Wednesday, October 3, 2007

AdCast: Episode XII

Episode twelve. We're now one full year older and wiser than we were at the humble beginnings of this whole "AdCast" thing. My, how far we've come. Well this show was another winner, with another great selection of guests.

• We started things off with the general Ad 2 business. Cris Vatalaro and Mai Tran were on the show to update us on the AdBash plans: Let it be known, we're doing it on November 9th at Hyde Park Cafe, 6-10pm. Next, Vinny Tafuro and Mike Compton brought us up to speed on our public service campaign... we've narrowed it down to the final three, and we're definitely still open to volunteers that want to handle the creative and account duties with our yet-to-be-named selection. VIEW NOW (MORE)(EVEN MORE)

• We had a couple new faces from Big Cat Rescue with us next. This time it was Jessica Allen and Jennifer Bush there to tell us about this year's (already sold out!) October 12 Fur Ball and, of course, all the other great things they do over there at Big Cat Rescue. VIEW NOW

• Nancy Kipnis is the PR Director for ARTE 2007, a major event celebrating the culture of the Americas in venues throughout St. Petersburg. As she said, ARTE really allows you to go in and basically create your own experience, offering "a la carte" events all around the area from November 2-16. VIEW NOW

• Greg Rollett handles the Marketing and Communications duties for a big 'ol rock show in Orlando with a great cause. It's called Rock for Hunger, and as its straight-forward name implies, it's a collection of bands rocking out to aid the homeless and hungry in the community. It's going on this November 10, and they're looking for volunteers (and of course attendees) to make it all as great as it can be. VIEW NOW

• John Rosser is the Executive Director for the Gasparilla Film Festival. With the festival several months away, you might be wondering what he was here to discuss. The festival actually holds other events throughout the year, including the big Children's Day in Hyde Park Village this November 18. VIEW NOW

• Big new segment on the show this time around. It's called tbt* Rising Stars, and it highlights some of the most prominent and accomplished up-and-coming young professionals in the Tampa Bay Area. We didn't have any of their selections on the air (as we will in the future), but we were able to talk briefly about who made the cut. VIEW NOW

• This month's Advertising Insight covered a pretty broad topic, and I'd say we covered it pretty well. It's called The Future of Television and Advertising, and we talk about some major issues facing TV today and in days to come. For instance, how will TV advertising survive if everyone TIVO's their way through the commericals? And what about people buying TV shows off iTunes? Or *gasp* watching them on YouTube. What's it all going to come to? VIEW NOW

So that was how twelve episodes came to a close. I enjoyed the show... hey when DON'T I? Thanks as always to our great sponsors. La Casa Dolce sets us up with some absolutely decadent panini and gelatto in the green room – which I would devour as quickly even if I wasn't starving after the show. Tampa Digital Studios is of course the excellent production facility that puts the lights and cameras on us (our guests of course provide the action!) and I should add they do a stellar job of it. Then there's our newest sponsor, a publication we all know and love in the Tampa Bay area... yes of course it's tbt*. And to close it out, of course, I love all of you who watch, and especially those who come to our green show to watch live (everyone should, it's FREE and did I mention the food is amazing??)

You know how I end things off...
Make Good Choices, folks.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Get Excited! Ad2 Tampa Bay's AD Bash is in the works!

Hey all you honorary actors and actresses!

It's time to get excited because plans for Ad2 Tampa Bay's Annual Ad Bash are already in the works!

Please join us at this year's Ad Bash Friday, November 9th when Tampa's own Hyde Park Cafe will be transformed into a fine Hollywood-themed Extravaganza!

The red carpet rolls out at 6:00pm and the party goes til 10:00pm. So get out there and start shopping for your best Hollywood-themed attire and mark your calendars now. For just $10, you'll have access to a night of fine Hollywood glamour, great food and drinks, and networking with Ad2 Tampa Bay!

A portion of the proceeds will go to a special Ad2 sponsored charity which will be officially announced soon!

So remember:

Ad Bash 2007
November 9, 2007
Hyde Park Cafe
Tampa, Florida
6pm-10pm


Hope to see all of you there!

Look for flyers and more event information, out soon!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

AdCast: Episode XI

Eleven Episodes. Yes that means next month is our one-year anniversary, folks! No special plans as of yet; just another sweet show of myself and my co-host Jessica McDonald rocking the young professional scene in Tampa Bay. But enough about the future. How about that show tonight?

