AAF District 10 Presents Southwest Airlines with Innovation and Leadership in Advertising Award

James Edmund Datri, president and CEO of The American Advertising Federation (AAF) presented AAF Tenth District’s highest honor of leadership and innovation in advertising to Southwest Airlines and its portfolio of agencies on May 12 in Austin. Dave Ridley, senior vice president, Marketing and Revenue Management for Southwest Airlines, accepted the award at a special dinner at GSD&M Idea City.

The Innovation and Leadership in Advertising Award (ILA) recognizes Southwest Airlines and its agencies for many years of inventive advertising programs. This is the fourth year AAF has hosted the ILA Award that highlights companies that exemplify excellence in Media Use, Employment in AAF District Ten, Diversity and Creative Leadership.

In accepting the award, Ridley said, “Wow, to follow behind AT&T, JC Penney and Walmart! What an honor! On behalf of Southwest Airlines, we’re honored to be recognized tonight from the American Advertising Federation 10^th District for this very prestigious award. We could not have made this journey here without all of agencies and partners who have helped made this possible. “

Southwest Airlines’ partner advertising agencies that shared in the award included: GSD&M Idea City – Austin; Camelot Communications, Inc. – Dallas; Y&R Brands/Wunderman Southern California – Irvine, Dieste, Inc. – Dallas; and Dae Advertising – San Francisco.

Kevin Cassis, president of the Austin Ad Federation, kicked off award ceremonies. In welcoming more than 225 guests and congratulating Southwest Airlines, Cassis said, “We’re so pleased that the ILA event was held in Austin, a world class creative center. Competing against cities like New York and Chicago, the Austin Ad Fed will be recognized as the Division One AAF Club of the Year at the national AAF convention in June.”

Southwest Airlines’ Dana Williams, director of Marketing and Communications, also presented a fall internship for an ILA Scholarship recipient. The internship winner, Erin Landy, a University of Texas Advertising major graduating in 2011, will receive a $5,000 scholarship from the AAF Tenth District.

Said Datri, “It was an honor to be a part of this year’s ILA ceremonies – by all accounts the very best yet! A great brand (Southwest), a great spot (GSD&M Idea City), great food, great energy, a great and distinguished crowd, and a host of top-notch sponsors made the event a huge success. Bravo and congratulations to Ann Iverson – ILA Committee Chair; John Aguillard – ILA Committee Co-Chair; Governor Goldston; Executive Director Kevin Dobbs; and the AAF Tenth District Leadership for a wonderful and successful event. The Tenth District Shines Bright!”

Event sponsors included: VISA, BET Networks, Coca-Cola, 4 Guys Interactive, Gannett Digital Media Network, Microsoft Advertising, VML and The Wyndham Hotel Group. In-kind sponsors included: Clampitt Paper, GSD&M Idea City and The Whitley Printing Company, all of Austin.

ABOUT THE AAF

The American Advertising Federation (AAF) headquartered in Washington, D.C., acts as the “Unifying Voice for Advertising.” The AAF is the oldest national advertising trade association, representing 40,000 professionals in the advertising industry. The AAF has a national network of 200 ad clubs located in ad communities across the country. Through its 225 college chapters, the AAF provides nearly 7,500 advertising students with real-world case studies and recruitment connections to corporate America. The AAF also has 130 blue-chip corporate members that are advertisers, agencies and media companies, comprising the nation’s leading brands and corporations. For more information, visit the AAF’s Web site at www.aaf.org.

RED PRODUCTIONS SHOOTS FEATURE FILM EXCLUSIVELY IN FORT WORTH

Setting for comedy “Searching for Sonny” honors local film production company’s roots

Fort Worth gets a taste of Hollywood starting this week as local film production company Red Productions begins shooting “Searching for Sonny,” a comedy written and directed by Cowtown native Andrew Disney.

“It’s been a long time since a full-length feature film was shot here,” said Red Sanders, ‘Sonny’ producer and owner of Red Productions. “We’re excited to use our lens to bring notoriety to the community that has supported us from the beginning and that has such a strong devotion to the arts.”

According to Sanders, scenes for “Searching for Sonny” will be shot at the following well-known local sites:

· Trinity Valley School

· Historic Electric Building

· Ol’ South Pancake House

· Caravan Inn

· Spinks Airport

“After combing the country for the right script, we ended up finding the perfect one in our own backyard,” continued Sanders. “Andrew Disney is extremely talented and shares in our vision to bring great filmmaking to Fort Worth; we’re excited to be teaming up with him for ‘Sonny’ and beyond.”

Cast members joining ‘Sonny’ include Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Masi Oka (“Heroes,” “Get Smart”), Minka Kelly (“Friday Night Lights,” “500 Days of Summer”) and Jason Dohring (“Veronica Mars”). They appear alongside Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney, who form the New York City comedy duo BriTANick, best known for their recent Internet sketch video “Movie Title.”

Members of the community who are interested in participating as extras in the film are welcome to send an e-mail to extras@redproductions.com and are asked to provide their contact information, age and gender.

