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ADDYS

Buffalo wins big at the District Two ADDYS

While our WNY ADDY show is only a fond memory by now, the great work created by our community is still racking up the awards. You see, any silver and gold winners at the local level were eligible to move on the District Two show – and take on work from the top member clubs in Delaware, DC, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

It’s always an honor to win at the D2 level, and Buffalo usually brings home a small handful of awards. So you can imagine our level of excitement hearing the news that we’ve brought home nine gold, six silvers, and five student awards.

Congratulations to all! On to the nationals at the AAF American Advertising Awards Show on June 7!

Gold Winners

Crowley Webb

Real Important Mixed Media Campaign
M&T Bank

Notre Dame Academy Uh Oh Poster – Frisbee
Notre Dame Academy

Notre Dame Academy Uh Oh Poster – Play-Doh
Notre Dame Academy

Notre Dame Academy Uh Oh Poster – Corn Flakes
Notre Dame Academy
notredame

Gelia

Vending Machine Prank
Independent Health Foundation

QCRG Travel Team Posters
Queen City Roller Girls
qcrg

White Bicycle

Andrew Bird “Sonic Arboretum” Poster
The Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston
andrewbird

Philip Burke “The Likeness of Being” Book
Burchfield Penney Art Center
likeness

Block Club

UNYTS Video Campaign
UNYTS

 

Silver Winners

15 Fingers

Raise the Dead with Us
Hodgins Engraving Co., Inc.
(Two Silvers)
printisdead

Telesco Creative Group

140 Years Linked with History
Columbus McKinnon
columbus

DG Apparel Official 2015 Buffalo Marathon Apparel
DG Apparel & Gifts
marathon

Block Club

Vera Pizzeria – 100 Passport
Vera Pizzeria
verapassport

LUMINUS

Druthers Website & SVG Animation
Druthers
druthersblog

Student Gold

Megan Sweeney

Buffalo Reptile Expo Poster
Buffalo State College

Grace Gruarin & Lucy Norton

SKALD
Villa Maria College

Student Silver

Grace Gruarin

Fjallraven Annual Report
Villa Maria College

Megan Sweeney

NFPA Brochure Series Redesign
Buffalo State College

Chelsea Turton

The Chew
Daemen College

Students

2016 Student Portfolio Review Recap

Ad-Club-of-Buffalo_Portfolio-Review-2016_0110On Saturday April 9, Daemen College hosted the annual student Portfolio Review, an engaging event for students and professionals alike. The event was made possible with the contribution of agency art directors, designers, academic professors, successful freelancers and many other seasoned professionals who dedicated their time to review the student portfolios in sessions of timed intervals. Participating visual communications students included students from Buffalo State, Daemen, UB, Villa Maria, and even Kutztown University of Pennsylvania!

The 1:1 portfolio reviews took place from 10am-3pm, with a break for a lunch at the midpoint. Students reported they received lots of valuable feedback from professionals, and would highly recommend the event to others, one stating, “It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.”

At the end of the day, professionals voted for the most effective portfolios for scholarship awards available to students continuing next year in their degree program. It was reported that all students had impressive portfolios, so it was a very tough decision!

The following students received the most accolades from the judges:

1st Place Angela Marini, Daemen Junior
2nd Place Samantha Lonczak, Villa Maria Junior
3rd Place Ali Casarsa, Villa Maria Junior

Congratulations to the scholarship winners and to all the students who participated in the event! And, thank you to the many professionals who gave up their Saturday to offer valuable feedback. We look forward to seeing more outstanding design work next year!

ADDYS Blog

2016 Addys Recap: Married to Your Work

Summary by Scott Bartels

The 2016 WNY American Advertising Awards was truly a special night.  Over 420 people from our local industry gathered on Friday, March 4 at Statler City in Downtown Buffalo for this year’s celebration.  The theme presented by FARM was “Married to Your Work” which pays homage to the labor of love in advertising.

There are so many people to thank for putting another great show.  It all starts with the chairs, April Brown (FARM), Sarah Dipofi (The Martin Group) and Christie Berardi (The Martin Group).  They did a phenomenal job, planning the show since September and executing an event that everyone can be proud of!  Well done and thank you once again.

