•  Pulitzer Pair: What are the odds of two journalistic entities in a city the size of Seattle winning Pulitzer Prizes in the same year? But an even longer shot is the fact that the two winners were the journalistic odd couple of The Seattle Times and The Stranger!

The daily Times is a nine-time winner of journalism’s most coveted award but the brash alternative weekly, which bills itself as “Seattle’s Only Newspaper,” had to be a surprise winner, by any measure. Both were in good company, with The New York Times (twice), The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Huffington Post and three others.

But that’s to take nothing away from Eli Sander, whose piece in The Stranger was called a “haunting story” of bravery by Pulitzer jurors. It’s an account of the courtroom appearance of Jennifer Hopper at the trial of the man who attacked her and killed her partner in the couple’s South Park home.

The Times’ Pulitzer went to  Michael J. Berens and Ken Armstrong for their investigative series exposing Washington’s financially motivated practice of routinely prescribing a deadly pain drug for people in state-subsidized health care…

John DeNure in his milieu

• Thanks, Bob: My thanks to friend and designer now living in Leavenworth, Bob Rankin, for sharing these thoughts about the late John DeNure:

“I first met John when I was working for a design firm in the Colman Building and he had an office nearby. John was representing Blake, Moffit and Towne, back when design firms actually specified a lot of quality paper.

“John (at right) was a priceless resource for all in the design and printing industry. Fast forward a few years to his print museum in the old West Coast Paper Co. building. John would set a few lines of type for designers from the Thorniley hand-set type collection in his spare time. I doubt if the paper companies knew they had the world’s best paper ambassador working for them.

“The printing museum may not have seemed very important to some. I was made more aware of the importance of hand-set type and letterpresses on a trip to Pasadena to supervise several press checks in the early ’90s. Not far from the hotel was a period print shop set up by The Art Center College of Design to acquaint students with the history of the profession… Not too long after that trip, I began to see more small letterpress shops doing special commercial projects. John was just ahead of the pack.

“Regardless of how the day was going, when John appeared at the office the day improved significantly. His life touched hundreds (thousands) of lives in a very positive way and energized many with his love and deep involvement with the printing industry. I always learned something from John, ever a wealth of information… Businesses come and go, technology continues to change, however, there will only be one John DeNure. I feel blessed to have been privileged to know him.”

• Knight Reunites: Mary Knight has been named VP/executive creative director at Hydrogen Advertising, joining three former Draftfcb Seattle colleagues—Rick Peterson, Tom Scherer and Deborah Taylor-Kasindorf—on the agency’s new management team.

Mary returns to Seattle after nearly five years at Draftfcb in Chicago, where she was an EVP/group creative director, working on the Boeing, Sharpie and Motorola USA accounts, among others. She was at Draftfcb in Seattle from 1996 to 2007.

•  ATLAS Arrival :  Hopefully you’ll find that the delay in receiving your 2012 MARKETING ATLAS was worth the wait. After the suspension of the Seattle Show and cancellation of the Soundies, we decided to launch the MARKETING Awards project about this time last year.

In the Fall, daughter/designer Melissa and I got the idea to incorporate the MARKETING Award winners into the 2012 ATLAS as a centerpiece, but this meant delaying its publication from January—as has been the custom the past 20 years— until mid-May, when the MARKETING Award winners had been determined.

We were fortunate this year to talk Ken Shafer into designing the cover, and his powerful response to that request is at right. Ken’s ID-design clients range from Tiger Woods to the Seattle Sounders to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and many more in between. He’s also the design director for the U.W. Alumni Association magazine, Columns.

