TCC Insights

Pay it Forward

 By: Matt McDermott, Intern

Three weeks ago marked my first day as a creative intern at Travers Collins. The internship came about as a result of my own research and sparked interest in the advertising/public relations realm this past summer. From there it was a few emails, a phone call, a recommendation from my supervisor at my past internship, an interview, and wham, it was September 7 and I was in my cubicle at Travers Collins sipping on coffee and enjoying my first assignment.  Life was good, but my feet hurt.

17 Cheers for Summer!

Since summer officially kicked off yesterday, we thought it was a good time to share our favorite summer pastimes in WNY. Here’s our summer ‘to-do list’, compiled by our staff, in no particular order:

1. Lunch at the Hatch!  It's a quick jaunt from the office, and nothing beats sitting by the water eating a Sahlen's hotdog to break up the work day.
   
   
2.  Old Fort Niagara. Just think, the original building is from 1726 - it has been held by the French, British and U.S. armies throughout its history. Something to do almost every weekend during the summer. Much will be happening as the bi-centennial of the War of the 1812 approaches. A haunting, magical place with much historical significance.
   
   
3. Root Five on a beautiful summer night. Pick a night when they have a live band and enjoy the sunset. It's the best lakeside view in Western New York! 
4. A day at Niagara on the Lake. Play nine holes of golf on America's oldest golf course (not very expensive, either). Right on the mouth of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, it is an historic site for the War of 1812 with Fort Mississauga tucked right in the middle. Then enjoy everything else there is to do: theater, winery tours, shopping, garden walk and dining.
   
   
5. Tailgating and concerts at Artpark- Tuesday in the Park. Check out this summer’s line-up
   
   
6. Pizza, wine and watching for shooting stars during the annual Perseid meteor shower.
   
   
7. Go down to the Tonawanda River front and walk.  It's a relaxing time and the waterfront there is really nice. Don’t forget to stop for ice cream at Mississippi Mudds.
   
   
8. The Eden Corn Festival. It’s like the Erie County Fair, with way less people, and it’s free.
   
   
9. The Buffalo Garden Walk – especially since one of our own TCCers has a garden featured on the walk!
   
   
10. Circle readings every Monday at Lily Dale. We dare anyone to go!
    
    
11. The June and September Jazz concerts at the Knights of Columbus on Kenmore Avenue. You can hear Billy McEwan, Barbara Sinclair and other local jazz artists for just $10. Bring your lawn chair and have a great, foot-tapping time.
    
    
12. Go to Beaver Island State Park to the beach. Bring a grill and cook hot dogs for lunch then have ice cream at the stand there.
    
    
13. Go to Lewiston Landing, getting a giant burger from the Silo Restaurant and enjoying it overlooking the beautiful Lower River. Lewiston is just starting to get well-deserved recognition for its small-town character, great arts/music scene, delicious restaurants and breathtaking scenery. It's a great place to go spend an afternoon shopping, taking in the sights and enjoying nice sunset meal by the water!
    
    
14. Visiting Three Sister’s Islands, which is off of Goat Island at Niagara Falls. You can take a mini hike, enjoy a picnic or just sit and relax as the rapids race by with the thundering noise of the falls in the background (you can’t see the actual falls from here). It’s a beautiful and powerful shot of nature. If you dare, you can take a step in the shallow areas...just don’t get caught by the park police!
    
    
15. Go to the farmer’s market at Elmwood-Bidwell every Saturday morning. The people who walk around are the friendliest people in Buffalo and love to engage in conversation! The people watching is the best, too!
    
    
16. It’s not a summer party in Buffalo without Sahlen’s wieners on the grill, Kan Jam on the lawn and an ice cold Labatt in hand. If you’re really feelin’ good, DJ Anthony is blasting from the stereo.
    
    
17. Golf!  Anywhere, anytime!

 

The USDA Ditches its Pyramid Scheme

By Caitlin Zulewski, Account Manager

In case you hadn't heard, today the United States Department of Agriculture officially retired the food pyramid, the 20-year-old visual icon that described the USDA's (former) recommended guidelines for nutrition.