Their supporting cast really helped bring the show to life.  FARM’s own Greg Bauch was a huge hit kicking off the show with his catchy versions of popular songs such as ADDY (Happy), Route (Shout) and Sweet Headline (Sweet Caroline).   Jon Koziol was the man behind the scenes, running the flawless production of the event.  Lauren Cius and team compiled a beautiful hard cover show book.  The entire team at FARM deserves a lot of credit and thanks for their dedication and work to bring this year’s show theme to life. 

Of course you can’t have an awards show without winners.  And here are the great achievements of the night:

Professional Winners

Gelia was the big winner of the night, taking home the most ADDYs with 35 awards (17 Gold and 18 Silver).  Crowley Webb received a total of 29 awards (4 Gold and 25 Sliver), Block Club was honored with 19 awards (7 Gold and 12 Silver), 15 Fingers took away 12 awards (5 Gold and 7 Silver), and dPost secured 10 awards (2 Gold and 8 Silver). Other award winners include:

  • The Martin Group (1 Gold and 7 Silver)
  • White Bicycle (5 Gold and 2 Silver)
  • Quinlan (5 Gold and 1 Silver)

Best of Show

The whole night built up to the final award of the night, the Best of Show.  This year’s winner was Block Club, picking up for their UNYTS, “Save Warren” TV spot.

Special Awards

Some very talented individuals were also honored with Special Awards.  The 2016 recipients were:

  • Edward J. Healy, Vice President of Marketing, Visit Buffalo Niagara David I. Levy Communicator of the Year Award
    This award was created to recognize outstanding achievement and service in the communications industry.
  • John Paget, Paget FilmsAlex Osborn Award for Creativity
    Named in honor of Alex Osborn of Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn fame, this award recognizes individuals who, through outstanding creative achievements, have left an indelible mark on the Western New York creative community.
  • Peter Burakowski, Director of Marketing, 43 North The Odysseus Award
    The Odysseus Award was established in 2011 by the Advertising Club of Buffalo to honor a client in the Western New York market (individual or group/department) who has used the discipline of strategic marketing and advertising in an extraordinary way.
  • Charlie Fashana, Client Strategy Director, FARM Buffalo Joe Crowley Award for Service
    This award recognizes not only hard work, but also outstanding achievement in furthering the activities and interests of the club.
  • Jillian Minderler, Graphic Designer, Quinlan & Company Advertising Club of Buffalo Future Star Award
    This award honors an outstanding young professional in the marketing and advertising field who has demonstrated great potential in his or her early years in the industry.

The Veritiv Creative Use of Paper Award

This year it was awarded once again to White Bicycle for their Charles A. Burchfield, “A Resounding Roar” LP Package for the Burchfield Penny Art Center and Righteous Babe Records.  A special thanks to Jean Clemens from Veritiv for her continued support of the Ad Club and this award.

Best Show Book Ad Award

This year had a tie between BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and Charles Waldorf Photography.  Congrats to both!

Student Winners

College students were also included in the action. Taking home the Student Best of Show was Jessica Puskar of Villa Maria College for No. 2 Pencil Box. Megan Sweeney from Buffalo State College received 5 awards, 2 Gold and 3 silver.  Students each taking home one Gold award include:

  • Chelsea Turton, Damen College
  • Grace Gruarin, Villa Maria College

Student Silver award winners include:

  • Chad Hornberger, Buffalo State College
  • Eric Hostetter, St. Bonaventure University
  • Grace Gruarin, Villa Maria College
  • Lucy Norton, Villa Maria College
  • Rachel Surdi, St. Bonaveture Universtiy
  • Samantha Lonczak, Villa Maria College

Thank You to Our Sponsors

The 2016 WNY American Advertising Award Show was sponsored by: Buffalo Limousine, Comfort Suites Downtown, WNED TV, Charles Waldorf Photography, Gateway Printing & Graphics, Inc., KC Kratt photography, Big Ditch Brewing Company, IMG_INK, Veritiv, Cohber Press, Inc., Hodgins Engraving, Propellerhead Media, CJ Sound, Premier Sound, TOPS Friendly Markets, Orchard Fresh, Santoras Catering.

