From GFAF President Louanne Welgoss

I wanted to take this opportunity to personally invite you to our November 18th event: The Claustrophobia of Abundance. I had the chance to hear a form of this presentation with Cheri Baker last year at our district conference and it impressed us enough to want to hear it again and to bring it to you. It’s a presentation that will get you thinking regardless of your position in the company. Owner, manager, employee…designer, marketer, copywriter…old member or new…you’ll walk away with refreshed (or completely new) thoughts on how to reach clients and how to best position them for their clients, adding value to your services.

One of the benefits our club receives as a member of the American Advertising Federation (AAF) is the opportunity to be exposed to professionals in other marketplaces. Our district – District 2 or D2 – is fortunate to include clubs from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York City (with many smaller towns like Frederick in-between). This gives us access to some of the greatest minds in our industry. November’s speaker, Brian Bronaugh, is the current D2 AAF governor and the president and executive creative director of Mullen Pittsburgh. If you have a chance, I encourage you to visit the Mullen website. Headquartered in Boston, they are a multi-million dollar agency with the expertise and resources to perform the analytical research many of us need, but just aren’t in the position to create.

Take advantage of the “7 Modes of the Mind” methodology developed by Mullen that Brian will share. The claustrophobia (fear of tight spaces) of abundance (too much space) is all about how to wend your way through the nearly infinite options of messaging to find the specific path for your client’s – or your own – business.

RSVP here. I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of old and new faces. Bring your clients!

Sponsored by:

P.S. Interested in some of the other AAF benefits you can take advantage of? Click here!

P.P.S. Mark your calendars for December 5th’s Mingle Bells party. Think our printers compete on price? Just wait until you see how they duke it out behind the bar as our celebrity bartenders for charity!

P.P.S.S. (I’ve always wanted to do that) It’s not too early to start growing that mullet or poofing up those mall bangs for March. The Addy’s will be here before you know and it we’re going to take out the “stuffy” (ask Adam Leviton about this) by going back to our roots and celebrating the 80’s along with our entrants and winners.

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We will be collecting care package items at the November 18th GFAF program and only attendees who bring a donation will receive a door prize ticket for one of three special gifts. The real surprise, however, will come in the form of a personal visit from Wes Gray of the United States Marine Corps, author and former AnySoldier.com recipient. Gray will personally sign a copy of his book Embedded: A Marine Corps Adviser Inside the Iraqi Army for the winner of the grand prize drawing. To see one of Wes Grays’ recent interviews, click here

If you are unable to attend November’s event but would like to contribute, please feel free to drop off donations with Lisa Gorham, GFAF Public Service director, at: Jean Peterson Design Everedy Square, 6 North E. Street, Suite 200 Frederick, MD 21701 301-631-2401

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Photography by SGT. Waine D. Haley

As you’ve been reading here and elsewhere, GFAF has been collecting care package donations from our membership and the community, sending these comforts-of-home to the brave men and women overseas. Because of your generosity, we have already sent 28 care packages to Iraq and Afghanistan and have formed personal connections with some of the soldiers (read their latest letters here). With the holidays coming up, the troops need to hear from us now more than ever.

Would you like to be part of this support for our men and women in uniform? We’re making it easy for you, with the help of AnySoldier.com. This is a year-long effort, but it is also November’s public service campaign. We’re looking for care package donations – items like: healthy snacks , Gatorade powders, ground coffee, phone cards, toiletries, dog treats (for guard dogs), feminine products, magazines and - most importantly - cards and letters of support. For a full list of most wished for items, view the Troops Wish List.

Sponsored by:

The Dorr Family

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Tim Finnen and Kim Dow role play.

 

…well, you definitely missed something to talk about. A speaker cancellation led to a quick replacement that was…um…perhaps not best-suited (pun intended, if you were there) to our group. That said, the event was well-attended, encouraged a lot of audience participation and made an impression (which is really what personal branding is all about, right?). A few points worth sharing:

DURING INTERVIEWS

• Don’t chew gum and do take off your sunglasses (this means you, Tim Finnen)
• Don’t swear and use slang (Eddie Araya…who knew you had acting chops…or that you swore?)
• Don’t talk on the phone to your boyfriend (Erin Biles, even if you are the interviewer)
• Don’t stare with your mouth open (Kim Dow!)
• Come prepared and if you’re not, don’t rat out your partner (this means you again, Tim)

