DEC
24
2009
The team at Keathley has been very nice throughout all of 2009. So good, in fact, that we kind of deserve to have all of our professional dreams come true. We promise not to be naughty for all of 2010. Well, most of it.
We present the following list for your consideration.
Yours truly,
Team Keathley
Julie & Brandi – Copy D.
The best Christmas present ever would be for the copy department to be able to brainstorm cool concepts for awesome projects (viral videos, sweet applications, songs, etc.) all day long. It would also be cool to do that in a lush copy department environment outfitted with the following:
- An assistant who would provide food and drink of any kind, at any time
- Comfy, overstuffed lounge chairs
- Hammocks for recharging
- A pool table, Wii and a huge TV (foosball for Brandi too)
- New laptops & 3Gs’s
- A media library that always has the video, book or magazine for the job
- Luke Sullivan
- A dog named sprocket that talks
- A magic “Yes” button to be used once a year (for each of us) on any concept we want
- A life-sized Zen garden sand box with a golden rake
- A saltwater fish tank large enough to snorkel in
Jesse
A stocking full of filled out time sheets and a box of extended timelines.
Zach
Every interactive department shares their love for one type of present: Gadgets. Lots of them. Digital this. Electronic that. If it requires electricity we like it. An endless supply of gadgets to play with would be super-sweet.
Jackie
Consolidate my three job titles into one super-sweet mega-title.
Jenn
- The greatest best planner/buyer EVER
- Ability to attend the hottest seminars in 2010
- Auto-fill time sheets
- Enough time in the day to accommodate all the invites received by our great media partners
- The opportunity to create and execute the GREATEST media plan in the history of my career that is featured on the cover of Adweek.
- Plan and execute an event that blows everything prior out of the water.
- A big fat raise!
Sara
- Land a certain client in Chicago and I get to work in the satellite office
- A hot new all business suit
- Project Plant-a-Bulb plants itself as a raging success story
Becki
To land a client that was in charge of every fashion week event internationally and be assigned the account to coordinate. This would, of course, involve me meeting every celebrity I’ve ever wanted to meet in order to reserve them seats at the hottest upcoming shows, help cast models, and include all the outrageous free gift bags and giveaways to keep for takeaways! Last but not least, this would require me to travel to at LEAST France, Italy, Greece, England and the Caribbean for pre-event visits and research! 
Ralph
My wish is to be recognized on the cover of Time Magazine as 2010’s most Influential Person, being seen as the leading communicator, humanitarian and philanthropist, as well as the wealthiest man in America.
Time will write a 7,000-word piece on my rise to fame from Director of PR at a small advertising and PR agency in America’s gritty, blue collar Midwest to socialite and friend of all to our nation’s needy and poverty stricken.
As 2010’s Most Influential Person, I will be appointed Secretary of Humanitarian Aid to the United States, as well as liaison to foreign countries, including Rwanda, Sudan, Cambodia and many others.
In the end, many of the world’s leaders, including President Obama and several members of the U.N. will call for me to be presented the Nobel Prize as a result of my selfless work.
NOV
10
2009
Confetti: Party Decor Transforms Into Mystical Marketing Messages
- Posted By:
- Tom Keathley
- Date:
- November 10th, 2009 /// Marketing Trends
We all know that breaking through clutter is a classic challenge for marketers, particularly with the ever-increasing bombardment of messages hurled at consumers. We believe the key is to offer up unexpected fun to entice engagement.
One of our favorite tactics is a marketing wonder that’s smaller than a business card. Confetti is the word we’ve coined as its name. On the surface, Confetti is a pretty little card with interesting visuals and a website URL. Like traditional confetti, it looks great when it’s spread around an environment as party décor. Unlike its festive counterpart, you can use Confetti to make people believe fate is calling.
Picture this: You sit down at your favorite restaurant and find a pocket-sized message on the table. Suddenly, you have the feeling that it was put there just for you. Almost like fate is talking to you. You put it in your pocket or purse, only to rediscover it later. Yet again, your interest is piqued, and you feel compelled to hop online to unravel the mystery.
That’s the beauty of Confetti. You can spread it around town in small doses or drop it from a helicopter (okay, don’t litter!) – restaurants, the library, and the gym – anywhere that’s appropriate. And it’s a little intriguing treasure that’s impossible to resist.
Proof positive of the power of Confetti.
NOV
03
2009
How shenanigans can make you millions
- Posted By:
- Brandi Hensler
- Date:
- November 3rd, 2009 /// Inspiration, Keathley Take Fives
Freestyle writing. Yoga. Radiohead. Creatives use many methods to get (and stay) inspired. An inspired and practiced mind is much more prone to moments of creative genius.
People may be born creative, but in order to harness creativity, it needs to be exercised. Creativity is not a bike. You can’t jump on it after years without practice. You’ll probably crash, and definitely won’t land a 720 bar spin.
Advertising agencies know this. Smart ones encourage behavior that inspires creativity because creativity impacts their bottom lines. The question is: Would this mode of thinking benefit other businesses that may view these behaviors as a waste of company time? Maybe the answer is no. Then again… more industries than advertising rely on ideas.
Creativity-inspiring activities aren’t necessarily time consuming. A break from intense thinking for some short-lived fun has substantial positive results. Redirecting attention for a moment of entertainment and creative release refreshes creative mojo. We bet modern psychology can back this up. And we’ve known it to solve problems on many occasions.
In the names of all those whose work benefits from a 5-minute Fun-Time Refresh, we’ve decided to compile a collection of examples. We’ll call it the “Keathley Take Fives.” Keep an eye out for additions. Here’s one to get you started.
Situation: This Keathley Take Five manifested itself in the form of an email chain. Becki Cooper, Account Coordinator, had to stay home one morning for a kitchen appliance repair. She sent the following email to inform the staff of the situation:
Dishwasher guy said he will be here at 11. Probably be in around 12-12:15. Feel free to email me w anything.
Becki Cooper
Public Relations Coordinator
Keathley Advertising
As any levelheaded colleagues would respond, the staff took the last line of the email quite literally. The following is a glimpse at some of the responses.
Hey Becki:
Hate to bother you, but I have a pressing question I wanted to ask. Typically, people don’t read labels properly and shampoo their hair incorrectly.
I’m sure you know this, but it says to “Lather. Rinse. AND Repeat.” I know a lot of people don’t Repeat and only Lather and Rinse once. This is a shame. I just wanted to see if you were aware of this situation and were taking steps to assure that you are indeed Repeating as the label implies.
I just don’t want to get into a “He-said” “She-said” situation when it comes to these types of things. Can you please put together a 20+ page internal policy report on how we can correct this issue in the future (and we might as well put together something on how it can be corrected in the past while we are at it). If you could have that ready by noon for review that would be great.
Thanks.
–Zachary Linquist
Director of Interactive Media________________________________________________________________
Hey Becki:
I hope things are going well with your appliances. I was just sitting here pondering an important question: Twix: Cookie or Candy? I thought that, with your background in cake design, you might have some insight on this.
Would you mind doing some primary and secondary research on the subject? It’d be great if you could post a formal survey on your Facebook page and ask all your Twitter followers.
Please compile your findings in a detailed report, along with at least 22 related web articles and a summary of your final conclusions, by EOD today.
Thanks,
Jack Associate Creative Director
________________________________________________________________
Hi Becki,
I need some consultation about an area of your expertise. American Idol, while obviously the most annoying and mentally insubstantial show ever to have disgraced the screen, is somehow the most successful show in history.
Is the success of American Idol due to it being a meritable reality program or a string of self-obsessed publicity stunts and scandals?
Topics of discussion:
- Paula Abdul and young boys
- Paula Abdul on drugs
- “Coke” cups: promotion or insinuation?
- Gay guys finish second
- Ryan Seacrest
Please advise.
Thanks
Brandi Hensler
Copywriter________________________________________________________________
Conclusion: Did Becki deliver on these requests? No. Was the combined 15 minutes spent on this a waste of company time? Maybe. But the award-winning campaign that was concepted later the same day says otherwise…
SEP
28
2009
Creativity is best served in an environment as creative as the people working there. The Keathley staff enjoys working in the top floor of the Castle Hall building, which was built in 1878. Our office once served as a ballroom for the Knights of Pythias.
In our world, creative inspiration is always at arm’s length thanks to our rooftop conference room, cozy couches, huge windows flooding sunlight and dramatic Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. When scenery isn’t sparking the magic, 20-foot ceilings always make Frisbee a possibility.
Check out some of the coolest agency interiors. If you can’t get enough, go to This Ain’t No Disco for more.
Where do you find inspiration?
SEP
24
2009
Keathley Advertising Voted Among Top 99 Places to Work in NEO
- Posted By:
- Jackie Bebenroth
- Date:
- September 24th, 2009 /// Keathley Culture
I think I can speak for the Keathley crew when I say that we all love our jobs. Sure, there are those days when the snooze button is a bit overused but, for the most part, weekday mornings are a breeze when you’re walking in the office to amusing, gifted people…and in-office espresso. The NorthCoast 99 award simply proved what we’ve all known for a while – Keathley Advertising is one of the 99 best places to work in Northeast Ohio.
This award was bestowed on those companies that demonstrated merit through a grueling application process that involved dozens of questions on culture, innovation, success and training. We stood out in the area of employee growth; Inside Business magazine wrote an article on our own Brandi Hensler, who has carved out the opportunity to shine as our social media maven in her first few years as a copywriter.
Tie that in with agency-paid training, team building retreats, flex hours, and the option to bring your dog to work (oh, have we mentioned the rooftop patio?), and you’ve got a workplace culture that inspires extraordinary ideas every day.
NorthCoast 99 awards ceremony
Keathley’s illustrious award
SEP
23
2009
Finding Stachesperation for Kids
- Posted By:
- Julie Jones
- Date:
- September 23rd, 2009 /// Keathley Culture
Supporting charities within our community is an essential part of Keathley culture. In the name of that belief, Keathley is founding the Akron chapter of Mustaches for Kids. The guys in our office will grow their best mustaches this November to raise funds for children’s charities in Akron.
To inspire the mustache growers among us and fuel the excitement of their supporters, our staff has been passing around some stachetacular photos and videos. We can hardly wait to share the chapter’s success (and more shots of our staff rockin’ it stache style).
Where do you find stachesperation?
AUG
25
2009
Our rooftop conference room is the best feature of our office here at Keathley Advertising. Our staff finds their way to the roof daily to talk shop, debate strategy and find creative inspiration. We’ve definitely had our share of memorable events on the roof over the years that have helped to bond our team. That’s part of the secret of our success – inspire creativity by including amazing views and the awesomeness of rooftops into our daily routines.
Welcome to our rooftop – sign on, sign up and stay tuned!
AUG
25
2009
Keathley’s Softball Team Wins Third Championship Victory!
- Posted By:
- Brandi Hensler
- Date:
- August 25th, 2009 /// Keathley Culture
We’d like to welcome the newest member of Keathley Advertising, our third consecutive co-ed softball Championship Trophy! He can hang out on the shelf with his cousins, quietly inflating our players’ egos with silent compliments until they need knocked down a few pegs.
Softball Superstars
There’s no losing in softball!
(We really just play to have fun, but the truth is that winning is pretty cool!)