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Creative CIrcle opens new Minneapolis office

Creative Circle, a specialized staffing agency representing advertising, creative, marketing, visual communication and interactive professionals, today announced the grand opening of its Minneapolis office location. The office, located at 100 South Fifth Street, is staffed by dedicated employees whose goal is to match area creative talent with companies throughout the community.

 

Since the company was founded in 2001, Creative Circle has placed thousands of candidates nationwide. The company boasts a national network of talent and specialized placement experts, providing fast solutions to hiring challenges for clients and fulfilling professional opportunities for creative candidates. Creative Circle’s innovative hiring process includes face-to-face interviews before placement, allowing a consultative and collaborative process that sets them apart from other creative staffing firms.

 

“Minneapolis is home to a significant number of very talented individuals who work in the creative industry, and also a number of local businesses who are seeking creative talent on a freelance or full-time basis,” said Dennis Masel, Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer at Creative Circle. “We’re excited to be opening our doors in this wonderful city, and we’re eager to show the local creative and business community what makes Creative Circle unique.”

 

The Minneapolis creative industry is booming, and there is a consistent demand from local and regional businesses for marketing and creative talent, whether it’s freelance writers, designers, illustrators, website programmers or social media specialists. With this wealth of talent and a consistent need in the area, Creative Circle aims to become a resource to not only foster creative careers in the area, but also to help ensure that Minneapolis continues to be a strong creative hub. 

With the opening of the Minneapolis office, Creative Circle now has offices in 15 cities throughout the U.S. and will continue to expand with additional offices scheduled to open throughout 2013.

David Hlavac Joins Bellmont Partners as Account Director

David Hlavac has joined Prior Lake-based Bellmont Partners Public Relations as an account director, bringing more than 15 years of strategic communications and copywriting experience to the growing full-service agency.

David has worked with a wide range of clients throughout his career – from Fortune 500 giants to fledgling start-up companies – to drive business value and brand awareness through best-in-class communications strategies.

“David is a seasoned agency professional with a knack for distilling complex products and services into accessible, approachable stories for broad audiences,” says Jen Bellmont, Bellmont Partners vice president. “From the moment we first met, we knew David shared many Bellmont Partners philosophies – emphasizing partnership over process, demonstrating high-value client service every day and viewing client work through a highly creative, entrepreneurial lens.”

After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History from the University of Minnesota in 1996, David began his career in Washington, D.C. with the renowned political consulting and cause-marketing firm GMMB before returning to Minnesota and joining Carmichael Lynch Spong (CLS) in 2000.

At CLS, David was part of a Silver Anvil award-winning product launch team working on behalf of General Mills, while his work for Formica Corporation was recognized with back-to-back SABRE awards for trade media relations.

Prior to joining Bellmont Partners, David was an account supervisor and senior copywriter at Haberman, an integrated brand-marketing agency in Minneapolis, where he oversaw content development for the agency’s business-to-business, education and high-tech clients, including the University of St. Thomas, PLATO Learning, Boise Inc. and the Bush Foundation.

Connect with David on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter.

Hollywood Fashion Secrets, an expert in women’s fashion solution products, has hired Leah Lamon Stevenson to lead its marketing initiatives.

Hollywood Fashion Secrets, an expert in women’s fashion solution products, has hired Leah Lamon Stevenson to lead its marketing initiatives.

Hollywood Fashion Secrets is the leading producer of fashion solutions in the country and has sold over 150 million strips of fashion tape. The Fashion Tape Gun and The Decent Man’s Grooming Tools (nine grooming products marketed to men) are some of the recent additions to the Hollywood Fashion Secrets product line.  As the senior marketing director/hollywood promoter, Stevenson will focus on marketing strategy and communication, and will lead the internal marketing team as well as manage agency relationships. In this new role, Stevenson will leverage her previous consumer and brand experience at CNS (the Breathe Right Company), General Mills, and other national companies. “Leah Stevenson brings great insight and experience to this newly created position,” says Jane Dailey, president of Hollywood Fashion Secrets. “We’re excited to put more marketing muscle behind the brand to help us achieve our aggressive growth goals.”  To accelerate growth and innovation in the category, Hollywood Fashion Secrets is making organizational investments to enhance product development, marketing programs, retail partnerships and brand building.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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Henry Schafer Partners Retained by JB Benefits & Consulting

JB Benefits & Consulting has retained Henry Schafer Partners for media relations and marketing support. Henry Schafer Partners will help introduce the company’s new advisory business, True Choice Services.

JB Benefits & Consulting, a benefits consulting firm, recently formed True Choice Services, an advisory company providing businesses with a set budget for their employees' healthcare while granting employees empowering choices.

True Choice Services provides educational, transition and consulting services to business owners that substantially reduce the cost of health insurance to employers and their employees. True Choice Services serves more than 100 companies in the metro and Greater Minnesota region.

The company consults businesses about how changing benefits requirements will impact their future profitability and gives practical options for employee health insurance coverage. True Choice Services flips the health insurance model on its head, reducing costs and increasing choice and competition for individual employees.

“True Choice Services offers a disruptive model within the insurance industry. Health coverage is a huge issue for small and mid-sized business owners and their employees. We’re excited to help True Choice reach out to more business owners who are frustrated with the current insurance models,” said Joanne Henry, president of Henry Schafer Partners.

How well are Communications Schools adapting to the digital world?

As a student about to graduate college with a strategic communications degree I often wonder to what extent my increasingly expensive education has prepared me for a career in public relations. In today’s digitally focused public relations industry did my schooling really teach me what I need to know?

These questions are not only being asked by many students in journalism and communications schools, but by foundations that fund these schools as well. A recent letter to journalism and communication schools from the Knight Foundation warns that, “schools that favor the status quo, and thus fall behind in the digital transition, risk becoming irrelevant to both private funders and, more importantly, the students they seek to serve.”

The letter in its entirety can be found here: Knight Foundation’s open letter to journalism schools.

While I have a general outlook that all knowledge, no matter what the topic, is beneficial in some way I cannot help but think that I may have missed out on learning some skills needed to compete in the real world digital marketplace.

I think back to the seemingly endless classes based around the history and principles of public relations and cant help but wonder, “Should I have been working on my online presence and learning practical skills instead?”

While I understand that the basics and foundation of public relations may be important to learn, will knowledge of these topics make me become a better professional especially as the foundation of public relations is changing?

Colleges are supposed to prepare their students for the job market, giving them the skills needed to succeed. However, it seems that many schools are finding it difficult to adapt to this new digital world and are unsure of how to correctly teach such skills.

Many people will say that students learn these practical skills through internships. However, with the price of college on the rise what about those who cannot afford a summer internship? Where and when will they learn the practical skills needed to succeed?

I believe that this is an exciting time to be involved in the communications industry but I also believe it is time to bring journalism and communication schools into the 21^st century.


Sarah Wiley
University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment

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Weber Shandwick Provides Pro-Bono Support to Living on One

The Minneapolis office of Weber Shandwick is joining its network of offices around the country to support Living on One. The organization’s mission is to create awareness and provide opportunities for young people to fight poverty effectively through innovative microfinance solutions. The Minneapolis office is providing PR support to Living on One as they make a few stops in the Twin Cities, including the University of Minnesota campus on Nov. 18th.

 

The organization recently completed a full length documentary, Living on One Dollar, and launched a national bus tour, participating in events at universities across the country. The documentary follows the two-month journey of college sophomores living on one dollar a day in a rural Guatemalan village and their search to understand extreme poverty firsthand.

 

“Our 2010 journey was spurred by our desire to understand and relate to the reality of poverty on a personal level. Seeing the opportunity to connect with our peers through social media, we created the documentary to inspire action and drive efforts towards addressing global poverty,” said Chris Temple, a founder of Living on One. “Weber Shandwick has been instrumental in providing us with a best-practices approach to the creation and dissemination of our content, helping us build the community of Living on One advocates.”

 

Weber Shandwick has worked closely with the Living on One team to develop an integrated communications campaign to drive engagement online and offline with key stakeholders as well as support in-market media relations efforts around tour stops.

 

The four-month tour kicked off Sept. 8 with a launch event at the flagship Whole Foods Market^® store in downtown Austin, Texas. Other tour stops and screenings are being held in Washington, D.C., New York City, Minneapolis, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

 

“Living on One has an amazing story and important call to action to share. They are engaging people by embracing the role of digital in the storytelling process to drive participation and mobilize their peers in their mission,” said Jack Leslie, chairman of Weber Shandwick and Living on One board member. “As an organization with shared values, we’re able to capitalize on the incredible passion of our people to bring energy and commitment to Living on One.”

 

Living on One serves as a catalyst for the rapidly growing movement of young people working to confront global poverty. It provides both the inspiration and the practical tools to help students get involved in microfinance through giving loans, taking classes, finding internships, or even creating a campus lending program to make an immediate difference in the lives of the extreme poor. Follow their journey at Facebook.com/livingonone and join the conversation @Livingonone #L1Tour.

Carmichael Lynch Names David Eiben Managing Director

Carmichael Lynch today announced David Eiben as its managing director on the Subaru of America account. Previously, Eiben was the account director for Sid Lee, where he managed and led the Dell consumer account for North and South America, the agency's largest client. 

Eiben is charged with leading all account management activity and partnering directly with other cross-functional leaders on the Subaru team within Carmichael Lynch. Acting in a strategic capacity, he will work to shape and impact the long-term growth of the brand. Eiben will report to Carmichael Lynch director of account management, Stacy Janicki. 

"We are thrilled to have someone of David's caliber join our account management team,” said Janicki. “David's leadership will help galvanize the talent within the account management team on Subaru, while providing our clients with a long-term strategic vision for the brand.”

Eiben has more than 20 years of integrated advertising experience on leading brands like BMW, Frito-Lay, Gatorade, John Deere, Starbucks, Dell and United Airlines. He began his account management career at Minneapolis agencies, Martin Williams and Fallon. In 2003, Eiben moved to Texas and during his five years at Austin's GSD&M, he rose to vice president and group account director. In 2009, Eiben became the managing director at TBWA/Chiat/Day in Los Angeles.

Wehrenberg named to Augsburg College Board of Regents

Steve Wehrenberg, chief executive officer of Campbell Mithun, was elected this fall to serve a four-year term as a member of the Augsburg College Board of Regents.

 

Wehrenberg '78 holds a bachelor's degree in English from Augsburg College and is a 30-year veteran of the advertising industry. He became Campbell Mithun's CEO in 2007 and since has provided expert leadership for many of the company's most successful and award-winning campaigns.

 

"I am excited to reconnect with the Augsburg community," Wehrenberg said. "The institution has grown and evolved since I was a student. It's a surprising and delightful place for students of all kinds to learn and grow."

 

Wehrenberg recently was a distinguished presenter for Augsburg College's Strommen Executive Speaker Series. He teaches a strategic communications graduate course at the University of Minnesota, and he has co-written a new edition of "The Successful Marketing Plan." As a Board of Regents member, Wehrenberg will serve on the finance and the enrollment management and marketing committees.

 

"Steve brings to Augsburg's governance invaluable talents and experience from his work at Campbell Mithun," said Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow. "He will engage our College community in strategic conversation around enrollment planning and market position. And, Augsburg is fortunate to have a high-caliber professional like Steve sharing our College vision and mission in circles that reach far beyond campus."

 

Wehrenberg's volunteer work includes serving on the board of the Greater Twin Cities United Way. He is a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, Minn.

 

In addition to Wehrenberg's appointment, the Augsburg Corporation this year elected three other individuals to four-year terms on the Board of Regents. They include:

– Jennie Carlson, executive vice president of human resources for U.S. Bancorp;
– Pam Moksnes '79, management consultant; and
– Curt Sampson, chairman and director of Canterbury Park Holding Corporation.

Jodi Harpstead, CEO of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, was elected chair of the Augsburg College Board of Regents at its May 2012 meeting and began her term on July 1.

 

Augsburg College is set in the vibrant Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, and offers more than 50 undergraduate majors and nine graduate degrees to more than 4,000 students of diverse backgrounds. The trademark of an Augsburg education is its emphasis on direct, personal experience. Guided by the faith and values of the Lutheran church, Augsburg educates students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders.

Gage and LaBreche to Join Forces

Tom Belle, president and CEO of Gage, a Minneapolis-based digital marketing firm, and Beth LaBreche, CEO of LaBreche, a Minneapolis-based unified marketing agency with a core competency of public relations services, announced today that LaBreche’s firm will join Gage to expand marketing and communications services for clients.

LaBreche will become Gage’s vice president of strategic development, a newly created position, in which she will be responsible for helping set strategic direction for clients and growth for the company. The addition of public relations to the Gage services will complete the agency’s content offering.

Gage and LaBreche share a point of view that centers on behavioral marketing: how to effectively target audiences using a multi-channel approach to drive measureable actions.

“We were impressed with LaBreche's vision for the future of marketing and communications,” said Belle. “The two agencies share a common closed-loop marketing approach that is digitally driven and centered on content. And LaBreche has a strong reputation for securing earned media with over two decades of public relations experience.”

“Gage has significant depth to deliver digital solutions to clients supported by broad expertise in the behavioral marketing disciplines,” said LaBreche. “This, combined with extremely strong analytical and technical skills, provides a complete continuum of services companies need to drive business results.” Gage services include interactive, promotion, games management, loyalty, social media, mobile, brand communications and relationship marketing. LaBreche services include branding, digital, content, media relations and social media. Gage clients are some of the world’s most recognized and respected brands, such as 3M, Best Buy, BMW, Coca-Cola, Thomson Reuters, UnitedHealth Group, WalMart and Microsoft. Gage's West Coast office is in Seattle. LaBreche clients include B2B companies such as 3M and Capital Safety; health care companies such as Stryker and SurModics; and consumer brands such as American Express and Tastefully Simple.

The Use of Social Media in Natural Disasters

Isn’t it amazing how fast a simple comment or picture can go viral via Twitter, Facebook, or other means of social media? The growth of these media over the past decade has been immense. Let’s take a look at how the use of social media has changed in the United States over the past seven years in regards to Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy.

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in August of 2005. At this time, social media was only on the brink of explosion, meaning it was at the forefront of communication efforts for neither the media nor the public. At this time, however, the term “citizen journalists” was beginning to become more apparent as there was a rise in blogging and wikis.

While these blogs and wikis allowed for the public to have their own experiences more accessible to the public, they did not have the same immediate effect on the large audience that social media does today.

What if today’s social media had been prevalent in the lives of Katrina victims at the time of the hurricane? Would this have led to more useful relief efforts? A post by Marc Meyer on Social Media Today, Social Media and Hurricane Katrina: What If? discusses how the social media sphere of the present may or may not have led to better disaster relief efforts.

Hurricane Sandy (October 2012):

Hurricane Sandy is the most recent hurricane disaster to touch down in the United States, having happened in the last week of October 2012. Today, contrary to 2005, social media is more relevant than it ever has been.

This is beneficial to disaster relief in many ways, most prevalently in how accessible information is to hurricane victims. In today’s social media realm, disaster relief comes immediately and accessibly, with people like President Barack Obama posting link to where the public can assist in relief efforts. 

In addition to the relief efforts, the public today is getting a much better and more personable perspective to the affects and happenings surrounding the hurricane. Citizen journalists post about their own accounts of the hurricane on Twitter and Facebook, and are able to post videos and photos through media such as YouTube and Instagram.

There are even some jokes being made about Hurricane Sandy that have gone viral. One of the most recent jokes has been a comparison of the hurricane to the popular SpongeBob SquarePants character, Sandy the squirrel.

So there you have it. Social media is evolving. We live in an age where information is not only becoming more accessible, but it is becoming accessible from many different outlets. Watch out for more; It’s not stopping here!