Then he showed that same room of doctors a video of him asking the same questions to a room full of kids. “Raise your hand if you know how to color, sing and dance!” ….“YEAAAAHHH!” – Erupting as if they were at a rock concert. He laughed at this point, “If only you could crowd surf over third graders.”

Brian is the founder of Think Kindness, and this story opened his keynote at Ad2 Reno’s nonprofit workshop this past Sunday.

He begged the question – Somewhere between third grade and age 40, adults forgot how to color, sing and dance? What happened to the creativity? What happened to the dream big, be anyone, do anything attitude we had when we were little? The theory: negativity in the media. The solution: non-profit organizations.

He reminded us non-profits that we’re the dreamers, the ones who promote good in our community, the ones who fight for what we believe in. We work hard at creating positive messages, rallying for a cause, and sharing them with the world.

Non-profits in the room were uniting around causes like autism, butterfly houses, health and fitness programming, technology for students, girl leadership, railroad safety, horses, and more.  They’re the rock star third graders coloring, singing and dancing.

Big thank you to our marketing professionals for sharing their industry secrets, and to Brian for setting such an inspiring atmosphere.

Working from home, telecommuting, whatever you call it, is dangerous business.  There’s no supervisor breathing down your neck, manager keeping you on task, or co-workers to keep pace with, and these are good things - if you have the cojones for it.  It takes a tremendous amount of personal discipline to stay on track when so many distractions surround you.

-The most important thing I’ve learned about working from home is about preparing yourself for the day as if you were going to the office. Schedule an hour you must be up by, wash your face, put on some make-up if you wear it, and put some clean clothes on. It doesn’t have to be professional attire, but if that makes you feel more professional, then do it.  You’ll feel refreshed and ready to start the day.  Stumbling to the computer in your PJ’s just doesn’t work.

-Set up an office.  This is your space and no one else’s.  This space is also only for work, not for pinning photos or video chatting with your mom…

Conversely, you might be like me and need to do your work in a different place every week. Working at home can be lonely. For some reason I do better on the couch one week, or at My Favorite Muffin the next. There are studies that say changing location helps focus as well.

-If you’re very easily distracted, especially if you check Facebook or Twitter too much, set an alarm for every 20-30 minutes.  It’s a reminder to return to the task at hand should you drift off.

-Get a part-time morning job.  You have to get up, get ready, and when you get home you’ll be awake and energized.  The social interaction really helps as well if you’re extroverted.

-Set a time when you’ll be done for the day.  Turn off your computer for a couple hours, stop checking your e-mail and relax.  If you don’t clearly separate time for work and your personal time, you’ll feel like you’re always at work.

Take advantage of the flexibility of working from your home, or wherever else you might choose. Hit the bank when it’s slow, cook a healthy meal for lunch, but keep the distractions at a minimum. You’ll know when you haven’t put your best day’s work in.  You won’t feel professional and ultimately your work suffers.  There’s nothing more satisfying than putting a good day’s work in with nothing but your own drive and motivation.

The ADDY® awards are our industry’s largest and most representative competition, recognizing and rewarding creative excellence in the art of advertising. Every year approximately 60,000 entries are submitted in local ADDY® competitions.

The northern Nevada ADDY® awards are the first of a three-tiered national competition – local winners will compete against other winners within their district and those winners move on to the national ADDY® awards competition.

Entries for the northern Nevada ADDY® awards must be made online at www.aafreno.com, and hard copies must also be submitted at the drop-off party held at Jeff Dow Photography on Friday, Jan. 27 starting at 4:30 p.m. Jeff Dow Photography is located at 8543 White Fir St., unit D3. Complete entering instructions can be found online. For more information about entering, please contact Amber Howland at (775) 527-6121.

Themed “The Golden Age of Advertising,” this year’s northern Nevada ADDY® awards show is being presented by Peppermill Reno. The event will take place Friday, March 2 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the EDGE Nightclub inside the Peppermill.

