I have been interning at HRB for nearly four weeks now and there are still several family members and friends that I have been updating. However, when I tell them “I am a PR intern at a marketing agency,” they have the confused look pass over their face. What is a marketing agency? What do they do?

This was a question I asked myself many months ago. “Marketing agency”, sounds interesting, but I wasn’t sure what they did. Well, a quick Google search yielded some results to my inquiry. The first definition I came across was from About.com, “An agency that handles all aspects of the advertising process, including planning, design, production, and placement. Today, full-service generally suggests that the agency also handles other aspects of marketing communication, such as public relations, sales promotion, Internet and direct marketing.”

Not a bad definition, but it still left me with some questions, so I searched on and found another definition from Business Dictionary, “Firm that (1) creates new promotional ideas, (2) designs print, radio, television, and Internet advertisements, (3) books advertisement space and time, (4) plans and conducts advertising campaigns, (5) commissions research and surveys, and (6) provides other such services that help a client in entering and succeeding in a chosen market. In general, advertising agencies are not deemed agents of the advertisers, because they act as principals for the services they buy on behalf of their clients.”

Wow, they can do all that? The second definition adds depth into the capabilities of a marketing agency and it made it clearer to me. The idea of interning and working in an agency was intriguing to me because not only were the many areas to channel my experience and knowledge into, but there were also numerous clients in various industries. I am looking forward to helping meet client’s marketing needs through all the services HRB offers throughout my internship.

However, I may not rattle off the entire definition to the next confused person I run into, but rather I may just say, “A marketing agency provides all the services a company needs to reach and connect to its target audience and meet its marketing needs.” Or, send them off to watch an episode of “Mad Men”.

The first thing I noticed upon entering McCormick Place on Sunday was the overpowering, but very pleasant, aroma of food. Enticing smells of pork, beef, fish, teas and spices filled the air. It’s all part of the fun at the National Restaurant Association’s annual convention and exhibition. I spent part of the weekend in Chicago in support of a new client who was exhibiting at the show.

Over the years I’ve attended many trade shows, most of them related to supply chain, bar codes, RFID, electronics, IT, aviation and aerospace and even rental products. But I’ve never before been greeted at the registration desk with such an attention-getting gastronomic assault on the senses. Foods and beverages of all types were being prepared throughout the enormous North and South exhibition halls. Each dish or drink was presented in an attractive and inspiring setting. Free food was everywhere and freely distributed to anyone who happened by. That was a new experience for me.

There is a sense of irony here because our client is in the technology business, one of our specialties. Numerous technology providers were at the show demonstrating their wares. What struck me most was the amount of automation software available to restaurants to support loyalty programs, geolocation couponing, online ordering and a lot of integration with Facebook and Twitter to drive store traffic and grow the database.

Generating and managing data was a major theme for those providers, a key message they were trying to get across to the restaurants.

At the end of the day, the trip made me think about you and your business.

Are you managing your data? Are you making offers and creating calls to action that generate leads for your database – leads that you can use for your email marketing campaigns? Are your lead generation efforts integrated with your CRM and email marketing platforms? Have you been able to bring some automation to these efforts? We’ve been able to integrate and automate our online marketing efforts. And, it has paid off by generating more leads through our website.

How important is lead generation and data tracking to your operations? Please post a comment and let us know what’s working – or not – for you.

You might understand traditional media like the back of your hand.  But when it comes to new or “newer” media channels, you probably have a difficult time discerning where your time and money is best spent.  In fact, the Web 2.0 terms and its growing number of channels will just keep coming before you can figure out what they are, let alone how to use them.

Integrating those new channels with traditional media into a cohesive campaign that reaches the right people at the right time – with the message you want to tell – that’s difficult.

And that’s where we come in.

The goal of using social media is to build a dialog and relationship with an interested audience.  However, the added benefit is that, because of the elements of search engine optimization, using social media can also drive more traffic to your web site – relevant traffic.

Think of each person that clicks from a search term onto your page as a “prospect”.  What do you want that prospect to do?  If you want them to purchase something, you place the item for sale directly on the landing page.  Ca-ching!

