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Launch principal David Wilgus has served on the University of North Texas CVAD board for the past two years.
“I’ve been a big fan of the school over the years,” UNT alum Wilgus said. “We’ve hired several art directors from their award-winning design program, and I’m always impressed by the talented students they produce.”
UNT’s College of Arts and Design is considered one of the best art schools in the southwest, offering 30 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Wilgus has been closely involved in helping the school launch its new Design Research Center (DRC) in downtown Dallas. The DRC opened in January to serve as an “urban laboratory” where graduate students and faculty members can spark and sustain design-driven solutions to real world problems.
To learn more about UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design visit http://www.art.unt.edu.
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Launch’s 2011 winning streak continued with four awards at the Tenth District ADDY Awards, held Friday in Oklahoma City. The Tenth District of the American Advertising Federation (AAF) represents the affiliate advertising clubs and federations of the AAF in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.
This time around, the Launch Agency trophy haul included a gold for its “Guillotine” poster, created for the 2011 Dallas ADDY Awards, as well as a silver for the overall “Suffer for Your Art” Dallas ADDYs poster campaign. Launch also took home two silver trophies for its Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County public service posters, titled “Bear” and “Robot.”
As a result of these wins, all four awarded pieces now move on to the National ADDY Awards as finalists. The winning work will be judged in San Diego and announced in early June. Here’s hoping the streak continues.
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For the third year in a row, Launch sent senior creative team members Richard Wezensky and Alex Slotkin down to Austin to attend one of the world’s premier interactive conferences: South by Southwest Interactive. It was five days of inspiration, information and borderline-overwhelming intensity (especially with conference attendance having swelled by more than 30% over last year).
Naturally, high-tech gadgetry was everywhere, from the brand-new iPad 2 to hot new group messaging apps, QR codes, tweets and location-based “check-ins.” At the same time, the conference covered an even broader swath of subjects, everything from Web coding and design to marketing, social media, gaming and the societal implications of technology.
Despite the plethora of seminars, panels, interviews, workshops, networking sessions and parties, a few recurring ideas seemed to come to the fore. First was the idea that brands are moving from the role of being traditional marketers to publishers. Some are creating original content, others aggregating content from third parties (and in some cases, a bit of both). By building a reputation as a go-to source for information on a specific topic of interest to consumers, brands can better establish themselves as trusted authorities and reach an increasingly marketing-averse audience.
The second big takeaway was the notion that advertising and marketing agencies need to start thinking more like software companies. They need to be less precious with their work, take less time to go from idea to market, and then make constant, iterative adjustments to their work in response to customer feedback. While selling this approach in to clients can be challenging, it helps if agencies start with smaller and less costly initiatives, and then try to grow them over time.
Finally, there was a lot of emphasis on the unique qualities and challenges of social media—specifically, how social engagement has to be an honest, one-to-one conversation with customers. Companies need to give their audience more of a say in the direction their brand will take, and work to create long-term relationships. Whether it’s through Twitter, Facebook or a company blog, brands need to provide more humanity and transparency. These days, being obviously promotional is the fastest path to becoming irrelevant.
There were plenty more nuggets of wisdom, chance celebrity encounters and other fascinating discoveries at SXSW, but those are best experienced in person. Of course, the next best thing is to peruse the sizable catalog of SXSWi 2011 podcasts, videos, notes and other materials, which you’ll find at sxsw.com/interactive. Also, don’t miss the full Launch SXSW photo set at www.flickr.com/photos/launchagency/sets/72157626249293558/, and the Launch Twitter feed, including live tweets from the event.
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The Launch Agency account service team increased its ranks with the addition of Carl Brandvold to the fold. Most recently with The Richards Group, Carl brings with him a love of brand marketing and building client relationships.
Born in Illinois, he spent most of his childhood in California, then attended high school and college in Oklahoma. He graduated from Oklahoma State and went work at Walsh Branding in Tulsa — as a graphic designer! He soon discovered his passion for account service and working directly with clients, and switched departments and career paths (and wardrobes?). Carl left Walsh for Richards in 2010 and joined Launch in March, 2011.
Carl’s other interests include illustrating, drawing, fishing and running. Recently he ran his first half marathon. He also loves old school films in all genres, but he is particularly fond of comedies and mob movies. And to balance his love of the classics, he also loves tech and gadgets, especially those made by Apple.
The Q&A provides insight into how Carl’s mind works:
Neil Patrick Harris, err... Carl Brandvold
Q: Most unique talent?
A: I can do a pretty good impression of a raptor. Seriously, it’s loud.
Q: Favorite galaxy or constellation?
A: I feel like if I were a big Star Wars fan or Trekkie this would be an opportunity to say something witty. Unfortunately I am not.
Q: Favorite kind of games? Board games, mind games, video games…?
A: Board games. Simple games that involve social interaction. Apples to Apples is always fun. It gets people to laugh.
Q: Who would play you in the feature/art film/made-for-TV movie about your life?
A: Ugh. Fine. I’ll say it. Neil Patrick Harris. Apparently I look like him…I don’t see it.
Q: What is your favorite piece of art?
A: I’m a big architecture fan. Art Deco and Frank Lloyd Wright buildings.
Q: What is your favorite piece of children’s entertainment?
A: Does Harry Potter count? I really want to go see the new Harry Potter theme park in Florida. Don’t judge me…
Q: Celebrity you’d most like to meet.
A: David Bowie. I’ve been a Bowie fan since I was 5 years old. My uncle used to make me recite over and over that I loved David Bowie. Apparently, it worked.
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Diane Seimetz, Launch Principal, offered her take on Journalism and Mass Communication Education at the recent Idea Summit hosted by the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC). The topic of the Summit, held at the Hyatt Regency Dallas, was “The changes I would make in Journalism Education.”
Communications professionals, including Seimetz, came to discuss what Journalism majors — and the corresponding curricula — are doing right and critical areas for improvement. The event focused on the perception that there are no new jobs in these professional fields, and the consequent dwindling numbers of students in these majors. In attendance were eminent presenters and academics from some of the most respected mass communication schools including Syracuse, Trinity Tech, TCU Schieffer, BYU, Missouri and Scripps College of Communication.
“The topline to the students was that the world still uses pictures and words to tell stories,” explained Seimetz. “The need for that skillset and talent hasn’t changed.”
In addition, “Students should be held to real-world timelines and more realistic deadlines. They should be taught how to concept quickly and accurately, and call upon that creativity at a moment’s notice to survive in their first jobs out of school. Inspiration is capricious, but creativity is on demand.” Seimetz proposed pointers on “how to do things quickly” and “how to articulate and present ideas well.” She contended that good ideas are often lost because someone couldn’t sell them.
Seimetz suggested class topics with more immediate, and practical application, such as: “How to Have a Two Way Conversation with Your Audience,” “How to Change Your Voice When You Change Medium,” “How to Sell Something in 140 Characters” and “Writing for an Audience with the Attention Span of a Gnat.”
One of her key takeaways was that because the lines between advertising, marketing, and journalism are blurring, there are new opportunities for students who understand aspects of all three and possess the skills to utilize them. Most current courses offered in these programs are attribute-driven as opposed to benefit-driven. Shifting this paradigm could help students in their approach to solving problems and critical thinking.
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Last month, Launch welcomed its newest copywriter, Ryan Ingram.
Originally from Texas, Ryan heeded the siren song and returned to Texas after an 8+ year stint at Ogilvy & Mather New York.
Ryan graduated from Texas Tech and jumped into the advertising industry at Ogilvy Houston and, later, JWT Houston before heading to New York. During his career he has created successful and award-winning work for blue chip brands such as American Express, IBM, Motorola, Shell and Pfizer, to name a few.
Ryan is a connoisseur of culture as well as a secret lover of romantic comedies. He thinks Point Break is a severely underrated movie. One of his roughest days in memory was the day Lost ended. Now he lives out his own romantic comedy with his wife, his 15-month old son, and a lack of sleep.
As Ryan turns his gaze to Launch’s client roster, we turn ours to his Q&A.
Ryan Ingram in "Being Ryan Ingram"
Q: What is your favorite children’s movie?
A: The Dark Crystal. It was creepy, trippy, and I don’t know what was
going on, but it was awesome.
Q: Favorite “That’s what she said” quote?
A: “This doesn’t do it for me.”
Q: Do you currently hold any Guinness World Records? If not,
which are you most likely to achieve in the near future?
A: I don’t, but it would be consecutive hours in a tanning bed
without anything happening. I’m really white.
Q: If you were a toaster what kind of toast would you make?
A: I would toast bacon, extra crispy, or beef jerky, or slim jims.
Something with meat.
Q: How will the world end?
A: Exactly like Independence Day without Will Smith, 30-minutes in.
Launch is happy to have Ryan helming a pen, paper, word processor and concepting on its – and its clients’ – behalf.
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March is Launch’s anniversary month, so the agency celebrated in style with an agency dinner March 10th, at the exceptional Steve Field’s restaurant in Plano. The eight-year anniversary party was an evening of fine food, fabulous friends, and shared stories of hard work, great creative and success.
There was only one requirement for entry to the dinner, a contribution of personal insight gained from tenure at Launch. As the staff of 25 went around the massive table between delicious courses, each regaled with agency experiences, inside jokes, and office anecdotes.
It began with a few comically photoshopped pictures of staff members and continued with hilarious memories of office pranks. Diane Seimetz was even awarded the title of Creative Gangsta complete with a giant plush crown.
But the tone of the evening echoed strongest in the unanimous expression of gratitude the employees felt toward Launch and their peers. The heartfelt laughter and camaraderie remained even as the employees called it a night.
Now, with eight years of strategic and insightful work behind them, Launch prepares for eight more. The agency is ready with new surprises and renewed dedication to the clients and communications that made it what it is today.
Happy Anniversary, Launch, and may there be many more to come.
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Neither wind, nor rain, nor snowpocalypse could prevent Art Director Ellen Marquart from her first day at Launch Agency this past February.
Ellen Marquart
Ellen’s overland adventure from Atlanta to Dallas, lasted 3 days through icy roads and bewildered Southern drivers. Now that she joins Launch she can continue her work in art direction, graphic design, and popular cultural studies. A self-diagnosed pop culture nerd (read aficionado), Ellen is addicted to television and popular entertainment.
Born in Brazil, Ellen moved to Houston when she was 3. After relocating again to attend a Southern Adventist University in Tennessee, she went on to the Johnson Group, and then N+A Advertising in Atlanta.
To better understand the mind of Launch’s newest AD, the Q&A was tailored to plumb the inner depths of her psyche. Read on to find out even more about her.
Q: What is your spirit animal?
A: A hummingbird
Q: Who would play you in the feature/art film/made-for-TV movie about your life?
A: Michelle Williams. I stole her haircut. So they wouldn’t have to pay for a stylist.
Q: Play, opera, or symphony? TV, movie, or concert?
A: All of the above.
Q: Are you now or have you ever been employed by the CIA or any other clandestine agency?
A: I haven’t but it’s always been a secret dream of mine.
Q: What is the most awkward / unfortunate elevator conversation you have ever had?
A: I haven’t ridden a lot of elevators in my life but I did have a very extensive conversation about hand sanitizer with a man on a plane once.
Q: Celebrity you’d most like to meet.
A: Zachary Levi (Chuck, Tangled)
Q: Best movie 1-liner?
A: “Inconceivable!”
Ellen’s talent and skills enhance the Launch creative firepower and bring female flair to the art directors. Please join us in welcoming her!
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In honor of the couples’ holiday, Smart USA asked Launch to create vehicle wraps to promote the Smart ForTwo for Valentine’s Day. USA Today thought the results were pretty enough to print, and did so in their article about the collaboration.
The wrap themes for Smart USA’s two-seater, the Smart ForTwo, center on love, couples, and matters of the heart. The Launch designs were added to Smart USA’s existing gallery of custom wraps and are available online for viewing and purchase at smartusa.com/valentine.
Each design turns the Smart ForTwo into a Valentine’s card on wheels—the perfect medium for lovely expressions. Smart’s Valentine’s Expressions set the bar higher than the chocolate and flower standard of years past.
USA Today wrote about the romantic wraps in an article for the automotive section. And in it, contended that the Smart ForTwo is the only car that could pull off the look.
Launch is happy that Smart USA would be its Valentine. And just as proud to have the collaboration featured by USA Today. Read the USA Today article here.
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