The Water Cooler at Step One Creative

Garibaldi Dazzles Audience at Farnham Fundraiser

2011-10-31T11:31:00.002-04:00

The stage glittered with star power and wet paint as legends Stephen Tyler, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and Einstein, courtesy of the flying brushes of David Garibaldi, joined the Farnham Unplugged at 40: Rock the Arts Halloween Bash.

Garibaldi, a splashing, smearing, smudging, music-infused performance painter, thrilled the packed house in the American Foundry on Saturday night as the featured artist for Farnham’s fundraiser. While the music of each artist rocked the rafters of the Foundry, Garibaldi danced, jumped, threw and skillfully massaged the paint onto black, oversized canvases into each likeness.

When Garibaldi took the stage he thanked Farnham for having him back and for the opportunity to help support them. Then he launched immediately into his artistic frenzy, resulting in three paintings. Each painting he created onstage became a fundraising tool for the organization, as they were either given to lucky raffle winners or handed out during the live auction at the end of the night.

Farnham Family Services Executive Director Jeanne Unger lauded all the efforts of the Farnham staff and acknowledged the continued commitment of the community to fighting the disease of addiction. “Back in 1971, 40 years ago, the understanding of alcohol and drugs was a lot different than it is now…One thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to this community to continue to provide the services that we do,” Unger said. “Prevention does work, treatment is effective and people do recover from this chronic treatable brain disease known as addiction.”

The event was emceed by the American Foundry’s Tom Ciappa. Musical artists including Vitamin X, Doc Apples, and The Love Volcanoes entertained the crowd as the costumed audience members made the silent bids on pieces of art donated by artisans from all over Oswego County. Framed photos, paintings, a guitar and a metal wine rack was sculptured to resemble grape vines and leaves were some of the items on display up for bid to bring extra money to the community organization.

Established in 1971, Farnham Family Services is a United Way agency that offers prevention services, school-based student assistance and treatment services to all residents of Oswego and surrounding counties. All services are licensed by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. Farnham's professionally certified staff is comprised of competent and skillful individuals who are continually updated with training through conferences and workshops.

Families or individuals interested in learning more about Farnham Family Services please call (315) 342-4489 or visit them online at www.farnhaminc.org.

Garibaldi this Saturday

2011-10-26T12:36:00.002-04:00

World-renowned artist David Garibaldi is returning to Oswego to perform his live stage show “Rhythm and Hue” this Saturday, October 29th at 6 P.M. Farnham Unplugged at 40: Rock The Arts Halloween Bash, a music and art benefit, will be held at the American Foundry. Pre-sale tickets are $50 per person, and $60 per person at the door. For ticket information please call Farnham Family Services at (315) 342-4489.

Successful Press Release

2011-10-26T12:02:00.004-04:00

Editorial space is not always an easy thing to come by. The amount of space given in a paper or publication is completely an editorial decision.

Danny Groom, News Editor at PA News receives hundreds of press releases every day. He created a list of the top 10 classic errors he regularly sees in press releases.

1 Address it to my predecessor

2 Address it to my news editor by his name but with my title

3 Make sure it arrives the morning after the event

4 Make sure it arrives the same day as the news conference

5 Send it after the Daily Telegraph has run the story

6 Send it after I've heard it on the Today program

7 Start the release with "YOU are probably aware that X is the leading

supplier of cogwheel sprockets in Europe."

8 Add at the end "for further information ring Deirdre Smith" who in fact

isn't there this week, or is there but doesn't have any further information

and can't get any.

9 Demand I send a cutting of any story which appears in print

10 Demand "when you have written the story, please check it over with

us before releasing it"

Steering clear of these errors will help you avoid being a part of the 90% of daily press releases that are thrown out!

Garibaldi is coming to Oswego this October!

2011-05-14T17:04:00.002-04:00

Get your tickets today for Farnham Unplugged at 40: Rock the Arts Halloween Bash... October 29th from 6-? at the American Foundry in Oswego. Performance Painter David Garibaldi will return to Oswego for an amazing performance! For ticket information please call Farnham Family Services at 342-4489.

Are You Ready?

2011-05-14T16:58:00.001-04:00

Check out the Tri-Oswego 2011 Triathlon in Oswego this upcoming June 25-26 along the shores of Lake Ontario. Hundreds of participants will embark on the Port City for the inaugural event... visit www.tri-oswego.com for more information!

Step One Creative Captures 8 Golden Quote Awards - Including Best of Show!

2009-12-29T16:50:00.008-05:00

OSWEGO, New York (December 29, 2009) - Oswego County’s best and brightest journalists, advertising, marketing and public relations professionals were honored recently at The Professional Journalists and Communicators of Oswego County’s annual Golden Quotes Award Banquet.

Held December 10th at Springside at Seneca Hill, the event recognized members for their outstanding work over the past year. Winning the club’s top honor – the best of show (Dan Distler award) – was Step One Creative for a marketing piece that served as an invitation and registration piece, “Erik Cole Dream Big 2008 Invitation.”

Step One took home several other awards in the annual competition. More than 60 entries were submitted for the awards and judged by a distinguished panel of judges, representing a wide range of professional communication. SUNY Oswego graduate and General Sales Manager for Clear Channel Radio in Syracuse, Rick Yacobush, served as master of ceremonies for the event and congratulated the winners on their accomplishments.

The following include the awards captured by Step One Creative, an Oswego-based advertising and PR firm.

Best Marketing/Public Relations Best print newsletter – Step One Creative for the Farnham Family Services Newsletter.

Best poster – Step One Creative for the best print poster titled “Erik Cole Dream Big 2008 Gold & Hockey Classic.”

Best press kit – Step One Creative for the “Oswego State Lakers Press Kit”

Best advertising campaign – Step One Creative for the campaign for “Port of Oswego Authority.”

Best annual report – Step One Creative for the “2009 Pathfinder Bank Annual Report.”

Visual Communication Best logo – Step One Creative for the “Oswego Arts Collaborative” logo design.

Best marketing/public relations oriented web site – Step One Creative and M. Brockett Design for the website for “GS Steamers Bar & Grill.”

Best of Show (Dan Distler award) – Step One Creative for a marketing piece that served to provide information and registration piece, “Erik Cole Dream Big 2008 Invitation.”

David Garibaldi Coming November 6th for Farnham Unplugged: Rock the Arts - American Foundry, Oswego, NY!

2009-10-08T11:42:00.001-04:00

Garibaldi Promo Reel 2009 from David Garibaldi on Vimeo.

Step One Creative Expands To New Location In Oswego

2009-04-01T16:05:00.000-04:00

OSWEGO, New York (April 1, 2009) - Step One Creative, an Oswego-based marketing communications firm has announced that they have relocated to new offices at 56 West Third Street in Oswego – effective April 1^st, 2009, according to President Shane R. Stepien.

The new space on the first floor of the Dexter Building (formerly occupied by Caraccioli and Nelson Law Firm) will provide the agency and their clients with expanded opportunities and services.

Step One Creative was previously located at 135 West Second Street in Oswego.

“Our expansion into our new office is a reflection of our continued client growth and company strategic execution,” Stepien said. “We’re enthusiastic about this new direction, and the conveniences it will provide our clientele.”

“We continue to look at opportunities that will help us to better serve our existing and potential client base,” Stepien added. “And, our expansion into this larger location will help us meet those objectives.”

Office hours at the new location will remain 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, or by appointment.

Pavlus Joins Step One Creative As Spring Intern

2009-02-19T11:15:00.003-05:00

OSWEGO, New York (February 19, 2009) - Step One Creative, an Oswego-based marketing communications firm, has announced that Laura Pavlus, of Liverpool, New York, has joined the agency as a spring intern, according to President Shane R. Stepien.

Pavlus, a senior public relations major at SUNY Oswego, will assist Step One with various client related projects, events, publicity and development.

"We're excited about Laura's internship with our agency, and look forward to having her assist us on a variety of new projects this spring," said Stepien.

"She has a lot of enthusiasm, and strong public relations skills that will be a tremendous asset to our clients."

In addition to her internship at Step One Creative, Pavlus works at the Alumni and Parent Relations Office of SUNY Oswego, where she interned last year as the Senior Class Coordinator. She is currently the President of the student organization, the Future Alumni Network, and, in her free time, is involved with the SUNY Oswego Theatre Department. After choreographing, assistant directing, and acting in last year's production of Cabaret, she was recently cast in this year's spring production, Into The Woods.

Established in 1996, Step One Creative, a division of Step One Communications, LLC is a marketing communications firm located at 135 West Second Street in Oswego, that offers full-service advertising design, brand development, public relations, copywriting, media planning/placement, marketing research, and capital campaign development/fundraising to organizations and businesses throughout Central and Upstate New York.

For additional information on Step One Creative please call (315) 342-2554 or visit them online at www.steponecreative.com.

Canale's Restaurant Brand Identity Program

2009-02-02T08:56:00.006-05:00

Oswego, New York (February 2, 2009) - Here is nice example of how a brand identity program can bring everything together from the standpoint of merchandising and product development.

Step One Creative worked with Canale's Restaurant on their new brand/logo a few years back and it has allowed them to expand their product lines, frozen foods, etc.

Shown pictured is Nick Canale, Jr., owner of Canale's Restaurant.

New Website - Pulaski Health Center

2009-01-30T19:50:00.009-05:00

Here's a snapshot of a new website we just finalized for Pulaski Health Center... it's going live this week. Here's a homepage preview! Click on the image to enlarge.

Port of Oswego Authority News

2009-01-26T20:32:00.001-05:00

http://oswegocountytoday.com/news/oswego-news/2009/01/23/port-expansion-gets-big-boost-from-schumer/

Barack and his Blackberry... interesting ad concepts!

2009-01-12T22:21:00.001-05:00

http://www.nydailynews.com/money/galleries/obama_cant_give_it_up_/obama_cant_give_it_up_.html#ph0

2009-01-12T19:57:00.001-05:00

Salvation Army Brown Bag Campaign

2008-11-29T19:19:00.002-05:00

http://news10now.com/content/all_news/128848/salvation-army-launches-holiday-food-drive/Default.aspx

WTVH 5 Coverage of Today's Port of Oswego/Melford Meeting Regarding the Container Terminal Project

2008-11-03T23:15:00.002-05:00

http://www.wtvh.com/news/local/33786119.html

Knopp Joins Step One Creative As Fall Intern

2008-10-14T13:16:00.004-04:00

OSWEGO, New York (October 14, 2008) – Step One Creative, an Oswego-based marketing communications firm, has announced that Oswego-native Margaret Knopp has joined on as an intern, according to President Shane R. Stepien.

Knopp, a senior at SUNY Oswego, with a major in marketing, will assist the marketing firm with various client related projects, events, publicity and development.

“We are very pleased to welcome Margaret to our agency through the SUNY Oswego Experience-based Education Program,” said Stepien. “She has a lot of customer service/marketing potential, and we’re confident her enthusiasm and skills will carry over well with many of our client related projects and events we have scheduled for this fall and winter.”

“We are equally pleased to be able to provide the availability of our Oswego firm to SUNY Oswego and their respective marketing, public relations and/or graphic design students,” he added.

Syracuse Ad Club October Events...

2008-10-14T13:11:00.000-04:00

Thursday - October 16th

Guest Speaker: Kevin Roberts, CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide

From transactions to relationships, from communications to connections, from advertising to ideas, from brands to Lovemarks, from green to blue. Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Lovemarks Company Saatchi & Saatchi, invites you to attend to an extraordinary lecture. Hear Kevin Roberts share the secrets to winning in business, fulfillment in life and making it to the top of the world.

Time: 11 :00 am-12:20 pm

Location: Herg Auditorium, Newhouse III - Syracuse University

Cost: FREE (no RSVP required)

Monday, October 20th

THE MEDIA AUDIT: An in-depth look at the Syracuse Market

Join us for a fun, interesting and informative luncheon presentation given by Phillip Beswick of The Media Audit. Gain insights into the Syracuse Market, its retail market and media usage. See how people are using media and what is changing in the retail market. Find out how the Syracuse market compares with the rest of America - see where our city shines! In particular the presentation will look at the Syracuse market on such topics as voting, miles driven, planned purchase of homes, cars, etc.

Time: 12:00 registration, 12:30 lunch & presentation

Location: Genesee Grande - 1060 East Genesee St.

Cost: (Includes lunch)

$20 Members, $30 Non-Members, $15 Students

Straight from the Bog... not Blog.

2008-10-09T20:40:00.000-04:00

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1370868150/bctid1844715335

2008-09-26T15:43:00.014-04:00

Step One Strategic Giving is a new initiative that assists regional non-profit organizations and other charitable groups with their capital campaign and fund development programs.

Our close affiliations and partnerships with numerous non-profit organizations throughout Central New York over the years, have always been something our agency has been passionate about.

These are, however, difficult times for many... and we have seen that with many of our non-profit clients.

Declining funding sources, a stagnant economy, narrowing markets, and other business pitfalls, have burdened many groups, and in turn, not allowed them to effectively grow their respective agencies or move ahead with new initiatives.

Step One Strategic Giving was created to help non-profits and other groups pursue new opportunities through an effective capital campaign/fund development program - specific and customized to their respective organization. Our community-based approach, knowledge of the CNY region, fund development/event coordination expertise, executive coaching, and public relations/branding experience, provides this region with a new partner when it comes to these community needs.

To set up an appointment to discuss a plan for your non-profit or charitable group please contact Shane Stepien at (315) 342-2554.

