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Author: Maura Noonan

Events Stuff

RECAP: Headshots & Hops

Maura Noonan

AAF Buffalo is proud to have hosted its first ever Headshots & Hops on Thursday, April 7 at the iconic Seneca One Tower. As the name suggests, this event lended an opportunity for the ad community to gather for an evening of networking, IPAs, and best of all, professional headshots to spruce up those LinkedIn profiles. With more than 40 people in attendance, including club members, college students, and board members, we’re grateful to FIFTEEN for sponsoring the photography and to Seneca One for providing us with arguably the coolest new venue in Buffalo.

“Headshots are an art — and our photographer, Brianna DeJoy, created masterpieces. It was a fun way to get together, get a new pic, have a drink and make new friends,” said Jordan Lema, founder of Lemur Studios & AAF Board Member.

A senior at Villa Maria College, Bridget, said “”I love how my headshots turned out! Brianna is such a talented photographer. I’ll keep an eye out for more AAF events, I really enjoyed it and would look forward to attending others.”

So for Brianna, and all of you readers interested in attending the next AAF event, visit our website at aafbuffalo.com/events or follow us on social media to stay up to date!

Events

RECAP: JINGLE BOWL 2021

Maura Noonan

Twas’ the night of the AAA’s reveal, while agencies competed for the golden pin, endless cans of food were donated, and one agency took home a win. 

The 2021 Jingle Bowl was back in action! Mower, The Martin Group, Crowley Webb, Fifteen, Gelia, Mr. Smith, and more gathered for an incredible night as agencies across Buffalo were able to finally gather for a fun night of bowling at Transit Lanes. To say the least, the teams got competitive with close scores, but one team took the golden pin home – congrats to Gelia! 

Attendees donated to FeedMore WNY upon entering the event. Beating last year’s total, we weighed in at 367 pounds of donated non-perishables to help feed families during the holiday season, which nearly doubled our virtual food drive donation from 2020! Let’s go Buffalo!

But what’s a game of bowling without a bit of mystery? Mower, the hosts of the 2022 AAA’s, delivered a confidential guessing game as they delivered this coming year’s theme: WHO DUN IT?, introducing some of the mysterious main characters leading into the show. We can’t wait to see what unfolds for this year’s show on March 4, 2022.

Thank you to FARM for the generous donation towards the food drive, and a huge shoutout to our best (and worst) and most festive bowlers who made the trip out for a memorable night. 

We will see you all next year!

Students Stuff

RECAP: BRANDHACK 2022

Maura Noonan

Brand Hack was back in person this fall for a fun-filled morning of branding excitement last week. 

The student event was held by AAF Buffalo at Daemen College and was free for AAF student members. This year’s featured organization was Candles in the S.U.N., a local nonprofit that uplifts the Buffalo community through extra curricular youth activities, mentorship and donation drives.

The morning kicked off with some branding 101 tips and a creative briefing from AAF: Buffalo’s Education Committee Chair, Noah Herman, along with opening remarks from Dakarai Singletary, Head of Candles in the S.U.N.. Armed with ideas and their pencils, students took to their sketchbooks alongside the Pros. Art Directors from Crowley Webb, Gelia and Renoun Creative collaborated with students on logo concepts for the organization. Students benefited from getting an inside look at the brainstorming process from professionals in the advertising field. Distilling the best concepts, incorporating type and color were the finishing touches as the clock ticked ever closer to the finish line. 

After the students finished their work, they presented their concepts to Dakarai, walking him through each component of their work. Dakarai raved about each concept, finding something of worth from each piece. For example, he loved Coolt McAndrew’s logo, which he felt would make a great piece for the company’s youth sports jerseys. Karion Carter’s graphics would be great for donation drives, and Katelynn Stechsor’s badge logo made him think of ways to implement this idea onto t-shirts.

Ultimately, Emma Lonnen’s logo was the winning concept to be chosen by Dakarai to move forward with for the company’s logo rebrand. Dakarai felt Emma’s concept successfully took Candles in the S.U.N. s original logo to the next level without changing directions. 

Congratulations Emma and students for completing this year’s edition of the Brand Hack! We are looking forward to seeing you again at next month’s Portfolio Seminar. Stay tuned for details!

