“Love Scott & Associates”

Posts Tagged ‘“Love Scott & Associates”’

Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should

Tags: "Love Scott & Associates", Bill Love, branding, Christmas, Christmas Music, expectations, funny, Music, rant
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment 12/10/2010

Let me get the disclaimers out of the way upfront. Crying child

(1) I am an unapologetic traditionalist when it comes to Christmas. Don’t move my Christmas cheese.

(2) The opinions about to be expressed are mine and even though they are rich in undeniable truth, I fully recognize that no matter how wrong you may be, you may not agree with them. Please try to get over it.

(3) If I come off as old and grouchy, it’s because I’m old and grouchy.

Every year at this time, when Christmas music begins filling the airwaves, I begin compiling in my mind a list of Christmas albums that should never have been made. There certainly is no shortage of Christmas music out there and if you listen to enough of it, you will eventually hear songs that you will consider a waste of time and resources. The body of Christmas music was probably fully realized years ago and anything recorded after that is simply redundant and adds no value to the body of work. And unless the music brings something totally new to the arena, I have to wonder why, other than a holiday money-grab, these recordings were ever made in the first place.

Just because you have access to a recording studio and you think you could sell a few Christmas albums to a tiny group of diehard fans, doesn’t mean you should try to find 10 or 12 holiday songs to fill a CD and promote it as if it were something new. It will more than likely end up on someone’s list of Christmas music that never should have been made.

For instance, anything recorded for Christmas by the Ronettes or any other studio girl-band from the 50’s and 60’s. Or anything “holidays” by James Brown. Or Bruce Springsteen, for that matter. He sounds disturbingly upset at the prospect of “Santa Claus Coming To Town!” My teeth itch anytime I hear Eartha Kitt purring, “Santa Baby” and Madonna’s more recent re-recording of that effort just proves my point that it’s possible to waste electricity and vinyl on such ridiculous songs. (Personally, I prefer Miss Piggy’s version to either one of the aforementioned.)

Chuck Berry singing, “run, run Rudolph”?… really?

If I hear Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” many more times, I may swear off of rock AND Christmas trees. I swore off of Brenda Lee years ago. I’m a huge Beach Boys fans, but… a Christmas collection? Painful! Even the sainted Paul McCartney has done some really bad Christmas songs and he’s man enough to admit it.

“Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer”, in my opinion, didn’t happen soon enough or permanently enough. And how about those incredibly talented dog impersonators barking out, “Jingle Bells”? If that ain’t a crowd pleaser! And Jose Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad” doesn’t even make a good musical background for a taco commercial, let alone adding something meaningful to the body of Christmas music.

But nothing even comes close to last year’s release of the barely anticipated Bob Dylan Christmas album. I’m a huge Bob Dylan fan, but… this one leaves me practically speechless. I’m not exaggerating when I confess that blood was spurting from my ears the entire time I listened to this collection. It was a cross between hilarious and homicidal, neither of which, I’m sure, was the intention. Listen to it at your own risk!

After listening to me rant on this subject earlier this month, my wife put the whole thing in perspective for me. She pointed out that if I had 30 days of air time that I had to fill with Christmas music for 24 hours a day, I’d end up scraping the bottom of the barrel, too. Probably so.

But let me conclude by saying to recording artists and music executives everywhere that before being tempted to add to the growing list of worthless, awful, wasteful, tasteless, irritating, redundant, ear ache-inducing Christmas music, consider this:

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

What Christmas music do you consider a waste of time, talent and natural resources?

- Bill Love

Becoming “You-ier”

Tags: "Love Scott & Associates", ad agency, Adam Jensen, advertising agency, advice, brand, branding, creative, funny, Inspiration
Posted in Advertising | No Comments 12/07/2010

I like to think of myself as many things. Irresistibly good-looking. Surprisingly nimble for my size. Pee-your-pants hilarious. All of these sound great to me - but if I can’t back them up, then they don’t mean much to anyone else. I want to be the best version of myself. I like “me,” I just always strive to be a better me. I want to be “me-ier.”

