Doug Simon, President & CEO of D S Simon Productions, spoke with Elise Mitchell, President & CEO of Mitchell Communications Group,  at the Counselors Academy  2012 Spring Conference about starting her own PR firm.

Elise’s VlogViews:

“You want to be on the journey intentionally, which means that whatever you are experiencing in your business you want to fully embrace it. But most importantly don’t be so focused on the destination that you miss the experience of the ride along the way.”

“I believe to be successful in whatever you do in business you have to be first and foremost passionate about it.”

“If we could learn to take that energy that a lot of times we focus on, the potential hazards and all the things that could go wrong and instead focus on where we want to end up we will be much more successful in life.”

“Be able to think about where potential opportunity lies and don’t be afraid to press into it. Which means take a bit of calculated risk; Invest in resources, staff up, look for opportunities to really drive your business forward and sometimes that takes a little bit of courage to do it.”

Mitchell Communications Group Website

Elise Mitchell on Twitter

 Doug Simon, President & CEO of D S Simon Productions, spoke with Gini Dietrich, Founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich,  at the Counselors Academy  2012 Spring Conference about combining your personal brand with your business brand, and discussing her book, Marketing in the Round.

Gini’s VlogViews:

“And now enter in social media and you have to create this content that allows people to figure out who you are online…. So this face to face doesn’t happen as often as it used to, and so you have to create this opportunity to sort of bring in your personal interest and hobbies so that people feel like they get to know you.”

“It’s really about creating a personality in terms of who are the people you get to work with every day if you work with this company”

Arment Dietrich Website

Gini Dietrich on Twitter

Gini Dietrich Spinsucks.com

Marketing in the Round

Mike Bako, of D S Simon Productions, spoke with with Michael O’Rourke, President of  New York Festivals & International Awards Group, at the New York Festivals Advertising Awards  about celebrating the 55^th Anniversary of New York Festivals. 

Mike Bako recently joined D S Simon Productions, Inc. as Account & Marketing Manager.  He can be reached via email at mikeb@dssimon.com

Michael’s VlogViews:

“We evaluated the concept of a campaign… and it’s very difficult to say in today’s day and age to say whether or not it’s a bronze, it’s a gold, it’s a silver.  I think it’s important to evaluate it across the entire spectrum of advertising and communication in itself. So we created the concept of voting on the idea…the relevance, the brand relevance, the marketing relevance, does it make sense?  And ultimately the execution.”

Michael O’Rourke on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Michael_ORourke

New York Festivals & International Awards Group Website: http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/blog/2012/02/14/new-york-festivals-2012-international-advertising-awards-announces-six-additional-executive-jury-appointments/

Mike Bako, of D S Simon Productions, caught up with Tom Burrell, Founder & Chairman Emeritus of Burrell Communications at the New York Festivals Advertising Awards. Tom discusses his induction into the Hall of Fame as well as some of the changes he’s seen in the advertising industry throughout his distinguished career. 

Mike Bako recently joined D S Simon Productions, Inc. as Account & Marketing Manager.  He can be reached via email at mikeb@dssimon.com

Tom’s VlogViews:

“I’ve seen a number of changes, one of the major sea changes has been the move from conventional advertising to a broader definition of what advertising is, that include guerilla marketing, including social media and all the employment of new technology to get to people in totally new ways.”

Burrell Communications website http://burrell.com/

Tom Burrell on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/TomJBurrell

New York Festivals & International Awards Group Website: http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/blog/2012/02/14/new-york-festivals-2012-international-advertising-awards-announces-six-additional-executive-jury-appointments/

Doug Simon  President & CEO of D S Simon Productions, spoke with James Smyth, CEO of New York Festivals & International Awards Group , about what factors go into making great advertising in the ever changing communications environment and how those factors play a big part in the judging process of the awards ceremony. 

James’ VlogView:

“I thought that structure of twenty panels with ten people on each and 20 chairmen, so to speak,  was flawed, so I decided to not have a chairman and just have a moderator…and that worked well because it allowed what I like to call all the warring chieftains to sit at one table and debate ideas, comments, merits and demerits.”

