If you remember anything at all, I’m betting it was a story.  No big surprise.  Stories are more entertaining, informative and memorable than facts, figures and philosophical diatribes.  Anybody that’s had any training in public speaking knows that.  Just ask any Toastmasters Club honcho.  Or, take a Dale Carnegie course.

In his book, What’s Your Point, Bob Boylan, author and consultant in the field of effective presentations, urges presenters to, “Tell stories.  They grab the audience.  You will be real when you tell your own stories.  They build on the feeling of ‘trust me.’  People love to hear stories, especially personal ones, and your familiarity with the story makes the words come more easily and believably.”

In advertising, I believe stories are critical to snagging and holding attention – whether we’re dealing with a YouTube video or a primetime television spot.  They are imperative when developing and strengthening brand awareness and preference.

The TV spot hailed as the best of the past century, Apple’s “1984,” told a riveting story, as do many of the most memorable Super Bowl spots over the years.  Remember the classic “Mean Joe Green” Coke spot from 1980? I still do, and I have a spotty memory.  Remember the pint-sized Darth Vader VW spot last year?

I believe the value of today’s highfalutin’ technology will be greatly minimized unless we learn how to apply the time-proven art of storytelling to it.  But it’s not an easy task in this time-crunched, media-overloaded society.

That fact is reflected in this comment by James Clunie, a judge for the prestigious 2011 Communication Arts Advertising Annual.  He is quoted in the Editor’s Column of that issue as saying, “I’m always surprised at how much time people expect you to engage with their brand.  I don’t have time up upload a picture of my face to a Web site so I can see what I look like sitting behind the wheel of a Jetta or on an American Standard toilet or whatever.”

Randal Rothenburg, president/CEO of the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), noted in a recent Advertising Age article, “New technology does not change the human desire for sense-making narrative or the need for us to understand the world through tales well told.  But the technology does change how we learn stories, how we tell stories, and who hears them.”

“We are concerned our industry is more concentrated on counting likes and clickthroughs than forming deep relationships with people, and that subsequently consumer interaction with brands is largely limited to likes, short comments, and critiques.  From this angle, interactive media is in its infancy.”

That relates directly to Richter7’s foundational belief that human beings are big bundles of feelings, and that emotional impulses drive behavior, brand relationships and product loyalty.

It’s up to us to figure out how to be better at storytelling within these technological confines.  What is clear is this — if you tell a story well, it will get passed on, and commented on positively, via multiple technological tools (think Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) at a speed and depth like never before.  And that’s the best kind of advertising — because it’s free.

One exciting new restaurant in Utah to keep on the radar is BRIO Tuscan Grille, a classy Italian restaurant opening at Fashion Place Mall next to Nordstrom this Monday. It’s known as being “upscale affordable” Italian cuisine in a family-friendly atmosphere, and I just found out for myself that their tiramisu alone is enough to drive crowds to that restaurant.

To kick things off and get acquainted with the Utah community before it officially opens its doors for business Sept. 12, BRIO is hosting a free grand opening block party tomorrow, Sept. 10, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the parking lot it shares with Nordstrom. Celebrations will include food samplings of BRIO’s favorites, a build-your-own sundae bar for kids, a charity fundraiser dunk tank with Murray Fire and Police Departments, photo booths, craft tables, bocce ball tournaments, raffle-prizes from Fashion Place retailers and more. Some local head honchos, including Mayor Peter Corroon of Salt Lake County and Mayor Dan Snarr of Murray City, will also attend and all proceeds will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Murray.

So what we’re telling you is that, if nothing else, keep the first BRIO in Utah in your sites. It’s going to be a big deal and after you try their tiramisu, let us know what you think.

A lot went into the Apple Beer campaign, from setting the right, rustic mood to express the German heritage of their brand to creating the appropriate slogans to communicate the core messages. The winning Apple Beer campaign features slogans such as, “Drink every night without worrying about your friends staging an intervention,” and “Yeah, it’ll give you a buzz. If you’re Hypoglycemic.”

In all of this, we just want to continually produce work for our clients that stands out. So when we’re able to win the most total national ADDY’s in our district, we hope, more than anything, that our clients feel they are always receiving top notch work.

Richter7 was lucky enough to take home more awards than any other agency this year (for the 9th time in 10 years!) From a total of 132 awards distributed, we were awarded 39, including 14 gold, 25 silver and one judges’ choice award for our Apple Beer campaign.

As one of our fearless leaders, Dave Newbold, puts it, “The awards are a bonus for doing our job right in the first place – that is, to sell our clients’ products and services.”

A big congrats to all of the Richter7 team members involved in creating this year’s winning campaigns. You inspire us each day! Can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year’s ADDY’s.

The office came to life as associates shouted their opinions on spots regarding Doritos, Pepsi, VW and even Best Buy’s use of Justin Bieber. With people working from all departments of a full-service agency, what was valued and humorous varied on multiple levels. It was a fun dynamic.

Social Media continues to play a larger role as this year’s Ad Bowl was discussed and debated on Twitter by following the hashtag #R7AdBowl. Winners were also announced on www.facebook.com/richter7, and www.twitter.com/richter7.

