Second Annual Big Wig Awards Set

On October 28 AAF-Knoxville's Big Wig Awards Will Recognize the "Unsung Heroes" of Advertising

You know who they are--the people who save your bacon on a regular basis. If you're in the communications business, you have plenty of them.

Assistants. Printers. Media reps. Even teachers.

And finally, there's a chance to give these people the credit they deserve. AAF Knoxville's Big Wig Awards were created to celebrate the people who maybe don't get ADDY or creative awards, but who are instrumental in others getting them.

Check out our microsite to see more, and to nominate some of those people you know should be honored. Then, on October 28, we'll host an amazing party and bring the "unsung heroes" of our business to the forefront, giving them long-overdue props for hard work.

AAF-Knoxville Takes You Behind the Brands

Summer Conference:
July 28-31

Agenda, Details, Registration: AAFBehindtheBrands.com

Don’t let the title deceive you: this event is open to all communications professionals – and you'll want to put this conference on your “must attend” list. The 2011 AAF Summer Conference and District 7 Leadership Event will be held at Knoxville’s Crowne Plaza Hotel, with more than 200 marketers in attendance from Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Professional Development & Networking
“Behind the Brands” will give you inside information on how several national companies have built their identities, what makes a brand successful and how they’re facing branding challenges through advertising, PR, sustainability, ROI, social media, identity, packaging, special events, consumer engagement and strategy. To-date, the participating brands include:

• AC Entertainment (Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival)
• Bush's Baked Beans
• Pilot Flying J Travel Centers
• Ruby Tuesday
• Scripps Networks (HGTV, Food Network, DIY, GAC, Travel Channel, Cooking Channel
• TeamHealth (Provides clinical outsourcing services to more than 600 hospitals throughout the U.S.)
• University of Tennessee Athletics

Beyond this professional development, you'll get to network with a few hundred peers from our five-state AAF region.

Visit AAFBehindtheBrands.com to view the agenda, conference details and to register.

Club Workshops
Learn from the best of the best in District 7 about how to grow and manage your local chapters. Additionally, there will be workshops and roundtable discussions for chapter Presidents, Regional Directors and with Governor Elizabeth Perry. Speakers and topics are still being confirmed, but the following areas are usually addressed:

• Programs
• Membership Recruitment & Retention
• Education
• Government Relations
• ADDY® Awards
• Fundraising
• Finances
• Club Achievement

Questions, Ideas, Concerns?
Conference Chair Michael Torano: michaelt@n8promo.com or 361-438-3550

AAF-Knoxville President Susie Norris: susie@orangeapplebranding.com or 865.406.7558

Recap: “People Are Weird” Seminar

If you missed last week’s “People Are Weird” seminar, here’s a brief recap.

While no one fits into just one type or group, there are four types of people we have/get to work with, pitch to and try to sell to:

1. Communicators: They’re emotional decision makers.
   
2. Commanders: They see the value in making what seem like risky decisions.
   
3. Calculators: The decisions they make must be logical.
   
4. Completers: They are sometimes held back from making decisions due to fear.

How do you peg someone?

1. Communicators: Extroverted, people-oriented, friendly, stylish, open, emotional/animated, socializes regardless of time, empathizes with others, popular and gung-ho.
   
2. Commanders: Commanding, bottom-line oriented, dominating, formal, impatient, emotional/direct, always pushed for time, about achievement, restless, quick/impulsive and fast.
   
3. Calculators: Non-nonsense, facts-oriented, assessing, conservative, closed, unemotional/reserved, values and manages time, about organization, selective, cool/distant, objective and controlled.
   
4. Completers: Laid-back, systems oriented, accepting, conforming, cautious, unemotional/low-key, respects time but not pushed, accepts others, about functions, willing, steady/reserved, slow/studied and steady.
   

Their hot-buttons, the things to avoid when communicating with them?

