Record companies biting the hands that feed them...

Before the decline and still sluggish recovery of the economy, record companies for a little over two decades have been looking for a way to regain control of an industry they once reigned over with a clenched fist. Since the advent of the Compact Disc (pre-mp3s for the kids out there) we were promised a reduction in the price of albums (still in the $15-20 range) which never came to fruition. Along came the explosion of the internet and our late-friend and now corporate zombie "Napster" which changed the way we "shared" music forever and forcing the hand of record companies to reduce prices. Digitally, anyways.

Before I continue, let me say that I have first-hand knowledge of this issue from my 6 years in the radio business (production & talent) and now as part of the marketing & advertising industry. What most people don't know is that all the great stuff that radio stations give away (concert tickets, MONEY, gadgets, albums, trips to ???, etc.) are paid for the most part by-wait for it... record companies! That's right. Record companies give radio stations all these goodies in exchange for airplay for whatever particular artist they seem to be gushing over at that moment. I know, this totally explains that Kesha girl.

Here's the amusing part. These now "successful" artists go back to their record companies wanting even more money than they already get from radio stations (royalties) likely due to their decline in "success" and bad contracts, so what do the record companies do? Go to the radio stations and ask for more money from the very industry that makes them money in the first place. So let's recap: Record companies give radio stations "promotional" dollars to play their artist's music which radio stations pay royalties (dollars) for playing, and the record companies want even more royalties (DOLLARS)! It's like lending someone your bike and wanting your bike and a new car in return.

So why a "performance tax"? Well, radio stations (corporations) and record companies both have lots of lobbying power in D.C., but since most record companies are now part of larger media conglomerates, record companies have a sweeter deal ($$$) for legislators in Washington. Basically, the record companies are trying to hire Washington D.C. as their "muscle" trying to force radio stations nationwide to pony up some more cash. Or as noperformancetax.org explains it: "The recording industry wants to impose a performance tax that would financially hurt local radio stations, stifle new artists and harm the listening public who rely on free local radio".

How does this affect the marketing and advertising industry? Well I'll explain the food chain in the simplest way possible. If record companies take more money from radio stations, radio stations will have to charge more money to their advertisers, which makes it more expensive (and difficult) for agency clients to purchase radio advertising which means less revenue for agencies which in turn costs jobs and increases prices on the consumers for the advertised service or product.

I would say that 80-90% of radio advertising is local businesses. For those local businesses that can and do advertise on the radio, it is far from "cheap" to do so. If radio advertising cost increases due to a federally mandated tax that only benefits record companies, jobs will be lost at many levels and as with all taxes, the cost is passed on to the consumer. Help the radio and advertising industry in stopping the greed of record companies and their artists from taking advantage of our "free" media, entertainment, and advertising outlet.

How you can help:

• Visit http://noperformancetax.org/
• Contact Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas) and John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), along with Representatives Gene Green (D-Texas) and Michael Conaway (R-Texas), and many other members of Congress who have sponsored legislation and efforts against the performance tax.
• Follow @StopRadioTax on Twitter

...and help spread the word throughout the industry!

Bolesta Center on Ad 2 Tampa Bay's AdCast

Judy Horvath and Colleen Mahaffey from the Bolesta Center join host Syleste Porter to talk about the group. Ms. Horvath is the Clinical Director and Education Outreach Coordinator of the center and Ms. Mahaffey is the Fund Development and PR Manager. The Bolesta Center was selected by Ad 2 Tampa Bay to be the 2009-2010 recipient of a pro-bono public service campaign. Tiffany Ryan is one of the Public Service Campaign Directors for Ad 2 Tampa Bay and she talks about what Ad 2 would like to do to promote the Bolesta Center.

The (B)Ad Tax Idea That Won't Go Away

Since June, there's been a portion of the health care legislation being considered in D.C. that has gone back-and-forth almost as many times as the bill itself. For the advertising industry, this tennis match has certainly been worthy of the U.S. Open, only with much larger consequences. How large?

