Staab was most recently creative director and manager at Schematic. He opened the agency’s Austin office in 2008 and served as the lead creative providing strategy, brand direction and style.

Prior to Schematic, Staab was with GSD&M’s idea city, nFusion and Motive and worked...]]> http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/scott-staab-joins-T3 http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/scott-staab-joins-T3 Although many retailers look to the year-end holidays to make an Internet splash, Oriental Trading Company recognized that Halloween —a major sales period for them—represented a time to stand out.

Oriental Trading Company is the largest direct marketer of party supplies, arts and crafts, toys and novelties in the U.S. Their core audience is made up of parents (mostly moms), teachers, businesses, non-profits and crafters.

To break through into...]]> http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/monster_mash_up http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/monster_mash_up Most recently senior manager of global operations at Enfatico, recently folded into Y&R Brands, Mattie brings over 18 years of operations and program management experience to T3. As director of digital production, he will be...]]> http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/T3-welcomes-new-director-of-digital-production http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/T3-welcomes-new-director-of-digital-production Media Marketplace: Social Without the Media

From a historical perspective, we all know that this year will be a landmark one for business. What we don't know is just how transformative it will be for business, communications and marketing.

Last month, Jeffrey Dachis joined the forum in a column I write for MEDIA magazine, http://www.mediapost.com/publications/. As cofounder of...]]> http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/social_without_media http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/social_without_media Partners with iLoop Mobile and Hires Senior Expert

AUSTIN, Texas — June 16, 2009 — As global mobile usage heads toward six billion users, integrated marketing agency T3 is adding a full mobile practice to its arsenal of services designed to build closer connections between customers and brands.

The agency is bringing mobile marketing capabilities in-house to reflect its integrated approach to mobile across strategy, media, creative,...]]> http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/t3-powers-on-its-mobile-practice http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/t3-powers-on-its-mobile-practice Facebook’s recent facelift has not only meant change for users — it’s forced brands to give their own Facebook strategies a makeover. Corporate pages now look and feel like personal pages, complete with status updates and newsfeeds. Brand content is now part of the same stream as a person’s friend content, making it more important than ever that brands behave like, well, friends.

Brands are learning that, like any friendship,...]]> http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/brand-new-friends http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/brand-new-friends AUSTIN, Texas — May 8, 2009 — Integrated marketing agency T3 is moving forward with plans to bring its Austin office under one roof.

The agency, which also has offices in New York and San Francisco, will be housed in the former Texas Medical Association building on the southeast corner of MLK and North Lamar, across from Pease Park. Remodeling of the 36,000-square-foot building is currently underway, with...]]> http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/T3-Advances-Plans-to-Bring-Think-Tank-under-One-Roof http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/T3-Advances-Plans-to-Bring-Think-Tank-under-One-Roof AUSTIN, Texas — April 22, 2009 — T3, an integrated marketing agency with offices in Austin, New York and San Francisco, advanced to 58th in ADWEEK’s 26th Annual Agency Report Cards Top 100 Agencies list.

The list credits T3 for a 14.8 percent change in revenue and 14.2 percent change in billings for 2008. As a result, T3 is the 12th fastest-growing agency by billings and ranks 17th among the nation’s independent agencies.

This...]]> http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/t3-ranks-58th-on-adweek-top-100-agencies-list http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/t3-ranks-58th-on-adweek-top-100-agencies-list One of our crack analysts ran into an IBM Global Business Services report recently, “Beyond Advertising: Choosing a strategic path to the digital consumer.” I won’t bore you with a complete recap of the 20-pager, but it does have some great insights about consumer-centric marketing that are worth noodling over.

The report’s basic premise: as consumers gain more control...]]> http://t-3.com/thinking/blog/beyond-advertising-is-well-better-advertising http://t-3.com/thinking/blog/beyond-advertising-is-well-better-advertising The digital thank you is generally a fleeting, unremarkable affair. You read the e-mail, acknowledge the sentiment with a mental grin, click delete and move on.

Done right, however, a digital thank you can give you a warm fuzzy and leave you aching to engage further. A good example of this was something I got from the CLIO Awards folks recently. As the primary contact at T3 for coordinating and submitting our work to the CLIO Awards, I became a fan of the CLIO 50th Awards and...]]> http://t-3.com/thinking/blog/the-digital-thank-you-done-right http://t-3.com/thinking/blog/the-digital-thank-you-done-right AUSTIN, Texas — March 24, 2009 — As T3 continues to expand its media capabilities, the agency has named Bryan Noguchi Vice President, Executive Media Director.

The move means Noguchi will now oversee T3’s media operations across its Austin, New York and San Francisco locations. Noguchi will continue building partnerships and focus on introducing new clients to the possibilities embodied by the increasingly dynamic media market.

“Bryan will...]]> http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/T3-Names-Noguchi-to-VP-Executive-Media-Director http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/T3-Names-Noguchi-to-VP-Executive-Media-Director Coming down from the high of this past weekend’s 15th annual SXSW Interactive Conference, my head is swirling with the latest theories, best practices, research, tricks and techniques. I’m full of ideas and empowered with newest peer-tested strategies on how to accomplish them. My biggest challenge is figuring out how to harness this energy, capture this thinking, and hold on to this buzz of inspiration.