2008-09-23T20:05:00.004-04:00

In Scary Times, Advertising Firms Offer Messages of Strength

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD and STUART ELLIOTT, New York Times

Published: September 21, 2008

EARLY last week, as the American International Group began to crumble, marketing executives at a large competitor, New York Life Insurance Company, huddled in a series of meetings. They already had an advertising campaign running, but they sensed an opportunity to capitalize on the fast-changing conditions for their industry.

Enlarge This Image

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

In October 2006, the insurance giant A.I.G.’s message on the outfield wall at Shea Stadium seemed fitting. The company has discontinued its brand and corporate ads.

On Thursday, after a presentation to Theodore A. Mathas, the chief executive at New York Life, the executives won approval for an additional campaign. They dispatched their agency, the New York office of Taxi, to create ads that would play up the reliability of New York Life.

“At a time when well-known brands have gone by the wayside, we want to distinguish New York Life from the public companies and others that have had such difficulty,” said William Werfelman, first vice president at New York Life.

“It’s now a matter of very quickly developing creative,” he added, to react to the market shifts.

New York Life is one of several financial advertisers seeking to take advantage of the current economic turmoil. But the uncertainties spawned by the unprecedented events — the collapse of Lehman Brothers; the rescues of A.I.G., Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae; the proposed acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America — are raising flags of caution on Madison Avenue as executives worry that no amount of advertising may reassure an anxious public.

“In the last couple weeks, you could smell the fear in New York,” said Martin Sorrell, chief executive at the WPP Group, which owns agencies like Grey, JWT and Ogilvy & Mather, as “institutions that were regarded as invincible have gone down or had to be bailed out.”

“The scale and the speed of all that have shaken people’s confidence,” he added, and it could affect attitudes “for the rest of the year going into next year.”

The advertising industry, including giants WPP, has typically used layoffs or other cutbacks to get through tough times. No one is announcing widespread dismissals at the moment, but throughout 2008 — a bumpy year even before the Wall Street crisis — there have been layoffs at agencies around the country.

“The volatility in the financial markets is clearly creating uncertainty for both marketers and consumers,” said Michael I. Roth, chief executive at the Interpublic Group of Companies, which owns agencies like Draft FCB, McCann Erickson and R/GA.

“This will require us to focus even more closely on helping our clients navigate through this environment,” Mr. Roth said, “and at the same time managing our business efficiently.”

The biggest challenge, executives say, is trying to keep up with the stunning economic and financial events and the resulting mood swings, as evidenced by the roller-coaster ride from the despair of Wednesday to the euphoria of Friday. All that makes it difficult to determine how to best persuade shoppers to open their wallets.

“Right now, there are nothing but question marks,” said David Sklaver, president at KSL Media, a media planning and buying agency.

“Every time you think all the shoes have dropped on Wall Street, another one drops,” he added. “There are more shoes in this closet than Imelda Marcos’s.”

The result is that “we have to batten down the hatches for the near term,” Mr. Sklaver said. “For every client, it’s constantly trying to understand who their best customer is, and building a fence around that customer, treating that customer better than ever before.”

One lesson learned of late, according to Mr. Sklaver, is that advertisers and the media can no longer “treat the wealthy as a mass market” — that is, expect robust growth to continue indefinitely in sales of high-end products like luxury goods at upscale stores.

“Premium products were unassailable,” Mr. Sklaver said, but the trouble on Wall Street suggests that “they’re not enough to support the economy.”

The decline in sales of expensive items has been one factor contributing to a slowdown in demand this year for commercial time and advertising space, even with the stimulation of the so-called quadrennial effect of the Summer Olympics and the presidential election.

For instance, the Nielsen Monitor-Plus division of the Nielsen Company reported last week that ad spending in the first half of 2008 fell 1.4 percent compared with the same period a year ago. The laggards included ads in national magazines, down 3.1 percent; national newspapers, down 8.1 percent; and spot radio, down 10.1 percent.

“The health of the advertising economy depends on the health and vigor of consumer spending,” said Jon Swallen, senior vice president for research at TNS Media Intelligence, a unit of Taylor Nelson Sofres that will announce its data for the first half on Tuesday.

“To the extent the financial mess forestalls a general economic recovery and makes consumers feel antsy,” Mr. Swallen said, “a recovery in ad spending is being pushed farther out into the future.”

Another reason ad spending may decline is the shake-up in the ranks of the financial marketers. Although companies like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch are not major advertisers, the extent of changes, including potential mergers and consolidations, among those that are “could in the long term mean less money spent,” Mr. Swallen said.

For some, that is also the case in the short term. For example, A.I.G. decided to discontinue its brand and corporate ads, which carry the theme “The strength to be there” — a message clearly thrown into question by the federal government’s bailout of the insurer.

The A.I.G. business units are still advertising products like auto insurance, said Charlie Armstrong, senior director for advertising and global branding at A.I.G., adding that for the A.I.G. brand “we are actively exploring messages and communications that would be appropriate for this environment.”

Still, New York Life is not the only financial marketer to increase its advertising presence.

An ad for Rockefeller & Company promises “Responsible and stable wealth management through turbulent times.”

An ad for Wachovia Securities asks investors to “Think long term,” adding: After 120 years, it’s second nature to us.”

And an ad for AXA Equitable says, “in these chaotic times, there is a financial services company dedicated to redefining commitment.”

The AXA ads, which began running on Tuesday, were developed over the last few weeks. “The important thing is to reassure people,” said Barbara Goodstein, executive vice president for marketing, that although “it’s scary out there, we are a company that’s financially stable.”

“That’s why we’re visible,” she added. “We’re comfortable being vocal at a time like this.”

It is a smart strategy for those financial institutions that are stable, said David Haigh, chief executive at Brand Finance, a brand consulting company.

“When everyone’s reeling is the time for strong banks to talk,” Mr. Haigh said. “You want to know you’re with a bank that’s not going to go bust on you.”

Analysts note that many financial advertisers had started shrinking their budgets a year ago, when the problems with bad debt began roiling Wall Street. As a result, many media companies have already absorbed some of the blows.

“The financial ad category, when you look at the numbers, has been under pressure for a year,” said Vivek Shah, president of the Fortune Money Group at Time Inc., part of Time Warner. Ad spending, he added, has been “a leading indicator, not a lagging indicator.”

The magazines under Mr. Shah have adjusted their approaches, he said, to attract more advertisers in categories like technology.

Many of the most troubled companies were not large advertisers, however, because they sought corporate clients rather than consumers. Lehman Brothers spent only $259,000 to buy ads in the first quarter, according to TNS Media Intelligence, and Merrill Lynch spent $4.9 million. By comparison, TNS figures show that Bank of America spent $134.3 million in the same period.

It is unclear what the ad plans are for the Merrill Lynch brand after the Bank of America acquisition goes through; the brand name is to be retained on several units.

“It’s too soon to talk about any of those types of decisions,” said Joseph L. Goode, a spokesman for Bank of America. If the last week did not bring horrible news for media companies, neither did it bring good news. Financial advertisers made up 21 percent of the advertisers at national newspapers in 2007, according to an analysis by Sanford C. Bernstein & Company of TNS Media Intelligence data. And they accounted for 20 percent of Internet display advertising in 2007.

“The financial sector is a radically restructuring sector,” said Chris Rohrs, president at the Television Bureau of Advertising, who is also keeping a wary eye on automotive and retail, two other big ad categories for local TV stations.

The strengths of those categories “are entirely about confidence and the availability of credit,” Mr. Rohrs said. “We’ve had no confidence and a shutdown of credit.”

Even before last week, the bureau had forecast that revenue for TV spots in 2009 would decline by 2 to 5 percent compared with 2008.

Likewise, Mr. Sorrell of WPP had previously forecast that next year would be a difficult one for the advertising economy. “What happened in the last few days will make life a little tougher,” he said, “but not much tougher than we thought it would be anyway.”

Some interesting work to say the least...

2008-09-23T19:56:00.002-04:00

I came across this on MSNBC... creativity is definitely in the eye of the beholder.. or something I guess.

http://adblog.msnbc.msn.com/

Step One Creative Captures 9 Golden Quote Awards - Including Best of Show!

2008-09-18T22:27:00.007-04:00

OSWEGO, New York (September 18, 2008) - Step One Creative won six Golden Quote Awards Wednesday night at the Professional Journalists and Communicators of Oswego County's annual awards competition, according to Shane Stepien, president of the Oswego-based advertising/public relations firm.

The awards show and dinner, which was held at Springside at Seneca Hill, recognizes excellence in the county's communications fields.

Step One Creative's collaborative work with Van Suydam Photographers for USA Hockey earned them this year's Best of Show Award. The entry was a poster concept and photography for the USA Hockey organization.

"We're extremely grateful to PJCOC and our peers for these awards and the 2008 Best of Show," said Stepien. "I am very proud of our staff for their ongoing efforts and obvious creative talents, and appreciate the strong client relationships who allow us to assist in developing these award-winning advertising/branding initiatives."

In addition to the best of show, Step One Creative captured the following:

Best Logo for Novelis' 10Kan Event
Best Advertising Campaign for Port of Oswego Authority
Best TV/Video Production for Oswego Health
Best Poster for Erik Cole Golf Tournament
Best Invitation for Erik Cole Golf Tournament
Best Annual Report for Pathfinder Bank
Best Print Ad for New York Bold
Best Photograph used in marketing initiative for USA Hockey

PJCOC (formerly the Oswego County Press Club) has recognized Step One Creative and their clients with a variety of awards in different categories each year since 2003.

Shown pictured in the above photo are from left to right: Shelby Stepien, Strategic Design/Planning Specialist at Step One Creative; Mark Proud, Creative Director at Step One Creative; Keith Kobland, event emcee and morning/noon anchor at WTVH-5; and Jeff Wallace, Senior Business Development Specialist at Step One Creative.

Water cooler stuff...

2008-09-16T21:24:00.015-04:00

1. Thank you to Steve Yablonski of the OswegoCountyToday.Com for his coverage of the recent Farnham Family Fun Night at the Oswego Speedway last week. The event was very well received by those 200-250 in attendance.. young and old.. and his coverage and enthusiasm for many of our community's events deserves recognition.

2. Step One Creative welcomes Margaret Knopp as a marketing intern for the fall semester. Margaret is a senior SUNY Oswego-student and native of Oswego. Look for a press release and photo shortly.

3. Step One Creative will be in attendance at the Professional Journalists and Communicators of Oswego County Annual Golden Quote Awards September 17th at Springside at Seneca Hill. We wish everyone who had entries into this year's show in the various categories.. the best of luck! We have a lot of creative and talented people in our community and this fundraising event is a great way to showcase those efforts!

4. Congrats to our wonderful photography partners from VanSuydam - Jennifer and Patrick - who were married this past weekend September 13th!

5. 10Kan Run/Walk/Cycle - September 20th at Brietbeck Park - Sponsored by Novelis to benefit Habitat for Humanity. Good luck to my wife Christy who will race in the duathlon (2o-mile bike and 6 mile run) race. Also, my children Spencer 5 and daughter Addi 2, who will be participating in the Kid's Fun Run (70 yard race). Step One Creative was proud to once again partner with Novelis on the poster design and the new logo for this year!

6. Check out Steamer's new website... www.gssteamers.com... a new Step One design... and also Pathfinder Bank's new look/feel that was designed by Step One Creative as well... www.pathfinderbank.com.

7. Did you know that we have formed a new division - Step One Strategic Giving - that focuses specifically on new capital campaign/fund development partnerships throughout Central New York. For additional information on how we might assist your campaign/fund development efforts please call (315) 342-2554 or (315) 402-8802. Look for additional PR shortly.

2008-08-18T19:44:00.001-04:00

Michael Phelps' Race To Turn Gold Into Cash (VIDEO)

stumble digg reddit del.ico.us news trust

Wall Street Journal, NY Daily News | Dave Burdick | August 18, 2008 07:32 AM

Like this story? Get Alerts of big news events. Enter your email address

Michael Phelps, Michael Phelps, Michael Phelps. With all the play his name gets right now, it should be a breeze to parlay eight gold medals into huge cash, right? So say a few stories around the newsosphere, but with a catch: Phelps needs to be fast to ">score endorsement deals with his Olympic fame.

A new race is now on for Mr. Phelps: the rush to transform the swimmer's Olympic feat into a marketing juggernaut, akin to Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. But the window for marketing Olympians -- even those with the rising stature of Mr. Phelps -- can close fast. Many of the new legions of so-called Phelps Phans likely will not see his muscled torso in a pool again until 2012, an eternity for advertisers.

As Mr. Carlisle, the agent, shuttled between meetings Saturday on the eve of Mr. Phelps's historic eighth Olympic gold medal Sunday, proposals for business opportunities far and wide streamed into his BlackBerry. Some were appealing, others less so.

So how much can a box of Wheaties and an awareness-raising lap in a hotel pool mean to somebody like Phelps?

"If he's handled properly over the next four years, he should generate in excess of $40 million," said Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp Ltd., a Chicago-based sports business consulting firm.

The 23-year-old swimming champ from Baltimore had already made a splash before the Beijing Olympics, with $5 million in endorsements from advertising sponsors.

As the New York Daily News points out, it shouldn't be hard to find endorsements that fit -- the dude eats 12,000 calories a day. Pretty much any food product could fit in there somewhere.

Additional Erik Cole Dream Big Foundation Coverage

2008-08-05T11:14:00.003-04:00

Here are some additional links to the coverage from the successful Erik Cole Dream Big Foundation Golf & Hockey Classic held over the weekend.

