Breaking News Behind the Scenes Hotline

BEYOND SIXTY
Winter 2012
Letter from the Director
Dear Alumni,
It is hard to believe that this is my final letter to you as Director of the VCU Brandcenter. I will be moving on
in June after nine wonderful years of serving the school that I love and have been honored to lead. I feel
lucky to have gotten to know so many of you during my time here, and I hope to continue these relationships. Thank you for your support and for your part in earning and maintaining the stellar reputation that this
program holds in our industry. I leave the school with the confidence that it is on the right path with the right
people to build that reputation even further.
On that note, the search committee is working very hard to select a new Director who shares the Brandcenter
mission of helping the industry embrace and navigate change. They are in the process of selecting someone
who has the ability to inspire faculty, staff, students, agencies, marketers and brands toward that mission.
The committee aims to announce the new Director this spring, with the hope that he or she would start over
the summer.
So while exciting things are ahead for the Brandcenter, I also want to celebrate something very exciting
that has happened this year. We are proud to announce that three first year Brandcenter teams were named
semi-finalists in the annual Innovation Challenge MBA Competition – more than any other school in the
world. One of them, Team Brandslam, developed a cloud-based platform solution to help small businesses
cut costs for AT&T, winning the AT&T division of the competition. They have gone on to win the entire Innovation Challenge and are now known as the “world’s most innovative MBA team.” We are loving the irony. I
am so proud of our students for demonstrating the importance of bringing strategy, creativity and technology together to solve business problems.
We also want to celebrate all of your recent accomplishments and milestones. It has been a great year for
Brandcenter alumni authors, and we hope you’ll read on and check out the ever-growing list of books your
peers have gotten published. We want to hear all of your success stories, so please stay connected with us
via Twitter and Facebook and share your good news with the rest of the Brandcenter family.
Best, Rick Boyko / Director
Click here to follow us.
Breaking News
Brandcenter Named “Most Innovative Business School in the World”
Out of 186 teams from the leading business schools in the world, three teams of first year Brandcenter students were selected as semi-finalists in the annual Innovation Challenge MBA competition – more than any
other school in the world. Other semi-finalist schools included Harvard, University of Virginia’s Darden, Dartmouth, Duke University’s Fuqua, among many others. On Jan. 27th three finalist teams presented, and Team
Brandslam from the VCU Brandcenter bested teams from Wharton and Chapman Business School to become
“the world’s most innovative MBA team.” While all three teams were invited to ring the bell at the New York
Stock Exchange that afternoon, only Team Brandslam took home the grand prize of $20,000.
Led by Jennifer Clinehens, CBM, Team Brandslam also included Cody Pate, AD; Ryan Dowling, CT; and Katlyn
Williams, CW. Following a brief for the AT&T division of the competition, the team developed a tool to simplify cloud and mobile applications to increase productivity and efficiency for small and midsize businesses
while providing them with analytics at a minimal cost. “After interviewing a handful of small business owners, we quickly learned that many didn’t understand the full value that cloud services could provide,” said
Jennifer Clinehens. “Thanks to AT&T, our team was given an early look into the kinds of considerations that
real businesses must address when deciding to incorporate cloud computing. This helped us to develop a
tool from the small business owner’s perspective, something that gave them the opportunity to take control
of their information.”
Of the Brandcenter’s success, Professor Don Just said, “This win serves to validate the Brandcenter’s focus
on developing unexpected consumer insights and then using those insights to craft imaginative strategies
that enhance the market power of brands. Time and again the school’s commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration in solving problems has proven to be a powerful tool in a marketplace that is moving at warp
speed. Here a great deal of energy is expended searching for big, business-building ideas, innovative ideas
that resonate with today’s consumers and build brand equity. And there is no better example of this approach
at work than can be seen in the winning effort of our Innovation Challenge teams.”
Brandcenter Welcomes Class of 2013
The Class of 2013 is 97 students strong. Art Directors, Copywriters, Communications Strategists, Creative
Brand Managers and Creative Technologists come to Richmond from eight countries and 26 U.S. states.