New York Festivals & International Awards Group Website: http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/blog/2012/02/14/new-york-festivals-2012-international-advertising-awards-announces-six-additional-executive-jury-appointments/

Mike Bako, of D S Simon Productions, spoke with Michael Schiferal, Executive Vice President & Director of Media Relations at Weber Shandwick at the New York Festivals Advertising Awards about examining classic advertising campaigns through the modern lens of social media. 

Mike Bako recently joined D S Simon Productions, Inc. as Account & Marketing Manager.  He can be reached via email at mikeb@dssimon.com

Michael’s VlogView:

“It’s a common thing that clients ask all the time, make my video viral, it doesn’t just “go viral” you can’t flip a switch and it happens.  We, you know, try to let clients understand and brands understand, you don’t own your branding, the people own it, and they’re going to do what they want with it.  When that content is replicated,  if it’s replicated by a Saturday night live sketch… or if people make their own youtube video spoofing your ad, then you know you’ve crossed over.”

New York Festivals & International Awards Group Website: http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/blog/2012/02/14/new-york-festivals-2012-international-advertising-awards-announces-six-additional-executive-jury-appointments/

Mike Bako, of D S Simon Productions, caught up with Donald Gunn, founder of the Gunn Report  at the New York Festivals Advertising Awards . Donald discusses his role as moderator of the 2012 judging panel. 

Mike Bako recently joined D S Simon Productions, Inc. as Account & Marketing Manager.  He can be reached via email at mikeb@dssimon.com

Donald’s VlogView:

“We had a wonderful jury from… ten different countries, all different continents, we judged for four days, we had 705 pieces that came… from the worldwide process of the grand jury.. you can imagine that we only had 705 pieces and 4 days to judge them, that we were judging quite carefully.”

The Gunn Rerpot Website: http://www.gunnreport.com/

New York Festivals & International Awards Group Website: http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/blog/2012/02/14/new-york-festivals-2012-international-advertising-awards-announces-six-additional-executive-jury-appointments/

Mike Bako, of D S Simon Productions, spoke with Gideon Amichay, former CCO at Shalmor Avnon Amichay Y&R, Israel, at the New York Festivals Advertising Awards about the weeklong judging process leading up to the ceremony and how to pick the most notable and award worthy work out of hundreds of entries. 

Mike Bako recently joined D S Simon Productions, Inc. as Account & Marketing Manager.  He can be reached via email at mikeb@dssimon.com

Gideon’s VlogView:

“Sometimes it’s just because different people have different ideas and a different way to analyze those kind of things.  And sometimes it’s about a vision… As a juror I wanted to award more project[s] which in ten years are going to be really part of the history of advertising.”

Leo Burnett Worldwide’s Website: http://www.yr.com/middle-east/israel/tel-aviv/shalmor-avnon-amichay-yr-tel-aviv

Gideon Amichay’s website http://www.gideonamichay.com/

Gideon Amichay on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/gideonamichay

New York Festivals & International Awards Group Website: http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/blog/2012/02/14/new-york-festivals-2012-international-advertising-awards-announces-six-additional-executive-jury-appointments/

Doug Simon, President & CEO of D S Simon Productions, caught up with Diane Ruggie, former Senior Vice President , Group CD of DDB, at the New York Festivals Advertising Awards on what makes the best advertising work and why. 

Diane’ VlogView:

“But I love work that touches my heart, that really speaks to your humanity, that makes you feel like you understand it as a human being, it touches your soul.”

Diane Ruggie’s Website: http://www.dianeruggie.com

New York Festivals & International Awards Group Website: http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/blog/2012/02/14/new-york-festivals-2012-international-advertising-awards-announces-six-additional-executive-jury-appointments/

Doug Simon, President & CEO of D S Simon Productions, chatted with Mark Tutssel, Chief Creative Officer for Leo Burnett Worldwide, at the New York Festivals Advertising Awards  about seeking advertising ideas that raised the bar and set new standards during the judging process. 

Mark’s VlogView:

“ Ideas of old are always rooted in what a product is and what a product does, but I believe modern day ideas are rooted in what a product means, the value they create in people’s lives, I call that the human purpose of a brand, the purpose brand serves in people’s lives, and ideas rooted in purpose have the ability to change the way people think, the way they feel, and ultimately the way they behave.”

Leo Burnett Worldwide’s Website

Mark Tutssel on Twitter 

New York Festivals & International Awards Group Website