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Students Stuff

Student Agency Tour: Northtowns Invasion

Greg Pokriki

On March 22nd, 2019, AAF Buffalo hosted our spring agency tour. Dubbed the Northtown Invasion, this event focused on giving current college students the opportunity to visit local ad agencies outside of the downtown Buffalo area. Students had the opportunity to meet with industry professionals and engage in a professional work setting.

The first stop on the Northtown Invasion agency tour was Gelia. Not only did Gelia provide students with some awesome snacks, but they provided students with an overview of how advertising agencies are structured. This presentation was given by AAF board member Josh Gumulak. A panel of Gelia employees were present to give students insight into potential career paths and internship opportunities.

Next on the list, this tour made a stop at Manzella Marketing. Students were given a tour of their facilities in Bowmansville while also being introduced to the skillful group of people who work there. After the tour, Manzella gave a presentation to students on what services Manzella offers, clients they work with, and some of their processes. And yes, they also provided students with snacks.

Lastly, the Northtown Invasion tour concluded at Farm. Our time at Farm began with a brief presentation about their company, what services they provide, and the clients they work with. Then, students were given a tour of their facilities. The tour concluded with a description of Farm’s internship program, and some students even gave out their own resumes.

The students in attendance were happy to partake in this event. They gain a lot of knowledge (and connections) of the local advertising industry.

        

 

Students Stuff

BrandHack 2019 Recap: Diamonds in the Ruff Animal Rescue

Lauren Carmer

The fourth installment of our BrandHack event featured Diamonds in the Ruff Animal Rescue (DITR), a local non-profit looking for an updated logo, icon set and sales sheet in order to increase brand awareness and show people how to get involved with their organization.

About Our Benefiting Non-Profit

Diamonds in the Ruff Animal Rescue was formed in 2011 by a group of like-minded individuals with one goal in mind – to help and save the voiceless. DITR is a foster and volunteer dog rescue in Niagara and Erie counties.

Meet the Competition

Three teams of students from St. Bonaventure, SUNY Buffalo State, and Hilbert College gathered at Hilbert on a cold Saturday morning. They were tasked with designing updated creative elements for DITR. Three seasons professionals from the area each lead a team: Joe Conti from Luminus, Samantha Lonczak from Fifteen, and Megan Sweeney from Gelia. These creative pros provided guidance and advice for the student teams from brainstorming and development through to execution.

In true BrandHack tradition, teams had five hours to organize and create their ideas before pitching them to our two judges and the representatives from Diamonds in the Ruff.

Guidance from Judges and Rescuers

Our two judges, Frank Conjerti from martin. and Brian Benzin from Columbus McKinnon, offered their expertise throughout the event. They assisted to make sure the teams were on track and accomplishing what they had to deliver on a tight deadline. Meanwhile, DITR representatives Leandra Braham and Erin Boyd provided the students with valuable information as to the various needs of their organization, as well as their process for rescuing animals.

Each team beat the clock and produced some well-executed, unique work along the way. Congrats to all the students and captains for being a part of another great event!

Check out the results of BrandHack 2019!

WINNER: Buff State/Hilbert captained by Joe Conti

RUNNER-UP: St. Bonaventure captained by Samantha Lonczak

Buff State/Hilbert captained by Megan Sweeney

Events Students

2018 Spring Agency Tour: 6 Agencies, 1 Day!

Tim Bouchard

By Tim Bouchard

Well it snowed, but it didn’t stop 15 college students from walking the downtown corridor and visiting 6 agencies to learn what they do, what their office is like, what opportunities await in the future, and what dogs they have to pet. Students started at the South end of Main Street at Crowley Webb and headed North moving on to Luminus, The Revs, The Martin Group, dPost, and ending the day at Block Club.

This event was a great opportunity to see the variety in both sizes and styles of local agencies. Crowley Webb and The Martin Group being the larger of agencies on the stop offered a great look into the full-service, multi-department side of agency life. Luminus, The Revs, dPost, and Block Club each offered a look into the personality and grind that the mid-sized agencies bring to the local ad landscape (also dogs, these 4 all have dogs).

This inaugural event sold out in 24 hours. There is a strong desire from the local college student body to visit and learn about agencies in our area and uncover the mystery. AAF Buffalo will look to provide more of these opportunities in the future with the help of our member companies. We look forward to the next one!

Events Students Stuff

BrandHack 2018: The Foundry’s Makerspaces

Dan Nesselbush
By Josh Gumulak

In what has evolved into an annual event, the third installment of our BrandHack event featured a local non-profit looking for an updated icon set and 11×17 poster to be used in places like bus shelters and message boards around their target neighborhoods. The Foundry’s mission is to increase neighborhood prosperity by empowering individuals through education and entrepreneurship. One of the ways they accomplish this is by offering memberships for their four makerspaces – wood, metal, tech and textile.

