Come out and mingle with the hippest advertising and media pros in town. Please join AAF Charlotte and Ad2 for the next Ad2sday! This is a free happy hour/social event with drink specials and food. Everyone is welcome – be sure to RSVP!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009
6:00 – 9:00pm
Tyber Creek Pub
1933 South Boulevard
Charlotte, NC (Map)

Thomas Krotkiewski walks us through some of the useful and cutting edge features of the new McKinney site. We start with a brief introduction of how to use the dialogue box, followed by a demo of how the site can print page content. Then Thomas shows us how the site can be viewed on multiple browsers (including mobile), and how the site’s content, even though it’s flash based,  can be indexed by Google. From here Thomas takes us on a tour of some of the really cool features of the site; like the cloud view, the conversation engine and the semantic aspects of the site.  

The first episode of the AD2 Charlotte Podcast is now up. (You can download it from the site  straight into I-tunes and take it with you). In this episode, I’m speaking  with Thomas Krotkiewski, of Othersource, the company that developed the new McKinney website. This site is being heralded as one of the first Web 3.0 sites because you can actually interact with it, ask it questions, etc. The site was unveiled in February and was ranked among Creativity’s Top Ten for that week. This podcast is pure audio, the interview was conducted via Skype due to the fact that Thomas was in Boston when we spoke. You gotta love the freedom and flexibility of new media. It’s a beautiful thing.  There will be a short video showcasing some of the new features of the  McKinney site coming out later this week. And look for future Ad2 Podcasts to be much more video based.

A lil' Screen Shot of the McKinney Site

Wednesday 2/18/09 was a cold, rainy and all around nasty day.  But still there were hundreds of people camped out, in the freezing rain for the Grand Opening of Ikea.  Below is a quick video of Ikea’s big day here in Charlotte.

I got there at 5:30 am, and there were already lines of people waiting to be the first to shop. People were huddled under tarps, camping out in tents, and just waiting in line. The network news stations were there with their crews and remote vans.  I’m probably not the target market for Ikea, but is their furniture really that great?  I’d never been to an Ikea before, so I went inside, and even grabbed a bite to eat (Swedish Meatballs and lingon berry sauce).  I was impressed by the layout of Ikea, as well as its overall aesthetic and the energy of the day, but I’m still not sure why it was such a big deal.  Did anyone else go to the Ikea Grand Opening?  They gave away a free chair to the first 100 shoppers, did Ikea run any other Grand Opening promotions to drive traffic through their store on the first day?  How much of this is just hype about having something new, and how much do you think is actual excitement about Ikea products?  What can we learn from Ikea, their Grand Opening (Bands, DJ’s, News Crews, opening ceremony), the promotions they ran to bring people out en masse, and the whole “shopping as an experience “vibe they have going on?   (Similar to the Apple Store in that respect.)  Feel free to answer these questions, leave comments and add some questions of your own.

2009 ADDY® Awards and Gala Show

They’ve all been to see Doc ADDY — those creative types consumed by a deep desire to win an ADDY. And as they laid upon Doc ADDY’s couch, their lust for ADDY was quickly revealed. They’ve been judged, the diagnosis has been made and doctor/patient confidentiality will soon be broken. Join us and you’ll see whose secret desire for an ADDY shall come true.

SAVE THE DATE!

2009 ADDY® Awards and Gala Show
Thursday March 5th, 2009, 7PM – 11PM

CenterStage@NoDa (map)
2315 North Davidson St.

Dress is black tie optional.

TICKETS NOW ON SALE!

Tickets are $70 each and include entry to event and heavy hors d’oeuvres. Cash bar is available – Visa, Mastercard and AMEX accepted.

Tables of 10 are available. Please contact Christine Day to secure your reserved table for premium event seating.

NO TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR.

Last Day To Buy Tickets is Thursday, 2/26

2009 Ticket Order Form

2009 ADDY® Awards Forwarding Requests

If you won a Silver ADDY Award in the Charlotte ADDY competition, you’re eligible to compete in the District ADDY Awards (NC, SC, VA). Entry fee is $100 per entry. Please download the 2009 ADDY® Awards Request to Forward Entry (PDF) and return with payment by March 9th.

2009 ADDY® Awards Re-Orders

If you want to order additional awards, please download the 2009 ADDY® Awards Re-Order Form and return with payment by March 19th.

A Happy Hour for Happy People

Tyber Creek was a hit last time, so we decided to rock out there once more. Come out and mingle with the hippest advertising and media pros in town.

Event is free, be there at 6:30pm

Watch the the video of Steve Luquire speaking at our Ad2 event at LGA.

Steve gave some great advice to young advertising and media professionals entering the industry. It was a great crowd. Big thanks to LGA and Steve Luquire for hosting us. A higher quality video will be posted on the site in the future. In the meantime, follow the link above for the Ustream recording.

Check out Jason Hausman’s presentation from the “I’m Kind of a Big Deal” speaker series. Jason is a kick ass audio engineer and owner of Hot Sake.

Steve Luquire – CEO/Partner
He’s been called the “go to guy” for local business leaders such as, Johnny Harris and Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, and he’s been an influential leader in the Charlotte advertising and public relations market for over 25 years.

Steve Luquire, CEO and founding partner of Luquire George Andrews, has made a name for his company throughout the region as being a top agency for integrated communications. Join us for this event, as Steve offers us insight into the exciting and ever-changing world of advertising, public relations and new media.

Steve co-founded LGA in 1984, building the business from a three-man shop to Charlotte’s leading advertising, marketing and public relations agency. He maintains involvement in virtually every aspect of the agency’s services, including branding, strategy, public relations and new business initiatives.

Join us as we continue our “I’m kind of a big deal” speaker series!

When
Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009 – 6:30 p.m.

Cost
Ad2 Members = Free
Non-Ad2 Members = $5

RSVP
Send the name and email for each person attending to info@ad2charlotte.com

Where
Luquire George Andrews
4201 Congress St.
Suite 400
Charlotte, N.C. 28209 (Map It!)

Tuesday, November 11th

Never Stop Believing…
featuring Jennifer Appleby, President of Wray Ward
6:30PM at Wray Ward

Please mark your calendars for our next great speaker. Join us Nov. 11th, as Jennifer Appleby speaks about her journey from Senior Art Director to President of Wray Ward, one of Charlotte’s leading advertising agencies. Learn how she made her way to the top, is now paying it forward and giving back to the community that she believes in…

Non Ad2 Members: $5
Ad2 Members: Free

RSVP by emailing info@ad2charlotte.com.

Flier for the event: