Tuesday, June 23, 2009
S&B Voted Best Advertising Agency For Fifth Straight Year
For the fifth straight year, Stephan & Brady was named best advertising agency by the readers of Corporate Report Wisconsin magazine in its “Best of Wisconsin Business” competition. The resultswere announced at an awards ceremony held June 12, in Wisconsin Dells.
More than 2,600 CRW readers participated in the online, unaided poll to select the top rankings.
Again, we’d like to share this recognition with you. Our success is directly attributable to the working relationships we enjoy with clients who foster the creation of great work.
Thanks again for helping make this possible!
Sincerely,
George Whitely
President & CEO
S&Bers enjoying the limelight
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Labels: advertising, awards, best businesses, Corporate Report Wisconsin, Wisconsin
Monday, March 23, 2009
The 2009 United States Championship Cheese Contest wrapped up last week in Green Bay, Wis. The contest drew a record 1,360 entries from cheesemakers in 32 states.
Not surprisingly, Wisconsin cheesemakers dominated the competition, winning 114 of the total 192 awards, including 41 Best of Class awards.
The prestigious overall first prize title of U.S. Champion was awarded to one of my favorite Wisconsin cheeses, SarVecchio Parmesan from Sartori Foods in Antigo. This deliciously addictive Parmesan is nutty and slightly sweet with a hard, granular texture. It’s relatively easy to find in grocery and specialty stores (try Whole Foods), or you can order it online at www.sartorireserve.com. It pairs perfectly with honey preserved almonds and sparkling wines like Prosecco. Many top chefs are also fans of SarVecchio. Here is a link to a recipe for Wisconsin SarVecchio and Sausage Polenta, from local chef Tory Miller of L’Etoile restaurant in Madison. Enjoy!
A few other favorites that received honors at the show include:
- Lil’ Will’s Big Cheese – This smear-ripened cheese from Willi Lehner at Bleu Mont Dairy has an earthy flavor, perfect for rounding out a cheese plate.
- Smoked Capriko – I had the opportunity to sample this semi-hard, mixed milk (cow and goat) cheese from Nordic Creamery over the weekend at the West Allis Cheese Shop in the Milwaukee Public Market – it was delicious! The Capriko is available in plain and several flavored varieties.
- Marieke’s Premium Aged Gouda – This is my go-to cheese. I almost always keep a piece in my refrigerator for company, or to satisfy my own cheese cravings. It’s a creamy Gouda with a nutty, slightly sweet flavor.
- Balsamic BellaVitano – I’ve loved every other flavored version of Sartori’s BellaVitano line, so I’m sure the Balsamic won’t disappoint. BellaVitano is a hard, crumbly cheese with a sharp, full flavor.
For more information about the contest or the cheeses mentioned here, visit eatwisconsincheese.com.
- Megan
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Labels: L'Etoile, Sartori, SarVecchio, Tory Miller, US Cheese Championship Contest, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Cheese
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
There’s a lot of hubbub about Wisconsin Tourism’s new logo and tagline, “Live Like You Mean It.” Usually marketers love to hear people talking about their work – but not when the talk is negative. When it comes to criticism, Ad/PR agency staffers eventually develop thick skin, typically to deal with negative client reactions. Even when solid consumer research and focus groups back up the creative work, there will always be dissenting opinions.
As we watch and listen to this story unfold, we happily note that many Wisconsinites and radio personalities fondly remember the slogan our agency created nearly 30 years ago – Escape To Wisconsin.
For its time (1980-1985), Escape To Wisconsin was a powerful message that was promoted within Wisconsin and to our bordering states; reminding Illinoisans, Michiganders and Minnesotans to visit all of the great destinations Wisconsin offers. (Note: The Tourism Department continued to use the slogan beyond S&B’s involvement.)
To be fair, Escape To Wisconsin received its share of jabs and giggles such as the modified bumper stickers “Escape Wisconsin” or “Escape to SIN.” But the bumper stickers were popular, and there was a lot of talk value for the phrase.
Our version of the Escape to Wisconsin bumper sticker.
We opened the Stephan & Brady archives and found a few historical tourism gems. Agency vet George Whitely remembers creating a TV spot featuring a cow wearing pink sunglasses on a pier with the Wisconsin Travel Guide around its neck.
Looking back, it’s interesting to see how far we’ve come with the advertising medium – just imagine what we could have achieved with Twitter and Social Media at our disposal!
Even though Escape To Wisconsin clearly has “staying power,” we’ll take the current tagline to heart and Live Like We Mean It as tourists in our own state.
Click here to read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s reporting on the new slogan (and see the numerous reader suggestions). If you’re interested in checking out other state slogans, visit the Wikipedia entry here.
- Kristina
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Labels: Advertising Agency, Escape to Wisconsin, Live Like You Mean It, state slogan, tourism, Wisconsin