The AAF estimates that disallowing the advertising tax deduction would increase the costs of advertising and marketing for affected companies by up to 35%. The ad industry provides $6 trillion in annual sales in the U.S. and 21 million jobs, according to the AAF. - Ad Age; October 21, 2009

Fortunately for the advertising industry, they not only have the AAF and its lobbying efforts trying to persuade legislators to drop this idea, but they have also gotten support from broadcasters and newspapers. These "traditional media" outlets would certainly feel the effects from significantly reduced or even eliminated advertising budgets at a time where they are already fighting over those same dollars being dispersed amongst "new media" outlets such as social media, blogging, and the web. Taking into consideration that it is highly likely that there will be a "government provided" health care option for Americans, our elected officials in D.C. need a plan to pay for it.

Representative Charles B. Rangel, Democrat of New York and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said last month that legislators would consider ending the tax break for drug ads as a way to raise money to pay for the health care overhaul. - New York Times, July 26, 2009

Some legislators are not only using this logic to pay for the "government provided" health care option, but also a way to express their disapproval with this form of advertising entirely.

The proposed legislation to eliminate the tax deduction for health-care advertising is going under the short title of the "Protecting Americans from Drug Marketing Act." - Ad Age; October 21, 2009

Most of us may not have pharmaceutical companies as clients, but the fear amongst many is that it won't stop there.

"Where does one draw the line?" One United States Senator has asked. Would we also tax advertising for vehicles that do not meet emissions or fuel economy standards, advertising for gaming, or foods that do not meet some nutrition standard? - AAF; October 20, 2009

What can we do? Please contact both of your Senators as soon as possible and express your strong opposition to any effort to deny the deductibility of advertising expenses. Some of the names associated with this legislation are: Senators Al Franken, D-Minn., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Bill Nelson, D-FL, Representatives James P. Moran, D-VA, Charles B. Rangel, D-NY.

Senators can be contacted through the Senate webpage at http://www.senate.gov/ or by calling the Senate switchboard at 202-224-3121.

UPDATE:
Congressman Targets Food Advertising Congressman Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, has sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to other members of Congress announcing his intention to introduce legislation to “eliminate the tax deductibility of fast food and junk food advertising directed at children.” The Congressman is inviting other members to join him as a cosponsor.

The removal of any advertising tax deductions will certainly open the flood gates and make the entire industry vulnerable.

Helpful links:
AAF, Alert: Another Threat to Advertising Deductibility
Franken and Senate Democrats Go After Tax Deduction for Advertising
Lawmakers Seek to Curb Drug Commercials
House Considering $37 Billion Drug Tax, Rangel Says

Twitter Rally to fight Harmful Legislation

THIS SITUATION IS CHANGING QUICKLY. STAY TUNED TO THIS BLOG FOR UPDATES.

It's time for a National Twitter Rally!!!

U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could hurt the advertising industry by eliminating the current tax-deductibility of advertising costs as a normal business expense for pharmaceutical companies — which could begin a slippery slope of removing the lack of service tax that our industry depends on. (see previous post for full details)

Please join our Twitter Rally to let the House and Senate know how you feel! Be POLITE, and tell them where you stand.

FLORIDA
Senator Bill Nelson - http://twitter.com/senbillnelson
Senator Mel Martinez - http://www.twitter.com/MelMartinez
Rep. Kendrick Meek - http://www.twitter.com/kendrickbmeek

NATIONWIDE
U.S. Congress Twitter Directory – http://tweetcongress.org/


EXAMPLE TWEETS
@SenBillNelson Health care reform is important, but so is my advertising job. Please fight for our rights in DC. #NoAdTax

@kendrickbmeek Please keep advertising deductible. My future depends on it. #NoAdTax

@MelMartinez Advertising fuels our economy. Please keep it deductible for Rx companies! #NoAdTax

Legislation Could Harm Advertising Industry

(Information dated June 16, 2009)

The Senate Finance Committee today is discussing revenue options for financing healthcare reform, including whether to tax advertising. The proposal under discussion would deny the business expense deduction for the cost of the advertising of prescription medicines.

Because healthcare reform is moving very fast, and Senators communicate with each other it is vital that ALL Senators hear strong opposition TODAY to this proposal from their constituents. Please circulate this alert to your ad club members and/or employees and urge them to place calls.

The core of your message should be that the proposal must be opposed because it is a tax on advertising and if adopted is unlikely to stop with prescription drugs. Who knows what might be next when the government needs more money? Advertising for all products and services helps generate $6 trillion in economic activity and supports more than 21 million jobs.

