byjasonromeyko

[byjasonromeyko]

#Notonmywatch

Yesterday in 1939, a misguided Germany struck my father's homeland of Poland with vicious premeditation. It sparked a war which threw my own family and countless others into turmoil, grief and death. My kin were lucky. They mostly survived with my Dad emigrating to Australia where he met my mother.

I write this not to dwell on the past but to beg for a future where this will not happen again. Deep down I know it is inevitable for violence to once more strike our planet in ways we have never seen before. That is why it is our collective job to fend it off for as long as we live. To do so we must listen, talk with others, calm down, teach, co-operate, hear better, negotiate and prepare generation after generation to stand together in life.

We will always have something to quarrel or be jealous about. However, every being on Earth shares the will to live. Survival is not a grey area. It is simply black or white. Life or Death.

A united Europe is the best and most ambitious peace plan in the history of the world. We must not give it up. Its success will serve as a lighthouse to others.  Haven't we already received an unforgettable warning about what failure looks like? We owe a duty to the near 80 million victims of the last six year continental battle. 

Our Union is like any normal relationship needing discussion, nurturing, concession and a bigger picture which does not revolve around money. Therefore, it is time to stop looking only to governments for solutions and for ourselves to become the answer. A strong Europe starts at home.

Please, please, please invest 15 minutes a week to inform yourself offline, outside your comfort zone.

Ask the lady at the supermarket check-out how her day is. Create an eye-level connection and window to her life.  Be open to similar approaches from others.

Don't blindly pass strangers asking for help. Interest yourself in how they found themselves into trouble. Transform them from being anonymous into human beings.

Try harder not to ignore those with brash voices. Not everyone can express where their pain is coming from. Though be prepared, pain is LOUD. Listen to why the educated gun-toting white woman makes incredulous to us decisions.

Involve children whenever you can so they learn good habits and are kinder, objective citizens.  They are the smartest investment in peace.

On both sides of my family I come from a long line of survivors. Reading the daily exploits from Poland, the United Kingdom, Hungary and Austria, I am determined it will not end with me. #Notonmywatch

[byjasonromeyko]

There Is Much To Celebrate!

2016 has been a very tough year for many families and friends. It has been filled with seemingly endless emotional, financial and unpredictable struggles. Many things I have read over the past months, coupled with lengthy conversations, remind me of how rock-bottom and trapped I felt in 2014 and 2015. By putting “key to screen” to touch on my past 365 days, I hope I can fuel your fight for better in the coming year (if you need it).

You see, in the two years leading up to this current one, I was living (not by own choice) in a city I despised. Apart from my incredible “soul-client” of Deutsche Telekom, I was also responsible for a group of brands which could suck the living joy out of any idea and any person. (Think Dementors and then think worse.) Outside of the office, I had not made a single friend in the 18 months in this new country and with my real mates all living somewhere else, I was just miserable and very alone.

 Yet looking back, I am grateful for this horrible predicament because the problem (and many others with it) festered like a big zit on my face until it grew so big I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

So I quit my job in the very beginning of January. At 23 years, it was the longest relationship I had ever had in my life so it wasn’t easy. But to change I needed to transform. Within one month I moved back to my beloved Vienna. This decision is more significant than you could imagine. In the hours I spent in solitude with my thoughts I realised that I had moved country over 20 times in my life but none of these relocations had been my idea. They were brought on by my parents or employer. This move “home” to Wien was all my decision. Just for me.

 Then suddenly the power was mine again and a roll of positive change began.

 I got to see all my friends often: for fun, when they needed me, when I needed them or when something significant was happening in our lives. Wherever in the world, I was suddenly available. Moreover, I got to make many new friends along the way.

 Despite the killer Europe-Australia distance, I became closer with my family than ever before. So much so, we have just celebrated our first-ever, unforgettable family Christmas in the snow.

 I cut my income in half, downsized my living arrangements and yet I want for nothing. On the contrary, my quality of life has got even higher.

 I visited Iran. It was one of the best experiences of my life and nourished my soul. By no longer travelling 200 days a year for work, I have re-discovered the joy of travel. Trains are now my preferred mode of transport as there is a lot to be said for a life in the slow lane.

 The move to Austria also came with a forethought acceptance that jobs at my level don’t exist. That simply shined the light on my path to expand my creativity onto different canvases like children’s books, novels, screenplays, urban hacking & more with the first results to hit shelves and streets over the coming months. These were all things I had always dreamt of doing and I am now living them. I have got into the habit of saying yes to things I have never done before.

 When the time was right and I already made strong headway on this new creativity “by Jason Romeyko”, the universe unexpectedly sent a new opportunity my way and for the past few months I have been collaborating with a generous new team of people in fresh circumstances across fun ideas.

 Looking back at 2016 I am grateful for all the family, old friends, new friends, colleagues, the strangers, creative awards, ideas, memories, laughter, food, champagne, wines, holidays, encouragement and luck it has brought my way.

 There are things like love and romance which have eluded me but you can’t have it all at once and at the same time, right? Besides, I have to have something to look forward to.  

 Don’t misunderstand me I did have my low moments here and there but I won’t let them spoil my memories of this year. They do not deserve a mention. They are simply part of the balance and are no-where near as painful as the years gone by.

