Benedict Advertising

Working It at BENEDICT

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:32:40 +0000

What a way to make a living!
Really fun, it’s true!
Creating art and ideas
Telling people what to do…

Come in! Act now! And Register!
[Your new ad could go here!]
Call NOW! Supplies are limited!
Go online, CLICK HERE!

Grab a sub at SUBWAY!
The fresh Deal of the Day!
Try the Smokehouse Barbecue
Chicken sub today!

Heed the star of Swamp People,
Troy’s Cajun reasoning:
“Fix everything with Tony Chachere’s
Authentic Creole Seasoning!”

Scratch Guy Harvey tickets
from the Florida Lottery!
Even if you don’t win big,
You’re helping save the sea!

The Oyster Fest is over now,
But Oyster Pub is where
To go for food and Budweiser,
Daytona Beverage fare!

Wear Guy Harvey sportswear!
Good taste in art by Guy.
Take your Tervis Tumbler
To your workout at The Y.

At the new Daytona Hyundai,
Pick out your brand new car!
Valet park it at the Hilton
Meet at Razzles bar!

Eat more Zapp’s Potato Chips,
And shop at Maui Nix!
Do Zeno’s Boardwalk Sweet Shop
Throw some ice cream in the mix!

Save the Sawfish, donate now!
Money wisely spent!
Stonewood Grill and Tavern
Will be catering the event!

At MG on the Halifax,
Luxury condos high,
Dock your Hell’s Bay Boatworks boat
As pelicans soar by.

At Daytona Beach Kennel Club
Cash in your rewards!
Then cruise on down the river on
Three Brothers paddle boards!

Count the verbs in this one post.
How many brands are there?
Can you reply in rhyming prose?
We have an empty chair! ; )

Word.

-Patrick Shannon

Productive Music

admin — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:16:57 +0000

Lately I’ve noticed that while I’m at work I like to have on some type of background music. In order for me to stay focused on the task of the moment, the music that I’m listening to can’t be too loud or too recognizable.

If it’s too loud, my attention starts to flow toward the music which starts to become a mini jam session. If it’s too recognizable, I’ll catch myself working a bit slower, trying to identify parts of the song.

I’ve gone from Top 100’s all the way through classic hits to find my key work balance. The best mix of music to flow with my demanding attention span is “Classical”. And to be more specific, I’m using the “StreamingSoundtracks.com” on the iTunes radio. This station is a mix of music from movies, video games and TV shows. No need to throw over the “Nerd Alert”. I get that enough when my speakers bleed out the Jurassic Park theme into my department. Is this the perfect balance? No, not really. Especially, when a random block of obscure Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride pulls everyone’s attention towards my monitor. But the good tunes outweigh the foreign mixes. Such as “Raiders of the Lost Art” kicking in as I type out this last sentence.

-Joey Ramos

Social Media Rockstar

admin — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:41:45 +0000

He does it again. New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco recently treated 200 fans to dinner Sylvia’s, a popular Harlem soul food restaurant, after sending a last-minute invitation out on Twitter. This isn’t even his first invitation. He also he bought steak dinners for fans at a Steakhouse in Cleveland. He is known for taking random fans out to the movies and dinners when visiting different cities. To top off his latest good “deed” he even gave his phone number out to all 200 fans, as a way to stay better connected.

What can we learn from this? Chad Ochocinco has used online social tools to become, as some call him, a “social media rockstar”. He has gone from a Pro Bowl receiver to one of the largest personal brands in all of Professional Sports.

In an economy where many individuals and businesses are struggling to keep afloat, through creativity and leveraging the power of the Web, Ochocinco is having a tremendous amount of success. He has taken the art of marketing to a whole new level through using popular Social Networking sites. Chad can be found on Twitter, Facebook, Xbox Live, UStream, his official personal website and more. He has even announced the launch of OCNN (The Ochocinco News Network) from which he will try to compete with mainstream media in providing fans with football news.

With over 1 million loyal followers through his various social media sites, Ochocino is proving to be truly a social media rockstar.

-Kimberley Ottley

The Pitch!

admin — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:44:21 +0000

Ever wondered what a day in the life of an advertising executive is? Well, wonder no more! Thanks to AMC (the same station who airs the wildly popular “Mad Men”, another show about advertising set in the 1960s) anyone with cable television has the opportunity to spend an hour every Sunday evening peeking in to the world of real world ad agencies.