More detailed arguments are listed below, as is a link to the contact information for the key member of each Senator's staff. Again, it is vitally important that you circulate this alert and make your calls today. Thank you for your help with this important matter.

Limiting advertising deductibility of pharmaceuticals should be opposed because:

· The Tax Code and its deductions should be applied equally to all ordinary and necessary business expenses. Even at the height of public criticism of the tobacco industry, Congress did not discriminate between the treatment of the cost of advertising tobacco products, which is fully deductible, and the cost of advertising other products. Some may recall that Congress "affirmed" a ban on television and radio advertising of tobacco products. But it did so after the industry elected to withdraw this advertising rather than face government sponsored antismoking ads. This also took place before the Supreme Court had enunciated the doctrine that protects commercial speech under the First Amendment.

· The underlying goal of eliminating the deduction for advertising prescription medications is very straightforward – it is to make speech about the product more expensive. That will assure there is less advertising, and less advertising will result in fewer sales of the advertised prescription medications, particularly to Medicare Part D eligible patients. In other words, Congress would be taxing speech to save money on a federal program of spending.

· The denial of the deduction would make this advertising 35 percent more expensive (assuming the top federal corporate tax rate). Assuming that the affected companies do not have wealthy uncles or unlimited supplies of spare cash, they likely will reduce their advertising by a similar amount, resulting in a loss of speech to consumers. Thus, the loss of the deduction is no more than a tax on advertising.

· In Grosjean v. American Press Co., Inc., 297 U. S. 233 (1936), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 2 percent Louisiana tax on newspapers with more than 20,000 circulation per week. The 13 affected newspapers were critics of Governor Huey Long and sued to challenge the tax as an unconstitutional tax on speech. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed.

· Section 162 of the Tax Code provides for the current deduction of all ordinary and necessary business expenses. This section applies to all such expenses – rent, utilities, salaries, and every form of daily business operation. Virtually all advertising costs are ordinary business expenses. Imagine the world of business however, if Congress were to pick and choose favorite products – products that would get the deduction and products that would be denied the deduction. What else might be on the hit list? For example, would generic drugs be entitled to the deduction, but not brand drugs? What about vehicles that cannot achieve the efficiency of 20 miles on a gallon of gas? What about a bank that fails its stress test?

AdCast: Episode XVI

Once again our regular hosts were absent for this show—always wild things happening in the lives of today's young professionals. As always, their trusty cohorts were waiting in the wings to keep us running. This time our own Cris Vatalaro joined veteran guest co-host Vinny Tafuro for another great month of adcasting (Yes, I'm verbing us. And while I'm at it, I'm also verbing the word verb). We were lucky enough to crash Tampa's Gasparilla Film Festival this time, broadcasting live from the beautiful Tampa Theatre.

The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center is definitely one of our favorite organizations in the area—both for the great things they bring to the city, and the great people they send our way. This time our guests were the lovelies Kari Goetz and Christen Pettitt, and the topic was Avenue Q. They came on to tell us what that means (Hint: It's a sweet Broadway Show coming to TBPAC) and how Ad 2 can get a great deal on it.
VIEW NOW

Next we got to find out what we'd gotten ourselves into, with the Gasparilla Film Festival's Chad Moore and John Rosser. They told us all about one of Tampa's great cultural attractions, and tried to forgive us for crashing it (well actually I think they kinda liked us).
VIEW NOW

Having gotten our feet wet, we now dove deeper into the Festival's substance, bringing on some real live independent movie makers. Adam Sigal and Brahman Turner created one of the featured films of the event—a piece called Daydreamer. What followed was some interesting insight into how it all came to be.
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Man, if you like film, this was the show for you. Our next guests were Pete Guzzo and Dan Brienza, who told us about Tampa's upcoming Weekend Film Workshop. It sounds like a great event for aspiring film-makers, covering all the aspects of making it happen in film. And... action!
VIEW NOW

Continuing with our film theme, we brought Erik Cattele and Adam Lenfest of Polycreative on next. Polycreative is a digital media producer in the area, and one of the most prominent members of Tampa's Digital Media Alliance.
VIEW NOW

We did a little something different with our last segment. No film here; just funds. Josh Crum is a Business Development Assoicate for Raymond James Financial, and one of this month's Rising Stars. He came on to tell us about his work with financial advisors and independent contractors that's brought him to Rising Star status.
VIEW NOW

You know we're eternally greatful to the sponsors. As always, it simply couldn't happen if it weren't for the folks at Tampa Digital Studios, and the help of La Casa Dolce and tbt*. And for this month, "props" to Tampa Theatre and the Gasparilla Film Festival for letting us team up with them.

