“Boelter + Lincoln is a great fit for us,” said Dennis Kepchar, Ministry Health Care’s vice president for marketing, public relations, and communications. “They have extensive experience marketing to our demographic targets and in our key markets and the creative approach they proposed was very much in sync with our patient-oriented positioning.”

Boelter + Lincoln will assist Ministry in a variety of communications disciplines, including advertising, public relations and social media. Consumers in central and northern Wisconsin will start to see the new print, broadcast and online advertisements in May.

Ministry Health Care is a mission-driven, integrated health care system of clinics and hospitals, primary and specialty care physicians, home care and related services across Wisconsin and into Minnesota. As a Catholic organization, its mission is to use its core values of presence, service, vision and justice to create a patient-centered experience. Additional information on Ministry Health Care can be found at http://ministryhealth.org.

Boelter + Lincoln is a full-service marketing communications firm with more than 30 years of award-winning experience.

“We’re very excited to work with Mueller Sports Medicine,” said Boelter + Lincoln President Jill Brzeski. “They are an industry leader with international distribution, great new products in the pipeline and a tremendous potential for growth.”

Founded in 1961 by Curt Mueller, Mueller Sports Medicine, Inc. is a family-owned and operated international sports medicine company offering a complete line of patented braces, supports, and tapes and taping supplies. The company continues to introduce new and innovative products around the world. Mueller Sports Medicine’s product lines include Quench®gum, SportCare® retail products, Mueller Green supports and braces and H1N1-fighting Whizzer® cleaner and disinfectant.

Boelter + Lincoln is a full-service marketing communications firm with more than 30 years of award-winning experience in the industry.

I work in advertising, and with the annual buzz about the Super Bowl, you’d think my main topic of conversation would have been Super Bowl advertisements. Instead I found myself thinking, as I do every year ‘round the Super Bowl, that Vince Lombardi was a back-stabbing traitor. Many of my friends have pointed out, rightly so, that when a man leaves his long-time team, he is to be immediately and permanently ostracized. Vince Lombardi was a shining example of this.

Now hold on Packers fans, I know what you are going to say, “Lombardi took a previously dismal Packers team and brought them years of success and glory and BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.” The simple fact of the matter is that Vince Lombardi decided to retire and … wait for it… come back to join a different NFL team! Do you believe this guy??!! Look, buddy, retirement means RETIREMENT. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in my mind: Legacy ruined. Way to go, Vince, you could have been a Packers legend respected by football fans the world over, but you had to disgrace your legacy by joining another organization. No wonder the name Lombardi is now synonymous with indecision and selfishness.

Now you’re probably thinking, “Come on, Garth. Packers fans are bigger than that. Time heals all wounds and eventually history will remember Vince Lombardi for his love of the game, passion for winning, and dedicated service to the Packers.” That’s all well and good, but look what happens when a guy like Reggie White (remember this joker?) retires and later comes back to play for the Carolina Panthers. Ouch! You can’t speak the name Reggie White within 50 miles of Green Bay without getting a cold, dirty stare. Serves you right, traitor.

Look, history repeats itself, Vince, and you should have learned your lesson from another legacy-destroying Judas: a guy by the name of Curly Lambeau. This guy firmly cemented his place in Packers infamy when he unceremoniously left Green Bay after a long and ugly dispute with the Packers front office. After taking off in a huff, the guy had the gall go on and coach TWO different NFL teams. Harsh! Now granted, Lambeau did refuse to ever return to Green Bay and wished to be permanently dissociated with the Packers, so it’s no surprise that his name is roughly equivalent to that of Beelzebub around these parts, but his shattered rep should have taught you something, Vince. Packers fans don’t forgive turncoats. Period.

So say what you want about Lombardi, I think history has already spoken. They don’t make statues for traitors, streets don’t get named after deserters, and stadiums don’t bear the names of those who betray their city. It’s too bad Lombardi never got the chance to bring the Redskins to Green Bay to get the resounding chorus of boos he deserved. If I were around back then, I’d be in the front row with my new t-shirt, reading, “We’ll never forget you, Vance.”