On to a bigger stage…

The Gold and Silver winners in both professional and student categories will have the opportunity to compete in the AAF District 2 American Advertising Awards with the hope of moving on to the national show in Anaheim in June. 

Congratulations to all the winners and another successful year of work in WNY!

ADDYS Blog

2016 Addys Judges’ Choice: Love at First Sight

Our American Advertising Awards judges spent Saturday, January 16 carefully looking at more than 500 professional entries and nearly 50 student entries submitted this year, and while they had great things to say about all the work, there were a few that made them say “That’s the one.”

MightyTaco_SiriUsRadio

Katherine O’Brien:

Mighty Taco Siri-Us Radio, McCandless Marketing & Media

I chose the Siri-Us spot for Mighty Taco because it’s simply great radio. It did everything right, from featuring a unique audio technique to focusing on a simple, relatable problem to solving it with the product in a way that feels authentic. This spot was funny, catchy and resulted in all of the judges hitting Might Taco on Saturday night.

AndrewBirdSonicArboretumPoster_WhiteBicycle

Bill Starkey:

Andrew Bird “Sonic Arboretum” Poster, White Bicycle

Sometimes something just reaches from the page, or the screen, or the wall, and grabs you and won’t let you go. Looking back at this judging experience, this poster was that piece for me. As soon as I saw it, I absolutely knew I wouldn’t forget it.

I had no idea what this exhibition was, but I instantly wanted to know.

(And I found out right after we finished judging—thanks Google). Moreover, I wanted to go. And that is the whole point, right?

The beauty of this poster is it did its job without words, without a joke, without a strong call to action or any of those other “advertising” things. It does it simply with how stunning it is. It stopped me with craftsmanship in the illustration, and with the exceptional detail in the printing, which both combined quietly speak volumes about this exhibition. Every detail right down to the selection of the stock made me feel what the designer intended me to feel. It starts to transcend just a piece of communication – it starts to get into the world of art promoting art.

Most of all it stopped me with calm and beauty. What a relief from our world of digital bombardment – moving images and clickbait and photoshopped everything with a life expectancy of about 6 seconds. I would gladly frame this and hang it. Hint hint.

QCRG_TravelTeamPosters_Gelia

John Howard:

Queen City Roller Girls Travel Team Posters, Gelia

I chose the Queen City Roller Girls Lake Effect poster campaign as my Judge’s pick. An incredible well-crafted movie style poster series, it talks smack perfectly—with clever twists along the way. Individually each is fantastic, however together they sing like a perfectly conducted chorus. From the DC’s roller girls-themed American flag or Pittsburgh’s opposing faces in steel, the designer brought a unique eye and depth to his design. These four posters reflect a creative who started with a good idea and morphed it into an exceptional campaign. And, clearly, he had a blast doing it.

QCRG_WarOfFourPosters_Gelia

Kelly Butler:

Queen City Roller Girls War Posters, Gelia

I loved the idea behind this campaign. The visuals were also very well-done and stopped me in my tracks. In short, I asked the chapter if they’d send a copy to me so I could hang it on my wall. That’s how much I liked it!

ADDYS Blog Events

Everyone loves the previews

By Matt Low

You know you’ve done it. You’ve sat in the theater as the lights went down and the familiar green screen with wonderfully calming Gotham type appears, followed by an incredibly enticing two-minute highlight reel of what’s probably the 120-minute mental equivalent of rug burn has you wetting your pants with jealousy and scorn over the full-length picture you just paid $12 to see.

“WHY AREN’T I SEEING THAT MOVIE? RIGHT NOW!” you say to yourself.

That right there’s the power of the preview. And ADDY Preview Night proved to be no less enthralling.

For those of you who weren’t there (Wait, what? What’s wrong with you? It was FREE with your ADDY ticket. FREE. Free camaraderie. You are coming to the ADDYs, right? Oh. Okay. You were just busy that night. See you at the ADDYs.), take a stab at what you missed:

  • A stellar evening filled with light banter among colleagues
  • A closer look at the best work the Western New York advertising community produced in 2015
  • Zebras
  • Amazing apps and beers courtesy of Big Ditch Brewing Company
  • Ad Club President Scott Bartels’ new haircut
  • None of the above
  • Some of the above
  • Most of the above
  • All of the above, except zebras

Well, you weren’t there, so you’ll never truly know. You blew it.