News10Now - August 3rd

http://news10now.com/Default.aspx?ArID=121322

WSTM3 - August 4th

http://wstm.com/Sports/video.aspx?id=169787

What If Modern Advertisers Created the Stop Sign

2008-08-01T14:01:00.002-04:00

http://view.break.com/542649 - Watch more free videos

Step One Creative and Harborfest Unveil 2008 Poster

2008-07-23T12:38:00.003-04:00

Oswego, New York (July 23, 2008) - Shane Stepien of Step One Creative unveils the Harborfest 2008 Design Poster with Samantha Pickreign of Oswego Harbor Festivals, Inc.. Designed by Step One Creative, the posters, as well as other 2008 memorabilia will be available in the "Harbor Huts" in Breitbeck Park, East Park and River Walk East. Harborfest is July 24-27th. This is the 4th consecutive year that Step One Creative has developed the campaign and marketing promotional materials for Harborfest.

Ask Mark... Logo Design Often Starts With A Pencil!

2008-07-11T22:06:00.004-04:00

2008 Erik Cole Dream Big Foundation Golf & Hockey Classic To Be Held August 2, 3, and 4th in Oswego.

2008-07-10T16:39:00.013-04:00

OSWEGO, New York (July 10, 2008) – Organizing committee members are busy finalizing plans for this year’s 2008 Erik Cole Dream Big Foundation Golf & Hockey Classic to be held August 2, 3 and 4^th in Oswego.

A new 3-on-3 Youth Hockey Classic is slated for Saturday, August 2^nd and Sunday, August 3^rd at the Campus Center Ice Arena at SUNY Oswego, and the Erik Cole Dream Big Foundation Golf Classic will tee off on Monday, August 4^th at the Oswego Country Club.

The Erik Cole Dream Big Foundation was established in 2007 by Oswego-native, NHL hockey player, Stanley Cup Champion, and U.S. Olympian Erik Cole. The non-profit organization was created to support youth hockey programs, as well as children who are suffering from cancer and other diseases.
“We’re very excited about bringing golf and hockey together as part of our inaugural Dream Big Foundation event,” said Cole. “We’ve had tremendous response over the past two years with our golf benefits for the Oswego Public Library and Oswego Minor Hockey Association, and we hope to receive the same level of participation and enthusiasm for this year’s golf and hockey events.”

“We’re truly grateful to the Greater Oswego-community for their continued support, and our event sponsors Pathfinder Bank, Nike/Bauer, and AT&T for their support and assistance in expanding the program to include the hockey tournament,” he added.

YOUTH HOCKEY CLASSIC

The 3-on-3 Youth Hockey Classic, presented by Nike/Bauer, and supported in part by the Oswego Blue Line Club and Oswego Minor Hockey Association, is a USA Hockey sanctioned event, and will be limited to 4 teams in each of the Squirt, Pee Wee, and Bantam divisions.

Each team will play 2 games on Saturday and 2 games on Sunday. A detailed game schedule will be distributed as the teams are finalized.

Each game will consist of two 16-minute running-time periods, and teams shall be composed of six (6) skaters, one (1) goalie, and up to two (2) coaches.

Complete tournament rules can be provided upon request by contacting (315) 447-COLE (2653) or emailing register@ecdreambig.com.
The cost for the event is $40/per player. All participants will receive team jerseys provided by Nike/Bauer. The games are free for all spectators to enjoy.

Corporate team sponsorships are available for $500/per team and includes player entries, advertising of sponsor name on jersey, a tee/green sign at the golf event, 2 tickets to the dinner after golf, plus mention in all hockey-related press releases.

“The Campus Center Ice Arena on the SUNY Oswego Campus will provide a great setting for our area hockey players to enjoy the foundation’s newest event,” Cole said. “I still remember playing in tournaments like this when I was younger, and am very excited that we could do this for our area’s next generation of players.”

GOLF CLASSIC
According to Event Organizer Kevin Caraccioli, this year’s golf tournament, sponsored by Pathfinder Bank, will showcase Cole, as well as other NHL players, national and regional media, and local celebrities. Celebrities committed thus far include: Kevyn Adams, center for Chicago Blackhawks, and former Hurricane Teammate/Stanley Cup Champion; and John Forslund, Carolina Hurricanes Play-by-Play Television Announcer who also works regularly for the NHL on Versus during the playoffs.

The event will be a four-person captain-n-crew format. The cost is $1,000 per team, and individuals can participate for $150. Tee & Green sponsorship signs are available for $300.

Team fees include 18 holes of golf at the Oswego Country Club, golf cart, lunch, cocktail party, dinner, tee and green signage and a gift bag. Individual fees include everything but the tee and green signage. Tickets for the cocktail party and dinner can be purchased separately for $45 per person.

Breakfast, registration and goodie bag pickup, as well as use of the Oswego Country Club Driving Range and Putting Green will be available from 9-11 a.m. Team photos and celebrity introductions will be held at 10:00 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. shotgun start. Cocktails and a silent auction begin at 5:00 p.m., followed by dinner, an awards presentation, and live auction starting at 6 p.m.

AT&T has agreed to sponsor this year’s dinner for the event, and the Oswego Sub Shop has agreed to provide lunch at the turn for the 3^rd straight year.

According to Caraccioli, as in year’s past there will also be a variety of on course activities, including a hole-in-one contest, sponsored once again by Burritt Motors, as well as silent auction items and raffle prizes. Erik’s former team, the Carolina Hurricanes, and new team, Edmonton Oilers have figured heavily in this event, as well as the NHL, Nike/Bauer, AT&T, XM Radio and local supporters including Pathfinder Bank, the golf event sponsor.

“We’re really looking forward to a wonderful day of golf with Erik,” said Caraccioli, “and we very much appreciate the local sponsorship support and volunteers who have stepped up to help with the tournament and its success.”

For more information or to request a registration form for the Erik Cole Dream Big Foundation Golf & Hockey Classic, please call (315) 447-COLE (2653), or email register@ecdreambig.com.

The field is limited to 36 teams so it is recommended to get registration forms in immediately.

Photo - Step One Creative President Shane Stepien (right) and Creative Director Mark Proud are shown pictured at last year's event with Erik Cole (Center) and the new foundation logo that was developed by the agency.

Step One Creative Unveils 2009, 2010 and 2011 Logos for Sponsored Summer Scramble at Oswego CC

2008-07-08T08:02:00.003-04:00

Step One Creative Summer Scramble at Oswego Country Club Posts Record Turnout... and Score!

2008-07-06T19:52:00.015-04:00

OSWEGO, New York (July 10, 2008) – The Oswego Country Club held its annual Summer Scramble this past June 30^th, with a record number of participants and a record score, according to Tournament Director Ed Fayette.

Twenty-six teams (104 golfers) participated in the captain-n-crew format, and the winning team was led by Chris Carpenter. His team shot a record 15-under par or 56, and included: Carpenter, Christian Morgia, David Blask, and Matt Thompson.

Joe Babcock’s team took second place with a 14-under, par 57, and third place was Shane Stepien’s team with a 14-under par. 57. Babcock’s team won the tiebreaker.

Tom Roman Jr., Gary Pace, and Bill Farden were closest to the pin winners, with Dan Rose recording the longest drive on Hole #9.

The event also officially took on corporate sponsorship for the next three years with Oswego-based marketing communications firm, Step One Creative.

“We’re very pleased to have Step One Creative sign on as a sponsor of this annual event,” said Fayette. “Their strong reputation in the community, as well as their assistance with promoting and publicizing the event going forward will help broaden the tournament.”

“Their agency has also already developed the logos that will be used for the next three years,” he added.

“Our agency is very enthusiastic about partnering with the Summer Scramble,” said Shane Stepien, owner of Step One Creative. “It’s truly a great tradition at the Oswego Country Club, and a wonderful opportunity to showcase the wonderful course and facility to guests.”

The tournament format allows for members to invite up to 3 non-members/guests in the four-person captain-n-crew event.

Fayette thanked Oswego Country Club Golf Professionals Jon Fowler and Will Weimer along with their Pro Shop staff, Scott Peters and his grounds crew, Chris Carpenter’s restaurant staff, and tournament sponsor Step One Creative for the successful event.

Our Creative Director Takes Flight

2008-06-26T16:36:00.009-04:00

OSWEGO, New York (June 26, 2008) - Mark Proud, Creative Director at Step One Creative (right) and Patrick Suydam (far left) of VanSuydam Photography take photos of "The Deck" at GS Steamers' Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on June 18th. What a great view of the Oswego Harbor and Downtown from the Boom... and The Deck!

Step One Creative Wins Greater Oswego/Fulton Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament at OCC

2008-06-16T21:48:00.009-04:00

OSWEGO, New York (June 16, 2008) - Step One Creative captured the Greater Oswego/Fulton Chamber of Commerce Annual Golf Tournament at the Oswego Country Club on Monday, June 16th, with a 12-under par 59.

The Captain-n-Crew squad of Shane Stepien, Mark Proud, Chris O'Brien and Chris Carpenter bested 32 other teams to capture the tourney.

O'Brien also won the longest drive contest on hole #9.

Shown pictured from left to right are Carpenter, O'Brien, Proud and Stepien.

Erik Cole Golf and Hockey Classic - August 2, 3 and 4th

2008-06-09T19:34:00.009-04:00

OSWEGO, New York (June 9, 2008) - What a lot of fun this past Thursday... when Step One Creative and our photographer Jen McNulty from VanSuydam Photography took advantage of a great day at the Oswego Country Club to get some nice shots for the upcoming Erik Cole Golf and Hockey Classics.

Mark (our creative director) is finalizing the promotional materials/posters/registration forms, etc. for the August 2, 3 and 4th events.

Thank you to Shelby, Katy and Sarah for their help with the shoot... and our talented model Tim Lloyd... dressed in his best Bobby Jones-era garb.. and modern day Nike/Bauer gear.

Here are some pix courtesy of VanSuydam Photography.

Step One Creative Intern Caitlin Hafner to Speak At PJCOC Meeting June 9th

2008-06-06T08:45:00.007-04:00

OSWEGO, New York (June 6, 2008) - The Professional Journalists and Communicators of Oswego County (PJCOC) will welcome Kevin Torres, an award winning photojournalist from News Channel 9 on Monday, June 9th at 5 p.m. at Springside at Seneca Hill. Members of PJCOC will also hear from two other young communicators who are just starting out in the field.

Representing print and broadcast journalism as well as public relations, the students will share how they got to where they are today, the challenges they face as they enter their careers, and advice they have for others hoping to follow in their footsteps. Caitlin Hafner, a senior marketing major at SUNY Oswego, and Meredith Thomas, a staff writer at Oswego County Business Magazine, will be also be panelists at the annual scholarship meeting.

Hafner is going into her final year at SUNY Oswego and has a major in marketing. After graduation she hopes to go into the advertising field, and is currently interning at Step One Creative, an advertising/pr firm in Oswego. Along with her current internship, she has also worked in marketing as an intern for the Women’s Network for Entrepreneurial Training. Along with her internships, Caitlin has also been involved in the marketing of her family’s farm and Katie’s Pumpkin Patch in Baldwinsville.

Best of luck "Katie" from your friends at Step One Creative!

Making of Guinness Commercial - The Tipping Point

2008-06-01T13:49:00.000-04:00

2008-05-27T16:39:00.005-04:00

How to Build Brand Friendship

To create a truly powerful brand, you need to establish a sense of belonging, friendship, and dependability between product and customers

by Steve McKee, Business Week

Human beings are social creatures. We need interaction with one another. It's the way we're made. When we meet someone new, we tend either to be drawn to them or to be disinterested for a whole host of reasons (some of which we may not even realize). Over time, however, we develop a continually evolving stable of relationships, some of which last for a lifetime.

That human dynamic is the root of brand loyalty as well. Our "relationships" with brands aren't nearly as deep or meaningful as human relationships, but they do share some of the same characteristics. The extent to which you can create a sense of belonging, friendship, and dependability between your brand and customers is the extent to which you have a powerful brand asset.

BELONGING

We are all members of different clubs. Our family is a club, our church is a club, our place of employment is even a club. In some sense we "belong" to each of these clubs by choice—we choose whom to marry, where to worship, and where to work because we identify with the people in them in some form or fashion. I was on the East Coast recently and saw a tourist sporting a sweatshirt from my high school across the country. I quite naturally struck up a conversation with her, as we were part of the same club.

Few people have a choice of where they go to high school, but as we get older our affiliations are increasingly a matter of preference. For example, I am a "Pepper." As a self-identified member of the Dr Pepper fraternity, I have an understanding of the brand that runs deep. (I actually think the management at Dr Pepper has never really understood what the brand means to fans like me. If you're a Pepper east of the Mississippi where the drink is scarce, you know what I mean.)

Auto brands generate a great sense of belonging as well. Ever spoken to a BMW (BMWG.DE) enthusiast about his loyalty to the brand? It's powerful. Saturn (GM) and Volkswagen (VOWG) are two other automakers that have historically done a good job of creating a sense of belonging around their brands. So has Harley-Davidson (HOG) with its Harley Owners Group. You're either in it, or you're very definitely not.

Cosmetics can also generate a strong sense of identification, as Avon (AVP) and Mary Kay loyalists can attest. So does Taos Ski Valley, a world-class destination that, because of its fabulous terrain and unique local culture, has attracted an incredible following of loyalists. (Full disclosure: Taos is a client of mine.) Bloomberg does, too. Not the mayor (although he's a fine man, I'm sure), the terminals. Ask people in the financial-services industry what it means to be part of the Bloomberg club. Better yet, try taking their Bloomberg terminal away from them—you'll lose your hand.

