Can, “just because,” be an acceptable explanation?

Have you ever gotten swept away in something? Like, truly and uncontrollably swept away? The kind of swept away where you can recall seeing [whatever the metaphoric shoreline was] coasting farther and farther away into the horizon; only to lose sight of it completely? I feel like love and passion are the only two things that do this to us: They come into our lives, unannounced / unexpected / (sometimes unwelcomed!), and the next thing you know we’re a victim to their ebb and flow.

And, when they meet? A perfect storm.

That was the case, for me, two years ago when I walked out of my in-house role and took my nearly decade long freelance career and turned it into a new age creative agency. I used the connections I had built over the past eight years or so and built a remote team of creative professionals; working together towards a common goal. (To keep thriving.) Collectively, we took aim at building and perpetuating the success of brands within the entertainment, fashion, and luxury lifestyle industries. It’s that “new age” approach that I accredit to our tremendous success; it has served us all very well.

Long story short: Most of the tasks that fell on my plate in the early days were hyper-focused on public relations, and I was happy to make those my priority, in the beginning. True, I had eventually been swept away in “the pink cloud” of a new endeavor and — with very little time to plan and strtaegize for myself, in the traditional sense — I developed a level of comfort (about a year in) in the fact that the tide may never change and PR may very well come to be my sole focus.

A lapse in judgement I’d say.

The truth is, Public Relations makes up only about an eighth of what my team and I actually do. And, it’s only been a billable service of mine for the last five years or so. My portfolio of services range from brand development to strategic communications, social media content and advertising management, and yes, traditional PR – media placement, event planning, and community engagement, among a bunch of other “stuff” in-between.

My point is: Over time I have come to realize it makes very little sense to have “Public Relations” hold such valuable real estate in the business title; it’s confusing and slightly detouring. That said, as of this past weekend, the formal title of the organization is now Eric Michael Creative Studio. Yet, my mission, focus, commitment to service, and my core values all remain the same.

After all, a rose by any other name still smells as sweet.

I look forward to serving under this new identifier in an even more transparent way; with the same signature “freelance approach” we’ve all come to appreciate, so much. Please note though that this new identity has impacted the website, mail servers, and social media channels. Professional activity is now streamlined through EricMichaelCreative.com and the appropriate email address for professional correspondence is eric {at} ericmichaelcreative.com {dot} com or @EricMichaelCS across social. (Data, email, calendars, etc. have all been transferred; there is no need to re-copy me on past notes/invites.)

Thanks for your patience and understanding as both my practice and I continue to evolve.

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