NEENAH, WI (November 24, 2009) -- November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and SPARK Advertising supports this effort through its continued partnership with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) of Northeast Wisconsin. For the third year, SPARK is donating design and marketing services to promote the JDRF Celebrity Monopoly Gala fundraiser, which will be held at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton on February 20, 2010. The event includes an evening of dinner, music, a silent auction and a celebrity monopoly game.
“SPARK Advertising provides professional, creative expertise and high-quality materials that reflect our organization’s passion to cure diabetes,” remarks Julie Kersten, executive director of JDRF of Northeast Wisconsin. “It has allowed our local chapter to keep costs low, providing more money for diabetes research and advances.”
Last year, the Gala raised $149,000.
The agency partnered with JDRF because Deb Fiebig, the firm’s PR director, has a personal connection with diabetes. Her son Cameron, 16, was diagnosed with the disease when he was six years old. Fiebig has served as a co-chair of the event for the past four years.
“SPARK Advertising is proud to support JDRF in their effort to raise funds so we can help find a cure,” says Mark Elliott, president of SPARK Advertising. "We wholeheartedly encourage our employees to give back to organizations in our community."
For more information on tickets for the gala and donating an item for the silent auction, contact the JDRF office at (920) 997-0038, or email Dana Paschen at dpaschen@jdrf.org or Deb Fiebig at debf@startaspark.com.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
SPARK ADVERTISING NAMES NEW ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
NEENAH, WI (November 13, 2009) – SPARK Advertising, an award-winning advertising and public relations agency, has announced a new staff appointment.
David Weiss has joined the agency’s account service team as a Strategic Account Executive. Weiss will be responsible for account management and development of marketing programs and materials for key clients. A graduate of Marquette University, Weiss holds a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising. Prior to joining SPARK Advertising, Weiss worked as an account executive for an agency in Milwaukee.
David Weiss has joined the agency’s account service team as a Strategic Account Executive. Weiss will be responsible for account management and development of marketing programs and materials for key clients. A graduate of Marquette University, Weiss holds a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising. Prior to joining SPARK Advertising, Weiss worked as an account executive for an agency in Milwaukee.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Research on Social Media to Drive Sales
More and more companies are engaging with social media to assist in driving sales. In the below research article, they say "78% of those polled listed customer reviews as the #1 social media tool for generating sales and 61% listed customer reviews #1 in driving customer engagement".
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=113854
This further proves marketers are still challenged to beat word-of-mouth (WOM). Marketing initiatives should seek to include this type of feedback and customer input to find more ways to engage clients. We see this as an enormous opportunity to include social media WOM elements into integrated offline marketing initiatives and capitalize on this powerful means of persuasion. Think about the power of referral and how it can effect your business.
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=113854
This further proves marketers are still challenged to beat word-of-mouth (WOM). Marketing initiatives should seek to include this type of feedback and customer input to find more ways to engage clients. We see this as an enormous opportunity to include social media WOM elements into integrated offline marketing initiatives and capitalize on this powerful means of persuasion. Think about the power of referral and how it can effect your business.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
WON FIVE ADDY® AWARDS
SPARK ADVERTISING WINS FIVE ADDY® AWARDS IN 2008 COMPETITION
NEENAH, WI (April 8, 2009) – SPARK Advertising, an advertising and public relations agency in Neenah, won five ADDY® awards at the 2008 AAF-Fox River Ad Club Awards on March 6, 2009.
SPARK was honored with two Gold ADDY® awards in the ad industry self-promotion and interactive categories for its redesign of the agency’s Web site and START A SPARK cards marketing campaign. The START A SPARK cards also won "Peoples Choice" as the best of the evening from their peers. Silver ADDY® awards were also presented to the agency in the category of sales promotion for a product or service the Press-Ganey Medical Sales Kits, and in the category of self-promotion for an ad club or marketing club the BE Brochure and BRANDED Poster for AAF-Fox River Ad Club.
