AAF-District 10 Conference Offers Opportunities for Learning, Networking

The American Advertising Federation Tenth District Summer Leadership Conference will be held in Abilene, Texas, Sept. 18-20. Opening with a reception on Thursday evening, the conference will feature professional development speakers and workshops as well as club development workshops. About 120 people from the 4-state district of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana are expected to attend.

For more information on speakers, workshops, and how to register, visit http://www.aafabilene.com/conference08.html.

Legislative News

House Approves Tobacco Advertising Bill
By a 326-102 vote, the House approved H.R. 1108, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The bill would grant the Food and Drug Administration authority over tobacco advertising, rather than the Federal Trade Commission, and would direct the secretary of Health and Human Services to publish an interim rule enacting several unprecedented advertising restrictions, resulting in a de facto ban on most tobacco advertising. Specifically, the bill would and require all tobacco ads to be black text on a white background, except in certain print media with an adult audience, and would ban all outdoor tobacco advertising within any elementary or secondary school or playground.

FTC Reports on Food Marketing to Children
The Federal Trade Commission released the results of a children's food marketing study, finding that the food and beverage industries have made significant self-regulation progress in the past three years. The FTC calculated that 44 major food and beverage companies spent $1.6 billion to promote products to American children under 18 in 2006 using integrated campaigns combining traditional media with packaging, point-of-purchase, sweepstakes and the Internet. The Institutes of Medicine had previously estimated that food companies spent $10 billion annually on advertising to children. The FTC has again lauded industry self-regulation; both the Children's Advertising Review Unit and the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative were cited as positive efforts.

Children's Food Advertising Initiative Working, According to Study
The Council of Better Business Bureaus has released its own report on its Children's Food & Beverage Advertising Initiative, announcing overwhelming compliance with companies' pledge obligations. Their review, based on advertising disseminated July–December 2007, found that the companies' involvement in the initiative has resulted in a substantial shift toward the promotion of better-for-you foods. Moreover, most of the companies who pledged a timetable for transitioning its advertising bested their schedule goals.

CPSC Bill Sent to President
The House and Senate have approved a bill designed to reform the Consumer Products Safety Commission and rejected a proposal to require onerous cautionary statements in many advertisements for children's products. The original Senate bill called for any advertisement for a toy, game, balloon, small ball or marble that requires a cautionary statement to include the statement in or immediately adjacent to the ad. Instead, the House and Senate approved the House version, which would require a cautionary statement in advertisements only when the ad provides a direct means to purchase the toy—such as Internet or catalog advertising.

Tandi Knight Promoted to Account Coordinator at Balcom Agency

Tandi Knight has been promoted to the position of account coordinator at the Balcom Agency. In her new role, Knight will be assisting the account management team on all projects.

Knight has worked at Balcom for three and a half years as the office manager.

“Legislative Priorities for 2009” is Topic for Texas Association of Business Luncheon

Bill Hammond, CEO & president, Texas Association of Business, will be the featured speaker at the Wednesday, Sept. 3, luncheon at the Petroleum Club in downtown Fort Worth. The luncheon will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is $25/person.

Contact Monna Miller at mmiller@txbiz.org or 214.868.8468 for more information or reservations.

Jim Stuart Enlightens Legal Group

Jim Stuart, former CEO of StuartBacon Advertising, spoke at the August 13 breakfast meeting of the Fort Worth Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators. His topic was, “Even If No One’s Talking, Someone’s Listening.” The veteran adman led a discussion about audience, reach and persuasion in the brave, new world of law firm and legal services marketing communications.

DFW AMA Program to Offer Job-Hunting Tips

DFW AMA will be hosting a program titled – “Get Hired” – Insights to the Job Market in DFW on Thursday, August 28 from 11:30 to 1:30 at the Fort Worth Club.