What drives this sense of belonging? Arguably the most important factor in branding: relevance. Brands that generate the strongest sense of tribal identity are so relevant to the wants and needs of their customers that they generate a natural gravitational pull. This is what customer loyalty programs attempt to generate (BusinessWeek.com, 5/10/07), but you can't buy a sense of belonging. It's like offering to take someone to the movies if they purchase your ticket. Companionship, yes, but friendship? Hardly. Which leads to characteristic No. 2.

FRIENDSHIP

Kerry Livgren, the creative genius behind the 1970s rock 'n' roll band Kansas, said it simply, and perhaps best: "The only way to have a friend is to be one." The great brands understand this. Starbucks (SBUX) has been picked on a lot lately, but it wouldn't be on such a pedestal if it didn't do a terrific job of making friends with its customers. For many people, their morning appointment with Starbucks is like visiting with a trusted old friend—familiar and comfortable.

I travel a lot, and whenever I take a morning flight out of the beautiful Albuquerque Sunport I grab a breakfast burrito from the La Hacienda kiosk inside security. Do I think about my "friendship" with this brand every time? Not at all. But whenever I go to the airport, I enjoy the familiar taste and friendly people behind the counter.

I feel the same way about my running shoes. I'm not a serious runner by any means, but I have tried a lot of different shoe brands over the years, and when I pull my trusted Avias out of the closet I know they'll do their part, as any friend would. The same is true of the little sandwich shop on the main drag in Cuba, N.M., where I take my kids to chop down our Christmas tree every year. These brands have been such good friends over the years that they now get my business almost without asking.

As with human friends, the brands we adopt as our own give us a sense of comfort and familiarity; we've come to know and trust them as opposed to the "stranger" that a competing brand represents. Our chosen brands have earned our trust through another essential aspect of branding: consistency.

Which brings up an important point—you can't force friendship. As a marketer, there's no way to compel people to feel comfortable with your brand. You can, however, take steps to initiate friendship (BusinessWeek.com, 7/13/06) and make sure that you're doing your part.

DEPENDABILITY

Friendships that aren't stable aren't really friendships. Sure, all relationships have their ups and downs, but one of the definitions of a true friend is someone you can count on. In the same way, brands that prove themselves dependable over time win our loyalty. Remember the old saying, "No one ever got fired for buying IBM?" The truth of that statement was rooted in IBM's reputation for dependability. IBM (IBM) may have been boring, it may have been expensive, but it was dependable, and that was important.

American Express (AXP) is another brand long known for dependability—the reason you "don't leave home without it." Same with Hertz (HTZ) ("There's Hertz and there's 'not exactly'"). Honda (HMC), in my mind, fits into this category as well. I have owned several Honda automobiles over the years, and they've been the most dependable cars in my garage. In fact, I have two in my garage now (they're even the same color—how boring is that?) Many people would say the same thing about their Toyotas (TM).

Sometimes dependability manifests itself in surprising ways. Years ago my wife and I enjoyed a vacation in Jamaica. It's a beautiful island with beautiful people and wonderful food. But if you've ever spent much time in Jamaica you can get a little tired of allspice, a flavor that tends to dominate much of the cuisine. Imagine my delight on one of our excursions when we spotted a Burger King (BKC). I knew that no matter where in the world I was I could step up to that counter and get a familiar, dependable Whopper. (Burger King's "Whopper Freakout" campaign recently highlighted this principle, using a hidden camera to capture customers' reactions to news the Whopper had been discontinued.)

Dependability isn't just the purview of computers, cars, and cheeseburgers, either. Every spring I seek out Ringer Lawn Restore, the best organic fertilizer I've ever come across. It really does what it says it will, which is a third principle of a powerful brand: credibility. Despite its natural fertilizer odor, Ringer has a friend in me.

But here's the thing about dependability. It requires time. Just as it does with human relationships, it takes time for brands to develop strong bonds with their customers. Infatuation is exciting (the basis for those late-night infomercials), but infatuation never lasts. It turns into either ambivalence or attachment depending upon how well the brand promise is delivered.

AWARENESS

And the time factor is different for different brands. As with friendship, the more interactions your brand has with its customers the more the relationship can develop. Particularly for lower-involvement products that you buy infrequently, there can be a big forget factor (just like you may forget the name of acquaintances you don't often see).

Not long ago, I heard an ad for Lending Tree, an online mortgage company I once used to refinance my home (with a fixed rate, fortunately). Years have passed since I last refinanced and, despite being a satisfied customer, I realized that I had completely forgotten about the Lending Tree brand. The challenge for Lending Tree and other companies like it is to maintain some level of awareness and relationship with customers like me (without annoying us, of course). Brand relationships, just like human relationships, need consistent attention and upkeep in order to stay fresh and top of mind.

If you've been in business for any length of time, you must be doing something right for someone. Find out what your brand really is, and to whom it's truly meaningful. Then focus your efforts on being that in spades.

Think about the strongest brands out there: Southwest Airlines (LUV), Apple (AAPL), eBay (EBAY), even Caterpillar (CAT). They understand the principles of belonging, friendship, and dependability, and they treat their customers accordingly. They know what they stand for and refrain from chasing business that would compromise their hard-won loyalty. You can, too, and the more you do so the greater the likelihood your company may one day be mentioned in the same breath as they are.

Steve McKee is president of McKee Wallwork Cleveland Advertising, an ad agency specializing in working with companies suffering from stale brands and stalled growth.

Memorial Day 2008 - A Tribute

2008-05-23T22:21:00.001-04:00

Copywriting At Its Best.

2008-05-22T20:26:00.001-04:00

UPS Bet on Big Brown Pays Off in Brand Exposure

2008-05-17T20:56:00.015-04:00

A horse by any other name simply wouldn't have worked for UPS.

Capitalizing on the buzz around thoroughbred racing's biggest event, UPS has inked a sponsorship deal with Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, who was named in honor of the shipping giant known for its distinctive brown trucks and uniforms.

The marketing coup has already won big media exposure and brand recognition for the original Big Brown -- a rare opportunity the company candidly concedes galloped straight into its lap

"Prior to all of this happening, we had no intention of placing sponsorship with a thoroughbred horse group," said UPS spokesman Norman Black. "But when we found out the horse was actually named after UPS, we got together and decided to jump on it, realizing the great marketing opportunity."

"We were very opportunistic, make no bones about it," added Black, who called sponsoring the conveniently named colt and Triple Crown prospect "a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Thoroughbred teams have received corporate sponsorship since 2003, but Big Brown is the first derby winner with a tailor-made corporate nickname.

"It's a marketing person's dream," said Kelly Wietsma, president of Equisponse, a horse racing marketing agency that negotiated the deal on behalf of Big Brown's majority owner, IEAH Stables, and jockey Kent Desormeaux. "I mean, it was such a no-brainer."

The partnership has already paid off for UPS, also known as United Parcel Service. UPS logos on Desormeaux's pants garnered 56 seconds of on-screen time during the May 3 derby, said Eric Wright of Joyce Julius Associates, a corporate sponsorship research firm. UPS's brand was also mentioned on television and in hundreds of news articles, netting an estimated $1.4 million worth of total media exposure, Wright said.

The sponsorship deal makes UPS the exclusive sponsor of the Big Brown team for Saturday's Preakness and the June 7 Belmont Stakes -- the second and third leg in the Triple Crown, which no horse has won in 30 years. Big Brown is the favorite to win on Saturday.

It adds a dash of Madison Avenue-style glitz to the tradition-steeped pageantry of thoroughbred racing. Desormeaux will don a UPS cap after the races.

Paul Pompa Jr., owner of Truck-Rite Corp. in Brooklyn, New York, christened the colt Big Brown after renewing a freight contract with UPS last year, but said he didn't expect it would turn into a splashy sponsorship deal.

"I never though of that at all. I simply named the horse after a very big client of my trucking business," said Pompa, who sold a 75 percent stake in the horse to IEAH Stable for about $3 million after his first race.

Neither UPS nor Big Brown's team are discussing the terms of the marketing deal, which comes at a key moment as horse racing struggles to attract fans and corporate sponsors.

"It's the perfect storm in that Big Brown has the right name and cast around him to not only promote the sponsor but the sport in general," said Keith Chamblin, senior vice president of communications for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

But there are potential pitfalls for sponsors. Big Brown's runaway victory in the Kentucky Derby was largely overshadowed by the tragedy of runner-up Eight Belles, who broke both front ankles after galloping past the finish line. The filly had to be euthanized on the track as more than 157,000 attending fans and millions of TV viewers watched.

"I think what happened to Eight Belles took a lot away from Big Brown," said Wietsma. Still, she said horse racing sponsors run the same risks as companies partnering with auto racing teams whose cars are involved in accidents.

"Unfortunately it's much more tragic when you see a living, breathing animal as part of the team getting hurt, but athletes get injured in all sports," she said.

Eight Belles' death didn't discourage UPS from sponsoring Big Brown, Black said.

"It's something you prepare for but not something that drives you away as a sports sponsor," he said.

Horse racing has already had a rough history with corporate sponsorship. Rules on sponsorship vary from state to state, with New York and Kentucky having the most restrictions.

And picking a winning horse for a company to attach its brand to isn't easy. Of 40,000 thoroughbreds born each year, only 20 make it to the Kentucky Derby.

Wietsma said she's optimistic the UPS-Big Brown deal will "wake up" corporate America about the new marketing platform -- but don't expect to see future Triple Crown contenders named "Just Do It" or "The King of Beers."

Rules prohibit giving thoroughbred horses names with clear commercial significance, such as trade names, said Bob Curran Jr., vice president of corporate communication for The Jockey Club, the thoroughbred registry in North America.

Big Brown was allowed since UPS abandoned its federal trademark on the use of name in 2005, Curran Jr. said. The company says it still maintains common law rights to the name.

Pompa, the trucking company owner who named Big Brown, has 20 other race horses, and said he'd considered naming more after companies if the rules allowed.

"Especially if I keep winning," he said.

2008-05-16T20:28:00.000-04:00

Library Budget Includes Funding To Complete Expansion, Add New Community Services

OSWEGO, New York (May 16, 2008) - As the Oswego Public Library Project completes the final phases of construction, funding becomes critical to ensure that the new structure can fully realize its potential when the doors are opened in the coming weeks.

The 2008-2009 library budget includes funding to add and improve library services as well as support for the final construction details.

The historic building is not the only thing that is being improved.

Internal infrastructure, security systems, other equipment and staffing also need to be maintained, and in some cases, updated or expanded.

“We want to make sure that we are ready to serve the increase in library patrons we expect when the doors open on our new and expanded facility. We will have more space, a larger collection and new community space to maintain and manage and the bottom line is that it will require additional funding to make it work,” said Oswego Public Library Director Carol Ferlito.

In the soon-to-open library, new posts such as the reference desk and local history section will need to be staffed and the expanded space (nearly three times the size of the former space) will need to be heated, cooled and maintained.

“Energy costs, additional facilities such as restrooms and other expanded areas will all require additional costs and our budget must reflect those improvements,” Ferlito said.

One such service improvement that was made last year included a new circulation system.

Partnering with North Country Library Services, the library installed the SIRSI circulation system.

With the new system, patrons can access many services from their home computers including browsing a selection of hundreds of thousands of books, videos, and more in regional libraries, requesting interlibrary loans, and renewing and reserving titles.

“Part of this renovation and expansion project involved spending significant time completing several program studies,” according to Library Trustee and Building Committee Chair Larry Mayo. “The studies indicated two things. We needed to double the size of our facility and work aggressively on increasing the menu of programming for our patrons. Now that we are close to completion of the construction and renovation of the building, our work continues to make sure these new services are ready to be provided.”

The 2008-2009 budget will fund both the final completion of the building expansion as well as other improvements. To complete the project and upgrade other important systems and equipment within the newly renovated structure, a proposed increase of approximately $83,000 in the 2008-2009 library budget is necessary.

Oswego Public Library Trustee Mercedes Niess said, “the cost of new books, utilities, retirement systems and health insurance keeps going up at the same time we will soon have a larger facility to maintain. We have good people working for our Library; we need to support them so that they can continue reaching out to our community.”

Although the Oswego Public Library is seeking an increase in its budget, it currently trails many other community libraries in the region in per capita funding, or the amount per person that is contributed each year in terms of approved funding.

For example, the Massena Public Library is funded at a per capita rate of $44.49 per year while the Oswego Public Library currently operates at a rate of $20.83.

The Renovation and Expansion project has stabilized and created a support structure for the historic building; doubled the space of the children’s room by moving it from the lower level to the top floor; added a community meeting room; increased facilities such as restrooms; improved accessibility to all floors including the installation of an elevator; increased book stack space; added more computer stations and updated network technology; created a Young Adult area; provided private/quiet areas for tutoring students; provided for rotating art exhibits; offered a local history/genealogy room; and more.

Space for library services has almost doubled with the completion of this building project.

“Trying to control construction costs and provide quality services to our patrons is quite a balancing act,” stated Niess. “This budget will adequately address both sides of the equation. The cost of the budget increase to an average taxpayer is less than the price of a bestseller. It’s a great value for something our community has clearly said it wants.”

Residents are encouraged to vote on May 20.

For more information concerning the library, call (315) 341-5867 or visit www.oswegopubliclibrary.org

OVIA Opens New Brewerton Office

2008-05-14T22:46:00.004-04:00

BREWERTON, New York (May 14, 2008) - Jennifer McNulty of Van Suydam Photography and I attended the grand opening of the new Brewerton Office of Oswego Valley Insurance Agencies (OVIA) this past Monday.