Ken’s work will be further enhanced by the strike-through varnish that will be applied in the printing process by Consolidated Press. The new issues will be hitting your mailbox during the third week in May. Enjoy—and thanks for your patience…

Griswold

Copstead

Ungari

Malama

Encore Media Group has hired veteran city magazine and alternative weekly sales exec Marty Griswold, who spent most of the last decade with The Stranger…  Shannon Copstead has joined Blankslate Creative as an account exec. Most recently, she worked at the former HL2 agency… BDA has hired former T-Mobile  VP/product creation Joe Ungari  as director of client services for the Woodinville-based merchandise agency… Janelle Malama has joined Beyond Traditional as an assistant account exec. She is a graduate of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco…

Hudson

Nauseda

Axtell

Burke

Frause has hired Kate Hudson and Emily Nauseda as assistant account execs.  Both interned with Frause and will graduate from Seattle University in June with degrees in strategic communications… Jamie Blattstein has joined Magner Sanborn as a copywriter. His 15 years of experience includes positions at Grey and Ogilvy & Mather Advertising…  GA Creative has promoted four staff members to principals with the Bellevue-based agency. They include: Karen Axtell and Julie Burke, who have been with GA 10 and four years, respectively, to principals, client services, and Sara Pattilo and Jeff Welsh to principals, creative services. Sara is the longest-tenured GA employee, with 14 years of service and Jeff joined the agency 11 years ago…

Patillo

Welsh

White

Jelovich

DNA Seattle has announced six promotions. They include: Larry White from senior designer to design director; Nate Jelovich from digital media specialist to digital media manager; Meredith Rockwell and Erin Pettersen from account coordinator to account manager; Mike Quirk from studio artist to studio manager; and Gretchen Anderson from account supervisor to account director… Nyhus Communications has hired Steve Smith as a senior account exec and Todd Burley as an account exec and hired interns Lauren Purkey and Maggie Humphreys as account coordinators.

Rockwell

Petterson

Quirk

Anderson

Projects & Places

Nikko Media has acquired 25-year-old Watermark Press and will consolidate operations at Nikko’s Ballard location. Nikko president John Teeny said the merger now gives Nikko a wider range of services, including digital, inkjet, large format, traditional, waterless and letterpress printing, along with a full bindery and mail presorting and processing. None of the former Watermark employees will join Nikko, including owner Roger Mauritsen… GA Creative had the distinction of creating the 12th consecutive annual report for Bellevue-based PACCAR, Inc., which has nearly 1,800 locations worldwide and products in more than 100 countries, making them a global leader in the manufacture and support of high-quality transportation vehicles. Jeff Welsh, GA creative services principal (see photo above) said, “We value our long-standing relationship with PACCAR and we’re honored to have the opportunity to work with them yet again. As the 12th annual report we’ve created for PACCAR, we were able to bring a high level of consistency and quality to the finished product.” In addition to the PACCAR annual report, Bellevue-based GAC has designed and produced annual reports for Systems Biology, Bellevue Schools Foundation, Community of Schools of Washington State, Evergreen Healthcare and Northwest Kidney Centers… Print NW, based in Tacoma,

Print NW Principals, from left, president Jeffery Beardemphl, VP/sales Greg Tranum and director of sales and marketing Jeff Stallings at their Lakewood facliity.

is celebrating its 10th anniversary in the commercial printing business. Principals Jeffery Beardemphl, Ned Witting, Bruce Dammeier and Jeff Stallings were in the final stages of acquiring Valley Press, a small printer in Puyallup, when the September 11 attacks occurred. After that they had to ride out one of the biggest economic downturns in 70 years, but through it all they’ve been able to grow from 15 employees in 2002 to 82 today and increase annual revenues from $1.5 million to $14 million. President Beardemphl, a nearly 30-year veteran of the printing industry, said: “We’re particularly proud of meeting all the goals in our initial mission statement… and getting to work with some pretty special people over the years.” The company has put an emphasis on staying current with new technology, and will handle any type work from marketing collateral and direct mail to window/wall graphics and banners, Jeff added… Molly Murrah will hang 18 paintings and fine-art prints painted from photos taken in Greece and Italy at Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door Travel Center Show in Edmonds May 10. About 15 years ago Molly went to Greece, where she painted her very first watercolor. And about seven years ago she went to Italy on another painting trip. The Steves exhibition is part of the Edmonds Third Thursday Art Walk for May….  Craters of the Moon created three spots to promote the Summit Learning Center and EZ2 Learn package at the Summit at Snoqualmie. It was a late-season push to entice potential skiers and snowboarders to learn in the Spring when conditions are at their best—lots of snow and sunshine. The spots emphasize the importance of taking lessons rather than having a family member or a loved one teach  a child how to ski or snowboard. Credits to creative director/art director Kevin Nolan, writer Vandy Kindred and account exec Alyssa Taylor…. Lithtex NW in Bellingham has acquired Mt. Vernon-based PrintStreams, formerly owned by Bob Singer.  Lithtex NW co-owner John Busch said, “We started the company with just five employees 10 years ago and with this acquisition we are now at a total staff of 45 (which will include Singer). We just installed a new Komori six-color press with coater and a state-of-the-art G7 certified digital color printer, providing color management across the traditional offset and digital-print spectrums.” Lithtex also offers online storefront solutions, inventory and fulfillment, aqueous and UV coating, full bindery and complete mailing services, Busch said. See more at www.lithtexnw.com… EXCLAIM has put the finishing touches on a new marketing campaign for Argosy Cruises. The Argosy tours include the trip to Tillicum Village, where new elements  have been added to the show. The EXCLAIM folks point out that the Space Needle isn’t the only icon turning 50 this year. Tillicum Village also has that distinction… Good Works is the ninth book that Nancy Lee of Social Marketing Services has co-authored with marketing guru Philip Kotler. This one focuses on making the case that purpose-driven marketing has moved from a nice-to-do to a must-do for businesses. Numerous examples from across America and around the world are used to prove the point.

