Today marks the first day of my summer internship here at Schaefer. I’m not going to lie, I was nervous when I woke up this morning. So many “what if” scenarios popped around in my head, like “What if it’s not what I was expecting at all?” and “What if I don’t enjoy it?” and every intern’s nightmare “What if I’m making coffees and copies all day?”

However, from the second I walked in the door at 9 this morning, I have been pleasantly surprised. The “team” have all welcomed me warmly and I have actually had one-on-one meetings with a few of them and they couldn’t be nicer or more eager to teach me and answer my questions. 

Erin met with me to discuss the clients she works with (an impressive list, might I add) and said I would be in on meetings, phone calls, and even will contribute to brainstorming ideas for clients. Hearing this made me look like I slept with a hanger in my mouth. Not only did everyone make me feel right at home, but they made sure I knew I was a part of the “team” and my ideas were just as valid as theirs. I love that. 

After a delicious lunch at Lili’s Bistro to celebrate my first day on the job (thanks again guys!) I have been busy at work learning the ins and outs of account service, PR, you name it. Oh yes, and of course, blogging. 

If today is any indicator of how this internship will pan out, I can safely say this is going to be a great summer. 

-Preston Chilton

This post will contain little wit, at least any that is intentional.  What it will contain is a blog full of thankfulness. Thankful, for people that stick by you for a life time, or at least a life time in the agency world…11 years.  

I recognize that people will come and people will in go.  But times like this remind me that this business is not about the accolade or the revenue, rather it’s all about the people. The relationships you make…with your team, with your clients, with your peers.  Spending the better part of the afternoon sending off one of your veterans to a new opportunity is humbling, tearful and joyful.  Spending the better part of the evening with your next-gen team is equally humbling and joy filled.  I am blessed to get to do what I do with the people that i get to work with.  They challenge me and hopefully make me better.  

Thanks to each of you.  

We’re looking to add a couple of key members to our agency team. 

Not just anyone is right for Schaefer, and we’re big enough boys and girls to realize that we aren’t right for everyone either.  In the end, the right fit is everything.

To love it at Schaefer – you need to be passionate about adding to the culture of our team. We avoid drama like the plague. Wallflowers and people with thin skin need not apply. You better be funny – you’ll be tested on this. If you don’t think we’re funny, chances are we won’t think you are either.

We’re a group of life-long learners, so if you think you know everything you won’t make it here. Be an active learner and an active teacher of others. We absolutely love what we do, but there is a world outside of our walls. We’re looking for people that are highly engaged and realize the importance of being a part of something bigger.

PLEASE.  PLEASE. PLEASE. READ THE JOB REQUIREMENTS BELOW – if you don’t meet them, don’t like them or can’t do them, then save us all the heartache.  We’re sure you’re nice and willing to learn, but we know what we’re looking for.  (Yeah, we ended a sentence with a preposition, we live on the edge.)

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER

What we’re looking for:

• 4-5 years AGENCY experience
• A type A personality or pretty darn close to it
• Much of your time will be spent working on B to B clients, so you better like B to B, in fact, you should love it
• Primary client is a Berkshire Hathaway company, so this is big stuff
• Demonstrated success at measuring results of marketing initiatives
• The ability and desire to communicate well-thought out opinions and be ridiculously articulate when you present them
• Likes to lead, but knows when to follow
• A great team attitude
• The ability to juggle multiple projects

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

What we’re looking for:

• Someone that understands PR has changed dramatically.  Classical “textbook” PR is not a viable model.  You’ll need to be well versed in your philosophy of PR and demonstrate how your view translates into leading our clients and growing our business.
• At least 7 years experience.  Agency side mandatory, client side a huge plus
• Comfortable working in B to B and B to C
• A heart. You can’t be a soulless leader at Schaefer. Your ability to connect with people and make a positive contribution to our culture and our client relationships is one of the most important attributes to have.
• Takes full responsibility for managing the PR business unit
• The desire and the personality to independently grow the PR account base
• Develop well-thought out strategic plans for PR clients. Strategy is not something we take lightly; our thinking is what differentiates us and keeps our clients happy. You’ll work closely with the advertising Account Service to ensure our plans are well integrated. You’ll have to demonstrate that you are not only smart, but can articulate that thinking in a clear and persuasive manner. 
• A bigger retainer isn’t the only answer, but better thinking always is.
• Get the concept of Team.  It’s important to us, in fact it’s vital to who we are as an agency.

Get our attention at jobs@schaeferadvertising.com

What YOU Need to know about the growing and lasting trend.

