Cheers to McAliley
Congratulations to Laura McAliley for her promotion to Account Supervisor. Since the day she started, Laura has been committed to providing clients with the best public relations support and client service. That effort has helped win awards for the agency and praise from clients. She has earned this promotion. Cheers to Laura!
Doughnuts vs. Jess – Who will win?
I love participating in random events. I just signed up for the Krispy Kreme Challenge – run 2 miles, eat a dozen doughnuts, run 2 more miles.
Note: I do not actually attempt to eat a dozen doughnuts. Last year I was able to down 4 doughnuts – this year my goal is 5 (with no “reversals”). I’d also like to note that I haven’t had doughnuts since last year’s race.
Anyone else participating?! February 6th is Race Day!
Latino Gridiron Stars
Nowadays, nobody thinks twice about the number of Latinos playing Major League Baseball.
But how many folks are aware of the fact that there are a growing number of Hispanics suiting up on any given Sunday for the National Football League?
In fact, the NFL currently lists two dozen players of Hispanic heritage on its rosters:
• Ken Amato, Left Safety, Tennessee Titans
• Greg Camarillo, Wide Receiver, Miami Dolphins
• Jonathan Casillas, Linebacker, New Orleans Saints
• Luis Castillo, Defensive End, San Diego Chargers
• Shaun Cody, Tackle, Houston Texans
• Willie Colón, Tackle, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Brian De La Puente, Guard, Seattle Seahawks
• Jeff García, Quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles
• Roberto Garza, Center, Chicago Bears
• Anthony González, Wide Receiver, Indianapolis Colts
• Tony González, Tight End, Atlanta Falcons
• Joselio Hanson, Cornerback,Philadelphia Eagles
• Juaquín Iglesias, Wide Receiver,Chicago Bears
• Glenn Martínez, Wide Receiver,Houston Texans
• Knowshon Moreno, Running Back, Denver Broncos
• Manuel Ramírez, Guard, Detroit Lions
• Tony Romo, Quarterback, Dallas Cowboys
• Mark Sánchez, Quarterback, New York Jets
• Lou Saucedo, Tackle, Baltimore Ravens
• Daniel Sepúlveda, Punter,Pittsburgh Steelers
• Anthony Toribio, Defensive Tackle, Green Bay Packers
• Mario Urrutia, Wide Receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Jose Valdez, Tackle, Atlanta Falcons
• Louis Vásquez, Guard, San Diego Chargers
And two of them — Tony Romo of the Cowboys and Mark Sánchez of the Jets — quarterbacked their respective teams to lopsided victories in the first-round of the playoffs this past weekend.
Latinos have become a force to reckon with in professional baseball.
Now they’re starting to do the same thing in the NFL.
Just as they’ve done in the world of marketing.
3 Lessons From Social Fresh Nashville
On Monday I had the pleasure to speak at Social Fresh Nashville, a conference focused on educating business professionals on the marketing and communications impacts of social media. I was a panelist on the B2B Social Media panel, which was the first panel of the day (see end of this post for full video of the panel).
Through presentations and hallway conversations at Social Fresh I have come up with three key lessons that I kept hearing throughout the day.
1. Social Media Will Continue To Be Tied To Search – Using a search engine is one of the most common actions on the Internet. Even if consumers are not participating in social networks, it is likely that they are using search engines to discover new information. Jason Falls during the key note panel pointed out this behavior. Social media acts as a key driver of search engine marketing. In the coming years many companies wil be working to determine how search and social can work better together.
2. More Education Is Needed Regarding Web Data – Return on investment was a major issue during the entire day at Social Fresh. It is clear businesses want to know how to invest correctly in social media marketing. However, it was also clear that many marketing and communications professionals need more education when it comes to understanding online data and measurement. Web analytics and other sources of online data are key for determining the ROI of social media. Until more education of online data is done, social media ROI will remain an uncertain issue.
3. E-mail Is Far From Dead – While a few people we talking about future collaboration platforms like Google Wave, it was clear that e-mail is still fully entrenched in daily communication and will continue to be. As mentioned in a presentation at Social Fresh, e-mail is the glue that holds the social web together. A person can’t do anything on the social web without an e-mail address. Try signing up for Twitter or Facebook without an e-mail address, it won’t happen. While social media marketing is a hot topic, e-mail marketing is going to stay a key component of the marketing mix.
While this list could keep going with other lessons from Social Fresh, I will stop for today and save those for future posts.
B2B Social Media Panel Video:
Malawer Joins Traffic Department
HM&P welcomes Lisa Malawer to the Traffic department! As the agency’s traffic operations manager, Malawer manages the traffic processes and workflow for all the creative and interactive projects at the agency.
Read the announcement here.
Part of Raleigh's History
The Raleigh City Museum‘s “Art of Business” exhibit opened Friday with a reception including live music, food and drinks. The exhibit features commercial art including signage, print collateral, packaging and advertising from some historic Raleigh-based businesses.
Howard Merrell & Partner’s own Senior Art Director, John Moore, the grandson of our agency’s founder, Jack Howard, helped complete the exhibit with several original ad pieces and copy from J.T. Howard Advertising Agency (our agency’s founding name). Early clients included Pine State Creamery, the State of North Carolina and Durham Life Insurance.
Several HM&P employees attended the event and enjoyed learning about our agency’s place in Raleigh’s history.
Job Opening: SVP, Account Management
We are searching for a seasoned professional to run the Account Management Department at Howard, Merrell & Partners. Qualified candidates must have at least 15 years of agency experience, along with an entrepreneurial spirit and track record for developing business and brand strategies. Strong writing, communications and presentation skills necessary. Must have experience developing, managing and executing B2B and B2C multifaceted, national marketing programs for major brands. Campaign experience needs to include: branding strategy, market research management, writing integrated campaigns including traditional creative, interactive, media buying, public relations and direct response. Experience with personnel management and growth required.
Job responsibilities include: Serve as top-level client contact. Oversee all client activity. Appoint and direct the activities of the account management team at the agency. Ensure the agency’s clients receive strategic and professional counsel and service from the account management staff, resulting in accounts stability, increased business, and profit for the agency.
MBA required. Client-side experience, a plus.
Send resumes to: emaughan@merrellgroup.com
Bodnar Speaks at Social Fresh Nashville
Howard, Merrell & Partners’ Kipp Bodnar will be a panelist at Social Fresh, a conference focused on social media, at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 11, 2010, at the Millennium Maxwell House in Nashville, Tenn.
Bodnar, social media marketing manager at Howard, Merrell & Partners, will serve as a panelist for the “B2B Social Media Panel.”
The Social Fresh conference will include several experts and innovators who will help explain how businesses can excel on the Social Web. For a full list of speakers and panelists visit the Social Fresh web site.
To read the full release click here.
Scott Piggot Celebrates 15 Years
Howard, Merrell & Partners recently recognized Scott Piggott, senior vice president of technology and interactive services, for his 15 years at the agency. During his tenure Piggott worked in both the Creative and IT departments, which prepared him for his latest role leading the agency’s Interactive Services practice.
Read the announcement here.
HM&P Welcomes Heather Gapusan
Heather Gapusan joins Howard, Merrell & Partners as a digital analyst in the Interactive Services department which has expanded greatly over the past few years. In her role, Gapusan will develop and help manage interactive strategies for clients, as well as gather and analyze digital results to help dictate future strategies involving interactive activities.
Welcome to HM&P, Heather!
See the announcement here.
