Today we’d like to introduce you to Heidi Habben.
Hi Heidi, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The short story is that I started as a receptionist at City Post, Inc. in 1988 and City Post opened CRASH+SUES in June of 1990. The longer story is I was a create your own major at the U of M – International Trade with an emphasis on Japan and agriculture products. With 2 classes left, Tom Gilman asked me if I wanted a job. He said they did film & video post production. I did not have a clue what he was talking about, but as I was not in love with the job I had I said yes. Within the first week, I reorganized all their files especially paying attention to all the storyboards and bids. I realized they were super busy so I just started bidding, invoicing, etc. Tom said I couldn’t do this, but as he gave no reason I just kept doing it – and the jobs came in. In 2008 after years of Tom being, um, gone from the office. literally out-of-state. City Post and Echo Boys Music split and I bought C+S. Now 37 years later I would say GOD has a sense of humor.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Life is never smooth. In the ’90s, the bumps were hitting airdates and keeping our head above water. There were many days when dailies started at 5 a.m. and we finished trafficking air dubs after midnight – doing our main (creative) work in the middle. Then, there was the actors strike in 2000, 9/11 and the dot.com bust as we all transitioned from analog to digital and from 4 x 3 to 16 x 9. This was followed by 2008/2009 financial crisis and Covid as we started dealing with AI.
But – struggles make one stronger and companies stronger, or at least less fearful. Fears go away and confidence grows. One learns to walk in peace for longer stretches and care for people more. Afterall, there is memories of surviving, laughter and joy.
As you know, we’re big fans of CRASH+SUES. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
CRASH+SUES began life as :30 storytellers aka broadcast. Through the years, our clients would ask us to do more for them as they trusted us. We added production and animation. We moved upstream doing creative, campaigns, some branding, etc.
Today, we call ourselves a creative studio. Our sweet spot is sight, sound and motion especially motion. We actually think in motion first. I believe there is an advantage in that. As there is also in starting life in the :30 world. There is that saying, ‘I went to write a short story, but ran out of time so I wrote a long story.’ Writing a short story in infinitely harder. C+S is good at making the complex simple, telling the short story.
We are very passionate about the brands we work on and the people we work with. We love to collaborate. I know everyone has an ego, but I often feel like we are egoless – the team identifies the good idea and all rally behind it to bring it to life.
Most of all though, C+S wants to build relationships with those we work with. We want to be authentic. It is not only the best way to do business it is also the best thing for the brand.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t believe in luck. I do believe in GOD, people, relationships, hard work, joy, sadness, smiles, fresh air – did I say relationships…?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.crash-sues.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/crashandsues
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/crashsues
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/crash-sues/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/crashandsues
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@crash-sues
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/crash-sues-arden-hills?uid=127hCS1nFD1os06VK-ZQkw&utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
- Other: https://pinterest.com/crashsues