About “Searching for Sonny”

“Searching for Sonny” is a film that tells the story of Calvin, Elliot and Gary who return to their high school reunion to discover that their old buddy, Sonny, is missing under mysterious circumstances. After run-ins with the law, an ex-girlfriend and the corpse of the high school quarterback, the mystery turns meta when they realize that everything happening seems eerily similar to a play they performed in high school – a play Sonny wrote. To learn more, visit www.searchingforsonny.com or visit its Facebook page.

About Red Productions

Red Productions is an Emmy award-winning film and video production company based in Fort Worth, Tex., specializing in feature, documentary, commercial and industrial films to be distributed through theaters, TV, DVD and the Web. To learn more, visit www.redproductions.com or visit its Facebook page.

National Expert in PR Measurement Speaks May 19 in Fort Worth

The Greater Fort Worth Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America announces that on May 19, Katie Paine, a national expert on public relations measurement, will lead a half-day professional development workshop and luncheon presentation on public relations and social media metrics.

Both the workshop and the luncheon will be held at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth and PRSA members and non-members alike are invited to attend. For additional information, including workshop pricing, or to register for the events, visit www.fortworthprsa.org.

Paine’s morning workshop will begin at 8:00 a.m. and cover the key elements of engagement, including quantitative, qualitative and new relationship metrics. She will also discuss cost- effective measurement solutions for budget-conscious companies. Over lunch, Paine will lead a session reviewing the principles of measurement and how they apply to the new, wild world of social media. The luncheon and the workshop are sponsored by the Balcom Agency.

Paine is the CEO and founder of KDPaine & Partners LLC and author of Measuring Public Relationships: The Data Driven Communicator's Guide to Success. She also writes the first blog and the first newsletters dedicated entirely to measurement and accountability. For the past two decades, Paine has been providing marketers and communications professionals the tools, data and information to help them make better business decisions.

2010 National ADDY Awards

Saturday June 12

Orlando, Florida

With over 60,000 entries annually, the ADDY® Awards are the world’s largest and arguably toughest advertising competition. The ADDY® Awards represent the true spirit of creative excellence by recognizing all forms of advertising from media of all types, creative by all sizes and entrants of all levels from anywhere in the world.

Entrance to the ADDY® Awards is included in 2010 AAF National Conference Registration. To purchase a separate ticket, please complete this form and return to Lucille Hill via fax: (202) 898-0159, or e-mail: lhill@aaf.org.


Tickets will be available for pick up on site at the AAF national conference registration desk, beginning Wednesday, June 9. Please be sure to claim them prior to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 12.

Meet the Future of Advertising

NSAC Recruiters Expo
This June, the best advertising students in the country will all be in the same room. Be there to meet them.

NSAC Recruiters Expo
June 11, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek & Waldorf Astoria, Orlando, Fla.

Hosted during AAF's National Conference 2010, the NSAC Recruiters Expo offers companies the opportunity to meet and explore career opportunities with the national finalists for the National Student Advertising Competition. These students have been judged to be the best by the country's top advertising executives in their district competitions.

Students will have the opportunity to learn about internships and career opportunities from recruiters representing some of the nation's top advertising, marketing and communications companies.

To learn more about the AAF National Conference, please visit www.aaf.org/conference. For questions or more information about recruiter packages, contact Candace Elliott at celliott@aaf.org.

Fort Worth Professional Earns Accreditation in Public Relations

Margaret Ritsch, director of public relations with Balcom Agency in Fort Worth, Texas has successfully completed the Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations, entitling her to use the APR professional designation. The announcement was made by the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB), a consortium of nine professional communication organizations that directs this competency certification program.

The Accreditation program aims to improve the practice of public relations by assessing competence in 60 areas of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with the profession. The Examination is designed for public relations professionals with five to seven years of job experience and/or a bachelor’s degree in a communication field. Candidates who successfully complete the rigorous process, including presenting his/her portfolio to a Readiness Review panel of three peers and sitting for a computer-based Examination, are granted the APR.

“Earning the APR reflects a mastery of the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to succeed in our increasingly complex profession,” said Felicia Blow, APR, 2009 chair of the Universal Accreditation Board. “Practitioners who achieve the designation are demonstrating their commitment not only to our profession, but also to a strong code of ethics and to the betterment of their organizations and clients.”

The computer-based portion of the Examination is administered throughout the year at more than 300 Prometric Testing Centers. The Readiness Review is conducted prior to the computer-based portion of the Examination by a panel of three Accredited members of one or more of the nine organizations participating in the UAB. Professionals earning the APR must maintain their credential through continuing professional development, providing leadership to the profession and serving their local communities.

About the Universal Accreditation Board
The UAB was established in 1998 by a coalition of public relations professional organizations that today includes the Agricultural Relations Council, Asociación de Relacionistas Profesionales de Puerto Rico, Florida Public Relations Association, Maine Public Relations Council, National School Public Relations Association, Public Relations Society of America, Religion Communicators Council, Southern Public Relations Federation and Texas Public Relations Association. Each organization contributes resources and senior-level volunteer members who represent all segments of the public relations profession.

For more information about the UAB and the APR designation, visit www.praccreditation.org.