By Published On: November 30, 2018

Most agencies have a tendency to follow the mantra “Work Hard, Play Hard.” And we are no different. We hunker down and work hard every day to meet the challenges and deadlines that come with taking on marketing projects for our clients.

What does make us different, though, is that we’re not an agency full of bearded, skinny-jeans-wearing hipsters. We’ve got a few of those, but we’re mostly a group with varied ages, personalities, and experience levels.

That’s why we produce great work together—some of us think strategically and offer up ideas based on facts and research; some of us think creatively and find ways to put those ideas into action; and some of us think linearly so that action can be executed in a meaningful and timely manner.

All that comes naturally to us, but it still requires a lot of brainpower. So at the end of some of days (okay, a lot of days), some of us (okay, a lot of us) like to unwind together with an adult beverage. While unwinding, we sometimes talk about work, but many times we don’t. I couldn’t really tell what we do talk about, but that’s not the point.

The point is, after spending 8 hours together you’d think we’d all want to high-tail it home to our “other” lives the moment the 5 o’clock whistle blows. Why then, do so many of us, with so many different personalities, like to hang out together after work?

I think it’s precisely because of our differences. Even though we might not agree on certain subjects or don’t always understand a person’s life choices, we all respect each other enough to share some of our free time together and laugh at the less serious side of life.

Maybe that’s why we’re a good marketing team and good friends. We are open-minded, curious people and we all come to the conference table (and the bar stool) with different perspectives. Cheers to us!

About the Author: Danette Knickmeier

Danette Knickmeier
The number of hats Danette wears at the agency rivals the number of toppings you can put on a pizza. Now seven years into her second residency at cat&tonic, she enjoys putting her many talents to use, including (but not limited to) account services, project management, strategic planning, copy and content writing, general operations, and snack ordering. Her wicked planning skills and natural ability to keep projects on task—without annoying all parties involved—make her our go-to, get-it-done person. Danette’s first stint at [c&t] lasted six years before she got the itch to try on a few larger agencies for size. She grew professionally and made several life-long friends in those days, but she missed the small agency vibe and was eagerly welcomed back by her life-long [c&t] friends.
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