Have you ever thought of your organization as a person? Your business may look good and seem to have itself together from the outside. But inside there is something missing. Consider yourself “the brain” of your organization – you control the body’s movement and thoughts, however without the body you aren’t going very far. More specifically, above all else, your body needs a heart. Every body part including the brain, depends on the heart to drive them. Without that heart, the organization is not the best version of itself. It’s languishing instead of flourishing. How do you change that? It simply takes reflection on the heart of your organization – your brand.

Organizations face many challenges in becoming the best version of themselves. Maybe their service doesn’t quite lineup with what consumers expect. Maybe it’s internal and employees “just do their job” to get by. Perhaps the economy has hit hard and there are tough choices to be made. Much like an individual who is trying to achieve growth, an organization needs to face those obstacles head on. It needs to surround itself with good people, great support partners and implement best practices. An organization needs to back up what it promises and treat others as it would want to be treated. Yes, I just broke out the golden rule. It’s so simple, yet so true – and something easily forgotten in the competitive business realm.

Your brand is what a community feels from you, not what it sees. I believe consistently designed media, a well-told story and a great strategic marketing plan can start you on the right path to giving a great first impression with a consumer – but it’s the passion that a community feels that creates relationships and loyalty. Consumers are concerned about how they are treated and if you deliver on your promises. Isn’t that what a friend is? Isn’t that the golden rule? That passion comes from within the organization. That commitment to what your brand stands for, how you operate and the level of excellence you wish to maintain starts with the people in your organization. That’s the heart of your organization. You need a buy-in from all involved.

We’ve had some great first-hand experience being involved with organizations whose employees have a passion for what they do. They are interested in creating a brand, an experience. It’s contagious when it’s around you. It is even better to be involved in spreading it around and educating others. Telling a story and enhancing a mission is a rewarding experience for everyone involved. When your body is in tune with your heart – there is no stopping it from becoming a better version of itself. Even though an organization will change and grow, if that heart keeps beating it won’t stray from who it is. You flourish. You become the best version of you – you become “you-ier.” Isn’t that what we all strive to be?

My Thanks…

Tags: "Love Scott & Associates", Advertising, advertising agency, blog, Des Moines, Inspiration, Iowa, marketing, Mission Assist, motivation, non-profit, West Des Moines
Posted in Public Relations | No Comments 11/26/2010

In honor of the holiday, this post will simply be one of thanks. While we give employees the Friday after Thanksgiving off, I like to take advantage of the quiet office to get things done…like write a blog post. When I was brainstorming what to write, I just kept reflecting back to a comment made by a member of the staff last week about being thankful for working with truly good people. It shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did, and I’ve thought a lot about it since. I’m not shy about proclaiming how much I love my job, but I don’t often say why. So here are the reasons I’m thankful for where I’ve landed:

1) I’m thankful for truly talented staff. There is not one person in here that I don’t trust to do their job, and do it well. I’ve experienced the opposite before, and it’s not fun. It’s incredibly comforting to know that I can do my job without worrying about what everyone else is doing.

2) I’m thankful for the good people working around me. Not only do I trust everyone in here to do their work…I trust everyone in here. Period. We’ve surrounded ourselves with great people. Honest. Genuine. Caring. Committed. I’m proud of our team, not for who they claim to be, but for who they really are (and trust me…we’re small enough to have seen the good, bad and ugly from all!)

3) I’m thankful for a shared vision. With the addition of Mission Assist to our service offerings, which took a year to develop and required an incredible amount of patience, I feel blessed that everyone understands the purpose and feels the passion. I believe it was divinely inspired and could only have happened with the support and conviction of the whole team. It was literally a leap of faith…and each time someone from an organization actually gives me a heartfelt thanks for what we’re offering, I am grateful for a team that believes in a mission bigger than ourselves.

4) I am thankful to be working in Des Moines, Iowa. This town is a great place to live and work. I’ve worked in Phoenix and St. Louis, and there’s no comparison. The connections, the loyalty and the enthusiasm of Des Moines businesses and their employees cannot be matched. It creates such a sense of community and goodwill. I’m willing to overlook the blustery winters for this fact. And coming from someone who hates cold…that says a lot.

It’s a short list of thanks, but these are at the very core of why I love my job and the people with whom I spend 50% of my life. What are some things about your job you’re thankful for? Hopefully there’s a list…or you better be moving on

Life Lessons from Car Repairs

Tags: "Love Scott & Associates", advice, communication, Des Moines, good marketing, Inspiration, motivation, real life situations
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments 11/11/2010

Car trouble over the past few weeks has consumed me. Having to rely on others for transportation, learning to drive a stick shift (sad, I know.) and just trying to coordinate schedules when there are two people sharing one car is a HUGE pain, but it sort of works itself out. The biggest surprise has been my experience working with a mechanic who sent me to the Dealer. What mechanic sends work AWAY from their business? Looking back, this situation segued nicely with some life lessons we should all be reminded of now and again. Let me back up and tell the story from the beginning.

I’ve been having some dashboard lights going on in my car recently. I took the car to an auto shop to get checked out. They said everything was fine. Took the car home, the lights come back on, wash, rinse, repeat. In fact, I took my car back to the same auto shop three times!!! Each time they told me it was nothing. I was doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.

Lesson one: If you keep trying the same thing, you’re going to get the same results. Try something different if you want something else to happen.

Two weeks ago, I t car repairs ake the car to a mechanic who specializes in my make of vehicle. He tries a few things out, then tells me if the car isn’t running funny the lights are nothing to worry about. But he gives me a warning, “as soon as your gas mileage changes or the car doesn’t seem right, call me!” Well guess what happened one week after I took the car to him? I took it back. Insanity, right? Not exactly…the lights were still on, but the car started to act funny – pardon my lack of proper mechanical terminology – but it sounded like my car was going to explode when it was in idle. I take the car immediately back to the mechanic.

Lesson two: Know what red flags you need to be watching for…and when you find one, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Don’t wait, act!

Mechanic spends several hours trying to figure out what’s wrong with the car. Calls me and tells me he has no idea. He’s stumped. He actually recommends I take the car to the dealer. I’ve NEVER had a private mechanic recommend I take a car to the dealer.

Lesson three: Know when to give up. There is no shame in admitting you’re stumped or don’t have the answers.

So I take the car to the dealer. The dealer gives me an estimate for repairs. I get detail from the dealer on exactly what they think is wrong. I call back the specialty mechanic and ask him if the dealer sounds like they’re legit. I also ask him if he wants the work. He tells me the dealer is legit in the diagnosis, and he doesn’t want to do the work because it’s outside his area of expertise.

Lesson four: Check your sources when you feel like something might be “off.”

AND lesson five: Know when something is outside your area of expertise and communicate that to the person you’re trying to help.

Picked up the car today…and it purrs like a kitten! So who gets my future business – the original auto shop, the mechanic or the dealer? Well, as much as I loved my old auto shop, the mechanic is taking this one. Not only did he try to help me (without charging me when he couldn’t find/fix the problem) he let me know when he couldn’t help me AND he sent me to the place that could. Because of his actions, I’ll remember him as someone I WANT to do business with in the future.

Lesson six: Honestly and integrity will always win in the end.

We’re up to Something Good!

Tags: "Love Scott & Associates", advice, Bill Love, blog, expectations, good marketing, Inspiration, Meals from the Heartland, Mission Assist, motivation, non-profit, Public Relations
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments 10/12/2010

I just returned from a mission trip to the Navajo Indian reservation just outside Gallup, New Mexico. It was not my first trip there. In fact, I have been there 12 times in the last four years and intend to continue going as often as I can in the future.

During these weeklong mission trips, we work to improve, however slightly and temporarily, the lives of Native Americans living on the Navajo reservation. The area where we do our work in New Mexico is situated in the second or third poorest county in the United States, depending on who’s doing the talking. So we do what we can… fixing holes in roofs; replacing broken windows; building handicapped accessible entrances to homes; chopping wood for winter warmth; running electricity to replace a single extension cord powering an entire house… the needs are endless and the effect eye-opening and life-changing. Each time I go, I come back with a crystal clear understanding of how blessed my life has been and how uplifting it can be to serve others.

But another thing the mission trips have taught me is that you don’t have to travel to Gallup, New Mexico, to find need. There is no shortage of opportunities to serve right here at home. Many of these needs are currently being addressed by non-profit organizations that are unselfishly making a very real and significant difference in the lives of others.

It was this realization, and our experience as the pro-bono marketing arm for the past two years for Meals from the Heartland, that prompted us to start an effort at Love Scott we call “Mission Assist.” Simply put, Mission Assist is an effort to help non-profit organizations better tell their stories, enhance their missions, and increase their funding. Mission Assist provides complete, coordinated marketing and development assistance to non-profit organizations at a substantially reduced charge.

It is headed by an individual who has spent 30 years in the non-profit sector, many of them at the top level of various non-profit organizations. He completely understands the problems and opportunities common to non-profits. This level of knowledge and experience, combined with Love Scott’s 40 years in marketing, results in Mission Assist having a lot to offer non-profit organizations seeking to rise to the next level of effectiveness.

But the most rewarding aspect of Mission Assist for me has been the excitement it has generated among our staff. It turns out they have generous hearts for helping advance the work of non-profits. They have embraced Mission Assist with enthusiasm and seem to get an energy boost when their talents are turned toward helping a non-profit be even more effective.

Last March, we brought a couple dozen Navajo youth from New Mexico, who had been identified as having leadership potential, to Des Moines for a week of intense leadership training. On the last day, after they had worked several afternoons for non-profit organizations serving various needs around the city, we asked them if they were surprised at the level of need in our city. They answered that they weren’t particularly surprised by the level of need, but they were surprised by the number of local organizations actively involved in addressing those needs.

I think that says something really good about the caring nature of the people of Greater Des Moines and the great work being done by so many area non-profits. It’s a pleasure for us to be able to partner, through Mission Assist, with the important work they’re doing.

Media Relations Rules in an Online World

Tags: "Love Scott & Associates", advice, blog, communication, Crisis Management, Media, Public Relations, social media
Posted in Interactive, Media, Public Relations | No Comments 10/05/2010

Like most public relations pros, my Google reader is filled with blogs about my clients’ industries, the daily news feeds for several national media outlets and various other job-related queries I need to look at on a daily basis. While that is part of my daily work, I also have blogs related to my personal interests like cooking, crafting and everything home that I follow. It certainly came as a surprise to me when I found some of my personal interest blogs were dealing with a media relations crisis.

Several of my favorite bloggers who write about their healthy living lifestyles and offer recipes, exercise suggestions and support were cited by a large fashion magazine for promoting unhealthy living in a magazine article titled The Hunger Diaries. The magazine paints an apparent unflattering picture of these bloggers, using their online diaries to showcase their “bad, obsessive habits.”

The bloggers, already a vocal group, came together en masse to write rebuttals to the article. Not only did the main bloggers cited in the article respond, but their readers and support system rallied around them in just a few hours to share their frustration with the magazine and reporter. Be sure to check out the Magazine’s Facebook page to see the hundreds of comments rallying around the bloggers.

The public relations implications of this incident are very representative of what clients fear every day when dealing with the news media. Clients are cautious of media interviews because they might not trust a reporter’s reputation. Some are afraid to grant interviews because something they say or do can be taken out of context or misrepresented. Add in the element of social media and word-of-mouth and clients are worried their comments can spin out of control before they even have a chance to clarify anything.

While the healthy living bloggers situation is less than 24-hours old, there are already public relations lessons to take away.

Always ask the intent of the story. Make sure the reporter tells you what they are trying to prove with their article. That being said, these bloggers asked the reporter her intent and claim they were lied to so…

Trust your gut. Some of the bloggers didn’t feel right during the interviews and felt there were some strange questions being asked by the reporter. If something doesn’t feel right, end the interview. But just in case, keep copies of all correspondence and don’t be afraid to take notes during your interview on the questions you are being asked and the way you respond.

Make corrections quickly. Within a few hours yesterday morning, the article was live on the magazine’s website. Most of the bloggers mentioned had their responses posted by lunchtime. Some even had point-by-point rebuttals to the author’s claims. If they had waited another day, another week, the story is old news.

Use social media to rally the troops. In this case, all it took was the bloggers to post the magazine editors name, e-mail and Facebook page link to get people to respond with their distaste for the article. By mid-afternoon, hundreds of comments were on the Facebook page against the magazine article. This passionate response was because these bloggers have a large base of followers who are interested and engaged in that community. If your customers aren’t engaged in your social media community, find a way to get them active before something like this happens.

Keep it in context. One lesson learned by these bloggers is that in today’s world, what you post on your blog can be taken for face value – and that’s it. One blogger’s 22-mile-run can sound obsessive, but when framed in context of marathon training, it doesn’t sound so unreasonable. Making sure you tell your whole story is incredibly important.

I’ve managed to keep the magazine’s name out of the entire entry, but since I haven’t seen it yet, Marie Claire, what is your response to all of this?

At The Heart Of Giving

Tags: "Love Scott & Associates", Advertising, advertising agency, Andrea James, branding, communication, Des Moines, Inspiration, Iowa, marketing, Meals from the Heartland, Mission Assist, motivation, non-profit, Public Relations, strategy
Posted in Advertising, Interactive, Media, Public Relations | 4 Comments 9/15/2010

Phew! Another successful Meals from the Heartland event under our belts, and it never fails to inspire and energize us all over again. It’s our second year of helping to promote Meals from the Heartland (MftH), a mass food-packaging effort that brings together more than 14,000 Iowans to package and transport more than 4 million meals around the world. When we took on MftH two years ago as our pro bono client, we never imagined the impact working with this group of people would make on our own business. The kindness, the genuine hearts, the “don’t expect ‘no’ as an answer” attitude, and the fearlessness…I am consistently blown away by what this group of volunteers produces. Every year I think they’ve topped the last, but I’m now convinced more than ever, this is still just the beginning

Don’t get me wrong – it’s a lot of work. I’m fairly certain our agency has never put this amount of time toward any other non-paying client. But when we made the commitment, we all agreed we were making a commitment. And trust me, we’ve reminded ourselves and each other many times that we are fulfilling a commitment that we made. Inevitably, it all comes around to remembering the end goal…a starving person receiving a nutritional meal. That’s what it’s all about.

My favorite moment of the last two years working with MftH is standing in the middle of Hy-Vee Hall during the event with literally hundreds of cheerful Iowans buzzing around me – young, old, every race and religion, working together to feed people they will likely never see or hear a “thanks” from, and I get chills as my throat tightens and eyes fill. I get teary just writing about it. It is SO WORTH the time and effort. It restores my faith in humanity, and even in myself.

This year made me especially proud of everyone involved. The special vignettes constructed by MftH volunteers who visited Haiti served as a life-size visual of how people are living there. “Tent City”, as we called it, brought reality closer to home for most of us who have only seen the images on TV. I watched as adults cried their way through the maze of tents, and children asked their parents “but where are the bathrooms? What about bedrooms?” and their eyes grow wide as they were told the truth. When the idea of building the vignettes was first discussed in a committee meeting, I remember thinking it’d be a miracle if it really came together…so much effort, so much work. But it did. And it was my favorite place to be while volunteering that weekend.

I’ve taken lessons from the Meals group on how to make things happen, even if the rest of the world (literally) deems it impossible. It is this experience that has led our agency to a new venture in our business. While we can’t offer this same free service to all non-profits and still keep our doors open, we can offer our expertise and hearts to these organizations through an affordable and practical program that provides fundraising and marketing expertise. We’ve spent a good portion of the last year brainstorming, developing, refining and polishing our Mission Assist program, and I’m proud to say my heart is wrapped up in the offer.

As I ushered people into Tent City last week, a little girl who couldn’t have been more than 6-years old, walked by me and said in a shy, sweet voice, “Thank you for helping people who need it.” THAT, my friends, was my payment in full.

Defining Your Area of Suckage

Tags: "Love Scott & Associates", ad agency, Advertising, advertising agency, brand, branding, communication, creative, expectations, funny, good marketing, Inspiration, motivation, strategy
Posted in Public Relations | No Comments 7/15/2010

I am a big Dave Barry fan. Not so big that I follow everything he writes – in fact, I just finished my first, and his latest, book entitled “I’ll Mature When I’m Dead”. It was funny. Like, sitting in bed laughing OUTLOUD hoping not to wake the kids kind of funny.

But tucked among the sarcasm, humor and self-deprecation, Dave actually incorporates little nuggets of wisdom, whether he means to or not. Last night I came across one passage that really got me thinking (one reason I liked this book so much right now was that, for the most part, it didn’t require ANY thinking).

Dave was talking about kids’ sports these days and how parents are so involved, sometimes a little too much. He cites examples like screaming on the sidelines and convincing kids of being really great at something they actually show little ability to grasp. Of his own athletic abilities as a child he said,

“I learned, for example, that even though I was not as big, or fast, or strong, or coordinated as the other kids, if I worked really hard—if I gave 100 percent and never quit—I would still be smaller, slower, weaker and less coordinated than the other kids. In other words, I learned that even though I enjoyed playing sports, I sucked at them. And understanding that you suck at some things is useful information in life. The world would be a better place if people were fully cognizant of their areas of suckage.”

Amen. I’m known for being fairly straight-forward, and will readily admit when I’m really not very good at something – math, computers, miniature golf, and swimming for any purpose other than not drowning. And it’s funny, and sometimes incredibly frustrating, when someone tries to convince me otherwise. “Oh, I bet you’d really like mini-golf, and are probably really good at it, if you’d just try.” Ummmm, no. I’ve tried many, many times, and I a) don’t like it at all, and b) really suck at it. TRUST ME.

I started thinking about this in professional terms. How many times have I come across someone who thinks they can do everything for their business? They know what their customers like, they know how to reach and sell to them most effectively, they know how to write copy for things ranging from newsletters to ads. There’s little they don’t know, and by golly, they sure don’t suck at any of this! That’s their business!

No it’s not. Their business is to make a profit (or, in the case of non-profits, to keep the organization going and growing). They are where they are in the business because they know how to do certain things really well. There are areas where they excel, and areas where they really aren’t very good. We all have these. The best thing to do is to admit what you’re NOT good at, and find someone who is good to help you! There is nothing wrong with admitting that. In fact, I admire people who do it.

I’m not going to get specific because everyone is good at different things. I just thought I’d start the reflection process for others as Dave started it for me. What are you good at? What are your areas of suckage? Are you trying to convince others that you’re really good at something you’re not? Why?

Andrea James
President

Keeping the Faith

Tags: "Love Scott & Associates", ad agency, Adam Jensen, Advertising, advertising agency, Andrea James, brand, branding, client, communication, faith, good marketing, marketing, Mission Assist, research
Posted in Public Relations | No Comments 6/09/2010

Last week I found myself reflecting a lot about the paths we take in life – both personally and professionally – and what outside influences affect and change them. I interviewed with the Des Moines Business Record for a story on branding/rebranding last week which had me thinking a lot about why businesses do, or don’t, make decisions that can affect their futures (ours, obviously, being the decision to rebrand) .

Additionally, and totally unrelated, our creative director, Adam Jensen, signed himself up for a 10-week intense group fitness challenge that one year ago, he wouldn’t have dreamed of taking on. In a sense, he’s been pursuing some personal rebranding, focusing on his health and fitness for the last year. After watching how hard he’s worked to lose 75 pounds and get into better shape, it was inspiring to see him take on something he’d once thought impossible. Both Love Scott’s rebranding efforts, and Adam’s new undertaking, had me thinking about the one thing they have in common. Making the decision to act on fear or faith.