Until next time, make good choices!

Ad 2 Road Show

The Ad 2 Road Show is a presentation we developed to spread general awareness of Ad 2 Tampa Bay and the Student ADDY Awards to advertising, communication, media and design students. Jeff Morrow, Ad 2 Tampa Bay's Membership Director, and Kate Whatley, Ad 2 Tampa Bay's Education Director and Student ADDY Chair spoke to hundreds of students from six area colleges over a three week period. Over the course of the tour the presentation was given at the University of South Florida's weekly AdClub meeting, the University of Tampa, the Art Institute of Tampa, the International Academy of Design and Technology, Eckerd College, and ITT Technical Institute.

With the visual assistance of a projected powerpoint presentation, Jeff started by explaining what Ad 2 is, what we do for the community, and types of the events Ad 2 puts on. He also discussed the value of networking and different types of opportunities Ad 2 has to get involved in. Kate then spoke specifically about the upcoming Fall Media Tour and the importance of participating in the Student ADDY Awards. Students were shown a reel of the local Student ADDY Award winning work from the last two years. Students were greatly encouraged to enter their work and attend ADDY Gallery Night, an evening showcasing all of the ADDY entries in both the professional and student divisions. Each Road Show presentation ended with a question and answer session.

Strategically timed to take place right before the Fall Student Media Tour, we credited the Road Show as a major factor in selling out the fall tour. In the months preceding the Road Show we noticed a dramatic increase in student attendance at our monthly meetings. There was also a large student presence at other various Ad 2 and advertising community events including AdBash, ADDY Gallery Night and the ADDY After Party. The Road Show has also been credited by students and professors as a main factor in the dramatic increase in Student ADDY entries this year. In previous years the Tampa Bay Ad Fed has received between 30 to 40 Student ADDY entries. This year they received a record breaking 109 Student ADDY entries and had more Student ADDY winners than ever before.

AdCast: Episode XV

Tonight our regular hosts Jessica McDonald and Carl Vervisch took a break as we welcomed guest hosts Lindsey Norris and Vinny Tafuro in their place. After a one-month holiday hiatus, AdCast came back with a bang—another great show for all things Ad 2 and otherwise.

It's a new name, a new look, and more for one of Tampa Bay's most important organizations. Fresh off the unveiling of their complete re-branding roll-out, Tampa Bay & Company sent Senior VP of Marketing Dianne Jacob to tell us all about it. Check out why they did it, how they went about it, and what they're doing to get it out to the public on this segment.
VIEW SEGMENT

Mmmmm Chipotle... next up we had Kimberly Higgins, the official "Chipotle Cheerleader" for Tampa Bay and Orlando. You might recognize her from the amazing turnaround she orchestrated for about 50 students on our most recent Media Tour, or from her Rising Star status of months past. Tonight she let us in on all her crowd-pleasing promotional secrets.
VIEW SEGMENT

The Addys are upon us! They seem to come sooner every year for those of us that have to prepare our entries, and a couple of the local authorities on the subject were here to make the announcement this time. Tampa Bay Ad Fed president and Maddux Business Report marketing manager Craig Neuman, along with art director Kate Whatley of PeakBiety Branding + Advertising, came on to give us the low-down on the big show.
VIEW SEGMENT

And now for tonight's Rising Star! A great new addition to our show over the last few months has been the tbt* Rising Star. This time around, we had a lawyer in the house. Nicole Kibert is an Associate Attorney for Carlton Fields, and tonight we found out what she does and how she does it so well.
VIEW SEGMENT

As young, opinionated people in the advertising community, we always like to add our insight on the subject. This time it was Vinny and Lindsey telling us about their expectations for the star-studded ads of this year's Super Bowl. See what they had to say in our latest Advertising Insight.
VIEW SEGMENT

We wrapped things up with Ad 2 Roundtable, where we bring on Ad 2's finest to let us in on the club's latest. With that said, check it out and find out what you need to know!
VIEW SEGMENT

As always, we gotta thank those that made it all possible for us. Tampa Digital Studios ran the show, Tampa Bay Brewing Co. hosted it, and the folks at tbt* and La Casa Dolce sponsored it. Great job to all, and don't forget my strong encouragement for you all in three simple words—Make good choices.

