Maddie Gray
Content Lead
Working from Home: How the Targa Team Takes Care of Business Remotely
Working from home looks different for everyone. Different distractions, different setups, and frankly, different productivity levels. At Targa Media, working from home has always been one of our default settings. We love collaborating in the office and bouncing ideas off of one another, but we usually set aside a day or two to work remotely. In other words, we were really lucky heading into this quarantine, because we already had experience working from home.
Now we could offer you tips and tricks to make working from home more productive, but since everyone’s environment is completely different—some people have pets, some have children, some have a designated office space, some don’t. So instead, we’ll offer a window into our work from home spaces. Maybe you’ll gain a little insight, or maybe you’ll just satisfy a little curiosity you didn’t know you had.
Jason, CEO
As a lifelong musician, it seems fitting that I’ve set up my work-from-home shop in the piano room. Until we finish the basement, it’s really the best option. Our family moved in just a few weeks before the COVID-19 quarantine, and for the most part we’re unpacked from the move. The thing is, as furnishings find their way to the piano room, my home-office real estate is quickly diminishing. So here I am, at my stand-up desk (no room to sit down), loving my Logitech Webcam and Macbook Pro, taunted by the Young Chang grand piano daring me to take a music break to accompany my constantly-singing 17-year-old daughter (Theater major.) Fortunately, there’s room to sit at the piano.
Taleen, Project Manager
I have turned one of our home’s extra rooms into my work haven. I live with a day-sleeper which comes with its own set of challenges. I wear headphones most of the day, so I don’t disturb him while I take meetings, listen to music, or tune in for my favorite spooky podcast, Lore. Surrounding my desk are things that make me happy: my lava lamp, my Mackie speakers (once the day-sleeper is awake things get LOUD around here,) old ticket stubs for events I never want to forget, and pictures from all the theatre productions I have been a part of over the years. My two miniature dachshunds (Otis and Ginger) have a bed under my desk and are always close by. They help remind me when it’s time to take breaks. They love to get snacks from the kitchen or take a lap around the house to stretch our legs.
Maddie, Copywriter
I’m lucky enough to have a home office with four walls and a door. I’ve loaded it up with Harry Potter merchandise, concert memorabilia, and other geekery. It’s one of my happy places. My puppy (who is actually a full-grown dog at this point,) Xena, lays under my desk—often on top of my feet—all day. She is the true winner of this work-from-home situation. I don’t know how she’ll cope when all this is over.
I need background music at all times when I’m working. At home, that means rewatching TV shows I’ve seen a million times (currently Monk,) listening to true crime podcasts, or playing Airborne Toxic Event’s new album on repeat.
Oh. And I definitely wear pajamas. ALL. DAY.
Rachel, Art Director
My apartment is in a busy neighborhood downtown, and my significant other works odd hours, so my WFH approach attempts to keep distractions at a minimum. Luckily, we have a spare room that is my dedicated office space. I keep it pretty sparse since it also serves as my home gym, laundry room, and auxiliary closet. Typical apartment dwelling! With my desk next to a huge west-facing window, I have a lot of natural light and a view over the city. That goes a long way to keeping me sane and focused. Music helps drown out most of the city and boyfriend noise, but when that isn’t enough, I can take my laptop, earbuds, and wireless mouse to one of the nearby cafes. Of course, that would mean I’d have to get dressed, which is not in the cards on most work-from-home days.
Even within our small team, work from home conditions are very different. What has working from home been like for you? Do you dread the day you have to go back to the office, or are you chomping at the bit to get back to that familiar cubicle?
Whatever the case may be, we wish you the smoothest quarantine possible. Let us know if you need any help with marketing, or if you have any work-from-home tips to share.
Jason’s Take
If you’re in the marketing space, you’re seeing how many of the familiar marketing rules are up in the air right now. I’ve been asked if I think marketing is “on hold” during worldwide quarantine. I feel the best approach is “re-toned marketing” rather than “revised marketing.” Fortunately all the same rules apply, but the circumstances for many of your clients are much different now. So the order of the rules are a bit shuffled. I’ll have more to say on this in a follow-on post, but I feel it’s a good time to go back to marketing basics.
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and ask the important questions, “Where are my customers looking for valuable, non-biased information?” Or, “Where do my customers draw the line between empathetic messaging and exploitative messaging?” It’s eerily a fine line right now. How do you say, “Hey, we’re still here for you during these difficult times” without actually saying those thoroughly exhausted words? Most of all, think of your fine-tuned marketing messages as a “lane change” rather than an “offramp.” Be true to core brand values, and your customers will be true to you.