What single, professional woman wouldn’t visit New York City and view it through the eyes of Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte (the ladies of “Sex and the City”)? So, rather than try to capture my adventures in the city for the PRSA Leadership Rally with the same witty brilliance as GCG senior art director Kris Copeland, I prefer to live it through the eyes of the most famous ladies of New York.
Walking New York
Walking from my hotel to Battery Park where I got to see another grand lady – Lady Liberty – back up to Ground Zero and all around the surrounding area, I realized that sporting my favorite black heels may not have been my smartest idea. But, hey, this is New York. A little pain would have never stopped the girls.
Carrie: The fact is, sometimes it’s really hard to walk in a single woman’s shoes. That’s why we need special ones now and then to make the walk a little more fun.
Miranda: I had to walk all the way from the subway in these heels. My feet are killing me. Steve: Why didn’t you just carry them and wear sneakers like everyone else? Miranda: Stop. You can take me out of Manhattan, but you can’t take me out of my shoes.
Carrie: Honey, if it hurts so much, why are we are we going shopping? Samantha: I have a broken toe, not a broken spirit.
The New York Times
What could be more New York to a girl in public relations than the New York Times?
Just for reference, I took pictures of Reuters, too.
Carrie: Men in their forties are like the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle: tricky, complicated and you’re never really sure you got the right answer.
Times Square
I’m sure I’m not the first person overwhelmed by the grandiose nature of Times Square.
Usually, I love a culinary adventure. But in New York, there are so many choices that I just couldn’t decide where to eat.
Miranda: Do any of you have a completely unremarkable friend or a houseplant I could go to dinner with on Saturday night?
Carrie: When I first moved to New York and I was totally broke, sometimes I would buy Vogueinstead of dinner. I felt it fed me more.
And, really, who can think about real food when you can visit a store like this?
Carrie: Yes, we’d love to meet Wesley of Wesley and Leslie. And by the way, does he work at Nestle?
Alright, I know Hershey’s isn’t Nestle. Give me a little credit. And then… Free Hugs guy. ‘Nuff said.
Carrie: When men attempt bold gestures, generally it’s considered romantic. When women do it, it’s often considered desperate or psychotic.
Broadway. It has to be one of the most magical places on earth. Where else can you get Mary Poppins, Glenda the Good Witch and Spiderman all in one place? Shout out to one of my favorite men (because what self-respecting woman blogging and referencing Sex and the City wouldn’t) – The Edge of U2.
Miranda: How long have you two known each other?
Bobby: Oh, let’s put it this way. Cats was just Kittens.
Coming home
It was a short sightseeing tour and the next day, I was headed back to Cowtown.
Carrie: You can’t leave New York. You’re the Chrysler building!
Monday morning at 9 a.m., looking at the faces of the GCG team, I’m so grateful for the awesome people I work with every day.
Carrie: The most important thing in life is your family. There are days you love them, and others you don’t. But, in the end, they’re the people you always come home to. Sometimes it’s the family you’re born into, and sometimes it’s the one you make for yourself.
Storms are scary for everyone, but coming from FL, I’m used to some things. Among these are hurricanes. There are a few things to do when preparing for a hurricane: 1. Purchase the booze and food. 2. Watch all the “tourists” run for shelter and laugh at those who board up their windows. 3. Find out who is having the best hurricane party, then invite yourself. And that’s about it. You pray for the best and party with the rest.
Now, living in Texas, things are a little different. You guys have Tornados. I have done my research and found there is a lack of “tornado parties” in the area. Why? Let me tell you. After experiencing my first and only tornado up close, it is scary as all get out! While walking out of my apartment to see the ferocious funnel cloud, I watched everyone in my complex think, “oh crap” and then run to shelter (shelter being our wooded racquetball court in our run-down excuse of a gym). As we were running for our lives (allow me to be dramatic about my first tornado), the hail started. Golf-ball-sized hail fell from the sky as we dashed across the courtyard.
One family was caught by the gate, and I ran to the rescue. While helping them unlock the door, the family of three ran to shelter. The young mom slipped on the hail and busted her arm and leg, while the dad held their 1-year-old. I quickly grabbed the infant, and the dad rushed the mom to safety. While packed like rats in our “shelter,” I looked around to find women crying and trying to call their families. We went back and forth to the shelter three times during the tornado-warnings sirens. I tell you what, you really come together during a storm. There’s nothing like a crisis to help you get to know your neighbors. Thankfully, we didn’t have any bad injuries.
So the moral of the story for me was, no matter what the storm, someone please bring the booze next time!
I still remember my first visit to GCG. As I walked through the glass doors into the uniquely designed reception area, I realized this was my kind of place. I nervously stuttered my name to the receptionist and awkwardly sat and read an article from Texas Monthly while she called Kelsey to tell her that her interviewee had arrived. Upon meeting Kelsey, and the rest of the GCG team, I knew this was a place that I wanted to be.