For those of you who were there (You’re awesome and we love you with every ounce of our collective beings. Kisses and hugs to you for days.) you know just how great it was. You know all about the lovely laughs and conversations had as the Western New York ad heavyweights put down the pens and closed the laptops for an entire evening to catch up over beers. And how about those beers? Big Ditch continues to demonstrate why it’s one of the region’s craft beer giants. Plus the food. This place isn’t just about the hops – the meatballs were heavenly. You also know how excellent the work was that this community churned out last year, as the best of the best was in front of your eyes just as it was for the ADDY judges a few weeks earlier.

You know it was a great night. You were there. And for that, we love you to pieces.

Blog

Uber Bowl VI 2016 Recap

By Marcia Rich:

Monday night we celebrated the sixth annual Uber Bowl. Thankfully, unlike last year, the weather held out and all were able to attend. This annual event is meant to be a review of commercials from the Super Bowl, held the previous night. This year, we decided to put a spin on things and change to a debate-style format.

We had four teams all competing for the coveted Uber Bowl rings (and some extra swag too). The teams raced the clock to choose their favorite, and least favorite ads, and then quickly and succinctly explain to the judges why they chose that ad taking into account creativity and originality, branding, the target audience, and the budget.

A huge thank you goes out to our moderator and referee, Rich “The Bull” Gaenzler from 97 Rock. Rich donned a ref uniform and led our teams through various categories of ads while our three judges (Erin Haskell from Crowley Webb, Ben Barnhardt from dPost, and Frank Conjerti from Quinlan) scored the teams as they presented their case for the best and worst ads. There were arguments and challenges and, of course, many laughs.

The ad categories were:

  • Most Memorable
  • Funniest
  • Most Annoying
  • Best Car Commercial
  • Biggest Let Down
  • Most Kick Ass, and
  • Weirdest

Thank you to all who attended, and thank you Shea’s Smith Theater crew who did a great job with the sound and visuals. We even got some great media coverage from 97 Rock and Channel 4. So, in conclusion, puppymonkeybaby, puppymonkeybaby, puppymonkeybaby, puppymonkeybaby, puppymonkeybaby, puppymonkeybaby, puppymonkeybaby, puppymonkeybaby, puppymonkeybaby, puppymonkeybaby, puppymonkeybaby, puppymonkeybaby, puppymonkeybaby, puppymonkeybaby. Puppy. Monkey. Baby.

Screen Shot 2016-02-12 at 1.42.56 PM  Screen Shot 2016-02-12 at 1.42.42 PM Screen Shot 2016-02-12 at 1.45.17 PM Screen Shot 2016-02-12 at 1.42.30 PM

AdLab Blog Events Students

At BrandHack Some Strangers Got Really Creative Really Fast!

I was fortunate enough to be accepted to the Ad Club Board of Directors this past summer of 2015. Prior to that, I was only a member of the club for one year. Both years, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the people I’ve met and the events I’ve attended. One of my goals when I joined the board was to try and help explore how to make events more interactive and fun. Being from the tech side of the creative world, I decided I would try and borrow from my friends in the tech industry and see if I couldn’t take the idea of an all day “hack-a-thon” and marry it with the design world’s creativity.

brandhack-judgesI enlisted the help of some wildly talented and highly regarded creative talent from the Buffalo area. Julie Zack (Designer: BrandEven), Mike LaDuca (Partner: LUMINUS), Monish Bhattacharyya (Creative Director: FourthIdea), and Michael Downey (Art Director: FARM). This crew would serve two very important purposes of helping shape and guide each rapidly compiled campaign idea as well as judge the final products and declare the winning Brand Hack campaign.

