Local work for large clients - does it happen?

I ran across an article yesterday on Adweek's website, noting that Supervalu has shifted some of the work for its chains to a new agency. While this happens on a daily basis, and I wouldn't normally take too much notice of it, part of the article got my attention:

Interpublic Group's Dailey in West Hollywood, Calif., takes over on the Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco and Shaw's/Star Market properties. Independent Duncan & Associates in Los Angeles had handled those accounts.

So here we have Dailey & Associates in West Hollywood, California, taking over the portion of the Albertsons business that Supervalu purchased back in June. This portion of their business was previously handled by Duncan & Associates, in Los Angeles, California. For those keeping track, Albertsons was founded in, and had their corporate headquarters located in Boise, Idaho.

This got me thinking -- when was the last time that an agency in Idaho handled any significant amount of business from Albertsons? Ever? Sure, there are piece-meal projects that likely pass through the local shops, but they come no where close to the $137 million in media alone that Albertsons ($100M), Acme ($20M), Jewel-Osco ($15M) and Shaw's ($2M) spent in the last year and a half.

Technorati tags: adweek, supervalu, albertsons, dailey & associates, duncan & associates

More Job Openings

While thumbing through The Idaho Statesman this weekend, I caught a couple of jobs in the careerbuilder (formerly known as the equally descriptive, but less branded-content name of "help wanted") section.

Associate Creative Director/Art Director at Rizen Creative. Yes, this is the same position that I made note of last week here.
Sales / Marketing with DTX Media. That particular job was horribly non-descript, but you can find what little information they did provide here.

Technorati tags: idaho statesman, careerbuilder, creative director job, art director job, rizen creative, sales / marketing job, dtx media

This Will Serve As Your Reminder Notice

If you're a student that is considering entering The Chevy Super Bowl Ad Challenge, registrations are due by tomorrow.

More Anonymous Job Postings in Boise

I ran across a few more anonymous job listings on the Boise Craigslist site:

Editing/Proofing Position at Marketing Firm - for a "progressive and rapidly growing advertising and marketing firm in downtown Boise"
Part Time Public Relations/Media Writer - Looking for a strong part time public relations writer/assistant who can create media releases, work with clients to create media opportunities, call on editors and write short articles etc.

Once again, if anyone would like to shed some light on who these openings are for, I'm sure there are readers who would like to know.

Technorati tags: craigslist, editing job, proofing job, public relations job, media writer job

Job Opening - Associate Creative Director/Art Director

In addition to the anonymous jobs mentioned a few days ago, Rizen Creative in Boise is looking for an Associate Creative Director/Art Director. The full description can be found here.
(Courtesy of CareerBuilder)

Technorati tags: rizen creative, associate creative director job, art director job, careerbuilder

An Outside Review of Radio

While I haven't stayed away from criticizing local radio advertising, here's something from outside of the Idaho Ad Agencies Blog:

Dum adds: Weight Watchers, Body Wraps & Saturn -- Don over at Idaho Radio has a few critiques about a few of the more recent spots that have been on the air as of late.

My two cents worth -- it is this kind of continually bad advertising on the radio that has led to the fact that, on average, only 1% of the listeners are paying attention to a given commercial.

In regards to Don's comments about the Zamzows spots -- those spots work, even with Jim Zamzow doing the voice work, because they aren't trying to explicitly use the spot to sell something. They're offering advice on lawn care, pet care, etc. and what you may hear on the radio is the same information that Rick will tell me the next time I go into the Zamzow's on State Street. Is it all part of some grand marketing plan? A little, perhaps. But more than that, it is Jim, and the rest of the Zamzow's staff, offering up some good advice, telling the Zamzow's story, and offering a subtle reminder that they're the place that where you can get everything that you need. Call it neighborly advice that doesn't have to try to sound like "neighborly advice."