The research proves it, Quick Response Codes – common name QR codes – are not going away and you can expect to see more of them. 

Here at our agency, we FAIL (Foster the Agency’s Intellectual Learning) a lot. We are constantly soaking up industry hot-topics, and information we can apply to our clients.

Knowledge is power, and we want to share it. We’ve done our research and implemented a code or two, here’s a recap of our QR code download. 

A Whole New Code

In 1994, Denso Wave created QR codes to track vehicles during the manufacturing process. Designed to be two dimensional, QR codes store information horizontally and vertically, scan in 360 degrees, and most importantly, hold up to 7,089 digits.

QR codes can:

• Open a URL in a web browser
• Connect to social media sites
• Download apps
• Send text messages
• Make phone calls
• Link to videos
• Offer promotions and coupons
• Gather consumer data

How are Professionals using QR codes?

Question: “Are QR codes dead?” Answer: No, but here’s an example of how to use QR Codes in your afterlife. (image on gravestone)

According to Nellymoser, Inc., usage grew by 439% from Q1 to Q4 in 2011 and in December, one out of every 12 magazine ad pages contained a QR code.

In that there is a clear trend moving away from embellished and customized codes, and more than 90% are placed at the bottom half of the page. 

Where are the QR codes taking consumers?

How can you have a successful QR Code campaign?

Before implementing a QR code it’s important to think about why you are generating a QR code.

You must define your objectives and purpose, create a compelling call to action, know where you consumers are and how they will view. When creating a unique QR campaign:

DO:

• Have a mobile optimized site – tracking is easier if the code links to a page other than the home page.
• Think about the user experience. Does the video load quickly? Do you provide the viewer an opportunity to forward this info to friends via social media?
• Utilize a special offer or exclusive promotion or content – the payoff for the consumer has to be worth their time/effort.
• Test, test and then test again on every phone and app possible to make sure consumers can get to your content.

DON’T:

• Make the QR Code so small or big that it’s not easy to scan.
• Have too much copy – people are primarily viewing on their smart phones.
• Put QR Codes where there is no signal or it doesn’t make sense. This includes outdoor boards on the highway, airline magazines or subways.

To view our research in full and learn how to create a QR code, check out our link on slide share.

In today’s design world it’s too easy (and expected) to go to one of the many stock illustration sites to provide illustrated content for clients. While you can find any illustration style and subject matter online, you risk your competition choosing that same piece of “clip art” for their advertising.

So in this day of homogenized illustration, grabbing a pencil and paper to create a completely original illustration gives your client one-of-a-kind creative advertising no one can duplicate.

So that’s just what we did for Zoo Run 2012. Here’s the front and back logo from the t-shirt design:

And here’s the steps to make that magic happen:

• Hand drew the illustration with black ink on paper, no color – outline only
• Scanned/digitized the illustration
• Bring digitized black outline into Illustrator and color/fill each element using determined color palette for print/posters/shirts etc.

To register for zoo run visit, FortWorthZoo.org.

-Todd

Daily Inspiration Through Art

Disgruntled Pilgrims

These gosh-darn pilgrims are upset that people are eating Stove Top stuffing on days other than thanksgiving, what is this world coming to! A quick spot to add some humor to your day. Enjoy.

-Colt

(Source: adweek.com)

Daily Inspiration Through Art

DDB’s New York Lottery Campaign

Personally I’ve always been torn about the lottery. From my point of view, it’s aimed at and lures the less fortunate to spend money they don’t have, in hopes of gaining millions. It’s the dream of most to have all the riches in the world, but how realistic is it to be on the winning end … On to the design aspect.

As far as the overall message behind the campaign, it’s safe to say that DDB nailed this one. The campaign is fun and to the point, yet slightly exaggerated. I think anyone would love to have a personal traffic tunnel to avoid the endless mess the daily commute presents.

Check out the work on Commarts website.

-Colt

Daily Inspiration Through Art

March Creative Jams

Ever curious what us cool kid creatives are jammin’ out to on a daily basis? Well here’s your chance to find out … at least what I jam out to when I’m in the zone. Just a fore-warning you won’t find any Mumford and sons or anything remotely similar to glee, I’m personally not a fan of the whole sing-a-long thing. Oh. and you also need Spotify too, check it out!

-Colt

Three and a half years ago when I enrolled at TCU I “thought” I knew exactly what I wanted in life: to find my passion, graduate in four years, start my own business, become a top professional in my field, retire early and enjoy my time vacationing with family and friends.

