Boise’s Oliver Russell has recently added a trio of new folks to their team:
Senior Art Director Crissie McDowell brings more than 10 years of award-winning experience working with clients such as Blue Cross of Idaho, Simplot Food Group, and Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®.
Stuart Walsh will serve as interactive developer and has nearly a decade of experience developing websites, interactive content and video games for agencies and clients including the J.R. Simplot Company and Aire rafts, among others.
Kevin Winslow is the firm’s new public relations and social media manager. Winslow comes from Idaho Power where he launched and managed the company’s social media channels. Prior to moving to Boise, he worked in Seattle as a senior social media analyst for Fortune 100 companies.
Said Russ Stoddard, founder and President of Oliver Russell, in a recent release about the new hires, “We’re really excited to expand our offerings to clients. These people know the area, they fit well with our firm, and they share our mission of furthering purpose-driven companies and causes.”
“Now Idaho can also lay claim to having one of the best schedule posters for 2015, one that creatively uses its state’s unique shape as a way to highlight its best players,” commented Feature Columnist Brian Pedersen on BleacherReport.com in ranking Idaho at #5. The Idaho poster can be viewed here.
“Wyoming had last year’s top-ranked schedule poster, and the Cowboys have another good one for 2015…It’s a great mix that is closely associated with the Cowboys, and to drive this home there are actual cowboys with lassos riding out from the prairie,” he commented on the #13 Wyoming ranking. The Wyoming poster can be viewed here.
The 2015 poster designs, created by Advantage’s Lead Designer Nathan Allen, mark the fifth time in the past four years that Advantage Advertising has been ranked nationally by Bleacher Report. All 50 ranked 2015 posters can be viewed here.
Last year, the agency’s design for the University of Wyoming Cowboy football poster was ranked #1 nationally. Previously, the agency’s designs for the University of Idaho Vandals ranked at #4 in 2012, and the Wyoming Cowboys ranked #17 in 2013.
Advantage Advertising has served as agency of record for U of I Athletics since 1995 and for the U of W Athletics since 2012, and was recently selected by the Colorado State University Athletic Department to develop its new marketing programs.
Stoltz Marketing Group (SMG), a Boise-based integrated marketing communications company, recently welcomed Jay Bowen as senior account director with a specialty in content and marketing automation.
In her new position, Bowen will oversee accounts in a variety of industries, including financial and professional services, retail, foodservice, and construction and maintenance.
“Jay is an innovative marketing game-changer in the digital space,” SMG President Ken Stoltz said. “She will help broaden our services in account management and digital marketing capabilities, and we are thrilled to have her on board.”
Prior to SMG, Bowen was VP of Sales and Marketing at Metageek, and Digital Content Director at DaviesMoore before that. She has over 15 years of agency and client-side experience working in the technology and digital space in South Africa, London, and the United States in a broad range of industry sectors such as travel, telecommunications/cable, government, non-profit, and financial. Bowen has degrees in both marketing and journalism from the London School of Marketing.
In addition to her experience in marketing, Bowen is the founder of Idaho Women in STEM, a nonprofit that raises scholarship money for young women who want to study STEM subjects in Idaho. She is also on the board of directors for the Boise Advertising Federation and recently represented the STEM space on the TEDx Woman Boise panel event.
The Boise radio dial seems to be in continuous expansion mode. Much of that growth is coming from Impact Radio Group – the Idaho-owned company that has undergone a complete transformation in recent years.
Sunday, Impact launched 92.7 The Alternative – giving the group its sixth format in the main Boise market*¹.
92.7 FM is broadcasting an alternative rock format – featuring artists like Nirvana, Coldpay, Red Hot Chili Peppers and more. I even heard a track from an artist I didn’t recognize – Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness (thanks, Siri).
You might remember that Impact previously had an alternative station of sorts, originally known as 99.1 The Virus. The group later shortened the name to V-99.1, before dropping the format entirely and trying something else in its place (99.1 FM eventually moved to the Twin Falls market). Here’s a YouTube clip of a TV spot for V:
When the station died, it held onto its Facebook page, and even hinted at the time that it might come back some day.
In recent weeks, posts started to pop up on the mostly dormant page hinting at a revival. Then Sunday, a post confirmed the revival, albeit under a new name and tweaked format.