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Production Partners television spots for Performance Kia in Everett feature spoof headlines to introduce a “No Phoney Baloney” theme, followed by the “No Phoney Baloney” graphic. The spots were done through the Dave Biehn Marketing agency, with production by Production Partners principal and art director John Douthwaite.

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iAlternative Media is living up to its name with two new offerings—the iAM “Phibious” billboards that will be appearing soon on Lake Washington, according to iAM principal Darran Bruce. The other is the Carangi Airship that was first employed indoors at ShoWare Arena in Kent. Bruce said the Carangi vehicle is superior to advertising services currently provided by the blimp, fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. The inflatable billboards also can be used on other surfaces, such as concrete, sand, snow, grass and dirt, Bruce said. The mobile billboard company also offers the more traditional truck medium. See more at www.ialternativemedia.com.

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Art With Heart held its 4th annual bowling tournament for the graphic arts community at the Acme bowling lanes in Tukwila on April 26. Founder/ executive director Steffanie Lorig said nine teams participated and that the turnout numbered about 100. The event raised more than $10,000 that the nonprofit will use in pursuing its mission to use art in books and training sessions as therapy for youth in crisis. Above is the winning Team Lebowski from Color Graphics. From left are Amy Lower, Carl Vonder Haar, Matt Robinson, Becci Harrison, Megan Beck, Rory Wiggen and Art With Heart staff member Gabe Meyer. Team members not shown are Audheey Mealy and Darrin Ruder.

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Art Of The Issue: Hornall Anderson was tapped to do work for two iconic global brands­—Quaker Oatmeal and Marmite’s Ma’amite limited-edition savory spread.

The familiar figure on the Quaker Oatmeal box was given a makeover that included shortening his locks a tad and giving him a slimmer look that makes him seem stronger, younger and more vibrant—all part of parent Pepsico’s effort to globally reinvigorate the brand.

HA’s VP/design Michael Connors said the color red is dominant in the new logo with a shift in shades that adds a sense of movement. The logo’s new shape and the band of gold along the bottom chevron suggest a “seal of quality” on every box. HA also added Est 1877 to reinforce a message of tradition, quality and trust.

To honor the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the 110-year-old Marmite company called on Hornall Anderson’s UK office to package its special limited-edition Ma’amite offering, featuring the Union flag. It joins Marmite’s other hugely popular limited-edition products: Guiness, Marston’s Pedigree and Champagne, as well as Marmite’s Original and XO varieties. Hornall Anderson UK has been Marmite’s creative partner and the developer of branding and packaging for the entire product range, including  the limited editions.

The idea for The Window Channel came, simply enough, from two popular movies, 1989’s Back To The Future II and 1990’s  Total Recall. Both films featured an “ambient/nature” channel shown on large-format TV screens not available to the mass market at that time.

In Total Recall, Sharon Stone’s character says to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character, “No wonder you can’t sleep, you watch too much TV news.”  In BTTF II, “The Scenery Channel” plays a Soma-like repertoire of ambient scenes set in a frame resembling a window.

When Mark Knight and I set out to create our ambient television channel, our idea was to create a metaphorical “window on the world.” We wanted to transport viewers to distant corners of the planet, providing an experience simulating that of actually “being there.” No sound track, no music bed, no narration and no pans, zooms or fades. Just a simple “window” with spectacular images that engage and relax the viewer.

The challenge was to create this window without coming off as a still image—how to create a moving photograph without creating a movie. The solution was to carefully scout locations featuring incredible natural beauty, with a physical composition to fit a 16:9 frame format. It also was imperative that the scene have repeatable and constant movement. Most of the windows feature movement such as ocean beaches, waterfalls, rivers, clouds, etc., all filmed from a fixed point of view—like the “cloud” shot at right, photographed just outside of Durango, CO.

Some destinations provided additional challenges, such as taking a barge down the Yangtze River or cruising the Venice canals on a gondola. In these settings, the camera was mounted on the prow of the craft, with the result being a first-person fixed position. We go to great lengths to ensure that each window captures the essence of place of the destination/scene.

Additional challenges were to create windows with consistent video quality, lighting levels and color correction, as well as consistent sound quality and audio levels. Each window is recorded in full HD, using the most current portable camera equipment available, such as the Canon XH AI. The accompanying natural sounds are captured in Dolby 5.1 sound.

Once the images are captured on video, the challenge then is to edit the film into a compelling and engaging program. The initial concept was to create programs that followed themes and tempos: relaxed; energetic; upbeat, etc. Windows of complementary tempo and images were then stitched together to create 30- and 60-minute programs that could run as a background or foreground video display.

Consumer feedback showed additional demand for destination programming featuring specific locations. The resulting programs feature far-flung locations, including Hawaii, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America, to name a few.

The Window Channel program lineup was branded as the Ventana Series, and packaged for distribution to the hospitality industry, healthcare and in-home markets. Specialty programming was created for each segment.

Stanford Hospital at Stanford University worked with us to create therapy-specific programming. Programs were designed for pediatrics to help create healthy sleep patterns, as well as reduce noise intrusion into the patient rooms. After a successful clinical trial at Stanford Hospital, the Ventana Healthcare programming was launched. The Window Channel now appears as an in-room VOD option and in public areas. Hotels in Seattle showcasing The Window Channel include Hotel 1000, Marriott Courtyard Pioneer Square, The WAC, Roosevelt Hotel, The Woodmark and Willows Lodge. It’s also shown on major cruise lines and is especially impressive on the jumbo screens featured on most new cruise ships.

Distribution is growing globally, with inclusion on the recently launched Etisalat HD network in 32 countries in North Africa, the Middle East and Asia, in conjunction with the global launch of the LG Smart TV. The Ventana Series also recently launched on the Amazon Instant Video Store, which includes streaming as well as downloadable and hard media with 10 of the Ventana program chapters.

The Window Channel producers are continually creating new, engaging and compelling content from all corners of the world. Our team recently spent 10 days in the Patagonia region of Argentina and Chile as part of an on-going South America programming series. New programs also are in development on the San Juan Skyway in Southern Colorado and interior Mexico.

•
Jim Wilmer is the managing partner of The Window Channel (www.thewindowchannel.com), a video production company with offices in Seattle and Austin, TX. He also is a founding partner of Blue Pond Media, the global distribution partner for TWC and a distributor of Red Bull Media House and independent video producers in North America. Additionally, Wilmer is founding partner of Blue Pond Marketing, providing marketing and advertising services to the travel and hospitality industry.

If you’re like most creative professionals, you log onto Facebook to connect with friends, family members and business contacts. In fact, in a survey by The Creative Group, some 56% of marketing and advertising execs said Facebook would be their social media site of choice if they were limited to using just one—over LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter!

Whether you spend five minutes or five hours on this (or any) social network each day, be aware that how you behave online can impact your current and future career prospects. This is particularly true for those who include business contacts as part of their online networks.

Here are five pointers to help you build a solid, professional presence on Facebook or any other social media site to which you belong:

1. Avoid aliases. A moniker like #1CHawks Fan may be fun to use and resonate with your close circle of friends, but valuable business contacts (like hiring managers or potential clients) will have a difficult time finding you. Silly or strange user names also may cause others to question your professionalism. It’s best to choose something that supports your personal brand—like your first and last name.

2. Keep your profile up to date. Nearly three in 10 executives surveyed by The Creative Group said not keeping content fresh is the most common mistake creatives make in their professional online profiles. One way to help ensure a regular presence is to set up reminders on a calendar app or program.

For example, you might log into your accounts each morning to review and make updates and share or comment on others’ links. Incorporating this task into your daily routine will ensure your profile doesn’t become stale.

3.  Give ’em something to talk about. According to the latest study by the Pew Center’s Internet and American Life Project, the average Facebook user has 245 friends. That’s a lot of people you’re potentially competing with for attention. You can increase the likelihood that others will see your information by posting quality content—like links to news articles or video that you find inspiring and that they will want to pass along to their online networks. Be sure to comment on and share information that your contacts post to encourage further dialogue.

4. Proofread. People don’t want to wade through a sea of typos and grammatical errors or spend time trying to decipher complicated acronyms or text-speak. Before you publish anything online, proofread it. Even one quick review before posting can help ensure you’re conveying yourself effectively.

5. Monitor your brand.  Maintaining a sparkling online presence also requires finding out what others are saying about you. Take advantage of free tools, like Google Alerts,Twilert and Topsy to learn about new content that is affiliated with your name. If you see something that you want taken down, contact the person who posted the information or the web administrator.

In addition, be sure to check your privacy settings and create different groups or circles of friends within your accounts to ensure professional connections have access only to postings you specifically share with them.

Social media sites like Facebook can be a great way to bolster your reputation in the marketing field—as long as your efforts are consistent and composed. By taking the right steps, like those outlined above, you can develop an online presence that helps further your career.

•
Maria Scheleen is the Seattle branch manager for The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service placing interactive,design, marketing, advertising and public relations professionals with a variety of firms. For more information, visit creativegroup.com or call 206-749-9046.

By Hal Newsom

There’s an old salt in the ad business that rules are made to be broken. We believe that too, but we believe it with one very important preface. You have to know the rules before you can break them.
Here are the 20 rules that our creative people apply to the work they do. (Ed. Note: The fun here is to see how well you feel they apply in today’s very different working environment).
1. Never touch a typewriter or layout pad until you clearly understand to whom you are talking, what you are asking the reader or viewer to do and why you’re asking him to do it.

2. Be brave enough to try something new, quick enough to capitalize on successes—and man or woman enough to admit failure.

3. Do advertising that excels all other work in this field. This means being ahead, rather than trying to keep up. It means creating new ideas in design, art and copy. It doesn’t mean mimicking a New York ad you admire or stealing a headline you hope no one will identify.
Good ideas don’t have to come from old ads. They can come from a new novel, a museum tour, a walk on the beach or a love affair.

4. Create advertising that has a personality. Advertising you like having around you: on your wall—or on your desk when the biggest account prospect in town walks through the office.

5. Create with belief. If you don’t believe, don’t create. If you can’t honestly support every word you write, find another occupation or another account you can believe in.

6. Don’t be a bore. People don’t buy newspapers for the ads. They don’t listen to TV for the commercials. And they don’t have mailboxes to get a deluge of direct mail. You are creating an intrusion. And nothing is more aggravating than a boring intruder.

7. Use the English language in its simplest form. Fear cliches. Beware of superlatives, realizing they require a deft touch to be believable.
Advertising has virtually killed words like new, exciting, revolutionary, and even sale. Don’t try to revive them with a promise that doesn’t live up to the true definition of the word. And don’t try to kill any of the other wonderful words in the English language.

8. Be daring with words but never a daredevil. Be bold when boldness is called for, and write in a whisper when a soft expression can be heard better than a shout.

9. Write copy that speaks informally and directly—as though you were talking to the person you are attempting to reach. Read your copy aloud. Does it sound like conversation, or does it sound like an address to an audience in an empty hall?

10. Use the calculated understatement rather than puffery.

11. Be smart enough to realize the product you are advertising is not a panacea. It can’t be. Unless you are selling Salk vaccine. And even at that, you might have trouble convincing a Christian Scientist or two.

12. Write to a person’s hands, feet, heart and mind. You want the reader or viewer to do something. To write for more information, to walk to a store that sells the product, to fall in love with your idea or to change his attitude. If your work doesn’t motivate action, then you’ve wasted the client’s money.

13. Be a simplifier rather than a complicator. Know what can be eliminated in pictures and copy without diluting the impact of the advertisement.

14. Don’t be a hermit when you create. Show your preliminaries to someone you respect. And listen to their comments. Don’t play defense if you really want another person’s honest opinion of your ideas.

15. Watch your work throughout all stages of production. Never consider the task to be cut into stone, even in the late stages of production—particularly if an improvement can be made. But don’t try to remodel a bad idea in the proofing stage. To stop a bad idea costs little or nothing. It’s when it runs that it costs—sometimes the loss of the account.

16. Find out how your ad did. Don’t make it the client’s job to tell you. Find out yourself and report to the client all successes. If there are no readership and listenership studies, conduct your own survey. Ask others for their opinions—your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your wife, your husband or anybody for that matter. If you made a mistake,analyze what you did wrong. Then don’t make that error again.

17. Love this business. Read everything you can get your hands on about advertising. Know who is doing good work. Know what’s happening at other agencies. Anticipate trends. Know which clients are changing agencies and why.

18. Be curious. Have at least one book you are reading at all times. See a movie at least once a month. Go to a play occasionally. Get involved in a cause unrelated to the advertising world.

19. Be confident of your abilities. Express your beliefs. Stand up for what you believe. But don’t bully—even though you may be absolutely right.

20. Don’t run your office like a monastery. Move around. See what’s going on throughout the agency. Get around a new crowd every now and then. Help new people and learn from the more experienced minds and hands. Never figure you have the business mastered. And when you find yourself talking more about how we used to do it in the old days than what new thing you’re ready to try—get out and go try your hand at some other worthy occupation.
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Dogs On Parade

By Hal Newsom

There’s a parade of canines that prance by every day,
Tails wagging, all upon leashes so they won’t go astray.

And in the master’s hands is carried a plastic sack,
Empty going out and loaded coming back.

With lots of stops and starts dogs make the trip,
With the master attuned for that all-important sit.

As I observe this morning ritual with impartial eye,
I see signs of constipation with each one passing by.

One dog finds a spot and squats sheepishly,
Nope, false alarm, she only has to pee.

The plastic sack was ready, the master’s hands just flew,
Must keep the outpouring from getting on a neighbor’s shoe

Some days there must be a hundred dogs looking for a spot,
Their masters hurrying them up, whether they are ready or not.

There are dogs that circle an ideal spot forever,
Then drop their do-do in the tangled heather.

The goal is not to be seen scooping,
That’s in the “Rules of Dog Pooping.”

It would be socially improper for someone to see,
The dog owner in the heather on bended knee.

So his master is now in a position that counts,
He looks around slyly and then makes a pounce.

While the dog jumps around like a blowing feather,
The sack is drug through the newly fertilized heather.

Mission accomplished. And off they both trot,
But they’ll be back tomorrow. To find a new spot.

I always wondered what become of that bulging sack,
Does it go in the garbage can as soon as they get back?

If so, the garbage man much have a weekly surprise,
With seven bundles from Fido all gift wrapped and tied.

A long time ago I clipped this image at right of penguins standing on an iceberg, separated by a deep crevasse from their apparent leader, who is wearing a top had and tails and planted on the other side. I imagined words tumbling into that icy void. Nothing the leader would say could convince his cohorts to cross that crevasse.

It’s a comical image, but strikingly true. What are the odds of an organization’s messages making an impact on its intended audience—employees or customers? What’s said is often quite different from what’s heard.

Consider the results of a global study by Burson Marsteller, a leading global public relations firm. Burson found a significant gap [48%] between the messages conveyed by a company and what was ultimately reported in the media. Those odds worsened in social media, where the gap between the corporate message and how it was delivered by bloggers widened to 69%.

These findings aren’t too surprising. After all, isn’t this a twist on the age-old party game of Telephone? What goes in one ear comes out quite differently when repeated. Often we blame the listener. In the case of the Burson study, we might say the media had poor listening skills or that they filtered their interpretation through personal attitudes and values. Or we could think: “They just didn’t get it.”

But what if the message gap originates with you, the messenger? Do your messages go astray before they’re applied within the content of media relations, employee communications, business meetings, websites and more?

Yes, very likely. I’ve discovered three common pitfalls in messaging:

1. TMI—too much information dilutes the impact of a message;
2. Inside-out thinking—failure to put the audience first stops the conversation before you’ve even begun; and
3. Random proof—showering the audience with facts, testimonials, product reviews and endorsements in hopes something sticks and compels them to act.

So what’s the best way to dodge these pitfalls and avoid sliding into the message gap? Keeping your communication true to its original intent requires discipline. Let’s explore the 3 C’s of effective messaging: Clarity; Consistency and Credibility.

•  C1-Clarity. It’s all about them, the audience and what you want them to do. Does your communication reflect a goal that goes beyond simply providing information (a common focus of media interviews) or striving to motivate and immediate action (i.e., direct response to an advertisement?)

A more effective message goal is persuasion, a clear message that aims to change an audience’s behaviors over the long term. What does your audience think, feel and know about you? Getting a firm grip on how the audience perceives you and your topic—both rationally and emotionally—is key to bringing the right content and language to messaging.

• C2—Consistency. Now it’s all about you. Let your strengths act as solutions to audience needs and wants. These strengths sit within your brand identity and core values. Look at how your organization behaves in ways that reinforce brand attributes and/or core values. Integrate these examples into messages to make consistent impressions driven by your strengths. Try to focus only on those attributes and values that align directly with the audiences’ priorities so your message is both clear and consistent.
•  C3—Credibility. Time to shift your attention to your greatest skeptic. What can dispel that nagging voice of  “So what?” Give your audience something to talk about. They don’t need to know about every success you’ve ever experienced. Organize your proof points into three categories: People facts and anecdotes; Product features and benefits; and Practices that validate your commitment to the target audience. Highlight a handful of proof points that are both relevant and repeatable and your messages will glow with the credibility that every audience craves.
Bridging the message gap is a challenge for every communicator. Commitment to a set of solid practices can make the journey less daunting and yield far better results.

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Therese Beale works with consumer brands, professional-services firms and nonprofits to inspire brand-driven storytelling. You can contact her at therese@bealecp.com. And check out her blog at www.messagegap.com.

He’s particularly proud of his Ask The Insiders team featured at ScenicWA.com. The team includes Anne Erickson, producer of KING 5’s long-running Northwest Backroads show, Adrian Dow Young, a food and wine expert from the Chelan Valley and Nate Waters, a rising photography star who loves everything outdoors.

The geo-enabled mobile app ScenicWA is available for both iPhone and Android platforms and is loaded with listings to help add to one’s trip, Heppner noted.

He’s also excited about the Digimarc Discover technology on Page 7 of the magazine that brings editorial pages to life with links directly to online resources, and this QR code that links to the digital edition of the publication.

The magazine is under the aegis of  Heppner’s Destination Media Alliance, which also just published the Washington State Wine Tour Guide.  Paul is best known, of course, for his second-generation Encore Media Group, which has published arts program here for more than 40 years.

Meanwhile, the fledgling Washington Tourism Alliance, the privately funded phoenix that arose from the ashes of the Legislature’s decision to close the publicly funded State Tourism Office (as is the practice in the other 49 states!), is struggling to take full flight.

Executive director Suzanne Fletcher is working with a relatively meager budget of less than $400,000 and hoping to raise another $1 million by year-end, through a series of events.

Fletcher just hired the first two permanent staff members, other than herself, but all are essentially working out of their homes for now, since the Alliance has not been donated or rented permanent office space. She added, however, that board rooms have been made available for meetings on several occasions.

