Rizen Creative

Now those of you who have been reading my assorted posts over the past couple of years know that I've picked on Rizen Creative's website a few times. I swung by there last night just for the hell of it, and an happy to see that they've made a whole slew of changes.

The site now includes real content, such as examples of previous work, an overview of their capabilities, and even a list of employees and their contact information.

I'll reserve comment on the fact that it's all in Flash for now. I'm just glad to see an update.

To Ron, Jeff and the rest of the crew over there - well done.

Technorati tags: rizen creative

Job Opening - Art Director

I received this one via email recently:

Publicis West in Boise will soon be looking for an Intermediate/Senior Interactive & Print Art Director. They should have at least 5 years of experience, and be proficient in both interactive and print design.

Those who are interested can send an email to Associate Creative Director Chris Tweedy.

Technorati tags: art director job, publicis west

What's happening outside of the Treasure Valley

Admittedly, too much of what I write about is focused on Boise and the Treasure Valley. It's where I live, it's where I work, so it just happens. I am curious, however, if anyone is willing to share information on what's happening outside of this area.

Northern Idaho? Eastern Idaho? Sun Valley? Anyone?

Case in point -- Advantage Advertising. Their website has been "under construction" for longer than I can remember. Anything new up there?

Feel free to send me any updates. As always, you're welcome to do so in either a credited role or anonymously.

Technorati tags: idaho ad agencies, advantage advertising

New Agency Addition

FusionSet is the most recent addition to the agency list here at the Idaho Ad Agencies blog. FusionSet was founded in 2006 and offer services that include "marketing planning and implementation, collateral development, publications management, public/media relations, creative development, copywriting and editing, and media planning and buying."

Technorati tags: fusionset

Lots of new faces at Oliver Russell

Yes, its been a while since I've made the "who's in, who's out" rounds, but there are enough changes within the past month that make it worth noting:

Mike Landa has joined Oliver Russell & Associates as an associate director. Most recently, Mike was a graphic designer at Pete Wilson DesignWorks, and prior to that he owned his own shop - Occupancy 66.

John Liebenthal has been promoted from senior writer to associate director over at Oliver Russell.

Julie Robinson has joined Oliver Russell as a public relations manager.

Jennifer Seavey has signed on with Oliver Russell as an account services director for Hewlett-Packard. She joins Oliver Russell most recently from the Overland Agency and CMD.

Jesse Huffman is the newest face over at Oliver Russell, joining the shop as a graphic designer. He is a recent graduate of Montana State University.

That's all of the new faces over there that I'm aware of. Are there others that I've missed?

Technorati tags: oliver russell, pete wilson designworks, occupancy 66, hewlett packard, overland agency, cmd, montana state university

The bus has been moved

It's the feel good story of the month in the Treasure Valley. Media outlets have been covering the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition events out in Middleton for the past week. It's a touching story, and a deserving family, no doubt.

My hat goes off to the folks over at es/drake for an outstanding job on the PR for the whole event, as well as a series of well-coordinated updates via the web.

An interesting side note (in my mind, at least) is the fact that CBH Homes appears to have returned to es/drake, after stints with a couple of other agencies over the past few years. I have a great deal of respect for everyone over at es/drake, and I think this serves as testament to the fact that if you do good work, you will see the results in one form or another.

Technorati tags: extreme makeover home edition, es/drake, cbh homes

Balihoo Beta Invitation

Recently I received some information from Shane over at Balihoo. He has extended an invitation to the readers of the Idaho Ad Agencies blog to join the Balihoo Beta. Details are as follows:

Balihoo, a search engine for advertising opportunities, has launched an invite-only Beta Program with ad agencies and media buying organizations that represent over $30 billion in annual media spend. Participants in the Beta Program have the opportunity to get an early look at the solution and help mold its future direction with their feedback

Balihoo would like to extend a special invitation into the Beta Program to the readers of the Idaho Ad Agencies blog, limited to the first 10 responses. With such an excellent resource of dynamic companies in our own backyard, we hope to gather more direct response from local participants. It’s a great opportunity for an agency of any size to establish a competitive advantage by getting involved with this breakthrough solution in the early stages, quickly becoming experts.

The Beta Program is an invite-only program with usernames and passwords being sent out to the participants directly from the Balihoo team. To sign-up for the Beta program and receive your login credentials contact please Devin McGlynn at dmcglynn@balihoo.com. The first ten responses we get at this email will receive “front-of-the-line” treatment directly into the Balihoo Beta Program.