Four teams of students (and a pro or two) representing St. Bonaventure, Buff State, UB, Daemen and Hilbert took to UB’s Center for the Arts and were tasked with designing the elements The Foundry was looking for to brand and promote their makerspaces. Leading the teams were seasoned professionals from the area – Megan Sweeney from Gelia, Andrew Martis from martin., Chelsea Turton from Luminus, and Casi Hall from Invest Buffalo Niagara. These designers provided guidance and advice for the teams from brainstorming and development through execution.

The format remained the same from 2017. Teams had five hours to organize and create their ideas before pitching them to our two judges, as well as The Foundry’s representative.

Our two judges, Frank Conjerti from Quinlan and Amber Rampino from 19 IDEAS, offered their expertise throughout the event, and made sure the teams were on track and accomplishing what they had to on the tight deadline. While representing The Foundry, Deb Sarlin provided the students with an in-depth description of what the makerspaces’ goals are and what the client’s hopes were for the materials.

Each team beat the clock and produced some well-executed, unique work along the way, including some pro bono work in the form of a short video, merch designs and a website. Congrats to all the students and captains for producing another great event!

“We were so impressed by the energy and dedication involved in the BrandHack event. The fact that we may use some of the work produced within the Buffalo community is fantastic!” said Deb Sarlin, Director of Education at The Foundry.

Check out the results of the 3rd annual BrandHack below:

WINNER: UB/Buffalo State/Pro captained by Megan Sweeney

RUNNER-UP: St. Bonaventure captained by Chelsey Turton

 

Daemen College captained by Andrew Martis

Hilbert College captained by Casi Hall

Blog Students Stuff

A Few Sips for the Scholars.

Dan Nesselbush
By Brittany Klotzbach

Last Thursday, we held our seventh annual Big Tip-Off. This event has become a favorite tradition of ours, combining friendly competition with a casual environment for networking. The venue allows us to mingle with peers in our industry. Each company that participates has their own representative bartender, pouring drinks for a good cause: raising money for the AAF Buffalo student scholarship fund.

Our bartenders were more than just baristas the night of the event. They also created some promotional videos that helped us boost the event on our social media channels. And it worked; we had our highest-ever attended Big Tip-Off with a whopping 183 attendees (increasing last year’s record by a whopping 73 people!). Our bartenders kept the excitement going, as many of them brought treats and decorated their tip jars. There were even sales to purchase pins raising money directly for the cause. This year’s Big Tip-Off brought in a total of $4,462.21 in tip money, which is more than $745 increase from the year prior. A special congratulations goes out to Biagio Patti, this year’s winning bartender who raked in an impressive $1,219.21 (and those 21 cents really played into effect!).

AAF Buffalo is proud to provide scholarship opportunities to local marketing students through the money we raised collectively at this event. A special thanks is owed especially to our celebrity bartenders who worked hard to earn those tips alongside Biagio Patti, representing Crowley Webb: Tim Staszak, Block Club; Doug Bradley, clevermethod; Grace Durant, Quinlan; Dan Gigante, 19 Ideas; Josh Robinson, Luminus; Kelsey Hanks, Martin; Max Principe, Fifteen. We would also like to thank all of the generous attendees that tipped big.

We hope to see you all again next year to challenge the returning champions from Crowley Webb!

AdWeek Announcements Blog Latest News Students

2017 AAF Buffalo Future Marketer Scholarship

Erin Collins

 

Buffalo Prep Gala 2017 Photos by Dawn M Gibson Photography

AAF Buffalo is proud to award the first Future Marketer Scholarship to Anthony Liriano. A senior at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, Liriano was recently recognized for this achievement at the annual Buffalo Prep Celebration event.

The Future Marketer Scholarship is awarded to a Buffalo Prep student planning to study marketing and advertising in college. Liriano will receive $500 per year for the next four years for a total scholarship of $2,000.

Buffalo Prep was founded in 1989 by education and community leaders to help promising, economically disadvantaged, underrepresented students prepare for, obtain entrance into, and excel at demanding college preparatory high schools.

AAF Buffalo President Scott Bartels with Future Marketer Scholarship Recipient Anthony Liriano

During last October’s annual Advertising Week, AAF Buffalo hosted a career day for Buffalo Prep students, including Liriano. Participants visited Crowley Webb, Luminus and dPost to learn about the careers and services each company offers relative to the advertising and marketing industry. The week also included Mayor Brown’s Ad Week proclamation ceremony at City Hall, where AAF Buffalo announced the new Future Marketer Scholarship program. Liriano spoke at the event about his experience with the career day and what Buffalo Prep means to him.

In the fall, Liriano will attend the University at Buffalo and major in marketing and advertising. He one day hopes to start his own advertising agency.

 

 

Take a look at how the Future Marketer Scholarship came to be.

Advice Blog Board Students Stuff

Board Member Spotlight: Brita d’Agostino

Erin Collins

Read below to learn about three-year board member and academics guru, Brita d’Agostino.

Let’s hear about your day job.

Where do you work, and what does your role entail?

I work at Daemen College as an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design. My role includes teaching introductory-advanced level graphic design courses, research, and service to the college.

What do you like best about what you do?

I enjoy teaching and working with students. It’s been fun to mentor a couple of Daemen students who have served on the AAF board in the Student Liaison position.

What advice do you have for emerging talent in your field?

My advice is to be both driven and adaptable. Keep learning!

What are three things you use at work every day?

Critical thinking, problem-solving, empathy.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Italian desserts.

What’s the last thing you read?

How to Use Graphic Design to Sell Things, Explain Things, Make Things Look Better, Make People Laugh, Make People Cry, and (Every Once in a While) Change the World by Michael Bierut.

What’s your favorite restaurant?

Romeo and Juliet’s Bakery and Café. See guilty pleasure above.

Now, let’s talk a little about AAF Buffalo.

Why did you join AAF Buffalo?

I joined AAF Buffalo to build my professional connections in the communications field in Western New York. I moved to Buffalo from San Francisco for my job at Daemen in 2013, so being on the board helped me connect with local industry professionals and meet new people in the area.

What role(s) do you play on the AAF Buffalo board?

I lead the Academics Committee, and my main role on the board is in education.

What has been your proudest moment in your role on the board?

As an educator, I have been most proud of my students who have served on the board as Student Liaisons: currently Angela Marini; formerly Chelsea Turton, who now works as a Designer at Luminus. They both put in a lot of hard work and dedication to their role as the club’s Student Liaison, and it’s been wonderful to see them rise to the occasion as valuable team members.

What’s your favorite AAF Buffalo event?

My favorite AAF Buffalo event is the Portfolio Review. It’s an excellent opportunity for graphic design students to have their work reviewed by local professionals, and leading the event for the past two years has also been rewarding. I also enjoy reviewing student portfolios and seeing the work coming out of other programs in the area. It’s a lot of fun.

How has AAF Buffalo impacted you professionally?

It has helped me build my professional network in Western New York and make industry connections in the region.

Why would you encourage others to join AAF Buffalo?

I would encourage others to join to make professional connections and learn new things about their industry, whether they participate in a  social networking event, come see a speaker, or participate in a skill shop. In addition to making local professional connections, AAF Buffalo brings in dynamic speakers and programming from outside the region to add new and different perspectives. There’s truly something for everyone.

Blog Students

2017 Don Nichols Scholarship Winners Announced

Dan Nesselbush

AAF Buffalo is proud to announce the winners of the 2017 Don Nichols Scholarship competition.

The theme for the 2017 competition was “Refugees” and students were provided with the following project guidelines: The news has been filled with coverage of refugees. Men, women and children. Seeking asylum from war-torn countries, hoping for the chance at a better life somewhere else. Some countries welcome refugees with open arms, other countries are imposing limits on the number of refugees they are willing to accept. What’s your take on this situation? What do you believe can be done to help? Bring to life your thoughts and opinions in any medium you choose.

The entry format was the contestants’ choice—an advertisement, booklet, essay, poem, illustration, poster, blotter, game, sculpture, photographic print. Macintosh compatible multi-media, three-dimensional pieces or reproduction quality prints were all acceptable. The competition was open to Western New York undergraduates in design, writing, communications, illustration, photography, or fine arts.

Without further ado, the winning entries for the 2017 Don Nichols Scholarship are:

 1st Place $1,000 Scholarship – Katie Giglia of Villa Maria College

2nd Place $500 Scholarship – Erika Tozzo of Villa Maria College

3rd Place $300 Scholarship- Jessica Mjoen of Daemen College

The theme for the 2018 Don Nichols Scholarship Competition will be announced at AAF Buffalo Ad Week 2018 in October and entries will be due in April 2018.

