PAF Event TONIGHT! David Altschul, Brand Character Extraordinaire
The California Raisins, Punchy the Hawaiian Punch guy and Juan Valdez have in common? They are all the brainchildren of David Altschul. Meet David. The Man. The cartoon character genius.
Tonight, March 22
6 pm
Kell's Irish Pub
Register
Bailey/Franklin Makes a Splash with Local Spa.
Longtime Portland ad agency Bailey/Franklin has completed a series of projects for Emerge Medical Spas. Their services include a marketing strategy to enhance the customer experience, website design and programming, advertising print collateral for marketing and events,and other campaign elements.
Sockeye Creative Rebrands the All-Grown-Up MacTarnahan's Brewing
Those microbreweries grow up so fast these days. Now that it is legally allowed to drink itself, 21-year-old MacTarnahan's Amber Ale sports a redesigned label and new packaging designed by Portland's Sockeye Creative, the agency of record for MacTarnahan's Brewing.
Gilchrist & Associates Launches Event Company
Portland marketing communications firm Gilchrist & Associates has launched a new venture: Bonnie Gilchrist Events. The new firm's clients include Portland Female Executives, Entrepreneurs Foundation of the Northwest and Chockstone. Gilchrist & Associates Marketing Communications continues to serve its clients with an array of marketing services.
Grady Britton Among Top Places to Work, Wins National Award
Grady Britton has been named one of the "100 Best Companies to Work for in Oregon" by Oregon Business magazine. In an industry awash with awards, some are perceived as having more value than others. Agency President and CEO Frank Grady feels that Oregon Business award "one of the most meaningful awards Grady Britton has ever received." The agency ranked eighth on the Top 50 Small Companies list. Former employees were unavailable for comment…. Grady Britton also received recognition in this year's Service Industry Advertising Awards. They agency received a Gold Award in the "Total Advertising Campaign" category for its rebranding of Vancouver-based First Independent Bank.
AMA MAX Awards Honor Pop Art
Pop Art celebrated being a finalist at the AMA MAX Awards for their work designing 24 web sites in 30 weeks for Freightliner Market Development Corporation's SelecTrucks Center Sites project. This event, held Feb 22 at the Portland Art Museum, honored the best and most innovative marketing campaigns in Portland.
Leopold Ketel Creates New Branding Campaign for OPB; Scores at AMA MAX Awards
Leopold Ketel & Partners has created a major branding campaign for client Oregon Public Broadcasting. The campaign, which launched throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington in mid-February, included a new logo, brand book, membership guide, publicity, OPB television promo spots, OPB online, outdoor advertising, and a distinctive sound "mark." Further, the agency's North America publicity campaign to introduce the BIC Yakka Kayak won the top public relations award at the AMA MAX awards. LKP was also a finalist in the integrated campaign division for its work on the Oregon Coast Aquarium's "CLAWS!" campaign.
Anvil Pulls Hat Trick
With a primary focus on servicing new and current clients, Anvil made room for three new clients this month, including social media art community Art Face Off, the Convention & Visitors Association of Lane County Oregon and consumer electronics portal Retrevo.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Blogs I'm Reading
Web 2.0 Prep Assignment
The new look of the web is populated by 3D animation, virtual worlds and avatars who all have perfect figures and are aged 30. Before you head out to the PAF Web 2.0 event, check out Second Life and prepare yourself for a new online addiction.
Joel Gunz
The new look of the web is populated by 3D animation, virtual worlds and avatars who all have perfect figures and are aged 30. Before you head out to the PAF Web 2.0 event, check out Second Life and prepare yourself for a new online addiction.
Joel Gunz
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Portland Advertising Industry Events
4.25-4.26 - eMarketing Summit @ InnoTech
eMarketing Summit will teach both beginning and advanced techniques with best practices from professionals directly involved in the development, execution, marketing, and business of internet marketing.
April 25-26: Oregon Convention Center
Register
eMarketing Summit will teach both beginning and advanced techniques with best practices from professionals directly involved in the development, execution, marketing, and business of internet marketing.
April 25-26: Oregon Convention Center
Register
Youth Marketing Flame War!
by
Jerry Ketel, Creative Director, Leopold Ketel & Partners
Joel Gunz, Copywriter/Creative Consultant, Gunz Communications
In a recent issue of Vox, I wrote an Editor's Letter objecting to the FTC's plan to audit major food companies' youth marketing strategies with the intention of further regulating them. I stated that "public opinion is already doing what the government hopes to do," and that such actions may even be a waste of taxpayers' money. Jerry Ketel, Principal and Creative Director of Leopold Ketel and Partners, disagrees. What follows is an edited version of our email exchange. As a bonus, it contains a novel strategy to obtaining a job interview.
Joel,
The FTC should absolutely require food companies to disclose the marketing activities directed to youths. In fact, I have a hard time understanding why you are defending this industry practice without any public oversight. Obesity is the number one health problem in children today. Everywhere I go, I see chubby children snacking on fast fried food or sipping corn syrup fizz. It's no secret that marketers spend billions of dollars hustling packaged food directly to children -- precisely the audience who has the least willpower to resist such ubiquitous arm twisting.
According to the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale, businesses spent $15 billion marketing products to children in 2004 and were rewarded with $200 billion in sales. The overwhelming majority is for sugary breakfast cereals, fast food, soft drinks, snacks, and candy and gum.
This alone should be enough to have the voting public protesting in the streets. And yet, you seem to be more worried about the cost of a bag of chips. Who is more important here, the profits of multinational corporations or our children?
The US food industry wields enormous influence in this country. In the book, "The Politics of Food", author Marion Nestle chronicles the behind the scenes pressure this special interest group brandishes in Washington….
This is not an industry that needs to be shielded from the scrutiny of the public interest. If anything, its power and influence need to be subjected to the spotlight, especially if it means protecting the safety and well being of our children. If this means shelling out an extra 1/10 of a cent for a bottle of Coke, I'll gladly pay it.
--Jerry
Dear Jerry,
In 2004, the federally funded Children's Advertising Review Unit -- an arm of the Better Business Bureau -- http://www.caru.org/guidelines/index.asp published a set of principles by which marketers should regulate themselves in relation to their youth-targeted strategies. Its seventh point states: "Although many influences affect a child's personal and social development, it remains the prime responsibility of the parents to provide guidance for children. Advertisers should contribute to this parent-child relationship in a constructive manner." (Italics mine.)
Jerry, kids are more aware of their power of choice than ever. According to a recent Harris Interactive survey, kids are increasingly skeptical about what companies tell them. In fact, less than one kid in 10 between the ages of eight and 18 believes that marketers tell them the truth, and more than half (57%) say they "often notice tricks companies use to get them to buy something." These facts are overturning the assumption that youths are innocent dupes who need federal protection from "arm-twisting" marketers.
The same principles of free market economics that enable Burger King to tout Whoppers to tweens also do a very good job of keeping those large corporations from perpetually overreaching. For instance, in their quest for elusive funding, during the 1990s, schools began responding to the marketing overtures of Coca Cola and Pepsi. Then came the public outcry against this scheme. In response, the Federal government took action with a wellness program curtailing the sales of junk food during school hours. The Beaverton School District is taking the lead in implementing these new laws. I cite this as an example of how democracy should work: The public spoke out. The government responded -- and took action to manage its own public school system.
Junk food has been around for a long time. And thanks to a deluge of news articles, books and documentaries, awareness of its ill effects has never been higher. And the market has responded. Just a few weeks ago, McDonald's joined nine major food and drink companies in vowing to promote more healthy foods and exercise in their child-oriented advertising. Last year, Kraft Foods said it would curb ads to young children for snack foods including Oreos and Kool-Aid. The food industry is correcting itself – and the government hasn't had to lift a finger or a tax dollar.
In this context, Jerry, the FTC's inquisition-like tactics appear superfluous and even draconian!
I don't believe in shielding industry from public scrutiny. From Enron to Kraft Foods, there are too many cases of abuse. And the enormous influence large corporations exert on government goes without saying. However, Tony the Tiger's influence on your family or mine cannot be regulated by even the most stringent laws. That part is up to us as parents. When I see an obese kid sitting on his butt with one hand in a bag of potato chips and the other twiddling an xBox controller, I don't ask, "Where is Uncle Sam?" I ask, "Where are Mom and Dad?"
