2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6

AWARD WINNING IDEASN A T I O N A L C L U B A C H I E V E M E N T C O M P E T I T I O N W I N N I N G E N T R I E S

ADVERTISING EDUCATION

Division III: Pittsburgh Advertising Federation

Advertising Education

Goals: The Education Committee of the Pittsburgh Ad Fed set out to create an annual

program that supports both learning and the retention of local college students,

participation from agencies and industry professionals, and collaboration with a local

non-profit organization. The idea evolved from a conference program to an “Apprentice”

style competition before finally settling on a one-day, in-agency challenge. Several years

later, the program has grown into a 2-part competition that culminates with a live pitch

by finalist teams.

Event Details: The Pitch challenge focuses on advertising and its associated disciplines.

Local students have the opportunity to receive hands-on experience by working at a

Pittsburgh advertising agency on a real-world project.

The planning for the annual Pitch program begins with the Education Committee

reaching out to board members and other agency contacts asking for non-profit

organization recommendations. All viable non-profits are then sent an RFP and asked to

respond. This helps us to find an ideal partner who can benefit from insightful, strategic

and creative thinking, and who is also willing to use the work that is created. Ideally, the

non-profit would have an organizational mission that is accessible to students, has a

succinct, realistic marketing need that can be strategically addressed within the time

frame, and is willing and able to collaborate with the Pitch program. In addition to

working with the committee to hone the marketing challenge, we ask that they be

available to shoot a video with instructions for the assignment and a brief overview of

their organization and the challenge ahead. This video is provided to each hosting

agency and is launched at the same time throughout all six team locations. This video

marks the start of the first day of the Pitch challenge.

College level juniors and seniors are invited to participate in the challenge. We reach out

to these students mainly via their educators, with some social media support.

Registration is capped at 60 students, and is on a first come, first served basis. Students

pay a small fee to participate, or in some cases their professors cover the cost.

A week out from our fall program, students are contacted via email and are assigned to

an agency team. We take into consideration the student’s major and areas of interest

when determining who will go where. We do not create teams by learning institution. At

the same time that students are notified of their agency designation, they are told who

their non-profit client is. They are not given any specifics about the challenge itself.

Participation from our local advertising agencies is crucial to this event. Each agency not

only hosts a team, but provides them a meeting space, lunch and most importantly, the

expertise of various staff members to assist and guide the students as they work their

way through the challenge.

The board of directors also plays a huge role in making sure this challenge goes off

without a hitch. Two board members are assigned to each team and act as advisors to the

students. Their purpose is two-fold. The first is to be the point person for students,

keeping the team on track, and on schedule. Their second function is to step in,

creatively, as needed. As we know happens in agency life, a pitch / presentation / client

project can come out of nowhere and usurp all of your creatives, planners, account exec,

etc for the entire day. In the event of this agency emergency, the board members are

able to step in and give the creative guidance the team needs to best move forward.

Along with the students, the local non-profit, local advertising agencies and our board of

directors, we also have the support of many local businesses. Every year, thanks to

Dicks Sporting Goods, UPMC, Dollar Bank, Eat N Park and many others, we are able to

provide all of the students with a “swag bag” filled with items donated by these

wonderful organizations. The event is truly a collaboration of our incredible advertising

community.

At the end of the day, the students are required to submit two items electronically. The

first deliverable is video “pitch” to the client. This must be less than 10 minutes, and

must be shot either in a single take, or with minimal editing. The quality of the video

itself is not to be judged, only the quality of the content and the creativity in the

presentation. The second item is the written proposal. This should be more

comprehensive than the video, and give concrete details to solve the marketing

challenge as presented.

Once the files are uploaded, the teams are dismissed from the agency and must wait to

hear the verdict. We give the non-profit about a week to review the work and ask them to

narrow the field to 2 finalist teams. The teams are given some feedback from the

organization and several weeks to tweak their proposal and put together a live pitch

presentation. The students have access to their advisors and the agency to acquire

feedback, support, etc.

The live Pitch is graciously hosted by Point Park University, in downtown Pittsburgh. We

invite all decision-making parties from our non-profit partner as well as the agencies,

advisers and other students. Each team has 30 minutes to present and is asked to bring

a leave-behind. We don’t allow the teams to be in the auditorium for each other’s

presentations. Again, we give the client a week to digest / share the information before

asking them to select one winning team.

In the end the winning team of students gets a resume review by the HR department of

the agency with which they were working, and are invited to and recognized at our local

Addy Awards program, not to mention face time with creative directors, copywriters,

planners, social media experts, etc. The non-profit partner gets dozens of valuable,

creative, insightful, and executable ideas to further their marketing efforts. The

agencies and board advisers get to see first hand the new talent soon to be on the market

in our city and a chance to secure them for internships and jobs.

As our program is now in it’s 6th year, we have seen a remarkable amount of growth from

our initial Pitch. More students are interested. Educators are contacting us months in

advance to make sure their students know of the deadlines. Agencies enjoy the

competition and challenge of “coaching up” young talent, and also identifying potential

future hires. In fact, over 40% of our pitch participants to date have at some point been

employed by a participating agency. And the local media has taken notice of the program

and covers the program with its annual coverage of the Addy awards.

Girls Hope of Pittsburgh, Inc. www.girlshope.org

BACKGROUND

Girls Hope of Pittsburgh, Inc. helps academically capable and motivated girls-in-need to meet their full potential and

become women by providing value-centered, family-like residential homes, opportunities and education through college.

The program is designed to prevent patterns of abuse, poverty and neglect from continuing in the lives of these girls by

focusing on formal education and holistic learning through enrichment programs, service projects and faith-based

activities.

The first in the nation, Girls Hope of Pittsburgh, Inc. was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1991. The congregation

initiated a request to the founder of Boys Hope of St. Louis, to build a home for girls. The congregation wished to

maintain its directive to “respond to those areas where human dignity was most diminished including the poor and

marginalized, youth and women” and established the home for girls in Baden.