Decisions aren’t always simple. For some companies, decision-making processes, like whether and how to brand/ rebrand, are daunting. Spending the time and inviting internal and possibly external criticism are not always pleasant thoughts. Likewise, personal decisions such as Adam’s, which require self reflection, motivation and determination, are filled with unknowns around every corner. Think about every decision you’ve ever made in your life. Each and every one was driven by the stronger influence of those two things: fear or faith.

Fear of failure. Fear of change. Fear of the unknown. Everything (non-life-threatening) I’ve ever not tried, I can attribute to overwhelming fear. Now, fear can also be a blessing, and it’s actually required for faith to even exist. But for many (and too many companies I care to mention), focusing on fear can be tragically prohibitive when it comes to making effective marketing decisions. What if a campaign doesn’t work? What if it’s too radical for their public? There’s no proof an effort WILL work, so why take the chance?

And then there’s my favorite word – faith. Faith in what’s possible. Faith in doing things right. Faith in discovery through effort. Every time I’ve succeeded at anything, I’ve counted on faith. Faith in myself, faith in God, faith in others. And there have definitely been times when I’ve leaned on faith only to fail. But those are also the times I learned the most about what was needed to later succeed. What if I’d listened to the fear and never tried? I wouldn’t have learned how to do it right, better, the next time.

Faith doesn’t mean entering blindly into a situation, counting on a miracle for something great to happen. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary offers this as a definition:

Main Entry: ¹faith

Pronunciation: \ˈfāth\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English feith, from Anglo-French feid, fei, from Latin fides; akin to Latin fidere to trust — more at bide

Date: 13th century

1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty b (1) : fidelity to one’s promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs <the Protestant faith>

Sincerity of intentions. Firm belief in something for which there is no proof. Complete trust. With a strong belief in any of these, good things will eventually happen. If your intentions are to market your company right, have faith in yourself and your convictions that it will happen. If you hire a company to do it for you, have faith in yourself to choose the right company, then have faith in them to do what needs to be done…right!

With our rebranding effort, it took faith in the time we’d spend and the system itself that got us through the process. We could have feared what we’d discover from surveying our past and current clients, or that extra time we had to invest might be wasted, but we didn’t. We kept the faith that it would all lead to something great. And it did.

Likewise, Adam let fear rule his decision a year ago and didn’t step up to the challenge he now has faith he can complete. He took some convincing, and had to dabble a little here and there to find his faith-footing, but he found it and is now charging forward.

What drives you and makes your decisions – both personally and professionally? Fear or faith? Which do you want to drive your decisions?

Love Scott / Meals from the Heartland Win Awards

Tags: "Love Scott & Associates", Andrea James, Award, Centeral Iowa Public Relations Society of America, charity, honor, Meals from the Heartland, Merit Award, Mission Assist, news, non-profit, Prime Awards, pro bono, PRSA, PSA, Public Relations, Public Service Announcement, Video
Posted in Public Relations | 4 Comments 5/06/2010

Meals from the Heartland Collateral We are proud to share the news that Love Scott was awarded two prestigious honors at the Central Iowa Public Relations Society of America Prime Awards last week. We were recognized with a Merit Award for copy used in brochures for the Meals from the Heartland fundraising packet. The packets included a large general brochure and four targeted brochures (for schools, individuals, businesses and churches.) All brochures were produced to encourage donations and volunteerism to help package food for 4 million of the world’s hungry.

We were also presented with a Prime Award, the highest honor in the audiovisual category, for the Meals from the Heartland Public Service Announcement.

Both of these projects were completed by Love Scott on a pro-bono basis. We offered our services to the Meals from the Heartland team based on the outstanding work they do to feed the world’s hungry. We have been so incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to work with this group of people who volunteer their time (LOTS of it), their hearts and their genuine love for people all over the world who need help. We submitted our work to be considered because we are proud of it. But had we not won the PRSA awards, the experience would still have ranked as the highest reward we could ever receive.

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Posts Tagged ‘“Love Scott & Associates”’

Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should

Becoming “You-ier”

My Thanks…

Life Lessons from Car Repairs

We’re up to Something Good!

At The Heart Of Giving

Defining Your Area of Suckage

Keeping the Faith

Love Scott / Meals from the Heartland Win Awards

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