Now I'm not trying to make this into too much of a Balihoo sales site, but the service looks interesting, so I thought it was worth passing along.

As always, comments and feedback are welcome.

Technorati tags: balihoo

Live Large, Give Large Campaign

For those of you that may have been hiding under a rock for the past few days, let me get you up to speed...

ABC's television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is here in Idaho this week. They are working on a home for the Stockdale family of Middleton. CBH Homes is building the new home for the family this week, and as part of the campaign to promote this project, they've been working with es/drake to develop the Live Large, Give Large campaign.

This campaign is promoting the fact that the show is here, that things are happening, and is also encouraging the readers to get involved through donations of goods, services, time, or monetary means. If you'd like to know more about what es/drake has done leading up to this point, take a look at their website. If you'd like to get updates on the project itself, take a look at CBH Homes' website.

On a side note, I have to say that this has been a very effective PR campaign as well. This project has received a tremendous amount of (well deserved) press coverage over the past couple of days. I fully expect this coverage continues until the busses are moved on July 18th.

Technorati tags: abc, extreme makeover: home edition, cbh homes, es/drake, live large give large

Company Profile - Gold Link Media

Gold Link Media was founded in 2006 as a full-service CD/DVD manufacturing company. Gold Link Media was launched by David Fish and Josh Mercaldo, who have over 20 years of combined experience.

Gold Link Media's core offerings include CD/DVD replication and duplication, USB/flash media production, and printing, packaging, assembly, warehousing and fulfillment of digital media.

On a personal note, I've had the pleasure of knowing both Josh and David for many years, have recommended their services to several people in the past, and will continue to do so in the future.

Technorati tags: gold link media, david fish, josh mercaldo

New additions to the site

I've finally gotten around to doing a few updates here, including adding a few new shops to the list of agencies in Idaho. In no particular order, they are:

Fuel 3 Advertising
Donahoe Pace & Partners (that one's for you, George)
Peppershock Media Productions

If there are others that I've missed, by all means let me know.

Technorati tags: fuel 3 advertising, donahoe pace & partners, peppershock media productions

Job Opening - Account Manager

Side Door Media in Boise has an opening for an Account Manager with 3 - 5 years of experience. The full job posting can be found here.
(Courtesy of Craigslist)

Technorati tags: side door media, account manager job, craigslist

Interests, dreams and taking chances

Over the years I’ve had the good fortune to work with, and/or get to know a number of extremely talented people. One such person is Dave Yasuda.

When I first met Dave, he had been working for Mediaphex, which had just recently merged with a handful of other companies to become Wirestone. He went on to spend several years with Wirestone, before moving over to Oliver Russell & Associates, most recently as Managing Director.

Then, on May 15th of this year, he did something that made me smile just a bit.

He left.

Not because he was unhappy with his job, or dissatisfied with the agency for any particular reason. Rather, he left to go make a movie.

See, in addition to his professional career, Dave has also been an avid and successful film producer. He was involved in the production of Tattoo: A Love Story a few years ago, and is now serving as Executive Producer of a film that is tentatively titled The Fifth Truth.

Dave left the comfortable confines of a steady gig with benefits to spend six months producing a film that everyone hope, and fully expects, to be a success. He made the leap and chose to follow that dream a little further down the road, and for that I have a great deal of respect and admiration for him.

This little snippet from his MySpace blog pretty well sums it up:

"Is it scary to leave a well paying job with benefits for a six month gig producing and directing? Shit yeah, but man, it's a good buzz!"

Technorati tags: dave yasuda, wirestone, oliver russell, tattoo a love story, the fifth truth

Job Opening - Traffic Manager

Hanna & Associates in Coeur d'Alene has an opening for a Traffic Manager with five years of experience. The full job listing can be found here.
(Courtesy of Talent Zoo)

Technorati tags: hanna & associates, traffic manager job, talent zoo

Lots of thoughts...

...banging around in the back of my head lately. I promise I haven't been ignoring the blog, just haven't taken the time to put things into cohesive thoughts.

More to come soon though.

Looks like es/drake...

...found their Account Executive. The job is no longer listed on their website. The Media Director job, however, is.

Technorati tags: es/drake, media director job