Job Stress

By Shannon Holfoth, Account Coordinator

CareerCast recently released their list of the 10 most stressful jobs of 2011.  Surprising to many, including some here at Travers Collins, public relations officers and advertising executives ranked at No. 2 and No. 6, respectively.

To compile this list, CareerCast weighed several factors, including work environment, income, future outlook, travel, deadlines, competitiveness and public pressure. It ranked 200 professions based on how these demands affected the work day.

Now sure, PR and advertising pros have to adapt to evolving mediums, juggle several projects simultaneously, maintain positive reputations and effective brands for their company or clients, deal with crises, handle tight deadlines and sometimes put in long hours.

Notre Dame Does the Right Thing

By Bill Collins, Principal

The University of Notre Dame has written a  new chapter in the crisis-communications textbook with the way the institution has responded to the tragic death of Declan Sullivan, the student who was killed when the elevated scissor lift from which he was videotaping the Notre Dame football practice fell.

Photoshop of Horrors

 By Joe Sweeney, Associate Creative Director

The art of retouching can be a beautiful thing – undoubtedly, it opens a lot of doors for us so-called creative types. Because of the wonders of photo manipulation, nothing is off limits in a brainstorm. Want to attach a laser cannon to the top of an economy car? That’s doable. (That’s a real suggestion from a recent concept meeting, for the record.)

But, like any powerful thing, retouching is often used for evil. If you’re interested in how human beings actually look, then you might as well never look at another magazine again. And when I think about all of the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot hoaxes, my heart breaks (still believe you’re out there, Sasquatch).

Websites That Are Actually Quite Useful

 By Jeff Bucki, Senior Copywriter

I started thinking about the websites that I frequent while at work. Some are useful to what I do, and all of them are valuable in some form.

Dictionary.com  
A dictionary and a thesaurus all in one. If I’m working on a naming project, tagline or theme, it’s a very helpful resource. I still pick up the real books from time to time, but this website is so easy to use. I probably use it on a daily basis.

Southwest Is Still the Best

By Christian Nole, Account Service Intern

Some people love to complain; so it was really no surprise that when Southwest Airlines experienced some technical issues with its aircrafts, a lot of customers, bloggers, and even some media outlets were quick to put Southwest on trial. I, on the other hand, like to consider myself a rational person. If you haven’t heard about it yet, Southwest Airlines had a little mishap on Friday. I will admit that it was concerning to hear about Southwest having issues with a hole in a plane, especially because I have always looked to Southwest as my first choice in air travel. However, there is a silver lining (not in the planes of course; that would have prevented depressurization).

Special: Foursquare for Dummies and 10 Useful Foursquare Resources

By Joe Russell, Account Coordinator

You’ve heard of Foursquare but you have no idea how or why to use it. Maybe you’ve heard horror stories and are scared someone will stalk or rob you if you use it.  Or perhaps you just need something to read to help you look productive since it’s Friday.
If any of this sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place.

My Foursquare Ethos
I’m not a Foursquare expert. I’m not a Foursquare super user. This is not a guide for marketing use. Sometimes it’s refreshing to be a consumer (but I did include some marketing resources at the end, wink). This is Foursquare for dummies. I’m a dummy like you who had the same hesitations about Foursquare a few months ago and now I’m just passing along what I’ve discovered.

For those who like credentials, here are mine:

Apple Blew It

By Bob Travers, Principal

For the fourth year in a row Apple has been number one on FORTUNE Magazine’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies.  Not surprised here.  Personally, I love Apple products and as a matter of fact, I own six Apple products including two iPhones (my wife’s and my own). And at the marketing communications company my partner and I own we have multiple Apple computers, products and accessories.

So I am what you would call a loyal purchaser of the Apple brand.  And why am I so loyal?  Because I know they will always deliver to or exceed my expectations, in what we in the marketing world call key moments of truth.  Whenever I interact with Apple, whether it’s through the features or benefits of the product I’ve purchased, or when I call their customer support or technical support services, I’m continuously satisfied, for the most part beyond my expectations.  As I counsel my clients, a great brand not only delivers what a customer is looking for, the overall experience is always a positive one.

However, in my opinion and I’m sure it’s shared by thousands of Apple customers across the country, Apple has blown it big time with the launch of the iPad 2.