While there’s been a ton of debate about Royal Caribbean’s cruise ships resuming visits to Haiti, a bigger Haiti-related PR blunder might just have been made by the Glad brand of garbage bags. Two nights ago, while watching a network newscast filled with reports from the earthquake-ravaged island, I caught a spot for Glad’s ForceFlex garbage bags. The ad, which centers around two kids doing an Olympic-style judging of garbage bags, includes two shots of their parents throwing away totally uneaten plates of meatloaf and vegetables.

Perhaps in a different viewing environment, the spot would come off as cute, but viewed immediately after news footage of Haitians starving and fighting over food drops, it seemed shockingly crass. Even more amazingly, when I flipped the channel, the spot was running almost simultaneously on a different network newscast.

Given today’s harsh realities of rampant unemployment and near-empty food pantries, this creative concept seems questionable enough…but to be running a “roadblock” media buy during newscasts dominated by scenes of starvation? C’mon! How much more tone-deaf could Glad be? Sure, the Haiti crisis may have boosted news ratings that day, but shouldn’t the buyers have taken a little more nuanced view?

Admittedly, I’m a cheapskate who routinely eats leftovers. But I’m willing to bet I wasn’t the only one grossed out by that ad…and contemplating a possible switch from Glad to a less expensive brand of garbage bag. After all, the money saved could be used to send some meatloaf to Haiti.

“B+L counsels its clients on social media best practices,” said B+L president Jill Brzeski. “We recognize the value social media can bring to marketing efforts and are pleased to bring a renowned social media leader to Milwaukee.”

Chris Brogan is a ten-year-veteran of using social media, Web and mobile technologies to build digital relationships for businesses, organizations and individuals. His blog, chrisbrogan.com, is in the top ten of the Advertising Age Power150 and in the top 100 on Technorati. Most recently he has co-authored the book, Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation and Earn Trust, that describes how to tap the power of social software and networks to build your business. The book has been listed as a best-seller by Amazon, New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

Later in the day, B+L, in partnership with River Run Computers, Inc., will host a private event with Brogan. It will include a discussion on the practical business applications of social media and a book signing.

Tweet Up attendees will be treated to a continental breakfast as well as social media discussions with Brogan and B+L social media enthusiasts.

For more information on the Tweet Up, please visit http://twtvite.com/o249d9.

By nature or by force, Shannon has developed wizard-like skills in the art of multi-tasking. She is a cook, a hiker and an avid reader. She is also the mother of two small children, making multi-tasking a mandatory if she is to enjoy any of the previously mentioned hobbies.

Did you know?

Shannon is currently 1-0 lifetime in fist-fights.
(She offers no further details on the subject)

In addition to developing the BOLT name and logo, Boelter + Lincoln will use social media, direct mail and media relations tactics to launch the products, which debut at the 2009 Specialty Equipment Marketing Association trade show in Las Vegas Nov. 3-6.

“After talking with other companies it was clear that Boelter + Lincoln best fit our needs,” said STRATTEC Security Director of New Market Development, Mike Long. “Their ability to provide our entire PR, advertising and social media needs was a key factor in our decision making process.”

STRATTEC Security Corp. is the world’s largest manufacturer of automotive locks and keys, and supplies ignition locks and keys to all three U.S. automakers. The BOLT locks will be its first consumer product. For more information please visit http://www.strattec.com/.

Boelter + Lincoln is a full-service marketing communications firm with more than 30 years of award-winning experience in the industry. The Milwaukee agency has annual capitalized billings of more than $28 million.

Job Overview
We have an opportunity in our interactive department for a creative, problem solving interactive intern. Candidate must have the ability to work on multiple projects and quickly learn new concepts and procedures. The position requires the candidate’s ability to work 25-30 hours a week. Length of internship is negotiable.

Job Description
The interactive intern will work on a variety of projects and assist in the following areas:

Creation of banner ads and rich media ads
Updating of websites (adding new content, creation of pages, etc.)
Creating HTML emails

Job Qualifications
Minimum of a senior standing, with the following skills: XHTML/HTML, CSS, Adobe Flash, Actionscript 2.0/3.0. Adobe Creative Suite, (Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop). Knowledge of Adobe After Effects and experience using Wordpress or other PHP drive CMS, is a plus. A willingness to learn, reliable and self-motivated.

Compensation & Benefits
This is a paid internship.

How To Apply
Please e-mail your resume and cover letter to: dagacki@boelterlincoln.com. The subject line should read “Interactive Internship”

“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated”
– Mark Twain

Like Mark Twain, direct mail may have been written off a bit prematurely. In fact, given the growing pervasiveness of spam filters, direct mail is probably poised for a comeback. At the very least, it offers marketers a nice complement to e-mail direct marketing. In the right circumstances, it can yield spectacular results – as one of our clients experienced recently.

Several months ago, automotive lock manufacturer Strattec hired Boelter + Lincoln to help launch its new BOLT series of locks at the world’s largest automotive aftermarket trade show. In developing a plan with them, we quickly agreed that the primary goals of this effort were to drive potential retailers to the Strattec booth at the show and get product samples into their hands. Considering there were nearly 2,000 exhibitors sprawled through three huge halls at the show, this would be no mean feat.

Rather than reaching out to convention attendees via trade pub advertising or e-mail, we chose direct mail, for several reasons. First, we felt a three-dimensional direct mailer would convey the concept of the product (a lock that opens with the owner’s car/truck key) better than a two-dimensional e-mail. Secondly, we wanted to get something tangible into their hands to drive booth visits – in this case a “credit card” that offered a free sample lock. Third, we were able to purchase a very, highly qualified list of show attendees. Finally, we knew that direct mailers typically have far greater deliverability rates than mass e-mails do.

The results? Of the 1,400 show attendees we sent the mailer to, nearly 350 brought their card to the booth or went online to get the sample lock. That’s a 25 percent response rate, or nearly 10 times what’s typically considered successful. Better yet – to quote Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum – nothing draws a crowd like a crowd. The constant booth traffic generated by the mailer attracted other show attendees, and the overall leads generated at the show exceeded the client’s admittedly optimistic goal of 500 by more than 10 percent.

So when are the circumstances ripe for direct mail, versus e-mail? Here are a few general tips:

• Use direct mail when you need to tell a story about your
product or service.
Use e-mail if the message can be kept very short. (People typically have less patience with direct marketing e-mails than regular mailers.)

• Use direct mail for a smaller, more qualified list.
Use e-mail for a larger, less qualified list. (Perhaps the biggest strike against direct mail is its cost, so if you’re not so sure about the quality of your list, don’t go there. In this case we were able to qualify that recipients were not only show attendees but were also in purchasing-related positions.)

• Use direct mail if you want to put something in the recipient’s hands.
Sure you can e-mail coupons or certificates, but we knew that something more tangible – in this case, a pseudo credit card – was more likely to be put into a wallet and kept than a print out.

• Use direct mail if you have enough lead time.
Use e-mail if lead time is short. In Strattec’s case, we delivered the printed mailing pieces (about the size of a small paperback book) to the mail house just under a month prior to the show and the mailing went out two weeks prior.

• Use direct mail with an older, less techy audience.
Since more retirement age Americans are online than ever before, this argument is definitely losing some credence. But it still holds true in most cases.

We know that “social media” continues to be hot topic. There are hundreds of seminars and conferences dedicated to the subject. There are also hundreds of books detailing the need for businesses to understand how social media can (or more importantly will) impact them now and in the future.

If you read only one book on the subject, we highly recommend “Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust” by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. Amazon.com recommends it, too. In fact, Trust Agents has been recently named to its “Best Books of 2009 – Top 10 Books: Business & Investing” list.

As you start reading this book, you will realize that Trust Agents isn’t written just for business owners. Anyone who has a role in marketing will discover information that is relevant to them. There are detailed “ACTION” steps in the book that will help you to establish your reputation, to build and share influence, and ultimately, to enhance your bottom line. And that’s what we all want, right?

If you have a blog, Facebook profile or Twitter account, you may be on your way to becoming a trust agent. Why not pick up a few extra tips along the way?

We’d love to hear your thoughts on Trust Agents. You can Follow us on Twitter or become a Fan on Facebook.