Crowley Webb Blog

It’s getting crowded around here.

Canadian native Jessica Carroll is the newest addition to our media team. Before joining Crowley Webb as a media buyer, she was the marketing and sales coordinator for HOMES Publishing Group, Canada’s leading publisher of magazines for the home market. Originally from Ontario, she went to the University of Toronto, where she earned an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, Culture, and Information Technology in 2007. Oh, and in case you’re wondering (and we know you are) she hardly ever says “eh.” It’s rather disappointing actually.

Amanda Bailey, our second new hire with an accent, comes to us from a digital agency in Ohio. Born and raised in West Virginia, Amanda earned her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Management from Glenville State in 2003. Prior to her days as an account executive at Crowley Webb, she served as a client service manager at Resource Interactive where she made her mark working on the interactive voting component of the People’s Choice Awards (over 100,000 people placed their votes).

 Liz Maimone, recently joined our creative team as a copywriter. Ms. Maimone graduated with honors from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in 2007, and worked for the last year and a half as a copywriter at Stand Advertising in Amherst, NY. She brings to Crowley Webb an admirable knowledge of the business, an unparalleled enthusiasm for good work, and an unhealthy obsession with Paul Posluszny.

Crowley Webb redheaded media league loses a member.

That’s our brave attempt at saying our very own Rich Spears has decided to hang up his ad gloves after 22 years with Crowley Webb. It isn’t easy for either party, but Rich assures us the time was right.

“I always said I’d move on when we hired someone born after my start date,” says Mr. Spears.

Rich has been with Crowley Webb since practically day one.

Twenty-two years, that’s a long time to do anything. Let alone stay at one job. At an ad agency. But Richie loved it and he certainly thrived. Not only was he one of the founding members of our agency, an incredible partner, an undeniable leader and mentor, he was a near-perfect husband and father through it all. His wife and six children attest to that.

So what’s next for whom we’ve always referred to as “the smartest guy in the agency”? College professor? Deep-sea diver? Newspaper editor?

“I’m going to try and finish fixing up my house. We’ll see what happens after that.”

From all of us in your Crowley Webb family – thank you and good luck, old friend.

It’s rush hour every day.

by Cindy Hennessey

Learning something new is always good. It keeps your mind sharp. You never know when your newfound skills might benefit you down the road. And in my case, it gives you an overwhelming appreciation for someone else’s job.

You see, I’m being trained in the Traffic Manager’s job here at Crowley Webb. This is so I can serve as a backup, should the occasion arise. I’ve been working in advertising for a long time, but nothing could have prepared me for the sheer depth and complexity of this position. Erica, the Traffic Manager in question, has been with Crowley Webb since 1991 and at other agencies before that. The ins and outs of traffic are ingrained in her on a cellular level, I swear. She started in the position when you had to type the traffic report each day, and then retype it, and retype it again and again, as dates and status changed along the production flow. Sure, now she has a computer program to help her keep track of things, which helps, but let no one ever forget that she learned to drive at rush hour with a manual transmission.

By the end of my first training session with Erica, I was ready to pull over and tie a red shirt to my rearview mirror. As I tried to focus on the road she was taking me down, mark the location of every piston in her well-oiled system, and remember how to open jobs, review and implement project revision sheets, determine who needed to sign which jobs for which clients (and in which order), figure out which playouts to copy, compile traffic reports, and on and on, so many questions ran through my mind. Did she ever run out of gas? Did she ever see a bottleneck up ahead and think “I’m just gonna abandon my vehicle here and run for the nearest rest stop?” In her journey toward her destination, how did she reign in her road rage when drivers cut her off, drove 20 miles below the speed limit, or honked incessantly to cut an extra five seconds off their ETA?

I know I’m going to have to develop nerves of steel to maneuver traffic when I’m called to do so. I also know that from now on when I see Erica approaching, I will definitely give her the right of way because she knows this road like the back of her hand.

Meet our new account executive and designer.

Steven Molenda, our new account executive, is somewhat of a hybrid within the industry. A self-taught designer, he started his career after college at SKM Group as a production artist and worked his way up to art director. In 2005, he joined The Martin Group as an art director, and a year later transitioned into the account service side of the business as a brand manager. Steve earned a bachelor of arts in communications from Fordham University in 2002.

Maria Lettiere is our new designer. She graduated from Daemen College in May 2008 with a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design. We were familiar with Maria’s skills because she served as a creative intern at Crowley Webb for several months prior to being hired full time.

Barrett reaches a new level; two new SVPs.

Tricia Barrett was promoted to vice president/management supervisor. Barrett was hired as an account executive at Crowley Webb in 2003, was promoted to senior account executive, and then to account supervisor in 2006. Her primary responsibilities are new business development as well as strategic planning and direction. Prior to joining Crowley Webb, Barrett served as an account executive at Wolf Group in Cleveland and in Buffalo. She currently is the vice president of the Advertising Club of Buffalo. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from John Carroll University.

In other news, Jeff Pappalardo was promoted to senior vice president. He is a creative director at Crowley Webb and was named partner in 2006. Before joining the agency in 1994, he worked as an art director at numerous New York City agencies, including Grey, Backer & Spilevogel; Ally & Gargano; and Anderson & Lembke; and as partner and creative director at Ryan Drossman & Partners. Pappalardo began his career in advertising as a designer with New York Magazine. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University.

In addition, Jim Crowley was promoted to senior vice president. Crowley has been with the agency more than 20 years. He currently serves as Crowley Webb’s media director and was named partner in 2007. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Buffalo State College.

Schneider and Bracci join Crowley Webb.

Before joining Crowley Webb, director of interactive Zack Schneider ran his own company, Schneider Digital, which did project development for a variety of regional and national clients, including PBS, Symantec, Synacor, and New Era Cap Company Inc. He earned a bachelor’s degree in digital media from Canisius College and has taught marketing and design at Buffalo State. He resides in the City of Buffalo.

Our newest account supervisor, Kimberly Bracci, served as an account supervisor at NOBLE, an advertising marketing agency in Springfield, MO, for over 5 years before joining Crowley Webb. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a focus in marketing management from Evangel University and resides in Hamburg, NY.

Two new faces at Crowley Webb.

Account executive Caitlin Weaver joins the agency from a 3-year tenure at Worktank Enterprises in Seattle, where she worked on the Microsoft account. Before that, she did an internship at Publicis Dialogue in Seattle as a publicist. She earned a B.A. in business marketing from the University of Washington and resides in Amherst.

Account executive Jennifer Aquino served as a marketing manager at Greater Buffalo Savings Bank since 2004 before joining Crowley Webb. She holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational communications from Canisius College and resides in Pendleton, NY.

No use crying over a busted tire rod.

by Chris Muldoon

In my opinion, there’s only one acceptable reason to wake up early on the weekend – when you’re ten years old and there’s Saturday morning cartoons on TV. This past weekend my slumber was interrupted to find out that my (parked) car had been hit and needed to be towed. As you can probably guess, this situation was a lot less enjoyable than an episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

In between my countless phone calls to a variety of insurance agents at multiple insurance agencies, I’ve had a lot of time to be bitter. I’m a very routine-oriented person, so I get a bit flustered when something knocks me off my schedule. But as I enter my fifth day of being car-less, I’ve realized that instead of whining about my situation I really have a lot to be thankful for. First, the driver came out of the accident in a lot better shape than my front bumper. So the most important thing is no one was hurt. But it’s also been amazing to see how many friends I have, both at work and out.

I had a buddy lend me his car on Monday – even though that meant he had to find a ride to work himself. And here at CWA, a handful of people have offered to haul me to and from my apartment down in Orchard Park. As someone who’s only lived in the area for nine months, I think the abundance of Good Samaritans speaks very highly of Buffalo and Crowley Webb. So thanks everyone. And if your vehicle ever gets creamed by a newspaper delivery car in the wee hours of a Saturday morning, don’t worry – it’s not as bad as you think.

Friends in high places.

Dave Buck turned 50 recently and we honored his birthday as only an ad agency can. At the corner of Harlem and Kensington, just up the street from Dave's house, we erected a testament to his half-century on Earth.

To see Dave's birthday billboard up close, click on the image here. We wouldn't want you to miss it.

Run, Chris, run.

Our own Chris Muldoon has quickly become one of the Buffalo area’s top competitive runners since moving here in January. This summer he competed in the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge, an internationally known race he’s had his eye on since college. When we asked him at the coffee machine the next day how he’d done in the Challenge, he shrugged his shoulders and answered, “Oh, I won.” More than 11,000 people competed in the event.

The unassuming 23-year-old started running cross country and track in 7th grade. He was a team captain and made it to states four times during high school. After high school, he applied to Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications – not only because it’s one of the nation’s premier communications programs, but also because SU offers Division I cross-country and track. In his freshman year at SU, Chris was named the cross country team’s Most Outstanding Newcomer. He finished his sophomore-year season by recording the top times by an SU runner at the BIG EAST Championship, NCAA Regional, and IC4A Championship. Not surprisingly, he was named SU track and field’s Most Valuable Male Athlete for that year. He also served as captain of the cross country team, and found time to complete a dual degree in advertising and psychology.

In addition to the Corporate Challenge, Chris has won the Depew-Lancaster Boys & Girls Club 10K and he placed 9th overall in the Buffalo Subaru 4-Mile Chase, for which he was awarded the customary pink flamingo. He’s a member of a competitive running club, the Genesee Valley Harriers. On October 28th, he and several other Harriers traveled to Boston, Mass., to run in one of the most competitive cross-country races in the eastern U.S. – the Mayor’s Cup 8K.

“Our team placed second overall,” he said the next day at work. “It was the best finish in club history.” Well, how did he do, we asked him. “Oh, I was pretty happy with my results,” he answered, telling us only after more prodding that he placed 25th out of nearly 800 runners. Then he headed out for his daily 8-10 mile run, which is part of his 70-mile-a-week training regimen (luckily, CWA is equipped with a shower).

Generation Y.

by Cindy Hennessey

I went to my son’s high school open house. He's taking a marketing class, and I sat in on the presentation his teacher gave. The teacher, let’s call him Mr. M., was describing some of the projects he would be giving his students throughout the year. He rarely gave homework, he explained, opting instead to have students do hands-on projects during class. (I had just read a marketing plan my son and his team had written for a new product they’d created: an energy drink called VelociTea.)

Oh, and there was no textbook for the class, Mr. M. added, because Generation Y doesn’t take the time to read. (The term Generation Y, by the way, first appeared in an August 1993 Advertising Age editorial to describe those born between 1985 and 1995. Today it includes anyone born between 1976 and 2000.)

I thought about my 16-year-old and 13-year-old at home. True, they rarely sat down with a book or newspaper. Yet they constantly amazed me with their knowledge of the world and of how things work. They’re my kids, so I don’t look at them in terms of demographics or statistics. But I started wondering about what type of consumers and – if they become entrepreneurs, which is likely given the shrinking opportunities in corporate America – what type of marketers they’ll eventually be.

So I did a little online research about my kids’ generation, and here’s what I found out:

• At 70 million strong, Generation Y is the biggest demographic group to hit the American scene since the Baby Boomers. In the next decade, Gen Y will represent 41% of the U.S. population.

• Every generation is shaped by cultural and political events of its time. This group has been weaned on some rather nasty and transformative national traumas – including the O.J. and Monica scandals, the 1999 Columbine school shootings, and a presidential election that failed to pick a winner. And all this before September 11.

• In a 2000 survey of Gen Y buying habits, Cone/Roper found that 91% of teens valued companies and products that support good causes, and 89% of teens would be likely to switch brands to one associated with a good cause. In anecdotal follow-ups, Cone/Roper found comments like this from a 16-year-old in Charlotte, N.C., to be typical: “The idea that an airplane crashed into a 110-story tower and thousands of people were pretty much executed, that makes you set aside all the materialistic things and all the little selfish ‘whatevers’.” She said it made her want to “give back.” John Burnett, professor of marketing at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business, put it this way: “They are far more socially conscious than any generation since World War II.”

• Gen Y is also remarkably diverse – and noticeably tolerant. About one-third is minorities, primarily African-Americans and Hispanics. One in four lives in a single-parent home. Every high school student seems to know someone who’s gay. And none of these scenarios is a big deal.

• At the same time, traditional values and parental approval are important, more so than for Generation X before them.

• The most common characteristic of Gen Y-ers is that their awareness level is very high. Given their hours spent in front of TVs and computers, they’ve grown up on slick ads and commercial messages. As a result, they don’t trust advertising.

My son and I had a conversation recently about global warming. When I asked him about purchasing a laptop, he had definite and informed opinions about which one was best – and it wasn’t the most expensive one. My daughter shops at a consignment shop geared to teens, because she thinks it’s ridiculous (for me) to spend $60 on a new pair of jeans. My son’s marketing class is scheduled to go on a field trip to one of Buffalo’s largest malls. Mr. M. says they will come away with valuable knowledge about how stores market their wares, even down to the distinct and deliberate aromas that waft through each store as people shop.

I wonder how that knowledge will be applied?

We voted for Neil.

Our agency participated in a unique family project this past spring and summer. Neil Haskell – the younger brother of our media planner/buyer Erin Haskell – made it into the Top-20 lineup of dancers who competed in the Fox reality show, So You Think You Can Dance. When Erin heard the news, her intuitive marketing sense kicked into high gear. She immediately contacted a photographer friend, Scott Southerland, to set up a photo shoot of Neil. She called and emailed everyone she knew to make the announcement and solicit support. Then each Wednesday she reminded everyone via email, and at the coffee pot in the CWA kitchen, to tune in to the show that night and vote for Neil. Her sister, parents, and two other brothers did the same.

Then each of those people told two friends.

There’s no way to quantitatively measure the demographic reach of the Neil Haskell Media Plan. But we’d like to think that Erin and company’s efforts – including our frenzied, cell-phone-speed-dial voting each week – contributed to the resulting ROI, as Neil danced his way through round after round.

In fact, Neil stayed in the running all the way to the season finale, and now he’s going on tour with the Top 10.