Big night in the Big Apple

Travel to New York City always holds the promise to deliver a host of different sights, sounds, smells and unique memories burned to your mental hard drive. My recent visit on behalf of Bader Rutter did not disappoint.

The purpose for my overnight trek was to attend the Business Marketing Association of New York City’s ACE Awards ceremony at the legendary Edison Ballroom near Times Square. After picking up Best of Show in our local BMA program, as well as multiple first-place Bell Awards, we thought we would “take our act to Broadway,” so to speak, and enter our clients’ work in the prestigious ACE program. Our work was going up against some of the country’s largest B2B agencies, as well as such prominent national brands as IBM, American Express, GE and Google.

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Job seekers: 7 tips for getting noticed

With Bader Rutter’s recent appearance in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the growing need for digital savvy workers, you might be wondering how you — a job-seeker — can make yourself more visible in this growing field. Since I’m a BR recruiter, I’d like to share my tips for getting noticed in the right ways.

1. Remember that thing called networking?
Yes, I know it gets old hearing about it, but it’s true. Since Jan. 1 of this year, more than 50 percent of our new hires have been employee referrals. It’s time to reconnect with people via LinkedIn, Twitter and even Facebook. You just never know whose friend, sister or brother can make the connection.

2. Google yourself
Make sure potential employers are seeing you in a positive light. After all, not everyone is as fortunate as Brangelina to have a publicity team, so make sure your brand makes the right statement about you.

 3. Show off your work (for free!)
Review your Linkedin profile and make sure it has the most up-to-date information. Whether in digital or creative, there is no better way to promote your brand (for free) than by attaching your portfolio or SlideShare account to your public LinkedIn profile. Recruiters not only look for experience but also what you are capable of doing on the job. Showcasing your work can be the extra piece of the puzzle that gets you in the door.

4. Don’t hesitate to make a good first impression
When inquiring about positions, it may feel uncomfortable reaching out to someone you don’t know via email or LinkedIn, but this kind of outreach can really pay off. Just remember, this is your first impression, and it counts, regardless of what the attached resume reflects. Craft your email as carefully as you’d write a cover letter. This email should include a high-level overview of your experience and express your personality. Give the recruiter a sense of who you are. Plus, don’t forget about the subject line. Be concise but creative. You want to get attention.

5. Do your research
Here at Bader Rutter, we have a very small recruitment team; don’t hesitate to pull up Google and find out who we are. “Dear Sir or Madam” just doesn’t cut it anymore with the vast amount of information at your fingertips.

6. Share your personal brand
If your outreach does lead to an interview, be prepared to talk about your personal brand. In the social-media-obsessed world we live in, your personal brand is everywhere. The strategy you have for building awareness about your personal brand says a lot about what you likely understand about building awareness for our clients’ brands.

7. Look the part
Dress to impress. Even if you’re interviewing at an agency where jeans are acceptable work attire, you want to dress professionally for your interview. No one says you have to wear a three-piece suit, but putting on the right outfit will prove that you’re serious about the position and the work that you do. 

These are a few suggestions for getting noticed, especially in an area of marketing that’s rapidly growing and changing. Refresh your presence and see where it takes you. Good luck!

Digital-savvy workers are in demand

If you visited JSOnline this weekend or flipped through the Sunday Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, you may have noticed the article “Digital-savvy workers are in demand,” which features commentary from our associates, such as John Komp, a new digital producer; Megan Rouleau, our recruitment director; and Greg Nickerson, our CEO. We’re so thrilled to have been given the opportunity to participate and offer our insight about the need for employees with digital experience.

If you’ve read through our career opportunities recently, you’d agree — Bader Rutter is looking for employees who have a digital understanding and can contribute to conversations about new media. And in the Journal Sentinel article, John sums up the reason why: “Digital is just becoming so pervasive across all communication channels.”

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Join us at the Humana Wellness Summit

Did you know BR employees can take a yoga class over the lunch hour? And that we can have a health assessment to help predict or identify any health concerns? This is just the beginning of the BR wellness program — an employee-driven program that offer resources, tools and activities to improve our health and well-being. And on March 29, you can learn how your company can create an effective wellness program, too.

Having a wellness program isn’t just about the perks for the employees. It’s about creating a happy, healthy, productive workforce and taking the steps to deal with ever-rising healthcare costs.

Take the Health Care Service Corporation’s Fitness Program as an example: 5,000 individuals participated in their fitness program in 2010. And you know what? The medical claims of the fitness program participants decreased by $1.02 million from 2009 to 2010! Crazy, right? Here’s another thought-provoking fact: Obesity and chronic illness costs more than $153 billion in productivity each year. Ouch.

