Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

“They like us, they really like us!” A couple of our ideas got mad props at “The Fifty” event, a recent Ad Club Denver awards show tasked with designating the best 50 ideas to come out of the past 12 months. The Fifty celebrates the power of the idea, in any marketing size, shape, and media.

The event showcased our “Cut the Cord” campaign for Plugless Power as well as our “Thank You for Not Sitting” internal campaign. The Plugless Power launch promoted a product designed to enable totally hands-free charging for electric vehicles (EVs): no more plugging in a dirty, industrial-strength power cord in the garage every time you pull in and park. We launched the “Cut the Cord” message at the London Home Show with posters, displays, and graphics that got everyone paying attention to the power of simplicity.

The “Thank You for Not Sitting” campaign used language such as “no butts about it” to foster greater communication during a “no internal emails or phone calls day” among the Burns Marketing crew. Office insurgents left No Butts about It cards, candy cigarettes, and email reduction patches on everyone’s desks to make the point. Today, “no butts about it” is code for “come talk to me.”

The two campaigns were featured in The Fifty, a print book distributed at the January 26 Ad Club event and in an online gallery. Our very own art director Jennifer Hohn swore off sleep to concept, design, and produce The Fifty’s promotional materials; designer Erica McCary and senior copywriter Joellen Sarmast assisted with design and copyediting.

Photos below by Wes Ferguson

Event creative direction and design by Burns Marketing

Ad Club Denver and Fifty committee members Steve Miller, Jennifer Hohn, and Jay Weise

Gregg Lulofs, Greg Knoll, and Adrian Hanft check out the winning work

We came, we built a ton of furniture, we conquered. Miranda traded heels for hiking boots. And some of us even broke a sweat – all in a day’s work for a tremendously worthwhile cause.

The first week of June 2011, the Burns Marketing crew rolled west to Roundup River Ranch, a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses located near Gypsum, Colorado. They needed a little help getting their facilities ready for their first campers later this summer, and we had the volunteer workability to get ‘er done.

What an amazing facility staffed by truly inspirational people, tucked into a postcard-perfect setting in the Colorado Rockies. We were glad to move awesomely heavy tables, carry cubbies, build a couple boating docks, and tackle furniture assembly… armed with little more than flathead screwdrivers. A few of us wielded power tools. But don’t worry, none of the creative types were harmed (although there was some gratuitous whining about the nausea-inspiring cruise ship conditions on the bus – and spotty cell phone coverage at the camp).

At the end of the day, the dining hall and cabins at Roundup River Ranch moved ever closer to reaching camper-ready status. We’re happy to report that when the first campers arrive in early July, there will be tables to sit at and beds to sleep in. Because many a camp memory is made over good eats in the cafeteria – and embellished from the bunks after lights out.

So what happens when you take a whole bunch of artsy types to the mountains to perform some manual labor?

We’re guessing lots and lots of whining.

But bless their souls, our Burns Marketing crew is sucking it up this week for a day of grueling volunteer work at Roundup River Ranch – a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses. With our help – or despite it – the camp will be ready for its first summer campers in no time.

And another cool thing? We’re working for you. Just follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or on our blog, and it’ll be like you’re helping in our work. Need to know more? Check out this video:

While other companies sit around patiently waiting for people to follow them, we take action. We stand for a cause. One that’s rooted in hard work, a never-give-up attitude, and good old-fashioned manual labor.

We want you to follow us, to like us, and to listen to us. And we’re willing to throw our backs into making it happen. Our proposition to you: Become our follower on Twitter, Facebook, and here on our blog. (To subscribe to our blog by email, enter your address in the sidebar on the right.) We’ll put our entire team to work helping Roundup River Ranch – a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses – get ready for their first campers.

We’re prepared to shed our blood, sweat, and tears for you – and for our cause. Likely there will be blisters and broken nails. Probably some whining. And worst of all, no cell phone service. But working for followers is the only way to truly appreciate what we’ve got.

Put us to work by becoming our fan, follower, and subscriber. Our pain will be your glory.

Our heavy lifting begins at noon on Thursday, June 2. At 8 a.m. on Monday, June 6, we’ll thankfully return to the comfort of our desks.

That’s just the first of many Tweets from BP Twitter impostor, @BPGlobalPR.

With nearly 20,000 followers (and growing), you would think BP would be trying to cap, plug with trash, or otherwise reduce the mess of this feed. But sticking to their traditions, they’re just going to let it go.

According to this Advertising Age article , Toby Odone, a spokesman at BP, said, “I’m not aware of whether BP has made any calls to have it taken down or addressed. People are entitled to their views on what we’re doing and we have to live with those. We are doing the best we can to deal with the current situation and to try to stop the oil from flowing and to then clean it up.”

Entitled to their views, indeed. And this Twitter feed isn’t backing up.

Do you think BP is making a smart move?

Being nice and telling them they’re doing a good job won’t help their careers. Honest, expert criticism is what they need. The truth might hurt, but growing from the experience will pay off in the end.

That’s what’s NEXT — a portfolio-building program that puts aspiring creatives in front of some of Denver’s best creative directors. Want to get your book sized up by people like Mike Sukle of Sukle Advertising and Design? Apply by August 5, 2009.

The New Denver Ad Club, in partnership with Roshambo Films, created these videos to help spread the word.

We’ve seen the big speeches — Michelle Obama, Ted Kennedy, and Hillary. But we can’t help but wonder what the delegates and DNC visitors are doing before primetime. Dana Milbank from the Washington Post answers our question in his video report.

In a word — speed.

Unlike other hematology analyzers, the new HemaTrue” Veterinary Hematology Analyzer from Heska provides accurate results in just 55 seconds.

But how do you deliver the message at a busy industry conference before time ticks away? Try an entertaining traffic builder that emphasizes what can be done in less than a minute. And when everyone wants to try to be the fastest — you know you’ve quickly hit the mark with a resonating benefit.

Do you know what sport is played by two-thirds of the world? No, we’re not talking about Polo or Jai Alai. It’s Cricket and it’s taking over America.

In case you haven’t seen the billboards, TV commercials, and print ads that have flooded the Fort Collins market in recent weeks, the Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament, played in the West Indies each year, has selected our town to make its American broadcast debut.

Throughout the next month, Stanford 20/20 Cricket is taking over the town and hosting a series of viewing parties for each match and a family day where residents can learn and play the sport of cricket. The Fort Collins cricket adventure will culminate at a Caribbean-themed street festival in downtown to celebrate the final weekend of the tournament. Check out www.yougottaseethis2020.com for more information.

In millions of homes across the country, turkey dinners are cooking and tables are set with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade airing in the background. Whether you are from New York, California, anywhere in between, or across the world for that matter, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a beloved holiday tradition for more than 80 years.

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