• Gilberto "Gil" Sanchez was one of the first guests on AdCast, appearing on our first show last September. But his resume does not end there (which I suppose is good for his sake). He owns his own practice – Sanchez and Associates, is the co-founder and a driving member of the Hispanic Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs group of Tampa Bay, and teaches young professionals around the area about how to start their own business. He came on to talk about all that, as well as his *free* lecture series on starting your own business, which starts tomorrow night at 6pm. For more info, check out www.sanchezlawoffices.com.

• Katrina Priore is the Assistant Publisher and Partner Relations extraordinaire for Create Magazine. She joined us to talk mainly about the Create Awards, a mega-huge competition that's underway right now, and also a number of other exciting happenings surrounding the magazine. For more information on everything Create, see the website at www.createmagazine.com.

• Scott Talcott is the Executive Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Their group is hosting a big event to keep fans and philanthropists alike busy during the Buccaneers' away game at Seattle. That day, the CFF will host a gourmet tailgate and 4x4 truck show at Raymond James Stadium, also featuring Scott's fellow guests Cory Frisco and Michael Lokey of the Baja 1000 team. Information on that event can be found at the official CFF site.

• We had a tag-team of big-time area event planners on to talk about some upcoming shindigs for the Tampa Theatre. Brooke Palmer of RSBP Events and Tracy Jones of the TBT* discussed their upcoming bashes. Respectively, Brooke is involved in planning "How the West was Wine," a western themed wine tasting, and Tracy is working on "Fast Times at Tampa Theatre," a real deal '80s party. They also both teased me because apparently I was only 8 years old when the '80s ended. My bad. Also, I learned that the asterisk in TBT* is silent. Who knew?

• This month's Advertising Insight was Movie Marketing 101. Our main focus was the big push for Simpsons: Movie, one of the most anticipated films of the year. As we pointed out, they really did it right. From the reverse product placement with 7-11, to the BK partnership and www.simpsonizeme.com, their marketing efforts were huge and it paid dividends. Also of note was Transformers and the GM tie-in that energized a whole generation of youth to fall in love with American-made cars. (yes that's a native Detroiter talking.)

That was the long and short of it. Big props to our sponsors La Casa Dolce and Tampa Digital Studios, and a special kudos to David Hampton for a job well done on the brand-spankin'-new production station. Hang tight until Monday, and we'll have a newsletter out with links to all of these segments. That's right, you can watch "on demand," as the cable channels love to say.

Until next time,
Make Good Choices.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Ad2 Tampa Bay wins annual softball game against the TBAF!

Cris Vatalaro writes:

Saturday, August 11, 2007

This year we wanted it to be different. This year, we NEEDED it to be different.
This year the Ad 2 Tampa Bay vs. American Advertising Federation 4th annual Picnic and Softball game graced the town of Safety Harbor. After 3 years of losses for Ad 2’s team, we were finally getting serious. As the Ad Fed’s strolled in one by one, they were surprised to see Ad 2’s team already there and were 20 minutes into their warm up game of catch. Rib City catered the event and was Ad Fed’s way of ‘weighing’ down their competition before the big game. We didn’t let the amazing food and bags of chips mess with our concentration though! The game started off with an interesting flair. You know you’re in for some fun when the Ad Fed right fielder takes a folding chair to the outfield with him. 7 innings later we had witnessed multiple homeruns that were rocked into the trees, dozens of grounders to the infielders and the ever changing leader of the game. It wasn’t until it was 2 outs, bottom of the 7th, Ad Fed still cranking in the runs and only down by 1 when Ad 2 got a little worried. Thankfully their 3rd and last out was not one of the younger ringers they had brought. Ad 2 had finally pulled out a win and victory never tasted sweeter. The Ad Fed’s were great competitors and a ton of laughs. We ended the picnic by taking group photos then heading to the bar for some victory burgers and drinks, starting off with pitchers of water (reminiscent of the kayaking trip!) It was the perfect day. Funny stories, a victorious softball game, time in the sun, new Ad 2 baseball hats and bragging rights for the next year until we get to do it all over again!

Thursday, August 2, 2007

It was smooth sailing for Ad2 Tampa Bay during group Kayaking Trip

Cris Vatalaro writes:

A day like July 28th will go down in the history books. After the Ad 2 Tampa Bay Board Retreat, most of the board plus a few extra friends arrived at the Dunedin marina for an afternoon of crossing the intercoastal waterways. Carolina Mike was there to prep the experienced ones as well as educate the newbies on the rules of the sea. We all strapped on our life jackets (some equipped with snazzy whistles) and boarded our ships.