The ADDY® Awards, sponsored by the American Advertising Federation, recognize companies that demonstrate excellence in advertising and represent the true spirit of creative excellence in all forms of advertising from media of all types, creative by all sizes and entrants of all levels. Winners are chosen from approximately 60,000 entries at the local, regional and national ADDY® competition.
NEENAH, WI (April 8, 2009) – SPARK Advertising, an advertising and public relations agency in Neenah, won five ADDY® awards at the 2008 AAF-Fox River Ad Club Awards on March 6, 2009.
SPARK was honored with two Gold ADDY® awards in the ad industry self-promotion and interactive categories for its redesign of the agency’s Web site and START A SPARK cards marketing campaign. The START A SPARK cards also won "Peoples Choice" as the best of the evening from their peers. Silver ADDY® awards were also presented to the agency in the category of sales promotion for a product or service the Press-Ganey Medical Sales Kits, and in the category of self-promotion for an ad club or marketing club the BE Brochure and BRANDED Poster for AAF-Fox River Ad Club.
The ADDY® Awards, sponsored by the American Advertising Federation, recognize companies that demonstrate excellence in advertising and represent the true spirit of creative excellence in all forms of advertising from media of all types, creative by all sizes and entrants of all levels. Winners are chosen from approximately 60,000 entries at the local, regional and national ADDY® competition.
Monday, May 4, 2009
SPARK wins National Telly Award
SPARK ADVERTISING WINS PRESTIGIOUS TELLY AWARD FOR TV COMMERCIAL
Neenah, WI (March 11, 2009) -- SPARK Advertising recently received a coveted Bronze Telly Award for the TV commercial they developed for Lakeland College. The 30-second spot highlights the school’s BlendEd® adult education program that offers students the convenience of-both classroom and online learning. Designed by the same firm that makes the Oscar® and Emmy® statuettes and weighing 4-1/2 pounds, the Telly Award has been the symbol of creative excellence for over a quarter of century. The judging panel represents top advertising and video production professionals that are past winners of a Silver Telly, the highest honor, and have been chosen for membership based on their professional accomplishments.
“We are thrilled to be a Telly Award winner for our work on the Lakeland College commercial. Since this competition represents the top ad agencies in the U.S., it is a privilege to be recognized with this distinguished award,” said Mark Elliott, president of SPARK Advertising.
Founded in 1978, the Telly Awards is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions, and online film and video. The Telly Awards annually showcases the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators, interactive agencies, and corporate and video departments in the world. The competition receives over 13,000 entries annually from all 50 states and foreign countries.
Neenah, WI (March 11, 2009) -- SPARK Advertising recently received a coveted Bronze Telly Award for the TV commercial they developed for Lakeland College. The 30-second spot highlights the school’s BlendEd® adult education program that offers students the convenience of-both classroom and online learning. Designed by the same firm that makes the Oscar® and Emmy® statuettes and weighing 4-1/2 pounds, the Telly Award has been the symbol of creative excellence for over a quarter of century. The judging panel represents top advertising and video production professionals that are past winners of a Silver Telly, the highest honor, and have been chosen for membership based on their professional accomplishments.
“We are thrilled to be a Telly Award winner for our work on the Lakeland College commercial. Since this competition represents the top ad agencies in the U.S., it is a privilege to be recognized with this distinguished award,” said Mark Elliott, president of SPARK Advertising.
Founded in 1978, the Telly Awards is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions, and online film and video. The Telly Awards annually showcases the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators, interactive agencies, and corporate and video departments in the world. The competition receives over 13,000 entries annually from all 50 states and foreign countries.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
LinkedIn.com a great tool
Linked In (www.linkedin.com) is one of the most powerful web tools for professionals looking to network. I recently conducted a live online demonstration and discussion to the Sales and Marketing Professionals of North East Wisconsin (www.smpnew.org) on this social networking tool. We all had a chance to share our thoughts on the benefits to companies in the areas of sales development, business, and group membership features.
