Former Atomic Playpen VP and digital guru Paul Frett has joined Schermer as VP of Experience and Engagement
http://bit.ly/16vFfmi along with Sr. Copywriter Sara Daugherty
http://www.schermer.co/2013/10/sara-daugherty/
This is on top of the additions earlier this year of Scott Miller, former Digital and UX Creative Director at UnitedHealth Group and Group Creative Director at Gage.
http://www.schermer.co/2012/04/scott-miller/ And Jen Alstead, formerly Director of Project Management at Bolin and before that, Gage.
http://www.schermer.co/2013/06/jen-alstead/
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Monday, December 09, 2013
Xata Corp. changes name to XRS Corp
In
August 2012, the company changed its name from Xata Corp. to XRS Corp.,
which helped mark its transformation from a hardware and software
company to a mobile application company.
The
company and its agency partners — Bellmont Partners Public Relations
and Rumpza Consulting — also recently won two Platinum MarCom Awards
from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals for
their work on the 2012 rebranding initiative from Xata Corp. to XRS
Corp.
Campbell Mithun signs lease to move
In a decision prioritizing employee needs and progressive workspace planning, Minneapolis ad agency
Campbell Mithun announced it has signed a lease to be anchor tenant in the 510
Marquette building and will work with Julie Snow Architects to design
the new space. Campbell Mithun will occupy approximately 65,000 square feet on the 10th-13th floors of the building, as well as the rooftop and penthouse. Targeted completion date: fourth quarter 2014.
“A move like this accelerates transformation and invites reappraisal of what Campbell Mithun is capable of,” said
Rob Buchner,
CEO of the agency. “Our aim is to design
a workspace that sets a new bar in the creative community — locally,
for sure, but for the industry as a whole. This is our ambition.”
Campbell
Mithun employees gathered for a sneak peek of their future home on a
demolished-for-build-out floor of the building; leaders from the agency
spoke about the agency’s
vision for its design. Video highlights:
·
Rob Buchner, CEO, comments re strategic importance of move (:30):
http://bit.ly/19aGExP
·
Steve Arndt, CFO, comments re approach to design priorities (:30):
http://bit.ly/1iO1R6V
·
B-roll footage of staff viewing the space (1:00):
http://bit.ly/IVRFZy
Julie
Snow added: “Physical space has the power to transform daily work life.
We will approach this project to empower how Campbell Mithun works as
an agency --
facilitating modern collaboration, creativity and flexibility – while
creating a space that enlivens the building’s compelling historic
aesthetic. We’re honored to help bring it to life.”
“This space just happens to be ‘due North’ of our present offices,” continued Buchner, “and we’ll be occupying the 13th
floor, which would make Ray Mithun smile.”
Founder Ray Mithun often challenged employees to help clients find
“which way is North?” and embraced the number 13 to inspire personal
risk taking by his employees.
Downtown development mojo
Originally
constructed in 1921 for the Federal Reserve, the 510 Marquette building
sits on the burgeoning end of downtown Minneapolis on the light-rail
line at the convergence
of residential and business districts experiencing substantial
development.
“We
were looking for space in the center of commerce, within the city’s
transportation infrastructure, to build out with our employees in mind,”
said agency CFO
Steve Arndt.
“We found all that – and discovered an urban
corridor, from the center of the city to the river, that’s infused with
development energy. That’s energy that’s good for people and good for
business.”
Among
the development projects happening in Campbell Mithun’s new
neighborhood: the planned redesign of Nicollet Mall -- which will be led
by New York-based James Corner Field
Operations with a design team that includes Julie Snow Architects.
Other development projects nearby include Excel Energy’s new
headquarters; the Nic on 5th and Soo Line Building residential towers; and the recently renovated 5th Street
Towers.
“Not
only are Julie and her team keenly aware of all that’s happening in
this part of downtown,” continued Arndt, “but they demonstrated their
understanding of how Campbell
Mithun’s new home must, first and foremost, functionally support the
way we now produce our best work. We’re eager to get started.”
Progressive planning for historic space
Julie
Snow Architects will collaborate with Campbell Mithun to bring a
modern, urban feel to the historic building by using progressive
space-planning strategies, a future-oriented
architectural design and locally sourced materials. Functionally, the
space will be designed to enable multidisciplinary collaboration and
offer flexibility via a balance of individual workspaces and common
areas that support collaboration and creativity.
The
agency will retain some of the building’s original character – exposed
brick and open ceiling architecture – and develop an open, creative feel
not typical for space in
the central business district and with connecting skyways.
Also
atypical is the whitish, silvery brick discovered under layers of
plaster; the brick is original, uncommon for Minneapolis, and will
become a key interior feature. The
building also has an unusual amount of natural light for a downtown
office space due to it having windows on three sides (all to be
enlarged).
Campbell Mithun: At home on the 13th floor
Occupying the 13th
floor of a building will be a homecoming of sorts for the agency, which
has been located downtown for 80 years. Ray Mithun founded the agency
on the 13th floor of the Northwestern Bank building in 1933 because, due to superstition, renting the 13th
floor was less expensive. “If 13 is unlucky for someone, it must be
lucky for someone else,” Mithun said. “We decided, at the start,
to be ‘someone else.’”
Since
its founding, the agency has embraced the number 13 as an important
part of its culture. Ralph Campbell and Raymond Mithun had 13 letters in
their names, “courage” remains
an agency tenet symbolized by the number 13 and Campbell Mithun’s
current internship is called Lucky 13.
“Were we looking for a 13th
floor? Of course not,” said Buchner. “Time has certainly been kind to
Campbell Mithun as we’ve opted for courageous thinking over superstition
for the past 80 years.”
Friday, December 06, 2013
Gage Adds Three to Growing Team
Gage, a Minneapolis-based behavioral
marketing agency, announced today it has added three new employees to its
growing team. Isaac Sorensen has joined the agency as senior engagement
coordinator, while Firoz Ahmed and Griffin Talbot have been added as senior
developers.
Isaac Sorensen has been
hired as senior engagement coordinator on the Marketing Bridge team. He will
help manage client relationships, communications and projects for a wide
variety of accounts, including Time Warner Cable Business Class, Hyland
Software and Norwegian Cruise Lines. Prior to joining Gage, Sorensen was the
public relations and social media account manager at Go Buy Local, a
multi-channel marketing start-up, where he managed internal and client
marketing and PR strategies.
Joining the technology team
as a senior developer is Firoz Ahmed. Ahmed is a Microsoft Certified
Application Developer, and will focus much of his time developing and
maintaining applications for Microsoft ExpertZone. Ahmed comes to Gage from
Bluestem Brands, Inc., where he developed and maintained software solutions for
multiple clients. He was also responsible for architecting, designing and
developing all major applications related to the PayCheck Direct brand within
BlueStem Brands.
Gage has also added Griffin
Talbot as a senior developer. Talbot brings 10 years of web development
experience to his new role, where he will be tasked with maintaining websites
for clients such as SmartHQ, UHC Specialty RX and AMEX Travel. Previously,
Talbot was a web developer at Three Deep Marketing, where his client roster
included Wonka and Carmex.
“Our business is built upon
the needs of our clients, and the only way we can achieve that success is by
bringing in the best possible talent in the industry,” said Tom Belle,
president and CEO of Gage. “The addition of these three talented people further
expands our capabilities and makes sure the needs of our clients stay our
number-one priority.”
AMERY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER SELECTS HABERMAN
Amery Regional Medical Center (ARMC), a Western Wisconsin healthcare system, has selected Haberman to help revitalize its brand, including developing and positioning a new marketing campaign.
“With Haberman’s help, Amery Regional Medical Center will be able to authentically communicate who we are — to differentiate ourselves in this competitive marketplace,” said Ronda Knutson, director, marketing/community relations, Amery Regional Medical Center. “The agency’s compelling storytelling approach and deep experience in the health care market makes it a perfect choice for our branding.”
“ARMC is a pioneer in western Wisconsin healthcare— from the work it does in its Wound Healing Center to its Behavioral Health Center — and everything in between,” said Brian Wachtler, partner and president, Haberman. “Amery’s mission meshes nicely with our agency’s focus on improving the health of local communities.”
Quantum spot introduces new brand mantra
According to Quantum Fishing, the performance fishing gear arm of Zebco Brands, you can’t make high performance fishing gear without snapping a few rods. At least that’s the message of a new Quantum Fishing television commercial created by Minneapolis marketing agency Gabriel deGrood Bendt (GdB).
The spot (which can be viewed here) takes viewers insides Quantum’s multi-million dollar research and development facility in Tulsa, where rods and reels are tormented to their limits to simulate years of use. Machines imitate thousands of casts by repeatedly punching reels, graphite rods are snapped in a protective glass booth, and handles are spun 24 hours a day to ensure that the gears don’t wear down.
The spot crescendos with the repeated visual mantra of “Tinker, build, fish, repeat.”
The Quantum Performance Tuned Series (PT) is the focus of the commercial. The PT umbrella represents Quantum’s most advanced fishing technology, including the lightest, sleekest, smoothest reels and rods the company has developed.
“We wanted to reenergize the PT brand in 2014,” said Bob Bagby, VP of Marketing at Zebco Brands. “Success is not an end point at Quantum. We are constantly improving our reels and rods before serious anglers put them to the true test, and we wanted a spot that captures our drive for endless innovation.”
GdB has been proud to partner with Zebco Brands as agency-of-record for over 11 years, a rarity in today’s marketing world.
Thursday, December 05, 2013
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
How-To: Reevaluating Social Media Campaigns
Social media campaigns are very tricky things to run, much
less to evaluate once they're operational. Just take a quick look at everything
that goes into a campaign, and look at exactly what that campaign is. Creating
profiles on multiple platforms, purchasing ads, constructing posts, developing
an audience, giving your brand a voice – all of these measures, plus many more,
are taken in order to operate your campaign. And after you go through those
varied steps, the actual payoff is wholly relative, which means you may not
even measure results as pure profit but rather as increased reach.
Needless to say, campaigns via sites like Facebook are very
tricky to gauge in the first place. Throughout this article, we will speak
about reevaluating your social media campaign, as in when to do it and how you
can tweak things a bit.
When and How to
Reevaluate a Social Media Campaign
If the Buzz is dying down
A savvy marketer using Facebook for business is consistently
going to look at the impact their brand is having. It's important to see what
people are saying about your brand, or even if your brand is being talked
about. To that end, you should always be on the lookout for any potential
drop-off in how your brand is viewed by fans. For instance, if you notice the
buzz is dying down from April to May, and then again from May to June, while
you're still doing what you usually do, then it might be time to reevaluate.
You need to figure out what it is about your efforts that
aren't being received well. Perhaps think about injecting new life into your
posts by way of videos and infographics. Take a look at how many News Feeds
you're hitting; think about changing up the time of day you post, the amount of
posts you're leaving, and even reevaluate the demographics of your ad
campaigns.
If Expectations Aren't Met
Another reason you may have to reevaluate your social media
campaign is if your expectations are too high. A lot of new marketers on sites
like Facebook come into the genre thinking that it's going to be easy,
extremely cost-effective, and quick. They set lofty goals, such as 10k fans in
a few months, or X percentage boost in overall ROI in six weeks. These
marketers ultimately end up believing they've failed. Well, the problem here is
that the expectations were simply unrealistic.
If you experience any type of similar problem, step away
from what you think should happen and simply look at what is happening. Are you
making positive progress at all? If the answer is yes, then readjust your goals
and see about tweaking your campaign to improve on what's working. Create
milestones that are lower and work harder to achieve them, rather than setting
lofty goals you think will be reached automatically.
If the Audience is Immune
Though you may be catering to a relatively small sub-niche
within a larger market, you better believe that there is still a lot of
competition out there. One of the biggest problems marketers face over the
duration of their campaign is an immune audience. This is essentially an
audience that is no longer responsive to your campaigning efforts. Your posts,
contests, and other efforts are going unrewarded, so it may be time to tweak
the campaign.
Using a good ad-management app, think about creating a new
set of ads that target new demographics in the same general market, split-test
some ads and see if you can reach people with some new advertising tactics.
Carry this theme over to what you're posting. Your audience may be inundated
with the same old stuff from many different brands, and a quick change-up might
reinvigorate them.
Understanding if your campaign needs to be rebooted is all
relative to what your measure of success is. The three campaign “ifs” above are
pretty much universal and deal with a slow campaign, but there are plenty of
other things you should be looking out for when operating a campaign. Be aware
of any changes or shifts, and always monitor and track your progress, whether
it's your reach, your depth, your impact, or your bottom line. If you ever seem
to be putting a lot in for very little in return, it may be time to reevaluate.
Author’s Bio: Craig Robinson is a
professional writer for Qwaya, a Facebook
ad manager tool. If you have more social media marketing questions, feel free
to ask Craig on Twitter.
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Monday, December 02, 2013
Friday, November 29, 2013
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you get sometime this weekend to reflect on the things that really matter in your life. Eat too much, laugh too hard and enjoy your loved ones. Life is too short not to smile.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Promotions at Risdall
 |
| Katlyn Daoust |
“Katlyn and Maggie have been taking on more and more strategic projects in the past year, including digital PR and thought leadership efforts for clients,” said Joel Swanson, APR, president of Risdall Public Relations. “I’m excited to see them continue to excel as account executives, as they focus on greater client relations and building new business.”
 | |
| Maggie Tompkins |
Beginning her career as a reporter, Tompkins’ role as account coordinator grew from an internship with Risdall in 2012. The promotion to account executive signals her skill in media relations, excellence in writing, and ability to see how a public relations campaign fits into an overall marketing strategy. In her new role, she will continue to foster client campaigns and begin to explore new business opportunities. Her client list includes Vision-Ease Lens, Help Me Grow and Crown College.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
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