Lenox and Pachence enjoy a very successful partnership, having worked on a variety of high-profile accounts including recruitment and retention programs for Goldman Sachs and Newsweek as well as traditional print, TV and direct mail  programs for clients such as 1800 Tequila and Three Olives Vodka. One of their best-known campaigns was a digital and social media project for Zappos.com that involved “the world’s fastest nudist” in an integrated, buzz-building campaign.

It is obvious from their portfolio of fresh, funny and edgy campaigns that they will offer RTCRM strong creative expertise. “Chris and I started working together in 1998. We were kind of an odd couple at first, me being the loudmouth and Chris being more reserved. Over the years I think we’ve taken on more of each other’s personalities. Chris has become much more outspoken and I’ve learned to be more patient and listen,” says Pachence.

Chris Lenox joins RTCRM from Agent 16, where he served as Creative Director for nine years. Before Agent 16, he was   Group Creative Director at Mezzina/Brown & Partners for five years. He is a graduate of SUNY New Paltz in New York, where he earned a BFA in Advertising and Graphic Design.

Dave Pachence also brings experience from Agent 16, where, like Lenox, he was a Creative Director for nine years. Previous to his tenure at Agent 16 he held the position of Senior Copywriter at Mezzina/Brown & Partners for eight years. Pachence earned a BA in Advertising from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

“We’re thrilled to have Lenox and Pachence join RTCRM.” Said Tom O’Connell, SVP/Managing Director of RTCRM’s New York office: “They bring a high level of enthusiasm and a deep commitment to marketing ideas that transcend channels. We look forward to working together helping clients achieve greater impact from their marketing programs.”

RTCRM Perspectives January 2011

RTCRM Perspectives February 2011

RTCRM Perspectives March 2011

RTCRM Perspectives April 2011

RTCRM Perspectives May 2011

RTCRM Perspectives June 2011

RTCRM Perspectives July 2011

RTCRM Perspectives August 2011

RTCRM Perspectives September 2011

RTCRM Perspectives October2011

RTCRM Perspectives November 2011

RTCRM Perspectives December 2011

It’s Pottery Barn Kid’s Halloween costume application, an app designed to help you envision your child (or unsuspecting co-worker) in one of their many cute Halloween costumes. Simply snap a picture of your child using your phone, upload and bingo – you can scroll through each costume overlaid on your child’s photo and get a sense of how they will appear wearing it. You can e-mail it to a friend, share it to Facebook and then hit the shopping cart when you have made the decision.

What I love about this app…

I tested this out at first on very tolerant coworkers. I snapped a test picture of my boss, and found it so shockingly easy to use I continued to capture almost every person on my team. And then I finally got my two-year-old child. After two days of toying with this I ventured out to Pottery Barn kids nearby with my little one in tow to purchase my selected costume.

As I embarked on the customer journey, a few of the key consumer insights came to mind that made this app make strategic business sense:

1. Pottery Barn Kids (at least this location) does not have fitting rooms. Therefore, having your child “try-on” a costume really isn’t easy (unless you insist and put them in it in the middle of the store as I did)
2. Many people do not even bother to try costumes on small children. How many costumes can you get an infant or toddler to try on anyway? I was able to get by 2 year-old into one of the two finalists, and even that received protest
3. While shopping for a seasonal costume, my child of course found many a toy in the store he would like to have… great timing with the holidays around the corner

Area of improvement (Suggestions for next year):

• Make it possible to upload an existing photo (currently you have to take a new one) — this would help make this app useful for the shopper who doesn’t have their child with them or a friend or family member
• Some of the costumes were only available online – while the app may help to encourage the decision to purchase a $50 costume for a young child online, it backfires when those super cute costumes are not even available to see in-store for those of us who want immediate gratification (and I really wanted that sold-out dinosaur…)

These two suggestions are minor enhancements to an already great app — the online comments are also very positive). You can find it here:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pottery-barn-kids-costume/id387049651?mt=8

There are many apps that are entertaining. There are apps that are informative. There are apps that can help generate buzz. It’s exceptional to see an app that does all this as an effective marketing tool and that can affect sales. Now I bet there’s an ROI for that.

