April 2011
2 posts
Intern-to-Hire. First Hand Experience.
I rarely wear a tie, but I remember exactly which one I wore to the CU Internship Fair as a college kid looking for the next opportunity. About a year ago today I was in the middle of my own frustrating search. I applied to over 30 internships across a multitude of categories within a 3 month time span. College students are busy these days. Focusing on finding an internship at a worthy company (or...
4 tags
Warm Welcome to Lisa Platz, Amping Up our Account...
Lisa Platz will surprise you. In chatting with her about for this blog, I realized that I’ve got her all wrong. Here’s the low-down you need.
A Lisa-Platz-Survival-Guide, if you will:
Is working with Colorado Business Marketing Association to publish a collaborative book coming out in June pulling from the best thinking and insight from 24 of Colorado’s marketing experts titled Advice From The Top...
March 2011
9 posts
5 tags
K\H Awarded The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa
“The Brown Palace is a historic icon in Denver and represents authentic elegance in Colorado,” commented Kathy Hagan, Karsh\Hagan Co-President. “We are so pleased to be working with a Denver icon and helping them further develop their brand in a way that respects their unique roots. Karsh\Hagan has always been committed to tourism and working with unique partners like The...
3 tags
Welcome new Karshie: Kyle Hillje
On Kyle’s second day in the office, he learned the lesson that took many of us Karshie’s years to crack: headphones are key. Not only does Kyle sport cool buds, but he’s probably listening to some tunes like Sublime, Josh Ritter, or Jack Johnson. In fact, Kyle has some skills as an acoustic guitarist himself. A couple of his favorite genres are reggae and folk music. You can...
We Heart Colorado →
This coach's team gets playtime to be creative →
This morning’s The Denver Post includes a profile of Pocky and Karsh\Hagan. Check it out.
Karsh\Hagan Advertising, 2399 Blake St., is an unlikely front for a speakeasy. But when you pass through the lobby, you enter a bar/playroom with a sign that screams “Pocky’s” hanging from the wall. It’s Pocky’s Bar, with a foosball table, six stools at a curved bar, a TV,...
Karsh\Hagan is live at SXSWi →
Lindsay and Bonnie are posting their experiences on our Facebook page. Check it out.
Our Answers to Your Job Questions →
Karsh\Hagan ACD Matt Ingwalson co-wrote this Q & A article for The Denver Egotist. It includes nuggets such as:
In the longterm, is it better to work internally for a brand or work for an agency?
This depends a bit on the type of job you want. In general, agencies need flexible people, and great work for five brands shows a wider skill set than extensive work for just one.
How do I apply for a...
13 tags
What's a QR Code Worth to Your Brand?
The USA finally has traction on the 2D, QR, snap, ping tags you’re seeing in magazines, on buses, on buildings, on products—it’s a square image that returns a form, text, video or any web page as a result of taking a picture of it with a smartphone scanning app (some feature phones via snap-and-send). Or as someone who saw it on my business card said, “that puzzle-y black...
6 tags
You bet we're listening, Westword!
Dear Patricia Calhoun at Westword,
Thank you so much for being as passionate about tourism and Colorado as we are and we’re glad you like our VISIT DENVER campaign.
We especially liked your #1 way to “improve Colorado tourism,” bring some color back to Colorado:
1) Ditch all the earlier, awful slogans for marketing this state and return to “Colorful Colorado.”...
February 2011
4 posts
Out to Launch highlights American Crew's 100... →
“This campaign ran last year and I don’t know how I missed it, because I’m a huge fan of unbranded ad campaigns. OK, maybe it’s because the product is targeting male hair loss.Karsh/Hagan launched a print and outdoor campaign forAmerican Crew Trichology Hair Recovery System. Unbranded print ads, that ran in GQ, Men’s Health and ESPN Magazine, posed questions regarding...
Every Brief You Get has Three Problems Hidden... →
Karsh\Hagan’s Matt Ingwalson, writing in The Denver Egotist.
Pocky Marranzino in The Denver Post →
“Super Bowl ads have evolved from a mere 30-second spot into a month-long program that is engaging to consumers, extending their impressions and reach.”
Karsh\Hagan welcomes Brian Wilkens
You know when you’re sitting on the bus minding your own business. Reading the paper or whatever. And then some strange guy in a Member’s Only jacket sneezes before he has a chance to whip out his hanky. And then there’s that weird smell that you only smell when someone sneezes. Then you get misted by collateral sneeze juice.
Well, those awkward, unwelcomed interactions are not the kind of ads...
January 2011
4 posts
The hardest job in advertising
“The hardest job in advertising isn’t creating the work. It’s buying it.” I think Mark Fenske said that, although I wouldn’t bet my life on it. And it’s true. A marketing director has hopes and dreams for a brand. It can be hard to learn to love an agency’s interpretation of those dreams.
That being said, we want to thank our clients at American Crew and...