My name is Cody. I am a recent TCU grad and GCG’s newest intern. I love music, advertising and traveling. Today is Friday, the last day of my first week. What have I learned so far? The intern gets the second biggest office (First place goes to Scott. It’s close though.), filling out a time sheet should have a job number, and you can never open, file and close enough jobs.
And I have to say, I couldn’t be happier to be here.
So far, everyone has been great. Because of the central location of my office/storage room/workspace, I’ve been able to talk to almost everyone. The creatives are in here printing and boarding layouts up all the time. The CEO regularly stops by to see how things are going. And the account executives are always bringing me new projects. Amidst all the excitement, I’ve realized that these are definitely great people to work with.
I love learning new things and meeting new people. This internship is allowing me to do both.
My first day, I wrote a press release. My second day, I filed more papers than I could count. And in five minutes, I’m sitting in on my first conference call with a new client. Simply put, this internship has it all. I’m excited to see where it will lead over the next few months.
I’ll be writing again at the end of July to let you, one of our many loyal readers, know how my internship is going, what I’ve learned and hopefully expose some of the inner workings of this awesome company.
When the rest of the world was getting ready for Oscar-viewing parties, us Fort Worth advertising folks were getting ready for the 2011 ADDY® awards. It was quite a night indeed, filled with hairless chests and shiny, lycra Speedos® greeting everyone at the door. ADDY “Smackdown”, a play on professional wrestling, was the theme courtesy of Warren Douglas, last year’s “Best in Show” award winner.
With Metallica music playing softly in the background, the dressed-up advertisers mingled and viewed various award-winning work from the previous year.
As for the awards, our very own Senior Art Director, Kris Copeland’s packaging redesigns for Rahr & Sons Brewing Company took home two gold, two silver and a bronze ADDY.
Also, our AAPS invitation for DPT Labs, Inc., created by Senior Art Director Brian Wilburn took home two silver ADDYs.
And in the new “never-saw-the-light-of-day” category, three different spec ads for E-Bikes by our own President, Neil Foster, and Senior Art Director Brian Wilburn also made the podium.
And last, but certainly not least, GCG’s series of “Bored Brewers” videos, a viral video campaign created in response to the roof collapse at the Rahr & Sons brewery this past winter, earned us a bronze as well.
So that’s two gold, four silver and six bronze in ’11. We would like to take this time to thank all of our great clients and our award-winning (literally) staff.
On a related note, we’d like to congratulate Red Productions for bringing home Best of Show this year. Good work, everyone!
Click. Save As. Export. Print. Route. Send. For you agency folks, this repetition probably sounds very familiar – especially around this year’s holidays, which were busier than ever.
With so much going on at the agency, I was fortunate enough to check off everything on my to-do list and go west to what was to become the biggest football game in TCU’s history, the 97th Rose Bowl Game® in Pasadena, California. Anxious and excited, I landed in Los Angeles and explored my surroundings. With every Wisconsin fan I saw, I grew more and more amped to get the game underway.
Game day finally came and upon arriving at the stadium, it seemed like the whole state of Wisconsin came with the team: there was badger red everywhere. Not to be out-shined, TCU – in all of its purple glory – was in full support. Lagging in numbers, we made up in noise and rowdiness.
Even with so much going on during the game, I still found myself going into marketing mode. The Rose Bowl was sponsored by Vizio, a producer of consumer electronics, and throughout the game a Vizio commercial featuring Beyonce Knowles was played on the JumboTron. The same commercial played four to five times and every time I found myself watching it. Realizing the effect the advertisement had on me, I looked around and noticed that everyone else was doing the same. Even though they had seen the exact same commercial earlier in the game, they would still watch it. Amazing, I thought. Repetition was certainly the goal, and Vizio achieved it.
So, to those marketers who think sponsoring a major event is a waste of money, you’re wrong. If you do it right, you could potentially reach 94,118 people.
One of the unique things about our industry is the convergence between marketing and pop culture. You can quickly name a laundry list of commercials that have struck a cord with the public from Apple’s 1984 spot to Where’s the Beef? and countless commercials from Nike, McDonald’s, Bud Light and other big brands.
While with a previous agency, I had the pleasure of working on the Stanley Steemer account. Now, Stanley Steemer, you make ask, aren’t they just a carpet cleaner? My reply would be yes they are. So, our challenge was to make “just a carpet cleaner” resonate and make telephones ring.
In 2005, we developed a campaign including a spot called “Toby’s New Trick”.While we knew it would be controversial, the client bought off on it, and we produced what I believe is a memorable commercial. As you might imagine, there were complaints, but that goes with the territory when you show a dog dragging his rear across the carpet while the owner shrieks in horror.
Well, Toby got lots of views on YouTube (http://tinyurl.com/23wdqv2) and was featured on America’s Funniest Commercials that year – a nice feather in the cap, if you will. Not to mention, Stanley Steemer sales continued to grow as a result of the campaign.