We had three main goals for this event:

  1. Encourage team members to get to know each other. The teams were randomly assigned with an even distribution of talent types.
  2. Bring students together with professionals so they can see and participate in the work flow process of a professional.
  3. Make it challenging, but allow for creativity with no limitations other than theme and required deliverables.

brand-hack-awardsOf course we had to make it worthwhile as well. Chelsea Turton, the board’s student liaison, created an amazing graphic of a rocket “idea” breaking through an alarm clock. We decided to build off that and after a few minutes of brainstorming, we googled “Rocket Trophies” and the rest was history.

We had 6 hours to fit in a creative briefing, production, presentations, and judging. The pressure was almost on me as much as the teams attending. We broke the day like this; 30 minutes for team introductions & creative brief, 4.5 hours for production, 45 minutes for 5 minute presentations (everyone went a few minutes over but it was ok), and 15 minutes for judging. Surprisingly, it actually worked really well!

brand-hack-teamsThe fluctuations in the day were amazing to observe. Early on before the briefing it was as loud as a high school lunch room. Everyone was chatting up a storm getting to know each other. Then after a moment of silence for the creative briefing, came the flurry of conversations as the teams started talking out concept ideas. Then, after Michael proclaimed around noon “You should definitely be into designing by now, 3 hours left!” the room went silent, like a good Thanksgiving dinner when everyone starts eating. It was pretty entertaining to watch as an outsider. Everyone gave great presentations and each team was very supportive of the others while they presented.

The challenge was to develop an awareness campaign that would help the fictional “Urban Food Bank” solicit donations year-round, rather than just the popular November & December Holiday months. A bonus would be to create an urgency for donating or funding toiletries which are an often overlooked aspect of the care provided by the bank.

I’m biased, but I think the event was awesome. Nobody seemed bored, everyone was engaged, and there was some really great work that came out of this.

And now I’m happy to share the campaigns that were dreamt up in 4.5 hours on a random Saturday in January by complete strangers. Starting with the winning campaign, the runner up, and the other great campaigns in no particular order. It really was amazing was great work came out of just 4.5 hours.

WINNER: “Roll Reversal”

brandhack-roll-reversal

randhack-winnersTeam Two’s campaign, “Roll Reversal”, is focused on increasing donations of toilet paper to the Urban Food Bank. This campaign is designed to target people when they are in a position to empathize with those in need of toilet paper, and usually have a mobile device in-hand.

We created vinyl wraps for use inside of public bathroom stalls to cover the full toilet paper rolls, making them appear empty, hopefully giving people that “Oh Shit” feeling of being out of toilet paper.

The ultimate goal of this campaign is to drive people to a landing page for the Urban Food Bank that is optimized for mobile conversions and provides an quick button to donate an amount of money equivalent to one roll of toilet paper.

Runner Up: “One More”

brandhack-just-1-more

brandhack-runners-upBy giving just “one more”, you can change lives. “One more” is easy and is something everyone can do, but it makes a big impact. You’re filling a gap in your community by giving “one more” dollar or donation. Really show WHO the donations are going to by telling the stories of the people in need. Guarantee donations are doing good for your friends and neighbors. Make it fun, and something people want to do over and over. We would provide free bags that can be filled with donations and conveniently emptied at numerous drop off locations. We would utilize a number of tactics including a mobile app.

“Feed The Hunger Monster”

brandhack-hunger-monster

The goal of the “Feed the Hunger Monster” campaign is to increase food, toiletry, and monetary donations specifically in the spring to prepare for school being out in summer.

It’s tough to focus when you’re hungry or don’t feel your best. The monster is a physical representation of those feelings. “Feed the Hunger Monster” aims to show parents what kids can accomplish when they’re not worried where their next meal will come from, or if their classmates will mock them for their clothes or hygiene.

“Treats to Meals”

brandhack-treats-to-meals

While you enjoy the delights of the season the Anderson family needs your help. Turn your extra money into meals for them by donating to the Urban Food Bank.Visit treatstomeals.com to help and donate.

“Metro Market”

brandhack-metro-market

MetroMarket makes it easier than ever to grow your community.

The MetroMarket truck stops by your home once a month to exchange food and toiletries for fresh fruits and vegetables grown in Buffalo’s own urban gardens.

We donate an equal shipment of fresh foods to Urban Food Bank.