Cheers,
Joel
Joel,
This is starting to sound like a classic debate between a New Age Libertarian and a New York Liberal. But before we digress into such a spectacle, I have chosen to dig a little deeper into the nature of the FTC request. Here's what I found. According to the independent NewsTarget, the FTC plans to ask only 50 major companies to report on their advertising and marketing practices directed to children. But what is interesting is this quote, "The information will be exempt from the Freedom of Information act, the FTC said, and all collected information will be kept confidential and will not identify specific company data on the report."
Joel, this FTC "regulation" is merely a one time effort to garner information from the food industry to access just how far 50 companies are marketing to children. It seems far less draconian than you presented in your editorial.
And now for the spectacle. Joel, you are a knee jerk, numb nuts, advertising whore who is defending our industry's worst practice, marketing to minors. Sure, everybody's doing it but I have to draw the line when it comes to pushing cigarettes, booze or unhealthy food on our children. It is wrong. Period. To ask how some of these companies are marketing to children should be part of an ongoing effort to educate parents and children on the dangers of unhealthy food. This is why the government exists, to provide social services that would not occur in the anarchy of the marketplace. To ask companies to police themselves, as you have suggested is like asking the wolves not to eat the sheep. It ain't gonna happen. And sure, kids are wary of being advertised to but they are also just as easy to be persuaded. You have kids! You know this! Tell me that your kids have never persuaded you to do something outside of your normal parental boundaries, like stopping at the McDonalds or buying Fruity Pebbles! It has happened, it does happen and guess what, we are just now realizing that we are creating a nation of unhealthy kids who will turn into a nation of unhealthy adults. The public is waking up to this realization and is creating a sea change, Joel. Wake up and smell the double tall, no whip, decaf with a splash of vanilla latte.
Regards,
Jerry
Hey Jerry -
I get the whole monster in the boardroom dilemma. Got it. Nevertheless, I invite you to join me in seeing the BIG PICTURE. Here's where I stand. Others (i.e. not us) have polluted this debate with ideological dogmatism on BOTH sides of the aisle. This climate of discourse has infected not only youth marketing, but also US Politics, the Israeli-Arab conflict and beyond. Such intellectual colonialism hinders efforts to make progress in any of these issues.
On another note, I'm not sure how you feel about bringing pro-business libertarians working into your agency, but what do you think of meeting one of these days? I've got a new portfolio. Want to see it?
Jg
Joel,
At the end of the day it all comes down to this. Being an advertising man, I feel I must hold our industry to the highest standards. There are far too many barbarians that would storm the gates of ethical standards in the name of shareholder profits. Therefore, I believe we must, as citizens, ask for accountability and oversight of public and private institutions who hold sway in our society. We, the advertising industry must ask ourselves to be watchdogs for the greater good. I believe in the notion of caveat emptor, let the buyer beware. But there is an even greater notion our society has been built on, e pluribus unum, from many, one.
Let me know when you want to come over. I'm pretty open next week.
JK
Jerry Ketel, Creative Director, Leopold Ketel & Partners
Joel Gunz, Copywriter/Creative Consultant, Gunz Communications
In a recent issue of Vox, I wrote an Editor's Letter objecting to the FTC's plan to audit major food companies' youth marketing strategies with the intention of further regulating them. I stated that "public opinion is already doing what the government hopes to do," and that such actions may even be a waste of taxpayers' money. Jerry Ketel, Principal and Creative Director of Leopold Ketel and Partners, disagrees. What follows is an edited version of our email exchange. As a bonus, it contains a novel strategy to obtaining a job interview.
Joel,
The FTC should absolutely require food companies to disclose the marketing activities directed to youths. In fact, I have a hard time understanding why you are defending this industry practice without any public oversight. Obesity is the number one health problem in children today. Everywhere I go, I see chubby children snacking on fast fried food or sipping corn syrup fizz. It's no secret that marketers spend billions of dollars hustling packaged food directly to children -- precisely the audience who has the least willpower to resist such ubiquitous arm twisting.