OVIA continues to grow throughout Oswego and Onondaga County, and has transitioned well with their new brand identity program that was developed by Step One Creative earlier in the year.

Jennifer captured a sampling of some of the items that were available as giveaways at the event, and some new brochure material on OVIA's specialized insurance lines.

OVIA will also soon offer their insurance expertise in Mexico. The recently came to terms on the purchase of the Hollister Agency.

Port of Oswego Authority Unveils New Brand/Logo

2008-05-08T16:41:00.005-04:00

OSWEGO, New York (May 8, 2008) – The Port of Oswego Authority has announced the launch of a new brand identity program and logo design, according to Port of Oswego Authority Chairman of the Board Christopher Dain.

The new brand, will allow the Port of Oswego Authority to continue their global expansion into new markets, and broaden their advertising scope and strategic marketing initiatives that are presently underway.

“The new Port of Oswego Authority logo is much more representative of the business model and global partnerships we maintain,” said Dain. “As we position ourselves as an industry leader both domestically and internationally, so too must our brand.”

“The symbolism and iconic representation the new logo provides is significant,” said Thomas W. Schneider, President and CEO at Pathfinder Bank and Port of Oswego Board Member, “and we’re enthusiastic about the foundation it will provide the port’s marketing initiatives going forward.”

Step One Creative, an Oswego-based marketing communications firm, was hired in February 2008 to assist the Port of Oswego Authority with their marketing efforts, and the development of the new brand identity program.

According to Jonathan Daniels, Executive Director at the port, the new brand identity will be integrated into an overall marketing/advertising program. New signage, letterhead/business cards, advertisements, and other marketing resources are presently being developed. Plans are also underway to completely redesign the port’s website – at www.portoswego.com.

“A strong brand becomes the driver of everything we are as an organization,” said Daniels. “We believe the new logo will further strengthen and compliment the port’s growth opportunities in terms of partnerships, economic development and other core business strategies/expansion.”

A nine-member volunteer board of directors appointed by the New York State Governor serves the Port of Oswego Authority. Nearly 120 vessels and more than 1 million tons of cargo move through the Port of Oswego on an annual basis. Eleven companies currently call the port home for at least a portion of their domestic and international shipping operations.

The Port of Oswego is the first U.S. port and first deepwater port on the Great Lakes from the St. Lawrence Seaway and is accessible from virtually any international port in the world. The port was officially commissioned in 1955 but has been a major driver in local and national commerce since the 1800s.

The Port is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to accommodate vessels from all ports on the Great Lakes and around the world. The port entrance depth is 27 feet, a width of 750 feet, a turning basin of 115 acres, and it has no restrictions on beam length for ships entering the harbor. A U.S. Customs Service office is maintained on site to facilitate the movement of legitimate international cargo by rail, truck and water.

For more information, contact the Port of Oswego Authority at 315-343-4503 or visit www.portoswego.com.

-30-

1960's Car Commercials... Interesting To Say The Least!

2008-05-07T22:54:00.002-04:00

2008-05-05T23:48:00.003-04:00

How to Inspire People Like Obama Does

Public speaking skills are critical to the success of every leader. Here are four techniques you can borrow from the Presidential candidate

by Carmine Gallo, Business Week

Over the past several years, I have been interviewing, observing, and writing about business, academic, and political leaders who have the ability to influence their audience—leaders who fire up the rest of us. Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is one of them. For a look at what makes Obama's public speaking skills so effective, I outline four techniques he's mastered and explain ways to use them in your own repertoire.

HOLD OUT HOPE

Like Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan, Obama speaks in the uplifting rhetoric of hope. After his defeat in New Hampshire, Obama's political oratory was so hopeful he sounded more like a winner than a runner-up. Obama knew a hopeful message would embolden his supporters. In a speech on Jan. 8, 2008, Obama said, "We know the battle ahead will be long. But always remember, no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change… We have been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."

You are the leader people want to believe in. Your customers and employees are bombarded by bad news—the credit crunch, a housing slump, an economic slowdown—but they are eager to hear something positive. That doesn't mean leaders stick their heads in the sand—far from it. Inspiring leaders acknowledge the situation but also remind people of reasons to be optimistic.

USE RHETORICAL DEVICES

Many observers say Obama sounds like King. He does because he uses some of the same techniques that made King an electrifying speaker.

1. Parallel structure We can thank the ancient Greeks for this rhetorical tool—they called it "anaphora." It simply means repeating the same word or expression at the beginning of successive sentences or phrases. One of the most famous examples is King's "I Have a Dream" speech. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed…. I have a dream that… I have a dream…" Obama uses the same device frequently. In his Iowa victory speech on Jan. 3, Obama said, "You have done what the cynics said we couldn't do. You have done what the state of New Hampshire can do in five days. You have done what America can do in this new year."

Anaphora's sister technique is called "epistrophe." It is the repetition of a word or expression at the end of a successive sentences or phrases. For example, in Obama's New Hampshire speech, the expression "Yes, we can" rallied thousands of supporters when used like this: "It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation: Yes, we can. It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes, we can. It was sung by immigrants as they struck out for distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes, we can.

2. Alliteration. Both Kennedy and King were fond of this device that strings together words that start with similar sounds. At the 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote speech that brought Obama to prominence, he said, "Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or do we participate in a politics of hope?" In 2005, during a commencement speech at Knox College, Obama described America as "a place where destiny was not a destination, but a journey to be shared and shaped…" When speaking at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars in August, 2006, Obama proclaimed, "The history of America is one of tragedy turned into triumph." In January's New Hampshire speech, Obama used alliteration again: "We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics."

3. Rich Imagery Persuasive speakers have long understood the power of imagery to stir emotions—the creation of mental pictures through the words. In his 2004 speech, Obama described what he meant by the audacity of hope: "It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs, the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores, the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta, the hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds, the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too."

EXUDE CONFIDENT BODY LANGUAGE

In debates Obama appears unflappable, answering tough questions while maintaining strong eye contact. He doesn't fidget or shake his head when listening to sharp attacks from his opponents. While seated, he leans slightly forward. People will make an impression of you after only a few seconds. Pay attention to what your body is saying (BusinessWeek.com, 4/30/07). Communicate confidence, competence, and control.

USE DYNAMIC VOCAL DELIVERY

A monotonous speaking style lulls the listener to sleep, regardless of the power of the content. Obama knows how to enhance (BusinessWeek.com, 5/16/06) his delivery. Consider these three aspects of his delivery.

1. Pacing. Obama varies the speed at which he speaks. Very few sentences are delivered at exactly the same pace.

2. Volume. In his victory speech after the Iowa caucuses, Obama raised the volume of his speech with each sentence in the following paragraph: "We are one nation. We are one people. And our time for change has come."

3. Pauses. Nothing is as dramatic as a well-placed pause, and Obama knows it. He pauses at key moments to make a memorable impact.

Obama connects with millions of people thanks to his public speaking skills. Consider learning from him to influence your own audience.

Carmine Gallo is a Pleasanton, Calif. communications coach and author of the book, Fire Them Up! (John Wiley & Sons; October, 2007).

2008-04-30T14:15:00.000-04:00

Don't Let ROI Mean Removal of Innovation

Heavy Focus on Measurement Can Lead to Meaningless Talk, Bad Work

By Ahmad Islam, Advertising Age

Ahmad Islam

Disclaimer: No ROI was injured or otherwise adversely affected during the creation of or as a result of this piece. In fact, at commonground, we are champions of ROI; daily striving to understand, measure and attain ever higher returns.

Now ... let's just cut straight to our Carrie Bradshaw moment here. When did ROI stop meaning Return on Investment and start representing Removal Of Innovation? Or Imagination even?

Far too often ROI is simply thrown around as jargon to imply "We're smart" or "We get results" or to parrot a client.

We're the generation that has seen ROI concepts strengthened. But we're also the ones who have fueled the quantum jump in which ROI often disappears as an applied metric and reappears as a generalized way to say things as simple as "How much money will we make off that?" (which admittedly doesn't sound as smart).

Sure, it's a natural linguistic evolution -- theory to practice to slang. But in this case ROI slang has consequences when an agency not only takes up that casual talk of "delivering ROI" but also struggles to map its work to ROI instead of delivering big ideas that build brands AND deliver results.

The fact that ROI clearly works often can prove to be a setup for meaningless talk and misapplication.

ROI, while an extremely helpful concept, can prove unhealthy to creative thinking and big ideas if misconstrued as the "be all end all" of your marketing efforts. Ultimately we must deliver results, but the road most traveled is not the only means of accomplishing that objective.

In an era when the emergence of a compelling new (supposedly measurable) medium is a common, seemingly weekly occurrence, this temptation to sacrifice creativity for measurability is understandable. But as agencies we are paid to deliver innovation, strategy and creativity and to bring those to life in ways that make robust connections between people, ideas and brands. Without that stuff, there's not much ROI to measure.

The "big-idea grave yard" that exists on every agency's shared hard drive grows larger and larger as clients and agencies run from ideas that truly stretch the imagination in favor of landing safely on the ideas that are the easiest to measure.

So, the next time you find yourself deep in ROI jargon, do two things. First, dispatch the slang with a real question about what exactly you're trying to discover or measure. Secondly, GET BACK TO THE BIG IDEA. In this case, you can have the best of both worlds.

Route 104 Bridge Making Progress - Update April 25th

2008-04-25T11:46:00.004-04:00

OSWEGO, New York (April 25, 2008) - Demolition of the Route 104 Bridge in Oswego continues as the large sections are being removed and transported out. As you can see in this picture the entire south end concrete of the bridge has been removed. A lot of jack hammers, saws, trucks, and manpower to do it right. Pretty amazing process to say the least.

2008-04-23T22:43:00.001-04:00

Multi-Organ Blood Analysis Planned May 17 At Pulaski Health Center

PULASKI, New York (April 23, 2008) - Pulaski Health Center will hold its annual Multi-Organ Blood Analysis on May 17 at its 61 Delano St. location, according to Daniel Dey, executive director of Northern Oswego County Health Services, Inc., operator of the Pulaski-based healthcare facility.

Openings are available from 6:30 - 9:30 a.m., and appointments are being accepted by contacting 1-800-225-6032.

“These extensive multi-organ blood tests would normally cost more than $200,” said Dey. “The Pulaski Health Center has partnered with Oswego Health to provide all of these tests for just $30.”

The tests can serve as early warning signs for heart, liver, and kidney disease as well as diabetes, and other health problems.

A PSA test can be done for an additional $20.

This is a special test that can help detect prostate cancer.

Pulaski Health Center Medical Director Patrick Carguello said, “We’re pleased to partner once again with Oswego Health to provide the greater Pulaski community with these important health-related tests. The response has been very favorable in the past for this blood draw and we anticipate that this year’s event will also be well represented by the community.”

According to Carguello all test results will be sent directly to the participants’ home and physician in an easy to read format.

“Pulaski Health Center is proud to be able to provide our community with quality healthcare,” said Dey. “Events like this annual blood analysis are representative of that commitment and dedication.”

There are a limited number of time slots available.

To schedule an appointment, call 1-800-225-6032.

Located at 61 Delano St., the Pulaski Health Center is a family-oriented health care practice that provides northern Oswego County and southern Jefferson County residents with a variety of comprehensive health care and related services.

Incorporated in 1969 as Northern Oswego County Health Services Inc., the facility operates as Pulaski Health Center and is governed by a volunteer board of directors from area communities.

School based health centers are offered through Pulaski Health Center and provide primary health care to program enrolled students in grades Pre-K through 12 at the Pulaski, Sandy Creek and APW school districts.

For additional information on the services provided through Pulaski Health Center, call (315) 298-6564.

Public Relations For Start-ups

2008-04-21T22:29:00.002-04:00

Newest Addition to Step One Creative - Baby Step!

2008-04-17T13:25:00.007-04:00

Welcome Jameson Charles Stepien, 7 lb. 19 1/2" son... born today (4/17/08) at 9:17 a.m. to Shane and Christy Stepien.

Mommy and baby are doing great... and brother/sister.. Spencer and Addison.. and dad are very proud to say the least.

Route 104 Oswego Bridge Construction - Update 4.16.08

2008-04-16T16:43:00.006-04:00

OSWEGO, New York - The cranes arrived overnight and the Route 104 Bridge Project at Oswego (now 16 days old) is in a new phase of removing sections of the existing bridge. The large cranes are being used to lift sections of concrete and then eventually the bridge structure onto flatbeds or similar trucks for removal.

It should be very interesting to see how this is dismantled piece by piece. We'll give updates as we see it progress.

Route 104 Oswego Bridge Construction - Update 4.15.08

2008-04-16T16:38:00.005-04:00

OSWEGO, New York - Here is a picture from yesterday (4.15.08) before the arrived to start removing the various sections of the bridge structure on Route 104 in Oswego.

Notice the green side rails have been removed overlooking each side of the bridge.

2008-04-13T10:01:00.004-04:00

Marketing McCain(TM)
Campaign Plays Up a Political Brand That Stands for Independence From GOP

Courtesy of Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writers

Republican Sen. John McCain is a champion of an unpopular war, he is trying to succeed an unpopular GOP president, and he is a member of an increasingly unpopular party in a year when the historic race of his rivals has caused hundreds of thousands of voters to register as Democrats.

Yet McCain has been steadily gaining in national polls against Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, and he holds a lead in many of the swing states that are likely to determine who wins the presidency.