Fast forward to 2010. I am watching Saturday Night Live on October 30 with John Hamm hosting, and there is a bit where the great Kristen Wiig is auditioning for a role. She is going through a litany of things she will and won’t do on camera. When the casting agent tells her she’s not right for the role, John Hamm (playing her husband) busts in the room to jump to her defense. Turns out she is playing the owner from “Toby’s New Trick,” and they recap the commercial in all it’s glory. You can see the clip here http://tinyurl.com/23ryufv.
Needless to say, I was excited to see something I’d worked on being referenced on SNL. Even better, it was years after the spot was produced and stopped airing. Great marketers will tell you it’s all about ROI, sales, etc. and they’re absolutely right. But, it’s also kinda cool when you see something you worked on show up later on such an influential and classic show.
Was that the highlight of my advertising life? I still have some years left in me, but it certainly has the lead in the clubhouse.
I have always been interested in cause marketing, so when I heard Karen White from Susan G. Komen would be speaking at our monthly ad club meeting I had to partake. There are multiple elements to this form of marketing, and Ms. White spoke about one of my favorites: corporate partnerships.
To get started, I’ll give you a few examples. Most people are familiar with the first type of corporate relationship that Susan G. Komen has with Yoplait. Yoplait and Susan G. Komen have the “Save Lids to Save Lives®” program that takes place during September and October each year. For each pink lid mailed in by customers, Yoplait will donate 10 cents to Komen with a minimum guaranteed donation of $500,000 up to $1.6 million.
New Balance is another example of Komen’s corporate partnerships. There are four components that make up the Susan G. Komen/New Balance partnership: Race for the Cure®, 3-Day for the Cure™, Marathon for the Cure® and an in-store retail promotion called, Lace up for the Cure®. Lace Up footwear and apparel is distinguished by pink tissue paper in the shoebox, as well as hang-tags, and other in-store signage that explains the symbol’s significance as the icon for breast cancer awareness and the company’s association with Komen for the Cure.
One more example that I feel is exciting and definitely non-traditional is Susan G. Komen’s partnership with Ask.com. For every new user who joins the “Answers for the Cure” program in 2010, Ask.com will contribute 10 cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, with a minimum guaranteed donation of $100,000.
These examples of different cause marketing efforts have truly caused an uptick in popularity and donations, not only for Susan G. Komen, but also for the brands themselves. In addition to simply doing a good thing, the benefits are great since cause marketing is such a respected business practice, including: directly enhancing one’s brand, can help build employee morale and brand loyalty, as well as customer loyalty.
Cause marketing is not a new idea, but I think the key is determining where your primary concerns lie and what your business can realistically do to help. Not every company has to help on a national level – cause marketing on a local level can be beneficial too. Simply being a part of the community and partaking in community initiatives can have long-term benefits on brand loyalty and continued interest.
Lets put it this way, maybe next time before deciding to spend money on one print advertisement, think about how your business can get involved with the community on a larger scale. Coordinate a fundraiser, sponsor a golf tournament or donate to the local charity ball. All of these opportunities allow people to see your brand, just as an advertisement would do. It just might be worth thinking about next time.
I’m a total nerd for history. So when Bill Moncrief, Ph.D., gave a presentation at last month’s PRSA luncheon that blended history, advertising, and public relations, I was in geek heaven. The topic was “Who Will Rule the Business World in 2020,” and in case you missed it, I’ll give you a rundown on some of the main points:
(a) Historically, no nation can be #1 in everything forever. (b) Countries like China, South Korea and Japan are becoming new economic superpowers, and (c) It’s going to be a game-changer.
The wheels are already in motion. Tokyo now has more Michelin-starred restaurants than Paris. South Korean students are consistently blowing American students out of the water with their test scores. And the big whopper: China is now the second-largest economy in the world, next to the US of A. They’ve got the largest automobile market, the largest population, and according to projections, they’ll be able to add largest economy to their brag list sometime between 2020 and 2030. So, like the double rainbow guy, I ask, “What does this mean???” And how exactly will this shift affect me and the advertising and PR professions in general?
I’ll go ahead and admit it – I’m in the communications business and I’m monolingual. No hablo español. Je ne parle pas Français. And definitely 我不讲中文 (that’s “I don’t speak Chinese.” Thanks, Babblefish!). But most of the time, I don’t feel too bad about it because most people I know are, too. But will this fly in the future?
My answer is probably not. It’s a new millennium, and we’re going to have to face facts: We’re not the only big fish in the pond anymore. As PR and advertising professionals, we’ll have to adjust our communication styles to fit other cultures – and often that’s easier said than done. Anyone who’s ever taken a college marketing course has heard the horror story of how Chevy tried to market the Nova in Spanish-speaking countries, only to learn that the car name translates to “no go.” The irony! I Snoped it out, and this story is completely false – but the warning behind it still rings true. Cross-cultural advertising takes extra-special care.
That’s what makes it exciting. By embracing other cultures in our advertising and PR, we can say more, do more, sell more. We’re entering a brave new marketing world, and there’s a lot to learn, but also a lot to gain.
No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive.
– Mahatma Gandhi