DRESS FOR SUCCESS

• When you make a pitch or presentation, statistics say that the listeners judge you on the following:
  • How you look: 55%
  • How you speak: 38%
  • What you say: 7%
• Spend a few more dollars on that outfit you love (even if you’ve had it awhile) and have it tailored so that it fits your body well. Tailoring says, “I care about me so I can care about you” and can be done by a professional tailor or at your local dry cleaners.
• Take advantage of today’s technology. If you’re not sure how you look for a big pitch or an interview, snap of photo of yourself, text it to a friend and get an outside opinion (caveat: it has to be a friend who will be honest).
• A jacket always steps up the level of formality, even with jeans (Tobin Lehman will forevermore be known as the creator of the fashion look: “People I Know”).
• Leaning forward slightly (but not quite into personal space) improves the reception of your message.
  Do your research prior to your meeting and match your environment in dress and conversation style. It’s better to come overdressed in layers that you can take off than to be underdressed without a way to dress “up.”

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  We gave you a mission and you chose to accept it. A big “thank you” to the generous Build Your Personal Brand program attendees, who raised over $300 in monetary and in-kind donations for Mission of Mercy. We would also like to extend our gratitude to The Majestic Theater, The MET, and Briana Fanzone of Jean Peterson Design who generously donated items for Mission of Mercy’s November Gala auction. All proceeds benefit this organization, whose mission it is to provide free healthcare, dental care and prescription medications to the uninsured, underinsured and those who “fall through the cracks” of our healthcare system. For more information on this organization, visit amissionofmercy.org

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  Video’s ability to create a strong user experience through movement, sound and human interaction make it a powerful, yet often untapped, marketing tool. GFAF members gathered for lunch at Patrick’s earlier this month, courtesy of Immersion Active, to talk about video on the web. Guest speaker and GFAF member Paul Farrell led the group’s discussion with topics ranging from the future of websites to the wisdom of including user-generated content versus professional video to the role video plays (and will continue to play) in improving search engine optimization. Members were able to discuss the challenges they face using video, such as convincing technology-weary clients of its effectiveness, as well as share success stories.

Other discussion items included:

• The challenges of video on the web
• The dichotomy of consumers spending more time online but allotting a majority of advertising dollars towards other media, leaving a large untapped audience between ad investment and media consumption
• Motion and how it attracts attention
• The power of human conversation in eliciting response, thereby creating a greater experience for the user.
• Videos in advertising and tools for targeted placement of those ads
• The impact of video on SEO and site visibility, which is in turn creating a new standard

Be sure to join us December 11th for the next lunch Roundtable on “Thinking Strategically”

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NASSAU BROADCASTING

Rona Mensah, Dave Gunning and Phil Briggs

MARY KATE McKENNA PHOTOGRAPHY

Mary Kate McKenna

(And btw, thanks very much to Mary Kate for extending her offer of free headshots to those who attended the October event. If anyone had their photo taken and would like to share it, send it to Cheri Baker and we’ll give Mary Kate her photo props!)

COMCAST SPOTLIGHT

Mary Salafia, Chase Atkinson, Richard Surdez and David Crummit

GALLAGHER/WOOD DESIGN Patrice Gallagher

THE PIEDMONT GROUP

Molly Kilmore

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  “Erin is a very talented designer and is already a great asset to our firm and our clients,” states Jean Peterson. “It’s a pleasure to welcome her to our staff.” An experienced publication designer, Erin Tinney served as graphic designer at Garbo Design House, where she worked on magazines such as the Frederick County Guide and most notably conceived the design and layout for Find It Frederick. She has thoughtfully put her design talents to work on numerous other projects including websites and corporate collateral and has garnered both local and national recognition. This past year Erin was honored with a Member Appreciation Award from the GFAF for her volunteer service.

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Member company FiND iT FREDERiCK (formerly Garbo Design House) is pleased to announce that new graphic designer and GFAF member Kim Dow (Kalico Design) has already won kudos for her work on the magazine. The Fall 09 editorial layout for “Tea, Sympathy and Natural Healing” was selected by Crescent Hill Books for their upcoming book, “The New Big Book of Layouts,” available in stores May 2010.

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  Kalico Design was recently granted Green America’s “Business Seal of Approval,” which designates businesses that are socially and environmentally responsible in the way they source, manufacture, market and run their businesses and their offices.

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