Here’s a taste of what you can expect at our pub quiz on October 14th:

In the 1980s, the Ad Council and the US Department of Transportation launched a series of public service announcements in magazines and on television featuring the antics of two talking crash dummies named Vince and Larry who modeled seat belt safety practices.

What was the slogan for this campaign?

Answer: “You can learn a lot from a dummy.“

The campaign was developed to encourage vehicle passengers to use safety belts, and featured Vince and Larry, two crash test dummies who dramatized what could happen when you don’t wear a safety belt.

In the first six months of the campaign, a DOT survey in 19 cities reported that 39% of drivers reported using their safety belts as opposed to 23% a year before.  Overall, between 1982 and 1988, safety belt usage by all vehicle passengers nationwide increased from 11 to 47 percent.

Hope you can make it to the Advertising Pub Quiz.

RSVP: d.mendelsohn@hall-and-partners.com

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It’s been while, but we’re excited to annouce that Fresh Meet is back.  Our new event is: Think While You Drink, The Advertising Pub Quiz.

On October 14^th we’re opening our doors to the best and brightest in the NYC brand and advertising community for a night of friendly competition. 

Our pub quiz will be focused upon, but not limited to, our beloved world of brands and advertising.  Each team will be led by one of our industry’s most accomplished minds.

So come show off your smarts and compete for some impressive prizes and priceless bragging rights.

Providing the beer for the night will be our friends at Sixpoint Craft Ales.

Where: Hall & Partners, 72 Spring Street SoHo

When: Tuesday October 14th, 5:30pm

RSVP: d.mendelsohn@hall-and-partners.com

Our theme for the evening was ‘Liberating Constraints’, a nod to the power of a tight creative brief and the Pecha Kucha format which all of our speakers adhered to (Pecha Kucha = 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide).

Moderating the event was Hall & Partners‘ very own Farrah Bostic from our Qualitative Research department. She kicked off the night with a pecha kucha presentation about pecha kucha (how meta). Here it is:

Next up was our friend Michael Hastings Black of Desedo Films. In a previous life Michael was an urban planner for the NYC parks department. He thoroughly engaged the audience by talking about what planners can learn from the way people are constantly re-negotiating or “re-mixing” the space around them.

The upshot is that while short-cuts and remixes are inevitable when systems or confines have been set in place, it’s important for brands to be able to anticipate these rebellions and steer them in a positive direction.

Paul Parton, from the Brooklyn Brothers agency, was up next. His message to the planners in the room was that they should try to fully embrace & understand any given problem, before rushing to find possible prescriptions. He’s found this to be a liberating constraint when tackling strategic problems that his clients are facing.

Rex Sorgatz, curator of fimoculous.com and all around online media guru, was our third speaker. He delivered a tour de force about how life is becoming more game-like. Full of brilliant examples, Rex told us how his tivo changed his perspective on how we’re interacting with brands and with each other.

Finally, Robin Hafitz, of Open Mind and kb+p, closed the evening with a presentation about how our proverbial walls are falling down, how what was once private is now very public and how our society today tends to be drawn to those who are the most liberated and the least constrained.

A big thanks to everyone who came and we look forward to seeing more new faces the next time around. Fresh Meet III will arrive this Spring. Stay tuned!

Robin Hafitz, Open Mind, kb + p

and Mikal Reich of Dead As We Know It

Hope to see you there.

RSVP: d.mendelsohn@hall-and-partners.com

Somehow we are halfway into the first month in 2008, which makes it the perfect time to announce our latest installation in the Fresh Meet event series. Building off the excitement of the inaugural Fresh Meet way back in November, we’ve decided to mix things up a bit. For this go-round, the name of the game is ‘Liberating Constraints’, as Hall & Partners throws the first ever Pecha Kucha night aimed at the New York City Brand & Advertising community.

Yielding to Pecha Kucha’s fiercely demanding format of 20 slides with exactly 20 seconds per slide, our talented and diverse panel of speakers face the compelling challenge of building a presentation with maximum attention paid to cogency and efficiency.

Our brave speakers this time around include…

Paul Parton – Partner, The Brooklyn Brothers

Rex Sorgatz – Online media guru, fimoculous.com

Michael Hastings Black – Executive Producer, Desedo Films

So join us on Tuesday, February 26th for some drinks, good eats and most importantly, good conversation.

RSVP: d.mendelsohn@hall-and-partners.com, 212 – 413 – 9545

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Recap:

The night started with a open bar of beer and wine – expertly served by Hall & Partners’ finest – while guests noshed on some delicious mini-burgers, portabella burgers, and cupcakes during the happy hour.

Gareth Kay of Modernista! started off the evening with his talk “What makes a great idea nowadays?” walking us through his experience in spotting, evaluating and of course selling a great idea. Gareth expressed the need to “think less about message delivery” and to focus instead on “creating energy.”

Energetic Charlie Robertson, of Red Spider, shed insight on how to sell a great idea, bringing up the critical issue of whether you are selling or asking someone to buy an idea. As Charlie showed us, this often includes putting yourself in the shoes of your audience early on in the process.

And lastly, Sara Bamber of Anomaly spoke of the need to invest in your clients and shared some fascinating stories on the importance of ideas that build business. She talked about the importance of investing emotionally, physically and even financially in a client’s business.

We had a great night of fresh conversation with over 100 smart and curious people in attendance, thanks again to everyone who came.  The next Fresh Meet is in the works, if you’re not already on our email list please contact David Mendelsohn.

Right now the marketing community is “between assumptions” about what great brand and communications ideas look like. This makes it difficult for clients, agencies and consultants to know when they have a great idea, know how to sell it, and know if it is alive and well in the behaviors of the brand. We’re going to talk about seeing, selling and understanding the impact of the great idea in today’s fluid marketing world.

A conversation in three parts:

1. What makes a great idea nowadays?
– Gareth Kay, Head of Planning, Modernista!

2. How can you get other people to see it and buy it?
– Charlie Robertson, Founder, Red Spider

3. Is the idea making a difference to the brand?
– Sara Bamber, Director of Strategic Planning, Anomaly

The place and time:

Hall & Partners
72 Spring Street, 11^th Floor
SoHo

Tuesday, November 13^th

Cocktails: 5:30-7pm
Conversation: 7-8pm

RSVP: d.mendelsohn@hall-and-partners.com
or contact Dave Mendelsohn at 212-413-9545