Nominations are now being accepted by the Idaho Advertising Federation for the Silver Medal Award:

The AAF Silver Medal Award is presented annually by the Idaho Advertising Federation to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to advertising by furthering the industry’s standards, creative excellence, and responsibilities in areas of social concern.

Questions about the Silver Medal Award or the nomination process should be directed to Bob Rosenthal at Cumulus Media.

While you’ve likely already heard about this, entries are now being accepted for the 2012 Idaho Advertising Federation’s Rockie Awards.

Submissions are due by Friday, February 3rd and 5:00 p.m. Or, as always, if you’re feeling particularly generous you can wait until the 10th and pay the late registration fee.

For more information contact Tyler LaDoucer.

The deadline has been extended until Monday, March 14th.

In other words — get those nomination letters written!

Save the Date – The Rockie Awards Show is coming up on Saturday, April 16th, 2011 at the Knitting Factory in downtown Boise.

The Idaho Advertising Federation has issued a Call for Nominations for the Silver Medal Award.

The Silver Medal Award is to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to advertising by furthering the industry’s standards, creative excellence, and responsibilities in areas of social concern.

Nominations are being accepted now through March 11th.  More details about the Silver Medal, past award winners, and nomination requirements can be found here.

For questions about the nomination process, contact Bob Rosenthal at (208) 429-5568, or email him at bob.rosenthal@citcomm.com.

More details, information and instructions can be found on the Rockie Awards website.

*that is, unless you prefer paying the late entry fee. In that case, you’ve got until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 11th.

It’s that time of year again.

The Call for Entries for the Idaho Advertising Federation’s Rockie Awards is now open.  Entries are being accepted online now through February 4, 2011.  Or, if you’re feeling generous (and don’t mind paying the additional fee), late entries will be accepted through February 11th.

Full details, eligibility requirements and more can be found on the Rockie Awards website.

The IAF Summer Conference is held at the beautiful Sun Valley Lodge. Registration was only $150 this year, and included a hosted reception on Thursday evening as well as dinner on Friday evening. Attendees have the option of playing in a golf tournament at the renown Sun Valley course, and can opt to attend the Best In Broadcasting Reception and Awards Dinner on Saturday night for an additional charge.

Summer Conference is a great way to network with professionals in our area, and enjoy a little R&R in Sun Valley. Jeff Jones of Central Idaho Broadcasting in Orofino and Lisa Collins (IAF Chair) of KMVT in Twin put this year’s conference together. They did an excellent job of finding a slate of speakers that were both entertaining and informative.

Marshall Simmonds presenting to the Idaho State Broadcasters Association and Idaho Advertising Federation.

The first presentation I attended Friday morning was on Internet Search Strategies, from Marshall Simmonds. An excellent presentation on the basics of SEO planning for news publishers.

Marshall lives in Boise, Idaho and is a Chief Search Strategist for the New York Times Company. He also owns a search engine marketing consulting firm called Define Search Strategies.

His presentation included several great examples of successes and shortfalls in maximizing search traffic to About.com and the New York Times. He also integrated a few Idaho State Broadcasting Association member sites into his presentation.The Top 10 SEO Questions to ask your organization:

1. Can Engines Get to All Your Content
2. How is internal/external linking?
3. Are URLs Search Friendly?
4. Duplicate Content?
5. Are the right keyword markets targeted?
6. Are Editorial & SEO Goals Balanced?
7. Are your templates optimized?
8. Am I optimizing all my assets?
9. Domain Strength?
10. Is Traffic Converting?

Marshall concluded with saying Simple is making a comeback. He also reconfirmed that SEO is a long term plan. It doesn’t happen overnight therefore it should be measured in months.

************

Jim Gradl presenting to the ISBA/IAF Friday afternoon.

Jim Gradl owner of Uboon2, an advertising agency in Chesterfield, Missouri, is a great story teller and presented on the principles of advertising. Using many recognizable brands, Jim provided examples of how to quickly make a lasting impression on your customers. Given that the average thought lasts about 12 seconds, that’s how long you have to impress a consumer.