The sun was up, the mosquitoes were out in full force and away we went! I myself was a second-timer; with no paddling skills at all but was able to pull up the back of the pack as we paddled our fast 30 strokes across the ‘high speed zone’ while I secretly hoped we would all make it out alive! As we reached the island, the beautiful sight of dolphin fins were breaking the smooth surface of the water. The closer we got, the more breathtaking they were. After pulling up to shore, we quickly got out the refreshments and snacks and enjoyed the tiny island and each others company. Carolina Mike set up the grill and dinner was served! The sun started to set and we all climbed in our kayaks again for the ride home. We were lucky enough to see some of Florida’s creatures; including Sea Urchins, fish and even a Sea Horse. The paddle back to the marina was stunning. The sun had begun to set and most of the boats were sleeping for the night at the marina already. We beached ourselves at the marina and captured a few last group photos before the sun set. Special thanks to Carolina Mike for being a great teacher and for providing the snacks and refreshments during our Sangria Sunset paddle!

Monday, July 30, 2007

Ad2 Tampa Bay Leadership Retreat spawns great ideas for the year ahead!

Hi All!

Ad2 Tampa Bay has a great year planned ahead and it all started to come together at our Annual Leadership Retreat. Waking up bright and early on a Saturday morning is sometimes a hard thing to do; unless ofcourse you are scheduled to meet your fellow board members in Dunedin at Sea Sea Rider’s Restaurant to talk about the future success of Ad 2 Tampa Bay that is. The newly elected board met at 10am on July 28th to discuss our plans for the year including Ad 2’s history, our relationship with the 4th District as well as our connection to the National Ad 2. We chatted over appetizers and lunch about our current search for the ’07 -’08 Public Service Campaign. We received a breakdown of the organization’s leadership responsibilities as well as an in-depth look at our events and programs for the upcoming year -- and boy do we have some exciting ideas so definitely keep a look out!

The board exchanged Ideas until 3pm about how to improve each board position as well as the organization as a whole while staying rooted to our Public Service Campaign and helping out our local community. Although it was hard to get up so early Saturday morning, it was more than worth it because of the exceptional progress our board made at the retreat, not to mention it created a stronger bond between everyone that'll prove to play a big part in what we can accomplish as a team this year!

Look out Tampa Bay -- Ad2 ready to get this year started!!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

AdCast: Episode X

Big, big show on AdCast tonight. I think I was sort of floating in the surreality of it all; it was quite a lineup of big-name guests...

• Boxing champion. Movie star. Entrepreneur. Tonight, Antonio Tarver, the "Magic Man" himself, added the sought-after role of "AdCast guest" to his resume. Tarver, former light-heavyweight champion of the world and co-star of Rocky Balboa, joined us for a lengthy segment to discuss his recent accomplishments and goals both inside and outside the ring, including a possible big-name fight in Tampa Bay.

• A man with a hand in one of the most sacred events in America joined us as well tonight. Reid Sigmon is the Executive Director of the 2009 Super Bowl Tampa Bay Host Committee. Reid joined us to discuss how he got to such a great responsibility, and talked about some of the events that he will be involved in planning around the event.

• Go Rays! Darcy "D-Ray" Raymond, the man with what may be the most convenient nickname of all time, is the VP of Branding and Fan Experience for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Darcy spoke of the various thematic, event-based, and other marketing efforts the organization has made to "put butts in the seats" at The Trop'.

• Jimmy Mela, Owner of Vintage Wine & Cellars, also fulfills a spot on the committee of one of "the top ten beer festivals in the country." Now twelve years in the making, Mela's involvement with Lowry Park Zoo's WaZoo event brings over $125,000 to the (non-profit) zoo annually. He talked with us about how it all started, what to expect, and where to get tickets to the August 4 event.

• Mike Compton came on the show with big news. Tampa Digital Studios is moving to Centro Ybor, and he filled us in on all the details of the big move. Tampa Digital is our gracious host and collaborator in putting on AdCast, so this move is really exciting to us as hosts and as an organization. Can't wait for the new digs!

As always, thanks to everyone who helps make AdCast possible, from the sponsors to the many people in Ad 2 and TDS that make it happen. We're already busily working at putting together next month's show; this one is going to be a tough act to follow!