AWARD WINNING IDEAS NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION WINNING ENTRIES

Transcription

1 AWARD WINNING IDEAS NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION WINNING ENTRIES

2 ADVERTISING EDUCATION

3 Education is the most important weapon which you can use to change the world. - Nelson Mandela AAF-Louisville is committed to providing professional development opportunities to our members, as well as all local advertising professionals, students and members of our business community. Our leadership team ensures that through these opportunities the club will: 1. Provide programs that are impactful, relevant, and on the forefront of industry changes. 2. Demonstrate to students that advertising is an exciting and rewarding career choice. 3. Position the advertising industry as a sound resource in contributing to the social and economic health and welfare of the community and the public. When measuring success in education-focused programs, we have found that targeted events yield higher attendance and better feedback. We are able to offer programs that address issues important to all of our members from executives, to young professionals, to students. ADVERTISING EDUCATION FOR THE PROFESSION Project 1: Career ADvice Series (Tab A) Event Details: Our Young Advertising Professionals or YAPs have been transitioning into a fully-fledged Ad2 club recognized by AAF and Ad2 nationally. This transition is due in part to the membership base they have grown by offering unique educational programing for our members aged 32 and younger. The YAP/Ad2 Career ADvice seminars are designed to educate, entertain and provide networking opportunities for members in entry-level advertising and marketing positions. However, due to the educational opportunities the programs provide, attendance often includes individuals of all ages, experience and career level. Target Audience: YAP/Ad2 members, AAF-Louisville members, prospective members and students Strategy: Engage young professionals in programs that are fun, affordable, informative, and provide networking opportunities.

4 Execution/Tactics: YAP/Ad2 events are promoted via social media, website event listings and invitations. This year s events included: What Social Media Looks Like in 2015 panel discussion featuring top local social media experts, Jump Start Your Career, where established young professionals participated in an honest discussion about starting and advancing in their careers, Millennials Guide to Career Success, where a millennial entrepreneur talked about how to combine interests with education, and This Is How We Used to Do It, where an agency owner discussed how advertising agencies work now versus how they used to be run and shared client management tips. Results: These programs were well- received by attendees and have been successful in attracting young professionals as well as those over the age of 32 to our events. This year s individual programs averaged 30 attendees. Project 2: Professional Development (PD) Series (Tab B) Event Details: Our PD Series offers niche programming designed to provide a top-level overview of ontrend industry topics our attendees can investigate further after learning initial details at our seminar. The PDs are offered seven times a year and feature local experts as speakers. The programs take place from 12:00 PM 1:00 PM and include a boxed lunch. Strategy: We offer a strictly one-hour program centrally-located in the city to provide a fast, impactful way for our audience to stay connected and up-to-date on industry issues and trends at a low cost. Execution/Tactics: Topics are chosen based on attendee feedback from previous seminars, but also through a Call for Presentations, where potential speakers fill out a form to indicate topics of expertise. The event is promoted through invitations, social media and our website. We also live tweet at all PD programs, so members who can t attend are able to obtain key-learnings and are encouraged to attend future events. Results: More than 220 attendees came to a PD program in Through a partnership with a local caterer, AAF-Louisville receives the first 20 boxed lunches free of charge, so there is virtually no cost to the club for this series. Over the past five years, the Professional Development Series has generated $18,945 in profit bringing in an average of $3,793 annually. In addition, attendee surveys show 85% of attendees rated it a 4/5 or 5/5.

5 ADVERTISING EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS College and High School Student Outreach and Support AAF-Louisville provides multiple opportunities throughout the year to help college and high school students enter the workforce and prepare for careers in advertising. Our purpose is to help ease the transition into their professional careers and promote diversity in the advertising industry. Strategy: Create educational, entertaining programs and networking events that connect students with advertising professionals and mentors. Project 1: Diversity and Bud Ballard Scholarship Program (Tab C) Details: Each year the club awards two $2,500 scholarships for students pursuing a career in advertising, with one specifically dedicated to minority students. The scholarship is supported by an endowment fund established several years ago. Results: The club is able to provide financial assistance to students working toward a career in an advertising related field. Project 2: Louie Awards (American Advertising Awards) (Tab D) Event Details: The Louie Awards Competition provides professional members and students the opportunity to submit their best work each year to be judged by other industry professionals throughout the country. This year, AAF-Louisville launched the Culturally Legit award recognizing outstanding work that incorporates diversity in real-world situations, combating traditional stereotypes. A portion of the entry fees from this category goes to funding the diversity scholarship that is given annually to a minority student who is interested in pursuing a career in an advertising-related field. Results: At this year s competition, there were 10 entries in the Culturally Legit category competing for the inaugural award. One hundred dollars was raised to donate to the Endowment Fund. We were pleased to see entries from all over the industry including large agencies, corporate marketing departments and freelance designers. The winning entry was an integrated campaign designed to promote the City of Louisville as a great destination for LGBT couples to get married.