AdCast: Episode XIV

Hello folks, another great month has come and gone in Tampa Bay, and along with it another great edition of Ad 2 Tampa Bay's AdCast. This month's show, broadcast live from Tampa Bay Brewing Company, was very sporty, which is pretty appropriate for this time of the year. That's not to mention the area – big happenings all around in the Tampa Bay sports scene.

• We kicked things off with the "homies" as usual. This time it was Cris Vatalaro and Mai Tran coming on to talk about two of Ad 2's biggest annual events, the Student Media Tour and AdBash. I'm not over-exaggerating when I say that both were extremely successful this year, both for entertainment value and for raising funds for our Public Service client, Wheels for Success. There's also a nice little highlight reel of AdBash, prepped by Mike Compton and the folks at Tampa Digital Studios: VIEW NOW

• Next on the show we started off our sports theme with America's favorite past-time. Brian Killingsworth, Director of Marketing and Promotion with the newly re-branded Tampa Bay Rays, was on the show with us. Brian told all about the re-branding efforts, which pretty much spread to every aspect of the team and its interaction with the city. Cheers for all the great community involvement coming out of that organization, and best of luck with the new image. VIEW NOW

• Time to talk about the Lightning and Storm! We don't have a weather center at AdCast, so that can only mean one thing - We're talking about more Tampa Bay sports. Brad Lott is the VP of Sales and Marketing for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he brought us up to speed on all the defenders of the St. Pete Times Forum. VIEW NOW

• In a world where college bowl games seem to creep out of forgotten corners of the couch, we're lucky to have one of the best and longest-lasting of these events here in Tampa Bay. Mike Shulze is the Director of Communications + Sponsorships for the Outback Bowl. He gave us the play-by-play on everything from how its promoted to even revealing one of this year's teams live on the air - That's right, you heard it here FIRST. VIEW NOW

• The Society for Marketing Professional Services. What does it all mean? As we found out, it's an organization that focuses on training, networking, and community involvement for those in the fields of construction and engineering. Members Tara Ryan and JR Kozera were live on the air to tell us more about all the great things they do as an organization. VIEW NOW

• What are you doing for the holidays? Let us give you the run-down. Ad 2's very own Cris Vatalaro went to the trouble of researching, inspecting, deliberating to bring us the biggest and best in upcoming events in Tampa Bay. She even drug in Dan Gorda from 13 Ugly Men to tell us about their next extravagant event this New Years Eve. VIEW NOW

• And of course, there's our tbt* Rising Star segment. Every week, they crown a lucky individual in Tampa Bay and give them a proper feature in their lovely publication. We went through this month's winners, and brought one on the show. Sharon Nobles is a realtor with Wingate & Associates, but that's not all. Find out everything she's got going on, right here. VIEW NOW

Thanks to everyone that keeps watching the show... all the faithful that stayed with us through my worst wardrobe follies and love us just the same. And I can't stop raving out our great sponsors - La Casa "Delicious" Dolce, tbt* (something worth reading!) and of course the blood, sweat, and tears of Tampa Digital Studios and their elite production force. Oh and Tampa Bay Brewing Company. You guys rock, and so does your beer.

And in closing, it just wouldn't be the same if I didn't keep you to it:
Make Good Choices.

Ad 2 Tampa Bay Fall 2007 Student Media Tour

Posted by Kate Whatley

On Thursday November 8th, 2007 Ad 2 Tampa Bay hosted the Fall 2007 Student Media Tour. 50 students were given the opportunity to tour some of the most exciting advertising related companies in Tampa. As with any large orchestration, the effort was very much a joint venture between Ad 2 Tampa Bay and the participating advertising related businesses.

