More on the Brick Group

Back in December I made note of a job opening with the Brick Group. At that time, there wasn't much information available, apart from what the job opening listed.

Well, it looks like that is slowly changing.

They've got a website now, and although there's not much more than some basic contact information right now, its a step in the right direction.

Technorati tags: brick group

Congratulations to Davies Rourke

Davies Rourke in Boise has received an Award of Excellence from StoraEnso Paper Company, for their work on a Spectrus Real Estate Group Venture Capitol Offering.

Congratulations to the folks over at Davies Rourke.

Technorati tags: davies rourke, award of excellence, storaenso paper company

In the news

Included in this week's Idaho Business Review are stories featuring conversations with es/drake, Closed Loop Marketing and Blueline. The individual articles are here and here.

Also, the print edition contains a list of the top ad agencies, by employee size I believe, for the Treasure Valley (I think). Just got a quick glance at the print version this morning, so I don't have all of the details.

Technorati tags: idaho business review, es/drake, closed loop marketing, blueline

On finding talent

I read an article a few months ago about the trouble that local businesses, specifically those of a technical nature, were having in finding qualified employees. While it should come as no surprise to anyone, it does beg the question that can be asked of the agency business here in Idaho -- can more be done to attract and retain well-qualified candidates to local agencies?

I've seen a number of job openings running repeatedly as of late, which suggests that either the employer is not finding the qualified person, or that the qualified person is not interested in looking for a new job. Add to it the fact that agencies from outside the area have been known to recruit in the area (agency job openings in Portland on the Boise Craigslist are common), and the problem only gets worse.

So, the question remains -- can more be done to attract and retain well-qualified candidates?

Technorati tags: advertising agency talent, craigslist

Job Opening - Business Development Manager

Peppershock Media Productions in Nampa has an opening for a Business Development Manager. The full job posting can be found here.
(Courtesy of Craigslist)

Also, congratulations to Rhea Allen for being named one of the Idaho Business Review's Women of the Year.

Technorati tags: peppershock media productions, business development manager job, idaho business review

Changes over at Blueline

I know that I'm way behind on this one, but what can you do...

Both Tac Anderson and Brian Packer have left Blueline recently -- each for their own reasons. To their credit, the folks over at Blueline laid out the details (or as much of them as they're willing to share) on their website.

Technorati tags: blueline

Job Opening - Copywriter

Stoltz Marketing Group in Boise still has an opening for a copywriter. This time, however, the job is listed on TalentZoo. TalentZoo gets much more traffic than Creative Hotlist, so hopefully they'll benefit from that. Full details can be found here.
(Courtesy of TalentZoo)

Technorati tags: stoltz marketing group, copywriter job, talentzoo, creative hotlist

Job Opening - Developer/IT Support

Wirestone in Boise has a Developer/IT Support position open. Full details about the job can be found here.
(Courtesy of Monster)

Technorati tags: wirestone, developer job, it support job, monster

In the interest of full disclosure

Some of you know me. Many of you do not.

For those that don't, here's a brief introduction. My name is Brian Harrison.

When I began publishing this blog, I was little more than an interested observer of the agency business here in Idaho. I had worked for Stoltz Marketing Group many years ago, and as such was familiar with many of the players around town. I've had a day job that has allowed me the chance to keep up on the ins and outs of this business, and natural curiosity about how the whole Web 2.0 thing will affect the work that local agencies are doing.

Well, that's all about to change.

As of Monday morning I'll no longer be merely an interested observer. I'll have skin in the game, so to speak.

I've accepted a position with Closed Loop Marketing & Advertising.

Is that going to change what I do on this site? Probably.

Obviously, I won't be writing about what's happening inside the agency -- that would be nothing short of career suicide. I will most likely keep up on who is coming and going, job openings, and other assorted news. Also, if I see a particularly good, or bad, campaign, I'm still going to call it as I see it.

Even in a "smaller" business community such as Boise, I think we still need to be able to pat each other on the back once in a while, respectfully call bullshit when appropriate, and raise the level of discussion, and consequently the quality of the work.

With that being said, have a good weekend everybody.

