Saturday our team was posted out on Magnolia to host our first community art project, Southside by Southside at ArtsGoggle.

From 4:00 - 7:00 we had painters of all ages painting squares that contributed to our oversized puzzle. See for yourself: 

Each and every one of these letters is from a logo of a local business or building on Magnolia. We decided to make a little competition of it and give $100 to a lucky winner that found one of the letters on Magnolia and posted it to our Facebook page.

Schaeffer Gayle - congratulations! You’re our winner - there’s a $100 with your name on it. 

There’s a lot of brainpower, teamwork and coordination that made this day a fun-filled success. Stay tuned for behind the scenes info coming soon!

The Art of Suspense

There’s a little art in all of you - and we need a piece of it.

The first annual Schaefer Southside by Southside public art project will take place at our building, corner of Magnolia and South Adams. This is your opportunity to be a part of something big, and win big.

What is it you ask? Well you have to come on over to find out. See you this Saturday at ArtsGoggle 4 -  10 pm.

During my afternoon scroll through of PR Daily headlines, I came across this little gem: 25 annoying communication habits - of other people.

Communication is a hot button around here, we’re always working to become better, more effective and efficient communicators - it’s the business.

The principle of this article is asking people to finish the sentence, “I get annoyed with other people and their communication habits when they…”

Here are the top 25 answers:

1. Interrupt me.
2. Finish my sentences.
3. Fail to look at me.
4. Chew gum loudly.
5. Type on the computer while we’re on the phone.
6. Mumble on a voicemail message.
7. Lack clarity in project directions.
8. Write their “out of office” message with spelling errors.
9. Complain, criticize, complain, criticize…
10. Say their phone number so fast on a voice mail that I can’t get it after replaying it seven times.
11. Ask me how I am and their facial expression clearly reveals they aren’t listening and don’t truly care.
12. Keep repeating information and making conversations and correspondence painfully long.
13. Inject nervous giggles or laughter into conversations that simply aren’t funny.
14. Forget to say their name in a voice mail message.
15. Try to impress me by “topping” whatever I say.
16. Get distracted with their gadgets and technology in meetings, conversations, and networking events.
17. Talk too fast or too slow.
18. Give wimpy handshakes.
19. Send a three-page email when one paragraph would suffice.
20. Plan lengthy meetings with no agenda, and then order food.
21. Speak louder to people with accents.
22. Deliver presentations in a monotone voice.
23. Eat while on the phone.
24. Call people out (in social media) in public instead of sending a private message.
25. Forget to update their voice mail to let people know they are on vacation for two weeks.

Alright - who’s guilty? And, is there one you think should’ve made the list that didn’t?

~Kristin

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.

Got Goat Cheese?

Recently, Chef Jon Bonnell was featured on the new CBS This Morning show. Jon was tapped for his culinary expertise to speak about Latte Da Goat Dairy and Cheesemaker.

Jon is a huge supporter of Latte Da and purchases their goat cheese to stock the kitchen in his renowned restaurant, Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine.

Visit Bonnell’s, say hello to Jon and try a menu item with Latte Da’s goat cheese!

It’s always a beautiful day in our neighborhood!

We’re so proud to be a part of Fort Worth’s South Side.The neighborhood celebrates the historic character while promoting urban, pedestrian-oriented mixed-use developments. It was recently mentioned by the Fort Worth Business Press as one of the top three developing areas in Fort Worth.

Learn more about the district and its residents by viewing the Fort Worth South Annual 2012 Banquet video. If you’re tight on time, around 4:35 you’ll see Schaefer Advertising featured.

Thank you to the Fort Worth South organization and our many neighbors for welcoming us! We plan to stick around - so come on by and get to know us.

Daily Inspiration Through Art

Trip to Dallas to see Shepard Fairey

So I posted a few pics a couple days ago over Shepard’s new murals in Dallas area and wanted to share about my trip to see one of the Obey murals outside of the Dallas Contemporary. The Dallas Contemporary is responsible for bringing the Mural project to Dallas and Thursday night they hosted a “chit chat” where Shepard got to discuss his work, his history, and what his passions are.

One of the greatest things I took away from it was his message to “the artist”. His message was to go out and make things happen for yourself, you cannot sit back and wait for opportunities to open, you go out and create the opportunity. This guy definitely made the most of every opportunity that came his way and has continued to create great work. I never really had a “hero” or anything along those lines, but if I had to pick someone he would definitely be up there. He is a designer and artist, I hope I can accomplish a fraction of what this guy has with his talents.

-Colt

Schaefer’s 2011

DASH FOR CASH

During the holiday’s we had a feud in the agency, who could would win in a race between Bailey and her boss, Nick? There was only one way to settle the dispute: we met, outside, at 4 pm and settled things with a good ol’ fashion street race.

Since words can’t describe the emotions of this race, you must watch the video put together by 13-year old Sam Schaefer, who took time from his Christmas vacation to document the race - it was that big of a deal.

In case you missed it - our annual Build A Beard competition is currently on!

How do you enter this competition?

1. Grab a bottle of shaving cream and put your creative spin on Santa’s epic beard
2. Strike a pose
3. Upload your photo to our Facebook page
4. Tag yourself and have your friends like it! (number of likes could correlate to the winning beard…hint, hint).

What’s at stake?

• The first 25 submissions get $10 iTunes gift cards - Hurry and submit!!!
• The winner will receive $100 iTunes gift card!

Submission due Jan. 4. Winners announced Jan. 5.

Here are three of the first 25 entries: 

Happy Bearding!

~Kristin