The first stop on the tour was OAI, the largest large-format printer in the Southeast. OAI brought the students through the entire facility explaining all of the high-end equipment and the print production process in general. We finished up with a short Q & A session and then boarded the bus and headed off to the next stop.

The second tour destination was Pyper Paul + Kenney, a local advertising agency known for edgy design and a large presence in the local ADDY awards program. Currently their office is located at an old firehouse in the Channel District just outside of Downtown Tampa. Hal Vincent, gave the tour and then shared some of his insights on the industry. Hal is also a professor at USF and formerly worked at the prestigious local agency West Wayne. Since PP+K could not accommodate all 50 students at once, the tour was broken into two groups.

Students who were not with Hal heard all about the benefits of joining Ad 2 from Mai Tran and Vinny Tafuro, respectively Ad 2 Tampa Bay’s president and immediate past president.

We then went over to Centro Ybor, taking a minute to grab a Starbucks, and toured Tampa Digital Studios’ new office. Tampa Digital Studios is a full-service digital media, film & video production house that maintains a long-standing partnership with Ad 2 Tampa Bay. They are currently the producers of AdCast, Ad2 Tampa Bay’s monthly live broadcast Internet video program highlighting young professionals and the groups they belong to. Several different guides took students in small groups around the studio. Students also had the opportunity to record a review of the last movie they saw. The video reviews are featured on Bob Ross Movies website (bobrossmovies.com).

After that, we got back on the bus and drove to Chipotle in Hyde Park. Chipotle donated free lunch and a t-shirt to every student on the tour.

For the final stop in the tour, we went back to downtown Tampa to Grupo D, a Multicultural Division of The Dutcher Group. Fabian Yépez spoke to students about the importance of Hispanic Advertising now and in the future. He explained the benefits of organic multicultural advertising and the downsides of straight translations without cultural considerations. Again, the entire tour could not fit in the Grupo D’s office space all at once so the students were separated into groups. The students that were not in the Dutcher Group listened to Carl Vervisch speak about winning a National Student ADDY and how it helped jump-start his career in advertising. Carl is an Ad 2 Tampa Bay AdCast co-host, fine artist and the copywriter at SPARK, a local advertising agency.

After the tour students were invited to come back and join us at Tampa Bay Brewing Company for our monthly Ad 2 Tampa Bay social during Media Mix. A dozen or so decided to take advantage of the opportunity to network with media and advertising professionals in a casual environment. Several students set up interviews for internships. One Art Institute student set up an internship interview with PeakBiety and will be interning there in the art department during the spring semester.

We received lot of positive feedback from all of the students and businesses that participated in the tour. These companies share a common goal with Ad 2 of wanting to help cultivate the future of advertising in the Tampa Bay market and the creative community overall.

Ad Bash is November 9th! Come party like a Hollywood Star!

Ad 2 Tampa Bay invites you and your friends to join us and 'walk the red carpet" at Ad Bash 2007!

This hollywood inspired event will take place at Hyde Park Cafe on Friday, November 9th from 6-10pm. Old and new celebrity attire requested - including baubles, bangles, and bright shiny beads. Proceeds benefiting Wheels of Success non-profit organization.

$5 tickets can be purchased in advance at www.ad2tampabay.org $10 tickets per person at the door.

First 50 guests get free goodie bags filled with great things from our sponsors! Drink specials will run all night long and free pizza will be available for our early guests! Come after work for a Happy Hour drink and start your Friday night of fun with Ad 2 Tampa Bay while helping out a great cause!

Hyde Park Cafe is located at 1806 Platt Street West Tampa, FL 33606 For more information please visit www.ad2tampabay.org. A huge thank you goes out to our wonderful sponsors! Hyde Park Cafe, Malibu, OnDemand Printing, and TBT

AdCast: Episode XIII

I suppose I didn't realize I should have been especially fearful of this month's episode - dreaded number thirteen. But really it wasn't bad at all. Remote show this time, from Tampa Bay Brewing Company (next door to Tampa Digital Studios' new offices in Ybor City). And to further mix things up, Jessica McDonald was out hang-gliding through the Amazon, opening up the coveted co-hostess spot for Ad 2's own Robin Adkins. And what a show it was...

• First, Cris Vatalaro and Mai Tran were on the show to catch us up on Ad 2 happenings. They discussed AdBash (which is coming up November 9, 6-10pm, and should totally rock, Hollywood-style) and the Student Media Tour (November 8, 9am-6pm – also likely to rock). For details on those events and everything else, you can always check out Ad 2's website at www.ad2tampabay.org

• Next up, Mike Compton was on the show with Susan Jacobs to announce this year's Ad 2 Tampa Bay public service client – a great cause called Wheels of Success. Great things to come on that front; Wheels' has an established identity, a sound plan, and a lot of potential for a great public service campaign for us. Anyone that's interested in helping out, toss Mike an email as soon as ya can. VIEW NOW

• Unfortunately the head honcho Larry Thompson couldn't make it out to the show to speak on the Sarasota Design Summit, but that didn't stop us. At the last second, we pulled a major community player, Mr. Peter Kageyama, President of Creative Tampa Bay and partner with Sextant Marketing. We had plenty to learn about the Design Summit, and honestly his talk changed my perspective on the whole thing. SDS is a new approach to the "design" conference, inviting people that aren't designers to find out why it's so important. VIEW NOW

• The next segment was a great learning experience for me, considering I didn't know what the Film Commission was until Lindsey Norris came onto the show to tell us about it. It's not really what I thought at all - these are the people responsible for the luring, caring, and feeding of any and all film production outfits visiting Tampa Bay. VIEW NOW

• It wasn't our first segment on advertising to the Hispanic community, and at the rate the population is growing, it won't be our last. This time we had a very tuned-in guest, live on the air with us. Pedro Perez has been working in the industry for 14 years, and came on to talk about his company Nuevo Advertising and how they reach out to such a diverse audience. VIEW NOW

• The Night of the Iguana. It just sounds fun. Sure enough, the details Melinda Dale revealed to us made it sound even moreso. This is a charity event for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, founded and firmly supported by Tampa's own Green Iguana restaurant, and it's going on November 16 from 7:30-11:30pm. VIEW NOW

• Was it all for the illiteration? The phrase "Hike for Hospice" is actually what they use to describe a pretty cool 5K race that supports Gulfside Regional Hospice, and special events coordinator Jennifer York was on to tell us all about it. VIEW NOW

• We wrapped things up with another edition of tbt* Rising Stars. I'm really glad we're doing this segment; it does what we always wanted to do with "Young Professional of the Month," but uses tbt*'s reach and resources to really pick out the best of the best. Then we get to have them on the show; keep an eye out for this being a really fun segment as this relationship moves on. This time we had Patrick Donlan of EdgeRock Technology Partners; great story there. VIEW NOW

And that's how we did it. Robin did a great job in her first attempt at hosting, especially considering she thought we'd have a teleprompter on the set (sorry Robin we're not all high-tech like that). The venue was quite honestly pretty tough to deal with as we were going along... I mean seriously, since when do so many people go to the bar on a Wednesday... but regardless, it all came out well. The clips look great, Tampa Digital Studios' team did great, and our sponsors are just generally great for the things they do for us (La Casa Dolce, tbt*, and TDS of course).

Let's do it again next month!
Make Good Choices.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

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!!

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!

AdCast: Episode IX

We're right in the thick of summer here in Tampa, but nothing can slow down AdCast. Special guest co-host Scott Persons joined Jessica McDonald to guide us through our latest edition of Tampa Bay's favorite internet webcast (I don't need data to support that, I rely on instinct).

First off, Shani Jefferson came in from Tampa Bay's Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI). They've got a great new exhibit called "Shipwreck! Pirates and Treasure", and Shani was hear to tell us about all the great things there "arrrrrrrgh" in the exhibit.

Next up was Tim Bajkiewicz, on to talk about the University of South Florida's restructured Masters program in the School of Mass Communications. The school has made some exciting changes to the curriculum, making it an even more attractive option for young professionals in that arena.

Our fourth segment featured Travis Claytor, who was on to tell us about the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau's advertising efforts in the community.

We wrapped things up with a little review of this year's edition of the prestigious awards show we call the ADDY's, a three-tiered competition orchestrated by the American Advertising Federation. Jessica and Scott talked about the winners and more in this month's Advertising Insight.