As I sat this morning, feeling warm and fuzzy about SXSW and...]]> http://t-3.com/thinking/blog/the-warm-fuzzy-effect http://t-3.com/thinking/blog/the-warm-fuzzy-effect PORTLAND, OR, March 19, 2009 - Jive, the Social Business Software leader, announced that T3, a leading independent marketing and advertising agency, transformed the way its employees work together with Jive Social Business Software(SBS). Jive SBS helps T3 promote creativity and respond faster to new opportunities.

T3 looked to Jive to harness the power of its most powerful asset, its people. Using Jive SBS, T3 is able to...]]> http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/T3-revolutionizes-how-business-gets-done-with-Jive-Social-Business-Software http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/T3-revolutionizes-how-business-gets-done-with-Jive-Social-Business-Software As stocks plunge, 401k funds dissipate and layoffs swell, the world is fine-tuning its response. Conspicuous consumption is suddenly passé, joining CEO buyouts and Wall Street bonuses in the Distasteful Hall of Fame. Eating at home is cool again. So is taking the bus. Saving for a rainy day, de rigueur.

Taking the place of the free-and-easy lifestyle is something between living scared and dialing it way, way back. This new reality is, of course, pulsing its way through the...]]> http://t-3.com/thinking/blog/have-fun-selling-despair http://t-3.com/thinking/blog/have-fun-selling-despair January 20, 1985. Super Bowl XIX. San Francisco and Miami.

Forget about past Super Bowls that had turned out to be one-sided flops; not only were the two best teams in the National Football League in 1984 matched, but so were the two best quarterbacks—Montana against Marino. Surefire box office material, this one.

And it was. Oh, not for the game. The 49er’s harpooned the Dolphins 38-16 in about as dull a game as the NFL has ever...]]> http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/its_time_to_throw_another_hammer http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/its_time_to_throw_another_hammer AUSTIN, Texas — Jan. 27, 2009 — T3 (The Think Tank) was honored Monday for its work with Marriott and Universal Orlando Resort at the 19th annual Adrian Awards Gala in New York presented by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI).

T3’s “Plug In” Roadblock Ad for Marriott Hotels & Resorts beat out numerous competitors to win a Gold award. Combining video, live-action and computer-generated images, the Plug In reach-over...]]> http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/T3-takes-multiple-hospitality-marketing-honors-at-adrian-awards http://t-3.com/news/press_releases/T3-takes-multiple-hospitality-marketing-honors-at-adrian-awards Many Web sites live and die by whether people can reliably find them via natural search.

The daunting statistics: More than 80% of people find Web sites using a search engine. Over 70% of those searchers click on natural search results, 30% on paid search results. Furthermore, 71% click on the top 5 links, 87% on the first page of links only. (Thanks, Forrester and Nielsen.)

Given natural search’s importance and that improving results is relatively...]]> http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/natural-search http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/natural-search As 2009 budgets get squeezed, there are a few hundred million reasons to retain social media as part of your mix. However to make social media work, you need to make it relevant. T3 group creative directors Kate Donaho and Chris Wooster join Jay Suhr’s virtual round table in his January 2009 column for Media magazine. http://www.mediapost.com/publications.

The resounding success of President-Elect Barack...]]> http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/social_studies http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/social_studies http://www.t-3.com/img/blog/LaurenP_blog_image.png" style="float:right;margin-left: 10px;" alt="I Heart Obama" />The once-crowded and jubilant streets during inauguration week in Washington D.C. gave way to a steady silence the morning after the event. On my way to the airport I looked down at the Obama button I had been wearing since Sunday and tried to wrap my head around this unprecedented moment in...]]> http://t-3.com/thinking/blog/an-inauguration-memory-marked-by-a-button http://t-3.com/thinking/blog/an-inauguration-memory-marked-by-a-button If you ask my kids, I’m a luddite. Totally out of it when it comes to technology, in spite of all evidence to the contrary — the cell phone, the iPod, the iMac and the digital camera. Not to mention my mad TV remote skills.

In truth, many of us are loosely anchored between two emerging forces, Facebook nation and the 3G mobile world. We’re older and wiser, but not ancient. We spend plenty of time online, but don’t live there. We have cell phones, but...]]> http://t-3.com/thinking/blog/even-luddites-are-going-mobile http://t-3.com/thinking/blog/even-luddites-are-going-mobile The economic crisis is offering a hard dose of reality for consumers, businesses and agencies. While solutions won't come easy, there are ways to creatively shift thinking to meet the challenges. Taking the lead: a new level of empathy. T3's Jay Suhr shared those views in his November 2008 column for Media magazine, http://www.mediapost.com/publications.

THIS IS THE FOURTH BIG ECONOMIC DOWNTURN I’VE...]]> http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/slaying-the-beast http://t-3.com/thinking/articles/slaying-the-beast As someone who’s written a bazillion online banner ads, I have to confess that I rarely ever click on banners.