As an affiliate of the now-named Boys Hope Girls Hope International, the Pittsburgh area site continues to be the only

site in the country with two homes for girls. The first opened in October 1991; the second home opened in 2001 and

moved to its permanent location in Coraopolis in 2009. Each home is capable of housing eight scholars, with

accommodations, if necessary, for any scholar working on her college degree.

Highlights and Accomplishments:

1. Regionally, Girls Hope is the only voluntary residential program which intervenes and cares for girls in distress

before they are in crisis and serves them in a long-term fashion.

2. One hundred percent of the scholars who stay in the Girls Hope program graduate from high school and are accepted

into a college or university. Of those who continue with the program and their higher education studies, 80 percent

graduate with a bachelor’s degree.

3. Currently, there are thirteen (13) Girls Hope college graduates. Most recently, Brande received her degree with

honors in Business Administration – Finance from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in May 2015. She is now

working full-time as a Client Relations Specialist for Vanguard in Philadelphia.

4. Of the 13 college graduates, five went on to receive their Master’s degree and one received her Ph.D. in Micro-

Biology from the University of Chicago. She is now an assistant scientist for a hospital in New York.

STAFF

Girl’s Hope of Pittsburgh has 14 paid employees, with 2 of them responsible (though not solely dedicated) to marketing

efforts. We have 100 active volunteers. We do have an internship program in place but traditionally, the interns have

been placed in the program department to directly help our scholars.

EVENTS

Each year, we hold four Evening of Hope fundraisers throughout the area – Downtown (Sienna Mercato), Sewickley

(Allegheny Country Club), Fox Chapel (Pittsburgh Field Club) and the South Hills (St. Clair Country Club). Typically,

we have 200-300 attendees who learn more about the Girls Hope mission by way of presentations from the Executive

Director and one or two of our current scholars, collegians or alumnae. These events raise money both from ticket sales

and a “wish board” that they have at each event. The wish board has index cards with items and dollar amounts posted

on each. Guests are encouraged to donate a ‘wish’ amount, for example, “$75 for books.”

The other major event held each year is our Women’s Tournament. In the past, this event has included golf, tennis,

paddle tennis, a luncheon or bridge. This year’s event will have bridge and a celebrity chef luncheon, which will draw

250+ attendees. Our strategic approach now centers on moving these donors from the events into a major gifts category,

whereby donors contribute $1,000 or more each year in support of the Girls Hope mission.

Guests for these fundraisers are invited by recruiting “Captains,” which are essentially hosts that will give anywhere

from 10 to 100 names to the organization. Those folks will receive a personal note from the Captain inviting them to

attend one of these events. Captains are board members, friends of board members, etc. Due to this process, their

mailing list includes several thousand names.

OUTREACH

Donor touches throughout the year are sporadic at best. The newsletter, while intended to be a regular occurrence (e- and

in print) has been written and sent with the annual report for the past 2 years. The lack of a full time marketing person

makes these outreach efforts fall to the wayside. Our Facebook and twitter presence also ends up taking a back seat. The

only consistent mailings are invitations to the events and solicitations for donations, which are mainly mailed out in

November, December and January.

YOUR CHALLENGE

Each year, Girls Hope of Pittsburgh, Inc. is responsible for raising $1,000,000 to sustain our two residential homes. 2016

marks the 25th year since the first home opened. With this pending milestone, we’d like you to create an awareness

marketing campaign (including a tag line!) that will get our name out, create a buzz in the community and in-turn increase

donations to help us provide stable, family-like homes for children between the ages of 10-18 who are at risk due to

poverty, neglect or harmful neighborhood conditions. Our budget for this mission is limited to about $500.

I.IntroductionTheMarcUSAPitchTeamisproudtopresentthisbusinessproposaltoGirlsHopeinan

efforttoexecutethechallengeofcreatinganawarenessmarketingcampaigntoultimatelyraise$1,000,000fortheyoungwomenofGirlsHopeofPittsburgh.

WewantedtocreateacampaignthatcouldhelpthesegirlsthatwouldresonatewitheveryoneinthePittsburghcommunity.Thiscampaignreachesfamilies,men,women,andchildrenwhocareabouthelpingtheirlocaldaughters,sisters,nieces,andfriendsmovetowardsabrighterfuture.ThiscampaignwillbringthePittsburghcommunitytogetherforonesinglecause:givingahandtotheyoungwomenofGirlsHope.

Ourcampaignistitled“GiveHerAHand”becausesheneedstheentirecommunitytohelpherandmotivatehertobecomethewomanthatsheismeanttobe.Sheneedsthesupportandloveofawillinghandtohelphergrow,andtogivehertheopportunityforabrighterfuture.“GiveHerAHand”requiresthehandsofeveryoneinthecommunitytocometogethertodonatefunds.Webelievethata“hand”isauniversalsymbolthatcanbringpeopleofallwalksoflifetogether.Thiswillgiveeveryoneavoiceandaconnectiontothiscausetohelponegroupofyoungladies.Thiswillgivethepatronsthefreedomtoexpresseachoftheirindividualhopesandgoals,andsharethemwiththecommunityandGirlsHope.Thedollaramountthatweaskingasdonationfromtheparticipantsinthecampaignisattainableandreasonablefortheindividualcommunitymember(seedetailsintheSocialMediasection).Wearenothowever,excludingtheaidoflocalbusinessesandcorporationstodonatelargerfunds. Ourcampaignincludesvarioussocialmediatacticstoraiseawarenessamongstmillennials,andprintandguerillamarketingtoraiseawarenessamongstthosewhodonotutilizesocialmedia.Wechosetousesocialmediaandguerillamarketingtouseourbudgetefficiently.Webelievethatthecreativeeffortsexemplifiedthroughthesocialmediastrategyandtheguerillamarketingwillraisecuriosityinthecampaign,toenticepeopletojointhechallenge.Wealsolayoutastrategytopromote“GiveHerAHand”forthevariouseventsofGirlsHopeaswellasanoutreachstrategyoforganizationstotarget.II.SocialMedia Thelaunchof“GiveHerAHand”willbethroughoursocialmediaplatformsofInstagram,Facebook,Twitter,andSnapchat.Theinitialpushwouldincludecontactingtheaggregatedmailinglistandaskingthemtosharepostsforthesocialmediachallenge.Inaddition,wewouldasktherecruitingCaptainstospreadthewordwithintheirnetworks.Ourcomprehensivesocialmediacampaignhopestoincreasedonorsandsocialfollowersduringthe25thanniversaryyear.Theexecutionofoursocialmediaplanisaccessibleforparticipantstofindandsharewithfriendsthroughcrowdsourcing.ThemanagementofthesocialmediaaccountswillbeexecutedbytheGirlsHopestaffandinterns.

Theuseofsocialmediawillalsointroducetheleverageinsightofsocialproof.Socialproofassumestheactionsofothersreflectthecorrectbehaviorforagivensituation.Peopleseeingthattherestofthecommunityispartakingin“GiveHerAHand”willfeelmotivatedto“dotherightthing”byparticipatingaswell. Theparticipantswillbechallengedtopostorsnapapictureofhimselforhimselfwiththeirhandsasthefocusofthepicturespecifyingtheirpersonalgoalorhopeinlife(i.e.“tobecomeadoctor”or,“forahealthyfuture”).Eachpostwillincludethehashtagofourcampaign’stagline:

“#GiveHerAHand.”Wewillaskparticipantsforavoluntaryfivedollardonationperhand(“fiveforfive”).EachpostwillincludethelinktodriveparticipantstotheGirlsHopswebsitetomakeadonation.

ThevarioussocialmediaplatformswillbemanagedthroughHootsuite.UsingHootsuiteforFacebookandTwitterisafreeandeffectivemeanstoplanoutsocialcontentforthelengthofthecampaign.ForFacebookandTwitter,thereshouldbescheduledpostsforthreetofivedaysoftheweek,withspecificcontentforspecificdays.Mondayswouldbepostsofencouragementfromvolunteers,donors,andtheGirlsHopeparticipants,andthentheotherdayswouldbeintermixedwithpicturesfromtheGiveGirlsAHandchallengeandupdatesabouttheorganization.Instagramwillhavetobemonitoredandupdatedinrealtimethroughoutthecampaign,asitisnotHootsuitecompatible,butthefrequencyandlengthofcaptionsshouldreflectthecontentonFacebookandTwitter.RefertoAppendixAandB.III.GuerillaMarketing Guerillamarketingisdefinedasagrassrootstypeofadvertising.Thisstyleofadvertisingappealstomanybecauseitisinexpensiveandeffectiveforthepublic.Theguerillamarketingeffortswillsupportthesocialmediaplatformsinraisingawarenessandfundsfor“GiverHerAHand.”Thiswillbethepieceofourcampaignthatutilizesmostofourbudget.

TheGirlsHopestaffandinternswillalsomanagetheguerillamarketinginadditiontothesocialmediaaccounts.Wewillcreatepostersandflyerstoadvertisethroughoutthecitytogenerateanoff-linepresence.Bothpostersandflyerswilldirectthepublictoexplorethehashtagsocialmedia(Twitter,Instagram,FacebookandSnapchat)andtheGirlsHopewebsite.Posterswouldbehunginbusstopsthroughoutthecity.Wecouldalsoaskvendors,partnersoftheprogram,andbusinessownerstohangourflyersintheirstorefronts.Printcostswouldbethebiggestportionofourbudget.Sincesocialmediaissoinexpensive,itwouldfitwithinourmargintoincludeprintcampaigning.

Wewillalsoengagein“chalking”aroundPittsburghtoraisecuriosityinthecampaign.Chalkingwouldbeplacedinhightrafficareassuchascollegecampusesandsidewalksnearlandmarksthroughthecity.Theinformationyoufindwouldbe#GiveHerAHandand/orthetracingofahand.Thisisalow-costandeffectivewaytocampaign,however,thisoptionisseasonalonly.RefertoAppendixC,D,andE.

IV.Events TheGirlsHopeeventswillbeanavenueusedtofurtherpromotethe“GiveHerAHand”campaigntothepatrons.Thefocusofthecampaignattheeventswillbedriventowardsdonationsratherthanawareness,duetothefactthattheattendeesoftheeventarealreadyawareofGirlsHopeanditsmission.ThiswillbeanadditionalwaytocelebratetheworkofGirlsHopeandtobringthecommunitytogether.Thefollowingideacanbeincorporatedintopre-existingandplannedeventsforGirlsHopesuchastheEveningofHope,the25thAnniversaryGala,andtheWomen’sTournament.

ForEveningofHope,wesuggestthatthespeakersatthiseventshouldtalkaboutwhattheirpersonalexperiencestheyhavehadwiththeorganization.Theyshouldincludethewaystheyhavegivenahelpinghandtothegirls.Agoodideatotiethetaglineto“giveherahand”istoshapethe

indexcardsoftheWishBoardintohands.Thiswillessentiallyremindpeopleofoursocialmediahash-tagandtagline.

Next,wefeelthatthe25thyearanniversarygalaisanimportanteventtocreateawarenessofthemissionofGirl’sHope.ThefirstsuggestionistoinvitealumniwhohavesucceededtocomeandtalkabouthowGirl’sHopehashelpedthemachievetheirhopesanddreams.Wealsosuggestthegirlstalkabouthowthecommunityandorganizationhave“givenherahand.”Anotherideatosolidifytheideaof“givingherahand”intopatrons’mindsistohavefingerfood,photoboothswherewhiteboardswithhandsattachedcanserveasprops.Onthewhiteboardpatronscanwritetheirownaspirationsandhopesforthegirlsinneed.Furthermore,wefeelthataredcarpetcanbeeditedtohavehandprintsleadingfromthecartotheevent.Toaddmorehype,wecantakeaphotofortheworldrecordformosthandsinaphoto,andhavesomeonetakeacrowdselfiesimilartowhatEllenDeGeneresdidattheOscars.Themostimportantfeatureofthiseventistheparticipationofcelebrities.WesuggestinvitingcelebritymagicianLeeTerbosicandactorJoeManganiello.BothgentlemenarefromthePittsburgharea.LeeTerbosic’smagicperformancesshouldbeamazing.HehasperformedforFormerPresidentGeorgeW.BushattheWhiteHouse.JoeManganielloisaknowndonorofChildren’sHospitalinPittsburgh.Heloveskidsandwefeelthathecanprovideasizabledonationtotheorganization,perhapscreatingabandwagonforotherpatronstodonateaswell.

Lastly,theWomen’sTournamentisagreatwayforelderlypeopletoenjoythemselvesandalsodonatetohelpoutthenextgeneration.Wesuggesttellingthepatronsthatbymakingamajorgiftcontributionof$1,000ormore,theyhavethechancetowinadinnerattheirresidentialhomepreparedbythecelebritychef.Thetie-intoourtaglineistotelltheattendeesofthiseventthatiftheybecomeabigtimedonor,theywillhaveachancetobe“givenahand”bythecelebritychefcookingadinnerattheirresident.V.Outreach

OurcampaignalsoincludesoutreachtolocalorganizationsinthegreaterPittsburgharea.Outreacheffortswouldemphasizeandpromotetheimportanceofthecommunityin“GiveHerAHand.”Theprimaryfocuswouldbegroupswithastronginterestandinvolvementwiththelocalcommunity.ThiswouldincludecompaniessuchasUPMC,PNC,andotherlocalbusinesses.Inaddition,localfemaleprofessionaldevelopmentandempowermentorganizationssuchasStrongWomenStrongGirlsandPittsburghProfessionalWomencouldbecontacted.

Pitchingtotheseorganizationswouldfocusondevelopingandgivingbacktothecommunity,whetherintermsofmonetarysupportorincreasinggeneralawareness.Anadditionaloptionwouldbecareeropportunities,suchasjobshadowingorprofessionaldevelopmentworkshops.SponsoringGirlsHopewouldgeneratepositivePRandgoodwillfortheseorganizations.Wewouldaskthemtoshareourmessagebypostingsocialmediacontentaspartofthe“GiveHerAHand”campaignwiththe“hope”ononehandandthecompanylogoontheother.

Anotherpotentialavenueforoutreachwouldbelocalsportsteamsandcelebrities.Wewouldreachouttothemtotakepartinthesocialmediacampaignbypushingtheideaofraisingawarenessforagreatcauseatnocosttothemselves.VI.ConclusionInall,thestrategiesforsocialmedia,guerillamarketing,events,andoutreachwillachievetheultimategoalofraisingawarenessand$1,000,000indonationsforGirlsHopethroughthe“GiveHerAHand”campaign.WestronglybelievethatthiswillbringthePittsburghcommunitytogethertogiveahandtoaidinthefuturesoftheyoungwomenofGirlsHope.

AppendixA

AppendixBAppendixC

AppendixD

Appendix

E

Contact:DariceNagy, GreenDotPublicRelations Email:darice@greendotpr.com Phone:814-771-0923

ThePittsburghAdFedAnnouncesThePitch:2015AgencyLineup&NonprofitPartnership

IntensiveAdvertisingCompetitionforStudentstoBenefitGirlsHopeofPittsburghPittsburgh,PA,September29,2015–ThePittsburghAdvertisingFederation(PAF)isproudtoannounceitsannualstudentadvertisingchallenge,ThePitch,andits2015nonprofitpartner,GirlsHopeofPittsburgh.The2-phasecompetitionthatstartsonOctober9,2015,aimstogivestudentsinadvertising-relateddisciplinestheopportunitytoreceivehands-onexperiencebyworkingataPittsburghadvertisingagencyonreal-worldprojecttobenefitalocalnonprofit.“TheEducationCommitteeofthePittsburghAdFedcreatedthisprogramin2010tobridgethegapbetweencollegelearningandrealworkexperience,”saidRebeccaSenneway,VicePresidentofBigScience,andEducationChairofthePittsburghAdvertisingFederation.“Weareproudtohavedevelopedacompetitionthatinturnprovidesassistanceforadeservinglocalnonprofit,andcouldn’tbemoreexcitedtobedirectingoureffortsthisyeartoGirlsHopeofPittsburgh.”GirlsHopeofPittsburghservesWesternPennsylvaniaandprovidesawell-balanced,nurturinghomeandqualityeducationthroughcollegeforacademicallycapablegirlswhoareatriskduetopoverty,neglectorharmfulneighborhoodconditions.Foundedin1990,thePittsburghchapteristhefirstGirlsHopeestablishedintheU.S.andservesasamodelfordevelopingotherGirlsHopeprogramsacrossthenation."Wearethrilledtohavebeenchosenasthenonprofitclientof'ThePitch'projecttofurtherdevelopandexpandourmarketingandpublicrelationseffortsatGirlsHope,"saidTomWiese,ExecutiveDirectorofGirlsHopeofPittsburgh.“Weknowthattheyoungmindsparticipatinginthiscompetitionwillbringafreshoutlookandcreativeconceptstothetable,andareeagertoreviewtheirhardwork.”‘ThePitch’participantsincluderegistereduniversity-leveljuniorandseniorstudentsinterestedinthefieldofadvertisinganditsrelateddisciplines,whowillbebrokenintoteamsthatspendthedayatoneofsixprestigiousparticipatingagencies.Duringphase1ofthecompetition,studentswillgainexposuretothefieldandprofessionalexperiencerespondingtoachallengepresentedbytheirnonprofit‘client.’Participating2015agenciesinclude:Brunner,Chemistry,GarrisonHughes,Gatesman+Dave,MarcUSAandRedHouse.“AnimportantpartoftheAdFed’smissionistohelppreparestudentstoenterthemarketplaceandtodoourpartinpreparingthenextgenerationofleadersinthefieldofadvertising,”saidTedWalzl,Pittsburgh

AdFederationPresident.“Thisprogramallowsstudentstogaininvaluableinsightintotheadvertisingworldanditswork,whilegainingaccesstoatopPittsburghagencyanditsadprofessionals.”Themainday-longchallengewilltakeplaceonFriday,October9,2015.Afterthefirstphase,thecompetitionfieldwillbenarrowedtotwoteamswhowillthencompeteliveandpresenttheirconceptstoGirlsHopeofPittsburghjudgesonFriday,October13,2015.Thewinningteamwillbechosenaweeklater,takingcreativityofintegratedsolutionsandeffectivenessintomind.Thewinningteamwillreceive:

• PublicrecognitionatPittsburghAddyawardsinMarch2016• Resumereviewbyindustryprofessionals,followedbyresumedistributiontotheentirePittsburgh

AdvertisingFederation’sBoardofDirectorsforpotentialfutureemploymentconsideration• Possibleexecutionofconceptsbytheclient.• Bestofall-Braggingrights!

Studentregistrationiscurrentlyclosedforthe2015competition.Formoreinformation,pleasecontactRebeccaSennewayatrebecca@big-science.com.AboutPittsburghAdvertisingFederationThePittsburghAdvertisingFederationisalong-standingmemberoftheAmericanAdvertisingFederation(AAF),anationalorganizationof50,000professionalsin220professionaladvertisingclubs,220collegechaptersand110corporations.Sinceitsfoundingin1923,thePittsburghAdvertisingFederationhasdevelopedintoanextraordinarilydiverseandactiveclubwithactiverepresentationfromvirtuallyeverymajorlocalagency,advertiser,mediaandproductionentityinthegreaterPittsburgharea.Forinformationonupcomingeventsorbecomingamember,visitwww.pghadfed.org.

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A BIG thank you goes out to the following agencies, volunteers, and corporations for donating their space, people, time and swag, without them this awesome day would not be possible!

AGENCY TEAMS Brunner • Chemistry • Garrison Hughes • Gatesman+Dave • Marc USA • Red House

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ADVISORS

Taylor Abbett, Tailored Marketing, Inc Jack Bailey, Soundtrack Design, Production & Instruction

Ryan Deer, Brunner Evie DeSarno, Executive Director, Pittsburgh Ad Fed

Kathy Dziubek, Animal Lynn Epstein, Freelance Writer

Meade Johnson, Limited Chaos, Inc. Jason Mileto, Brunner Kelsey Miller, Brunner

Craig Otto, Dymun+Co Shareen Jordan, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney

Nathan Route, Business Development Rebecca Senneway, Big Science Music

Sadie Stresky, 321 Blink

DONATIONS OF TIME, ENERGY AND SWAG BBDO • Big Science Music • Brunner • Campos Inc. • Dollar Bank • Eat N’ Park

Pitt Alumni Assoc. • RR Donnelly • Tailored Marketing • UPMC Health Plan

OUR NON-PROFIT PARTNER Girls Hope of Pittsburgh, Inc.

NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION

CALL FOR ENTRIES 2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6 NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES 2015–2016 CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION Purpose: One of AAF’s major objectives is to recognize excellence and encourage high standards among industry professionals. The Club Achievement Competition is designed to recognize outstanding accomplishments of AAF-affiliated advertising clubs and to showcase the programs and projects that these clubs undertake each year. Structure: The AAF National Club Achievement Competition recognizes achievement in eight categories: advertising education, club operations, communications, diversity and multicultural initiatives, government relations, membership, programs and public service. These categories were chosen to reflect the areas of operation of local ad clubs. Advertising clubs are segmented into five membership size divisions as follows: Division I 500+ members Division II 250–499 members Division III 100–249 members Division IV up to 99 members Division V Ad 2 Clubs Clubs compete within their membership size divisions. These divisions provide for a more equitable competition and thus for an opportunity for any size club to win. Ad 2 clubs compete in a separate division regardless of membership size. Each category is judged by a separate panel of professionals with expertise in that specific field. Each panel of judges reviews and scores each entry in each of the membership size divisions. First-, second-and third-place awards are given in each division for each category, at the discretion of the judges. A club and president of the year award are designated in each division to the club with the highest total points. Awards are announced and presented annually in conjunction with ADMERICA, AAF’s National Conference. Benefits of Entering: Gaining district and national recognition is but one of the many benefits of entering the Club Achievement Competition. Entering the Club Achievement Competition is an excellent way to document your club’s activity in any given year. This can prove to be a useful tool for self-evaluation and goal setting for the coming year. Entering consistently provides a historical record of the progress your club is making. ELIGIBILITY All clubs and federations affiliated with the American Advertising Federation and in good standing may compete within their membership size division in any or all of the eight categories. Club or federation projects implemented from February 28, 2015 to February 28, 2016 qualify for the 2016 competition. PREPARING TO ENTER The Club Achievement Chair: The AAF recommends that

each club appoint a Club Achievement Chair. The immediate past president is an excellent choice for this position. The Club Achievement Chair should be the official liaison to AAF headquarters. It is this person’s responsibility to familiarize the appropriate committees within the club, with the competition categories and the documentation necessary for entry. It is recommended that all Club Achievement entries be assembled at the same time so that materials can be shared and/or redistributed to different committees for entries in other categories. It is therefore best that the Club Achievement Chair coordinate this activity. Competition Rules and Guidelines: In the fall, guidelines and category summary sheets are sent to the presidents, executive directors and club achievement chairs of all local ad clubs, to use as a model to start preparing entries for competition. The individual responsible for your Club Achievement Competition entries should make sure that he or she obtains a copy of the current rules, categories and guidelines for the competition from AAF headquarters. The competition may change from year to year, which makes a current set of competition guidelines important. This information should then be passed on to the appropriate chairs whose committees correspond to the Club Achievement categories. Included with the guidelines are category summary sheets, which preface each entry and contain points and topics to be covered in the narrative. Each chair should be familiar with the summary sheet for his or her corresponding category.

NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES 2015–2016 ENTRY CONTENT Entries are divided into two sections: narrative and collateral. The narrative section is used to describe the activities or projects pertinent to the category, and the collateral section contains printed material in support of the narrative. All collateral material must have been produced since February 28, 2015. NARRATIVE: The narrative is used to describe your club’s activity in each area outlined on the category description sheet. Judges evaluate objectives versus results. It is therefore advisable to document the planning meetings where goals were outlined and a plan of action was drawn up and to outline how these goals and objectives were met. Statistics are an excellent way to provide a concrete measure of performance and a record of the club’s progress and growth. For example, in the membership category, a statement of growth in membership should include the number of new members who joined in the past year, the type of attendance at your programs and the number of members versus guests. Also, consider the following questions: Are the same members coming back each time or is attendance different at each event? Are new members getting involved? Do past officers stay involved? How do your current members compare to last year’s? What is the difference in the growth and profitability of the club? What is your total count for participation in all events, compared with that of the previous year? The narrative section cannot exceed eight double-spaced, typed sheets of paper (one side) or four double-spaced, typed sheets of paper (two sides). Collateral: The collateral portion of the entry contains material that directly supports the points in the narrative.

Please keep in mind that judges look for the degree to which the collateral material documents the narrative of the project or activities. Collateral pieces may include, but are not limited to, press releases, flyers, newsletters, testimonial letters, thank-you letters from public service projects, new member pieces, etc. All collateral material, in all categories, must have been produced. It is a good idea to keep at least five extra copies of all publications, news releases, meting notices, etc., for use when compiling books. The membership and program chairs should also track attendance figures to monitor progress. The narrative may be at the beginning of the book (all together) or integrated within the collateral section. If you decide to keep the two elements separate, label the collateral as “exhibits” and refer to them in the narrative. Integrating narrative has the advantage of providing a better flow of information. But keep in mind that the competition rules limit the number of sheets of paper to four two-sided or eight one-sided. Also note that the same narrative and collateral can be used in several different categories. For instance, the advertising education projects that your club undertakes are often eligible in the programs category as well. Your club newsletter should definitely be included in the communications category, but it may also be collateral materials for the membership category. There is a different panel of judges for each category, so judges will not review the same material twice. COMPILING ENTRIES When to Start: Ideally, preparations for the Club Achievement Competition should begin as soon as the previous year’s entries have been sent. It is therefore advisable that the “old” committee chairs continue collecting material for next year’s competition until the new chairs are elected, in office, and ready to take over this responsibility. Timeline: Once the current year’s deadline has been announced, you should plan three months out to begin writing the narrative. If you adhere to this timetable, there is sufficient time to collect any extra material needed to support the narrative. Once the committee chairs have gathered the material for each entry, it is advisable that the final compiling be done jointly. Although it is not necessary for books from the same club to be uniform, it may be helpful to have this sort of “workshop” atmosphere for the sharing of information and collateral material. Once each book is assembled, ask another committee member to look it over. Make sure that all of the competition guidelines have been met. ENTRY FORMAT Entries must be submitted in a PLAIN three-ring binder provided by the local club or federation. Affix a completed official Club Achievement entry form to the outside cover of each binder. This is all that should be on the outside of the binder; no artwork, colored paper or other material may appear on the cover, spine or back of the binder.

NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES 2015–2016 To ensure equitable judging of all entries, the outside measurements of the binder may be no larger than 11” x 12” or exceed 1.5” in width at the spine. In addition, when full, the

width of the binder on any side may be no more than 1.5”. Please note: Many manufacturers of three-ring binders refer to the size of the binder by its ring size. Therefore, the outside measurements of binders with ring sizes of 1.5” may in fact measure 2” and exceed the maximum width requirements. The AAF recommends that your club confirm the outside measurements of entry binders prior to purchasing them. Binders exceeding 1.5” will be disqualified. Submit only one binder for each category. A total of three (3) minutes of audio or visual material is allowed as collateral in the Public Service category ONLY. CDs/DVDs of narrative and collateral will no longer be required. First place winners in all categories will be contacted after judging and asked to submit the winning entries in a digital format. JUDGING The AAF secures a separate panel of judges for each category of the competition. Each panel is composed of individuals who have professional expertise in the category that they are judging. Each judge reviews and scores all entries using the following criteria and point values. Total points equal 100. A) Outline and relevance of goals, 10 points B) Methods used to achieve goal(s), 25 points C) Results of methodology, 30 points D) Degree to which the collateral material documents the narrative description of the project or activities, 35 points COMPETITION DIVISIONS For the purpose of an equitable competition, clubs compete by membership size (except for Ad 2 clubs) in the following divisions: Division I 500+ members Division II 250–499 members Division III 100–249 members Division IV up to 99 members Division V Ad 2 Clubs AAF AWARDS First-, second- and third-place awards will be designated in each division within each category at the discretion of the judges. A Club and President of the Year Award is given to the club in each division whose accomplishments—based on the first-, second- and third-place awards it receives—are outstanding. Each first-place award receives 30 points. Each second-place award receives 20 points. Each third-place award receives 10 points. Ties will be broken at the discretion of the judges. SPECIAL AWARDS The Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Education Award Sponsored by Saatchi & Saatchi. Grants will be given to all first-, second- and third-place winners and to the one overall winner in the Advertising Education category. The G.D. Crain Jr. Memorial Award for Public Service Sponsored by the Crain Foundation. Grants will be given to all first-place winners in the Public Service category. The Sid Bernstein Communications Award Sponsored by Crain Communications. Grants are given to all first-place winners in the Communications category. Diversity & Multicultural Initiatives Sponsored by Crain Communications. Grants are given to all firstplace winners in the Diversity & Multicultural Initiatives category. All awards will be announced and presented at a special awards ceremony in conjunction with ADMERICA, AAF’s National Conference, June 4–7, 2016 in Anaheim, CA.

CATEGORIES OF ENTRY Advertising Education Essentially, there are three areas of concentration in advertising education. These are programs for the profession, students and the general public. These programs improve the skills, professionalism and standards of current and future advertising practitioners through education as well as provide an understanding of, and confidence in, advertising and its contributions to the community and the economy. Club Operations The policies, procedures and leadership development that contribute to the operations of a club or federation.

NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES 2015–2016 Communications Collateral materials and/or websites produced and distributed exclusively for the club or federation. Diversity & Multicultural Initiatives Projects and programs designed to elevate the practice and presence of multiculturalism in the club or federation through professional development, promotion and inclusion. Government Relations Projects and programs designed to build effective relations with local, state and national governments. Relationships are developed through the club or federation’s work to initiate favorable legislation, contribute to the defeat of adverse legislation, educate lawmakers and promote industry self-regulation. Membership Development Membership development is defined as activities designed to enhance local advertising club or federation membership recruitment, retention and involvement. Programs Quality programming that fosters actively interested membership, well-attended meetings and membership growth. Public Service Projects that effectively use advertising techniques to support local, regional and/or national programs on behalf of public interests and/or for community betterment. The category description sheets below have further entry details for each category. ENTRY FEES • $95 for the first entry, $40 for each additional entry. • Make checks payable to the American Advertising Federation. • Entry fees must accompany entries. • Send entries to: American Advertising Federation Club Achievement Competition 1101 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20005 ENTRY DEADLINE All entries must be received by the AAF, no later than 5 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Entries become the property of the AAF unless the appropriate space on the entry form is checked for return. Entries will only be returned if a FedEx account number is provided by the entrant. If requested AND an account number is provided, entries will be returned to the contact as listed on the entry form via FedEx. Club Achievement Books will be returned no later than September 15, 2016. Please provide a street address,

no Post Office boxes. Questions concerning the National Club Achievement Competition should be directed to AAF Club Services at clubs@aaf.org.

NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES 2015–2016 OFFICIAL ENTRY FORM Affix a completed copy of this form to the outside front cover of each entry binder. This form may be duplicated. Name of club or federation: __________________________________________________________________________________ Population of city or metro area served by club (#): _______________________________________________________________ Total club members at date of entry (#): ______________________________________________________________________ Name of club or federation president:___________________________________________ Phone:_________________________ Check Appropriate Division (based on size of membership): ☐ Division I 500+ members ☐ Division II 250–499 members ☐ Division III 100–249 members ☐ Division IV up to 99 members ☐ Division V Ad 2 Clubs Check Appropriate Category: ☐ Advertising Education ☐ Club Operations ☐ Communications ☐ Diversity & Multicultural Initiatives ☐ Government Relations ☐ Membership Development ☐ Programs ☐ Public Service Do you want your binder returned? ☐ YES ☐ NO (If yes, please provide your shipping account information) Your FedEx account number: ________________________________________________________________________________ Club Contact (For questions or notifications regarding the entry, as well as where the entry will be returned, if requested.) Name of Club President: ___________________________________________________________________________________ Company: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Street address (no P.O. Boxes): _______________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Phone: ___________________________________________ E-mail:_______________________________________________

NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES 2015–2016 CATEGORY OF ENTRY: ADVERTISING EDUCATION Definition: Essentially there are three areas of concentration in advertising education. These are programs for the profession, students, and the general public. These programs improve the skills, professionalism and standards of current and future advertising practitioners through education as well as provide an understanding of, and confidence in, advertising and its contributions to the community and the economy. 1. State your club or federation’s advertising education goals in the following areas: a. Advertising education for the profession b. Advertising education for students

c. Advertising education for the general public 2. Explain how you achieved these goals by describing your: a. Event details b. Target audience c. Strategy d. Execution/Tactics 3. Describe, in detail, the results of your advertising education program(s). Rules: The narrative section of the binder, expanding on the above, must be limited to eight (8) one-sided, doublespaced, typed sheets of paper or four (4) double-spaced, typed sheets back-to-back. The narrative may be at the beginning of the book (all together) or integrated within the collateral section. The remainder of the binder must be produced collateral or supportive material relevant to the category. All collateral material must have been produced since February 28, 2015. NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES 2015–2016 CATEGORY OF ENTRY: MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Definition: Membership Development is defined as activities designed to enhance the local advertising club or federation membership in three ways: recruitment, retention and involvement. 1. State your club or federation’s membership goals as they relate to: a. Recruitment b. Retention c. Involvement 2. How did you achieve these goals including (but not limited to) the following activities: a. Projects/Programs b. Volunteerism c. Member feedback d. Club operations 3. Describe, in detail, the results of your membership activities Rules: The narrative section of the binder, expanding on the above, must be limited to eight (8) one-sided, doublespaced, typed sheets of paper or four (4) double-spaced, typed sheets back-to-back. The narrative may be at the beginning of the book (all together) or integrated within the collateral section. The remainder of the binder must be produced collateral or supportive material relevant to the category. All collateral material must have been produced since February 28, 2015. NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES 2015–2016 CATEGORY OF ENTRY: CLUB OPERATIONS Definition: Club operations are defined as the policies, procedures and leadership development that contribute to the operations of a club or federation. 1. State your club or federation’s operations goal(s) as they relate to: a. Long-range planning b. Analysis of member needs c. Leadership organization and development d. Fiscal management (budgeting, dues, non-dues income and fundraising) 2. Describe the methods used for achieving these goals. 3. State/define the results of these executions. Rules: The narrative section of the binder, expanding on the above, must be limited to eight (8) one-sided, doublespaced, typed sheets of paper or four (4) double-spaced, typed sheets back-to-back. The narrative may be at the

beginning of the book (all together) or integrated within the collateral section. The remainder of the binder must be produced collateral or supportive material relevant to the category. All collateral material must have been produced since February 28, 2015. NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES 2015–2016 CATEGORY OF ENTRY: COMMUNICATIONS Definition: Collateral materials and/or Web sites produced and distributed exclusively for the club or federation. 1. Describe your club or federation’s use of communication materials for any or all of the following areas: a. Regular communication with members b. Event or meeting promotions and announcements c. Communication with nonmembers d. Self-promotion e. Others (e.g., telephone and broadcast scripts, press releases, etc.) 2. For each communication vehicle submitted, provide the following: a. Goals b. Target audience c. Budget recap d. Distribution system e. Results achieved f. Sample Rules: The narrative section of the binder, expanding on the above, must be limited to eight (8) one-sided, doublespaced, typed sheets of paper or four (4) double-spaced, typed sheets back-to-back. The narrative may be at the beginning of the book (all together) or integrated within the collateral section. The remainder of the binder must be produced collateral or supportive material relevant to the category. All collateral material must have been produced since February 28, 2015. NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES 2015–2016 CATEGORY OF ENTRY: DIVERSITY & MULTICULTURAL INITIATIVES Definition: Projects and programs designed to elevate the practice and presence of multiculturalism in the club or federation through professional development, promotion and inclusion. 1. Explain your club or federation’s activities/projects as they relate to the above definition in any of the following areas: a. Program speakers b. Education workshops/seminars c. Advertising campaigns d. Representation and participation by diverse individual members in the club or federation through club leadership, club operations and/or volunteerism e. Diversification of the employee base at member businesses and organizations f. Representation and participation by multicultural/cross-cultural agencies, media, or other service providers in the club or federation g. Educational and motivational programs aimed at encouraging multicultural students to pursue careers in advertising h. Programs that promote business relationships between general market member companies and multicultural suppliers, vendors and service providers 2. For each activity/project described, define the club’s: a. Goals b. Target audience c. Strategy

d. Execution e. Results Rules: The narrative section of the binder, expanding on the above, must be limited to eight (8) one-sided, doublespaced, typed sheets of paper or four (4) double-spaced, typed sheets back-to-back. The narrative may be at the beginning of the book (all together) or integrated within the collateral section. The remainder of the binder must be produced collateral or supportive material relevant to the category. All collateral material must have been produced since February 28, 2015. NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES 2015–2016 CATEGORY OF ENTRY: GOVERNMENT RELATIONS Definition: Projects and programs designed to build effective relationships with local, state and national governments. Relationships are developed through the club or federation’s work to initiate favorable legislation, contribute to the defeat of adverse legislation, educate lawmakers and promote industry self-regulation. 1. State your club or federation’s government relations goals. 2. Explain how you achieved these goals by describing: a. Event details b. Target audience c. Strategy d. Execution/tactics 3. Describe, in detail, the results of your government relations goals. Rules: The narrative section of the binder, expanding on the above, must be limited to eight (8) one-sided, doublespaced, typed sheets of paper or four (4) double-spaced, typed sheets back-to-back. The narrative may be at the beginning of the book (all together) or integrated within the collateral section. The remainder of the binder must be produced collateral or supportive material relevant to the category. All collateral material must have been produced since February 28, 2015. NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES 2015–2016 CATEGORY OF ENTRY: PROGRAMS Definition: Quality programming that fosters actively interested membership, well-attended meetings and membership growth. 1. State your club or federation’s overall program goal(s) and provide (in the collateral material) a calendar of the year’s programs. 2. Describe three of your most successful programs (other than special events, American Advertising Awards, seminars and designated fundraising events). For each program, please explain how you achieved your goal(s) by describing the: a. Event details b. Target audience c. Method of promotion d. Average attendance e. Feedback mechanism f. Results 3. Describe at least one special event. Please explain how you achieved your programming goal(s) by describing the: a. Event details b. Target audience c. Method of promotion d. Average attendance

e. Feedback mechanism f. Results Rules: The narrative section of the binder, expanding on the above, must be limited to eight (8) one-sided, doublespaced, typed sheets of paper or four (4) double-spaced, typed sheets back-to-back. The narrative may be at the beginning of the book (all together) or integrated within the collateral section. The remainder of the binder must be produced collateral or supportive material relevant to the category. All collateral material must have been produced since February 28, 2015. NATIONAL CLUB ACHIEVEMENT COMPETITION CALL FOR ENTRIES 2015–2016 CATEGORY OF ENTRY: PUBLIC SERVICE Definition: Projects that effectively use advertising techniques to support local, regional and/or national programs on behalf of public interests and/or community betterment. 1. For each public service project, explain how you achieved these public service goals by describing the: a. Goals of the project b. Target audience c. Strategy d. Execution/tactics e. Media/materials used (documentation of use required) f. Results attained (may include club publicity) Rules: The narrative section of the binder, expanding on the above, must be limited to eight (8) one-sided, doublespaced, typed sheets of paper or four (4) double-spaced, typed sheets back-to-back. The narrative may be at the beginning of the book (all together) or integrated within the collateral section. The remainder of the binder must be produced collateral or supportive material relevant to the category. All collateral

material must have been produced since February 28, 2015.

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