Stuff

RECAP: Johnathan Worden

Maura Noonan

Johnathan Worden, a leader in organizational and management development, made a side gig as a children’s book author; and it all happened by accident. “Mr. Moose Caboose Finds His Way”, the first in the series The Great Dane Chronicles, is the finished product of a pandemic project that Worden sought out after in honor of his great dane dog, Moose. As the muse behind this book, Worden channeled Moose’s behaviors and interactions with other humans and dogs from puppyhood to adulthood and how the shift impacted not only Moose, but also Worden and his husband, Nick. 

Worden shared his story with attendees of this AdWeek event at The Barrel Factory in Buffalo. He started the conversation with the exploration of the audience’s own goals and dreams — things they want but haven’t fully gone after yet. Worden used Mentimeter to engage the audience through their smartphones. He asked things like what the audience’s goals are, what’s holding them back, what they do for work and/or a side gig, and other prompts that got the audience engaged. 

With stacks of signed books behind him, Worden took the time to go through his book and add in the details behind it – ones that children wouldn’t necessarily understand; and he even gave the audience a peek into his upcoming book in the series: “Mr. Moose Caboose and the Lavender Goose.”

After his presentation, all audience members got a signed book from Worden and walked away with an altered perspective and new found inspiration for their own personal goals.

AdWeek Events

RECAP: TIPSY TOWER TOURS

Maura Noonan

And just like that, it was day three of AAF Buffalo’s annual Adweek. On Wednesday, October 6 our members gathered together at the famous Seneca One tour to learn about the happenings at 43North and a full tour of the new and improved building. 

To kick-off the evening, participants were invited to enjoy a drink at the Seneca One Lobby Bar before heading up to the 24th floor for a fun visit with 43North. The one and only Maura Devlin,    vice president of marketing and public relations at 43North provided an informative presentation of all the great work the company is doing to build a strong startup and tech ecosystem within the city. Members were able to participate in a Q&A to learn more about the creation of 43North and what’s to come for Buffalo. 

Following the Q&A, members received a tour of Seneca One and got a live-look of the stunning views of downtown Buffalo. A shout-out to Joe Konze of Seneca One for providing an inside look into how the building has become the new wave of energy downtown and then most anticipated development in the city’s modern history. 

A huge thank you for everyone who attended or participated in any of this year’s AdWeek events! For more info on all of our programming for the club year, check out AAFBuffalo.com/events.

Not a member? No worries! You can get access to member-exclusive events and special discounts by becoming a member today.

Events

THE BIG TIP OFF 2021

Maura Noonan

The Big Tip-Off Returns!

On August 26th, AAF Buffalo hosted its annual scholarship fundraising event, The Big Tip-Off! Local advertising and marketing professionals alike were thrilled about the return of the annual event after putting the 2020 event on hold due to COVID-19 concerns. This year, the event was held at Sky Bar, one of Buffalo’s longtime favorite rooftop bars. 

Eight of Buffalo’s top agencies (and a local copper manufacturer) elected an employee to serve as a “celebrity bartender” during the event, leading to a fun night of friendly competition, gimmicks, and partying under the stars. And for the first time ever, we offered digital tipping via Venmo to reduce cash handling!

$5,500 was raised in total – breaking the annual fundraising event’s all-time record! AAF Buffalo’s scholarship fund supports the local advertising community by awarding local high school and college students annually. 

So, who won bragging rights for the most tips you ask?

  • Crowley Webb came in 1st Place.
  • FIFTEEN came in 2nd Place.
  • And Mower came in 3rd Place!

Aurubis Buffalo, a local copper manufacturer earned an honorable mention for coming in 4th place as the only non-agency represented! 

Shannon Polvino, Public Relations Project Manager at Aurubis Buffalo

Thank you to the participating companies for lending their bartending talent for the night. And kudos to everyone who attended, donated, or tipped from home!

  • Luminus
  • The Martin Group
  • Crowley Webb
  • 19 Ideas
  • FIFTEEN
  • Mower
  • Mr. Smith Agency
  • FARM
  • Aurubis Buffalo