Their undergrad majors are varied – from Communications and Graphic Design to Process Management and
Homeland Security. Following the trend of the last few years, over 70% of the incoming class has been out
of college for at least one year. But all that work experience didn’t help them win the first softball game of
their Brandcenter career.
Orientation, Softball, AICP Show, Talentsaurus Rex
The first year students received a less than warm welcome this Fall when an earthquake hit just as Don Just
was laying down the law at orientation. They almost bounced back for the softball game, but the second
years managed to sneak out a win in an extremely low scoring game. Students just don’t hit like they used to.
All the students were inspired when The AICP Show made their annual stop in Richmond at the Byrd Theater:
six Adcenter/Brandcenter alumni had work featured in the show:
David Povill (Deutsch LA) – Volkswaggon
Tim Gordon (Droga 5) - Puma
Kevin Proudfoot (Wieden NY) - Nokia
Ross Weythmann (R/GA) - Nike + GPS
Mike Costello (Arnold) - Truth
Greg Greenberg (Ogilvy) - American Express/
Conan
Talentsaurus Rex was another outstanding success this year, hosted by two second year creative technologists,
Chris Colliton and Ernesto Campabadal who had the audience rolling in between skits. Don Just returned
to judge this year and was joined by Coz and Katy Reyers (CS, 2010) who offered some wordy critiques and
commentary. There was Bollywood dancing and a marriage proposal as usual, but the highlights were first
place winners Tom Vassallo and Nathan Hess’ guitar and harmonica combo, and 2nd place winner Atain
Ibya’s original spoken word.
Tom Vassallo and Nathan Hess
Atain Ibya
Please Help us Promote the Brandcenter at Your Alma Mater
Undergraduate students LOVE hearing from our grads about your life in the “real world” of advertising. If
you are interested in recruiting for the Brandcenter at a nearby university or at your alma mater, please let us
know. If you have a contact, that’s great. If not, we can help you connect with a advertising/marketing professor or an ad club. We’ll also ship recruiting materials (SIXTYs, keynote, reels, etc.) to the school in preparation
for your arrival. Contact Katherine Keogh (kkeogh@vcu.edu) or Karen Berndt (kberndt@vcu.edu) if you are
interested. Thanks to all of the alums who have already been promoting the school with their alma maters.
Alumni Work on Brandcenter Website
We are featuring some of our best alumni work in the Alumni Showcase on the Brandcenter website. If you
have some great work that you would like us to feature on the site, please send it either via a vimeo link or
as a .mov file to Katherine Keogh at kkeogh@vcu.edu.
Rick Boyko Honored by Peers and Industry
On October 5, 2011 Rick’s friends roasted him in front of a packed room (which included lots of alums!) at The
Friar’s Club in New York City. Rick was roasted and toasted by Matt Scheckner, Paul Lavoie, Nancy Vonk, Janet
Kestin, Mike Hughes, Cabell Harris, Jerry Shereshewsky, and Jon Kamen. And, everyone got to take home
their own Rick Boyko bobblehead.
On March 27, 2012, Rick Boyko will be inducted into the AAF Advertising Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame members
are chosen for their contributions to the industry and to society. Rick joins an eminent group of 209 advertising giants including industry legends like Leo Burnett, David Ogilvy, Jay Chiat, and Hal Riney.
Real World Projects
In Kelly O’Keefe’s Brand Campaigns class, students worked on real world projects from Bing, Coke and
Lexus. All three companies came to Richmond to view the student presentations, and each were thoroughly
impressed. In addition, students independently worked on Advertising Week communications as well as several teams taking on a pro-bono assignment for Free the Slaves.
As has been tradition since 2007, Brandcenter teams again competed to create
a campaign for the AICP Show’s Call for Entries. This year’s winning team was
made up of 2nd years Marybeth Ledesma (AD), Van Gould (AD), David Satterfield (CW), Jerry Roback (CBM), Phil Hadad (CS) and Claiborne Buckingham
(CT). Click here to see the work which complements the campaign done by last
year’s student team. www.isyouradvertisingart.com
In addition, students independently worked on Advertising Week communications as well as a pro-bono assignment for Free the Slaves, an organization
working to abolish slavery worldwide.
More Student Accolades
Congrats to 2nd year Communications Strategy
student Haywood Watkins. Haywood spent his
summer interning at the BBH Barn in NYC. He
was named MAIP Intern of the Year. And he’s in
the final round of interviews for the prestigious
WPP Fellowship.
VCU unveiled a new advertising campaign. It’s a
continuation of the “Our Time. Right Now.” campaign, which they launched last year after we made
it to the Final Four. The campaign features students
with interesting backgrounds and they chose to include Elizabeth Maksim, 1st year CBM. Prior to the
Brandcenter, Elizabeth spent 4 years as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Air Force.
Tune in to Friday Forum Live!
We have had several requests over the years for
live streaming of Friday Forum so that you all
could continue to learn from and be inspired by
our weekly speakers. This January, for the first
time, we live streamed Bobby Hershfield, Creative
Director at Mother New York. You can check out the
live stream from the Brandcenter Facebook page
or from www.justin.tv/vcubrandcenter. You can
also watch the videos from Friday Forums that
have already been streamed.
This semester we’ve got some really interesting speakers lined up, including Steve Simpson, CCO of Ogilvy;
Trevor O’Brien, Executive Creative Technology Director and Bud Caddell, Invention Strategist at Deutsch LA,
Caroline McCarthy, Digital Trendspotter and Storyteller at Google, and our very own Mike Karnjanaprakorn,
Co-Founder of Skillshare. Check out the rest of the schedule on the Brandcenter website. We hope you will
tune in!
BRANDCENTER ALUMS ARE FAMOUS AUTHORS
Congrats to all of the alums who have recently published books.
Mark Svartz (CW, 2002) - I Hate You Kelly Donahue
www.amazon.com/I-Hate-You-Kelly-Donahue/dp/1440527547/
Howard Jordan (CW, 1999) - 101 Reasons to Leave New York
www.amazon.com/101-Reasons-Leave-York-ebook/dp/B004XJ4RLC/
Casey Rand (CW, 2008) and Tim Gordon (CW, 2008) - People Who Deserve It: Socially Responsible Reasons
to Punch Someone in the Face
www.amazon.com/People-Who-Deserve-Socially-Responsible/dp/B004P5OPES/
William Burks Spencer (CW, 2004) - Breaking In: Over 100 Advertising Insiders Reveal How to Build a
Portfolio That Will Get You Hired
www.amazon.com/Breaking-Advertising-Insiders-Reveal-Portfolio/dp/061541219X/
Todd Lamb (CW, 2000) with Emily Wilson - Grand and Lorimer
www.observer.com/2010/culture/book-excerpt-emily-wilson-grand-and-lorimer
And, we’re really hoping Todd turns Notes From Chris into a book one day too! web.mac.com/lambtodd/
iWeb/todd lamb /Todd Lamb Notes From Chris Gallery.html
Brad Getty (CW, 2010) – Dads are the Original Hipsters
Brad’s book based on his blog, dadsaretheoriginalhipster.tumblr.com, is due out this Spring.
Behind the Scenes
The start of the Spring semester brought us a new Front Office Manager. Matt Rise is a 2008 graduate of
VCU’s Department of Music with a concentration in Classical Guitar. For the last few years, he has been managing his own business teaching music and performing. Matt also brings strong print and web design skills
to the position. Most importantly, we are counting on him to show us his skills in this year’s Talentsaurus Rex.
Professor Peter Coughter wrote a book called The Art of the Pitch, which was recently published. In his book,
Peter presents the tools he designed to help advertising and marketing professionals develop persuasive
presentations that deliver business results. More info here: www.theartofthepitch.info and here: www.facebook.com/theartofthepitch.
Professor Scott Witthaus shot and edited a PSA for the Fan Free Clinic on World Aids Awareness Day. Dee
Briggs of Big River Advertising served as producer, director and videographer. Here is a link to the video:
www.rvaremembers.com/the-video/. The event was a huge success and was covered on the front page of the
Washington Post. Here’s a link to that article: www.rvaremembers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/WP12-211.jpg
This semester we have four adjunct professors teaching Brandcenter students. Here’s a little bit about them:
Allison Duffee is teaching Modern Media to first year Communications Strategists and Creative Brand Managers. Allison, a Brandcenter alum, works in Brand Strategy at Capital One.
Andrew LeVasseur is in his 4th year as a Creative Technology adjunct professor. This semester he is teaching Creating Gravitational Pull, and he has taught Information Architecture and Adaptive Experiences in past
semesters. Andrew is the Director of Strategy at Fahrenheit Technology.
Paul Seward is teaching Futurology this semester and User Participation Platforms in the fall to Creative Technology students. Paul works at IFC Ironworks as a Web Strategist/Creative Technologist.
Kelly Slothower is supervising research for first year Communications Strategists and has worked with Brandcenter students for the past 3 1/2 years as an adjunct professor and thesis advisor. Prior to launching and
leading strategic planning at Big River in Richmond, Kelly worked at Leo Burnett, Arnold and MARC USA.
Hotline
• If you change jobs or addresses, please remember to let us know. Please e-mail the updated information to asommardahl@vcu.edu.
• If you think your agency would like to be informed about Brandcenter interns and recruitment fairs,
please e-mail asommardahl@vcu.edu and we’ll add them to our database.
• If your agency has any real world projects for the school, please e-mail rboyko@vcu.edu or
asommardahl@vcu.edu. The students have recently worked on real world projects for The Boy
Scouts of America, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Google, Coke, Lexus, Microsoft, Audi, Venture
Richmond, Hamilton Beach and new business pitches for agencies. If you’re looking for some strategic
and creative firepower, please let us know.
• Caley Cantrell, Head of the Communications Strategy track, has been working with her Communications
Strategy students on conducting research to help agencies with new business pitches. The students
have worked on pitches for Team One and Cramer-Krasselt. If your agency could use the help of Brandcenter Communications Strategy students, please contact Caley Cantrell at cscantrell@vcu.edu.
Who? What? When?
• Jacob Abernathy (CT, 2010) is a Creative at Deutsch LA.
•Amanda Abrams (CW, 2003) is a Senior Copywriter at Red Tettemer & Partners in Philadelphia.
•Jennie Anderson (CBM, 2010) is a Strategist at Prophet in San Francisco.
•Jenn Totten Aspinwall (CW, 2006) and
her husband Michael were married
on November 5, 2011. Jenn is a Senior
Copywriter at GSD&M.
Michael & Jenn Aspinwall
•Paul Ayers (CBM, 2007) is an Innovation
and New Ventures Manager for Chobani
Yogurt.
•Emanuel Basnight (CS, 2004) is a
Planning Director at Leo Burnett/Arc
Worldwide in Chicago.
•Danielle Baukh (CBM, 2008) is Director
of Strategy and Research at The Bravo
Group in NYC.
•Luke Behrends (CW, 2007) is a Sr. Copywriter at Saatchi NY.
•Anupama Bhoopathy (CS, 2005) is an Account Supervisor at EURO RSCG Life METAMAX.
•Forrest Boleyn (CW, 2008) is a Copywriter at GOOD/Corps in LA.
•Elizabeth Brown (CS, 2003) is a Planning Director at EnergyBBDO in Chicago.
•Andrew Butler (CS, 2003) is a VP/Planning Director at Hill Holliday in Boston.
•Melissa Cabral (CS, 2010) is working out of The Martin Agency’s NYC office as an “experimental
hybrid planner.” She’s been selected to speak at the 4A’s “Transformation” conference in March.
•Katie Chapin (CS, 2010) is a Strategic Planner at George Patterson Y&R in Melbourne, Australia. This
is her 2nd rotation as a WPP Fellow. She spent her first year at Landor in NYC.
•Sarah Cobaugh (CS, 2010) is an Account Planner at McKinney. She’s been selected to speak at the
4A’s “Transformation” conference in March.
•John Cooper (CW, 2003) is an ACD at T-3 in NYC.
•Mathieu Dauner (CS, 2005) is a Sr. Planner at Leo Burnett in Sydney, Australia.
•Slate Donaldson (AD, 2008) is an Art Director at Translation in NYC.
•Jake Dubs (CW, 2009) is a Copywriter at Amalgamated in NYC.
•Sarah Duke (AD, 2006) and her husband, Billy, welcomed a daughter, Taylor Grace Duke, on
August 29, 2011.
Taylor Grace Duke
•Rachel Scott Everett (AD, 2001) and Brian Gibson (AD, 2001) recently finished their year long journey
through South America, India, Nepal, and Asia. Check out their blog here www.tangoandtuktuks.
blogspot.com
•Brian Feeney (AD, 2007) is a Sr. Art Director at The Tombras Group in Knoxville, TN.
•Raquel Gimenez (AD, 2009) runs her own photography and design business focused around love,
life and family. She launched her business in January and has already been featured on several
prominent food/entertainment blogs. Check out her site at www.raquelbianca.com.
•Joe Hagel (CW, 2010) is a Freelance Copywriter at SID LEE in Montreal.
•Michael Hagos (AD, 2011) created this Jr. Art Director Meme of the Day which was EVERYWHERE in
December. Agency Spy called it “the meme that won’t die.” It features Stephen Bardwell (AD, 2011).
Michael is a Creative at SID LEE and Stephen is an Associate Designer at AKQA SF.
•Mona Hasan (CW, 2006) is a Copywriter at CP+B in Boulder.
•Roberta Hatchett (CS, 2004) is an Advertising Manager for Brand USA/Corporation for Travel Promotion in Washington, DC.
•Holly Hessler (CW, 2009) is a Copywriter at TBWA/Chiat/Day LA.
•Jerry Hoak (AD, 2005) is an Art Director at Droga5 in NYC.
•Natalie Jackvony (CW, 2009) is a Copywriter at SapientNitro in Boston.
•Nick Kaplan (CW, 2008) is a Copywriter at Wieden + Kennedy in NYC.
•Michael Karnjanaprakorn (CS, 2006) is the co-Founder of skillshare.com, a community marketplace
to learn anything from anyone. He has also been selected as a 2012 TED Fellow, which honors top
innovators from around the world.
•Bryna Keenaghan (CS, 2006) is a Senior Strategist at Redscout in NYC.
•Dalynn Fortner Kincannon (CS, 2006) and her husband, Damien, were married on October 9, 2011.
Dalynn is a Sr. Strategic Planner at The Martin Agency.
•Shane Knight (AD, 2009) is an Art Director at Taxi NY.
•Brekan Kohlitz (CBM, 2011) is a Brand Manager at Capital One in Richmond.
•Joyce Kuan (AD, 2010) is an Art Director at Cutwater in San Francisco.
•Ryan Lee (AD, 2007) is a Sr. Art Director at BBDO NY.
•Todd Lamb (CW, 2000) is a Freelance Director/Writer for Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien, funnyoride.
com, etc. His Halloween “Notes from Chris” got tons of great press. Read these when you need a
good laugh. web.mac.com/lambtodd/iWeb/todd lamb /Todd Lamb Notes From Chris Gallery.html
•Hank Leber (CS, 2009) has left the agency world, but he hasn’t gone far. He and two coworkers from
Team One created a startup called GonnaBe – the platform for what’s going to happen. GonnaBe
was selected as one of 10 new startups to join StartEngine, an accelerator program similar to TechStars and YCombinator, located in Los Angeles. In 90 days time (January 3 - April 1) they will build
the business and pitch it to hundreds of investors on the final day of the program. Check out GonnaBe at www.gonnabeapp.com and sign up for the private beta, which should be out any day now.
Hank would love some feedback from Adcenter and Brandcenter brains to help make the company
better. And do him a favor: tell the world!
•Patrick Lorentz (CS, 2008) is a Sr. Planner with The Shelton Group in Knoxville, TN. The agency focuses
on promoting environmental sustainability through brand communications.
•Lauren McGehee (CS, 2006) is a Senior Strategist at Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners in Sausalito.
•Kristen Meloche (AD, 2006) is a Sr. Art Director at Dentsu in NYC.
•Matt Mullen (CS, 2007) is a Strategic Planner at Ogilvy Chicago.
•Mike Nichols (CW, 2010) is a Copywriter at SapientNitro in Chicago.
•Diana Tung Ojibway (AD, 2002) and her husband, Danny,
welcomed a son, Nolan Ojibway on October 24, 2011. He
joins older brother, Manning.
Manning & Nolan Ojibway
•Audyn O’Rourke (CBM, 2009) is a Sr. Brand Associate at
Capital One in Richmond.
•Jennifer Palacios (CS, 2007) is a Brand Marketing Executive at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in LA.
•Jay Pattisall (CS, 1999) is Director of Strategy at Anthem
Worldwide.
•Ed Reilly (CS, 2006) is Qualitative Research Director at
Marketing Roundtables in Minneapolis.
•Lee Remias (CW, 2002) is a Creative Director at
McGarryBowen in Chicago.
•Jim Robbins (CW, 2007) is a Creative at BBH NY.
•Thanks to Jon Rosen (AD, 1999) for speaking at Friday
Forum this past Fall. The students loved hearing about
how he started his own company, Lucky Branded
Entertainment, in NYC.
•Kevin Rothermel (CS, 2006) and a colleague at The Martin Agency launched The Five Dollar Friendship Stimulus where they gave away $500 in $5 increments. In order to get $5, all you had to do was
send them a postcard with your idea for how you’d spend $5 for a friend. One person bought a piece
of birthday cake for a friend. Another printed 5 copies of Ryan Gosling for 5 of her girlfriends. Check
out the project here. www.fivedollarstimulus.com
•Meagan Sackett (CBM, 2009) is an Account Executive at Dentsu NY.
•Thomas Scaglione (CW, 2009) is a Copywriter at Taxi NY.
•Ashley Miles Shoval (CS, 1999) is a professor in the undergraduate program at VCU. She joins Will
Sims (CW, 1998) and Bridget Camden (AD, 1999) who are also professors.
•Sharon Showalter (CT, 2010) is a UX Designer at Ogilvy New York.
•Courtney Bowling Spencer (CS, 2007) and her husband, Jonathan, welcomed a baby girl, Connally
Gayle on October 11, 2011. Connally’s birth announcement was featured in the New York Times.
Courtney runs her own wedding/event planning business – www.merrimentevents.com.
•Brian Swann (CBM, 2010) and his wife, Emma, were married on October 22, 2011. Brian is a Marketing
Research Manager at Time, Inc. in NYC.
•Sean Staley (CS, 2008) is a Strategist at Venables Bell & Partners in San Francisco.
•Brian Thibodeau (AD, 2008) is an Integrated Art Director at Ogilvy Chicago. Check out this push pin
portrait he created of David Ogilvy. www.adsoftheworld.com/media/online/ogilvy_chicago_david_
ogilvy_push_pin_portrait
•Mary Toves (CT, 2011) is a Creative Technologist at Deutsch LA.
•Tristana Trani (CS, 2000) is a Marketing Specialist at VCU.
•Tricia Warren (AD, 1999) is a Sr. Art Director at Target in Minneapolis.
•Ross Weythman (CW, 2007) is a Sr. Copywriter at BBDO NY.
• Meranne Whitney (CS, 2007) is a Strategist at Taxi NY.
•Jeremy D. Williams (CT, 2011) is a Creative Strategist at
Berlin Cameron in NYC.
Phineas Patrick Yetman
•James Wood (CW, 2009) is a Copywriter at Y&R Chicago.
•Ashley Arrasmith Yetman (CS, 2004) and her husband, Lyle,
(CW, 2004) welcomed a son, Phineas Patrick Yetman, on
11.11.11.
•Check out this cute pic of our alums from The Barbarian
Group’s Christmas Party. From left to right: Megan Clifton (former Front Office Manager), Jeremy Paredes (CBM,
2011), Diandra Mintz (CS, 2011), Melissa Cabral (CS, 2010),
Felix Yip (CS, 2006), Rick Webb (Board member), Erica
Pressly (CW, 2009), Nick Kaplan (CW, 2008) and Kyla Wagman (CBM, 2011).
VCU Brandcenter is the graduate program in advertising at the School of Mass Communications, Virginia Commonwealth University.