6 Project 3: High School Marketing Challenge (HSMC) (Tab E) Event Details: For over 15 years, AAF-Louisville has hosted a creative competition each fall for high school students to learn more about what makes great advertising. A sponsor acts as the client and chooses a topic, product or service to promote, and the students act as the advertising agency, creating and pitching an advertising campaign to the judges. Recently, topics have focused on health and wellness issues pertinent to high school students. The challenge also includes an optional in-school execution portion that challenges teams to find ways to educate their peers on a real, relevant level. Results: The program continues to grow, providing a unique opportunity for students to learn about careers in advertising, and helping them educate their peers about topics impacting their health and well-being. This year s challenge attracted 14 teams and was sponsored by first-time partner Becker Law Office, which was eager to get involved and present our students with a relevant topic for the competition. This year s challenge topic was texting while driving. Traditionally, we have kicked off this program with a combined pre-challenge seminar where we outline the rules of the competition and provide education about how to develop effective marketing campaigns. This year, due to scheduling difficulties, we took the pre-challenge seminar on the road to better meet the needs and schedules of both teachers and students. Our Executive Director and our Vice President of Education visited each participating school individually and shared prerecorded presentations from our sponsor and two AAF-Louisville members explaining marketing research and creative brief development. After being fully informed about the competition, students were inspired to educate and inform their peers, and in some cases, the community at large, about the importance of refraining from using mobile devices while driving. Project 4: Second Chance Challenge (Tab F) Event Details: The Jefferson County Public School System has many schools that regularly participate in our High School Marketing Challenge, but the program is not exclusive to teams from JCPS. When the district saw how successful the program was in teaching students ways to tackle health and wellness issues through the corporate-sponsored challenge, they wanted to get their students engaged addressing an issue of their own the low rate of GEDs obtained by local youth who have dropped out of school. The Second

7 Chance Challenge was a scaled down version of the High School Marketing Challenge held in the spring, which allowed JCPS schools a second chance to win and their target audience a second chance at an education. Results: This new partnership with JCPS has been a win for all parties involved. The students had a second opportunity to gain real-world experience, and AAF-Louisville was able to connect with several schools that hadn t yet participated in the High School Marketing Challenge. One of these new schools participated in the Fall 2015 High School Marketing Challenge and came in second place. In addition, Kentucky Educational Television (KET) was brought in as a co-sponsor and opened the door for future partnerships. Project 5: Jefferson County Public School System (JCPS) Partnership Council The High School Marketing Challenge provides an opportunity for AAF-Louisville to find where resources and expertise are lacking in the public school system and fill the need. This is the fifth year of our club supporting and sitting on the Communication/Media Arts Partnership Council. Our Executive Director provides a voice to guide the council as they develop current and relevant coursework that gets students career-ready at graduation. In addition, AAF-Louisville is able to connect high school teachers with current industry professionals for valuable real-world exposure. Project 6: Public Service Dream Team (Tab G) Details: AAF-Louisville receives numerous requests every year from charitable organizations in need of marketing or advertising support. Needs range from design for a new logo to the creation of a comprehensive marketing and media plan. Seven years ago, AAF-Louisville developed a plan for channeling these numerous requests into a formal, manageable program. Previously, individual volunteers from member agencies across the area acted as a single agency our Dream Team with the chosen nonprofit as the client. This year, realizing a potential opportunity to provide real-world experience to local college students, we revamped the program to utilize a class from a local university to act as our agency. An AAF-Louisville member was chosen to act as the project manager and work closely with the students and their advisor to develop creative assets. In addition, the Dream Team works in tandem with the Public