Sounds like the dream life, right? Well, that’s exactly what it was…a dream.

Fortunately for me, I can at least check off the first two. This May, I will officially be a graduate from Texas Christian University with a B.S in Strategic Communication (a fancy way of saying advertising and public relations). After that, your guess is just as good as mine.

Although I am confident in my career choice, I have no idea what path will lead me there. And I’m okay with that because just like social media trends, life is expected to change. For now, I am happily interning in Account Services at Schaefer Advertising Co.

In the past, I believed that as long as I had a plan and executed it with hardwork I would be okay in life, but with every day in the office I’m discovering it’s an empty achievement if there is no passion behind it.

I absolutely love the amount of passion Schaefer Advertising shows among fellow employees, passion for clients and passion for producing quality work. In less than four weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to actively participate in projects, observe client meetings and help meet deadlines.

Most importantly, I appreciate the hands-on approach the staff has taken to mentor me.

I’m sure, in time the next step of my path will reveal itself, but until then I’m spending it having fun and loving what I do best.

To keep the conversation going, connect with me, Olivia Stribling, on LinkedIn and follow my professional blog A Woman Who Thinks She Can.

The Giants aren’t the only one’s that are celebrating a win. There were a few winning campaigns as well, and once again our creative and strategy guys agreed.

The top ad for Super Bowl 46, hands down goes to Chrysler. Earning 90 points from creative and 85 from strategy, these top scores are a result of brilliant copy writing, perfect impact/placement airing once at halftime, and Chrysler capturing the essence of America.

Todd’s Ad Bowl Faceoff score card (great to good):

Chevy Trucks - total score: 85 points. Strategically it was was smart playing off of a big 2012 story, the Mayan Apocalypse. Also smart directly calling out Ford and their tagline, Ford Tough. Creative execution was flawless down to the co-branding with Twinkies. http://youtu.be/XxFYYP8040A

Volkswagen - total score: 75 points. Good strategy by playing it up with the pre-super bowl buzz with the singing dogs on Youtube. The spot was compelling with the dog getting fit, and the Star Wars ending tied back to the buzz. A weird combination, but there was something in it for everyone. http://youtu.be/0-9EYFJ4Clo

Chevy Sonic - total score: 75 points. Strategy was perfect pushing your new compact on the Xgames/Redbull generation. In the age of CGI graphics, the REAL stunts were too cool. To see a real car do a real kick-flip over a giant skateboard was nostalgic for an old guy like me, and over-the-top for the young hipster. The push to letsdothis.com for behind the scenes was a great extension. http://youtu.be/iuvoSw1TiJ8

Teleflora - total score: 70 points. I know, I’m a guy and sex sells - but this was a smart spot. Days before Valentines day you just reminded dumb guys to call or go online and order flowers for our girlfriends or wives (or both). And all we have to do is give and we receive? They just did the whole florist industry a solid. http://youtu.be/uWrJgFjxlS0

Ken’s Ad Bowl Faceoff score card (great to good):

Chevy Trucks - total score: 80 points.  How do you show the end of the world as we know it, while poking fun at your biggest competitor?  Look to Chevy – they did it perfectly.  In an epic spot, Chevrolet used humor and great production value to show that Ford Tough, isn’t so tough after all.  Was it effective?  Ford thought it would be, they formally requested that NBC pull the commercial before it aired. Plus the Twinkie reference….greatness. http://youtu.be/XxFYYP8040A

Chevy Camaro – total score: 75 points. I really didn’t want to like another car commercial, but this spot captures the exuberance in pride of ownership.  Not just of any car but the car of your dreams. OK , maybe not your dreams, but certainly of most men between 18-24.  http://youtu.be/Ae52ourE3Pw

Teleflora – total score: 75 points.  My wife and my mom are going to kill me.  But let’s be honest:  As guys we are typically clueless about what to get the woman in our lives for Valentines Day, let alone even remembering that Valentines Day is an epically important holiday to half the population. Lest I be labeled a mysoginist  - let the record show I’ve already ordered flowers.  Really. I have. Right after I saw the spot. http://youtu.be/uWrJgFjxlS0

Volkswagen – total score: 70 points. The Volkswagen Beetle had a great brand relaunch a number of years ago, and since that time the Mini Cooper killed them. The Beetle needed a redesign to be a sleeker more contemporary design. The ad told a great story with a nice nod to one of the best Super Bowl commercials ever, last year’s Darth Vader Kid spot. http://youtu.be/0-9EYFJ4Clo

Do these match up with your top five? Let us know!