In a nutshell, LinkedIn.com makes invisible networks visible. In the real world it is hard to see who knows whom. In social circles, that is like driving to a destination without directions. Linked In provides a visible solution to see who knows whom. From the professional networking, word of mouth marketing, referral-based recommendations, share of knowledge bases, and affinity group communication, all can be a part of your LinkedIn experience.
In my world of marketing, Neilson Research does an annual review of the most effective marketing. Word of Mouth always comes out on top, meaning referral based experiences is where people gain comfort of making a purchase. It is with this basis that Linked In is so successful as it provides opportunities for people to share their network experiences and basically give their endorsement of people or a company.
Once you log on and get your information posted to the site, you have the ability to search for anyone. More often than not, you'll be able to find the person you are looking for with some great information along the way. You can also start to build your own connections that will help you down the road. I describe the benefits in a little more detail below.
Sales/Business Development Benefits
One of the biggest benefits of LinkedIn is in the area of business development or sales. In most cases you’ll find the contact you are looking for with their general information. Not only does this make a cold call a great deal warmer, it provides you with critical information as to the background and previous work history of an individual. Knowing the previous job history, previous associations, positions held and groups the person is associated with makes your conversation that much easier.
Then there are the all-important connections the individual has. Your ability to see their connections is based on the individual’s privacy settings. If the settings are set closed to outsiders, then you’ll have to work a little harder to find this info. Once you have established a relationship with the individual and are able to “link in” with him/her, you can typically see their connections. This is where it gets real juicy. You have an opportunity to see all the people this person is networked with and it quite simply provides you with a visible trail of their circle of influence, prospects, or additional connections that may be valuable info for your business development efforts. In addition, it provides relational connections to you and your contacts. This will allow you to leverage your relationships and their knowledge of a potential prospect. You can also to an advanced search by company. This will give you others that may be able to help you in your efforts. The more you build those relationships, the more referrals and connections in those areas of influence happen in the future.
General Business Benefits
Some of the other benefits of LinkedIn include job searches, background checks, asking a question, researching companies, competitive information and sharing of knowledge base.
As the classified advertising for job postings have moved mostly online, Linked In’s profile info is already established as a place to put your online work history. So naturally it provides a great place to either look for a job that matches your skill sets as well as search a potential candidate work history that is for hire.
If you happen to be seeking a service provider, Linked In provides an avenue to search based on their customers referrals. A good way to pre-qualify as well as start in a position of knowing what level of service others have received from the potential supplier. There is also a feature that allows you to ask questions of service providers so you can get advice on issues before making any moves.
Part of the search features allow you to gain information about the company through profiles, actual employee posted information or even competitive information. This information can be helpful in searching for job candidates or job searchers looking for info on the company and its employees. Once you uncover a specific company or person of interest, there are opportunities to share knowledge bases on a topic as well. As we all know, information can be “king” sometimes.
Affinity Group Benefits
Lastly, group membership on LinkedIn can also have it benefits. Chances are many of the affinity groups a business professional is a part of also have an online LinkedIn group that you can be a part of. This will provide an online forum for posting discussion boards, huddle workspace for shared documents, as well as a slide presentation space to share any presentations a group puts on. Each group is allotted 1 Gig of space to work with.
These group benefits include committee work documents that can be edited in real-time and posted instead of through a trail of hard to manage emails. It will also, send you e-mail updates as to who has recently been invited into the group. This will in turn extend your network as well and provide another leverage point with the connections of the group and be available for your own personal reason for joining the group. You instantly have another referral group as well.
Another nice feature is getting a weekly e-mail that updates you on all the weeks’ activities of the people in your entire network. This allows you to keep tabs on those you feel are important and take advantage of knowing what people are connecting to others. It alerts you to job changes, new connections, new group members, all in an easy to read update.
This is just scratching the surface of all the features available on LinkedIn. At a minimum have your companies sales group be made aware of the business development tools. It will surely help your business grow…. and who knows, maybe grow your personal relationships deeper as well.