The station will go up against heritage alternative station KQXR/100.3 The X, much as V-99.1 FM did. Impact GM Darrell Calton says V was “pretty wide open,” in terms of playlist. The Alternative will stick more to a traditional alternative-type format in its attempt to grab ratings in the market. In the spring, KQXR was the fifth-highest rated station in the market among those 12 and older.
Calton tells me that engineering crews have been working for several weeks to get not one but two frequencies tuned and ready to go – both aimed at launching the new station.
In addition to 92.7 – which is intended as a translator station and licensed to Horseshoe Bend, Impact has launched HD radio on KQBL/101.9 FM. This is the first fully functioning commercial HD station in the market*², and gives the group the ability to launch the new frequency for all — and upgrade the quality for others.
Here’s how it works:
92.7 will be the “primary” station for consumers, as you would guess, for something called Alternative 92.7. However, using a 2010 FCC decision, 92.7 FM is actually a translator that “rebroadcasts” from a multicast channel that lives at 101.9-3 FM. From the FCC’s perspective, 101.9-3 is really this new Alternative station’s “home,” but Impact is able to jump through some governmental hoops to get it on to 92.7 FM so everyone can hear.
Why does this matter? Most folks still don’t have HD radios – especially in any place but their cars. In vehicles, about 200 makes come with HD radios standard – but you might still buy a brand new car without the technology. For those that do have an HD radio, they’ll be mapped over to 101.9-3 automatically and will generally get a clearer, sharper signal.
Impact is also utilizing this trick for its existing 96.5 ESPN Boise station. The sports talker will be on 101.9-2 with a rebroadcast on the existing 96.5 FM translator (which had previously been rebroadcasting an AM transmitter, essentially).
Impact now has a full cluster of stations serving Boise – including KWYD/Wild 101 FM (now with its own booster translator in Boise at 101.5), KZMG/My 102.7, KSRV/96.1 Bob FM, KNFL/96.5 ESPN Boise, KQBL/101.9 The Bull — and KQBL/92.7 The Alternative.
*¹ = Impact also operates KSRV-AM/Oldies 1380 AM which is focused primarily on the Ontario part of the area.
*² = Scripps’ KRVB/94.9 The River also went HD this past week, though for now it is not promoting this fact nor is it utilizing any multicast subchannels. In addition, Boise State Public Radio has been broadcasting in HD for some time, but it’s not a commercial station.
Don Day was the editor of IdahoRadioNews.com for a jillion years about a jillion years ago. He’s also the digital sales and product manager for KTVB Digital.
It seems there’s a bit of a hiring spree taking place these days. In some of the more recent news on that front, Rizen Creative has added two to their team. From Rizen’s recent release:
Rizen Creative recently welcomed two new members to its team.
Tara Troutman joins Rizen as an Account Executive. She brings loads of strategic insight and project management experience to our existing agency relationships.
Before joining Rizen, Tara worked at Healthwise for more than eight years as Product Marketing Manager; as Account Manager at Northwest Research Group; and as Account Manager at a Cincinnati advertising agency whose clients included Procter & Gamble.
Tara holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from James Madison University (2003). She moved to Boise in 2005. She and her husband Jeremia have a three-year-old daughter and a rescue dog. In her spare time she maintains a small garden and reads historical fiction and mysteries.
Colby Thueson comes to Rizen as an Art Director. Branding is his specialty; he sees it as an opportunity to “create something from nothing.”
Colby spent the last six years as Lead Velata Designer at Scentsy, focusing mostly on print campaigns. He has also freelanced as a graphic designer.
Colby received his BFA in graphic design from Boise State in 2009. He met his wife Sarah at Scentsy; they have a two-year-old son. He draws and sketches when he has free time, and can often be found carrying a notebook.
The Boise radio dial seems to be in continuous expansion mode. Much of that growth is coming from Impact Radio Group – the Idaho-owned company that has undergone a complete transformation in recent years.
You might remember that Impact previously had an alternative station of sorts, originally known as 99.1 The Virus. The group later shortened the name to V-99.1, before dropping the format entirely and trying something else in its place (99.1 FM eventually moved to the Twin Falls market). Here’s a YouTube clip of a TV spot for V: