Shortly thereafter, the jokes flooded in. Torontonians cracked that their notoriously large mayor was going for a run, explained the planet was frustrated by the recent Leaf’s Game 7 loss, and displayed pictures of overturned lawn furniture with the statement “we will rebuild.” Such is the nature of real-time social media.

After the concert, as we were standing outside the magnificent hall, another attendee tapped Matt Low on the shoulder to inquire if we were from Buffalo. (Perhaps he was tipped off by our accents, or lack thereof.) We confirmed and the kind stranger went on to tell us exactly what he thought about our BPO. He stated that he traveled all across the U.S. and has heard philharmonic orchestras from cities far and wide. But our BPO was indeed the best he had ever heard. He departed telling us we should be very proud.

And proud we are. As someone who had the honor to attend, I emphatically second his appraisal. And with all the “Green Flags” being waived by the attendees (thank you, M&T Bank), and a wonderfully long and dramatic standing ovation following the performance, I can assure you I am not alone.

If you’ve never attended a BPO event, make sure to put it on your bucket list now. What an awesome event!

The idea of a brand creating clever, ready-made badges to post on friends’ pages is a good one. Who doesn’t want earned media? The messages in this instance, however, are shallow and kinda sexist. Friends don’t let friends post brand-driven superficial drivel.

Ugh.

We can’t help it if Praxis threw the best BOTS ever, we just wanted to show all of our fellow Crowley folk a really good time and hopefully they’ll come back for more. This is also why we introduced the syringe jello shots. Shot in the mouth, not in the arm. Needles not included. But really one can’t fully comprehend these genius party favors without a visual, so please, take a look.

Who said hard work can’t be fun?

In case you missed the article in Business First (see below), we began working with Praxis in 2002. They were just a company of three, setting out to help the world’s top pharma companies recruit patients for medical research studies. We helped them grow the company from the ground up, and learned their business and the clinical research world inside and out. And along the way, we created some award-winning B-to-C campaigns, and B-to-B campaigns.

So it was no surprise that when the ownership decided they were ready to get out of the business, they came to us. A majority of what they offered their clients was our services anyway, so it only made sense for us to jump at the opportunity.

Best decision we ever made.

With the business development and client relationship responsibility being absorbed into Crowley Webb’s account group, some key Praxis people staying on board, and the former ownership playing a consultative role, we made a go of it. We’re the hardworking agency. Why not?

Praxis currently supports 17 clinical trials around the world, with 75% of our work being with the top 10 pharmas in the industry. We’ve grown revenues more than 400%. We’ve expanded our office space by 5000 square feet. We’ve hired 11 new people. This may be most exciting of all, as we are bringing people on board outside of the traditional advertising skill set. This only makes Crowley Webb more diverse and interesting, which is good for everyone.

Yes, we’re definitely proud of this newest success story. And ecstatic it’s finally being told. To learn more about Praxis, visit www.gopraxis.com.

1. Really, it’s no trouble at all. I’ll just OPEN MY DOOR so I can reach out further and you don’t have to extend your arm whatsoever.

2. Claw Fingers at exit 50, every time your nails touch me I die a little inside. Please cut them.

3. I don’t mind waiting for my ticket while you finish that page of the romance novel you’re reading. And thanks for not trying to even hide it; it makes me feel simultaneously better and worse.

4. Grungy guy at exit 47. I was wrong about you and your tattoos. You are a teddy bear and one of the top toll takers. Plus, you can make change on a $20 like nobody’s business!

5. It really makes me feel good when I say, “Hi. How are ya?” and instead of responding, smiling, or even nodding like a normal human you just give me a death stare as if you’d like to stuff me in my own trunk. Well, have a nice day!

6. To the only guy on the NYS thruway who insists on counting my change while I sit there, I have two things to say to you. 1. None of your toll friends do that. 2. I hope you get an award at the banquet this year, you certainly deserve it.

I know your only question. Why don’t I have E-ZPass? I don’t have an answer for that.

Well, this year wasn’t so hard. You see, Crowley Webb is currently undergoing a self-proclaimed evolution. No, we’re not straying from our stripes as the hardworking agency. Hardly. This initiative is simply a move to take our digital offering to another level. Which means working differently overall. Which is anything but simple. But we have a secret weapon. Mr. Tim Williams from Ignition Consulting Group in Salt Lake City has been working with us for months now to help get this initiative off the ground. And we were lucky enough to have this AAAAs speaker and author on hand to shed a little light on the process for all employees. We talked about everything from making our office space more conducive to collaboration to adding positions and renaming departments. Yeah, this is heavy stuff. And nothing that’s going to happen overnight. It’s an evolution. It’s interesting, exciting, a little scary, and absolutely necessary. More on this later for sure.

From there, we were electrifyingly entertained by our newest folks who performed in the first-ever Crowley Webb Idol. A company-wide vote crowned Chelsea Aures and Adina Pera champs for their rendition of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” This landed them a giant trophy, jealous looks from fellow competitors, and the esteemed privilege of singing with Jim Hettich and Matt Low at the upcoming Christmas party. More on this later as well.

Next up, being that our venue was the Burchfield Penney Art Center, we thought it fitting to create some art. So we all sat down to recreate some Crowley Webb-themed still lifes. We then toured the gallery to see some actual art. Finally, we downed some pints down the street at Cole’s to keep the inspiration flowing.

A day like this always encourages a heap of thought about who we are as an agency and where we’re headed. This may be truer this year than any other. But you know, after spending eight hours together focused on us, watching our new people bravely belt out tunes, exploring art together, and bracing ourselves for what’s sure to be an incredible journey, it clicked. It’s not so much about what’s happening, but who it’s happening to. And who else would we rather do this with?

We may be evolving, but we’ll always be Crowley Webb. There’s something real nice about that.

This year their Books for Kids Campaign will be running through April 30, 2013. Your gift of a brand new book will be given to disadvantaged children to keep for their very own. Books give these children a window to a better future. Kids who read succeed!

As longtime supporters of Project Flight, we at Crowley Webb will also be taking up our own collection of new books to donate.

Please participate and help us win the fight against illiteracy. New books can be dropped off at any WNY Wegmans store through April 30. Monetary donations are also welcome; money will be used to purchase Braille, large print, and other specialized books. Make checks payable to: Books for Kids/Project Flight and mail to:

Books for Kids
The Buffalo News
One News Plaza
PO Box 100
Buffalo, NY 14240

And thank you.

So what does this have to do with the Crowley Webb blog? Well, for starters many Crowley Webbers are Syracuse fans ­– some diehard. But, this isn’t about Syracuse. It’s about NCAA advertising. The Super Bowl-like advertisements pulled some incredible numbers, reaching millions, and cost advertisers a pretty penny. And I got to thinking, what about the ad right on the court – right at the heart of the action?

On Saturday night I watched the Orangemen take the court. The fans screamed, Otto performed some of his famous antics, the cheerleaders nearly wept with excitement, sparkling in blue and orange glitter. It was then that I realized the ad you don’t pay for is the one that pays out the most.

Let’s explore this. You’re a 17-year-old kid in the market for a college education. You turn on the TV to watch some basketball, and here comes the Orange and Big Blue. The fans roar, the teams bounce, the band triumphantly plays, and the cheerleaders well, cheer. What are you thinking? I want to be a part of this.

A sporting event  is comparable to the best party you’ve ever been to and the longer you last in the championship the better the party gets. The longer a team stays in, the better the odds are that you have a kid on a couch in Illinois filling out his application to go to your school. The kicker is, with this unpaid advertisement you’re not selling an $8.00 bottle of beer, you’re not selling a mobile plan for $100 bucks a month, or even a Subaru for $20 grand. You’re selling a dream and that dream costs roughly $200,000 with interest. It’s marketing at its finest: a product that cannot be replaced by any other product, and the demand of the buyer never dips – if anything, it grows. Your advertising is your team, your interface is the game, and each time that team hits a basket you gain more interested “advertisers” and potential buyers.

I know I ended up at Syracuse because my father, brother, and sister bleed Orange. But it was more than that. I sat with my dad watching those championship games. I was in awe of the cheerleaders, my heart pounded with the players’ every move, I wanted to be that face-painted fan. Perhaps the focus on advertising should be more focused on who wins the games and less on breaks between the big events.

This year, my 13-year-old niece sat down to watch the game and cried when we lost. I think her parents have a $200,000 bill coming sometime soon and I couldn’t be prouder.

Go Orange!