“The Pitch” is a documentary style series that follows companies as they prepare to, like the title states, pitch to well-known brands. A hot topic for conversation has been the fact that some agencies and business have turned down the opportunity to be a part of the show. Questions have arisen as to whether businesses are worried about sharing too much of their internal workings for creative reasons or for fear of airing “dirty secrets.” However, this is all speculation, and no specific companies or incidents have been named.

One of the companies who is not afraid of being on the big screen is our very own SUBWAY®. In fact, the producers were so fond of the episode that they have decided to air it as the premier, rather than originally scheduled mid season. Tony Pace, Chief Marketing Officer for SUBWAY®, told Ad Age about the experience:

“What better way to show how strong you are than to show to some degree what your process is? … In the world we live in, any chance to demonstrate how capable you are is a chance worth taking — unless it’s just luck that got you there.” (Ad Age Mediaworks, March 26, 2012.)

If you decide to tune in, which I hope you will, don’t let the show fool you. Advertising is definitely a tough profession, but it’s an exciting and rewarding one as well. Just ask anyone at Benedict!

-Kate Ellis

Shoot for the Stars!

admin — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:44:09 +0000

Not sure if you all know this or not, but I recently transitioned out of the Subway department and into the other side of our account service department within the agency. It has been a huge transition to leave the only thing I have known for 3 ½ years at BA, but I think it was a necessary step in my learning process. I do miss my Subway girls though!

I have been to a few client meetings and helped pitch a few new ideas since taking over my new role and it has really opened my eyes to another world! Take the client meeting we had yesterday as an example. We pitched an idea that the client has never done and has never even come close to doing before. I was able to be a part of brainstorming this idea from the get go and didn’t really have any limitations besides what we thought would work best. We laid the groundwork for a partnership and showed them that we have the ability to think big and follow through! It never hurts to shoot for the stars and it feels good to have this new opportunity to do so.

-Annika Elston

Media Madness

admin — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:49:45 +0000

I know March Madness is the event that most people talk about, but in the advertising world we look at it a little differently. The big difference for advertising folks is that we have already placed the spots in the madness, so that happened months ago for us. However, we have our own madness that starts in March, and that is the upfront presentations. These presentations are where each network presents the latest and greatest in their fall lineup. They will focus on some of the big successes and highlights from the year past to set up the new shows they will be premiering. This is the time the advertisers pony up big dollars to reserve spots in some of the more coveted and talked about programming. So, is it going to be a big year? Almost everyone is pointing to a yes. I polled a number of the media companies we work with and the overwhelming response is that dollars are already starting to pour in for the summer months, which could point to a very successful fall. These numbers were not banking on the surge in political and olympic dollars that typically make buying media every few years a challenge. I am excited to see what new shows are coming and the hype that surrounds them. Let the madness begin!

-Michael Benedict

When to Use “Me!”

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:03:50 +0000

Hopefully this entry will be somewhat useful to a lot of people. It is a simple trick for knowing when to use the personal pronouns “I” or “me” when speaking about ourselves and others. For example, “my friend and I.”

A lot of folks just use “me” all the time, and might even put “me” first. Example: “Me and my wife went out to dinner.” A lot of other folks put the “me” second, as in “My wife and me went out to dinner.” Both of these are grammatically incorrect, for those who care. (A lot of folks just don’t care!)

Then there are the folks who know that the above usage is incorrect, and purpose to replace ALL use of the word “me,” when listing themselves with others, with the word “I,” thinking that THIS is correct. I often hear celebrities on talk shows making comments like “Nothing like this has ever happened to my husband and I.” Again, incorrect!

The correct usage of the words “me” and “I” when listing oneself with others follows a very simple trick (besides always putting your personal pronoun last in the list ): simply say the sentence to yourself first, without the other people listed, and you will instantly know which is right!”

For example, with “Nothing like this has ever happened to my husband and I,” simply remove “my husband and,” and you have, “Nothing like this has ever happened to I.” Whoops! You have a grammatical error. In this case, it is actually correct to say “my husband and me!” (Nothing like this has ever happened to ME.)

Let’s try another one. “My husband and me went to the store.” If we remove “my husband and,” we have, “Me went to the store.” Oops again. See how this works?

I hope that this little trick is helpful to many. If well received, maybe my next entry will be on how to properly use the words “good” and “well!”

Awarding films or awarding best dressed??

admin — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 18:43:51 +0000

The talk is all about the Academy Awards this Sunday. They say it’s about whom takes home the film’s top honors but People Magazine thinks it more about Who Wears What Designer.