 While my situation was and is unique to me, the principle of needing darkness to push you towards the light is universal.  

 If 2016 was tough for you, trust me, the sun is near.  Fact.  Although, you might need to get off your butt and look for it. For, like all good things it doesn’t simply “come to you”. You have to meet it.  It takes different forms like fresh sunlight, or rainbow colours refracting through an object reflecting on the floor or even sometimes as a patch of warmth on the wall. But wherever you are, believe it is trying to get to you.

 Don’t assume for a moment, I did this all on my own. I wouldn’t be in this place without my family, Bauer and friends. You know who you are and I thank you often in person. I listened, embraced and took a chance.

 So, knowing that there are some friends who (like I did) may need some help finding a brighter space I make this sincere offer: reach out to me and let me help you find it. If I don’t know the answer to something, chances are I know someone who does. (But you really really have to want it or it just won’t work.)

 So, on this last day of the year, despite being bedridden with fever, I share my gratitude for these past 12 months and raise my heart to you all wishing you a wonderful slide into 2017.

 There is much to celebrate! 

[byjasonromeyko]

It’s time to switch off and connect.

I live in a social media bubble driven by an algorithm which exposes me to only to the things I like, created by people who have the luxury of time to post. I read journalism from educated writers with rational arguments and compatible logic. I ignore angry tabloid screams spawned from pain and struggle of those outside my sphere because they sound crass and ineloquent.  While I carry strong empathy for my fellow man, my privileged concern doesn’t action food for people’s bellies nor offers a better night’s sleep.

 As I come to terms with this new President of the United States, I am forced to look at the entire world from the UK, Austria, Poland, France and beyond, and shake myself awake to a scenario where 50% of the people around me resent my life.  One in two people (or more) have the complete opposite point of view as I do. I need to remember that while they cannot bring me over to their way of thinking, I will never bring them around to mine.  

 As uncomfortable as it may be, I need share more, surrender more, change more and listen, listen and listen. This grief is happening for a reason.

 I need to get out of my digital village, switch off my feeds and walk through some real neighbourhoods. Wherever you are, I suggest you do the same.

[byjasonromeyko]

Another #ThrowbackThursday video from my archives. This time it’s a little known interview I did last year at the Golden Drums Festival. 

[byjasonromeyko]

With a flaming pink pop-up store on Rosa-Luxemburgstrasse 16 in Berlin, my "fabelhaft" friends Stephan @stephanschwarz & Hubertus @hubs launched a new variety of muesli called "Flamingo". Check it out before it closes on Saturday night! #jasonromeyko #mymuesli #myflamingo

[byjasonromeyko]

Together with my killer team and brave clients, I leave Cannes 2016 with 10 Lions and 5 more proud shortlists. I'm grateful, incredibly lucky and bloody tired. #jasonromeyko #saatchi #deutschetelekom #seaheroquest #gameforgood #theraflu #saatchiswiss #saatchiswiss #thankyoucreativity

[byjasonromeyko]

Another Lion joins the fold. This time Bronze for our contagious Theraflu Thermoscanner. Congrats to my guyz and gals in Poland & Switzerland. Great collaboration! #jasonromeyko #saatchiswiss #saatchipolska

[byjasonromeyko]

Grateful, proud and chuffed for another two Silver Lions and now a Gold Lion for Sea Hero Quest. Incredible Team + Brave Client= Outstanding Ideas. #jasonromeyko #deutschetelekom #saatchi #thankyoucreativity #gameforgood

[byjasonromeyko]

Today I did a presentation of Sea Hero Quest to the Innovation jury of Cannes Lions. Together we did a live gaming session with ten jurors who generated over 2 days of research data in 2 minutes. #jasonromeyko #saatchi #deutschetelekom #thankyoucreativity #gameforgood

[byjasonromeyko]

It's a privilege to be a returning juror for the Cannes Lions Festival Of Creativity. A big thank you to Cannes Lions, Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicitas and the Swiss creative community for the trust and honor. #jasonromeyko #saatchiswiss #thankyoucreativity

[byjasonromeyko]

I am so proud to have been selected for the second time as a jury member of the Cannes Lions- this time in Health & Wellness. Judging starts today! 

[byjasonromeyko]

I am so absolutely proud our Sea Hero Quest has been shortlisted for an Innovation Lion. There are some very deserving projects on this list so we will have to work hard at the LIVE JURY PRESENTATION in Cannes to convince them we are the best. #gameforgood

[byjasonromeyko]

“Braving The Way” at Vision Bristol 16

I had the privilege to be the closing keynote speaker of this dynamic conference combining tech, marketing and social in the UK’s second largest marketing communications city.  If you have budget for one conference next year, be sure to check it out.

If you are interested, here is a synopsis of my speech.

Fearlessness is something we are born with but as we get older and hurt the first few times, we become afraid of our ideas. The same happens to creatives, agencies and clients. In our business being scared can be disguised as experience, research or even “perfection”- which Elizabeth Gilbert calls simply “fear in high heels”.

Jason Romeyko will take you by the hand and share with you the rewards and consequences of creating audacious, world-first work.