Jim shared a philosophy that advertising is democracy in action:

• The agency gets one vote
• The client gets two votes
• The consumer gets five votes

Don’t talk about the factory. Talk about the customer.

Overall this presentation was an entertaining reminder that we have to connect with the consumer meaningfully and quickly to compete.

****************

Bob Taber, Sr. VP, Account Planning, GyroHSR Denver

Bob Taber, Senior VP of Account Planning at GyroHSR in Denver never disappoints.

Bob used a past agency/client presentation to show his agency pitched a
 restaurant chain. He offered up a view of how they pick clients they would like to work with, and then go after them by developing a new business presentation that includes creative strategy, 
customer segmentation, and recommended positioning. By targeting clients, rather than waiting for RFPs, they are able to present themselves on a playing field free of competition.

After the presentation I asked Bob about his comfort level giving away spec work in the pitch. He said he isn’t comfortable with it in a competitive landscape (i.e. RFP response), because anyone can hit one out of the park for a given presentation. That doesn’t mean they will be consistent over time. GyroHSR feels that by taking a proactive approach and targeting clients they want to work for, investing in spec creative is worth the risk.

This was an insightful presentation that surely had the attendees thinking about their new business strategies. And additionally, we all learned a lot about the restaurant industry.

Even though it’s tough for all of us to tear ourselves away from the piles of work on our desks, Summer Conference is always a well deserved mini vacation. Once again I returned home with more industry insight and having connected with old and new friends from around Idaho. Spotted at the Lodge were Ed Moore and (BAF President) Carolyn Sali of Davies Moore – Boise, Lisa Collins of KMVT – Twin Falls, Rick Magnuson and Mike Sanders of MSVM Group – Pocatello, and countless other familiar faces from the world of advertising and broadcasting in Idaho.

I’d love to hear about other attendees’ experiences and what types of workshops you would be interested in seeing next year.

Mike Kerby

Incoming IAF Chair

From the organizers:

The Idaho Advertising Federation Summer Conference will once again be held this year in Sun Valley in conjunction with the Idaho State Broadcasters Association Annual Conference. The conference kicks off this evening at 5PM and runs through Saturday night.

Highlighted Speakers:

Marshall Simmonds, Chief Search Strategist New York Times Company/About.com
Presentation—Internet Search Strategies

Bob Taber, Senior VP Account Planning, GyroHSR, Denver
Presentation—Strategic Sizzle: Using Creative Strategy to Win New Business

Mike Kerby, President of c308 Marketing, is attending the conference, and has graciously agreed to provide occasional update here during the event.  Many thanks to Mike, and we look forward to reading reading about it over the next few days.

Idaho Ad Peeps,

In the year 2010, a noble few are called upon to lead worthy advertising mortals to the Valhallas of Valhallas—an Idaho Advertising Federation Rockie Award.

Woot!

So here’s the deal. Rather than having a few hired guns to host the IAF Rockie Awards, we’re turning to the community to take part in honoring itself. That’s kind of narcissistic and yet, cool.

We need hosts to announce the winners in the various categories. We’re looking for 30 people to be put into pairs of two. Each twosome will hand out the awards for 1 of the 15 different categories.

You can volunteer as a team or the Rockies crew can pair you up with another solo award giver-outer.

Your twosome can write your own witty repartee or you will be provided a script for your introduction with ample room for witty ad libs. The Rockies crew will need to approve submitted scripts for timing and content.

Please feel free to pass this on to others in your shops that you think may be interested as well. It’s open to anyone brave enough to take the stage and their 10-15 minutes of fame.

If you’re interested in being involved in the show and willing to pair up with someone to host a category or have further questions before you’d like to commit please E-mail damundson@drakecooper.com

Curious to see who won where?  Follow the links below for winners and credits in each of the respective categories.