About the Don Nichols Scholarship:
Don Nichols began teaching at the Albright Art School. He founded its Graphic Design Program in 1950 and brought it to UB where, until his death on July 7, 1987, he served as the program’s head and an extraordinarily dedicated teacher. He educated hundreds of graphic designers, a number of whom attained national prominence. Nichols received the Osborn Award for Creative Excellence from the Art Directors/Communicators of Buffalo and the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching from UB in 1982

Advice Blog Board Events Students

2017 Career Panel Recap

Erin Collins

Guest post by Briana Maggio, president, Canisius College Advertising Club; Canisius College ’17

On April 19, 2017, a panel crafted of AAF members arrived at Canisius College with two sheet pizzas and a variety of insightful information. Students beyond the Canisius community gathered in the audience to listen to relevant information about their transition into the workforce.

AAF President Scott Bartels of HSBC Bank led the conversation. The panel offered expertise from Tim Bouchard, co-creator of Luminus; April Brown, art director at Farm; Erin Haskell, marketing manager at Great Lakes Orthodontics; and Kyle Rogers, corporate relations manager at BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York.  

Topics the panel discussed included:

  • Finding your first career
  • Things you wish you did differently when entering the workforce
  • The importance of networking
  • A typical day in your position
  • Tips for job searching
  • The most important piece of advice to share with college students

Members of the panel helped to ease the anxieties of the soon-to-be-graduates as they shared their startup stories. Panel members included that internships played a large role in landing their full-time positions post-graduation, and so did the people they know. Some members of the panel left the country for work, while others bounced around to different companies and mixed in some freelance opportunities through their personal connections. They worked for some unpleasant people along the way, but those baby steps are what shaped them into who they are in the professional world today.

A general consensus among the panel members was that after you land your first job, it’s normal to realize it’s not your dream job. Despite your dream, it is in a young business professional’s best interest to stay relevant and to focus on the learning aspect of the position to grow within the field. Proficiency, professionalism, and talent can boost you towards your professional goals. The marketing and advertising fields are constantly evolving, so make your presence by growing with them.

Juniors and seniors in attendance learned that networking is just as uncomfortable of an approach for the business professional as it is for the student, and yet just as crucial for future success. It is important to do your homework, both for the job you’re reaching for and the contact you are trying to develop. You can have a “bullet-proof” on-brand resume and cover letter, but so could the individual you’re competing with for the job. Hiring in agencies is very strategic, so students can provide themselves with the upper hand by networking prior to the interview through AAF hosted events and informational interviews.

The career panel offered new considerations as well as influential suggestions for students embarking on the application process this spring. The conclusion of the event provided a question and answer segment, which allowed students to share topics that have been on their minds during this transition. The information from the career panel was very appreciated, and surely an influence to college students. Canisius College looks forward to developing a relationship with AAF Buffalo and believes in the success it can bring to the students.

A big thank you on behalf of Canisius Advertising Club to all that attended and to all that presented to make this a valuable first event hosted at Canisius College!

Blog Events Students

2017 Portfolio Review Recap

Erin Collins

Guest post by Noah Herman, Daemen College ’18

On Saturday, April 1, Daemen College hosted AAF Buffalo’s annual Portfolio Review. Even though the event fell on April Fool’s Day, students gained real, insightful advice from graphic designers, art directors, professors, freelancers, and other types of visual professionals working in Buffalo’s advertising community. Those communication students who attended this year created just as much variety as their professional counterparts, with participation coming from Villa Maria, Buffalo State, UB, and Daemen College.

 

Almost like design speed-dating, students at the review had a timed one-on-one slot with each professional to go over the student’s portfolio and provide critiques when necessary. Students who also attended the AAF’s Portfolio Seminar, hosted at Daemen College in the fall, would’ve found the Portfolio Review to be the perfect complement to the previous event. Further cementing the advice given at the seminar, students were able to put to practice much of what they learned without the added stress of a “real-world” job interview scenario.

Some advice that crossed over from the Portfolio Seminar to the Review included:

  • The importance of walking the reviewer through the process behind your work.
  • Using the correct method to display your work (physical or digital).
  • Including a truly concise and refined collection of work in your portfolio.
  • The importance of including mock-ups that best suit the product you’re displaying to give the reviewer a better concept of your work.

Students presented their work from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. with a brief break for lunch, which provided a unique opportunity to make connections with professionals or other students. At the end of the review, professionals were asked to vote on the most effective portfolios for scholarships available to students continuing their education next fall.

The students that professionals felt were successful in this regard included:

1st Place: Noah Herman, Daemen College

2nd Place: Brooke Murgia, Buffalo State

3rd Place: Travis Springer, Villa Maria College

Honorable Mention: Joseph Petromicca, Daemen College

Congratulations to the scholarship winners and all those who worked hard preparing and presenting. Entering the job market can be a scary process for any industry, let alone such a competitive field. So, a big thank you goes out to the professionals who donated a large portion of their free time to provide useful feedback and advice to make the process a whole lot smoother!

To see Noah’s winning portfolio, head over to noahherman.com.