Headline Roundup for March 30th

Product Placement Goes Local - via Ad Age

Study Finds Americans Becoming Screen-Based Multi-Taskers, But TV Still Dominates - via MediaPost

Media X: Past Perfect - via MediaPost

Siloed: Clients Lag Agencies In Integrated Opportunities - via MediaPost

Newspapers Fail To Harness Readers' Social Power - via MarketingVOX

Do You Have a Killed Idea?

Steve Hall, Publisher of AdRants and co-founder of MarketingVOX, together with the folks at Blurb, are looking for the best of what never saw the light of day: the Killed Ideas.

From the Killed Ideas website:

We want ideas that could have changed the face of advertising, elevated a client’s brand to new heights, or won a webby – but instead ended up on the cutting room floor. TV campaigns, microsites, print goodness, viral – you name it, we want it. Whether it’s traditional or cutting-edge, we’re looking to show the best ideas to an audience who appreciate a killer campaign when they see it.

They've been accepting submissions for just over a month, but have extended their deadline until Tuesday, April 7th.

So if you've done some outstanding work that just never made it out the door, submit it at Killed Ideas and see how it stacks up against the rest. And of course, you can also follow Killed Ideas on Twitter.

Upcoming AIGA Event - Drink for Design

The next AIGA Idaho Drink for Design event is coming up on Thursday, April 23rd. From the group's website:

All designers need to be hydrated to keep up with all that creative genius out there, whatever your choice of liquid may be, i.e., vitamin induced pump-you-up water, cola, beer, mixed drinks... Come and enjoy liquid refreshment together and refuel your creative juices*.
*please no spewing

Details are as follows:

Date: Thursday, April 23rd
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: The Modern Hotel, 1314 W. Grove St, Boise ID

For questions or more information, contact the AIGA Idaho folks.

Idaho Business Review's Idaho Women of the Year

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2009 Idaho Business Review's Idaho Women of the Year honors.

As always, the 50 women selected are all incredibly talented in their own right. This year's honorees include a couple of familiar names in the marketing world, such as:

• Holly Sue Kerns, Kerns Brand Marketing
• Lynda Friesz-Martin, Lynda Friesz Public Relations

Congratulations to both, and all of this year's honorees.

Oliver Russell Wins in Houston

Work from Oliver Russell was recognized recently at the Houston Advertising Federation's ADDY Awards Show.

In total, five campaigns that Oliver Russell produced for Hewlett Packard's Personal Systems Group were recognized, including:

• Two Gold ADDY Awards
• Two Silver ADDY Awards
• One Citation of Excellence.

The agency has made photos of the work available on their website.

Headline Roundup for March 26th

RAB: Ad Agencies Call for Informed Digital Sellers - via Mediaweek

Marketers, Agency Execs Not Optimistic about Short-Term Ad Spending - via MarketingVOX

Panel: Agency Execs Advocate Ad, Marketing Fusion - via MediaPost

Optimistic CMOs: Budgets, Jobs Stable; Need More Digital Focus - via MarketingVOX

Marketers Lag in Shift Online - via Adweek

Making More Than a Good Impression - via Adweek

One Memorable Avocado

Nation's Restaurant News recently recognized work produced by Stoltz Marketing Group for Simplot Food Group. The piece, a print ad for Simplot's avocado products, was named the highest performing ad for 2008.

The magazine’s ADinsite™ study surveyed readers on twenty ads for recall, believability and both short- and long-term interest in the product advertised. The Simplot ad outperformed efforts by recognizable brands including Heinz, The Beef Council, Idaho Potato Commission, Butterball and Tyson.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

New Hire at Justinen Creative Group

Justinen Creative Group in Nampa has added Steve Creitz as Senior Illustrator. Steve will be managing JCG's various illustration projects, as well as assisting with in-house development of JCG's sister company Good Salt.

Steve has a decade's worth of experience in print illustration and art direction, and was previously an Art Director with Narrow Gate Media in Vancouver, WA. He will also be receiving a MFA in Illustration from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco this coming year.

Congratulations Steve.

IN PLAY: Idaho Lottery

As many already know, the Idaho Lottery has issued a Marketing Services Request for Proposal.

From the press release:

The Idaho Lottery is asking marketing and advertising firms to respond to three main service categories that include “Account Services”, “Creative Services”, and “Media Services”.

The initial term of the current advertising and marketing contract with Drake-Cooper of Boise will expire at the end of this current fiscal year on June 30, 2009. Drake-Cooper has been the advertising agency of record for the Idaho Lottery since operations began twenty years ago. “Going out to bid for these services is not a reflection on the performance of Drake-Cooper, but rather a responsible look at how we are doing business,” added Anderson.

Those who wish to respond to the RFP must submit a letter of "Intent to Bid" to the Idaho Lottery no later than 5:00 pm MDT on Friday, March 27th, and written proposal responses are due no later than 5:00 pm MDT on Friday, April 29th. Additional details about the RFP process, timelines and such are available on the Idaho Lottery's website.

What Makes a Good Creative Director

Our friends at The Denver Egotist recently published a two-part series (and rant) on What Makes a Good Creative Director.

Some highlights from Part 1:

The creative director is the last line of defense.
That is the last line of defense. When no one else in the creative department knows where to take a job, or how to crack a brief, the CD can do it. They have the experience, the savvy and the ability to produce the work when no one else can.

The creative director is well-versed in all crafts.
Great CDs are chameleons who understand the balance between concepts & strategy, and copy & design. Which is a nice segue into the next point.

The creative director is well-read.
But by reading a wide variety of books, periodicals and websites, the CD is furnished with a mind that can think outside of the annuals, and guide work that other agencies will follow.

And a few nuggets from Part 2:

The creative director produces work
But a good CD will still want to do some of the work, usually about 25% of it. As a creative, that scares me. The idea that I could only spend one-quarter of my time doing what I love most is a chilling thought, but perhaps when the time comes I’ll be ready to slow down on the work and see a bigger picture. But the fact remains, creative directors should still have the ability to take a brief and produce some terrific work.

The creative director knows every creative brief intimately
The brief is the lifeblood of any campaign, and it should never be allowed to be anything less than perfect. I’ve worked in agencies that gave account managers ten days to write the brief and creative teams five days to solve it. This may seem out of whack to the uneducated, but when the creative brief is tight and provides solid, focused direction, the ideas flow.

The creative director can sell or present anything, and do it well
Selling and presenting is a skill; by the time you’re elevated to the dizzy heights of CD, you should be damned good at it.

Finally, the creative director improves the work
A good CD will improve the work. Period.

Now this is by no means a complete summary of the series that Felix put together. I encourage all of you to take the time to read the entire thing (yes, both parts). If you find something that interests you, or sparks a thought, take the time to leave them a comment.