According to the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale, businesses spent $15 billion marketing products to children in 2004 and were rewarded with $200 billion in sales. The overwhelming majority is for sugary breakfast cereals, fast food, soft drinks, snacks, and candy and gum.
This alone should be enough to have the voting public protesting in the streets. And yet, you seem to be more worried about the cost of a bag of chips. Who is more important here, the profits of multinational corporations or our children?
The US food industry wields enormous influence in this country. In the book, "The Politics of Food", author Marion Nestle chronicles the behind the scenes pressure this special interest group brandishes in Washington….
This is not an industry that needs to be shielded from the scrutiny of the public interest. If anything, its power and influence need to be subjected to the spotlight, especially if it means protecting the safety and well being of our children. If this means shelling out an extra 1/10 of a cent for a bottle of Coke, I'll gladly pay it.
--Jerry
Dear Jerry,
In 2004, the federally funded Children's Advertising Review Unit -- an arm of the Better Business Bureau -- http://www.caru.org/guidelines
Jerry, kids are more aware of their power of choice than ever. According to a recent Harris Interactive survey, kids are increasingly skeptical about what companies tell them. In fact, less than one kid in 10 between the ages of eight and 18 believes that marketers tell them the truth, and more than half (57%) say they "often notice tricks companies use to get them to buy something." These facts are overturning the assumption that youths are innocent dupes who need federal protection from "arm-twisting" marketers.
The same principles of free market economics that enable Burger King to tout Whoppers to tweens also do a very good job of keeping those large corporations from perpetually overreaching. For instance, in their quest for elusive funding, during the 1990s, schools began responding to the marketing overtures of Coca Cola and Pepsi. Then came the public outcry against this scheme. In response, the Federal government took action with a wellness program curtailing the sales of junk food during school hours. The Beaverton School District is taking the lead in implementing these new laws. I cite this as an example of how democracy should work: The public spoke out. The government responded -- and took action to manage its own public school system.
Junk food has been around for a long time. And thanks to a deluge of news articles, books and documentaries, awareness of its ill effects has never been higher. And the market has responded. Just a few weeks ago, McDonald's joined nine major food and drink companies in vowing to promote more healthy foods and exercise in their child-oriented advertising. Last year, Kraft Foods said it would curb ads to young children for snack foods including Oreos and Kool-Aid. The food industry is correcting itself – and the government hasn't had to lift a finger or a tax dollar.
In this context, Jerry, the FTC's inquisition-like tactics appear superfluous and even draconian!
I don't believe in shielding industry from public scrutiny. From Enron to Kraft Foods, there are too many cases of abuse. And the enormous influence large corporations exert on government goes without saying. However, Tony the Tiger's influence on your family or mine cannot be regulated by even the most stringent laws. That part is up to us as parents. When I see an obese kid sitting on his butt with one hand in a bag of potato chips and the other twiddling an xBox controller, I don't ask, "Where is Uncle Sam?" I ask, "Where are Mom and Dad?"
Cheers,
Joel
Joel,
This is starting to sound like a classic debate between a New Age Libertarian and a New York Liberal. But before we digress into such a spectacle, I have chosen to dig a little deeper into the nature of the FTC request. Here's what I found. According to the independent NewsTarget, the FTC plans to ask only 50 major companies to report on their advertising and marketing practices directed to children. But what is interesting is this quote, "The information will be exempt from the Freedom of Information act, the FTC said, and all collected information will be kept confidential and will not identify specific company data on the report."
Joel, this FTC "regulation" is merely a one time effort to garner information from the food industry to access just how far 50 companies are marketing to children. It seems far less draconian than you presented in your editorial.