Technorati tags: radio advertising, idaho radio news, zamzows

Anonymous Job Openings in Boise

I came across a couple of anonymous job openings posted on the Boise Craigslist site this morning:

Marketing Concept/Copywriter - Looking for a copywriting concept pro.
Art Director/Graphic Designer - Looking for an experienced designer who can create just about anything.

Anyone care to shed some light on who might be doing the hiring?

UPDATE: I received a tip that these are positions at Rizen Creative in Boise.

Technorati tags: boise, craigslist, copywriter job, art director job, graphic designer job

Es/drake work recognized

Es/drake's work for the Idaho Commerce & Labor's Division of Tourism has been recognized at the national level.

The 2006 Idaho Travel Guide was named the best travel guide in the U.S. by the Travel Industry Association of America. More information about the recognition can be found here.

Congratulations to the folks over at es/drake for the nod.

Technorati tags: es/drake, idaho commerce & labor, idaho travel guide, travel industry association of america

Calling all students

Chevy announced last week that it has invited students to participate in The Chevy Super Bowl Ad Challenge, which will allow a team of 2-3 students to create a concept for a spot to be aired during the Super Bowl in February 2007.

John January wrote up a great recap on how the whole creative process might play out over at the American Copywriter blog. Coming from the creative/agency point of view, I think John is spot-on in his assessment of what will happen. That being said, however, I'd still encourage any interested student to take a look.

Registration must be completed by September 22nd, and submissions are due by October 13th. Its high pressure on a short timeline, but that's life in the advertising business.

Technorati tags: chevrolet, super bowl ad challenge, american copywriter

Now this is the kind of attitude to have

So this story isn't necessarily marketing or advertising related, but it does involve a local business, and its just too good not to share.

I just read on The Idaho Statesman's website that the women's fashion boutique store Ishi is going to be closing. Business concerns were a factor in the decision, of course, but the very last line in the article sums up a fantastic attitude to have:

“Every year I would say, next year I’ll have more time to garden and spend time with my husband Pete,” she said. Now, it’s here. “I’m creating my next year.”

Technorati tags: idaho statesman, ishi

Random observation on a Friday

Why are there so many radio spots lately that include emergency service-type sirens? Every time I hear something like that in the background while driving, my first reaction is to look around to see where the sirens are coming from, and if I need to get out of the way. Then, once I realize that its actually part of a radio spot, I'm immediately irritated.

I'd be willing to bet that I'm not the only one. So just why would you want to purposely create that kind of negative association with your product/service/message by doing something like that?

Technorati tags: radio advertising

I'll give partial credit

If I were a teacher, I guess I'd be the type to give partial credit for attempting to answer a question or taking the right action.

That being said, I have to give partial credit to Stoltz Marketing Group. They have been occasionally updating the news on their website, including some news items that I've previously mentioned.

But here's the kicker, and the reason that they only get partial credit. Unless you dig into Stoltz's website, you'd never know that they have been posting any of their news. The reason? When you first enter their flash-only website, the "Latest News" section of their main page indicates that the most recent news is from January 5, 2006. Once you dig into it, however, you'll find that the most recent news piece is from July 1, 2006, not January 5th. Why is this?

I'd be willing to bet that there is a very simple explanation -- the site was built by a developer who is no longer with the company. This developer, I would assume, was the only person who knew how to make the whole site work well, and now that they're gone, the people who are left are forced to piece it all back together. If this is indeed the case, it begs the larger question -- what do you do when a key member of your staff leaves the company? How do you make sure that they're not taking the full scope of knowledge about a particular subject (in this case, how to update your company's website) with them out the door?

Technorati tags: stoltz marketing group, stoltz marketing group news, marketing talent

New Hires at Es/drake

Es/drake in Boise has announced three new additions to their staff:

Amanda Cash has been hired as an interactive project coordinator.
Alison Eatough, formerly a public relations intern, has been hired as a full time public relations specialist
Kristine Andrew has been hired as a media buyer.

Congratulations to all.

Technorati tags: es/drake