Critical Mass, to make your Holiday Wish experience a completely online one.
You see, it goes like this:
You can share your wish at criticalmass.com
Tweet your wish to @criticalmass
Or tell us your wish on Facebook
Critical Mass will take it from there.
While Santa’s sprightly Elves are off galavanting across the globe spreading Holiday Warmth, Critical Mass’s remarkable new MakerBot machines will be building, as though by magic, the Holiday Wishes of many of our dearest friends. In short, Santa’s on the digital bandwagon, making Christmas more cheerful and efficient than ever before. Read More
1. What is your role at CM? How do you spend your days?
I’m an Account Manager on the Nissan USA account based in Nashville. I spend my days equally divided as a quarterback, cheerleader, referee, defensive line and offensive tackle. I’m never on the sidelines. (Sorry for the sports analogy).
2. What is the greatest thing about CM culture?
I think the greatest thing is you’re really able to chart your own career path. If there’s something that interests you, I’ve found management is pretty open. You can go to them with an idea and they’ll say, “Ok, make it happen.”
3. What drives you? What are you inspired by?
I’m driven by passionate people. People who zig when others are zagging. I love it when people share my philosophy of “it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission…”
4. What was your greatest accomplishment of the past year?
1. What is your role at CM?
I am a Front End Developer on the Infiniti account in our Toronto office. On a day-to-day basis we are either expanding the current system to accommodate all the nifty things the clients want or fixing bugs (doh).
2. What drives you? What are you inspired by?
I love programming. It’s as simple as that. Being able to tweak a tiny little line of code and instantaneously see the results that it brings to the screen is inebriating. Programming is a delicate mix of science and art, requiring perseverance and creative thinking to be successful. Being a programmer is a constant strive to optimize, refactor and make the solution perfect. The thirst for perfection drives me.
3. What are your passions/interests outside the workplace?
My interests outside of work all mostly have something to do with music. I play in bands, play solo, produce music, whatever I have time for. Other than that, I just love spending time with my cats, my family, my girlfriend and my friends. You know.. the usual!
4. What is the greatest thing about CM culture?
People talk to each other. At a lot of other places people will bang their heads against the wall trying to find a solution to a problem, instead of simply walking over to their coworkers and asking their opinion. At CM, no one is afraid to ask a question and everyone is willing to lend a hand.
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Allow me to introduce you all to Tim Schavitz, our CMVP of the Year for 2010. 
Tim has been with CM for almost 5 years. He was one of our first creatives in the Chicago office- he tells us he works on our Nissan Commercial Vehicles Account, “Talking about cargo vans doesn’t sound like the sexiest gig for a creative, but Nissan has a great story to tell. They’ve taken a good amount of time and research to challenge a stagnant, domestic-dominated market in the US. Our team has had the chance to bring that story of innovation to life for their flagship van, the NV lineup, as well as creating the visual style for this new brand”.
Very cool Tim but really we just want to know about the debauchery on the annual CMVP trip to Vegas…
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“We are our work.” As a creative agency, Critical Mass has always believed that we are ultimately judged by the caliber of our work. It’s not just about delivering extraordinary for our clients, but also for the standard that we set for ourselves.
The CMMYs is Critical Mass’ annual awards competition, honoring the best of the best work from each year. Winners are selected by a jury of executives and peers, and the honors are bestowed during a company-wide party that spans our offices in Calgary, Toronto, Chicago and London.
We’re proud to share this year’s CMMY 2011 Winners:
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Enjoy this month’s Employee Spotlight with Steve Habbi from our Calgary office.
1. What is your role at CM? How do you spend your days?
As as Senior Planner on the Nissan USA account I spend my days thinking about video games, race cars, tuners and the occasional mini van…I am being serious. I try to think like the consumer and create experiences that I wish were served up to me. I ground my insights on solid research foundations and rigorous debate with creative and tech folks (and sometimes clients). I also apply common sense to planning and ask “So What?” as often as possible. I believe our job is to create value for our clients and therefore consumers, so if ideas don’t pass the “So What?” and common sense test it’ll probably get cut.
2. What is the greatest thing about CM culture?
CM culture is refreshing and invigorating. I truly mean that. Having worked as a freelancer before coming here, my day-time social life was a bit lacking. I often describe CM as being much like life at university; that being a casual place where ambitious and intelligent people gather to work hard, create, collaborate, have a good laugh then head over to the pub.
3. What drives you? What are you inspired by?
I’m driven to do the best work I can. I try to make a big impression and hope to be sought out to work on even better and more exciting projects. Life just isn’t that exciting when I’m not challenged and can’t see the bigger opportunity up ahead. Fortunately, CM provides that environment and I try to take full advantage.