Tickets to the northern Nevada ADDY® awards show are $55 by February 28, $65 at the door. Ticket price includes awards party, appetizers, entertainment and an ADDY® award book For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.aafreno.com or call (775) 852.0881.

Hey students! Enter your work in the student ADDY category!

Nothing like a boost to the resume like award-winning creative! Enter your real or theoretical student work for a chance to win, and go to the National Competition!

Best of all: your pals at Ad2 Reno are hosting the after party

The fun doesn’t stop there. Stay at EDGE Nightclub immediately following the awards show to continue your celebration with Ad2 Reno.

The American Advertising Federation of Reno (Formerly A2N2) is Reno’s official advertising club, a professional organization dedicated to serving as the ultimate resource for education, networking, and recognition within the marketing and advertising industries. AAF-Reno is an affiliate of the American Advertising Federation. For more information, please visit www.aafreno.com.

Ad2 Reno is the young professionals chapter of the American Advertising Federation.

Save Your Spot:

Please select a ticket type: 

Non-Member Tickets $30.00 USD Ad2 Reno Member Tickets $10.00 USD Student Tickets $10.00 USD

Tickets at the door will be $40.

We’ll help you learn how to craft effective marketing, communicate your message, get grants and benefit from social media. In this Sunday’s workshop, each topic will be covered in an 45-minute segment. Topics include:

• Using Social Media to Your Advantage
• Media Buying: Picking the Best Placement for Your Message
• Messaging: Reach Your Ideal Clients
• How to Become a 501c3
• How to Pitch Your Ideas
• Grant Writing

Date: Sunday, February 19, 2012
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.
Location: Reynolds School of Journalism, on the UNR campus at 1664 North Virginia Street
Cost: $30 general public, $10 to Ad2Reno Members & students, $40 at the door

Schedule

8:30 to 9 a.m.

Registration

9 to 9:30 a.m.

Keynote: Non-Profits Build up Communities One Act of Kindness at a Time (in presentation room A)
Brian Williams, Think Kindess

9:40 to 10:25 a.m.

Media Buying: Picking the Best Placement for your Message (in presentation room A)
Lynnae Hornbarger, Reynolds School of Journalism Instructor

OR

Grant Writing (in presentation room B)
Wendy Firestone, Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada

10:30 to 11:15 a.m.

Messaging: Reach Your Ideal Clients (in presentation room A)
Alison Gaulden, My PR Coach

OR

Using Social Media to Your Advantage (in presentation room B)
Kaitlin Godbey, Bureau of Land Management; Connie Aguilar, Abbi Public Relations

11:20 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.

How to Become a 501c3 (in presentation room A)
Kelly Troescher, Tech is Good

OR

How to Pitch (in presentation room B)
Annie Flanzraich, Reno Magazine

Ad2 Reno adopts a local non-profit each year providing marketing and advertising services. We had almost 60 organizations apply for our services this year. Sixty! This workshop is a thank you to all of the nonprofits – a way to help the organizations we couldn’t otherwise reach. Also, by partnering with the Reynolds School and UNR’s Ad Club, we’re able to reach future Ad2 members and possibly connect students with organizations that might need their help.

According to HubSpot, Inc., developer of the popular website analysis tool, WebsiteGrader.com, businesses that blog at least 20 times per month generate five times more traffic than those that only blog a few times per month.

To maximize your benefits from writing a press release, it’s best to write for two audiences – those interested in your press release’s information and the search engines that deliver the information to those who search for it.
Start by asking yourself, “If I were to look for this information online what words would I type into a search engine like Google, Bing or Yahoo?”

You can also compile a list of preliminary keywords using research tools such as WordTracker, Keyword Discovery or Google Keyword Tool. To get an idea of how popular a keyword or phrase is, view the average number of global monthly searches it receives.

Then strive to use those words in headlines, bolded text, url addresses and page titles. Using your chosen keywords in those contexts can encourage search engines to rank your page as more relevant for that keyword or phrase.

That’s a good start, but there is always more that can be done to improve your pages’ rank with the various search engines. Here are more resources for additional steps you can take:

• SEOMOZ’s cheat sheet provides more techniques for optimizing your site for search engines. Click here to download it.
• For Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, click here.

When is your story worthy of a press release?

Have you raised a significant amount of money, cans of food or school- books? Do you have an upcoming event or fund-raiser? Will dignitaries be present showing their support? These are all newsworthy. If you don’t have any big-ticket facts or figures to draw in a reporter, think about the human interest. Journalists like an interesting story about an oddball donor or a story of human triumph over adversity.

Whose voice belong in a press release?

Remember, you’re writing for the news media, who have to remain un- biased. Therefore, you should be writing your press releases in the same way that an unbiased observer would write about the content in your re- lease. This not only makes it easier for journalists to translate your press release into a story for their organization, it also lends more credibility when publishing your release to your website or social media networks.

So, how do I achieve “unbiased voice?”

Remember to refer to your organization in the third person. Think about it in the way a journalist would report on your event, fund-raiser or an- nual report – they’ll refer to you by your organization’s name, and they’ll keep the facts in the forefront. Journalists look for impressive facts and figures. Dollars raised, meals served, acts of kindness tracked.

How to put together your media list

Building and using your media list is one of the most critical elements of your press release process. The list should be made up of journalists and media organizations who are likely to cover your story.
The easiest way to get started is by searching local or regional media outlets for similar stories to see which outlets covered them and which reporter was assigned to the story. For example, a nonprofit that focuses on children and education would reach out to a reporter who might have recently covered the school district. Find their email address or preferred contact method and send them your press release in the email and as a PDF attachment. Don’t forget to include how to contact you if they have questions.
Another great way to build your list is by using social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, to locate traditional journalists and bloggers who may be interested in news.

Related Stories:

• Downloadable Guide: Write a Press Release & Get News Coverage – includes press release examples
• Plan Your Press Release Like A Pro
• Maximize the Benefits of a Press Releases by Writing for Online

Here are a few things that should not be in any press release:

• Do not use all capital letters to emphasize anything. IT COMES ACROSS AS UNPROFESSIONAL AND LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING AT THE READER.
• Avoid grammatical errors.
• Don’t send out a press release lacking content and substance. There has to be news in a press release for it to make the news.
• Don’t write an advertisement, or use promotional/fluffy language. Stick to the facts. It will give you much more credibility.
• Using the words “you”, “I” or “we” outside of a quoted statement, is not appropriate. It will make your press release sound like it was written with a biased voice, and it will have to be edited out before running in a publication. Save a reporter the extra work. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to run it verbatim.

Position:

The Public Relations assistant account executive handles day-to-day activities for assigned clients, under the direction of the vice president/public relations.  The ideal candidate will thrive in a fast-paced creative environment and will be creative, detail oriented, organized, and proactive.

The chosen candidate will demonstrate strong writing skills across a variety of mediums and industries; solid media relationships (statewide and national preferred); knowledge and experience in executing effective social media strategies and tactics with a variety of platforms (please provide examples); understanding of and experience executing community relations strategies including strategic partnership development; and excellent verbal and written communications skills.  Other requirements are listed below.

Qualifications:

• Previous agency work preferred. A minimum of 2-3 years experience in public relations, media relations, community relations or related field. A bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, marketing, and/or advertising is preferred.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills are mandatory.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in the following areas:
  • creating and managing social media campaigns.
  • social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) – strategic uses.
  • online advocacy, writing editorial, community-outreach efforts, monitoring and posting on blogs, and seeding content into social applications as needed.
• Must work well under pressure and meet deadlines while maintaining accuracy and attention to details.
• Must be available to work evenings, weekends, special events, and holidays.
• Must demonstrate poise, professionalism and teamwork.
• Proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, database software, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media platforms.

Our team is creative, fun loving, passionate and results oriented – not to mention dog-friendly and family-oriented. If you think you’d be a good fit, we invite you to submit a cover letter, resume, work samples, references and salary requirements to:

Tiffany East
VP/ Public Relations
The Glenn Group
775-686-7777
teast@theglenngroup.com

Since I had put all my energy into the San Francisco job, I didn’t have a back-up plan. I went into survival mode and started applying for any job that was remotely related to advertising/marketing in Reno. I probably applied to 100 different jobs, from mannequin dresser at Macy’s to television ad salesperson. Out of all the jobs I applied for, I only heard back from a handful. Then, one day, I got calls to set up interviews at two different places on the same day! I tried not to stress out too much about the interviews and both went well.

I got a call back the next day from my current employer and was offered a part-time job. I accepted immediately because I have always wanted to work in sports.I started the next week and worked hard everyday. My boss noticed my hard work and within a month, I was working full-time hours. I stayed late, came in early and volunteered to help outside my normal work hours. That helped me stand out from the rest of the part-time employees.

My advice to job seekers is to be persistent. Just because you don’t hear back from an employer, don’t get discouraged. Send a note, call the hiring manager, or stop by the office. It’s hard to ignore someone who is standing in your office. Once you have a job, don’t be afraid to take on extra work or stay late. Employers notice the people who don’t mind taking on extra work or who are always eager to learn new things. It’s important to stand out for good reasons at your job and often the best way to do that is to go above and beyond what it expected of you.

Grey San Francisco, famously effective since 1917 has an immediate opening for an Assistant Media Planner

Grey with 121 offices in 116 cities in 94 countries ranks among the largest global advertising companies.  Grey is a full-service agency for the 21^st century with a total offering that delivers best-in-class brand communications in every channel.  Amid constant change, Grey has one uncompromising focus: to accelerate the potential of their client’s brands with powerful creative ideas across all touchpoints. The strength and success of the Grey network lies in the imagination, passion and creativity of their people.

Grey is seeking a social media enthusiast, someone who tweets, shares music via Spotify, connects through Facebook and constantly reads blogs like Mashable or Perez Hilton.  Curiosity is an essential quality for this entry level position as the media landscape is rapidly evolving. Technology allows infinite campaign possibilities such as integrations with social media, Geo-Location applications, QR codes and Augmented Reality

This key position will provide support to the Media Planner and team.  This role is also essential to the day-to-day running of the media account and requires an individual that works well in a team-based, fast paced, detail-oriented environment. While advanced media thinking is not expected, the successful AMP is resourceful and demonstrates the initiative to participate in advanced projects.

Responsibilities:

• Assist planners in developing media strategy and recommendations.
• Partner with Accounts and Creative teams to ensure efficient trafficking process
• Provide research for and write portions of media Point-Of-Views (POVs) and recommendations considering circulation, audience information, and product usage information to determine whether appropriate choice for use.
• Maintain stewardship of reports including competitive reports using “Nielsen” software to assess media schedules of competitors, interpret data and draw conclusions.
• Prepare flowcharts and budgets for media plan using Excel, PowerPoint, and planning-specific software.
• Review and verify media buys to ensure proper execution
• Meet with sales reps to analyze value and applicability of media vehicles for client media plan.
• Provide research for and write portions of media Point-Of-Views (POVs) and recommendations considering circulation, audience information, and product usage information to determine whether appropriate choice for use.
• Will work in conjunction with team (including Finance) on billing and invoicing to maintain consistent process and assist in keeping abreast of all invoice, billing and delivery issues.

Requirements:

• PC proficiency and solid working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• BA or equivalent experience required
• Exceptional attention to detail with the ability to meet aggressive deadlines
• Good attitude and enthusiastic learner
• Strong interest in advertising industry and new media
• Relevant experience not necessary

If interested, please forward your resume to jlee@greysf.com