It really is that simple.

AdLab AdWeek Blog Stuff

We Got Cultured at Adtoberfest.

Workplace culture is incredibly important. It’s the difference between having a team full of Gary Go-Getters or a team full of Debbie Downers. That’s why we brought in Aaron McBride and Mark McKenzie from Brokaw, a Cleveland-based ad agency, to speak during Adtoberfest, our 2015 Buffalo Ad Week. Brokaw was named Ad Age Small Agency of the Year for Culture in 2013 and they also lay claim to being the world’s greatest ad agency, a title attributed to their sense of humor and SEO capabilities.

So what’s the secret to a small ad agency in Cleveland (practically Buffalo, just with LeBron James) getting recognized for their culture? According to Mark and Aaron it’s a simple two step approach.

Hire talented, self-motivated people who happen to be nice.

Let them create the culture.

Seems simple enough, doesn’t it? The beauty of that approach is that it isn’t complex and everyone has the opportunity to create a rockin’ culture. You want to be part of a team that wakes up every morning forgetting there is a snooze button on the alarm, don’t you?

The crutches

Of course their trip to Buffalo was more than dropping a two-sentence nugget of wisdom and a stop at their favorite rest area on the New York State Thruway (highlight video below).

Their story illustrated a simplified approach that arrived after the agency overcomplicated things and they caught themselves relying on some crutches many companies rely on such as:

  • FPAs (fancy-pants acronyms)
  • Gobbledygook phrases
  • Razzmatazz numbers (that video that got 4 million views from eastern Europe with no likes or comments – not truly a viral campaign!)

Known as a creative agency first and foremost, the overcomplicated approach wasn’t good for business. They took a step back and decided they needed to get back to the basics of what they knew and were good at. They focused on their creative approach rather than gimmicky pitches, fancy terminology, and a futuristic logo.

Build around the work

A fresh approach where they didn’t try to be all things to all people, which is something we’ve all done at some point, helped them create a culture that draws like-minded people looking to create great work and clients that want the kind of work they do. You know, probably the reason we all got into this field in the first place. By defining their strength and drawing a line in the sand of what they stand for, they turned things around. They got an award from Ad Age. They got great clients. They got projects they wanted to work on. They got a free trip to Buffalo. See, being true to yourself pays off!

A ping pong table and pictures of office dogs will only get you so far with your employees and customers. At the end of the day it’s about the work and the people creating the work. You know, the culture.

12063490_10153240022925678_626218843734215535_nBonus Materials

Missed the presentation and the post-talk shirt toss from the guys?

You can read more about Brokaw’s approach by downloading the handy guide they created to keep themselves in-check called How To Brokaw, or follow them on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).

Also, Mark and Aaron make up 50% of the sketch comedy group Last Call Cleveland – check out some of their work on YouTube.

AdLab AdWeek Blog

The Branding of the Bulls

Blog post by Kyle Rogers

“Who do we want to be?”

That is a question UB’s Athletic Director Danny White has been trying to answer in his three years with our region’s largest university and a question he addressed in front of dozens of advertising pros at our Adtoberfest kick-off event.

You’ve likely heard about Danny’s strategic vision for the University at Buffalo, coined the “New York Bulls Initiative.” The vision, as explained by the AD, is to become the premier athletic department for the state of New York and bring big-time college athletics to the WNY community and the state at large.

Sure, some may see this as an attempt to rip UB’s deep roots from our community (a few joined us last night). But this is no deterrent for an innovative and progressive athletics director like Danny, who saw the potential in telling UB’s story on a national scale.

But what is UB’s story? What’s there to get recruits, fans, and donors excited?

How about:

  • Member of AAU (alongside big-time programs like UCLA, Michigan, Florida, Ohio State)
  • Largest/highest rated public university in the Northeast
  • Law, medical, dental, business and engineering schools all ranked Top 100 nationally
  • Over 220,000 alumni nationwide
  • $1.7 billion economic impact
  • Large market size with a regional population (WNY) over 2.5 million people

Danny White presents to Ad Club of Buffalo guests

Okay, that is pretty impressive. But how are you going to communicate that? And what are you trying to accomplish?