And now for the spectacle. Joel, you are a knee jerk, numb nuts, advertising whore who is defending our industry's worst practice, marketing to minors. Sure, everybody's doing it but I have to draw the line when it comes to pushing cigarettes, booze or unhealthy food on our children. It is wrong. Period. To ask how some of these companies are marketing to children should be part of an ongoing effort to educate parents and children on the dangers of unhealthy food. This is why the government exists, to provide social services that would not occur in the anarchy of the marketplace. To ask companies to police themselves, as you have suggested is like asking the wolves not to eat the sheep. It ain't gonna happen. And sure, kids are wary of being advertised to but they are also just as easy to be persuaded. You have kids! You know this! Tell me that your kids have never persuaded you to do something outside of your normal parental boundaries, like stopping at the McDonalds or buying Fruity Pebbles! It has happened, it does happen and guess what, we are just now realizing that we are creating a nation of unhealthy kids who will turn into a nation of unhealthy adults. The public is waking up to this realization and is creating a sea change, Joel. Wake up and smell the double tall, no whip, decaf with a splash of vanilla latte.
Regards,
Jerry
Hey Jerry -
I get the whole monster in the boardroom dilemma. Got it. Nevertheless, I invite you to join me in seeing the BIG PICTURE. Here's where I stand. Others (i.e. not us) have polluted this debate with ideological dogmatism on BOTH sides of the aisle. This climate of discourse has infected not only youth marketing, but also US Politics, the Israeli-Arab conflict and beyond. Such intellectual colonialism hinders efforts to make progress in any of these issues.
On another note, I'm not sure how you feel about bringing pro-business libertarians working into your agency, but what do you think of meeting one of these days? I've got a new portfolio. Want to see it?
Jg
Joel,
At the end of the day it all comes down to this. Being an advertising man, I feel I must hold our industry to the highest standards. There are far too many barbarians that would storm the gates of ethical standards in the name of shareholder profits. Therefore, I believe we must, as citizens, ask for accountability and oversight of public and private institutions who hold sway in our society. We, the advertising industry must ask ourselves to be watchdogs for the greater good. I believe in the notion of caveat emptor, let the buyer beware. But there is an even greater notion our society has been built on, e pluribus unum, from many, one.
Let me know when you want to come over. I'm pretty open next week.
JK
Friday, March 9, 2007
HR Department
Kim, Stoebner, Maletz and Reynolds Line Up for LKP Hiring Squad; Spencer and Morrison Catapulted Upward
Leopold Ketel & Partners recently added four new staff members. Creative Services Manager Sue Kim comes to LKP from Goodby, Silverstein in San Francisco, where she worked on such accounts as "Got Milk?" Saturn automobiles and Comcast. Sarah Stoebner, Accounting Manager, arrived at LKP after stints with Wieden + Kennedy and Nerve. Prior to joining Wieden + Kennedy, she served as assistant director of human resources for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel property in Aspen, Colorado. The agency has also enhanced its design team with the addition of Production Artists Emily Maletz and Kevin Reynolds. Maletz hails from New Jersey and is a seasoned designer and production artist whose portfolio includes work for OMSI, Inspiration Software and PPI Exhibit Designs. Reynolds, originally from Seattle, earned a fine arts degree from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, where he worked for the Shedd Aquarium. In Portland he's handled numerous freelance positions, including a long-term assignment with LKP…. In addition, LKP has promoted Terra Spencer to Chief Operating Officer. Spencer, a senior partner, has been with LKP since 1996 and has helped implement the agency's business procedures while working as an account director for a number of the agency's leading clients. www.leoketel.com. The agency has also promoted LKP partner Rob Morrison to director of strategic planning. Morrison joined the firm in 2002 and was formerly an Account Director, managing a number of the agency's most prominent accounts. In his new role, he will provide strategic marketing direction for all clients.
eROI Hires Three
eROI is on a hot streak with adding new talent to its roster. Garrett Gonzales, a Kettle Chip snacker, joins eROI as a senior designer. Christine Baker, an Active.com kind of gal, is Support Manager. And Chris Masagatani, apparel and branding guy, is an Account Executive. Together, they are eROI's new stars for WearShortShorts.com.