RTCRM Perspectives October 2010

So in September of 2009, we tackled the biggest coffee waste producer: our use of disposable paper/plastic cups. Although switching to reusable mugs required some adjustments, we’re now in full “have your own mug and wash it out” mode.

Next up on our coffee clean up was the waste caused by the individual Flavia coffee packets. And in March 2010, the Green Team (our internal recycling task force) found our solution in Terracycle. During the first 6 months of this recycling program partnership, RTCRM has recycled over 2,000 Flavia coffee packets and Terracycle has turned them  into tote bags and garden pavers.

Now 2,000 may not seem like a lot for a 100 person office over 6 months, and I’d have to agree with you. What was holding us back was that we would fill up our TerraCycle boxes before we has even received replacements. We’d then have to wait until the new boxes arrived. However, TerraCycle has recently changed their shipping process and now RTCRM can send all of our packets back in non-Terracycle boxes. Woot!

With only 4 months left in 2010, I’m challenging the RTCRM to blow the 2,000+ packets in 6 months statistic out of water. Coffee mugs up!

Utilizing our creative talent, we worked to improve the center’s gym by painting four murals of athletes in action on the walls. RTCRM employees demonstrated an even deeper commitment to this project by donating their Kudos Award money (an internal monetary award given to employees for going above and beyond their normal responsibilities) to provide lunch for all of the volunteers that day. RTCRM generously matched all employee-donated funds.

Participation in Hands on DC was coordinated by RTCRM’s Emily Reagan and Deb Yurow. Emily, as a site coordinator, was in charge of organizing volunteer efforts for the DC Youth Services Center location. Deb flexed her Project Management muscles by acting as the site registrar. Emily joined Hands on DC three years ago after looking for a positive use for her free time, and has been a dedicated volunteer ever since, taking on leadership roles within the organization.

“A great group of people is involved in Hands on DC,” says Emily. “They are hard working and dedicated and have been doing it for years. They clearly love it and have a lot of passion for what they do.” This was RTCRM’s second year of participation in the Work-a-Thon, and the agency plans to participate in future volunteer efforts with Hands on DC.
Hands on DC is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that organizes projects to improve Washington, DC, public schools. Its largest event is the spring Work-a-Thon, which hosts over 2,000 volunteers in over 30 DC public schools. Hands on DC also raises funds to support local college scholarship programs and encourage greater community involvement in the public schools. Find out more about Hands on DC.

RTCRM Volunteers Gather in Front of a Finished Mural

More photos of the event.

Terracycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials, like the Flavia coffee packets. Their hope is to eliminate the idea of waste by finding innovative, unique uses for materials others deem garbage.

Terracycle, in association with Flavia, sent RTCRM two large, green and white recycling bins, in which we can deposit our Flavia package waste. When the bins are full, we simply send them off to Terracycle, where the packets will be used to make new products and prevent tons of waste from going to landfills.

So what really happened? What concerned industry most? Did FDA give away any of their plans? Registration closed quickly…and many who wanted to attend were turned away. Even those who were able attend will want to hear other expert interpretations of the discussions. On Thursday, November 19, beginning at 1:00 p.m., join FOI Services, Inc., Attorney Arnie Friede, and RTCRM’s Healthcare social media expert Carlen Lea lesser for a 90-minute teleconference.

You’ll hear expert analysis of what was surprising, what was left out, and what the major issues are going to be in the months and years to come.

To register online, or for details on additional upcoming teleconferences, go to www.foiservices.com/tc. You may also call 1-800-654-1147 (outside the US and Canada call +1-301-975-9400) to register by phone.

Today’s costume celebrations culminate with a Costume Contest.  Winner gets a 4GB iPod.  Woot!

Pictures to follow.