• Silver Medal Award Winner: Russ Stoddard 
• Public Service
• Newspaper
• Identity Programs
• Public Relations
• Out of Home
• Interactive / Multimedia
• Elements of Advertising
• Radio
• Sales Promotion
• Advertising Industry Self Promotion
• Magazines
• Direct Marketing
• Collateral
• Television
• Complete Campaign
• Best of Show

Congratulations to all of the winners.

UPDATE:  Photos from the festivities will soon be available here.

Best of Show – Drake Cooper
Idaho Film Office, Be a Good Scout Handbook
Concept:  Joe Quatrone, Jennie Myers, Sean D. Young
Copy:  Joe Quatrone, Sean D. Young
Art Director:  Jennie Myers
Photography:  Peg Owens
Production:  Cale Cathey
Illustration:  Cale Cathey
Producer:  TableRock Printing

Silver Rockie – FusionSet, Inc.
Earthpaw Inc., Earthpaw Image Materials
Concept:  Danielle Tindall, Tricia Keener-Blaha
Copy:  Angeli Weller
Production:  Danielle Tindall

Consumer Local Campaign:

Silver Rockie – Stoltz Marketing Group
Avimor, “2008 Campaign”
Concept:  Crissie McDowell, Doug Gneiting, David Cook, Terri Martin, Ken Stoltz, Chryssa Rich
Copy:  David Cook, Dave Jansik, Chryssa Rich
Art Director:  Crissie McDowell, Doug Gneiting, Terri Martin
Photography:  Glenn Oakley, Chad Case
Illustrator:  Kate Holgate, Crissie McDowell
Production:  Crissie McDowell, Doug Gneiting, Terri Martin
Producer:  John Lewis, Joslyn & Morris, North by Northwest, Wide Eye Productions
Casting:  Jill Coles

Citation: Collateral – Drake Cooper
College of Idaho, We Are the College of Idaho
Concept:  Warren Lassen
Copy:  Warren Lassen
Art Director:  Warren Lassen
Photography:  Warren Lassen, Chad Case
Production:  North by Northwest
Producer:  The Caxton Printers
Casting:  North by Northwest

Consumer Regional / National Campaign:

Gold Rockie – Drake Cooper
United Dairymen of Idaho, Kristin Armstrong / Chocolate Milk Campaign
Concept:  Dennis Budell, Joe Quatrone
Copy:  Joe Quatrone
Art Director:  Dennis Budell
Production:  Cale Cathey
Production Photographer:  Tri-Digital Group
Television Production:  North by Northwest

Silver Rockie – CLM
Monsanto, In The Wild
Copy:  Kurt Olson
Art Director:  Max White

Local Single Entry, Any Length, Budget over $20,000:

Silver Rockie – Stoltz Marketing Group
Avimor, “Gym”
Concept:  Chryssa Rich
Copy:  David Cook
Art Director:  Crissie McDowell
Productions:  North by Northwest
Producer:  North by Northwest
Casting:  Jill Coles, North by Northwest

Regional / National Any Length:

Silver Rockie – CLM
Idaho Department of Health & Welfare – Project Filter, “Chemicals”
Copy:  Kurt Olson
Art Director:  Max White

Citation: Cinematography – Edge Media, KTVB
United Dairymen, Contributions
Concept:  Scott Whipps
Copy:  Scott Whipps
Photographer:  Tony Shreve, Paul Otremba
Production:  Tony Shreve
Producer:  Scott Whipps
Casting:  Scott Whipps

Regional / National Campaign, Not More Than 3, Any Length:

Silver Rockie – CLM
Western Idaho Fair, 2008 Television
Concept:  Kurt Olson
Copy:  Eric Liens
Art Director:  Max White

Television Self-Promotion Single:

Silver Rockie – KNIN Creative Services
KNIN Television, “9 Guy, Drama Picnic”
Concept:  Jim Stoner
Copy:  Jim Stoner
Art Director:  Jim Stoner, Brian Nelson
Photographer:  Brian Nelson
Production:  Jim Stoner