McCain's advisers attribute this seeming contradiction to what they believe is McCain, a political brand that for over a decade has stood for strength, experience, straight talk and independence, qualities they believe help buffer him from many of the ills of his party. The attacks from conservatives that McCain withstood during the Republican primaries served to enhance his brand and bolster his position among moderates and independents, who are critical to winning in November, they contend.

"John McCain has an identity that's well established with the American people," said Steve Schmidt, one of his top political strategists. "He's a person who stands up and fights for what he believes in. It's appealing to independents. It's appealing to conservative Democrats. It's appealing to Republicans."

The campaign's general-election strategy is to sell the McCain brand to show voters that he is distinct from President Bush and other Republicans: His patented town hall meetings will showcase his "straight talk" with voters. His frequent conversations with reporters will highlight his openness and risk-taking. His ads and speeches will tout experience and strength of character.

McCain plans to visit Appalachia and the barrios of Los Angeles in an attempt to burnish his moderate credentials and reinforce the perception that he is willing to reach out broadly. A trip to Europe and the Middle East last month was seen as an effort to remind voters of his reputation for foreign policy expertise, and a biographical tour this month was designed to showcase his patriotism.

Democrats do not dispute that McCain has built a brand; however, they think it's a false one -- the "McCain myth," they call it. Their hope, according to interviews with top Democratic officials, is to chip away at the McCain brand, much as a company might methodically pick at a competitor's product.

Democrats say recent polling and focus groups suggest that McCain's reputation is less solid than his aides believe, especially when it comes to his position on the Iraq war and his image as a moderate politician who is willing to buck his party on key issues.

Since McCain became the presumptive nominee a month ago, Democrats have criticized two campaign loans as evidence that he is not the champion of good government he claims to be. They have noted the prevalence of lobbyists in his campaign. They have repeatedly sought to tie him to Bush to show that he's no maverick. And they seized on a gaffe he made about Iranto argue that he is not as experienced as he claims.

Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Karen Finney said: "For a lot of people, they used to like the brand of the maverick. But that's not who he is anymore. Our job is showing people that's not the guy he is."

Hayes Roth, the chief marketing officer at Landor, a firm responsible for burnishing the BP, FedEx and Coors brands, among others, said that "it's not what the other campaigns come up with to assail John McCain. It's how he reacts to them that will make the difference."

The selling of McCain is rooted in one of the oldest theories of product marketing: that a successful brand identity, once established in the American psyche, is virtually impossible to blunt or damage.

A pair of market research firms in South Carolina polled voters there in April and September and concluded that if McCain's brand were a product, it would be part Ford pickup, part Wrangler jeans and part Timex watch.

"His brand strengths were identified as: trustworthiness, looks presidential, prepared for the job, has relevant experience," said Mark Newsome, a senior vice president at Chernoff Newman, which conducted the surveys with MarketSearch. "He's really resting his laurels on his own brand."

But the firms also concluded that McCain's brand has weaknesses: a striking lack of warmth and personal charm. And Democrats insist that there are opportunities to attack the building blocks of the McCain brand, especially his assertion that he is a moderate.

In a recent poll of women in battleground states by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, about 23 percent incorrectly believed that McCain supports abortion rights, compared with 18 percent who understood that he is an opponent. More than half said they did not know where he stands on the issue. Setting the record straight could weaken his hold on some voters, Democrats said.

"There is this reputation of independence that gets conflated with an expectation of moderation," said Democratic pollster Geoff Garin of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the poll for the abortion rights group. "But what we have found is people can be turned around on that with a very few facts."

Last month Democrats pounced on McCain's gaffe about Iranian support for al-Qaeda. In interviews, McCain was angry and dismissive, saying he merely misspoke, while his aides sought to argue that his comments were accurate. The Democrats spent days contrasting the mistake with McCain's claims of experience.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean recently called McCain a "blatant opportunist" on Iraq and the economy, prompting an angry response from Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan, who accused Dean of making "reckless statements attacking John McCain's character and integrity."

Schmidt calls the attacks from Democrats "not very worrisome" because McCain has been seen as standing up to his party and fighting on issues -- the war in Iraq and immigration -- that have damaged him politically.

Independent polling data suggest Schmidt may be right. McCain's favorability, especially among independents, remains far higher than that of Bush or congressional Republicans, suggesting that voters view him differently -- at least for now. Republican support for McCain is stronger than Democratic support for his rivals.

But other surveys present some concerns for McCain. In a recent Gallup poll on presidential weaknesses, 40 percent of voters said they "least wanted" McCain to be elected. Of those, most cited his position on Iraq and his similarity to Bush.

Democrats offer their own polls, which show that 59 percent of voters know "just some" or "very little" about McCain's record on issues.

Even Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), who is supporting McCain for president, worries that voters have "an incomplete picture of John," saying, "They think of him as a war hero, and perhaps they identify him with the Iraq war." He said that part of his own job on the campaign trail is to tell Americans how McCain has pushed for reform on Capitol Hill.

"I think they sense that he's principled and independent," Lieberman said, "but I don't think they know all the details of what it's taken him to do."

Great version... Israel Kamakawiwo'ole Sings "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"

2008-04-11T23:21:00.001-04:00

Green Eggs, Ham and Advertising...

2008-04-10T19:50:00.003-04:00

Before Theodore Seuss Geisel found fame as a children's book author, the primary outlet for his creative efforts was magazines. His first steady job after he left Oxford was as a cartoonist for Judge, a New York City publication. In 1927 one of these cartoons opened the way to a more profitable career, as well as greater public exposure, as an advertising illustrator.

2008-04-10T19:44:00.003-04:00

Strong Start for Oswego’s ‘Power Port’

Courtesy of Chris Gosek, The Palladium-Times

Oswego, New York (April 10, 2008) - The fiscal year for the Port of Oswego Authority begins each April, and this year is starting out just as the last had left off — busy.

On Thursday, the first set of barges came into the port’s east-side terminal in the late morning and began unloading around 1 p.m. The barges carrying aluminum ingots, which will ultimately end up being used in production at Novelis, was described by port executive cirector Jonathan Daniels as “one of the largest shipments we’ve ever received” at the port.

Daniels also noted that on the east side of the terminal construction has begun to transform barges into stable platforms for geotech work. This work will be done to perform evaluations to determine the possibility of a new nuclear power plant in Scriba. Daniels said that there will soon be jacked-up barges assembled at this location, for a period of three months, that will allow for underwater drilling and surveying work for the proposed nuclear power plant.

“We were actually within 48 hours of opening that terminal for public use ... then we started discussions with the Bidco company in support of them doing the pre-development work for the plant.” He explained that after reaching an agreement with the company, the port has received a payback on the investments made at the terminal much quicker than he expected. “The port made a significant investment last year ... if you take that revenue from the cargo contract as well as this contract, in less than one year, we have exceeded our expenses for the development of that terminal.

The initial $175,000 we invested to secure a new customer in cargo was significant and now has enabled us to support the proposed construction of the new power plant.” Daniels added that they had initially hoped to earn payback for their initial investment in four to five years.

“The season has started, and we are off to a very good start,” Daniels said. “We have already had five vessels on our west side and now with business starting to come into the east side ... as we look at our process, it certainly bodes well for a strong shipping season.” Overall, only 10 days into their new fiscal year, six vessels have come into the port. Four carried cement, one carried petroleum and Thursday’s vessel carried aluminum.

There seems to be no end in sight for busy times at the port, with Daniels reporting that one of the storage domes at the port has become so full of corn that they had to spill over the remains into their north warehouse. The corn is produced by Perdue and is distributed domestically from the Oswego port as part of an agreement between the two entities. Daniels adds that bringing in a steady flow of business to the port is not a problem, but actually a goal that allows the workers to enjoy more stability in their work schedules.

“It is certainly our goal to create a stable working environment and provide adequate hours of work for our longshoremen,” Daniels said.

The supply of corn stored at the port is expected to grow even larger once the Northeast BioFuels ethanol plant is up and running in Fulton and despite not supplying that facility yet, the port is still servicing the ethanol industry by shipping corn to a western New York ethanol plant. By next week, it is expected that the large supply of soybeans stored on site at the north end warehouse will all have been shipped out. Another shipment of soybeans will replace it. Even with business booming now, Daniels said that possible customers are always being sought out. “We will actually be meeting with a delegation out of Istanbul, Turkey, next week, exploring the options of them shipping transformers into the port,” Daniels said, adding that representatives from Istanbul have showed interest in shipping the 264-ton electrical transformers into the region. These shipments would come in this summer if things go as planned.

“If you look at what we are doing recently, what we have become is a ‘power port,’” Daniels said, referring to the storage of windmills for wind energy, corn for ethanol production, the assistance in the proposed nuclear plant and the possibility of the electrical transformers. “Couple all of these items with our anticipation that we may see more consistency in the shipments supporting the Novelis operation, and we are covering most forms of energy,” he added.

In addition to bringing new businesses in, there are some unfinished matters that will be taking place at the port during its 2008-09 fiscal year, including the long-awaited dredging project.

“It’s nice to start out strong in the new fiscal year ... with a good start like this and the dredging readying to be started on Aug. 1 ... and we should be hearing back on our East Terminal Connector project grant ... I think we will stay busy,” Daniels said.

2008-04-07T19:49:00.005-04:00

Small Businesses: Defining Your Target Audience
Small business owners know how important it is to be familiar with customer needs and preferences. But having a general idea of what customers want from your business is not enough to create truly effective advertising and marketing campaigns. Entrepreneurs must take that knowledge to the next level and define target audiences to connect with the customers they want to reach.
Target audiences are distinct groups or segments of customers, and clearly defining your business’ target audiences will help you promote the aspects of your business that are most relevant to each group.
Most businesses cater to a variety of clients and customers. Some marketing strategies will be relevant to all those segments, but knowing each target audience well will help you deliver your marketing messages in a way customers will respond to best.
Segment your existing customers
To start defining your target audiences for marketing purposes, take a look at the customers you have now.
Who are your best or most profitable clients?
Which group of customers makes up the bulk of your business?
What do all these customers have in common?
Defining what your customers have in common can help you craft a marketing strategy to draw in more of the same people.
For example, a small diner may find that while customers come in a steady stream throughout the day, the biggest rush comes at breakfast, when profit margins are highest. Who are these customers? If the bulk of the morning rush is made up of commuters, the diner may consider offering a special for anyone carrying a train pass. Or if most of the customers are employees of a nearby company, the diner can offer a discount to anyone with an ID badge from that company.
On a wider scale, you can segment your customers using demographics and psychographics. Demographic information categorizes people in categories like age, location, occupation, sex and income.
Psychographic factors, on the other hand, define people based on their interests, like people who collect comic books or people who breed cats. Questions to ask yourself about your customers can include:
What is the age range and median age?
Is the group primarily male or female?
Are they urban dwellers or suburbanites?
Are they highly educated?
What are their special interests or hobbies?
What is their income range?
Knowing your customers can help you combine these factors to define your target audiences – again, your business likely will have more than one – as specifically as possible:
Upper-income women with school-age children
Teen-agers living within one mile of store
Men over 55 who are interested in digital photography
Learn more about your target audiences
Regardless of how you segment your customers, your primary target audiences should be those customers who make up the bulk of your business or are most profitable. Once you define your target audiences, you must learn about their preferences and habits both as they relate to your business and in context of their own lives.
For example, if your target audience is teen-agers living within one mile of your store, where else are they hanging out and spending their money? Why do they come to your store and not another one down the street?
The only way to develop effective consumer communications is to become knowledgeable about your core target. Some ways to get to know your target markets include:
Asking people in your target audience more about themselves. Chat with your customers about what they like, or design a short a survey or questionnaire and give it to current customers and people who might be interested in your product or service. Be sure to explain why you want the information and what you plan to use it for. Offering discounts or a prize drawing for those that complete the survey can help you boost your response rate.

Listen to what people are saying. When customers come to visit your store, or when you are paying a visit to a client, pay attention to what customers say to others. Take note if some themes tend to come up frequently. Perhaps many of the mothers who visit your store have children on the same Little League team, or perhaps the teens coming in are all communicating with their friends through their cell phones. Simply paying attention to your customers is a great way to get insights on what they are thinking.

Visit the places your target audience does. Stop by some of the places your target customers might visit to get even more insight on their outside lives. If your target customer is the 55-year-old male interested in digital photography, where else is he spending his time? Are there digital photography seminars being held in your neighborhood? Go to them and find out what people are saying.
Tailor your marketing objectives to your target audiences
As you learn more about your target audiences, write descriptions of them, making them as specific as possible. Then decide what your primary objectives are with each.
Do you want your most profitable customers to refer you to other similar customers?
Do you want your most frequent customers to spend more on each visit?
Be sure to link your marketing objectives to specific business objectives.
Using the information you’ve gathered about your target audiences, you then can decide whether you can best achieve your objectives by creating one marketing program to accommodate various audiences, including everyone in a single program or running separate programs for each audience.
For example, it may be that most of your customers, regardless of demographics or psychographics, come to your store simply because it provides the lowest price on a certain set of items. In this case, one marketing program for all customers would be the best use of your marketing dollars.
It may be that the bulk of your customers in the morning are business commuters, while your highest-spending customers during the day are mothers with school-age children. In this case, you may advertise a “morning special” good during commuting hours to drive more traffic, while also developing a separate loyalty program offering special benefits mothers may find attractive.
The more clearly you define your target audiences, the better you can reach them and encourage them to support your business. As you track the effectiveness of programs targeting different audiences, be sure to periodically refresh and refocus your research on your target markets.
Customer preferences and business climates are always shifting, and the most successful business owners are those who adapt their businesses to those constant change.
Courtesy of Eric Stephen Swartz, American Marketing Association

2008-04-03T20:08:00.002-04:00

Maurice and Charles Saatchi - Advertising Icons

With the award-winning London agency they opened in September 1970, "the" brothers went on a 16-year acquisition

spree that created the world's largest marketing conglomerate and permanently altered and redefined the U.S. advertising landscape. The Saatchis' unprecedented U.S. invasion and acquisition frenzy, essentially driven by a compulsion to be No. 1, involved dozens of companies, including Backer & Spielvogel, Compton Advertising, Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample and Ted Bates Worldwide, as well as research, PR, sales promotion and consultancy firms. And the brothers' financial officer, Martin Sorrell, would split off in '86 to create WPP Group, acquire J. Walter Thompson Co. in '87 and build a rival marketing network. In 1995, Saatchi directors rebelled against the brothers' lavish spending and ousted them from the troubled multibillion-dollar publicly held company. The brothers Saatchi thereupon created M&C Saatchi - a small London-based agency - while Saatchi & Saatchi survived, and WPP Group grew to be one of the top three holding companies.

Route 104 Oswego Bridge Construction - Updates

2008-04-03T14:16:00.007-04:00

Today starts a series of photo updates/news on the Route 104 Bridge Project... from a perch overlooking Bridge Street. The photos today are from Tuesday, April 1st... as the last of the car's crossed the bridge... as well as April 2nd with the bridge blocked to traffic.

Just some traffic news as well courtesy of the Greater Oswego/Fulton Chamber of Commerce... Beginning April 10th there will be a left turn restriction from W. 1st Street to Utica Street, southbound. During the hours of 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. and 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. drivers going south on W. 1st Street will NOT be allowed to make a left turn onto Utica Street. Drivers who have to access Utica Street to proceed east are encouraged to use the established detour routes.

2008-04-02T19:26:00.003-04:00

Rite Aid Drug Quiz Show ‘A Big Success.

OSWEGO, New York - While the Mexico and Pulaski middle school teams may have advanced to the state regional playoffs after winning the Oswego County Rite Aid Drug Quiz Show recently, all of the schools and students that participated were “winners” at the end.

“We congratulate Mexico and Pulaski schools for advancing to the state regional playoffs,” said Cindy Albro, prevention director at Farnham Family Services and regional coordinator of the Oswego County Rite Aid Drug Quiz Show. “But quite honestly everyone walks away a winner, because the event provides students the opportunity to learn about important life issues they are facing more and more in our community.”

The event, which was held at the SUNY Oswego Extension Center in Phoenix, was an educational prevention program that provided middle school students with skills and information to help them make important life decisions, in an exciting game show format.

In New York State, the Rite Aid Drug Quiz Show provides alcohol, drug, and tobacco education and information to more than 30,000 middle school students.

“We’re grateful for the strong participation once again this year,” said Albro. “And, we’re thankful to the support we continue to receive locally from our sponsors including: Entergy, Oswego County Stop-DWI, the Lifestyles Center at SUNY Oswego, Valti Graphics, and the Oswego County Take Charge Coalition.”

Peer educators and staff from the Lifestyles Center at SUNY Oswego assisted Farnham Family Services the day of the event, leading activities for students.

Students from across the county competing this year included: APW Middle School, Central Square Middle School, Fulton Junior High School, Mexico Middle School, Oswego Middle School, Emerson J. Dillon Middle School in Phoenix, Pulaski Junior High School, Sandy Creek Junior High and Trinity Catholic School of Oswego.

Farnham Family Services, a non-profit drug and alcohol clinic, coordinates the event.

Established in 1971, Farnham is a United Way agency that offers both prevention services to students in its school-based Student Assistance Program, and treatment services in its clinic program to all residents of Oswego and surrounding counties.

All services are licensed by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.

For additional information, contact Albro at (315) 593-7352 or calbro@farnhaminc.org

Brand. Brand. Brand.

2008-04-02T13:25:00.000-04:00

2008-04-01T21:26:00.003-04:00

4-H, Oswego County Opportunities, J.C. Penney Collaborate To Provide After-School Program At Hannibal Middle School

MEXICO, New York - Strong collaboration and similar goals brought three community organizations together recently to provide after-school services.

The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County 4-H program was awarded a $40,000 grant from J.C. Penney to help provide after-school services, which in turn helped Oswego County Opportunities Youth Services keep their Hannibal Middle School program running this year, and allow students the opportunity to see what 4-H has to offer.

The partnership began when Oswego County 4-H was seeking involvement in some of the established after-school programs in the area, and heard that OCO was in danger of losing funding for their program at Hannibal Middle School.

“We wanted to apply for a grant from J.C. Penney that was only available to 4-H organizations,” said Oswego County 4-H Team Coordinator Linda Brosch. “When we were made aware of the fact that OCO needed funding for their program in Hannibal we saw a perfect fit.”

Oswego County 4-H applied for the grant and was awarded $40,000.

They in turn collaborated with OCO so they could continue their Hannibal After-School Program weekdays from 2:30 - 5:15 p.m.

Staff from the 4-H program provides additional services two days each week, and a new 4-H Club has begun meeting once a month.

OCO Rural After-School Program Coordinator Deborah Daby has been pleased that the program was able to remain up and running. In January she said the program had more than 120 participating students.

“This was an awesome opportunity for OCO and 4-H,” Daby said. “We continue the program services, and 4-H can participate without having to run the day-to-day needs of the program. This was a truly successful community partnership involving several organizations.”

The J.C. Penney After-School Fund has been financing these types of 4-H after school programs nationwide for several years including groups such as the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club.

Funding for the program comes from special in-store merchandise sales and other programs like this year’s “Take an NFL Player” to lunch program.

“As a result of the funding we have implemented a variety of 4-H activities with the after-school students,” said Brosch. “One example is ‘Mini-Society’, a game where the youth create their own country including its government, currency and economy. It’s a fun way to teach them fundamental concepts of economic, entrepreneurship and citizenship. The students at Hannibal Middle School called their country Raspafiers Territory and their currency is a Frizzy.”

Oswego J.C. Penney manager Jeff Bame was pleased that his community received a portion of the $1 million total available.

“We were very enthusiastic to learn about the funding, and the benefits we are seeing as result at the Hannibal Middle School,” Bame said. “It’s wonderful to see these initiatives directly impact our local community.”

Bame estimated that between $6,000 - $7,000 were raised for the program at the local Oswego store during the past year.

“It really it comes down to our customers supporting these types of fundraisers,” he added. “With this local award, they can see what their support can do right in their own community.”

Brosch said the program has been a great way to connect with students that may not have known about 4-H previously and extend the mission of the program.

The J.C. Penney After-School Fund is a not-for-profit organization established through J. C. Penney retail stores to raise money specifically available to after school programs through organizations like 4-H.

OCO is a local Community Action Agency that provides a broad range of human services to thousands of individuals in Oswego County. Services include medical, education, nutrition, residential, transportation and counseling.

4-H is an informal educational program for youth ages 5-19 built on subject matter projects developed by Cornell Cooperative Extension and by the National 4-H Council.

The program information is used by interested adults who serve as volunteer leaders.

Oswego County’s 4-H program is operated through Oswego County Cornell Cooperative Extension in Mexico and funded by a joint effort of the United States Department of Agriculture, Cornell University’s New York State Land Grant College, and the Oswego County Legislature.

To learn more about the Oswego Country 4-H program, contact Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County at (315) 963-7286, ext. 401 or visit http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/oswego/4-H.htm

Who's on first typography.

2008-03-31T08:54:00.000-04:00

2008-03-29T07:44:00.001-04:00

Hal Riney Dead at Age 75

'Paul Bunyan' of Advertising Created Legendary Saturn, Gallo Campaigns

By Alice Z. Cuneo, courtesy of Advertising Age

SAN FRANCISCO (AdAge.com) -- Hal Riney, the legendary adman whose work influenced presidential campaigns and whose vision helped shape auto marketing and many other aspects of the business, died yesterday of cancer. He was 75.

Hal Riney

Read Jeff Goodby's Obituary on Hal Riney:

Hal Riney, A Western Voice of Popular Culture

Related Stories:

Ernest Gallo: the 'Smartest Tyrant'
Hal Riney Looks Back at His Relationship With the Legendary Winemaker

Losing Its Brand Soul: How Saturn Blew Its Advantage
Why Automaker Is Moving $190 Million Ad Account to Deutsch

Last Chance for Publicis & Hal Riney?
Execs Claim Shop Faces Merger Unless it Can Get Talent, New Biz

Hal Riney Clarifies 4As Remarks
Is Not Planning New Agency 'Right Now'

Adman Hal Riney to Open New Agency
Plans Move After His Publicis Contract Ends

During his career of almost 50 years, Mr. Riney developed advertising around the notion that understatement sold better than overstatement, and any conclusions about a product were better left to the audience. He also pushed against advertising that was intrusive or insulting, and he wasn't ashamed of ads that made people laugh or cry.

His first major campaigns helped legitimize wines from the E.&J. Gallo Winery with elegant spots featuring high production values. Perhaps his most famous campaign featured two old men on a porch for the Bartles & Jaymes wine-cooler brand. He also revolutionized the car-selling business by personifying General Motors Corp.'s Saturn.

Part of pop culture
Mr. Riney even contributed to pop culture: One of his early clients, a local bank called Crocker Bank, wanted to attract a younger clientele. Mr. Riney developed a wedding spot and commissioned a song that later became the Carpenters' hit "We've Only Just Begun." Other classics on his reel included work for Henry Weinhard beer.

Once called "the Paul Bunyan of advertising," Mr. Riney also worked for Republican political candidates and in the 1980s was part of the so-called Tuesday Team, a group of admen working on Ronald Reagan's campaign. His "Bear in the Woods" spot, which subtly compared the Russian communists to a bear in the woods that some declined to see, and his "Morning in America" campaign for Mr. Reagan are political classics.

Mr. Riney, moreover, was a recognized voice-over talent. His sonorous, gravelly yet homespun tones were featured in hundreds of commercials, not just those produced by his own shop.

Hal Riney was born in Washington state and began working in advertising in 1956 as a marketing trainee at BBDO, San Francisco. Ten years later, he was promoted to exec VP-creative director. He switched in 1972 to San Francisco shop Botsford Ketchum but four years later took a job opening Ogilvy & Mather's San Francisco office. He set up shop as Hal Riney & Partners in 1985 and the following year bought the remaining 40% of the agency from Ogilvy to become an independent.

Stunned Detroit
Although his work was becoming famous, the big coup came when Mr. Riney stunned the Detroit ad world by snagging the Saturn account. Mr. Riney won the pitch with a beautifully produced spot about spring in Spring Hill, a reference to the Tennessee town where the new Saturn plant would be built, and developed the brand's tagline: "Different kind of company. Different kind of car." Beyond the ad's creativity, the campaign developed the standard for integrated campaigns. His work for Saturn included letters sent to car buyers, all written in the same folksy tone that permeated the TV spots. That campaign won him Advertising Age's Agency of the Year award in 1993.

Mr. Riney worked exclusively in San Francisco, and his work and agency brought the city to the national stage. More than two dozen agencies trace their roots to Mr. Riney, including Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and digital shop AKQA. David Verklin, now Carat America CEO, worked as a media director for Mr. Riney.

"Although admitting his own difficulty in managing people, he recognized that he could create an environment that would foster the best possible work by being constantly vigilant about the work and not the process," Jim Magill, a former Riney executive now with Sapient, said in documents backing Mr. Riney's nomination to the American Advertising Federation Advertising Hall of Fame.

"Many account people in the '80s would say he was the first American account planner because he intuitively sought out not only the answers to all the dynamics of each advertising issue from both the consumer's point of view and the company's perspective, but distilled complex issues down to simplistic statements," Mr. Magill said.

Over the years, Mr. Riney's ad style, what became known as a Rineyesque spot, proved to be both a blessing and a curse for the agency. After going through several general managers, Mr. Riney partnered with Scott Marshall, who succeeded in selling the shop to Publicis Groupe. In May 2002, Mr. Riney stepped down from his active role at Publicis & Hal Riney Advertising and became chairman emeritus.

Regretted losing name
Although he talked about opening another shop, he always regretted losing his name to another agency. In fact, last year, when his legacy agency talked about renaming the shop simply "Riney," Mr. Riney wrote to Advertising Age: "Frankly, I think these sorts of things work much better when the person whose name they're using is dead. I mean, it's a whole lot to easier to attribute all kinds of proprietary, handed-down wisdom to dead people, i.e., Burnett, Bernbach, Ogilvy, et al.

"But I'm not sure it works as well when the real legendary advertising savant is simply no longer with organization but still sitting on his butt 10 or 15 blocks away. I mean, if anyone wants to know what I think about building brands, they don't have to call a company just because it's got my name on it. Hell, they can still just pick up the phone and ask me."

One of Mr. Riney's more publicized adventures began in the spring of 1982 when he was held hostage for three days aboard a hijacked airline in Honduras. "I just opened the goddam emergency hatch, jumped out and ran like hell," he told the San Francisco Chronicle at the time. "I zig-zagged while I ran, expecting shots that never came."

Mr. Riney is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Sutherland Riney, and two children from a previous marriage, Benjamin, 21, and Samantha, 19. His ashes will be spread at Mount St. Helens, Wash., where he grew up and loved to fish and hike, Ms. Riney said. A wake celebrating his life is being planned to take place in about a month.

2008-03-27T08:07:00.002-04:00

"Graphic Design in Film" series at the George Eastman House/Dryden Theatre in Rochester.