Happy linking,
Mark
In a nutshell, LinkedIn.com makes invisible networks visible. In the real world it is hard to see who knows whom. In social circles, that is like driving to a destination without directions. Linked In provides a visible solution to see who knows whom. From the professional networking, word of mouth marketing, referral-based recommendations, share of knowledge bases, and affinity group communication, all can be a part of your LinkedIn experience.
In my world of marketing, Neilson Research does an annual review of the most effective marketing. Word of Mouth always comes out on top, meaning referral based experiences is where people gain comfort of making a purchase. It is with this basis that Linked In is so successful as it provides opportunities for people to share their network experiences and basically give their endorsement of people or a company.
Once you log on and get your information posted to the site, you have the ability to search for anyone. More often than not, you'll be able to find the person you are looking for with some great information along the way. You can also start to build your own connections that will help you down the road. I describe the benefits in a little more detail below.
Sales/Business Development Benefits
One of the biggest benefits of LinkedIn is in the area of business development or sales. In most cases you’ll find the contact you are looking for with their general information. Not only does this make a cold call a great deal warmer, it provides you with critical information as to the background and previous work history of an individual. Knowing the previous job history, previous associations, positions held and groups the person is associated with makes your conversation that much easier.
Then there are the all-important connections the individual has. Your ability to see their connections is based on the individual’s privacy settings. If the settings are set closed to outsiders, then you’ll have to work a little harder to find this info. Once you have established a relationship with the individual and are able to “link in” with him/her, you can typically see their connections. This is where it gets real juicy. You have an opportunity to see all the people this person is networked with and it quite simply provides you with a visible trail of their circle of influence, prospects, or additional connections that may be valuable info for your business development efforts. In addition, it provides relational connections to you and your contacts. This will allow you to leverage your relationships and their knowledge of a potential prospect. You can also to an advanced search by company. This will give you others that may be able to help you in your efforts. The more you build those relationships, the more referrals and connections in those areas of influence happen in the future.
General Business Benefits
Some of the other benefits of LinkedIn include job searches, background checks, asking a question, researching companies, competitive information and sharing of knowledge base.
As the classified advertising for job postings have moved mostly online, Linked In’s profile info is already established as a place to put your online work history. So naturally it provides a great place to either look for a job that matches your skill sets as well as search a potential candidate work history that is for hire.
If you happen to be seeking a service provider, Linked In provides an avenue to search based on their customers referrals. A good way to pre-qualify as well as start in a position of knowing what level of service others have received from the potential supplier. There is also a feature that allows you to ask questions of service providers so you can get advice on issues before making any moves.
Part of the search features allow you to gain information about the company through profiles, actual employee posted information or even competitive information. This information can be helpful in searching for job candidates or job searchers looking for info on the company and its employees. Once you uncover a specific company or person of interest, there are opportunities to share knowledge bases on a topic as well. As we all know, information can be “king” sometimes.
Affinity Group Benefits
Lastly, group membership on LinkedIn can also have it benefits. Chances are many of the affinity groups a business professional is a part of also have an online LinkedIn group that you can be a part of. This will provide an online forum for posting discussion boards, huddle workspace for shared documents, as well as a slide presentation space to share any presentations a group puts on. Each group is allotted 1 Gig of space to work with.
These group benefits include committee work documents that can be edited in real-time and posted instead of through a trail of hard to manage emails. It will also, send you e-mail updates as to who has recently been invited into the group. This will in turn extend your network as well and provide another leverage point with the connections of the group and be available for your own personal reason for joining the group. You instantly have another referral group as well.
Another nice feature is getting a weekly e-mail that updates you on all the weeks’ activities of the people in your entire network. This allows you to keep tabs on those you feel are important and take advantage of knowing what people are connecting to others. It alerts you to job changes, new connections, new group members, all in an easy to read update.
This is just scratching the surface of all the features available on LinkedIn. At a minimum have your companies sales group be made aware of the business development tools. It will surely help your business grow…. and who knows, maybe grow your personal relationships deeper as well.
Happy linking,
Mark
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Welcome Message
Welcome to the SPARK Blog. Our goal is to share SPARK's current updates, press releases, events, presentations, industry trends, and viewpoints as it relates to our company, clients, prospects, and MarComm enthusiasts alike. As we immerse ourselves in marketing and advertising, we’ll bring those tidbits to you through this portal. We'll also share how we support the arts and community through the donation of our time and talents.
We hope to expose our line of thinking so you can experience what makes up SPARK…in essence, our unique brand experience.
Topics you’ll find included are:
Multi-media web
Web 2.0
Social media
Public relations
Creative design
Design power
Consumer trends
Marketing strategy
Support of the arts
Feel free to post a comment. We'll be watching and responding where necessary. Please observe the norms of civilized behavior in your comments. Vigorous disagreement is OK; abusive or improper language is not.
Enjoy…
Mark Elliott
President, SPARK Advertising
www.startaspark.com
We hope to expose our line of thinking so you can experience what makes up SPARK…in essence, our unique brand experience.
Topics you’ll find included are:
Multi-media web
Web 2.0
Social media
Public relations
Creative design
Design power
Consumer trends
Marketing strategy
Support of the arts
Feel free to post a comment. We'll be watching and responding where necessary. Please observe the norms of civilized behavior in your comments. Vigorous disagreement is OK; abusive or improper language is not.
Enjoy…
Mark Elliott
President, SPARK Advertising
www.startaspark.com
Monday, January 12, 2009
SPARK ADVERTISING WINS SEVEN AMERICAN GRAPHIC DESIGN AWARDS
NEENAH, WI (September 30, 2008) – Neenah based SPARK Advertising is the winner of seven prestigious 2008 American Graphic Design Awards presented by Graphic Design USA magazine. The SPARK winning designs were selected from over 11,000 entries nationwide submitted by ad agencies, graphic design firms, corporate, institutional and publishing in-house departments.
For over 30 years, the American Graphic Design Award competition has honored outstanding graphic design, advertising art and marketing communications in the areas of print and collateral, advertising and sales promotion, packaging and point-of-purchase, internet and interactive design, broadcast and motion graphics, corporate identity and logos. A national panel of creative professionals judges the competition. Winners become eligible to be featured in Graphic Design USA’s Awards Annual, a 300-page edition published in December. Graphic Design USA is a monthly business-to-business magazine for professional graphic designers and related creative production professionals.
The SPARK winning entries are:
• Outdoor Outlet – Logo
• Outdoor Outlet - Spring Postcard
• SPARK Advertising - Website
• Milprint - Pet Brochure
• Oshkosh Jaycee's - Brews 'N Blues Poster
• Burg Homes – Brochure
• Nekoosa Coated Papers - Swatchbook
Matt Bellisle, Creative Director at SPARK commented on winning the awards for the third straight year, “We are truly honored to be the recipient of seven awards this year. On behalf of the entire team at SPARK and all our clients, we look forward to another successful year in 2009.”
For over 30 years, the American Graphic Design Award competition has honored outstanding graphic design, advertising art and marketing communications in the areas of print and collateral, advertising and sales promotion, packaging and point-of-purchase, internet and interactive design, broadcast and motion graphics, corporate identity and logos. A national panel of creative professionals judges the competition. Winners become eligible to be featured in Graphic Design USA’s Awards Annual, a 300-page edition published in December. Graphic Design USA is a monthly business-to-business magazine for professional graphic designers and related creative production professionals.
The SPARK winning entries are:
• Outdoor Outlet – Logo
• Outdoor Outlet - Spring Postcard
• SPARK Advertising - Website
• Milprint - Pet Brochure
• Oshkosh Jaycee's - Brews 'N Blues Poster
• Burg Homes – Brochure
• Nekoosa Coated Papers - Swatchbook
Matt Bellisle, Creative Director at SPARK commented on winning the awards for the third straight year, “We are truly honored to be the recipient of seven awards this year. On behalf of the entire team at SPARK and all our clients, we look forward to another successful year in 2009.”
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