Legislative News To You

ICANN Proposal on Top-Level Domains   

In response to ICANN’s recent announcement to launch a new program to increase the number of generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD), a coalition of corporations and associations have asked the International Corporations for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to delay the launch until safeguards have been enacted to protect businesses, brand owners and consumers.

Cited concerns regarding the immediate launch of the program include:

• Protecting consumers across the new gTLDs;
• Protecting companies and brand-owners across the new gTLDs; and
• The effect of the new gTLD program on ICANN and the Internet.

More information regarding the ICANN program launch and corporate/association comments can be found here.

Top-Level Domains (gTLD) are the portion of the Internet address to the right of the dot (.com, .org, .gov, etc.) The ICANN proposal would allow individuals, corporations or groups to purchase new gTLDs that could include any word or phrase, including company or brand names (i.e. .google, .sunshine, .cocacola.) More information on the ICANN proposal can be found on the ICANN website. (http://icann.org)

 

Huckabee and Associates, Inc. Hires Balcom Agency for New Website

Huckabee and Associates, Inc., an architectural design firm located in Fort Worth, has secured the Balcom Agency’s services for a new company website.

“We are proud to have the opportunity to work with a company like Huckabee,” said Stuart Balcom, the agency’s president. “Huckabee has designed some of the area’s finest educational facilities, and our goal is to develop a website that reflects the firm’s commitment to excellence and expansive portfolio.”

Huckabee is dedicated to providing innovative design, planning and management of educational facilities. Since its formation in 1967, the company has completed over 1,100 educational facility projects and delivered over $2 billion in construction costs. Named as one of the best firms to work for in 2008 by Zweig White, Huckabee is known for providing educational facilities that are sound, healthy and functional, as well as attractive and energy-efficient.

About Balcom Agency

Founded in 1993, the Balcom Agency has provided its clients with comprehensive creative, interactive, and public relations solutions to various business challenges. The agency’s roster includes such local, regional and national clients as Alcon Laboratories, the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council, Huckabee and Associates, Inc., Justin Boots, Justin Original Workboots, the Neeley School of Business at TCU, Norman Regional Health System, REAL School Gardens, Samsill, Southwest Bank, Texas Health Resources, Tony Lama and Weather Decision Technologies. Learn more by visiting www.balcomagency.com <http://www.balcomagency.com> .

Concussion Honored for Outstanding Web Creative

Concussion’s interactive department has received Silver W3 awards from the International Academy of Visual Arts for creative designs developed for clients AAF-Fort Worth and Bariatric Surgery at Plaza Medical Center.

Concussion’s interactive Web designs for the ’07 Fort Worth ADDY Awards and Bariatric Surgery at Plaza Medical Center were recognized as outstanding Web creatives. Concussion received a total of three Silver W3 awards: one for the ‘07 ADDY Awards and two for Bariatric Surgery at Plaza Medical Center.           

Bariatricfortworth.com came away with two Silver statues in the Health and Health Care Services categories. Concussion’s third W3 was awarded in the Strange and Unusual category for the ‘07 ADDY Awards. Submitorbedominated.net is an interactive piece that helped increase ‘07 ADDY applicants by more than 37%.

Douglas Cox, Interactive Director at Concussion, said, “We are pleased to be recognized for our creative endeavors among so many great interactive agencies. Web design is a growing industry in our community, and representing Fort Worth in this competition is an honor.” The Concussion submissions were among more than 3,000 entries.

The W3 Awards honor superior Web creativity and recognize the individuals behind award-winning Web sites, Web advertising and Web video. The W3 is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, interactive, advertising and marketing firms.           

The W3 Awards seek to recognize both small and large firms alike, honoring excellent creative, user-friendly sites. Award recipients can be found on the Web at www.w3award.com.

Concussion is a full-service advertising, marketing and public relations firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. The agency has 55 professional staff members and bills approximately $23 million annually. Concussion handles a client list that includes casinos, commercial and residential real estate development, energy and natural gas, and consumer packaged goods.  For more information, visit www.concussioninteractive.com.

News To You

PhRMA Announces Changes to DTC Guidelines

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) board of directors has adopted changes to its Guiding Principles on Direct to Consumer Advertisements about Prescription Medicines (Click to see PhRMA Guidelines PDF.)

The voluntary guidelines provide direction on ways to ensure that DTC advertising is accurate, accessible and useful to patients. Among the changes are principles of identifying whether people appearing in ads are actual health care professionals, compensated celebrity endorsers or paid actors.

The revised guidelines state that DTC television or print advertisements with adult-oriented content should be placed only in media where at least 90 percent of the audience is expected to be at least 18 years old.

The new guidelines go into effect March 2009. A full list of the changes is available on the PhRMA website (Click to see PhRMA Press Release.)

AAF Shows Support for Automobile Industry

The downturn in the national economy has had an impact on advertising in both obvious and subtle ways. The domestic automobile industry-Chrysler, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation-accounted for $4.6 billion in advertising spending in 2007, or 3.3 percent of all measured advertising spending. This spending supports countless jobs in the advertising industry at local, regional and national levels.

Because of the direct correlation between the Automobile and Advertising industries, the National AAF sent letters of support to members of Congress urging them to enact a federal assistance package for the industry. A copy of the letter is available here.

 

FTC Proposes Changes to Endorsement Guides

The Federal Trade Commission announced that it is seeking comments on proposed revisions to its endorsement guides. In its filing, the FTC said that proposed revisions will address endorsements by consumers, organizations and experts, and the material connections between advertisers and endorsers. More specifically, the proposed changes call for clearer disclosures when consumer endorsements do not reflect typical experience.

Last updated in 1980, the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising provide advertisers with examples and interpretations of the FTC Act.  Comments will be accepted through January 30, 2009. The full register notice is available here.

ICANN Proposes Nearly Unlimited Top-Level Domain Options

A proposal to drastically increase the number of generic top-level Internet domains could have serious implications for companies operating and advertising online. In laymen's terms, top-level domains are those that exist on the right side of the dot. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names of Numbers (ICANN) currently issues domain names for individuals and groups within a limited number generic top-level domains, such as .com, .org, .net, as well as country codes such as .us, .ca, and .uk.

ICANN plans to create and sell over 1,000 new top-level domains over the next three years, offering virtually unlimited options. Anticipated top-level domain names include business names, (for instance, .aaf, .google, .cocacola), product names (.corvette, .frostedflakes), and more generic terms (.soda, .newspaper, .television).

ICANN plans to set application fees for the new top-level domain names from $190,000 to $250,000 each. Critics are concerned that the change could cause unprecedented consumer confusion, abuse, fraud and disputes, "cyber squatting" and the problems associated with profiting from other companies' brands and trademarks. Organizations critical of the changes are banding together to urge ICANN to delay the rollout of this program until sufficient safeguards are in place to protect businesses, brand owners and consumers.

Rep. Waxman Named House Commerce Committee Chairman

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., will chair the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee when the 111th Congress convenes in January. Waxman, the current chairman of the House Oversight and Investigations Committee, has long been a strong critic of advertising. Of note, he has called for stricter regulation of direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals, tobacco advertising and product placement. Waxman challenged longtime Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., who was ousted in a 137-122 vote. While Waxman has not yet set an agenda for the upcoming congressional term, it is anticipated that many advertising issues will face increased attention.

 

2008 Christmas Party

Christmas party has come and gone but it was fun! If you missed it, check out our photos.

Balcom Agency Launches Presence in Austin-Travis County

The Balcom Agency has expanded into the Austin, Texas market with the addition of Luisa Piette, a senior account executive in charge of business development and customer relations. A multilingual communications executive with more than two decades professional experience, Piette will represent the Fort Worth creative services agency in the Austin-Travis County region, one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country.

“We are thrilled to have someone as savvy and experienced as Luisa join the Balcom team as we grow and expand into central Texas,” said Stuart Balcom, the agency’s president.

A seasoned communicator and business development expert, Piette began her career as a journalist and radio broadcaster for the BBC, and later worked for Radio France International and the Voice of America, covering current affairs and economic development.

Piette founded LHP Communications, Inc., a marketing communications and public relations consultancy, nearly 10 years ago, working with national and international clients such as The WAP Forum (now Open Mobile Alliance), Sprint, Webtiss Technologies, Ztango and Advanced Micro Devices. Earlier, she served as marketing manager for Nortel, a communications technology corporation.

Piette holds a Master’s degree in International Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Government from the University of Essex.

Brochure Created by Balcom Agency Wins Juried International Design Competition

A donor brochure designed by the Balcom Agency for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Fort Worth has emerged as a winner in one of the world’s most prestigious juried competitions for creativity in graphic design.

Titled “What Are the Odds?,” the brochure will be published in the November 2008 Communication Arts Design Annual, the showcase publication for the 49th annual Communication Arts design competition.

Balcom’s senior design director, Cassie Kruemcke, created the brochure as a provocative set of stories about real teens who defied the odds and turned their lives around thanks to their involvement in the Boys & Girls Clubs. For example, the opening “story” shows a kitchen knife on a stark black background, and the wording “10 Bad Decisions Led to Alex’s Involvement with Gangs.” Open the flap and you see the knife again, but this time next to a smiling Alex as a sous chef, standing in a commercial kitchen with the new message: “1 Good Decision Changed Everything.”

The brochure is being used for the Boys & Girls Clubs’ capital campaign for a new club facility in Fort Worth. “It is an honor that Cassie and the agency’s work is being recognized as among the best in visual communications in the world,” said Stuart Balcom, agency president. “More importantly, we’ve designed a brochure that’s highly effective -- helping raise money for an organization that helps so many disadvantaged kids in North Texas.”

Concussion Work Gains Global Recognition

Two creative designs developed by Concussion, a full-service advertising, marketing and public relations firm, here, will be published in prestigious design trade journals.

A logo for the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame will be included in LogoLounge 5 and a Christmas card developed for Clampitt Paper Company will be featured in PRINT’s Regional Design Annual 2008.

“It is extremely gratifying to know that our work is not only considered some of the best in Fort Worth, but also in the world,” said Andrew Yanez, chief creative officer and partner at Concussion. “This is further proof of the high caliber of creative work being produced right here in Fort Worth.”

According to Bill Gardner, founder of LogoLounge, “…there were 33,000 logos submitted for consideration and the caliber of work was exceptional. Each judge reviewed thousands of logos from around the world. The final collection is not only an excellent point-in-time examination; it is full to the brim with inspiration, higher thinking, and craftsmanship.”

Rockport Publishers will release LogoLounge 5 in early Summer 2009. The goal of this book, its predecessors, and the Web site is to continue feeding minds, inspiring creativity and further developing a sense of community among designers and peers around the globe.

The results of PRINT’s annual competition for the best work in the United States will be showcased in late fall when the Regional Design Annual 2008 hits the stands. Creative designs selected where among more than 20,000 entries from almost every state.

American Advertising Federation Announces First-Ever Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame Luncheon

On Tuesday, November 11, the AAF's 10th District will honor the inaugural class of The Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame. The event is hosted by the Dallas Advertising League and AAF - 10th District and will be held at 11:00 a.m. at CityPlace in Dallas. To honor inductees, James E. Datri, incoming President of AAF, Washington D.C., will make his first appearance at the local level.

The first inductees to the Hall of Fame are:

• Ray Ackerman, Ackerman-McQueen, Oklahoma City
• Sam Bloom, The Bloom Agency (Now Publicis), Dallas
• Wayne Cranford, Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, Little Rock
• Roger Enrico, PepsiCo, DreamWorks SKG, Dallas
• David B. Keith, Past Chairman, American Advertising Federation
• Fred J. Korge, Baxter & Korge, Savage Design, Houston
• Earl Littman, Goodwin, Dannenbaum, Littman & Wingfield, P.O.P. Broadcasting, Houston
• Morris Hite, Tracy-Locke, Dallas
• Stanley Marcus, Neiman Marcus, Dallas
• Stan Richards, The Richards Group, Dallas
• Lowe Runkle, Lowe Runkle Company, Oklahoma City
• Liener Temerlin, Temerlin McClain, Temerlin Consulting, Dallas

Sam Bloom, Roger Enrico, Morris Hite, Stanley Marcus, and Liener Temerlin are men from our region who have already achieved membership in the national Advertising Hall of Fame, hosted by the AAF.

The mission of the Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame is to honor men and women from our region who have distinguished themselves in their careers, who have contributed to the betterment of advertising and its reputation, and who have made volunteer efforts outside the workplace. Nominees are not required to be members of an AAF club and may represent all disciplines within the advertising industry.

For more information or to RSVP for the event, click here.

Legislative News to You

Legislative Committee Chairman - Casandra Brown

Florida Supreme Court Removes Tax Swap Proposal From Ballot
The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that a proposed "tax swap" constitutional amendment must be removed from the November ballot because of misleading language. Amendment 5 would have cut the property tax by an average of 25 percent—an estimated $9 billion in 2011—and would have directed the legislature to seek new ways to offset the revenue. The amendment suggested the possibility of raising the sales tax and eliminating existing sales tax exemptions, including advertising. Polling data indicated that the amendment was far from reaching the 60 percent approval rate it would have needed to pass. AAF Fourth District lobbyist Jack Hebert and the Florida advertising federations played an instrumental role in educating the public and lawmakers as to the potential harmful economic consequences had the amendment been approved.

CPSC Bill Signed Into Law
On August 31, President Bush signed the Consumer Products Safety Commission Reform Act into law. H.R. 4040 was ultimately approved without the requirement that onerous cautionary statements be included in many advertisements for children's products. The enacted law requires a cautionary statement in advertisements only when the ad provides a direct means to purchase the toy—such as Internet or catalog advertising. Opponents argued that the proposed commercial speech requirements would likely violate the First Amendment guarantees of commercial free speech and that warning language on packaging is appropriate and sufficient.

Senate Aging Committee Holds Medical Device DTC Advertising Hearing
At a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on direct-to-consumer advertising of medical devices, Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., who chairs the committee, suggested the need for an advertising moratorium on new medical devices. The hearing was heavily stacked with surgeons and opponents of advertising. The panelists appeared primarily concerned that surgeons will be pressured by patients who have seen ads to perform unnecessary procedures to install stents and other devices. The only other senator to attend the hearing, Ken Salazar, D-Colo., asked witnesses whether the advertising should be banned. The First Amendment implications of such a proposal were only briefly mentioned in passing. Witnesses from the FDA and the medical device manufacturers association discussed the "underutilization" of many devices but did not discuss the role of advertising in educating patients and encouraging them to talk with their physicians. According to Chairman Kohl, no legislation has been introduced or is under consideration. The AAF will work to educate members of the committee about the impact advertising can have and the First Amendment implications of restricting advertising.

Identity Theft Bill Heads to President
The House and Senate have approved provisions of the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act as part of H.R. 5938. As passed, the bill will provide law enforcement agencies with new resources for investigating and prosecuting online crime, including cyber extortion, use of malicious spyware, key logging and identity theft. Moreover, the bill allows identity theft victims to seek restitution. Rather than target new technologies, the legislation appropriately provides improved law enforcement tools for targeting criminals and fighting crime. The bill now heads to the White House for the president's signature.

Balcom Agency Takes Home Silver for Norman Regional Health System Ad Campaign

The Balcom Agency won three silver 2008 Aster Awards for an ad campaign created for Norman Regional Health System in Oklahoma. Winning entries included its urgent care and breast cancer television spots and orthopedic services radio spot.

Titled “Nothing to Sneeze at,” the television commercial created for Norman’s Urgent Care Centers features an animated girl who can’t stop sneezing. Tissues litter her desk and floor, and as a giant sneeze causes her to fly across the room, a narrator tells viewers that Norman’s Urgent Care Centers help “clear the way” to a fast recovery for flu season sufferers.

The second winning television spot, titled “Nurse Navigator,” visually and verbally conveys that those diagnosed with breast cancer are not alone, and at Norman Regional, a nurse navigator serves as educator, advocate and guide during the journey.

The award-winning radio spot, titled “Basketball,” opens with a basketball player crashing into the stands after scoring a goal. The narrator then tells listeners that everyone, athlete or not, can benefit from Norman’s latest technologies in orthopedic and rehabilitation services.

The Aster Awards is an elite competition recognizing the nation’s most talented marketing professionals for outstanding excellence in advertising.

Former Harrah’s Group Account Director to Lead Casino Marketing Group

Former Harrah’s advertising agency executive, John Kiker, has joined the staff of Fort Worth, Texas-based casino marketing firm, Concussion, it was announced today by Allen Wallach, president.

Mr. Kiker, who oversaw a staff of 50 on the $60 million Harrah’s casino business while at TracyLocke - Dallas, will assume a similar role directing a stable of regional casino accounts at the $23 million Concussion.

“John carries a big stick in the casino branding space. He’s been to the mountaintop on one of the world’s most respected and successful brands, which we intend to leverage to maximize success for our clients,” said Mr. Wallach.

According to Mr. Kiker, the chance to be a part of a fast-growing shop was hard to resist. “Concussion has become a niche leader in casino marketing. My national experience, coupled with their approach and track record of success, will give clients a formidable marketing arsenal,” he said.

While at Omnicom’s TracyLocke, Mr. Kiker managed the Harrah’s Entertainment account –– including national corporate branding, as well as marketing for 20 Harrah’s casino properties –– Total Rewards, the World Series of Poker, Grand Casino Biloxi and Showboat Casino.

Prior to TracyLocke, Mr. Kiker managed the AmeriStar Casinos account while at The Richards Group in Dallas, and worked on the Six Flags and Leapfrog educational toys accounts at Ackerman-McQueen.

A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Mr. Kiker holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations with minors in Spanish, History and Business.