AD Club Brings in a Couple of Characters

Ron Scharbo, president of Scharbo & Company Branding Consultancy, and Tom Sapp, designer for Real Characters Inc., spoke to the AD Club Tuesday. While they may not be household names around the campus, almost everyone can recognize their character, Hairy Dawg.

The talk was geared to advertising and graphic design students. This made the speech seem more like a lecture, but Scharbo and Sapp were teaching the students all about the pros of using a character to brand a service or product. First, Scharbo pointed to different characters such as Chester Cheeto, Denny’s Big Boy, and Smokey the Bear. After each character was pointed at the audience called each one out by name. This was just to illustrate Sapp’s point. All of these characters, said Sapp, have personality and are relatable to anyone who knows of them. This is what differentiates characters from mascots. A mascot is just a costume, but once the mascot is given personality it becomes a character.

Sapp imparted a few bits of advice to the silent crowd of 40 throughout the speech. “Be able to think” Sapp said firmly, knowing how to use computers is good but original thoughts are the most important part. Following what the client wants and doing necessary homework on what you are designing makes the work easier and more successful. Sapp, who met Scharbo while working at Burton Campbell in Atlanta, reminded the future advertisers and graphic designers “Don’t be afraid of new ideas.” While always working for a client, never be afraid to express what you, as an advertiser or graphic designer, think will work. Originality and innovation are the attributes that Sapp impressed onto the crowd as some of the most important to survive in this field.

The PowerPoint presentation was peppered with memorable characters from commercial advertising; Snap, Crackle, Pop, the Aflac duck, and Hairy Dawg. Using characters like these has other benefits than just being memorable. Sapp said that ad campaigns come and go and may be forgotten but characters can be used over many different campaigns and grow more as a character and become a bigger part of the brand. Once the character has become well known, the brand can extend using the characters’ pull on their audiences. For example, Hairy Dawg was created to bring people into the football games by having a game and a performance from Hairy Dawg. Now, Hairy Dawg’s image is on shirts, footballs, and beach towels.

After the speech was over, the words of Sapp stuck out as not only advice for advertising and graphic design majors, but for anyone who wants to be successful in their field. “Don’t be afraid of new ideas.” Doing something new may not always work out, but to quote the adage, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Cobb EMC speaks to University of Georgia PRSSA students

On Wednesday, April 1, 2009, Cobb EMC’s Community Relations Specialist, Kaitlin Tenery spoke to PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) students at the University of Georgia.
Tenery defines her title as being a good corporate citizen and fostering relationships, and promoting good will. Her goal is to tailor to the organization’s personality and community needs. In return, Cobb EMC has the potential to create positive visibility, loyalty, and employee moral.
Begun in 1938 for the Cobb County community, Tenery's company wants to tailor toward a culture of community of service. Corporate sponsorships in the local area are a priority for the company.
“Give Our Schools a Hand” is a particular corporate sponsorship. This is an annual, week-long celebration for Cobb County’s educators, sponsored by the Cobb Chamber.
In addition to this sponsorship, Cobb EMC also sponsored Project 2400. This was also sponsored by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. The project allowed students to take part in a free SAT prep course. Last year, 90 percent of the 510 participating students scored up to 610 points higher on the SAT.
Another corporate sponsorship involvement was called the Dictionary Project with the Cobb Literacy Council. It provided a student with a dictionary to third grade students at participating students. This aided in literacy efforts for the students.
A third sponsorship was the North Metro Technology Fair. Here, students compete in technology disciplines like Robotics and digital video editing.
Cobb EMC places a high standard on their community involvement. Representatives are on two community service boards, the Cobb Literacy Council, and the Cobb Youth Council.
They also take part in the Chamber of Commerce. Cobb EMC is on the Partners in Education Committee and the Annual Membership Campaign.
As a “Partner in Education”, Cobb EMC is promoting special project funding at nine elementary schools in Cobb County. Tenery speaks of the many enjoyable events she has been able to take part in.
Tenery has visited schools on reading days, career days, special programs, school advisory councils, and science fair presentations. These are enjoyable and beneficial days that help build Cobb EMC’s positive relations with the community and promote goodwill.
When Tenery comments on advice to the PRSSA students, she says, “You can always continue to build your network, and learn to take advantage of it.”
Cobb EMC was Tenery’s first job after graduating from the University of Georgia in 2005. She found this job from networking with a friend.
Tenery advises, “Don’t be afraid, be proactive. Take any opportunity and be involved in any way you can. Continue refining your passions and doing what you love to do.”
In Tenery’s conclusion, she recommended the students to get involved in their community. She also related to the students by telling how she herself was a member of PRSSA at the university. Before leaving, she encouraged the students to continue with PRSSA after college.

Cobb EMC Employee Emphasizes The Importance Of Good Will

"My job is all about being a good corporate citizen, fostering relationships, and good will," a speaker said during a PRSSA meeting on Wednesday night.

Kaitlin Tenery, community relations specialist for Cobb Electric Membership Corporation, informed a large crowd of students what the definition of community relations really means.

Cobb EMC, a not-for-profit electric energy company located in Cobb County, Ga., is affiliated with Cobb Energy. Cobb EMC is the parent company for Cobb Energy.

Immediately from the start in 1938, Cobb EMC practiced a culture of community service and involvement. The company continues to do so through civic organizations, charitable communications, and partnerships with local education.

"Cobb County is a great county for education. That is why our company focuses on education so much," said Tenery.

The employees of Cobb EMC partner with local schools and provide internship opportunities for high school students. A local Cobb County student from any grade can apply for the internship in the public relations department.

In addition to internships, Cobb EMC provides mini grants to the schools to aid in the education of children. Recently, a teacher at a Cobb County elementary school realized that although students loved to read, many of them could not afford to buy books. Cobb EMC provided $1,000 to the school, enough money to provide one book per student.

Students can participate in the mentoring program that Cobb EMC has to offer. The program matches the student with a Cobb EMC employee who provides encouragement for the child's future. "None of the that were involved in the program were written up at school. A lot of these kids had problems previously and the program taught them better behavior," said Tenery.

A great opportunity for children is career day at Cobb EMC. The program has been held for 17 years and allows 50 fourth-grade and fifth-grade students to work at the company for a day. The audience smiled and laughed as Tenery showed pictures of the students in suits and neckties. Other programs Cobb EMC offers include art contests, partner reading days, and school career days.

"You never know what kind of impact you can have on these kids. This position has made me realize that I love event planning and I love helping people," Tenery said.

Tenery offered advice to any students interested in a position of community relations. According to Tenery, a community relations specialist must be a good people-person, have excellent verbal communication, and have the ability to multi-task. She emphasized that networking is the most important preparation.

"Networking sounds artificial but it does not have to be. You can build this in a natural way by networking with your family, friends, and teachers. Take every opportunity you can and continue refining your passions."

At the end of the speech students eagerly asked questions, proving their interest and appreciation in the speech.

After concluding questions were answered, Tenery opened a giveaway bag and gave every student a raffle ticket. The audience smiled with anticipation when she said, "I brought a gift because my boss believes very strongly in giving gifts. It shows the good will that Cobb EMC practices every day."

Athen's Religious Leaders Encourage Discussion on the Subject of Homosexuality and Religion

University Union, a student-run organization at the University of Georgia, held a forum last night on faith and homosexuality in the Miller Learning Center. Over 250 students attended this panel discussion in order to better understand the issues facing homosexuals in Christianity. Three religious leaders from the Athens community, both liberal and conservative in their spiritual beliefs, presented their views on homosexuality and its representation in the Bible. Parker James a Presbyterian pastor of the University Church represented conservative views on the subject. "Love your neighbor as thyself" recites Parker as he explains his tolerance of homosexuals. Despite his compassion for the gays in society, he still maintains a fairly strict following of the Scripture. In his interpretation of Bible, he explains the story of Adam and Eve: God created man and out of man came woman. It is upon the story of creation and God's intentions for men and women to procreate that Parker lays his foundation of religious belief. "I welcome homosexual people but would challenge their practices," he claims. He continues to say that he takes a "stance of submission to the Scripture." He explains that Christianity should be "transformational" whether a person is gay or straight. "Find a church that calls you to change and enables you to become holy," he conludes.
Representing a more liberal stance, Reverend Daniel Brown of the Episcopal Center at the University of Georgia claims that societal problems with homosexual practices are rooted in fear. He explains that the issues concerning gay people are not solely issues for people of religion. In fact, some people unaffiliated with a particular religion or church still have problems with homosexual relationships. In response to a question inquiring about the steps a homosexual should take in order to become more accepted in the church, Brown recited the words of God: "Don't be afraid." He explains that God has the capacity both to love and forgive all of his sons and daughters.
Reverend Renee DuBose of Our Hope Metropolitan Community Church, also takes a liberal stance on Christianity. Being openly gay herself, she personally understands the struggles of homosexuals in the Christian society. "I hold the Scripture as an authority, but not the only authority," she explains when asked about her thoughts on using the Bible as a guide for which to lead your life. She goes on to explain that she believes that the Bible "has been used as a weapon toward minorities and underrepresented groups." She finds it more important to focus on bigger issues like poverty and making a change in the world. In her concluding statements, DuBose confessed her faith in the young generation of the world. She believes that we live in a perfect time to make the changes that are needed for homosexuals both in society as well as in Christianity.

The Age of Inequality

After asking for a moment of silence to acknowledge the recent tragedy in Mumbai, Palagummi Sainath began his lecture by explaining the meaning of pictures that played in a slideshow before he spoke. “They are portraits of farmers who have committed suicide and the families they have left behind.”

The number of audience members far exceeded the number of seats in room 200C of the Geography Building, but those without a seat were content to line the walls or sit on stairways to listen to Sainath speak about the farm and food crisis facing India and the role the media played throughout the turmoil.

Sainath, 2007 winner of the Ramon Magsaysay award for journalism, spoke at the event sponsored by the Geography Department. He has chosen to focus his work on the economically underprivileged of India and had a simple explanation for the resilience of the general population of Mumbai after last week’s terrorist attacks. “For 65% of the population, if you don’t go to work that day, you don’t eat.” That startling statistic, he explained, shows the growing distance between the rich and poor of India.

While the country has the fourth highest number of billionaires according to Forbes magazine, a United Nations survey ranks India at 128th in human development. In fact, India has set the poverty line at 24 cents a day. 200 million Indians no longer seek medical attention of any kind because they cannot afford it. It seems that as the number of billionaires grew, the quality of life for the majority of citizens declined. “There is astonishing disparity,” Sainath explained. “53 people, those Forbes billionaires, make up 31% of India’s GDP.”

Sainath believes that modern governments choose to intervene on behalf of the rich and the elite, citing the Wall Street bailout as evidence of such. “There has been an unprecedented rise of corporate power, and they wield incredible influence.” Using California’s 11 billion dollar deficit as an example, he predicts there will be cuts in social welfare and education among other things. “All across the world there is a transfer of resources from poor to rich, it just happens in different ways.”

Because of the world food price crisis, even middle classes families had to start worrying about food prices for the first time, according to Sainath. He attributes the price increases to corporations overtaking the agricultural industry not only in India but also across the world. He explains this is because corporations have taken control of pesticide and seed sales, and over the past few years companies have increased the price of such goods by as much as 700%.

These price increases have made it very difficult for farmers to make any profit. In the past, the vast majority of Indians made their living off agriculture and food crops. But between 1991 and 2006, 8 million people quit farming. Those who continue farming are incredibly impoverished and often times can’t even get a small crop loan from the bank.

According to Sainath, every 30 minutes another farmer in India commits suicide. In fact, over 166,000 farmers have committed suicide since 1991. “Most of the suicide households are neck-deep in debt and the farmer sees no other way out,” Sainath explained.

“But has the media shown much interest in this?” Sainath asked. He believes they did not. Sainath lamented the media’s lack of interest in such troubling issues and cited them as being part of the problem. “The media has been a part of that incredible rise of corporate power. Where we should have told stories, instead we sold products.”

Georgia Women Speak of Poor Conditions for Kenyan Women

Young girls are married off by the age of 15, many to men almost 30 years their senior. Sixty-nine percent of women are considered literate and less than 12 percent continue their education past eighth grade. Mothers walk up to eight miles per day to retrieve the freshest water for their families from still polluted streams and rivers. The women of the Maasai tribe in Nairobi, Kenya live lives of conflict, hardship, and burden.

Female leaders from around Athens and the University of Georgia led a discussion Tuesday afternoon at the school’s Visual Arts Center concerning life in the Maasai tribe. Sponsored by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government International Center, the discussion focused on a recent two-week trip taken by ten Georgia women to Kenya.

The discussion, titled “Women of the Maasai: Empowerment and Networks,” highlighted the rough cultural expectations and quality of life for a woman in Nairobi. Speakers included the Athens Mayor, Heidi Davison, a Stay Safe activist, Joan Prittie, and Njeri Marekia-Cleaveland, a public service assistant from the Carl Vinson Institute.

Throughout their discussion, many of the women voiced the conflict of changing the Maasai way of life without threatening to change the culture.

“It’s hard to do,” says Marekia-Cleaveland. “They don’t want to change their culture, even if it’s for the betterment of their life.”

Marekia-Cleaveland went on to describe the constant struggle among women within Maasai society. With men “wandering around with their cattle all day”, she says, the women are left with the hardships of caring for the family.

She described chores such as milking cows and creating beadwork. The women will fulfill both chores, but since the man is the one allowed to sell them to factories and markets, he will pocket the money.

In addition, the woman will take care of the land, children, and food—further taxing her and increasing her hardships.

Joan Prittie, who is also a public administration and policy professor at UGA, says that it is hard for many Americans to understand why these women have yet to escape their circumstances. She says that to consider their status, you must also consider their culture.

“There is a certain level of accepted violence,” she says.

Many young girls are subject to early marriage, some as soon as 10 years old, and Female Genitalia Mutilation (FGM)—both are illegal in Kenya. The Maasai culture deems a woman pure once she has gone through FGM, a procedure that risks her life and makes childbirth more complex, risking the life of the unborn.

Many members of the 25-person audience gasped and suddenly raised their hands to their mouths in terror. Prittie responded to the shock by claiming, “They either have to face this direct violence or become secondary citizens.”