8 Service Media Project (PSMP), which allows for advertising execution through a deeply discounted media buy. Results: One Dream Team charity partner is selected each year, though activities sometimes overlap during our club year. The 2016 selection was the Food Literacy Project, which provides farm-based experiential education and entrepreneurial youth development programs that bring the Field-to-Fork experience to life for local youth. With the new university partnership and assistance from the AAF-Louisville Public Service and Education Committees, the students have already made significant progress. To date, they have concluded market research, presented a brand style guide and a new logo design. Student work will be complete by the end of the Spring Semester, with media implementation in the summer and fall. Project 7: Stand Up for Education Comedy for a Cause Benefiting AAF-Louisville s Education Endowment Fund (Tab H) Event Details: Our annual comedy night fundraiser was developed as a sustainable program where 100% of the proceeds go to the scholarship endowment fund year-after-year. Strategy: Use the Comedy Night event model to help accumulate enough funds in the club s endowment to award two $10,000 scholarships each year. Execution/Tactics: After three successful years, the AAF-Louisville Education Committee re-branded the Comedy Night event to Stand Up for Education Comedy for a Cause and changed the date from a Tuesday to a Thursday evening in order to increase attendance. Having a defined event identity helped the club to obtain sponsorships that increased the excitement for, and profitability of, the event. In addition, the venue was donated by a local LGBT theater, and a local well-known restaurant donated food for the attendees. Also, a larger effort was made to secure donations from member businesses, such as concert tickets and artwork, to increase revenue generation through both silent and live auctions held during the event. Marketing efforts included the message that 100% of the proceeds from the comedy event would be submitted to the AAF s Education Endowment Fund. A 15-second TV commercial and media schedule were donated by one of the local stations, allowing AAF-Louisville to advertise the event beyond the current membership base.

9 Results: 115 tickets for the 2016 fundraiser were sold, which was a 35% increase over the previous year. The auction raised $1,480 so, coupled with ticket sales, a profit of over $3,000 was placed directly into the scholarship endowment fund. In addition, the donated television spot was seen by 62.7% of adults aged in the Louisville television market an average of 2.4 times. This exposure was key in us receiving the food donation, with the cost savings allowing us to make an even greater contribution towards scholarships. ADVERTISING EDUCATION FOR THE PUBLIC Project 1: #LOUAD2BOWL TWITTER PARTY (Tab I) Details: The Super Bowl has become the biggest night of the year for advertising. It generates excitement for both advertising professionals and pop-culture enthusiasts leading up to, during and after the Big Game. After seeing a large number of local ad professionals take to Twitter two years ago to share their thoughts on the Super Bowl ads, the Ad2 Louisville team organized its efforts to promote a Twitter party. Using the hashtag #LouAd2Bowl allowed members and other industry professionals to share their critiques of the Super Bowl ads in real-time. We also had a volunteer live-tweet during the game from AAF-Louisville s Twitter account to encourage discussion within the local ad community. Execution/Tactics: The hashtag #LouAd2Bowl was promoted on our social media channels and by wordof-mouth. AAF-Louisville posted throughout the night with tweets and responded to those tweeting with the hashtag #LouAd2Bowl. Results: The hashtag tracked over 900 tweets, with over 100 people tweeting. Our analytics reported that we reached over 218,400 people, receiving over 1 million timeline deliveries. Overall, activity increased more than 28% from last year. In addition, Louisville Business First ran an online article the Monday following the Super Bowl featuring our online commentary. Project 2: Public Relations (Tab J) Details: We actively engage in frequent communications with the media to generate positive press for the club and to position our club as a knowledgeable and respected resource for advertising or marketing in our community.

10 Execution/Tactics: Our Communications Committee s efforts touch on all forms of media, from direct mail to social: however, our public relations efforts have improved significantly over the past few years. A handful of the right volunteers have been successful in helping to get our messages into the community. Rather than relying on press releases to help promote our events, which is rarely newsworthy, our approach has been more about telling a story. Our primary PR volunteer attends all Executive Committee meetings so she can assist us in identifying those programs and initiatives with the greatest potential for coverage. Results: Our PR efforts this year have resulted in multiple media announcements in various outlets including Business First, InsiderLouisville.com, The Voice, WLKY (CBS Affiliate) and others, as well as press attendance at a number of events. In total, we had the potential to reach over 700,000 people with print, online, and television stories last year. Estimated earned media value is $3,600. Project 3 Louisville American Advertising Awards Microsite (Tab K) Event Details: Louisville s American Advertising Awards, called the Louies, is AAF-Louisville s signature event featuring award winning work and is the first step in a three-tiered process to winning a national award. Each year, AAF-Louisville compiles all winning entries and publishes them to showcase this work within the larger Louisville community. Strategy: Feature all the winners from the Louies in a new way that would encourage sharing outside the AAF-Louisville ad community. Execution/Tactics: In years past, a printed book of the Louie Award winners was distributed the evening of the event, with a PDF of the document then being shared with the media and posted to the AAF-Louisville website. A large file, it was troublesome to share. The new online version can be easily updated as Louisville s winners move on to compete (and win) at the District and National levels. The site will remain in perpetuity and is searchable with full credits, links to winning agencies, etc. Each winning entry has its own URL that can be used in press releases and shared online, making self-promotion easier for the winning companies and student online portfolios. The site went live the evening of the awards gala and agencies were immediately able to cite the URL in their own press releases. Results: In the two weeks since it has launched, the microsite has received 1,763 views.

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