Month: November 2006

So, can anyone tell me what’s up with the Boise Advertising Federation? I haven’t seen or heard anything out of that group in quite some time.

From their website, “Check back often to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings.”

So I have. And there have been no updates. Of any kind.

Any BAF members care to share a little news about the group? Is there anything worth sharing?

Technorati tags: idaho ad agencies, boise advertising federation

As reported in The Idaho Statesman last week, the Boise Valley Economic Partnership has hired a three-company marketing team to promote the Treasure Valley for corporate relocations and expansions. That three-company team includes:

Porter Novelli, handling national media relations.
Scott Peyron & Associates, handling stakeholder relations, local media and brand development.
es/drake, developing a web site and advertising.

Now, there’s a couple of different ways to look at this news. First of all, the report was compiled by “statesman staff,” which to me suggests that someone reworked a press release for space and content, and then used it as filler material on a slow news day.

The more interesting part, however, is the combination of companies that are part of this team. Part of me tends to think that es/drake is doing more than just building a website and creating advertising. With their addition of Joanne Taylor earlier this year, they’ve got the credentials to handle most, if not all, of the PR for this, but bringing in a national PR agency such as Porter Novelli lends a little more credibility to it, especially on a corporate/national scale.

The addition of Scott Peyron & Associates is an interesting twist, however. Joanne Taylor came to es/drake from Scott Peyron earlier this year, where she was a vice president. Why, then, would they bring in another local PR agency to handle part of this work? This is where another part of me thinks that it might be Scott Peyron that is the leading force behind this. They are, after all, the ones who are managing “brand development.” And brand development should drive the rest of the efforts of this campaign.

The jury is out on this one, but BVEP has got some money to spend in order to reach their goals of $650 million in new capital investment and $1 billion in economic development.

What do you think? Comment away.

Technorati tags: idaho ad agencies, idaho statesman, boise valley economic partnership, porter novelli, scott peyron & associates, es/drake

To everyone who has, and continues to read the Idaho Ad Agencies blog, I’d like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you are able to enjoy some time with your friends and family over the next few days and weeks.

As for me, my family and I are over on the Oregon Coast right now, and this particular post is coming to you from the Five Rivers Coffee Roasters in Tillamook, Oregon (thanks for the WiFi Barb!)

We’ll return to regular programming next week.

Technorati tags: idaho ad agencies, five rivers coffee roasters

A little over a month ago I reviewed es/drake’s Hop On Board campaign for Valley Regional Transit and ACHD. Since then, its been bouncing around in the back of my head, and now seems as good of a time as any to revisit it.

After the initial splash of this campaign, it doesn’t seem that there has been very much follow up to it. I haven’t seen any of the television spots run lately, or heard anything on the radio. Nor have I seen much of anything on any of the buses or commuter vans around town. Was this whole campaign a one-shot deal? I sure hope not.

For now, let’s assume that it wasn’t. The whole Hop On Board campaign has “got legs,” in my opinion, so the question now is what would you do with it next? Me, I’d do things such as:

• Testimonials from actual riders — I’m sure es/drake has been touting the increased number of riders as a result of this campaign, and Valley Regional Transit and ACHD are both schoolgirl-giddy about it. But why not share something similar with the intended audience — the commuters? It could be in the form of testimonials from those who have recently started taking advantage of the program. It could be someone from ACHD talking up the benefits of the increased participation. Take a page from college recruiters — if you can talk up, and demonstrate the success of the school/program/athletic team/etc. it makes recruiting future students/athletes/mass transit users much easier.
• Continuity of the message — I’ve beat up this subject already, but its worth mentioning again. It is much more difficult to see/hear the “Hop On Board” message, and then remember to go to rideline.org than it would be to hear the message and then go to hoponboard.org.
• Incentive to participate — Give a little something away to those who are participating in the program. This time of year, its getting cold outside, so enlist the help of someone like Moxie Java or *gasp* Starbucks to offer certificates for free cups of coffee or something similar. It would be an added incentive for people to use the service, which would, in turn, provide increased revenue for Valley Regional Transit, as well as provide increased business to the respective coffee shop/chain.
• Give riders something to occupy their time — Have a selection of newspapers available for riders to read in their non-driving time. Create a podcast that riders can subscribe to, and listen to on their iPods during the commute. The options are limitless.

Will anyone over at es/drake take this advice or use any of these suggestions? I hope so. They’re in a unique position right now to raise the bar on the work that they do, and this campaign could be a good first step. If they do use any of these ideas, I’ll chuckle to myself a bit, and then send them a bill for consulting services…

In all seriousness, though, please chime in with any other thoughts or suggestions that you might have.

Technorati tags: idaho ad agencies, es/drake, hop on board campaign, valley regional transit, ada county highway district, moxie java, starbucks

Blackfin Technology has an opening for a copywriter with 3-7 years copywriting experience in rich-media, direct and print, as well as 2+ years in an advertising or interactive agency environment. The full job posting can be found here.
(Courtesy of Craigslist)

Technorati tags: idaho ad agencies, blackfin technology, copywriter job, craigslist