Pinnacol Assurance – Hands →
Denver named best convention city in America
Denver was recently named the nation’s best convention city by readers of The Globe and Mail. The paper wrote:
The mile-high city is no longer a pit-stop en route to the slopes of Vail, says Zane Kerby, who has booked the NBTA’s 40th annual convention there for 2011. Denver won him over for its central U.S. location and cheap flights into Denver International Airport, a hub for United...
American Crew Holiday Gifting packaging on Lovely... →
December 2010
6 posts
American Crew Holiday Gifting packaging on The... →
American Crew Holiday Gifting packaging on the... →
The Art of Selling
It is a pity that most institutions of higher learning do not put much emphasis on selling and the sales process. Many of the young people — and a lot of older ones too — that I run across have not clue how to present themselves or how to sell. Thank goodness one of my early mentors forced me to take a Dale Carnegie course. It was the best investment once could make at the time!
A...
Five Ways Your Ad Agency Will Work In 2011
On the morning of November 17 I got a brief that asked me to write a post titled “Five Ways Your Ad Agency Will Work In 2011” for the Karsh\Hagan blog. And that afternoon, I saw this in Fast Company:
Over the past few years, because of a combination of Internet disintermediation, recession, and corporate blindness, the [advertising] assembly line has been obliterated —...
The AdPulp Interview: Chris Maley →
Q. I know the Denver ad scene has changed quite a bit since I moved away in 2003. Can you catch me up a bit? Other than Crispin, Sukle and TDA, which are the hot local shops today?
A. Those guys are doing it. Cactus, LeeReedy, Factory and Cultivator too. Karsh/Hagan is rebounding nicely. I’ve freelanced for them and they’re incredibly nice people. Change The Thought and Legwork...
November 2010
5 posts
Lending a Helping Paw
What’s the only thing better than fulfilling a need? Fulfilling two. We want to spread the word about Pets For Patriots, one of our longtime community partners. The charity creates unique opportunities for members of the military community to save an animal’s life by adopting a homeless adult dog or cat. Whether veterans need a companion pet to ease the stress of military transition or just want a...
5 Things You Should Be Doing In Mobile Marketing...
As with the web, it’s all connected. These five steps are in order of priority so they can build and link together.
1. Build A Mobile Web Site
Your mobile site will be the foundation of your mobile online presence. People are typing in your web site address right now on their mobile devices and they’re getting your current site, which is probably a bad user experience. Leverage your...
October 2010
1 post
September 2010
4 posts
ADCD show credits addendum
Thanks to the ADCD for staging a great show on Friday. For what it’s worth, Ryan Lee deserved a designer credit on our silver medal-winning American Crew holiday gift boxes. And Karsh\Hagan junior art director Brian Suter should have gotten a credit on the American Crew style lookbook, which also took home a silver medal. We apologize for both those oversights.
We captured a bunch of video...
"Patton Must Have Worked in Advertising" on The... →
An essay by Karsh\Hagan ACD Matt Ingwalson. It also appeared on Design Taxi and several other industry blogs, and was nominated as Only Dead Fish’s post of the month.
August 2010
1 post
Our banner for Visit Denver is on bannerblog →
Check it out.
July 2010
3 posts
"Five simple steps to connect your online... →
Which interactive marketing tactics drive business and which are just gimmicks? K\H VP of Interactive David Stewart has a column in ColoradoBiz that can help businesses make sense of it all.
Communication Arts features American Crew print... →
Communication Arts is showing our print campaign for the American Crew Trichology Hair Recovery System in Exhibit today. The ads ran in GQ, Men’s Health and ESPN.
Five things I think I think about books
1. Account people should carry books: Account people have a big role in strategizing, selling and even creating work. Yet agencies hire them based on their resumes. How stupid is that? If I was responsible for hiring account people - and I’m not - I would demand to see their books.
2. Copywriters need to show copy: When I graduated from the Creative Circus, my book was full of visual...
June 2010
1 post
Please vote for us at FWA! →
Thanks to The Denver Egotist and anyone else who is helping to spread the word.
May 2010
5 posts
hairloss.americancrew.com is Webpick of the Day →
Communication Arts writes, “This hub of an integrated marketing campaign for a new hair recovery system focuses on 100 beautifully-produced and easily-accessible videos of hair experts answering pointed questions about hair loss.”
The Denver Egotist on our campaign for American... →
April 2010
3 posts
Megan Caldbeck works at Karsh\Hagan
Karsh\Hagan is happy to announce the addition of Megan Caldbeck. Megan just moved to Denver from Des Moines. She spent the past three years working at Integer Midwest on Pella Windows. You can learn more about our new account manager on the Egotist or LinkedIn.
Shoot Mag on the American Crew Trichology Hair... →
March 2010
2 posts
Karsh\Hagan adds Paul Roberts to media department
Paul Roberts, who completed an internship in the Karsh\Hagan media department, has been hired on here full-time. He writes:
Denver is such an engaging, intelligent community. After getting my degree in Advertising Management at The University of Denver, how could I move anywhere else? Karsh\Hagan is the place that taught me advertising during my internship. I am proud to say the hard work paid...
American Crew: 100 questions, 100 expert answers... →