Leopold Ketel & Partners recently added four new staff members. Creative Services Manager Sue Kim comes to LKP from Goodby, Silverstein in San Francisco, where she worked on such accounts as "Got Milk?" Saturn automobiles and Comcast. Sarah Stoebner, Accounting Manager, arrived at LKP after stints with Wieden + Kennedy and Nerve. Prior to joining Wieden + Kennedy, she served as assistant director of human resources for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel property in Aspen, Colorado. The agency has also enhanced its design team with the addition of Production Artists Emily Maletz and Kevin Reynolds. Maletz hails from New Jersey and is a seasoned designer and production artist whose portfolio includes work for OMSI, Inspiration Software and PPI Exhibit Designs. Reynolds, originally from Seattle, earned a fine arts degree from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, where he worked for the Shedd Aquarium. In Portland he's handled numerous freelance positions, including a long-term assignment with LKP…. In addition, LKP has promoted Terra Spencer to Chief Operating Officer. Spencer, a senior partner, has been with LKP since 1996 and has helped implement the agency's business procedures while working as an account director for a number of the agency's leading clients. www.leoketel.com. The agency has also promoted LKP partner Rob Morrison to director of strategic planning. Morrison joined the firm in 2002 and was formerly an Account Director, managing a number of the agency's most prominent accounts. In his new role, he will provide strategic marketing direction for all clients.
eROI Hires Three
eROI is on a hot streak with adding new talent to its roster. Garrett Gonzales, a Kettle Chip snacker, joins eROI as a senior designer. Christine Baker, an Active.com kind of gal, is Support Manager. And Chris Masagatani, apparel and branding guy, is an Account Executive. Together, they are eROI's new stars for WearShortShorts.com.
Insightful Ad News Analysis
If you're looking for a good old timey flame war, be sure to catch this month's Featured Article section, where Jerry Ketel and I shed our gloves and come out swinging over the merits of youth marketing. Today it's Vox, tomorrow -- the Octagon!
Not long ago, internal marketing was as sophisticated as a fistful of balloons and a sheet cake. Now, however, companies lavish about as much attention on selling to their employees as they do selling to their customers. The reasons for that are obvious: employee loyalty is at its lowest ebb since, oh, 1776, and more professionals are choosing their workplace based on lifestyle preferences -- even if it means taking a pay cut. Workers need clear reminders that flourishing at their current job is a good choice. Creative internal marketing campaigns can help -- and you may be called upon to create one.
But here's the rub. Familiarity breeds contempt. And no one knows a company as well as the people who work there. What's more, workplace cynicism is the posture du jour. For those reasons, an internal marketing campaign can't be just a splashy cry to "rally 'round the flag, boys" -- it must come from as considered and sincere a place as (hopefully) the rest of the company's brand strategy. If an internal campaign overpromises the merits of the company, employees will go on their coffee break to laugh -- and update their resume. Ad agencies have a little homework to do. The day could come when your success is measured by your clients' employee turnover.
BTW -- The cool programs and events at PAF are supported by members just like you. This month, a big thank you also goes out to OregonLive.com for sponsoring the Career Jam. Be sure to show your support by checking out their job bank.
Cheers,
Joel Gunz
Not long ago, internal marketing was as sophisticated as a fistful of balloons and a sheet cake. Now, however, companies lavish about as much attention on selling to their employees as they do selling to their customers. The reasons for that are obvious: employee loyalty is at its lowest ebb since, oh, 1776, and more professionals are choosing their workplace based on lifestyle preferences -- even if it means taking a pay cut. Workers need clear reminders that flourishing at their current job is a good choice. Creative internal marketing campaigns can help -- and you may be called upon to create one.
But here's the rub. Familiarity breeds contempt. And no one knows a company as well as the people who work there. What's more, workplace cynicism is the posture du jour. For those reasons, an internal marketing campaign can't be just a splashy cry to "rally 'round the flag, boys" -- it must come from as considered and sincere a place as (hopefully) the rest of the company's brand strategy. If an internal campaign overpromises the merits of the company, employees will go on their coffee break to laugh -- and update their resume. Ad agencies have a little homework to do. The day could come when your success is measured by your clients' employee turnover.
BTW -- The cool programs and events at PAF are supported by members just like you. This month, a big thank you also goes out to OregonLive.com for sponsoring the Career Jam. Be sure to show your support by checking out their job bank.
Cheers,
Joel Gunz
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