Wellness programs are a great way to help curb these costs, and Bader Rutter has been able to create a successful wellness program without breaking the bank. And at the end of the of the month, we’ll be spilling our wellness program secrets.

Join us on March 29 for the BizTimes Humana Wellness Summit. Our VP and group leader Linda Hogan will be a panelist and has all the details about dealing with budget challenges and developing a wellness program that employees get excited about. For more information or to reserve your spot, go to http://www.biztimes.com/section/WellnessSummit. See you there!

A renovation for collaboration

Our philosophy at BR is simple: We thrive because of our people and our ideas. And we’ll be the first to admit that thinking creatively while sitting at a closed-off desk is like trying to breathe fresh air in a stuffy airplane cabin. Having surpassed the 200-employee mark, we decided to enhance our space and recently remodeled our creative wing.

We renovated to juice collaboration, brainstorming and inventive approaches to getting work done. We wanted art directors and copywriters swapping ideas while sharing the latest blends at our new coffee bar or hammering out a great new concept while kicking back in the new lounge. Put simply, we wanted our creative teams to communicate more easily and quickly than their previous workstations allowed.

Now our teams embrace the kind of closeness that allows neighbors to toss around fresh ideas as easily as spare sticky notes. And since digital is ubiquitous here, our creative and

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Ice sculptures and blue martinis

Bader Rutter has seen some amazing growth over the past year. Even though you will find new people working in every nook and cranny of our Brookfield office, you don’t really realize how much we’ve grown until you see the whole group in one open space.

BRers and their guests filled the rooms at Coast Restaurant to capacity this past weekend for the 2012 New Year Party. It was amazing to see everyone dressed up and having a wonderful time. Through a spectacular ice sculpture, bartenders poured specialty blue martinis, new associates danced around with maracas and a video honoring employees who’ve been with us for many years had the entire crowd in stitches. It was truly a special and elegant evening.

Want to relive our fun? Click over to our Facebook page to view some of the party photos.

No, but/Yes, and

Seth Goden strikes again. Take a look at this recent blog post, titled “No.”

He doesn’t take a position in this post. But it’s certainly thought-provoking, which was his point, I’m sure. It’s easy to see the allure of saying “no” and standing firm. If you say “yes,” you might lower the bar and have to perform limbolike acrobatics to achieve your

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BR takes celebrating the holiday to a new level — the garage!

Last week, I attended my very first (of hopefully many) holiday party at Bader Rutter. During the weeks leading up to this long-awaited event, stories of parties-past swirled throughout the halls and offices. Needless to say, the anticipation was killing me.

If the holiday decorations were any indication of the fun ahead, I was in for the night of my life.

Click this photo to see the decorations photo album on Facebook.

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Please vote!

Please go to facebook.com/partnersforhumanity and vote for the Urban Ecology Center. If the ad we created for them has the most votes by Dec. 6, the Urban Ecology Center will receive a $500 donation.

Partners for Humanity is an annual program that’s centered on giving back to the community. Advertising agencies in Milwaukee — like us! — create pro-bono ad

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BBN comes to Chicago

How do you effectively integrate brand asset management, creative and technology-enabled channel strategy… and play it out on a global scale?

That was just one item on the agenda when Bader Rutter played host to the Executive Board of the Business Branding Network (BBN), which held its first ever Chicago meeting last week.

Representing a network of more than 20 agencies worldwide, the BBN Executive Board

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Halloween is scary at BR... scary creative!

Each year around Halloween, the scissors and glue sticks do a bit of extra snipping and sticking around the BR offices. And this year, the creativity was scary good. From the Housewives of Bader Rutter to the Enchanted Forest and the Land of Oz to Miller Park, the offices and cubicles were transformed.

Meetings were a bit more interesting, attended by scrabble pieces or a Big Bad Wolf. Even the Grey Goose made an appearance in the halls. Pageant queens sprayed hairspray between conference calls and reception both transferred calls and read Tarot cards. It was quite the sight to see.

And of course, all of this creativity wouldn’t be the same without a bit of competition.

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The flavor of the day

Bader Rutter is in the heart of the unofficial frozen custard capital of the world. For those unfamiliar with this decadent treat, frozen custard is like ice cream, but contains eggs and extra butterfat to make it extra delicious. Southeastern Wisconsin is known for this dairy delicacy, so we thought there was no better way to close out June Dairy Month than to crown a Bader Rutter Frozen Custard King.

To keep the playing field even in Milwaukee’s custard war, vanilla custard from five local establishments (Kopp’s, Murf’s, Culver’s, Gilles and Leon’s) was presented in a blind-taste fashion.

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