And finally, here is the list of winners and losers from Ad Bowl XVI:

• Most Valuable Ad Award – Volkswagen – The Force
• Best Low Budget Award – Doritos – Best Part
• Celebrity Sack Award – Best Buy – Bieber / Ozzy
• Championship Chuckle Award – Bridgestone – Reply All
• Illegal Use of $$$$ Award – Coca Cola – Siege
• Creative Fumble Award – Bud Light – Dogs
• Should Have Punted Award – GoDaddy – The Contract

“Based on a 100-year-old German recipe, Apple Beer was first bottled in the United States in the 1960s. Although the unique soft drink has grown a loyal following over the years, many people still have the misconception that it’s some kind of apple-flavored beer. These point-of-purchase postings were designed, by Salt Lake City-based Richter7, to clear up the confusion while tying in to the heritage of the locally-bottled beverage.”

Here’s the team who worked on it: Ryan Anderson, art director/digital retoucher; Gary Sume, writer; Ryan Anderson/Gary Sume, creative directors; Dave Newbold, executive creative director; stock, photographer; Cynthia Griffin, production manager.

Image courtesy of www.commarts.com

Amanda Sanchez

Amanda was originally hired in 2009 as PR account coordinator and was quickly promoted because of her dedication, originality and expertise. Amanda leads projects for clients including Questar, Zions Bank, Polynesian Cultural Center, Dairy Farmers of Utah and Ultradent and excels at media outreach, community relations, event coordination, social media, and the concept and development of grassroots and guerilla PR campaigns.

James Carroll

James first started at Richter7 as a client services intern but quickly showed everyone what an asset he was and was brought on full time as an advertising assistant account manager and analytics coordinator. Having graduated from the University of Utah with a BS in marketing and information systems, James will be working with Living Planet Aquarium, Christopherson Business Travel and Zions Bank, among others.

Peter Brown

Initially joining Richter7 as a public relations intern, Peter has experience with event coordination, video production, media relations, and the planning and execution of PR campaigns. Peter is working with clients such as CR England, Utah Highway Safety Office and Zions Bank and is a great asset to our PR department.

Welcome to the team!

In a July 12, 2010, ADWEEK article about the internationally prestigious Cannes awards festival, writer Noreen O’Leary reported the following:

“Mark Tutssel, Leo Burnett’s global CCO and a Cannes judge, said that despite the occasional exception, Cannes winners tend to be solid business successes.  In previous years, Burnett has conducted surveys tracking award-winning ads with business performance.  In the most recent survey, Burnett found an 86 percent correlation between award-winning work and effectiveness, up from 78 percent in 1997, the first year of the study.

Now for a specific example.

The Old Spice campaign featuring the buff, bare-chested Old Spice guy in the shower has certainly garnered attention (and won every major ad award), but has it sold product?

Here’s what Eleftheria Parpis reported in the July 26, 2010 issue of ADWEEK.

According to Nielsen data provided by Old Spice, overall sales for Old Spice bodywash products are up 11 percent in the last 12 months; up 27 percent in the last six months; up 55 percent in the last three months; and in the last month, with two new TV spots and the online response videos, up a whopping 107 percent.

“Our business is on fire,” says James Moorhead, brand manager of Old Spice.  “We’ve seen strong results over all of our portfolio.   That is the reward for the great work. The “Smell like a man, man” campaign, which by mid-July had become a pop-culture sensation, with videos from the series accounting for eight of the top 11 most popular videos on YouTube, went on to win a Grand Prix at Cannes.

Old Spice goes beyond hot-man-in-towel commercials

Men really do want to smell like Mr. Old Spice himself. Especially when Old Spice’s ad agency created customized video responses for their clients. Worked on me. http://bit.ly/deZyow

New York gets Wi-Fi in subways

This should make 8 million people happy. Now New Yorkers can soon stay connected 100 stories up or moving 55 mph underground. There goes bonding with your neighbor on the subway! http://bit.ly/9Ud0q5

Good Relationships = Good Health?

And lest we all forget, while we’re moving at warp speed with our social media networking, a research study in the news this week reminds us that honest-to-goodness social relationships – the face-to-face kind – are key to longer lives and good health. “People with greater social relationships are 50 percent more likely to live longer than reclusive peers.” Do you agree? http://bit.ly/dzvSki

The winning ad campaigns consist of print and TV for Utah’s Hogle Zoo, point-of-purchase print ads for Wood Revival Desk Co. and print posters for the Utah Healthy Marriage Initiative.

With over 60,000 entries annually, the ADDY Awards are the world’s largest and arguably most difficult advertising competition. Concurrently across the country, local entrants vie for recognition as the very best in their markets. Local winners compete against other winners in one of 14 district competitions. District winners are then forwarded to the national ADDY Awards competition.

Have you seen any of our winning ads on TV or in print? If so, what are your thoughts?

CREDITS:

Utah’s Hogle Zoo

• Gary Sume, Copywriter/Creative Director
• Ryan Anderson, Art Director/Creative Director
• Dave Newbold, Executive Creative Director
• Tal Harry, Account Supervisor
• Jared Lewis, Account Manager
• Cynthia Griffin, Production Manager
• “Bunny” Poster – Chad Hurst, Photographer
• “Madagascar” TV/Animation – Michael Slack, Illustrator; Kristen Lapour, Animator

Wood Revival Desk Co.

• Gary Sume, Copywriter/Creative Director
• Ryan Anderson, Art Director/Creative Director
• Dave Newbold, Executive Creative Director
• Teri Gibson, Account Manager
• Cynthia Griffin, Production Manager
• Chad Hurst, Photographer

Utah Healthy Marriage Initiative

• Gary Sume, Copywriter/Creative Director
• Ryan Anderson , Art Director/Creative Director
• Dave Newbold, Executive Creative Director
• Tal Harry , Account Supervisor
• Cynthia Griffin, Production Manager
• Marcia Winn, Account Manager