Speakers include: Kelly Jensen, Director of Recruiting for Omnicom (global ad/marketing services company); Robert Waring, Monster.com, and Mike Overby, Owner and President. Express Personnel, a $2B recruiting firm with over 600 offices and headquartered in Oklahoma City.

Program costs: $28 AMA members; $38 non-members and guests; late and onsite registrations – add $10; for details and to register, go to www.dfwama.com.

Balcom Agency Hires Interactive Producer and Senior Art Director

The Balcom Agency has hired Emily Gordon as interactive producer for its interactive division and David Sims as senior art director.

Previously at Rassai Interactive, Gordon will be responsible for scoping and managing interactive projects for numerous clients from inception through completion. She also designs, programs, and manages e-mail marketing campaigns that meet clients’ goals.

Gordon graduated from the Art Institute of Dallas with an Associate of Applied Science, specializing in multimedia and web design. At the Art Institute, she was on the Dean’s List and honored as a Departmental Scholar. Gordon worked as Rassai Interactive’s creative designer and customer support manager before joining the Balcom Agency in July.

David Sims joined the Balcom Agency as senior art director, bringing 35 years of professional experience to the agency’s creative services division.

Previously Sims served as a senior corporate designer for five years for Jacobs (formerly Jacobs Carter Burgess), where he won numerous top design awards from the Society for Professional Marketing Services. Sims’ creative work has also garnered honors from the American Advertising Federation Fort Worth. Earlier in his career, he worked as senior art director for both Witherspoon and Stuart Bacon. His professional background also includes experience as senior art director for the magazine publisher, Magnolia Media Group, and for the former Fort Worth book publisher, Summit Group.

Sims holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Scott Nichols Hired as Balcom Agency’s Newest Interactive Account Executive

The Balcom Agency has hired Scott Nichols as an account executive for its fast-expanding interactive division.

Nichols works closely with interactive clients to provide support, strategy and project management. Previously, he served as an intern for the Balcom Agency’s interactive division.

Nichols received a bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations at TCU, with a minor in English. He also served as marketing team leader for the TCU Campus Recreation Center, a responsibility that involved supervising two graphic designers and an interactive designer and leading the center’s marketing program.

The T Receives Two Awards in IABC's Bronze Quill Program

The Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) received two awards from the Fort Worth Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) for marketing programs developed in partnership with their agency of record, Concussion Advertising and PR.

The T was honored with an Award of Merit for the external communications campaign, The T Takes you Places, and an Award of Excellence for the direct mail portion of the campaign.

“The campaign developed by Concussion has been a win-win not just for The T, but for the historical landmarks, museums, restaurants and live music venues that have been featured,” said Richard Maxwell, assistant vice president of marketing for The T. “I’m pleased to see the recognition from the IABC because this campaign did exactly what we wanted – increased ridership.”

The campaign, The T Takes you Places, features local destinations served by The T’s bus routes – such as Joe T. Garcia’s, the Medical District and Convention Center – spelled out on a bus marquee. The headlines are supported by a tagline explaining, “the T takes you places.”

The direct mail portion of the campaign enticed trial ridership with the hope of changing public opinion by communicating that buses can be used to access a variety of locations in Fort Worth, and The T is a reliable, affordable and eco-friendly way to travel throughout the city.

“We are very proud of what we do, and felt promoting the services of The T would not only help our client, but also benefit the members of the Fort Worth community who use public transportation out of necessity or choice,” said Allen Wallach, CEO of Concussion.

Every year, IABC sponsors three levels of communication awards programs for members and nonmembers: Bronze Quill awards, Silver Quill awards, and Gold Quill awards. Business communicators can choose to enter their best professional work produced the year prior in these Quill communications contests. The specific divisions and categories for each contest can vary, but typical divisions include writing and editing.

The Bronze Quill awards program is hosted by the Fort Worth IABC chapter, with the board of directors planning and executing the contest. The competition is open to business communicators working with a specific city and/or a small region of a state/province.