In her report to the stakeholders at the Second Annual Tourism Summit on April 5, Fletcher cited the formation of a Board and establishment of the bylaws as major accomplishments, along with transition of the State tourism website to the Alliance—a project managed by Alliance co-founder Katherine Kertzman.

Fletcher also said the new Washington State Visitors Guide was the first produced in cooperation with the Washington Lodging Association and SagaCity Media. The Alliance’s near-term goal is to be on a self-sustaining financial footing by January 2014, Fletcher said.

WDCW won a remarkable 27 Gold and Silver ADDYs, compared with the eight won by its nearest competitor, Creature, and the six given to third-place Cole & Weber United.

Best of Show honors went to Copacino+Fujikado for its Bernandez Campaign for the Seattle Mariners. And a Judges’ Award was presented to World Famous for its Sasquatch entry done for the Sasquatch Music Festival.

Ron Elgin

The AAF Seattle (Ad Club) event also saw the 2012 AAF Silver Medal Award for ad-industry leadership bestowed on Ron Elgin. He received the coveted award before a crowd of nearly 300 on April 12 at 415 Westlake.

A total of 87 awards were given to 20 entrants in 12 advertising-related  categories. Of the 87 ADDYs, 28 were Golds and 59 were Silvers.

WDCW’s impressive total included eight Golds and 19 Silvers. All Gold and Silver ADDY winners automatically advance to the five-state Northwest District ADDY Awards and winners there go on to National ADDY competition.

Judges for the Seattle ADDYs were Ramina Khachi, creative director for rbx Brand Excellence in Orange, CA, Shanky Das, senior creative director for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in Detroit, Lotus Child, executive creative director for G2 in San Francisco. Cameron Friedlander, VP creative technology for Designkitchen in Chicago and Ian Toombs, creative director for Anomaly in New York City.

Here’s the story on 2012 Silver Medal recipient Ron Elgin, as provided by an anonymous AAF Seattle writer who obviously knows him well:

“Everyone knows Ron Elgin.

“Even those who don’t know Ron Elgin, know Ron Elgin.

“He’s one of the few to reach Seattle advertising icon status, building the agency that first put Seattle on the national advertising map and paving the way for so many others to carry that torch further.

“In 1981, Ron joined with Dave Syferd, his client at Rainier Bank, to create a different kind of agency—one without boundaries, where each communication principal would have an equal voice in helping solve business problems. That agency became Elgin Syferd. After eight steady years of garnering national attention, Elgin Syferd joined the DDB fold in 1989 and eventually became DDB Seattle. As clients like McDonald’s, Holland America Lin and Nordstrom could attest, success followed success and business flourished.

“From the beginning, Ron was smart enough to understand that he needed to hire people who were, as he put it, ‘smarter than I am.’  So his agency became one of the first to look beyond the region to import the best talent. Ron set a high standard for the work they did, but he didn’t micromanage. He let the creatives run the show, even when it made him uncomfortable—which it often did. They were challenged to take risks and given ‘the freedom to fail.’ It paid off.

“As Ron became the envoy, the ambassador for the Seattle advertising community, he sat (and still sits) on many boards, including PONCHO, Big Brothers, Seattle Ballet and about a thousand others. Giving back was just part of Ron’s DNA and it soon became his agency‘s DNA. He helped to create and host the legendary Charity Golf Classic, an indoor competition which for 20 years served as the ad community’s cornerstone fundraising event in support of children’s charities. It’s true the agency did good work, as in work for the greater good, and that was all Ron.

“Of course, as everyone who knows Ron Elgin will say, he loves his family more than anything. He knows he wouldn’t be where he is without Bonnie, his “beautiful, extremely bright and extremely patient” wife of 42 years; “the world’s most wonderful daughter,” Alison; his son-in-law Brett; granddaughter, Logan; and grandson, Hutton. And everyone who knows Ron, knows and loves his family as well.

“Even after stepping down from DDB, Ron’s still not done. He created one marketing consulting firm, re:connects, and is in the process of finalizing another company, The Presidents Counsel, designed to assist in the growth of first- and second-stage companies. And in all his spare time, Ron’s writing a book.

“Yes, Ron Elgin is not by any means done. In the words of Al Pacino, he’s just getting warmed up.”