Job Openings at Publicis West in Boise

Publicis West in Boise has openings for an Account Coordinator and a Senior Account Executive. If memory serves, they had a similar opening last year, but I don't remember it ever being filled.
(Courtesy of craigslist)

Technorati tags: publicis west, account coordinator job, senior account executive job, craigslist

Who knew?

Robert Adler, the co-inventor of the TV remote passed away yesterday.

And he lived in Boise, Idaho of all places!

Wicked Twisted Road

"WE WANT MORE POSTS" -- Anonymous comment. Thursday, February 15th, 2007.

First off, thank you. This type of comment, to me at least, says that what I've been doing with this blog for the past year or so is of interest to you, dear readers. And, while you may not always agree with thoughts, comments or opinions, you've taken the time to get involved in the discussion. For that, I say "thank you" to you.

Now, let's see where we can go from here.

The offer is still open -- if you'd like to contribute something to this blog, you're welcome to do so.
If you'd like to show off some of the work that you've been doing, feel free to send it my way.

Also, here's a thought for you -- whenever the advertising/marketing industry as a whole goes through any large-scale changes (think the rise of interactive work in the mid- to late-nineties), those same changes seem to trickle down to the local level a couple of years later.
We're now about two years into the rise of the Web 2.0 world, which, if history serves as a guide, means that it will start to impact the local agencies at any time, if it hasn't already. Who is best positioned to take advantage of this? Will it have an impact on anyone's business?

By the way, the title of this post is also the title of a song. Bonus points to anyone who can name the band. Even more points if you can do it without looking it up online.

THINK BIG! -- The Update

So the THINK BIG! billboards around Boise were indeed for Big-O Tires.

No, they are not for Micron Technology, as had been mentioned in the previous comments. I think the confusion came from the fact that these were also running on the digital billboards near the Connector and also on State St. This billboard was immediately followed by a recruiting billboard for Micron.

End result? It generated some interest, but the payoff was incredibly poor. Decent concept but the execution leaves quite a bit to be desired.

Technorati tags: big-o tires, micron technology, outdoor advertising, digital billboards

What have you done lately -- Jeremy James

So I asked the question a couple of weeks ago, and Boise designer Jeremy James is the first to answer.

With a love of snowboarding and a knack for design, Jeremy entered these two designs into the Ride Snowboards Snowboard Art 5 contest. His Robot design finished in the top 50, and is featured in the Top 50 gallery on the Ride Snowboards website.

Well done Jeremy!




Technorati tags: ride snowboards, snowboard art 5 design contest

THINK BIG!

Okay, I'll bite.

I've seen a few of the "THINK BIG!" billboards around Boise recently. If you haven't seen them, they basically consist of the words "THINK BIG!" in bold, black capital letters on a yellow background.

Now, who are these for, you might ask? I don't know.

At first I thought it could be the University of Idaho, but their "No Fences" campaign is already in full swing, including billboards/outdoor.

Gold's Gym? They use yellow and black, but the font doesn't really match their previous work.

Any other guesses? Thoughts?

Technorati tags: outdoor advertising, university of idaho, golds gym

Super Bowl Aftermath

As I'm sure you are well aware of by now, there's all kinds of morning-after buzz about the Super Bowl ads. I'm going to stay out of the fray, but will point you to any number of sites where they're up for discussion, such as Adrants, American Copywriter, AdPulp, AdLand, and Adweek, just to name a few.

Locally, Don over at Idaho Radio News has picked up the ball and is running with it (pun intended) on the discussion, including the spot for Eagle River Mortgage.

Rants? Raves? Something in between? Comment away.

Oh, and you can watch all of the national spots over at ifilm.

Technorati tags: 2007 super bowl advertising, adrants, american copywriter, adpulp, adland, adweek, idaho radio news, eagle river mortgage

New Hire at Blueline

Jeannie Miller has joined Blueline Grassroots Marketing as an Account Manager. Prior to joining Blueline, she most recently served as the Ada County Field Canvass Director for the Idaho State Democratic Party.

Congratulations Jeannie.

Technorati tags: blueline