People Magazine is well known for their coverage of the Best Dressed List and this year they are adding E-commerce and social media integration to put their readers in the middle of the Oscars.

Here’s just a few of the things they are doing for this year’s big day:

People.com Stylewatch editors will curate items inspired by the evening for a “Get the Look Red Carpet” sale on Gilt Groupe (www.gilt.com).

People.com is also encouraging readers to interact with the site through a live blog on the site and social media. They are bringing back their Live Trivia contest with a new tie in with Facebook.

http://redcarpettrivia.people.com/

So, will you be playing along and shopping on Gilt.com during the Awards show this year?

-Brenda Sidoti

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:35:16 +0000

As visual communicators, designers, brand architects, visionaries, graphic artists, problem solvers, ad-folk or whatever the clever term is that’s being employed at the time, we’re members of a very specific fraternity. That line that exists for many between profession and lifestyle is blurred if not completely non-existent. What we do isn’t a switch that can be turned on and off when the clock hits a certain time. The wheels are always turning, puzzles always being solved. It’s impossible to tell just what of a bazillion stimuli might trigger that ‘Aha!’ lightbulb that solves a brand challenge or unlocks the pathways to a stellar strategy.

That being said, that sort of devotion to a never-ending series of thought processes can bring forth the risk of burning out. It’s a fear we all have somewhere in the back of our minds. When will this impassioned flame dwindle? But there are a multitude of tactics and techniques to combat this most odious of foes.

Something my best friend (a fellow designer) and I have adopted over the past years is what we call ‘design tennis.’ I like to think it emerged from an old art school game where one artist draws a shape, line, squiggle; and then that’s handed off to another artist to turn it into something. To turn that brief execution of random thought into a cohesive composition. What this does is activate the right side of your brain. It beckons creative thought from the depths. Design tennis for us is somewhat similar. One of us develops something and via dropbox(www.dropbox.com <http://www.dropbox.com> ) or mediafire(www.mediafire.com <http://www.mediafire.com> ), we fire this file back and forth; adding to it and adjusting it. Sometimes the return fire is the addition of a pattern or color. Sometimes it’s a massive departure. Part of the fun of this is that there’s no initially designated end result. At one point it appears that it’s an octopus wrecking the streets of Chicago, two versions later it’s the rings of saturn composed of music notes. There’s something very calming and exciting about rendering something from nothing with no specified destination. In a way, it embraces one of the very core principles of what we’ve come to know of art. Simply that it’s never done. Art is an ever-evolving organism that grows and changes in each of us. Just as we all have independent thought, our individual perspectives and experiences alter art and modify it to be representative of different things.

So when approached about my overzealous nature regarding design and potential burn out, my reply is simple. Remembering what it is that I do and what that contributes to, how could that flame ever burn out? Everything I learn and experience contributes to the improvement of my craft. And with exercises like design tennis, I’m reminded of the freedom and the unchainable force that is the creative engine. There’s so much to explore and to embrace. With an open mind and a passionate spirit, that fire can’t be extinguished.

Follow design tennis (and other random design posts) here <http://adambunkedesign.com/category/blog/>

-Adam Bunke

NASCAR Fever

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:48:01 +0000

It’s that time of year folks. Of course people in Daytona know what I’m talking about. The NASCAR season kicks off this Sunday with the The Great American Race, The Daytona 500. It has been buzzing around here for a few weeks and the buzz will continue into next week. The 500 couldn’t come at a better time either, with the NFL wrapping up three weeks ago and Major League Baseball still more than a month away. As a race fan I follow many of the drivers on Twitter. I’m amazed at how much they use it and the information that they put out there for people to read. This is especially helpful when it comes to Fantasy NASCAR, although my past record wouldn’t suggest this information being helpful. Nevertheless, there is so much you can find out from drivers from their tweets. Whether they are happy with the car in practice, to how they feel about where they qualified or even who they may be unhappy with after being sent to the garage after a wreck. Even better than any inside information I may get, it’s just plain entertaining. During a race, my Twitter timeline is just filled with race updates, one right after the other. You can know exactly what is going on without even watching the race.

I was lucky enough to meet Casey Mears (@CJMearsgang), driver of the #13 Geico car, last year while he was in town for testing prior to the 500. It happened to be my birthday, I may have mentioned that to him, and he gave me a pair tickets to every race during speedweek. He has recently become more active on Twitter, so I reached out to him this weekend to tell him thanks for the tickets last year. He probably doesn’t even remember, but he replied with a “you’re welcome”. Pretty cool.

-Kellen Wohlford