As White explained, “That’s the easy part. It took over 150 years to establish the University as a nationally-recognized research university and AAU member. Getting the word out? I’d say that’s a lot easier.”

White’s first moves were to establish a strategic vision including 4 pillars: Image, Partnerships, Resources and Facilities. Working with an impressive board of advisors and New Era Cap, the department developed a marketing and branding platform that included a new mark, a temporary signal of where the program is heading.

Content, Content, Content

UB’s creative department, built like a Big Ten school, ran with it and developed a brand that was exciting and sexy. The department developed professional level production facilities so the school can create its own video and web content to help tell the stories of UB student athletes while forming strategic partnerships with ESPN3 and media outlets across New York.  A fully integrated approach that included paid, owned, earned and social media made waves across the region and across the alumni base.

Some of the early successes include shattering attendance records, record-breaking fundraising, 9,306 media mentions (ad value of $25.7 million), and three NCAA tournament appearances (UB had one before. Ever.) One of White’s proudest accomplishments? “We were the only school to go to Columbus for the NCAA regional and have the alumni pre-game party shutdown,” due to capacity attendance from excited fans that made the trip. Way to go Buffalo!

The Cal of the East

Despite these big wins, the #NYBI is still a work in progress. A great deal of question marks still remain about the long-term sustainability of the current mark, a unique game-day experience, and what the UB Bulls will ultimately be called. One interesting comment was about UB striving to become the “Cal of the East,” as a reference to the Berkeley campus of the University of California which is also the flagship of a comprehensive university system where the brands are essentially separated – academics often referred to as UC Berkeley while athletics are known as Cal.

On behalf of the Ad Club, we’d like to thank Danny for giving our club a peek at what it takes to elevate the brand of a major college athletics program as well as taking part in a great question and answer session!

“Branding the Bulls” was the kick-off to Adtoberfest: 2015 Buffalo Ad Week and continues with events Wednesday and Thursday: Adtoberfest: 2015 Buffalo Ad Week

AdLab Stuff

Anne Esse and the Art of Embracing Being “Stuck”

As a recent board member, I have been excited to move into this year and really embrace all that the Ad Club has to offer. After attending Anne Esse’s talk last Tuesday about “The Shift,” I was surprised to walk away with a new appreciation for perspective.

Passion comes in many different packages, and when you are a creative professional, that can manifest into many different emotions. Whether you are facing confusion, frustration or elation, there always seems to be a time when you just feel “stuck.” As a creative turned digital marketer, this is something that I experience on a daily basis. Gone are the days where I would spin my wheels for an innovative graphic solution for clients; my day to day is now centered around strategic concepting in the digital arena. My “stuck” is now figuring out how to boost organic search results, enhance the user’s experience, and the daunting task of making something “trend.” As the digital space has continued to evolve rapidly in the last few years, the adaptability of digital strategy has become imperative for businesses to adopt. It isn’t as simple as just building a website anymore – it is important that businesses have a comprehensive digital strategy across multiple digital platforms. Not only do I not have time to be “stuck,” but my job is to make sure I plan to not get “stuck” in the future. A simple 5 letter word became my work day’s worst nightmare.

I understand that could come off a little dramatic, but the reality is I needed a little perspective – enter Anne Esse. As a veteran Art Director in Western New York and certified coach, I definitely walked in with the expectation that Esse would have something useful to say, but I didn’t expect it to resonate so much. Esse’s anecdotal approach at coaching about moving forward both personally and professionally was a refreshing take on my own professional experiences. Her talk touched on many different topics, but all centered around the theme of learning how to move past the “stuck” feeling and onto your next big idea. For the first time, I started to look at “stuck” as just a part of the creative problem solving process. Bumps in the road are apart of the learning process, and as a creative professional I know that I signed up for the exciting off road adventure.

As the hour long discussion wound down and Esse began to answer questions, I realized that I wasn’t alone in this new found perspective. Creative or not, challenges are apart of the professional world. It is important to embrace new perspectives to continue to grow both personally and professionally.

Bottom Line – Embrace being “stuck.” It means you are just ready to move forward!

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