George Eastman House Presents: A CURIOUS TYPE: GRAPHIC DESIGN IN FILM - Graphic design is an implicit part of the filmmaking process. It is often so implicit, however, as to become obscured by some of the flashier aspects of movies. For this series, we’re hoping to uncover the elements of graphic design in cinema by exploring artists and examples that exhibit great design.

Tickets for each film are $6.00.

April 3rd, 7pm

7pm: RIT Professor, R. Roger Remington lecture on the Bauhaus Films

8pm: László Moholy-Nagy & Bauhaus Films (80 min)

This dynamic program of short films by Bauhaus masters Hans Richter and László Moholy-Nagy explores the intersection between Modernist design, visual music, and early abstract filmmaking. Films include: Moholy-Nagy’s LIGHTPLAY (1930), BERLINER STILLEBEN (1931), IMPRESSIONEN (1929); Richter’s FILMSTUDIE (1925), RHYTHMUS 21 (1921), RHYTHMUS 23 (1923), GHOSTS BEFORE BREAKFAST (1927), RACE SYMPHONY (1928); Viking Eggeling’s SYMPHONIE DIAGONALE (1924); and an excerpt from the 1936 feature Things to Come. Preceded by a 7 p.m. lecture on the Bauhaus from RIT Professor R. Roger Remington.

April 10th, 8pm

British Television Advertising Awards 2007

A selection of what may be Britain’s most undervalued cultural output: television commercials. Now in its 25th year, this popular program surveys 75 separate commercials selected by British advertising professionals for excellence in various product categories. These are not your typical telly ads. The program will also feature highlights from The Directors Bureau, with offbeat commercial work from Roman Coppola, Bucky Fukumoto, and Melodie McDaniel.

April 17th, 8pm

The Films of Charles & Ray Eames

Two of the few artists with an entire “era” named after them, Charles and Ray Eames were best known for their industrial design, but they also had a prolific career making classroom and industrial films for companies like IBM and Polaroid. Their films show a canny knack for conveying dense ideas with elegance, and clarity. Program includes: POWERS OF TEN (1977); HOUSE (1955); KALEIDOSCOPE JAZZ CHAIR (1960); IBM AT THE FAIR (1965); ALPHA (1972); TOCCATA FOR TOY TRAINS (1957); and the documentary 901: AFTER 45 YEARS OF WORKING (Eames Demetrios, US 1990, 28 min.), plus some surprises.

April 19th, 7pm and April 20th, 5pm

7pm: RIT Professor Charles Bigelow on the history of typography (April 19 screening only).

8pm: HELVETICA with Charles Bigelow in Person!

This documentary details the amazing history and proliferation of the most ubiquitous typeface in the world: Helvetica. Wonderfully informative and unexpectedly funny, Helvetica features lively commentary from influential designers including Hermann Zapf, Massimo Vignelli, Tobias Frere-Jones, and Michael Beirut. Preceded by a 7 p.m. discussion by RIT Professor Charles Bigelow on the history of typography (April 19 screening only).

April 24, 8pm

Saul Bass and the Art of Title Design

Saul Bass is the undisputed master of title and poster design in Hollywood. His credits include The Man With the Golden Arm, Bonjour Tristesse, Anatomy of a Murder, Vertigo, Psycho, North by Northwest, Grand Prix, Casino, Cape Fear, Ocean’s Eleven, and Goodfellas. This program will examine the essential Bass titles, shown entirely on 35mm film, and will be followed by Bass’ Oscar®-winning short, WHY MAN CREATES? (Saul and Elaine Bass, US 1968, 30 min., 16mm).

For more information, go here:

http://dryden.eastmanhouse.org/program-highlights/a-curious-type-graphic-design-in-film/

George Eastman House/Dryden Theatre

900 East Ave.

Rochester, NY 14607

585-271-3361

http://www.eastmanhouse.org

Thank you to Adhub.com for providing the calendar information.

New Logo for New Wave II & Associates, Inc.

2008-03-26T14:20:00.008-04:00

Check out the new brand logo that Mark (Creative Director) developed for New Wave II & Associates, Inc., an Oswego-based electrical contractor. Plans call for new company merchandising, letterhead, and truck fleet wraps/decals.

Money Smart Program Earns National Recognition

2008-03-24T22:10:00.001-04:00

OSWEGO, New York – An Oswego-based financial wellness program entitled, Money Smart, has garnered national recognition, with an Honorable Mention at the 2007 Community Bank Awards, sponsored by the America’s Community Bankers Association.

The seven-week program, which began in Spring 2007, and just recently started up their Spring 2008 session, is a collaborative effort between Pathfinder Bank, SUNY Oswego, and the Oswego Public Library.

“We’re very pleased with the national recognition the Money Smart Program has received through the America’s Community Bankers Association,” said Thomas W. Schneider, President and CEO at Pathfinder Bank. “This program has always been about giving back to the community, by providing an educational forum to individuals who want to learn more about financial management. To say the least, the program has been very successful, and the collaboration with the Oswego Public Library and SUNY Oswego has benefited the initiative considerably.”

Pathfinder Bank professionals, SUNY Oswego business students, and SUNY Oswego faculty collaborate to team teach the courses.

One of the faculty teaching the sessions is Dr. Jack Narayan, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mathematics, who has served as project director on several national and state grants for Mathematics Reform to enhance student learning and facilitate faculty, course and curriculum development.

Amongst the student educators from SUNY Oswego is David McLaughlin, the Vice President of the honorary society Phi Kappa Phi and a recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.

“Money Smart has been a wonderful partnership between Pathfinder Bank, the Oswego Public Library, and SUNY Oswego,” said Richard Skolnik, Dean, School of Business at SUNY Oswego, “and, it has also been rewarding to see the benefits the program has had on this community.”

“We utilize Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) materials in our program but tailor that information to local concerns by making sure we spend enough time at each session answering specific questions,” said Pathfinder Bank Assistant Vice President Michele Torbitt, who has been active in the program’s development.

According to Schneider the program covers topics including “Borrowing Basics,” “Charge it Right,” and “Loan to Own.”

The program is free and open to the public.

Participants can attend all of the sessions or choose those they are most interested in.

“In order to effectively manage your money, you have to know the basics,” Schneider added. “You have to know how to save, how to effectively use credit, and how to keep track of your money. This program was designed to provide that knowledge.”

“Now more than ever, the public’s knowledge of financial products and financial management is important to their long term success,” he said. “We feel it is part of our responsibility to be part of this education.”

Sessions take place on Wednesdays from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Oswego Public Library.

Textbook materials are provided and free to all participants.

For more information, call the Oswego Public Library at 315-341-5867.

Registration is encouraged.

Class sizes are limited.

2008-03-20T22:27:00.007-04:00

Get the Most Out of Your Ad Agency

By Steve McKee, Courtesy of Business Week

Few relationships in the business world are as rewarding, or as rocky, as those between advertisers and advertising agencies. There are many reasons, from the inherent subjectivity of the business, to the stereotypes portrayed in shows such as Thirtysomething and MadMen, to the generational gaps that often exist between clients and their ad firms. But one thing is certain—when the relationship goes awry, making a change (BusinessWeek.com, 8/15/07) can be an expensive proposition.

It's far better to make the marriage work. And just like real marriage, it's less important to find the right partner than it is to be the right partner. Over the course of more than two decades in the ad business I've observed a handful of client characteristics that seem to result in the best work and the happiest client-agency partnerships. I humbly offer a handful below.

Start with trust. To do great work, an advertising agency must be informed. It must know everything it can about a client's business, from sales and margins to strategies and plans. It's important to treat an agency as a strategic partner—an extension of your marketing department—and not just a vendor. This includes sharing results—nothing is more demoralizing than working hard on a project and not knowing how it turns out.

But sharing information is only half of the trust equation. The other half is having faith that your agency knows what it's doing. You no doubt hired your agency because you were impressed with its good work for other clients. If you want the same you have to give it room to ply its craft.

Give them your time. If your company was facing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit that could forever alter its ability to operate profitably, you'd make time for the lawyers. An ad campaign isn't a lawsuit, but the stakes are the same in terms of potential impact. Don't just hire an agency and expect it to perform magic. Be willing to do the heavy lifting from your end to ensure it's informed, prepared, and set up for success. Be open and honest with your agency, communicating your needs and goals clearly. Make time for the agency, answer all of its questions, and allow it to immerse itself in your business.

Value risk. For advertising to be attention-getting, it has to be different. And anything different is risky. In every other avenue of your business you know reward is associated with some level of measured risk. If you want advertising that looks like your competitors', you don't even need an ad agency. But if you want to lead the category, you're going to have to do something that, at least from the outside, appears risky.

Good agencies aren't reckless. They have a sense of what risks are appropriate and how to mitigate them. But they can only do it for clients who value the benefits of a little calculated risk-taking. Of course, the risks you and your agency take won't pay off every time. If your agency knows as long as it's acting in your best interests it's O.K. to make a mistake, it will treat the responsibility you give it with great care.

Keep your eye on the big picture, not the small print. Some ads will be better than others, and others may downright flop. But if your focus remains on the overall trajectory of your brand you'll learn that for every "one step back" there will be two or three steps forward. If your agency knows you're committed to it and you're in this together, it'll do anything to make those risks pay off.

Reserve judgment. Remember what you thought the first time you saw a Ford (F) Taurus? I thought it was the ugliest thing I'd ever seen. Its time has now come and gone, yet for several years it was America's best-selling car. Sometimes ideas and designs that will one day be widely accepted are at first glance a shock. Reserving judgment may be the hardest part of the creative development process.

If you see something you like, say so. But if you see something you don't like, pause for a moment and think about it. Take a step or two back, ask questions, and really consider how what you're seeing may be a breakthrough. If every idea was adopted immediately, there would be no such thing as early adopters. Sleep on the idea and try to look at it from a different angle. Keep in mind that creative, intelligent people who have your best interests at heart believe it's going to work. Let them help you see it through their eyes. You can always say no tomorrow.

Be kind. The business of creating ideas is hard. Not every concept makes it, but every one leaves the nest with the hopes and dreams of its creator. When those ideas crash (for whatever reason), so do the egos of your partners at the agency. When you have to say no (and there will be times when you will), say it with kindness.

And don't assume good work is its own reward, either. Thanking your agency for their efforts can do wonders for morale and creativity. People want to give their best to those who appreciate it the most.

Champion the work. After weeks and months of hard work and collaboration, tough calls and usually some tension, a campaign is finally ready to launch. Then someone in your organization who doesn't understand the context or objectives catches a glimpse of it and says, "I don't get it." Or after the launch of a ground-breaking campaign, a consumer with an axe to grind calls and complains about the work.

The first time this happens, it can be nerve-wracking. But those of us who work at agencies have been through it often. Most of the time it's a function of well-intentioned people making unreasonable rushes to judgment, and the biggest mistake you could make is reacting out of fear.

Hold your ground. Better yet, seize the moment and take the campaign to your internal audiences, providing them the background and rationale for the campaign and raising their confidence that you (and your agency) know what you're doing. Then stand by the work, responding to, but not reacting to, consumer complaints. If you've done your job right on the front end, the complaints will pass (see "reserve judgment", above).

Reward them. If great ideas were easy to come up with, everybody would come up with great ideas. Good advertising takes time and effort. And time and effort take money. Agencies have a (sometimes deserved) reputation for nickel-and-diming their clients, but the reverse can be true as well.

Pay your agency fairly and educate yourself about how much things cost. Remind yourself you get what you pay for. When your agency makes a mistake, it should pay for it—but it shouldn't pay for mistakes, delays, or changes in direction that are out of its control.

The days of agencies making a killing on commissions are long gone, and the work they're called on to perform—creating standout ideas that reach an increasingly sophisticated and cynical marketplace—is getting more difficult every day. No one gets into advertising for the money, but many talented agencies have folded for lack of it.

You're the one writing the checks, and your agency should never forget that. But if you're open to it, I encourage you to share this article with your agency team. Ask them to grade your performance, and do your best not to punish them for being honest. Clients that operate according to the above principles not only receive better work, they generate the kind of loyalty from their agency that makes it walk through fire.

Steve McKee is president of McKee Wallwork Cleveland Advertising, an ad agency specializing in working with fast-growth companies and businesses whose ad budgets are under $10 million .

My Better Is Better - New Nike... New Weiden + Kennedy

2008-03-19T19:21:00.002-04:00

American advertising's creative mainstream coursed away from the New York-Chicago-Los Angeles

axis in the '80s as telecommunications technology dissolved distance barriers. Wieden & Kennedy, founded in 1982 in Portland, OR, emerged as the creative magnet for this change. Dan Wieden's shop won awards by living on the edge of controversy with irreverent work. Eschewing research and traditional elements, Wieden produced breakthrough work for Pepe jeans, Subaru, Nike, Honda motorcycles, Microsoft, ESPN and TV Guide, and more advertisers, and agency creatives, "discovered" the Northwest.

8 Types of Bad Creative Critics

2008-03-18T19:36:00.001-04:00

Font Frustration

2008-03-17T10:27:00.002-04:00

Classic Advertisements

2008-03-16T21:41:00.001-04:00

Check out the following link for some classic advertisements from years past... http://www.adflip.com/

VanSuydam Photographers

2008-03-15T22:04:00.007-04:00

Check out this wedding photo by VanSuydam Photographers... this could be on the cover of Vogue or Vanity Fair. Absolutely wonderful photographers... and two really refreshing, enthusiastic, and talented people (Jennifer and Patrick).