Silver Rockie – KNIN Creative Services
KNIN Television, “9 Guy, Viva Nueva”
Concept:  Jim Stoner
Copy:  Jim Stoner
Art Director:  Jim Stoner, Brian Nelson
Photograper:  Brian Nelson
Production:  Jim Stoner

Television Self-Promotion Campaign:

Silver Rockie – KNIN Creative Services
KNIN Television, “9 Guy”
Concept:  Jim Stoner
Copy:  Jim Stoner
Art Director:  Jim Stoner, Brian Nelson, Erica Deshner
Photographer:  Jim Stoner, Brian Nelson, Erica Deshner
Production:  Jim Stoner

Regional / National Any Length:

Citation: Casting
Gold Rockie – Drake Cooper
Idaho Lottery, World Poker Tour
Concept:  Dennis Budell, Joe Quatrone
Copy:  Joe Quatrone
Art Director:  Dennis Budell
Photographer:  Jeff Noble
Production:  John Nance
Producer:  North by Northwest
Casting:  Lorena Davis

Silver Rockie – Tracy Communications
Idaho Department of Lands, The Land Where Miracles Grow
Concept:  Tom Donahoe
Copy:  Jim Lane
Art Director:  Jeremy James
Photographer:  Stock
Production:  Jeremy James
Producer:  TableRock Printing

Brochure – 4 Color:

Silver Rockie – Whiptail Graphics
Agri Beef Company, Agri Beef Company Brochure
Concept:  Kristin Thornton, Asa Nims
Copy:  Kristin Thornton
Art Director:  Asa Nims
Photography:  Steve Welsh, David Stoecklein
Production:  Asa Nims
Separation:  Joslyn & Morris
Producer:  Joslyn & Morris

Citation: Photography – MMG
University of Idaho, University of Idaho Viewbook
Concept:  Edward Moore, Jason Sievers, Michael Reagan
Copy:  Jason Sievers
Art Director:  Jason Sievers
Photographer:  Tri-Digital Group, Jason Sievers, University of Idaho, Joe Pallen
Production:  Jason Sievers
Producer:  Joslyn & Morris

Poster Single or Campaign:

Silver Rockie – MMG
Neurolux, Dressy Bessy Poster
Concept:  Aaron Grable
Art Director:  Aaron Grable
Production:  Aaron Grable
Illustrator:  Aaron Grable
Producer:  Boise Radio

Brochure – Series / Campaign:

Citation: Spiral Bound Booklet – Oliver Russell
Clearwealth, Clearwealth Collateral
Concept:  Toby Robin
Copy:  Kelli Fulton
Art Director:  Toby Robin
Production:  Tony Tino

Poster Single or Campaign:

Gold Rockie – Drake Cooper
Northstar Cycle Couriers, Patron Saints Posters
Concept:  Joe Quatrone, Jennie Myers
Copy:  Joe Quatrone
Art Director:  Jennie Myers
Photographer:  Tri-Digital Group
Producer:  Blueprints Plus

Citation – Davies Rourke
Primary Health Medical Group, “Physician & Residency Recruitment Direct Mail Campaign”
Concept:  Jeff Nielsen
Copy:  Jeff Nielsen
Art Director:  Kelly Frew
Photography:  Stock
Producer:  ESP Printing

Silver Rockie – Stoltz Marketing Group
Shore Lodge, “First Ad”
Concept:  Kate Holgate, David Cook
Copy:  David Cook
Art Director:  Kate Holgate
Productions:  Kate Holgate

Silver Rockie – Drake Cooper
Sun Valley Ketchum Chamber, SVKC Winter Ad
Concept:  Jennie Myers, Sean D. Young
Copy:  Steve Dolbinski
Art Director:  Jennie Myers
Production:  Jennie Myers

Consumer Magazines, Spread, Multiple Page or Insert, 4 Color:

Silver Rockie – Drake Cooper
Idaho Travel Council, ITC Adventures in Living, Responsibly
Concept:  Joe Quatrone, Jennie Myers
Copy:  Joe Quatrone
Art Director:  Jennie Myers
Photographer:  Todd Meier

Silver Rockie – Drake Cooper
Idaho Travel Council, ITC Adventures in Living, Dad Resume
Concept:  Joe Quatrone, Jennie Myers
Copy:  Joe Quatrone
Art Director:  Jennie Myers
Photographer:  Todd Meier
Productions:  Jennie Myers

Consumer Magazines, Campaigns, B & W or Color, Any Size 3 or More:

Silver Rockie- Stoltz Marketing Group
Shore Lodge, “Magazine Campaign”
Concept:  Kate Holgate, David Cook
Copy:  David Cook
Art Director:  Kate Holgate
Productions:  Kate Holgate

Trade Publications, Full Page, 4 Color:

Silver Rockie- Stoltz Marketing Group
ProTeam, “Outlet Ad”
Concept:  Terri Martin, Chryssa Rich
Copy:  Chryssa Rich
Art Director: Terri Martin
Productions:  Terri Martin
Photography:  Welsh Studios

Consumer Magazines, Campaigns, B & W or Color, Any Size 3 or More:

Gold Rockie – Drake Cooper
Idaho Travel Council, ITC Adventures in Living, Magazine Campaign
Concept:  Joe Quatrone, Jennie Myers
Copy:  Joe Quatrone
Art Director:  Jennie Myers
Photography:  Todd Meier
Production: Cale Cathey

Silver Rockie – Drake Cooper
Drake Cooper Website and Family Crest
Concept:  Jennie Myers, Joe Quatrone
Illustrator:  Cale Cathey
Casting:  Justin Yonk, Chad Connally

Out of Home:

Citation: Environmental Design – Oliver Russell
The Big O “Award Wall”
Concept:  Kristy Weyrich
Art Director:  Kristy Weyrich, Russ Stoddard
Illustrator:  Ben Wilson
Separator:  Grant Olsen
Producer:  Kristen Furlong
Casting:  Bob Neal

Interactive:

Citation: Overall Effects – Drake Cooper
Holiday Card
Concept:  Jennie Myers
Art Director:  Jennie Myers
Casting:  Justin Yonk, Chad Connally, Matt Stevens

Gold Rockie – Drake Cooper
Drake Cooper Family Crest
Concept:  Jennie Myers, Joe Quatrone
Illustrator:  Cale Cathey
Casting:  Justin Yonk, Chad Connally

Citation: Illustration – Drake Cooper
Sun Valley Ketchum Chamber, SVK Getaway Guide
Concept:  Jennie Myers, Sean D. Young
Copy:  Steve Dolbinski
Art Director:  Jennie Myers
Production:  Danielle M.
Producer:  Joslyn Morris

Sales Promotion Campaign:

Citation: Floor Graphics
Gold Rockie – Drake Cooper
Jensen Jewelers, Great Heist
Concept:  Joe Quatrone, Jennie Myers
Copy:  Brad Londy
Art Director:  Jennie Myers
Photographer:  Tri-Digital Group
Production:  John Nance
Producer:  TableRock Printing, Signs Ink, Blueprints Plus
Casting:  Lorena Davis

Silver Rockie – Donahoe Pace & Partners
Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl, Congratulations
Concept:  Tom Donahoe
Copy:  Tom Donahoe
Production:  North by Northwest Productions
Producer:  Donahoe Pace & Partners
Casting:  Voice Talent, Mike Sanders

Regional / National, :60 Length:

Silver Rockie – Drake Cooper
Idaho Lottery, Hot Lotto Sizzler
Concept:  Sean D. Young
Copy:  Sean D. Young
Production:  John Van Houdt
Producer:  Sound Logic Audio
Casting:  Kathy Can Houdt

Radio Self-Promotion Single:

Silver Rockie – KOZE
KOZE, Renegade Elf