MZD Buzz: Advertising, PR, Interactive, Multicultural

9.11 Memorial Ceremony

2011-09-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

Cinco de Mayo Cookbook Presented by Adobo Grill created by MZD

2011-06-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

The Cinco de Mayo Cookbook Presented by Adobo Grill features fun original recipes shared by Adobo Grill's head chef. Beautiful photography displayed in high resolution especially on your iPad, iPhone 4 and new iPod Touch illustrates every delicious appetizer and cocktail.

Customer Reviews
G

by Gmunzi
Wow, tried out the margarita recipe and it was awesome!!!!!
Quality EVERY time!!!

by LaDana W Emerson
Apps developed by INVISIONS are like my half-Italian Dad’s macaroni & cheese…ALWAYS yummy:^)!!! I was posting reviews last night when I came across the app – as soon as I saw “Seller: INVISIONS” I downloaded it and read the description and checked out the screen shots as it downloaded.
Once again the app was as I expected: flawlessly designed with fantastic recipes and quality, clear photos of each recipe…must be something in OUR Indiana water {I grew up in Northwest Indiana}!!!:^)
Mexican at it's Finest!

by MicheleM79
I made the tostaditas last night and they were crazy good. I'm planning to try out the Hot Lips drink tonight. Thank you Adobo Grill for this great cookbook!

Mr. Dan’s is growing, new location, 25th and Keystone

2011-02-17T07:02:00.000-08:00

Mr. Dan’s Franchising, LLC, a client of MZD Advertising, is proud to announce the start of construction of the newest Franchise location at 25^th and Keystone in Indianapolis. Deon Helms and Morris Hansbrough, the franchisees for this location are excited to “get going and selling Big Dan’s…” Projected opening for the location is late April or early May.

Mr. Dan’s continues, with the assistance of MZD, to develop leads and gain interest in the Mr. Dan’s Franchise model. Mr. Dan’s Hamburgers is an Indianapolis institution serving great tasting, made to order burgers, Nathan’s All Beef Hot Dogs, Charlie & Barney’s award winning chili and breakfast items since 1950. Mr. Dan’s Hamburgers mission is to create business opportunities in challenged neighborhoods, utilizing older run down buildings as locations in order to create jobs, redevelopment and jump start much needed economic impact in neglected neighborhoods.

Look for more locations coming soon. Visit www.mrdanshamburgers.com or call

Bill Church at (317)809-8816 for more information on Mr. Dan’s Hamburgers.

MZD assisting YATS concept available for Franchise

2011-02-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

MZD Foodservice and Retail Division assisting local Cajun and Creole chain to Franchise and grow sales and units through Franchising. Bill Church and Allan Zukerman have partnered with Yat’s Cajun and Creole owners, Joe and Gina Vuscovich to establish a program whereby the Yat’s concept will be made available for Franchising. The group is currently in the process of developing the standards and procedures that will guide the growth of the Yat’s brand. Franchises should be available to the public for offering by late March or early April.

MZD selected by Indiana War Memorial Foundation to develop major fundraising campaign

2010-09-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

We're happy to announce our new partnership with the Indiana War Memorial Foundation. For those who may not be familiar, the Indiana War Memorials honor the Hoosier veterans and volunteers who served in and assisted our United States Armed Forces. Located in downtown Indianapolis, the Indiana War Memorials is second only to Washington, D.C. in the amount of acreage and number of monuments dedicated to veterans.

MZD will develop a major campaign to assist the Indiana War Memorial Foundation in fundraising for the Indiana War Memorials. It will consist of traditional and interactive pieces; from a "showcase" video to mobile fundraising to an interactive website and social media sites, all designed to raise money to help support the Indiana War Memorial Foundation's mission.

We're excited to learn more and share with others the history of this hidden treasure, the Indiana War Memorials.

Press Release:

INDIANAPOLIS – MZD Advertising was recently selected by the Indiana War Memorial Foundation to help develop a major fundraising campaign to support the efforts of the foundation and the museum.

“MZD has been given the task of making our entire state aware of the gallant Hoosier men and women who participated in the many battles to keep us free, and the many who stayed at home and built the weapons of war to help us overcome our enemies” said Allan Zukerman, Chairman/CEO of MZD. “We want to raise the funds needed to keep our Indiana War Memorial the proud building it is, so all of us can remember the past and honor our future heroes.”

Zukerman said the staff of The Indiana War Memorial Foundation would also like to see the number of schools visiting the memorial increase each year.

MZD would also be shooting a video about the World War Memorial; designing brochures about the Indiana World War Memorial planned endowment and additional web site development.

Brig. Gen. J. Stewart Goodwin, Executive Director of Indiana War Memorials, said, “The Indiana War Memorial is very excited about MZD promoting our two museums and the 24 acres of properties we maintain to honor Hoosier veterans. Every day visitors tell us they have lived in Indiana for years and did not know what an amazing facility we operate. Lack of exposure is the primary reason we asked the Indiana War Memorial foundation to assist us in locating a firm that could heighten the awareness of our properties.”

Goodwin added that “The Eli Lilly Civil War Museum located under the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, plus the 30,000 square foot museum located in the Indiana War Memorial, along with the USS Indianapolis Memorial on the Canal are must see attractions for every Hoosier and visitor to our city. MZD has a proven record of promoting entities and we are positive they will be able to tell the story of the great military accomplishment made by Hoosiers throughout our nation’s history.”

Jim Campbell, President of the Indiana World War Memorial, said the Memorials throughout downtown, including the Monument on the Circle in the heart of the city, represent those who sacrificed to maintain our freedoms.

“The Indiana War Memorials Foundation Board has its mission to honor Indiana veterans,” Campbell said. “We have retrained MZD to help us on our effort to bring awareness and express appreciation to those Hoosiers who served in the military. We hope to encourage visitors to experience the Memorials and have students participate in history and allow visitors to share our commitment to military heroes.”

MZD Director Blair Englehart said, “We are honored to be selected to handle this most important assignment. This is a statewide campaign to build awareness and raise funds for the War Memorial which is a national treasure sitting in the middle of downtown Indianapolis.”

MZD Advertising will also provide the Indiana War Memorial with marketing support and enhance their social marketing tools. Erik Faigh, MZD’s Interactive Strategist, said, “MZD is implementing a social media campaign to raise awareness across the state of Indiana and the Midwest about the Indiana War Memorial, which includes rental of the properties for events. We will also be conducting online fundraising through a new interactive website for the War Memorial and we are planning a mobile donation campaign for them.”

About Indiana World War Memorial
In the memorial, on the upper level, is the breathtaking Shrine Room, symbolizing peace and unity. It is decorated with materials from all over the world, symbolic of the world wide nature of the "Great War."

The 24 blood red pillars made of Vermont marble support the vast ceiling. Hanging in the center of the room is the Star of Destiny made of Swedish Crystal to guide the welfare of the nation. Below that is the flag of the United States. In the center of the room, below the flag, is the Altar of Consecration, the altar to the flag. The altar inspires good citizenship and is a place to remember fallen soldiers and comrades. People who visit the Shrine Room leave with a renewed sense of patriotism and an appreciation for the sacrifices of those who fought in the "Great War.”

The main floor houses exhibit space, the administrative offices, two meeting rooms, and the 500-seat Pershing Auditorium. Listed on this level are the names of all Hoosiers who participated in WW I.

The building also contains a free military museum that portrays the history of Indiana's gallant veterans from the Battle of Tippecanoe, through all the wars in which the U.S. has been engaged, to the present.

Among the interesting items on display is the commission plate of the battleship USS Indiana, numerous military firearms, a Vietnam/Gulf War era helicopter, a Navy Walleye Missile that can be armed with an atomic nuclear war head, a complete working replica of the radio room from the USS Indianapolis, and thousands of other artifacts, photos and documents.

When your PR swerves off course . . .

2010-07-15T07:31:00.000-07:00

By David Ayers
We've been following the action of the Tour de France lately, and while there haven't been any doping scandals yet (cross your fingers or knock on wood), it does bring back memories of all the controversies over the past few years. Floyd Landis' particular situation comes to mind.

In the wake of his recent admission that he used performance enhancing drugs to fuel his victory in the Tour de France in 2006, it is safe to say that the wheels have officially come off the public relations strategy used by disgraced cyclist Floyd Landis.

For four years, Landis spent time on the grassy knoll of conspiracy and blamed faulty drug tests for his problems. And, then, after finally admitting he had cheated, he threw away any remaining credibility he had left by accusing former teammate Lance Armstrong (and others) of doping as well.

His admission – coming years after the apparent victory – smacks of Pete Rose (not a good thing) in that he had every opportunity to own up to what he did and made it worse by living a lie. Heck, he even went out and solicited contributions to a “defense fund” in an effort to fight the allegations.

But, in the end, it was the simple premise of just telling the truth that now leaves him in the category of disgraced former athletes, ala Marion Jones, who is now working her way back by playing women’s pro basketball following a drug scandal that led her to forfeit her Olympic medals.

And, that’s really the point – telling the truth is the noblest of PR strategies. It’s just too bad that our heroes and heroines of the sporting world forget that when it’s time to step up in a difficult situation when the game’s on the line.

A respected public relations counselor and former sportswriter, David Ayers serves as the Director of Public Relations at MZD Advertising.

MZD Looks to Revitalize Historic Hoosier Restaurant Chain

2010-07-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

Last week, The Indianapolis Star featured Allan Zukerman, Chairman/CEO of MZD and Bill Church, Executive Director of Food Service and Retail Development for MZD in an article about the revitalization of a local brand name restaurant chain that brings back a lot of warm memories for Hoosiers: Mr. Dan’s Hamburgers.

Here's an excerpt:

Mr. Dan, the well-known restaurant chain that specializes in The Big Dan, a made-to-order burger and Nathan’s hot dogs, as well as other food items, is going to be franchised nationally through Mr. Dan’s Franchising LLC.

Church, president of Mr. Dan’s Franchising LLC., said it is an exciting opportunity for entrepreneurs.

“A lot of people have special memories of Mr. Dan’s,” Church said. “It’s a familiar name to many people who grew up in Indianapolis.”

The first Mr. Dan’s was opened in 1950 at the corner of 14th and Illinois Streets by Richard Hogshire, the founder of Mr. Dan’s, who is still active in the business. The original name, Gay Dan’s, came from the Gay 90s era and adopted the circus wagon look for a Gay 90s hot dog stand. The name was changed in the 1970s to Mr. Dan’s.

One popular location was right next to the old Bush Stadium on W. 16th Street in Indianapolis, which was home to the Indianapolis Indians for years.

The original menu was hot dogs, baked beans and a fresh cup of coffee. After the first few years of business, it became obvious that the hamburger was necessary to attract more business. Over the years, the burger process has been standardized and remains as a fresh grilled burger. Mr. Dan’s now sells The Big Dan Hamburger 10 to 1 over hot dogs.

Over the past 50 years, a total of 16 Mr. Dan’s have opened and closed. Most locations have ceased operations due to lease terminations, change in markets and a change in traffic patterns and road access.

Two Mr. Dan’s locations are currently in operation: one at 4390 N. Keystone Avenue, just north of Fall Creek Parkway, and another at 34th and Massachusetts.

“The menu and operations reflect years of success in defining the Mr. Dan’s niche,” Church said. “The entire business has sought its own level of customer needs.”

Mr. Dan’s current menu consists of hamburgers, hot dogs, tenderloins, chili, and French fries. A limited breakfast menu is available late night and early mornings.

“The Big Dan hamburger is the mainstay of the business,” Church said. “The burger is widely known in the community as the best. They are always cooked to order and served hot.”

The business is open 24 hours a day, six days a week and closed on Sundays.

“Because Mr. Dan’s is located in urban areas, it does not compete with the big boys of fast food,” Church said. “Mr. Dan’s stays within its niche and serves hamburgers cooked in sight and to order. The Coney sauce and seasoning salt are proprietary items manufactured under the Mr. Dan’s label.”

Charlie and Barney’s Award Winning Chili and Nathan’s Famous All Beef Franks are also served at Mr. Dan’s.

Zukerman noted that Mr. Dan’s Restaurants Franchisee LLC is separate from MZD Advertising.

“We have been starting to host Mr. Dan’s Franchise seminars to inform people who may be interested in opening their own franchises,” Zukerman said. “The restaurants will have a positive impact on their communities and offer employment opportunities. We plan to begin franchising in the Midwest, starting first in Indianapolis, and then Louisville, Dayton, Columbus, Ohio, Cleveland and Detroit.”

Church said the first franchise seminar was successful.

“We shared a lot of franchise opportunity information with influential members of the community about the concept and a lot of people are excited about it,” Church said. “What really got our attention was the return-on-investment on this concept and the low cost of entry.”

Hogshire said it’s a great opportunity for entrepreneurs.

“It’s a tried and true concept that we have had over the past 50 years,” Hogshire said. “It has done well over the past five decades. It is simple and can be duplicated very easily.”

Just in case you may not be familiar with Mr. Dan's, it's first location was built in 1950 in downtown Indianapolis. The restaurant is themed after the hot dog stands of the era. Its original menu consisted of hot dogs, baked beans and coffee. The restaurant’s popular “Big Dan” was introduced in the mid 1950s. The restaurant has evolved over time to offer breakfast and began serving 24 hours a day in the early 1970s.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Mr. Dan’s refined its menu and operations to better meet the demands of many loyal customers.

While improvements over the decades have better positioned Mr, Dan’s in the marketplace, The “Big Dan” has remained just the way it was back in the mid 1950s.

We've tried the food (always a requirement before we work with any franchiser) and have to say that it's one of the best burgers in town.

Let us know if you've been to Mr. Dan's, had any of their food and how your experience was. We'd love to know.

We know how to throw a party

2010-06-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, June 26, the folks at MZD helped throw a party for our client, J. Solotken and Company, Inc., a scrap metal dealer and recycler. J. Solotken has been around since 1914, and just this past year they decided to expand their services and moved into a newer facility. Well, everyone knows you have to have an Open House party if you move, so J. Solotken turned to MZD to help them plan and throw one great bash for their friends, family and clients. Over 300 people RSVP'd to the event and we had a great turnout despite the 90 degree temps. To add to the evening's festivities we also announced the winners of our "The Art of Scrap" metal sculpture contest. They are as follows:

1st – Trent Lannan – Jasper, IN - $2,500
2nd – Lyndsay McBride – Bristol, IN - $1,500
3rd – D. Delreverda Jennings – Indianapolis, IN - $1,000

Catering and additional event planning was done by Jeremy Hamilton and the crew from Indianapolis Dine. Needless to say, everything was first-rate!

Take a look at just a few of the photos from the event below:

Meet the Interns

2010-06-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

School may be out for the summer, but not everyone has stopped learning. Here at MZD, four interns are spending their precious summer days plugging away, learning the ins and outs of agency life. Let us introduce this dedicated crew . . .

Jake Donnelly, Public Relations Intern
Jake is a student at Anderson University and is pursuing a degree in Marketing. At AU, Jake has been involved with a group called SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise), which gives him the opportunity to get involved with local businesses throughout the community.

“One of my goals is to learn something from each person I come in contact with at MZD to better myself as a person and as a working professional,” said Jake.

When he’s not at school or MZD, Jake likes to play golf any chance he can get, as well as spend time with his new fiancé.

Emily Haley, Account Service Intern
Emily is a junior at Ball State University where she is majoring in Telecommunications. She decided to do an internship at MZD to gain real life experience and hopes to learn what the industry is all about.

“I also hope to get a better understanding on which direction I want to take in the world of telecommunications,” said Emily.

“The work that gets my attention most that MZD has done is the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation (ITPC) commercials,” she said, “Particularly the one with the child in the back seat of her mother’s minivan where her mother rolls up the windows, locks the door and lights a cigarette. I think that commercial is very powerful.”

When Emily isn’t at school or MZD she likes to spend time with her friends and family, as well as waitress at Outback Steak House in Muncie.

Taylor Orf, Public Relations, Account Service Intern
Taylor has a degree in Public Relations from Ball State University where he wrote for the Ball State Daily News for a semester and was also PR Chairman for his fraternity.

“MZD is a well known, respected local firm that has nationally recognized clients as well as local clients. I also liked that MZD did work in advertising and marketing, as well as PR so that I could attain experience in all three areas,” said Taylor. “I really hope to learn what my strengths and weaknesses are pertaining to the PR/Marketing/Ad industry. I am excited to see what transfers from the classroom to the office.”

Taylor enjoys travel, snowboarding, intramural sports, St. Louis Cardinal Baseball, and “general shenanigans” with his friends.

Brian Willsey, Account Service Intern
Brian has a B.A. from IU Bloomington in Communications, where he minored in Business. He is currently a grad student at University of Indianapolis where he is getting his MBA with a concentration in Marketing.

Brian decided to do an internship with MZD because he wanted to learn from an experienced firm with deep ties to the city of Indianapolis.

“Especially in such volatile times, I wanted to be a part of a place that has seen the ups and downs of the industry and knows how to bring about success,” said Brian. “I hope to learn more about the behind the scenes activities concerning a marketing and advertising firm. How exactly do you get to that finished project? I want to get real world experience that I can not only translate to future classroom settings, but also translate into a future career.”

When he’s not at MZD, work or in class, Brian likes to play golf, work out, check the stock market and read.

HP: The New Fashion Accessory?

2010-05-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

By Kiley Kellermeyer, Account Executive

Several of my friends have been excitedly gossiping about Sex and the City 2, set to hit theatres May 27. Not having watched much of the series or first movie, I have no connection to Carrie and her crew.

However, I have to admit I was intrigued to learn that Hewlett-Packard had finagled their way into City, kicking out Carrie’s very prominent Mac Book. Carrie’s Mac was featured in nearly every episode of the television series, or so I hear. And just think, when Miss Bradshaw flips open her laptop, moviegoers won’t see that shiny white apple on the cover.

Carrie will document her memoirs on an HP, and there are alleged stills that show Kim Cattrall using a desktop version of the HP TouchSmart.

HP apparently partnered with the movie franchise to increase its brand recognition with stylish women.

Well, I suppose it’s worth a shot, as I’m sure PC sales are slumping. They’ve got to do something, right? But sticking HP products in this particular movie is, to me, a bit like serving pizza rolls and Bud Light at a black-tie ball.

In three words: Doesn’t. Quite. Fit.

Everything in Sex and the City smacks of fur coats, cosmopolitans and Manolo Blahniks. Those ladies eat, sleep (and sleep with) and breathe high-class, high-end, and expensive. Would any of them choose an HP over a Mac when Apple has so cleverly cornered the digital market on style?

Rick's Weekly Wrap-up: Why Print Still Matters

2010-05-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

It's not all doom and gloom for print media, although most would like to believe that. After reading the following article on MediaPost.com (alright, you caught me, I read it online, not in print, but let's ignore that for now, shall we?) I was reminded again of the rapid changes taking place with traditional print media. Take a read:

Enterprise: Print Struggles, Doomsday Forecasts by Erik Sass

The article reports on the declines that newspapers and magazines are experiencing in circulation and ad revenues.

The future, in general, does not look bright for either medium.

Now, with that being said, let's talk a closer look.

A key fact not addressed in the article is that the declines are primarily limited to major titles with large circulation that try to be all things to all people. Most of these titles are seeing erosion from either their own internet sites or comparable sites that report on similar information, but do it in a timelier manner. Community newspapers that report on local events, schools and community happening are not experiencing the same downturn. They serve a niche that the large metro dailies have long since abandoned. Similarly, special interest magazines that serve highly targeted interests have also been able to avoid the downturn. Both may have seen a downturn as the result of the economy, however they should be able to rebound with the recovery, unlike their larger counterparts.

MZD Garners Heavy PR for Family-Centered Metal Recycler That Moved Into New Facility

2010-04-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

A fresh-coat of paint goes up on the new J. Solotken facility.

MZD Public Relations was recently able to garner several media placements for its new client: J. Solotken and Co.

J. Solotken and Co. – an Indianapolis company whose ‘family-centered’ business as a metal recycler spans more than nine decades – was recently featured in the pages of The Indianapolis Star and The Indianapolis Business Journal, as well as “Inside Indiana Business with Gerry Dick”, and some prominent trade publications, thanks to MZD.

MZD was able to get Indianapolis Star Reporter Bruce C. Smith wrote a great feature in The Star detailing J. Solotken’s recent move to a 140,000-square-foot facility on the city’s Eastside. Read the Indianapolis Star article.

J. Solotken’s new building houses 35 employees and state-of the industry equipment for recycling valuable scrap metals, at 6701 English Ave., in what was formerly a fabricating facility of the Frank E. Irish Co.

The company invested approximately $4.5 million to acquire and refit the building to sort and compact nonferrous metals, particularly copper, aluminum, nickel, brass, bronze, lead and zinc.

After 74 years in the same location at 101 S, Harding St., the company moved from its aging brick building near Downtown Indianapolis to its new location.

Joseph M. Alpert, the company’s president, told The Star that J. Solotken has prospered with “…hard work and good luck.”

Vice President Brian Nachlis, said the new facility includes energy-saving and environmentally-friendly features that wouldn’t have been possible at the old Harding Street site.

MZD Generates Some PR ‘Hits’

2010-04-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

2010 Mizuno Hoosier volleyball tournament - More The Indianapolis Star Galleries

In what is fast becoming an annual tradition, a journalist covering the annual Mizuno Mid-East Qualifier, an MZD client, took a header from an errant ball that hit him during one of the matches.

A FOX news cameraman got hit filming the 2010 Mizuno Mid-East Qualifier in St. Louis. The ball hit him in the face, knocking off his glasses, but he took it in stride and proved to be alright.

Last year, WTHR reporter Cat Andersen was hit in the back of the head with a flying volleyball while she was off camera waiting for her next remote. She was also okay.

The good news is that, in both cities, MZD was able to get the news, sports and business media to take a strong interest in the tournament. In St. Louis, the local FOX channel covered the event and so did a sports reporter from The St. Louis Business Journal.

In Indy, MZD was able to garner a great deal of online coverage in the form of an Indystar.com “photo gallery” which featured 24 images from the tournament taken by a Star photographer. On TV, three stations – WISH-TV, FOX 59 and WTHR Channel 13 – featured the event on its newscasts. Channel 8 anchor/reporter David Barras said he was “blown away” by the scope of the event.

The tournament featured some 520 teams and 6,000 girls in Indianapolis. The tournament, according to organizers, was also expected to attract more than 250 college coaches, who were on hand to witness many of the country’s top volleyball players in action. Players from more than 40 states participated in the event.

The tournament, which was organized by Capital Sports Center Inc. of Plainfield, Ind., literally unfolded on 63 courts inside the Indiana Convention Center and 60 courts in St. Louis.

“I couldn’t believe how huge this is,” Barras said. “I had no idea there were this many people here.”

Tournament director Lance Keating said the tournament provided an economic impact estimate of $18 million in Indy and between $14-15 million in St. Louis.

Hopefully, next year the PR hits will be limited to the action on the courts and not send any reporters to the sidelines.

MZD ADVERTISING TOPS 17 AGENCIES TO WIN HENDRICKS COUNTY TOURISM ACCOUNT

2010-04-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hendricks County Convention and Visitors Bureau staff, board members
and MZD staff posing with the "Fast Track to Fun" midget race car.

Tourism Officials Cite Agency’s “Enthusiasm” as Key Factor in Earning Business

INDIANAPOLIS – Citing its enthusiasm, innovation and creativity as key factors in its decision, the Hendricks County Convention and Visitors Bureau recently named MZD Advertising of Indianapolis as its new advertising agency of record.

The decision followed an intense competition in which 17 agencies submitted proposals in vying for the account, according to Ray Volpe, who spearheaded the agency’s effort to earn the tourism business.

“We were most impressed with the enthusiasm MZD showed throughout the selection process and the attention they provided to the task of investing their knowledge in the communities in Hendricks County and the destinations we want people to visit,” said Jaime Bohler Smith, associate director, Hendricks County CVB.

As part of its winning bid, the MZD account team embarked on a day-long road trip and visited every town and city in Hendricks County. From the road trip, it developed a series of post cards featuring a variety of destinations, including the Challenger Learning Center in Brownsburg and the Mayberry Café in Danville, among others. The post cards were presented to the client.

In what could only be described as a tribute to the movie “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, the team presented its journey using a traditional 35mm slide show. “We thought it would be a great touch to go back in time a bit and present the visit as if the folks from Hendricks County were sitting in our living room, so to speak”, said Volpe, noting that the production of the slides required sending the images to a firm in Kansas, as it is one of the few places left nationally capable of making 35mm slides.

In earning the business, MZD – for its agency visit – displayed signs incorporating the Hendricks County CVB’s existing ‘Fast Track’ theme and used a genuine quarter-midget race car as part of a display in its lobby to ‘drive home’ its commitment and build on the messaging the tourism agency had in place.

“A key part of winning their business, I believe, had to do with the fact we embraced their ‘Fast Track’ theme and we gave it a new touch,” said MZD Chairman/CEO Allan Zukerman. “All of us – and everyone in the agency – enjoyed working hard to earn their business and we’re excited to help encourage more people to visit Hendricks County and all of its wonderful destinations and attractions”.

Respected Tobacco Control Expert, MZD Client Appears on “60 Minutes”

2010-04-13T07:24:00.000-07:00

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Ever heard the question, “What do you do when “60 Minutes” is at the door?”

For Karla Sneegas, executive director of the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency, it was no problem.

Sneegas, a nationally-respected tobacco control expert, appeared on the April 4th edition of “60 Minutes” in a segment about a tobacco product known as snus entitled “Will New Smokeless Tobacco Products Cut or Boost the Smoking Rate?”

Sneegas was interviewed last November in Indianapolis for the segment, in which she gave her opinions on snus with CBS Correspondent Lesley Stahl.

“At this point in time, I cannot say these products are safer,” Sneegas told Stahl. “I think these products are going to end up leading to dual use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products and we have no idea whatsoever what is the outcome, what’s the health impact of someone not quitting and using both products.”

Sneegas added that she was also skeptical of “harm reduction” because tobacco company executives promote it, such as Susan Ivey of R.J. Reynolds, the company that makes Camel Snus.

Sneegas noted that R.J, Reynolds has pilot tested another smokeless product known as dissolvables in Central Indiana and believes it is being targeted for use by teenagers, something that the company denies.

During the “60 Minutes” segment, Stahl asked Sneegas, “You pulled together a group of high school students to discuss orbs. What did they tell you?”

Sneegas replied, “One it looks like candy. And who’s candy made for? Who’s attracted to candy? We are. Kids.”

Stahl reported that the students noted that Camel Orbs look a lot like Tic-Tacs and have the same minty taste. The orbs can also be used to circumvent tobacco free campus policies in schools and workplaces. Sneegas said it is frustrating because smoke free air laws have been successful in getting smokers to try to quit.

“More smokers do quit,” Sneegas said. “They cut back drastically. And you know cutting back is a great first step. Sometimes they go to the point of saying, ‘Well I can’t some at work anymore. It’s time to quit. I want to quit anyway. It’s time to quit.’”

In terms of the experience of appearing on the respected program, Sneegas said she was pleased to have the opportunity to deliver a positive message and educate tobacco users about the potential impact of these new products.

“Entire new lines of tobacco products are saturating the market in every flavor and form imaginable. Many of these products are novel in their method of delivery – such as the dissolvable tobacco products – and that drastically increases their appeal to teenagers,” said Sneegas.

MZD Director Interviews Former President Carter

2010-03-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Steve Zukerman, founder of Soapbox Media Group, L.L.C. and director of MZD Advertising LA Inc. recently interviewed Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in his hometown of Plains, Ga. concerning Carter’s involvement and work with Habitat for Humanity International.

Zukerman is directing a film entitled “Beyond the American Dream,” an upcoming documentary based on the life of the late Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity and The Fuller Center for Housing.

Zukerman, who hails from Indianapolis, is also a producer on the film. MZD Advertising LA Inc. is an office of Indianapolis-based MZD Advertising.

Zukerman said that in a single defining moment, Fuller, a millionaire entrepreneur, at the age of only 29, chose to walk away from his life of affluence.

“He and his wife, Linda, decided to leave behind a lifestyle most people spend a lifetime chasing,” Zukerman said.

Selling their company, giving away their money, and divesting themselves of all of their material possessions, the Fullers set out to renew their relationship, re-evaluate their decisions, and find a higher purpose for their chosen path in life.

Fuller and his wife devoted themselves to helping those less fortunate by creating Habitat for Humanity, a worldwide movement. With intelligence, a relentless work ethic and extraordinary charisma, Fuller reinvented philanthropy by inspiring others to donate money, material, and labor to build homes with low-income families.

Before his death, Fuller’s pioneering ideas and determination led to the construction of homes for more than 1 million people in more than 100 countries.

Although Fuller’s legacy lives on in the exponential growth of both organizations, his loss has, nevertheless, impacted them. “Beyond the American Dream” aims to tell the story of this remarkable man and lend renewed passion to his dream of providing all people with a “simple decent place to live.”

Zukerman said he has been working with Chad Adair, director of photography, on the film.

“One of the focuses of the film is how Fuller overcame numerous obstacles in his lifetime,” Zukerman said. “He was an amazing person, but like the rest of us he also had his flaws. What set him apart were the choices he made at the most difficult moments in his life.”

In September, 1996, then-President Bill Clinton awarded Fuller the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and said, “Millard Fuller has done as much to make the dream of home ownership a reality in our country and throughout the world as any living person. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Millard Fuller has literally revolutionized the concept of philanthropy.”

In October 2005, the Fullers were honored by Former President George H. W. Bush and The Points of Light Foundation with a bronze medallion embedded in The Extra Mile national monument in Washington D.C.

Having built more than 200,000 homes in more than 100 countries, the Fullers inspired countless people around the world to join their mission during their 30-plus year crusade that continues to this day through the work of The Fuller Center for Housing, Habitat for Humanity, and the incredible legacy that Millard Fuller left behind.

In fact, last fall, The Fuller Center for Housing of Central Indiana, Inc. announced that the City of Indianapolis won its bid to become the “International Host City” of the second annual “Millard Fuller Legacy Build (MFLB) 2010 initiative.

As part of the global home-building event, the Central Indiana Covenant Partner, in cooperation with “South East Neighborhood Development” (SEND) will construct nine new homes and rehabilitate 20 others in a near Southside Indianapolis neighborhood in the 1100-1200 block of Saint Paul Street, in just five days on Sept. 6-10, 2010.

“All of the great things he did are still moving forward,” Zukerman said. “He has made such a positive impact on so many people, and our hope is that “Beyond the American Dream” will inspire a new generation to step up and work together to not only better their own community, but also the world around them. As Millard said “It’s not your blue blood, your pedigree, or your college degree. It’s what you do with your life that counts.”

---

About Stephen Marshall Zukerman, Writer / Director / Editor
As President and Director of Soapbox Entertainment – a full-service production studio based in Los Angeles – Steve Zukerman brings his vast experience as an award-winning producer, writer, director, cinematographer and editor to MZD’s team, providing comprehensive film and video production services, as well as expert counsel on all facets of the entertainment industry.

Steve has lived in Los Angeles since 1996, working in the entertainment industry as a writer, director, producer, cinematographer, and editor. Clients include FOX Television, ABC, CBS, NBC, Bravo, Columbia Tri-Star, New Line Cinema, MTV, Sony Pictures, Comedy Central, Nike, The Speed Channel, and Hollywood.com.

Steve served as Executive Producer, Co-Director, and Director of Photography on the award-winning documentary feature film project “Bleeding Ohio”, which takes an in-depth look at the events surrounding the 2004 Presidential Election. Steve is also currently slated to direct and produce a screen adaptation of the highly-acclaimed novel, Scenes From A Train Window.

About William Chad Adair, Director of Photography
A Georgia native, Chad is a celebrated visual artist, both on screen and on the canvas. As a freelance film and video director in Los Angeles, Chad has worked with a host of top entertainment industry clients including 3 Arts Entertainment, Dreamworks Television, ABC, and Touchstone Television. He served as a Director of Photography on the hit TV series “Arrested Development” for FOX Television, and as a Cinematographer for the series “Carpoolers”.

Chad is a graduate of the MFA program in the Motion Picture Department at the Academy Of Art College in San Francisco. Chad currently resides with his wife and two children in Asheville, NC where he continues his work as a visual artist.

About The Fuller Center for Housing
The Fuller Center for Housing is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing worldwide. By forming partnerships with local organizations, The Fuller Center provides the structure, guidance and support that communities need to build and repair homes for the impoverished among them.

Snicker bars and search engines: How Betty White and Google won our hearts during the Super Bowl

2010-02-11T11:16:00.000-08:00

By Kiley Kellermeyer, MZD Account Executive

Let’s face it.

This year’s “Big Game” was mired in a lot of low-brow comedy. Drew and Peyton were sandwiched between so many rodents and Go Daddy Girls it’s a miracle either quarterback could lift a cleat from the muck.

Luckily, if you were willing to search through the commercial haystack, there were a couple of shiny needles to be found.

The ad-aficionados at MZD have spoken, and while our Colts may have lost the battle, we think that Google won the war.

Sure, there are no pasty thighs, furry animals or racecar drivers in various states of undress, but we think the simplicity of Google’s ad is what made it so appealing. The love story told via search terms tugged at our heartstrings and won us over.

“The Google spot did something most brands never do,” said MZD Account Executive Erik Faigh. “It told the story using only its product, and I'm not sure all the production money in the world could have done any better to make a better spot. Google boiled their brand down to a computer screen, a blinking cursor and a user who uses the tool to fulfill their dreams. Everything else in life happens after you ‘Google.’ A life not spent ‘Googling’ the answer? Well, it's just not a life worth living.”

Google’s commercial, however, wasn’t the only favorite amongst the staff at MZD.

Snickers scored big among the agency staff, with senior citizens Betty White and Abe Vigoda getting tackled and muddied on the football field.

The ad got first place on USA TODAY’s Super Bowl Ad Meter, meaning that experts and the Average Joe alike agreed Snickers' ad was sweet. That’s good news for the candy company who got themselves in hot water three years ago for what many perceived as an “anti-gay” ad.

Summary: Mars played it safe this year, Betty and Abe “played” hard.

So, what do we love about seeing octogenarians knocked about the yard? Was this physical abuse of the elderly cruel, comical or just plain clever?

Or was it simply, as MZD Senior AE Ray Volpe put it, “a better football game than the real one”?

Touché.

To see USA TODAY’s Ad meter, visit http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/admeter/2010admeter.htm

Show your Colts team spirit!

2010-02-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

Have you heard - the Colts are in the Super Bowl this Sunday!!!

It's great to live in a community that really gets behind our team. How is your workplace getting into the spirit this week?

Here is what we did to show our TRUE BLUE colors click here!!!

Go Colts!

Veteran Media Director Takes Helm at MZD

2010-01-13T08:16:00.000-08:00

Rick Doyle recently joined MZD Advertising of Indianapolis as the agency’s Media Director.

Prior to joining MZD, Doyle was a Media Director and Partner for GMI Partners in Fort Myers, Fla. He developed integrated media promotions using retail focused communications and local market saturation through the combination of national and local broadcast, print and interactive media for several national and local advertisers.

At GMI Partners, Doyle also combined the affinity of targeted radio, special interest cable television and other offline media with performance based accountability of online and other digital media to deliver performance based promotions for their clients.

Previously, Doyle also worked at Whitney Information Network, Cape Coral, Fla., as its Media Director.

“When I first got into this, the only pay premium channel on cable that was big was HBO,” he said. “I knew a long time ago that the growth of cable television would surpass the growth of interactive television. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, there was a lot of talk about interactive television being the next big thing, but watching television is a passive activity, not an interactive one.”

Doyle was accurate in his prediction that more people would embrace satellite television.

“I also thought that TV would end up being popular to watch on your computer,” Doyle said.

“It will be interesting to see how the social media will take off,” Doyle said. “I am very impressed with how the mobile phones have taken off. The smart phones seem to be the wave of the future and the technology is there for a lot of people to make this even more successful. The infrastructure is growing.”

Doyle has also seen a lot of interesting trends in the Indianapolis television and radio media.

“In the radio area, there are a lot more portable people meters,” Doyle said. “With the Arbitron rating system you used to be able to fill out a diary. The people meters have changed all that. They are a lot more accurate measurement of the popularity and tell us more about the actual amount of listeners.

With TV, the local people meters are allowing more in-depth viewership measurements.”

MZD Creates New Site for Flanner and Buchanan

2010-01-12T13:38:00.000-08:00

Flanner and Buchanan, a client of ours with over 125 years of expertise in the funeral care business, came to us with the need to refresh their Website, www.flanner-buchanan.com.

The site had grown significantly over the past few years as the company introduced new services and divisions.   It was becoming difficult to navigate from a consumer's perspective and difficult to keep up-to-date from the client's perspective.   We felt it was critical to harness the diverse offerings of Flanner and Buchanan under one brand umbrella and to provide the client with the tools necessary to keep their site updated easily.  

Along with a design concept that spoke to Flanner and Buchanan's commitment to their community, we were able to enhance the navigation and usability of the site. We also incorporated new features, such as Flickr feeds to embrace emerging social media trends.  The site was built with a content-management system designed to allow the client to help keep the site current and up-to-date. The overall goal was to make their site easy to use and easy to maintain.   Ongoing plans for the site include an interactive funeral planning tool and other features designed to keep Flanner and Buchanan as an industry-leader in funeral care.

Can You Own a Holiday?

2010-01-12T13:25:00.001-08:00

Coca-Cola and Christmas. Hallmark and Valentine's Day. Cadbury and Easter. And now, Spaghetti Warehouse and National Lasagne Day.

Our innovative social media promotion for the Spaghetti Warehouse restaurant chain, effectively branded July 29 as National Lasagne Day.

Spaghetti Warehouse is a regional Italian-American casual dining chain with 20 locations in nine different states, headquartered in Irving, TX. They have been in business since 1972 and came to our agency this year looking for guidance on how to enter the social media realm and embrace new trends in the digital advertising age.

Our agency was able to establish the Spaghetti Warehouse brand on a variety of social media platforms and crafted a social media strategy to gain new consumer awareness and increase trial of their brand. Social media offered a cost-efficient way of conducting advertising campaigns while also exposing awareness of the Spaghetti Warehouse brand to a new consumer demographic.

Utilizing the offer of Free Lasagne for Spaghetti Warehouse Facebook Fans, we generated over 5,000 fans for the page within 48 hours. (Click to visit page)

The promotion was picked up by national trade publications, such as Chain Leader (Click to view article), regional news networks such as the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and a wide variety of popular blogs such as Gizmodo, one of the top 5 most-read blogs on the internet.

And it all began by building a brand presence of Facebook and Twitter. And by offering a lot of free pasta.

Find Your Purpose

2010-01-12T13:01:00.000-08:00

By Jason Acquisto - Director MZD Interactive

“Are you drifting through life? What’s your purpose?”

The man in the video is not preaching at me. He’s just asking questions.

“Have you really asked yourself the question ‘why am I here?’?”

He’s passionate, articulate and compelling.

“I want you to know that you do have a purpose.”

The man is David Greene, Pastor of Purpose of Life Ministries in Indianapolis. The video is his personal greeting for those visiting their website www.PurposeofLifeMinistries.com

“In a day and age where the unemployment rates are excessive and crime is on the rise,” says Pastor Greene,

“Our ministry is driven to help individuals center their focus during difficult times.”

“We truly believe that when you walk in God’s purpose for your life, you are a happier person.”

In 2009, Pastor Greene approached MZD and shared his vision for the church. Recognized as the oldest Black Baptist Church in Indiana, the church – located at 3705 Kessler Blvd North Drive, had thrived under their previous name (Second Baptist). The dynamic new focus of the church is to assist individuals from all walks of life in finding their own life’s purpose.

The exciting new direction of the church called for a complete “re-branding” process.

This process is where MZD excelled, creating an identity system (logo, tagline, literature, signage, etc.), PR campaign, media program and an all new website. The new Purpose of Life Ministries brand was unveiled at their annual Watch Night service on New Year’s Eve.

How fitting … a new year. A new beginning. New goals.

Says Pastor Greene, “I believe that we can change the dynamics of our community.”

Is that some kind of New Year’s resolution?

No, it’s something far greater. It’s a whole new purpose.

What’s a Smart Phone and Why Should It Matter to Me?

2010-01-12T12:51:00.000-08:00

By Rick Doyle, MZD Media Director

A smart phone has many names. A Droid. an iPhone. a Blackberry, a Palm. It’s the new generation of mobile phones, but it’s much more than that. The smart phone is the harbinger of a new medium. Smart phones make mobile advertising, interactive advertising and highly targeted customer focused communications possible.

What took cable television 20 years to accomplish and the internet 10 years to achieve, mobile media will achieve within the next two to three years. That is, a level of penetration in the market that makes the medium a viable platform for both national and local advertising.

Unlike cable, which took nearly 20 years to wire the majority of U.S. households or the internet, which took 10 years to grow high-speed broadband connections into the home, the mobile “3G” platform is already established. All that is required is the expansion of hardware, the actual phones themselves. Currently, one study indicates 29% of all U.S. adults own a smart phone. Nielsen projects that by mid 2011 that number will reach 50% or 150 million smart phone users.

What happens then? As people become more familiar with the features and capabilities of their mobile devices, they will become more comfortable accessing web content and using their mobile device much like there home computer. They will also become more comfortable with direct to customer communications from companies they do business with. That could be their local grocer, their favorite restaurant, the dealer who services their car. The possibilities are endless and we are only at the forefront of this new medium.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-18T10:41:00.000-08:00

Enjoy our gift to you this Holiday Season ...

Holiday Game
click to play

E-mail Deliverability Suffered on Cyber Monday - ClickZ

2009-12-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

E-mail Deliverability Suffered on Cyber Monday - ClickZ
By Christopher Heine, ClickZ, Dec 3, 2009

Almost one-quarter of e-mail messages sent on Cyber Monday didn't reach the inbox, according to new data from deliverability services firm Pivotal Veracity. The waves of messages being sent out on one of the busiest e-commerce days of the year resulted in only 76.2 percent of campaigns being successfully delivered. Depending on whose data one looks at, marketers these days generally report deliverability percentages in the 80s and sometimes as high as the mid-90s.

Len Shneyder, a director for Pivotal Veracity, placed blame on an unmanageable glut of messages going out almost simultaneously. He added that the most popular send time was between noon and 1 p.m. Central Daylight Time for Cyber Monday, as well as Thanksgiving weekend as a whole.

"It's not so much a matter of what marketers did wrong individually, but what they did wrong collectively," he explained. "They all sent at what appears to be the same exact time... When volumes go up, [Internet service providers] are forced to take more draconian actions to control the volume of e-mail they are trying to process."

When it came to the four major e-mail services -- AOL, Yahoo, Gmail, and Hotmail -- Schneyder said Hotmail was 7 percent worse than the others on Thanksgiving Day. The report, he said, was based on "thousands of campaigns sent to tens of millions of recipients" between Nov. 23 and Nov. 30. About one-third of the campaigns hailed from retailers, he explained, while the data overall reflects benchmark averages across all the Phoenix, Ariz.-based company's clients.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY

MZD Hosting Free Multicultural Seminar

2009-11-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

MZD MULTICULTURAL SET TO HOST
FREE MARKETING SEMINAR

INDIANAPOLIS – MZD Multicultural, a division of locally-based, MZD Advertising – is hosting a free seminar, entitled "Multicultural Marketing in Our Changing World: How to Engage the Minority Consumer with Your Brand," on Thursday, Nov. 12th from 9 a.m. until 12 noon. The event – scheduled to take place at 8425 Woodfield Crossing Boulevard in the 1st Floor conference room – is free, but seating is limited. To register, please contact T. Julian Gipson at (317) 554-6350 or click here to register online.

The featured speakers at the event include:

• Kip Tew, who served as Indiana Campaign Manager for President Barack Obama. A longtime expert in governmental affairs, Tew will deliver a presentation entitled, "How Obama Used Multicultural Marketing to Reach the Masses."

• Carolene Mays. Mays is publisher and president of the nation's fourth oldest-surviving African-American newspaper, The Indianapolis Recorder, and the recently-acquired Indiana Minority Business Magazine. She has also served the public, fulfilling three terms of office in the Indiana House of Representatives. Mays will discuss the changes that have occurred in print and online advertising amid changes and interest in technology. She will also review the issue of journalism integrity and the importance of community news.

• Rickie Clark, founder of Indiana Diversity Magazine and a radio veteran for 20 years will discuss "Why you should always include African-American media in your advertising."

• Ralphael Ayayla, Radio Latina host personality and Latino Community Outreach Specialist. Topic: "How to reach Latinos with your marketing and media."

• T. Julian Gipson, Multicultural Marketing expert & nationally known event producer, will present a series of case studies and offer his insights on marketing. "Our firm sees this event as ideal for brand managers and marketers from across Indiana to discuss strategies for reaching the multicultural market, and to hear this perspective from experts who have produced real results," said Gipson.

Full bios of the speakers are available here.

What's Your Purpose?

2009-09-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

By Jason Acquisto
MZD Interactive

One of the most rewarding aspects of the agency biz is the opportunity to work with so many different companies and organizations. I feel fortunate that we get to partner with a wide variety of clients. Manufacturers, restaurants, churches. Churches? Absolutely.

As you might have heard, the historic Second Baptist Church of Indianapolis is undergoing an exciting transformation. Under the leadership of Sr. Pastor David W. Greene, the church has embraced a new vision called "Purpose of Life Ministries".

<<< Purpose of Life Ministries in the Miracle Mile Parade, Sept. 5, 2009

MZD is partnering with Purpose of Life to launch their new brand through interactive and social media tools, PR program and new creative campaign.

Check this out www.PurposeofLifeMinistries.com

"We're excited to work with MZD", said Rev. Greene. "Our mission is simple: help people find their purpose, live it and share it."

The Magical, Mysterious, Enchanting World of Advertising

2009-09-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

By Kiley Kellermeyer, MZD Account Executive

What is it about fairy tales that captivate us so? Perhaps it’s the way they bring out our inner child, or maybe it’s the enchanting idea that “happily ever after” really is possible.

Or, maybe it’s because they offer white steeds, brave knights and a no hassle rewards program.

Lost? Don’t worry, here’s a little story from the folks at Capital One that might help you out:

Now that we’ve cleared that up, we can discuss why so many advertisers choose to wave their magical wands over storyboards and sprinkle their ads with little bits of folklore.

Inner child, happily ever after, blah blah blah. The easy answer here is: women.

Moms, wives, daughters, girlfriends and lonely spinsters make up a considerable portion of the consuming population. And these consumers, whether they’ll admit it or not, have always dreamed of being the heroine in their own fairy tale, of braving considerable odds, of being swept off her feet by a Tuscan chef after snacking on Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Haven’t heard that one, huh? How about the tale of the charming man who finds the lost cell phone of a poor young girl, whose boorish sisters attempt to say the phone is theirs?

Of course, if I lost my cell phone I wouldn’t care if it was a frog prince that showed up at my door to give it back – as long as it was returned, but I suppose a dashing young man sells those features a little better. Although, I’d have to wonder how said dashing man found my house…

Speaking of frog princes, have you seen Pepsi’s take on the old classic?

Now THAT is a lady who knows what she wants – she wants an ice cold Pepsi even more than she wants a rich, handsome man to call her very own. And we all know a man is what every woman dreams of. Right?

I’m sorry. That was pretty stereotypical, wasn’t it? Sort of like the ads for milk.

To quote Sarah Haskins of Target Women “Wow. That got in almost every cliché about women. Can’t be single. Need to be saved by a man. Want marriage only. I think the only one they didn’t get in there is PMS.”

But, wait! There’s more Milk Magic where that came from!

Hooray! The brave, milk-bearing knight hath alleviated “that time of the month” and rescued the princess and her peasants from overwhelming mood swings! That’s not weird at all…

I think the lesson to be learned here is that fairy tales can be used beautifully and to great purpose if they are used correctly. They are, after all, strange, mystical tales meant to inspire and teach a lesson.

The (myriads of) fairy tales passed down through the years are excellent foundations for a great ad. Pepper the tale you’re weaving with a little humor and irony and you’ll be a hero.

But, whatever you do, beware the evil cliché!

The End.

Sarah Haskin’s Take on Fairy Tales, Advertising and Women:

We talk the talk. And we walk the walk.

2009-08-31T08:12:00.000-07:00

By MZD Interactive

When it comes to internet marketing, social media, Web 2.0 or whatever the catchy phrase-of-the-day is, there are a lot of “experts” out there. But when it comes down to it, there rarely show their clients work. Is this because they are over-protective or is it simply because they really have no work to show? It reminds me of the motivational speakers out there.

They charge $300 a pop to tell you how to make millions of dollars and be the best at your profession yet they themselves are simply successful and rich because of the people paying for their books and seminars. Granted, there are exceptions but it seems there’s a lot of talk out there with very little results.

As an advertising firm, our potential clients and current clients want to see what we’ve done in the past so that they know what we can do for them right now. And you know what? They have a right to see what we can do, which is why we told you about our ongoing success with Spaghetti Warehouse on Facebook and Twitter.

And it is why we are redesigning our Web site to show not only our great work in traditional media but also our great work on the internet and in social media. So, be sure to check in at our Web site at www.mzd.com and see what we’re up to. We’re constantly adding new things, so our clients now and down the road can get a better picture of what we’re capable of.

At MZD, we can talk the talk just like everyone else but we think our walk is really what you want to see.

No Brakes! No Brakes!

2009-07-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Whitaker, MZD Sr. Copywriter

When I leapt feet first into advertising over a decade ago as a creative, the learning curve was fairly short and sweet. Or at least compared to a creative’s learning curve today.

Back then, I basically created radio spots, TV spots and print ads. The print ads could then be resized and tweaked with copy for billboards, bar coasters, table tents, POS, postcards, brochures, posters, t-shirts, bus shelters, bus wraps and whatever other item we thought would make sense to put our clients message on.

As the internet started to boom, there were web sites and eventually web banners. Still, all in all, the message was always the same, it was one way. For centuries, advertising has spoken to the customer. It has told the customer what they should think. It has told the customer what they should do with the client’s product. It has controlled the client’s brand message almost completely. Sure, there has always been word of mouth, but it never had the reach that advertising had.

Until now.

Over the past two years, social media has boomed and agencies have either sunk or swam like there’s no tomorrow. Our clients are no longer in control of the message, their customers are.

While it’s still important to use traditional advertising mediums to build awareness and put their message out there for the masses to absorb, that initial message is just a spark to start the fire rather than the fire it once was.

Social media is where the message is fanned by the masses developing into an inferno. That inferno, while sometimes daunting, can go wild but it can also be controlled. Think of your clients’ message as a forest fire in social media. It might not be possible to put out the flames, but it can be pushed and directed towards the consumers fueling it with positive sentiments and kept at bay or reduced towards the consumers fueling it with negative sentiments.

The only way to do this is for clients and their agencies to jump into the fires rather than sitting back and watching their brands burn. And as a creative, it is my duty to my clients to understand this wild fire of social media and know or learn how to fight it, how to control it and how to turn it into a positive experience for both the clients brand and their consumers.

The learning curve is steep now and as a creative, you must not stop learning or you will surely drown amongst the waves of this social media hurricane.

The advertising world has indeed changed and tomorrow it will change again. Are you going to sink or are you going to swim.

While it’s more work, it’s tougher and I’m constantly having to learn something new, I am swimming and I’m loving it.

What are you doing?

And the winner is…Wrangler?

2009-06-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

This years Press Grand Prix winner at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival was “We Are Animals”, a Wrangler campaign from Paris hot shop Fred & Farid. A stark contrast, to the Wrangler we all grew up with, is what propelled this campaign to the top. Wrangler has always brought to mind images of cowboys, lassos and something our father wears (or at least mine). This campaign basically gives a big “F.U.” to that stereotypical view that has been ingrained into us over the past quarter-century.

This campaign while simple is also simply brilliant in its thinking and execution. If this campaign was to ever roll out around the world, I think it could be a very good thing for Wrangler. Clothes are all about emotions and the way they make you feel. A simple label can say sexy, tough, rich, trendy, rugged, confident or cool. This campaign’s emotion or theme is that at the essence of humans, at the core of our DNA, we are animals and we are primal and we are sexual in nature. Remove all the glitz, the technology and escape to be human again, to be the animals that we are.

The images are models in animal-like poses in nature. Whether it’s the “deer in the headlights” caught by society and normalcy or the “animal by the lake” going for a drink before the noise of humans pollutes the serenity and peace, these images hint, not so subtlety, at our Darwinian roots with three simple words, “We are animals.” Indeed we are.

Is it just another case of “sex sells”? Are you asking yourself “But where’s the product?” and “Where’s the call to action?” Or do you get it? Do you understand that in today’s world, with every ad and tv commercial and radio spot yelling at us to buy this or do this and think this, that an ad like this breaks through the noise and clutter not by making the logo bigger or using bright colors or flashy lights but by being simple and letting the consumer do a little bit of thinking. Sometimes we want to tell the consumer everything in our ads. But sometimes by saying nothing or little at all, we say it all and more. And that can make all the difference in the world. Just ask Fred & Farid.

David Lubars, the president of the Cannes Lions press jury, said the campaign had won because the idea could work globally to change the US-centric view of the Wrangler brand.

"It is a very emotional campaign, you can see how it can go into all kinds of areas," added Lubars. "The theme is we are animals, a very primal, sexual approach. Before the brand was about middle-aged cowboy jeans from America. Now it takes a whole different look overnight."

"It grabbed me by the gut," said Gerry Graf, chief creative officer of Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, and a jury member. "I felt what they wanted me to feel. A simple image and a few ads worked on four or five different levels for me. It changed my image of Wrangler. It's talking about primal urges."

US judge Gerry Graf, the chief creative officer at Saatchi & Saatchi, said the campaign "screams raw sex". "That's what you want when you put on some jeans. That's what I want," Graf added.

Customer Service – How a Small Beer Company from Colorado Gets It.

2009-06-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Whitaker, MZD Sr. Copywriter

In today’s world, it seems everyone and anyone is talking about social media and “Twitter this” and “Facebook that.” And while, I am not about to downplay the power of social media, I was pleasantly reminded yesterday of something way more important. Beyond social media and advertising and pr and cool guerilla ideas, all of it doesn’t matter if your brand or product is backed by less than spectacular customer service. And while we can all recall from memory stories of terrible customer service, this is not one of them. This is a story of a small Colorado brewery that went way beyond the call of duty in order to help a wife give her husband (that would be me) one of the coolest Father’s Day presents ever.

As I write this, it is not yet Father’s Day, but my wife decided to give me my Father’s Day present a little early (she’s awesome). Yesterday evening I came home to my wife and daughter sitting waiting for me in the front yard with the garage door down. My two-year old daughter gave me a Father’s Day card that she made herself with finger paints. Inside the card was a picture of her standing and smiling in front of our old, yellow garage fridge with its door opened. The fridge was packed full with New Belgium Fat Tire Ale cases and tall bottles of Fat Tire and New Belgium’s other beers. Being that I love Fat Tire, I was a very happy man. I couldn’t have asked for more. The end, so now let’s go to the beginning.

New Belgium started selling Fat Tire in Indiana in April. I had heard this news through Twitter and was excited to finally be able to get it. It had always been this cult beer ever since I heard about it in college. It was a beer that people who had it couldn’t stop praising it. but it was a beer that had a small distribution and was no where near where I lived. It was this cult beer, almost a myth. But years later, on that fateful day in April, I was able to buy it in Indiana. It was like Christmas Day for a guy for loves good beer.

Realizing my new infatuation with this delicious beer, my wife wanted to surprise me with a fridge full of Fat Tire as a Father’s Day gift but there was a problem. She couldn’t find it. So, she went online to their website www.newbelgiumbrewing.com and sent them an email. She told them her plan and how she was panicking because she couldn’t find it and she asked them if they knew where she could get a bunch. Within a half-hour they not only replied to her but they had their “Indiana Beer Ranger” reply with links and directions to liquor stores. The “Beer Ranger” helped her find a liquor store close by, but it didn’t stop there. Most companies could have called it a “job well done” but not New Belgium. Our “Beer Ranger” told my wife that he would drop off some items at the liquor store for her to pick up. He could have left a simple beer coozie and I would have been impressed but instead he left four cool posters of their beer label art and a really nice Fat Tire ball cap (something I would have gladly have paid money for). Through the whole process, our “Beer Ranger” has made sure she got all the beer and has also kept her up-to-date on a new beer that should be out today called Skinny Dip Ale. He has been more than helpful and it has impressed both my wife and I.

So what is the lesson learned? Customer service is golden.

If you go beyond the call of duty and provide great customer service, your customers will then spread the good news, just like I am right now, on those social media things everyone and anyone is talking about. Thank you New Belgium for providing unbelievable customer service, I can only hope others will follow in your direction.

Reality TV, Social Media and the Big Crunch

2009-05-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Whitaker, MZD Sr. Copywriter

The other day while driving to work, I was thinking about the recent buzz around Twitter and the “social media boom” and the popularity of reality TV shows like American Idol and Survivor and how it’s all related and how it’s nothing new in this world. Is this “history repeating itself” or “the big bang theory”? Will this be the “new dot.com bubble burst” or “the big crunch”? Since the dawn of time, man has conversed. We’ve talked with each other in the streets, in the market, at the coliseum before the lions killed the gladiators, in the coffee shops, and the front porches. Humans have always been social animals. We have always crowded into cities to live on top of each other. We, for the most part, have feared isolation and silence.

But over the past century, something happened called “technology”. Technology in the form of automobiles allowed people to move further away from each other. Then radio and TV took the role of neighbors and friends as people stayed home listening and watching fictional shows, their eyes glued to light-emitting tubes of glorious wonderment. Technology, while not exactly a bad thing, has been very bad for the social side of human existence. We have slowly become more isolated from each other and with the dawn of the internet in the 90’s, we became even more isolated. And then the Big Crunch came to an end. The Big Crunch is the idea that space eventually stops expanding and reverses and collapses, ultimately leading to another Big Bang. So if we think of technology as the beginning of the Big Crunch of socialization. Slowly over the pat century we have become even more isolated from each other and talked less to each other until that one fateful day we became so isolated from each other that we all blew up.

The Big Bang happened.

And it happened in the form of Reality TV and social media. Reality TV allowed us to become a part of other people’s lives. We rooted for reality TV stars, we voted for them and these reality TV stars became part of our household and part of our dinner table conversation. They started the ball rolling. But for the most part, TV is a one way conversation which is why social media was created. Around the same time that Survivor started the Reality TV Big Bang (yes, there have been other Reality TV shows before then, but Survivor was the beginning of the now boom in Reality TV); Friendster started the Social Media Big Bang or boom. And then came Myspace, American Idol, Facebook, Top Chef, Twitter, Rock of Love and about a hundred more shows and social media tools.

We are now in the first phases of the Big Bang of socialization. Every day, there are news ways to talk and converse with other people. We have gone beyond the idea of talking with neighbors, friends and family; we are now talking with complete strangers and people around the world. We can tell and share with the world anything and everything. Some of us are at the point where we are sharing too much (seriously, I don’t care if you just went to the grocery store to pick up milk). And one day, maybe soon, maybe hundreds even thousands of years later, we will slowly reverse back and experience a new Big Crunch of socialization. Whether it’s history repeating itself, the cyclical nature of the universe, the big bang/big crunch theory or some other theory or idea, it’s definitely an interesting point in time we are all facing and experiencing right now. Technology has been turned on its side and has now connected the world in one conversation.

Where do we go from here? What will cause the next Big Crunch? Will it be technology, war, disease, natural disasters or will it be Google going down for more than just three hours? (I thought I’d never survive the Google Fail of May 14, 2009.)

Who knows, who disagrees, who cares, who wants to talk about it?

Papa John's, Tony Dungy and The Giant Check

2009-05-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

May 12 - On behalf of Papa John's, MZD Advertising presents former Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy with a check for $15,000 for the Carson Scholars Fund. The fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity founded in 1994, by Johns Hopkins pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Benjamin Carson and his wife, Candy, to recognize and reward students in grades 4-11 who strive for academic excellence (3.75 GPA or higher) and demonstrate a strong commitment to their community.

Last Fall, pizza lovers were invited to try the Colts Special, a large, two-topping pizza with breadsticks for $15.99. A portion of the proceeds from all 55 Central Indiana Papa John’s stores were donated to the Carson Scholars Fund through the promotion.

The MZD Papa John’s marketing and PR teams, joined Dungy at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center for the press conference, where MZD CEO and Papa John’s Franchisee Allan Zukerman presented Dungy with a ceremonial “giant check".

Rich Lunseth, MZD creative director, was also on hand to present Dungy with a unique “thank you” gift from the Papa John’s crew: a Colts Special pizza box with a digital picture frame containing still shots and video from the television commercial starring Coach Dungy.

Coach Dungy repeatedly expressed how important the Carson Scholars Fund is to him, which is apparent, as this commercial with MZD is only the second he has ever done in his career.

Since retiring from coaching, Dungy has been involved with numerous ministries including All Pro Dads and Abe Brown Ministries, a prison outreach. Following up on the success of the biographical “Quiet Strength,” which reached No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list, Dungy released “Uncommon” in January.

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PIZZA) is the world’s third-largest pizza company. For nine years running, consumers have rated Papa John’s No.1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the highly regarded American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John’s also ranks first among pizza companies in the 2008 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, was honored by restaurants & Institutions Magazine (R&I) with the 2008 Silver Award for Consumers’ Choice in Chains in the pizza segment, and was named 2007 Pizza Today Chain of the Year. For more information about the company or the order pizza online, visit Papa John’s at www.papajohns.com.

The Gist of Social Media or "Don’t Make a Mountain out of a Molehill"

2009-05-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

by Aaron Whitaker
MZD Senior Copywriter

The front porch, the fence, the coffee shop, the local bar, the water cooler.

These are all places where we go to converse with other people. To share stories, to tell jokes, to talk business, to make friends.

Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed, blogs, Digg, Linkedin.

These are all places where we go to converse with other people. To share stories, to tell jokes, to talk business, to make friends. These places are the online coffee shop, the online water cooler, the online bar. This is what social media is.

This is social media.

Social media gives you a great opportunity to get out there online and talk with (not talk to) thousands of people as a friend and fellow human being first and as a business, product and/or brand second.

People trust those they know. Those they like.

Tell jokes, reply to questions, share something funny that happened on the way to work; the more you converse, the more the people will get to know you and hopefully like you as a friend and as their future sheriff.

The other side of the coin.

People will talk bad about you, false accusations will be written about you. People will praise you. They’ll spread the love, they’ll spread the hate. People will talk about your competition. The key is to know about it as it happens and respond accordingly. The key is to listen. This is social monitoring.

Listen first, talk second.

Social monitoring is probably the most important part of any social marketing effort. The idea is to listen to what is being said about you and your competition and be able to take action. Whether it is a comment on a blog, a Twitter post, a remark on Facebook, a video, or a picture; you need to have the right listening tools to respond in an efficient and timely manner.

Get out there and talk.

That’s the gist of social media and social monitoring. It’s a big, complex world that changing every day, but the core, fundamental idea of it all is talking, conversing and listening. So get out there and talk with your fellow human as they get to know you, your company and/or your brand better.

Did You Know?

2009-05-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

Since 2003, the number of American users FREQUENTING online video destinations has increased 339%.

In the past year, time spent on social networking sites has surged 73%.

In February 2009, social network usage exceeded Web-based e-mail usage for the first time ever.

(Source: The Center for Media Research, www.mediapost.com)

2009 “Miracle Mile Parade” Will Honor Hoosier Heroes

2009-04-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

MZD Advertising will be providing all of the advertising, marketing and public relations for the 2009 Miracle Mile Parade.

Following its triumphant revival in 2007 and a successful sequel in 2008, the “Miracle Mile Parade” will once again grace the streets of Indianapolis’ Southside beginning at 1 p.m. on Sept. 5, 2009.

This year’s parade theme is “Honoring Hoosier Heroes”. In keeping with that theme, the Grand Marshal for this year’s parade is the Adjutant General of the Indiana National Guard, Major General R. Martin Umbarger.

Pictured (from left to right) are: Bart McAtee, a 2010 candidate for Marion County Sheriff; David Ayers, MZD’s Public Relations Director; Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Major Clifford Myers; Col. Kenneth E. Ring, Jr., Indiana National Guard, Director of Operations and Training; Bryan Apolskis, event specialist, Sequence Sport Event Management; David Begemann, Engineer, IFD; Brian Sanford – IFD Chief of Fire; Kiley Kellermeyer, MZD Public Relations Executive; Lesley Warren; David Bogemann – IFD; Matt Keating, MZD Public Relations Executive; Allan Zukerman, MZD CEO; Micki Sheridan, MZD Account Executive; Jason Acquisto, Director of MZD Interactive and Rich Lunseth, MZD Creative Director.

Sometimes I Like to Drive

2009-04-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

by Jason Acquisto
Director, MZD Interactive

Remember when you first got your driver's license? What was your first car? Mine was a 1983 Toyota Tercel. Yeah baby! I had 6 x 9 speakers mounted in the back seat, a Pioneer cassette deck. Yeah, you could say it was a little awesome. But the greatest part was, I was able to drive myself. No longer did I have to depend on someone else - I was "in control".

Okay, now here's my analogy. We shouldn't let technology drive us. Instead of figuring out how to fit some new gadget into our lives, we should set up our lives and then use technology as it fits. Example? The iPhone. What a gorgeous creation. What an absolutely drool-worthy gadget. But ... for me? I have my smart phone, mobile Internet and messaging device (the vastly underrated Samsung Blackjack) and portable digital music player (the iconic 4th generation iPod Nano) already covered. So I can't really "fit" this uber-cool tool into my repertoire. Do I still want one? Shut up. Of course I do. But not getting one gives me a sense of being "in control".

Is this some kind of personal statement against the Orwellian rise of the machines as foretold in the ancient book of Steve Jobs?
Nah. Bring on the prophecy. Bring on HAL. I can dig it. I can dig it all. In fact, when the time is right, I'll probably own at least one version of the iPhone. But not today.

It's just that sometimes I like to feel the road, just to remind me that you, know - I'm the man. Yup. Sometimes I like to drive.

All in the Facebook family: older generations join social networks

2009-04-13T09:35:00.001-07:00

(CNN) -- Penny Ireland's family is so scattered around the world that Facebook, the popular social networking site, has become the family's No. 1 way to communicate.

The fastest-growing age group on Facebook is women older than 55, Inside Facebook says.

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"We call it our living room," the 56-year-old mother said by phone from her home in Houston, Texas. "Everybody can tell what everybody else is doing."

"Everybody" includes Ireland's five kids and her 83-year-old mother, who has a Facebook profile she accesses daily, Ireland said.

While online social networks like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are known hang-outs for younger adults and teenagers, older generations in recent months have been taking to the medium at a faster rate than any other age group, according to industry reports.

Many of these older folks use social networks to keep tabs on younger family members and they often find fruitful connections with their peers after they've friended all of their kids and grandkids, according to an informal survey by Stanford University professor BJ Fogg. Join a conversation on this topic at CNN's Facebook page

The trend is still relatively confined. Only about 7 percent of people older than 65 have online social-networking profiles, according to research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

But Facebook's popularity is growing most quickly among women older than 55, according to a site called Inside Facebook, which tracks Facebook's growth.

For the entire article, click here CNN Facebook article

Don't Miss

Did you know?

2009-04-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite thing at the moment.

- Jason Acquisto, MZDi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIDLIwlzkgY

10 Harsh Truths About Corporate Websites

2009-03-26T13:06:00.000-07:00

I love sharing. Sharing is great. I love to give donations, presents, compliments, a stick of gum. Whatever. Something else that's really cool is receiving. You know, getting stuff. But what I like best of all is when I get something I really like and I am able to pass it along to someone else. That's sharing. And sharing is great. So please enjoy this article that I found in Smashing Magazine, written by Paul Boag. Paul is the founder of UK Web design agency Headscape, author of the Website Owners Manual and host of award-winning Web design podcast Boagworld.com.
- Jason Acquisto
Director, MZD Interactive
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10 Harsh Truths About Corporate Websites
source - Smashing Magazine, February 10th, 2009

We all make mistakes running our websites. However, the nature of those mistakes varies depending on the size of your company. As your organization grows, the mistakes change. This post addresses common mistakes among large organizations.
Most of the clients I work with are large organizations: universities, large charities, public sector institutions and large companies. Over the last 7 years, I have noticed certain recurring misconceptions among these organizations. This post aims to dispel these illusions and encourage people to face the harsh reality.
The problem is that if you are reading this post, you are probably already aware of these things. But hopefully this article will be helpful to you as you convince others within your organization. In any case, here are our 10 harsh truths about websites of large organizations.
1. You Need A Separate Web Division
In many organizations, the website is managed by either the marketing or IT department. However, this inevitably leads to a turf war, with the website becoming the victim of internal politics.
In reality, pursuing a Web strategy is not particularly suited to either group. IT may be excellent at rolling out complex systems, but it is not suited to developing a friendly user experience or establishing an online brand.

Zeldman urges organisations to create a separate web division.
Marketing, on the other hand, is little better. As Jeffrey Zeldman puts it in his article Let there be Web divisions:
The Web is a conversation. Marketing, by contrast, is a monologue… And then there’s all that messy business with semantic markup, CSS, unobtrusive scripting, card-sorting exercises, HTML run-throughs, involving users in accessibility, and the rest of the skills and experience that don’t fall under Marketing’s purview.
Instead, the website should be managed by a single unified team. Again, Zeldman sums it up when he writes:
Put them in a division that recognizes that your website is not a bastard of your brochures, nor a natural outgrowth of your group calendar. Let there be Web divisions.
2. Managing Your Website Is A Full-Time Job
Not only is the website often split between marketing and IT, it is also usually under-resourced. Instead of there being a dedicated Web team, those responsible for the website are often expected to run it alongside their “day job.”
click here for full story 10 Harsh Truths About Corporate Websites

Turn on the SyFy Channel?

2009-03-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

by Kiley Kellermeyer, MZD Account Executive

Having somehow gone unmonitored by historians and semanticists everywhere, the sometimes-vowel “y” has finally ascended the ranks of letterdom and become infinitely cooler than the letters “c”and “i”. This is bad news if your name is “Chris Irwin” but great news for Dave Howe, president of the Sci Fi Channel, which will evolve on July 7 to the SyFy Channel in attempts to shed its geeky image.

Here’s Howe’s thinking: “When we tested this new name, the thing that we got back from our 18-to-34 techno-savvy crowd, which is quite a lot of our audience, is actually this is how you’d text it,” Howe told TV Guide. “It made us feel much cooler, much more cutting-edge, much more hip, which was kind of bang-on what we wanted to achieve communication-wise.”

In the official press release on scifi.com, Howe said that “the new brand broadens perceptions and embraces a wider and more diverse range of imagination-based entertainment,” but I think what he really meant is best summed up by this statement from TV historian Tim Brooks (who helped launch Sci Fi Channel) when he told TV Guide: “The name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that, as opposed to the general public and the female audience in particular.”

The name Sci Fi, said Brookes, is better than Science Fiction, but still limiting.

Now, I fit right smack dab in the middle of Mr. Howe’s demographic. And –bonus points for me – I’m a geek. I enjoy a great lightsaber battle as much as the next girl, and time travel makes my heart go pitter pat.

But, come on now, Howe! SyFy? I’m certainly no “y-hater,” but it seems to me in order to attract people to your channel you need to air shows that will draw them and keep them coming back for more, not simply swivel a couple of letters around. Not to mention, when a middle-aged man says something is “much more hip,” I’m heading for the hills, and I’ll wager a lot of those 18 to 34 year-olds will be right behind me.

One look at the comments on the TV Guide story suggests that Sci Fi Channel doesn’t have a branding problem, it has a content problem. Apparently, it has strayed so far away from science fiction its core audience feels it shouldn’t actually be called the science fiction channel – which is apparently the direction the executives are heading, as well. Unfortunately, that core audience is also “heading” for the remote control.

The Sci Fi Channel – er, SyFy Channel – is a niche. The beauty of the channel is that it doesn’t have to be NBC, CBS or ABC. Those networks are for the general public, with some viewers who aren’t quite capable of stretching their minds past the mundane. A channel devoted to science fiction shows and movies, then, should not hide behind two little y’s when the real marketing efforts could be made building a fan base for science fiction across the board.

See that guy over there who says he doesn’t like anything that couldn’t happen in real life? Make and market something so good he’ll be captivated. I doubt he’ll turn off “CSI:Miami” in favor of “Warehouse 13” because he’s got a fetish for the second to last letter in the alphabet.

Oh, and Mr. Howe and Mr. Brookes, while you’re at it, you might try not publicly insulting your core audience with the “geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys” comments in the future.

Hey, look – “dysfunctional” has a “y” in it!

Twitter-iffic!

2009-03-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Whitaker, MZD Senior Copywriter

What is Twitter and why do I want to tweet you?

You’ve probably seen news articles recently regarding breaking news and how it is leaks out through Twitter first and not your typical media routes of TV and radio. And if you’re like many, you’ve probably asked yourself “What in the world is a Twitter?” Twitter is a micro blogging platform that allows people to broadcast short messages of less than 140 characters to friends and strangers.

I will have to admit that I was unfamiliar with Twitter up until about a year ago. And at that time, I was told by an “expert” that it allows people to follow you and see what you’re doing during the day like “I’m going to lunch with friends,” or “I’m going to the grocery store for the second time today.” And my response was why do I want to know what someone else is doing every second of the day. It reminded me about the early days of blogs and how most of the blogs seemed like teenagers talking about themselves and their “totally, awesome friends.”

So at that time, I blew off Twitter and called it “stupid” but recently I started researching on how Twitter can be used as a marketing tool. And it was through this research that I discovered that it seems Twitter has grown up in the last year. There are many great examples of brands using Twitter as a marketing tool like Ford, Jet Blue, H&R Block, Starbucks and the Red Cross. So what do they do and how do they do it? They listen, they share and they help but they don’t advertise. And that is what makes or breaks a brand on Twitter.

Think of Twitter as a bar or a party where you talk with strangers, talk with friends, share interesting stories, tell jokes, debate on issues and so on. And then you go home. Well Twitter is a place to share your knowledge of your brands field and expertise. If it’s healthcare, you share healthy insights or new research about the healthiness of drinking wine. You might even help people out who have questions about their healthcare like what is the difference between an FSA and a HSA. You socialize with people who are interested in what you have to say. In Twitter if someone likes what you are saying or is interested in what you talk about, they “follow” you. That means that whenever you write a short message or “tweet” on Twitter, all of your followers receive that message. If they have a specific question, they can tweet you and ask you.

So how does it payoff for your brand? If you are an expert on healthcare on Twitter, I may follow you because I’m interested in staying healthy but I might run into a friend who is looking for a new healthcare policy and have I got good news for him. I can give my friend your Twitter name or your blog or Web site name and he goes to you because I, as a friend, have validated you as a good source for healthcare information. Word of mouth. Yep, that old way of advertising has suddenly made an appearance alongside one of the modern tools of advertising, Twitter.

So when you think of Twitter and other social media platforms think of it as networking and socializing at a bar. If people are interested in what you are saying, they can follow you home to your company’s Web site or blog. Twitter is just one bar in a sea of online bars, so don’t cut yourself short and just use one social media platform to talk about your expertise and brand, use them all or at least more than one.

Putting Your Best Face Forward

2009-03-06T10:45:00.000-08:00

By Angie Gookins, MZD Media Buyer

Two evenings ago, I was hanging at my favorite place, with two of my favorite people: the mall with my 9 month old son and my mother. I am a cliché mall-loving woman. Even when I don’t buy, I just love to peruse the different wings, browse through the beautiful clothes, and dabble at the makeup counters. And despite my husband’s emphatic denial, the truth is my son loves to hang at the mall too.

However, a baby in public always brings with it a small source of stress; the unpredictable, and loud mini-humans that they are. So, when I venture out of the “safe zone”, I always take great care in being prepared to prevent or solve a meltdown of any sort. Because, it’s also important, when out in public, to create an image of confidence – “I know what I’m doing and can handle the situation no matter the occurrence.” I want to put my best face forward. I do not want outsiders giving me an “F” in parenting.

I am my own marketing agency.

Which leads me to tell you about the woman in the bathroom, who obviously did not employ a marketing agency – her own, or any one else’s. The cursing, yelling and berating were serious mistakes of the worst kind. Her child, the one who didn’t wash her hands without being told, was far better behaved than the woman, who held the title “mother”. She definitely gets an “F” in parenting, as well as public relations. I’m not sure she has ever heard of putting your best face forward, or marketing, at that.

If I hadn’t been completely terrified, I might have given her my card.

The Power of Barney

2009-02-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

By Aaron Whitaker, MZD Senior Copywriter

My two-year-old daughter is a handful. I’ve pretty much given up the whole idea of having a clean living room. My wife or I can pick up all of her toys and put them away and when we turn our back, all of the toys are suddenly back on the floor, in between the sofa cushions under the sofa, in the dog’s crate which the dog is now chewing on, and basically in every tiny little hole, crevice and space in the living room. She is a terror, I would actually welcome a bull in a china shop. I mean, eventually the bull would settle down unlike my little girl.

But there is one thing that can grab her attention immediately. No it’s not pointy objects, it’s Barney. “I love Barney,” never thought I’d say that but I do. And guess what? Barney loves me too because he sings it to me every time he’s on the TV. And I love my DVR. Whenever we need my daughter to sit down for a little while, so we can pick up her toys, we play one of the many episodes of Barney that are on our DVR. Somehow Barney makes my daughter sit down on the couch and become transfixed to the TV for the whole episode and then I push replay and she does it all over again. I don’t know if Barney is a hypnotist or the anti-Christ but he knows how to grab my daughter’s attention and keep it which I feel I will never be able to master.

In the world of advertising, Barney is the king of the toddler demographic. And as an advertiser, I think Barney is an untapped resource for advertisers. What if Baby Bop (another dinosaur) sang her song called “The Baby Bop Hop” (I swear she sings it like every episode, I get it already, I can hop now, thanks) with some Fisher Price instruments? Or if BJ (another dinosaur) who is working on potty training takes a dump in his Huggies? And Barney changes him and uses Johnson & Johnson baby powder? And when Barney has had enough trying to watch over all these damn kids and answering all their stupid questions, what if he had a nice glass of Caymus Cabernet and a Roche Pharmaceuticals Valium? Barney is powerful, probably more powerful than the President, I mean Barney has a 100% approval rating among the 0-4 year olds, that’s unbelievable. He can tell those millions of babies and toddlers to do anything or buy anything and they’ll do it. So advertisers, start calling Barney. Oh wait, he doesn’t have a phone and he only comes to life in make-believe. Damn it! Well advertiser, start make-believing Barney is selling your products. Good luck.

Mix Tapes (and other mistakes)

2009-02-20T12:49:00.000-08:00

By Ryan Porter, MZD Senior Art Director

I’m walking thru the agency today and I hear some co-workers talking about mix tapes. You remember those? The tapes you made for someone you were dating that had all of the songs that reminded you of them. It reminded me of this time in college when I started dating this girl and fell in love and put the song “Rape Me” by Nirvana on a tape for her. Subsequently, I ended up marrying said girl and getting divorced 9 years later in what I now refer to as “The Great Escape”. But that’s a whole other blog post. Trust me!

Maybe putting that song on that tape should have been a sign. It was a mistake. It was cheesy. It was… well, embarrassing. Lord knows that if rethought all of the decisions I made when I was 19, certainly there would have been a few different paths traveled.

Was putting that song on that tape a sign of things to come? Was it the start of an ever so gradual downslide? Did putting that song on that tape turn her into a raging psycho? No, probably not. But if I would have looked closer for the signs, I would have seen that her “brand” was on a serious downturn.

Just like with your brand. A brand isn’t just a logo. It isn’t the smile you put on even when things aren’t going well. Or the makeup you use to cover that untimely pimple. You can’t cover a bad brand with pretty colors and a flashy business card. Sure, those things are part of making a great first impression, but they’re not everything.

Your brand is your reflection on the world. Your brand is nothing without the your performance to back it up. Your brand is how you look, how you act, how you conduct business, and how you treat your customers. Your brand is OTHER PEOPLE’S perception of you.

So baby your brand. Finesse it. Teach it tricks that bring on gaggles of laughter at parties. What I’m saying is PAY ATTENTION TO IT! Don’t just let someone design you a logo or a brochure and think the job is done. When you’re talking about branding, the job is never done. It’s like raising a baby. You constantly have to make sure that someone is looking after it and pointing it in the right direction. Do the job that your clients expect you to do, and then take it 5 steps further. Don’t just meet people’s expectations. GO BEYOND THEM.

Don’t let your brand evolve into something people will despise or laugh at behind your back. Make sure it has a pretty face, but also the intellect and determination to perform miracles.

At MZD we understand brands and how important they are to your business, because ours is that important to us. Be careful not to suddenly realize that your “brand” is on a serious downturn, and find yourself looking to make “The Great Escape” like I did!

MZD creates "Feel Good Site of the Year"

2009-02-16T07:28:00.000-08:00

The Feel Good Web Site of the Year – REALTORS Giving Back (RealtorsGivingBack.org)

In the tough economic times our nation is facing, it’s nice to read some good news. The problem is there’s not a lot out there and it’s hard to find. Most media outlets focus on the trying times of our nation whether it’s the economy, the war, the fighting on Capitol Hill or the next big storm that is taking out our power and leaving areas completely devastated. Sure, a good story comes along every once in a while like the “Miracle on the Hudson River” story. But most times it’s hard to find heartwarming stories.

That is why Indiana Association of REALTORS came to us at MZD. Throughout the year, their REALTORS gave their time and money to helping others in need in their communities. But most of these stories went untold. IAR wanted to spread these good words about these acts of kindness in hopes that they would lift the spirits of their fellow Hoosiers and perhaps inspire others to give generously of their time and effort towards those in need.

It was from this simple idea, that we created Realtors Giving Back for IAR. At Realtors Giving Back, IAR’s more than 18,000 REALTORS are able to share their stories of giving and read the stories of others. News stories and articles about their acts of kindness are also posted on the Web site for others to read. So if you need a pickup and want to see what great things REALTORS in Indiana are doing for their community, visit www.realtorsgivingback.org.

New Business Strategy

2009-02-06T08:56:00.000-08:00

By Erik Faigh, MZD Account Executive

New. Business. Those are definitely two words every account person loves to hear. In the past few months of 2008, we’ve added several new clients to our roster. I’d just like to take a minute and mention those names here. (You never know when they might be reading.) Here’s a warm and bloggy welcome to American Health & Wellness Group, Associated Builders & Contractors, GAP Solutions, Inc., the Indianapolis City Market and Energy Management Systems. You’ll be able to follow some of the work we have done and are currently doing for these clients in upcoming posts. We look forward to forging great relationships with each of them, but, perhaps what we’re excited about the most is the new way we’re helping our clients, old and new, do business.

In today’s economic climate, which resembles something close to a bar fight in a broom closet, we can’t rely on fat budgets and lazy methods to drive our client’s objectives. Today it’s lean. It’s tight. It’s squeezing a dime from every nickel and trying to figure out how to polish it into a quarter. We’re all taking a long hard look at more intelligent, diverse ways to set our clients apart.

In order to do so, we’re leveraging our strategic partnerships; staying on top of trends; discovering new ways to communicate; and pushing just a little harder and digging a littler deeper (or a lot harder and a lot deeper depending on how much coffee we’ve had) to do our jobs better.

Has MZD changed its tune? Not exactly. We’re still in touch with the basics of our business and that will never change. But what I want to let you know is that we aren’t resting on our tootsie rolls and letting the basics of our business do all the work. At the end of the day each of us want to know we can do a lot more for a client than just return their phone calls.

You know, there’s two other words every account person, and I’d gather, almost every agency person loves hearing more than “new business” and that’s when the client says, “Thank You.”

-Erik Faigh

Best Super Bowl Ads

2009-02-03T06:10:00.000-08:00

The Super Bowl happened day before yesterday. But evaluation of the commercials continues. Here is a review of the ads from MediaPost.
- Jason Acquisto, MZD Interactive
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Shop Talk: The Best And Worst Of The Super Bowl Ads
By Amy Corr , Monday, February 2, 2009

Underwhelmed and fresh salsa. Those are the two tastes lingering in my mouth following the Super Bowl. The game was far more exciting than the ads. Even this non-football-watcher was glued to her seat.

Everyone's tastes differ, but here's a rundown on my favorite and least favorite ads. Whether you agree or disagree with my selection, I invite you to discuss your favorite Super Bowl ads on the Media Creativity blog.

Don't risk missing these ads with a bathroom break: Hulu. "You know they say TV will rot your brain. That's absurd. TV only softens your brain. Like a ripe banana," says Alec Baldwin, portraying an alien portraying a "TV actor" in Hulu's evil plot to destroy the world.
Crispin Porter & Bogusky created the ad. I rewatched the ad on Hulu, but not before being informed that Teleflora sponsored my viewing pleasure. More on them later.
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=99554

Super Bowl Ads Sell-Out?

2009-01-30T14:57:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK NBC is closing in on a Super Bowl ad sellout, reducing its inventory of remaining spots to a deuce.

In a Wednesday conference call, Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports and Olympics, said the network sold two of its final four ads for Sunday's Steelers-Cardinals finale. "Considering the state of the economy in the United States, we couldn't be any more thrilled with where we are," Ebersol said. "As of [Tuesday], we had four spots to sell. I'm told within the last few hours two of those four have sold, so now we're down to two spots unsold in the game."

Blair Englehart Named VP of MZD

2008-12-22T10:45:00.000-08:00

BLAIR ENGLEHART HAS BEEN NAMED VICE PRESIDENT OF THE AGENCY . BLAIR RECENTLY RETURNED TO THE AGENCY AFTER FIRST WORKING FOR MZD DURING THE 1980'S .HE WILL ASSIST ALLAN ZUKERMAN IN THE DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS , WHILE CONTINUING TO BE THE THE NEW BUSINESS DIRECTOR . WE CONGRATULATE BLAIR ON HIS PROMOTION !

MZD Multicultural Director Produces client Buchanan group's JAZZ event

2008-12-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

MZD Advertising CEO Allan Zukerman with First Lady of El Salvador@City Market event

2008-12-22T10:40:00.000-08:00

MZD "Miracle Mile" Parade Kick-Off Dinner w/Jeff Cardwell

2008-12-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

MZD produced the Miracle mile parade in partnership with Jeff Cardwell for the second year. The kick off dinner (pictured above) and the parade itself were both
bigger and better this year!

MZD creates TV Spot for Papa Johns Pizza Featuring Tony Dungy

2008-12-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

MZD CEO Allan Zukerman & Director T. Julian Gipson Pose with Colts NFL TROPHY

2008-12-22T10:31:00.001-08:00

MZD Cliect Voice.tv Takes it to the streets!

2008-12-22T10:30:00.001-08:00

The MZD VOICE.TV roadshow is under way delivering its anti-smoking message!

About the Road Tour:

The purpose of the Voice Road Tour is to inspire, educate and fire up youth in a unique and new way. The Voice Road Tour will stop in diverse areas of Indiana allowing you to talk to thousands of Hoosiers about Voice and the overall theme for this tour, “Don’t Glam Tobacco”. “Don’t Glam Tobacco” started last summer in order to combat the entertainment industry’s glamorization of tobacco in movies, TV and music. Because of this campaign, last year Voice sent over a thousand petitions to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and MTV demanding them to re-evaluate movie ratings and airing prime time television programming with tobacco usage prominently displayed. It was a huge success and we want more! Please stop by and support us throughout our summer tour, see you there!!

Death Cab for Cutie White River State Park June 14

Taste of Bloomington Bloomington, IN June 21

Weird Al Yankovic White River State Park July 3

Hancock County Fair Greenfield, IN July 13

Johnson County Fair Franklin, IN July 14

Parke County Fair Rockville, IN July 16

Jason Mraz and Gavin DeGraw White River State Park July 17

Decatur County Fair Greensburg, IN July 18

Vanderburgh County Fair Evansville, IN July 21

Allen County Fair Fort Wayne, IN July 25

St. Joseph County Fair South Bend, IN July 30

Wilco White River August 4

Boys Like Girls/Good Charlotte White River August 6

Indiana State Fair Indianapolis, IN August 11

OAR White River August 15

MZD Multicultural @ the INDY 500 w/Milka Juno

2008-12-22T10:29:00.001-08:00

MZD assists Lafayette Square coalition

2008-12-22T10:27:00.000-08:00

MZD Urban will assist the Lafayette square coalition and the lafayette square mall with marketing and events including a parade!

Hoosier property tax reform

2008-12-22T10:26:00.001-08:00

WWW.HOOSIERPROPERTYTAXREFORM.COM

Flanner Buchanan MultiCultural Ads

2008-12-22T10:25:00.001-08:00

Yosha Law Commercial

2008-12-22T10:24:00.001-08:00

MZD New Clients

2008-12-22T10:23:00.000-08:00

Top Ten Superbowl Commercials 2007

2008-12-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

Creative Advertising

2008-12-22T10:20:00.003-08:00

MZD Los Angeles & Harley Davidson

2008-12-22T10:18:00.002-08:00

MZD los angeles director STEVEN ZUKERMAN created the following promotional video for Harley Davidson-"inside sturgis with jessica crogen"

Mobile Marketing -Adidas

2008-12-22T10:18:00.001-08:00

click on photo to enlarge

Marketing at is Best!

2008-12-22T10:17:00.001-08:00

KFC Aroma Marketing -First of it's Kind ?

2008-12-22T10:16:00.000-08:00

YOU'VE HEARD OF PRODUCT PLACEMENT. Now, there's aroma placement.

In what appears to be a first, KFC has unleashed the power of the smell of Kentucky Fried Chicken in the corporate halls of offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Dallas in an attempt to lure office workers to its restaurants.

Louisville, Ky.-based KFC is highlighting the launch of its new $2.99 Deals via a "scent-focused" pilot program over the past week involving the mailrooms of Chemistry.com in Dallas; the Trade Association & Society Consultants of Washington, D.C.; and the Chicago offices of the Salvation Army.

In the promotion, a plated meal including KFC chicken, a side item and a biscuit was placed on the mail carts that pass out interoffice mail, overnight packages and bills during pre-lunch drops. "Mailroom staffers were all fed first so that they would have the strength to deal with the employees clamoring for the KFC," says a spokesperson.

"The genius of this aroma-focused marketing first came from people's reactions here at KFC," he says. "Your nose tells you when someone has brought KFC onto the floor long before you ever see it. The reactions from the folks at these three companies confirmed that there truly is no better brand ambassador than the signature aroma of freshly prepared KFC."

The spokesperson says the campaign is in the tradition of KFC's Boneless Variety Bucket launch, when it embedded a high-pitched ring tone into a commercial that could be heard only by certain (young) segments of the population.

The $2.99 Deals include a chicken breast, a drumstick or thigh, two Crispy Strips, a side of mashed potatoes and gravy or macaroni and cheese, and a biscuit.

Most Viral Advertising Video 2007

2008-12-22T10:15:00.000-08:00

Vitaman Water Markets with music!

2008-12-22T10:13:00.000-08:00

BEST GLOBAL COMMERCIALS 2007

2008-12-22T10:12:00.000-08:00