1. Communicators: Alienation.
   
2. Commanders: The feeling that they’re being taken advantage of.
   
3. Calculators: The fear of making a mistake.
   
4. Completers: Anything that seems like radical change.

So what do they want to hear?

1. Communicators: How they’re going to get the credit and look good. Ask them how to include others in the decision. Socialize with them and entertain them.
   
2. Commanders: Show them the benefits and throw in a high-profile reference. Ask them how they would do it and about their opinions.
   
3. Calculators: Stay focused on the facts, the details and the long-term benefits. Ask them how they would organize it and solve the problems.
   
4. Completers: Remove the risk, and don’t talk about change or new ideas. Ask them how they do their jobs and make it a no-pressure decision with a lot of time.
   

Okay, so that’s not a full synopsis of the hour-long session at Barley’s (we tried a downtown venue for a change of pace), but at least it’s some tip-of-the-iceberg insight into the different types of personalities we encounter each day in our communications professions.

Does Your Strategy Suffer Because Of Your Tactics?

David Rollo like to think before he jumps. Or posts.

Rollo, SVP and Director of Digital and Social Media for Atlanta’s 22squared, see lots of benefits from strategic planning in social and other digital media, and on April 28, he'll share his thoughts with AAF-Knoxville at our monthly luncheon.

"Tactics, Tactics, Tactics: Where Has the Strategy Gone?" will examine the enthusiasm for new types of online content, and look at how companies can get too absorbed in the daily implementation to take full advantage of new media options. He'll then show how sound strategy can enhance communications--and ultimately, save work, money, and headaches.

Rollo started in the buisness as New Product Marketing Manager for the Canadian division of Apple Computers. He then quickly showed his expertise in the digital world by increasing online store sales and site traffic for Home Depot and enriching the interactive user experience for Delta Airlines before joining 22squared in May 2008.

He has worked with brands like UPS, Earthlink, Sabre Travel Systems, Coca-Cola, Durex, and Beazer Homes, and he'll share with us what works - and, more importantly, what doesn't - in the digital realm.

To make a reservation, click here.

Mad Men Mob Magnificently

This month's AAF Flash Mob on Thursday, April 14, changes things up with a new venue--The Crown and Goose in the Old City--and keeps what everyone loves about these informal events: The chances to meet up with some of the finest advertising minds in the area and enjoy networking, idea exchange, and fun in a relaxed environment.

It all starts around 4:30. You can be true to the nature of a flash mob, if you like. Breeze in, dance or pillow fight, and leave. Or feel free to stay as long as you like.

You'll meet good people, and you'll have a good time. See you there.

March 24 Luncheon: John Moore on Social and WOM

The average consumer mentions specific brands 60 times per week in conversations with friends, family, and co-workers. This same consumer is spending over an hour a day engaging with others on social media websites like Twitter and Facebook. Offline and online, word of mouth is happening and the smartest brands are benefiting from these conversations by becoming more talkable.

Learn as John Moore, former Starbucks Coffee and Whole Foods marketer, shares the do’s and don’ts of using word of mouth marketing and social media to make your brand more talkable. (You can see more of John’s ideas and expertise at www.brandautopsy.com and http://brandautopsy.typepad.com.)

Thursday March 24, 2011

11:30 -1pm, 11:30-12 networking

Peerless Restaurant

$25 Members
$35 Non-Members & Members without RSVP
$20 Students

ADDY Recap: Winners And, Well, More Winners

The 46th Annual ADDY Awards Celebration was among the best ever, with more than 280 awards given out to area companies and individuals. The party was great. The people were great. The winning work was great.

This ADDYs set a standard to live up to.

Special congratulations are in order several individuals, including David Jacobs of The Tombras Group (Winner of the Robert McCabe Silver Medal Award), plus Jennifer Holder of First Tennessee Bank, Ben McWhorter of Citadel Broadcasting, and Steve Richardson of The Tombras Group (all new inductees into the AAF-Knoxville Advertising Hall of Fame).

For a complete list of winners from this year, click here.