If you want to develop a prospect contact list, you might have them sign up for more information, a newsletter or a contact from a sales agent.  Regardless, once you have a name of someone tied to the click, you can make them a part of your customer relationship management (CRM) strategies.

In other words, you can – and should – use Web 2.0 elements in order to gain traffic and ultimately acquire leads that you can then address with BOTH traditional and non-traditional marketing channels.

Examples of Channel Integration

Simple:  A direct mail piece that directs the reader to a landing page of its web site.

More complex:  A postcard printed with a QR (Quick Response) code that the reader can scan with their smartphone in order to go directly to the web landing page through the app on their phone.  The web landing page contains more information and a link to sign up or buy.   This method capitalizes on the technology to take the user directly to the end result they want – quickly – before they can change their mind or be distracted with other things.

Simple:  Start a blog and repurpose your blog content into a periodic newsletter.  Email your newsletter to your email database and post it on your web site.

More complex: Create an event, set up an event page on Facebook, link it to your corporate Facebook page, post it on your web site.  Use Twitter to tweet about your event; embed another tweet with a tiny URL link to a signup page.  Send postcard invitations with a QR code to the signup page.

Your company’s social media activity can also help build your brand credibility, retain website visitors and help with search engine rankings by providing engaging content that can be indexed regularly. Both Facebook and Twitter should be used to routinely communicate new information, products and offers, and to connect with people who are commenting about your company, positively or negatively.  The beauty of social media is also that you can respond – quickly.

Social media must be seen and used as a fully-integrated partner to your traditional marketing efforts.  As a result, there needs to be cooperation and coordination to be certain your brand “voice” is consistent, campaign efforts are properly timed and clear metrics are determined.

Start now!

I suggest you start incorporating Web 2.0 elements into your plan right now.  After all, social media isn’t going away.  According to the Nielsen Co. (2010), Americans spent 23% more time on social networking sites and blogs in 2010 than they did in 2009.  The category has seen — and continues to see — exponential growth.

But that can be intimidating.  What is most important is to have a plan that is manageable to maintain.  Don’t promise a daily blog if that seems daunting; rather, a weekly blog and a tweet or two a day might be reasonable.

To learn more details about social media, download our free whitepaper or email me swest@hrb-ideas.com.

It’s a movie line I’ve remembered since I first heard it. Very early in “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” the first of the Indiana Jones trilogy. Professor Jones tells his inquisitive class of college students, “Archaeology is the search for fact… not truth. If it’s truth you’re interested in, philosophy class is right down the hall.” I’ve always thought it also to be a simple but great descriptor of the business of advertising and public relations.

We are in the business of discovering and delivering “truth.” The truth about a brand … the truth about an organization, a product or service … and the truth about the benefits they provide their customer. Finding that truth, a truth that really matters to the market, is the hard part.

In the final part of that same quote from Indiana Jones he states, “Seventy percent of all archaeology is done in the library. Research. Reading.” That’s where good advertising and public relations begins also. With research and reading. Learning about the market, the prevailing attitudes, new technologies, about the competition’s brand image and products, understanding distribution issues, etc. It’s only through that kind of curious “archeology” can the proper “truth” about a brand be developed.

The next time you’ve finished posting those pictures of your crazy office party and logged off your Facebook account, do a quick web search on “truth theories.” You’ll find that truth has been a favorite topic of philosophers for centuries, spawning The Correspondence Theory, The Semantic Theory, The Deflationary Theory, The Coherence Theory, and The Pragmatic Theory. Trying to read and completely understand any of them will give us agency types throbbing headaches.

For us, the simple words of the French novelist Flaubert may be more fitting, “There is no truth. There is only perception.”

When faced with a branding or advertising problem, do your archeology. Take the time and effort to unearth the facts. Then you’ll be prepared to discover the “truth” and ultimately, affect perception.

That’s my truth.

Last Friday HRB held a bake sale fundraiser for United Way of Cedar Rapids alongside building neighbors OPN Architects and Robert W. Baird and Co. The goal of the fundraiser was to raise $500.00 in three short hours. We’re pleased to announce that we surpassed this goal and raised a total of $671.65!

Not only is this a huge accomplishment, but it shows that the Iowa Corridor truly cares about improving the community. Even when times are tough community members are still generous with their time and money.

HRB began planning for the fundraiser in September. It started with a conversation about the company’s annual giving efforts and ended up taking on a whole new direction when our PR Intern, Megan Jasin, and Controller, Dianne Maloney, suggested we join forces with our building neighbors. OPN Architects and Robert W. Baird & Co. were more than willing to offer their resources, services and baking skills to help the event succeed, and as they say, the rest is history!

Two weeks before the fundraiser all three companies held numerous meetings to make final preparations, determine the pricing plan for the baked goods and purchase decorations for the building lobby and tables. HRB secured local media coverage in the Iowa City Press-Citizen and the Downtown Cedar Rapids District e-newsletter, and on the actual date of the fundraiser United Way employees brought in some of their own homemade baked goods to add to the growing display.

Overall, this was a great event that brought a lot of our community members together for a great cause. HRB, OPN Architects and Robert W. Baird & Co. of Cedar Rapids couldn’t be happier with the outcome and would like to personally thank everyone who contributed their time, money and resources to this fundraiser. All proceeds will be split between the three participating companies and donated to the United Way of East Central Iowa.

Don’t forget to check out the photos from this event in the “United Way Fundraiser” album on the HRB Facebook page!

It is no secret that the creative industry is fast-paced and full of thrills, but let’s be honest: at times, it can also err on the side of exhausting. It’s challenging to stream creativity on demand, let alone hammer out original, brilliant concepts day after day.

Of course, it always helps to surround yourself with inspirational assortments like books, magazines and nifty mailers (I’ve caught onto the trend set by my fellow Creatives, marked by a sizable stack of these things on my desk). Sometimes, though, a fun diversion in the workplace is a necessary way to boost morale and productivity. Now that I’ve worked in creative internships throughout Iowa and Europe I’ve realized a noticeable difference between the pace of work in the states versus abroad. But despite the differences in culture and time zones, I noticed that all the companies I worked for shared an important fundamental quality: the ability to balance work and play.

In England and many places throughout Europe tasks are completed in a more relaxed, leisurely manner.  There are breaks for tea or coffee several times throughout the day, lunch isn’t consumed while hunched over a keyboard and a noticeable amount of effort is put into socializing with clients and colleagues during business hours. Work is a top priority among Europeans but it’s certainly not regarded as a “be-all, end-all” indication of a person’s success in life.

On the contrary, office culture in America is more spontaneous, industrious and deadline-driven. Emails are answered promptly—usually within 15 minutes if not a couple of hours after landing in someone’s inbox. It’s common and encouraged for employees to work 40+ hours per week  (especially in today’s economy) and most people don’t take more than a couple weeks of vacation time per year. The dull moments are numbered because you’re immersed in multiple projects. The days breeze by and you generally leave work feeling rather accomplished.

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Still, I wonder: Are Americans driven by their own personal business goals? And how do they continuously manage to invest so much time and energy into their careers without growing exhausted?

I’m not sure I have an answer to that question, but I do know the HRB staff is one hardworking group of professionals. Every day they participate in countless meetings and relentlessly pick each others’ brains for fresh approaches to advertising, media and public relations concepts. They’re not always happy with a final design, timeline or budget but they always put their best foot forward and do it with a smile. Between those conference calls and long hours stationed in front of the computer screen witty banter is almost a necessity. On most days witty banter can be heard across the office, and on occasion, a speeding race car or life-size palm tree can be seen weaving in and out of cubicles—usually tailed by the honorary office dog, Alex (courtesy of Steve Erickson).

Aside from the superb experience that I’m getting as an intern, I look forward to coming into work largely because of my company’s good-natured people and fun creative environment. There’s no telling what diversion might zoom into my cubicle next, but when it does, it’s sure to be greeted with a hearty laugh and lifted mood.

A coworker here at Henry Russell Bruce likes Mountain Dew. In fact, his desk is rarely complete without a green bottle sitting between the pens and pencils. Shortly after joining HRB, however, I noticed the bottles being replaced with Diet Mountain Dew. The stacks of empty bottles in the kitchen recycling were being replaced with nearly identical ones bearing the ‘Diet’ label.

The bottle for Diet Mountain Dew looks like the regular Mountain Dew bottle. It also smells like regular Mountain Dew, and for the few (me included) who lack the sufficient taste buds to tell the difference, the two versions probably taste the same. But the appeal of the diet version isn’t about the look or the taste; it’s about those extra 200 calories that aren’t included in the nutritional content. It’s about the end result.

HRB is teaching me about the value of the ‘end result’ in business via the proposals we pitch to clients.

How often do companies rely on that one ingenious idea, beautiful graphic or cool new Internet application to persuade a potential business client to sign on the dotted line? All too often, in my opinion. One’s presentation may look amazing at first glance, but while pitching to clients you want to build long term relationships them. Loyalty is earned, not bought. Your business attire, the look of your presentation and that one brilliant creative idea can’t (or shouldn’t) sell your services—your end product does.

In other words, creative campaigns are not effective unless the campaign is well-run and organized. Long term relationships are established and sustained if you can deliver the brilliant ideas and show your clients how you took their business to the next level. People don’t buy Diet Mountain Dew just because the label is flashy—they buy it because the label promises a reduced amount of caloric intake and because the company that markets it showed the target audience how it’s healthier than regular Mountain Dew. In the advertising industry, potential clients aren’t likely to believe an agency’s ideas if they don’t trust that the “unique ingredients” being offered will change their target audience’s behavior.

I believe HRB is well-rounded. Every day I’m surrounded by ingenious ideas, beautiful graphics and new Internet tools. But I also see people merging their cleverly worded press releases and inventive search engine optimization algorithms into substantial marketing campaigns. Our ads are well-placed for maximum viewing efficiency, and our clients’ new Websites actually show up on search engines. There are strategies behind every decision because every decision is meant to effectively serve each of our clients’ needs.

I recently discovered the new Ultra Violet flavor of Mountain Dew. What’s more, it’s offered in Diet form. This proves my point that aesthetically appealing ideas (purple coloring) and marketable ingredients (diet cola) can co-exist. Metaphorically speaking, which version of Mountain Dew would your ad agency offer—regular, diet or flavored diet?

Well, it’s that time of year again, when the Northern Right Whale migrates to their summer feeding grounds in the Bay of Fundy. For those not addicted to the Animal Planet channel, Spring also brings college graduation … when after four, or perhaps more, years of paying tuition, students start their forced migration from academia into the “real world.” Some of them are hoping they’ll become the next Lee Clow, Sandy DerHovsepian or Don Draper by landing their first agency job. Probably not as much as their parents though.

Here are a few tips I can offer those eager young souls looking to enter the ad biz:

A traditional 8 1/2 x 11” resume that touts your good grades and proudly mentions that you were captain of the Pom squad won’t get you an interview. Neither will a portfolio that shows you know the difference between serif and sans serif type, can use the “posterize” filter in PhotoShop or can write a headline for the Greek week dance poster. Those things got you out of college but won’t get you in to an agency.

Think of creative directors like that attractive classmate you most wanted to notice you and impress in Psychology 101. There were 200 students in that lecture hall every class. How can you stand out, look intelligent, clever, hard-working … someone they want to be around? In other words, how can you introduce your personal brand to them?

Remember what you’ve learned in college, then engage your brain. Think about something you’re most passionate about and understand well, like perhaps kayaking. Or maybe your favorite local coffee shop. Then create your own spec campaign … and show how it would work across multiple media platforms, from print, outdoor or the web. And write a brief rationale as to why you believe your campaign will work. You’ll have shown your prospective employers you know how you think. Remember, that’s what they pay people for.

Be personal. Find out who the Creative Director is and how to spell their name correctly. Letters addressed “To Whom It May Concern” quickly end up as paper airplanes or in the recycling bin. Write a personal note to the Creative Director (yes, ink on paper), introducing yourself in a friendly, professional tone. Be sure to give some hint that you’ve at least gone to that agency’s website to see their client list and work samples. Follow up in a couple of weeks with another letter, and ultimately a phone call.

When you get that interview, remember, as much as you may want the job, it really isn’t all about you. Ask questions … about the company, their clients, how they got in the business, and any tips they may have for you. The agency business is for curious and engaged people so why not start making them believe that’s you right away? First impressions are huge. Besides talent, agencies want people with genuine passion and enthusiasm for the biz. If they see you as someone unwilling to commit to more than 9-5, you’ll have a lot of unproductive interviews.

Be patient. As our economy slowly reawakens, it may take some time to find an agency willing or able to commit to a full time position. Maybe part time or hourly will work best for them at first. In the meantime, you’ll have an opportunity to prove yourself. Don’t overlook taking an entry level position. Unless your father is the chairman of IBM and would take his account to any agency that hires his offspring, you’ll probably be at the bottom of the totem pole when you start. No problem. The only way is up then, right?

Finally, when you get that job, you’ll get a job description. But don’t be afraid to stray from its “borders.” Learn everything you can about every department, every job function in the agency. You’ll build an understanding of the business that will only make you more valuable to your employer. And to the next one that discovers how talented, hardworking and enthusiastic you are.

The migration path of change and learning in this business is a never-ending but very rewarding one.

Our live educational seminar on how to more effectively buy traditional and online media in the Quad Cities produced a new credit union client, thanks to HRB media director Denise Hesser. She will deliver the same seminar in Cedar Rapids on April 7.

As the week came to an end, we completed a rebrand for our large architecture/engineering firm and delivered all final files and a brand identity style guide.

A new Web site is nearing completion for our subsoil stabilization client in Iowa City and will be launched by April 13 in time for the company’s live seminar in Coralville, where the company will offer continuing education credits to attendees.

HRB completed trade show banners and a brochure for ICAD to use at a wind seminar in Chicago in April. The Corridor continues its efforts to woo wind energy-related manufacturers and the jobs that come with them.

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Our Web team kicked off a new Web site for Priority 1 to attract students looking for internships in the greater Cedar Rapids area.

Speaking of Web we  delivered a proposal for a new training Web site in the Quad Cities, due to be awarded in the next 45 days.

Research is getting underway for a large lumber yard client in the Quad Cities as we help the company identify its strategic differentiators from others in its market to better promote its products and services.

What a busy and uplifting week it has been at HRB as we finalize trade show booth plans for a Connecticut client preparing to attend the National Agri-Marketing Association convention in Kansas City, April 21-23.

We’ve published the schedule of our 2010 seminar series for Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities on our Web site so you can see what’s coming and sign up at any time. The subject matter includes topics on Web and social media, public relations, branding, media buying, strategic planning and more.

A large media outlet client is getting plans together to launch its new brand internally and externally, so we hosted an office brainstorming session to generate ideas.

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Much PR work being done for several clients – generating media lists and researching editorial calendar opportunities on our Web-based Cision PR software.

Three new TV spots for our Mexican restaurant client were wrapped up and distributed to all stores nationally and will begin airing locally next week.

For our rugged tablet PC client, we finalized banner ads targeting applications and product features.

A save the date email went out for an April seminar being planned for our subsoil stabilization client in Iowa City. Invitations are being printed and will drop early next week. Brand identity package (letterhead, biz cards, envelopes) are being finalized. Brochure is in client review. Web site design is in the works – design is approved. They are very happy with their new look.

No, we’re not in trouble with the law. But we’ve been interviewing and meeting with law enforcement training officers for the past two weeks in order to develop a strategic marketing plan for a training client in the Corridor. Also researching trade pubs, trade shows and associations to prepare for our upcoming client presentation.

We’ve almost got final approval for a new animated video for a medical devices client.

For our large engineering/architectural client, we are finishing the templates for the new brand look. Working on a corporate brochure and presentation folder as the next step in the re-brand process.

Want help with a marketing project or campaign, please contact HRB.