Comments on: R/GA Coming Soon to Kiva Auditorium

By: Mary Peltz

Mary Peltz — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:33:09 +0000

Michael Lowenstern and Dan Fradin were extremely engaging and insightful speakers that know how to talk to an audience. They created a presentation that made me easily understand how R/GA talks with consumers as real people when marketing clients and how they go about doing this by using individualized data. There were several key points that I found especially informative for my future career in Advertising:
-.1% of people click on ads, you must bring site to the traffic NOT drive traffic to the site
-Be social and foster an infinity for people who already love what you see
-Be useful-don’t tell stories. Stories are perishable and you can only tell them so many times before the consumer gets sick of hearing it.
I also loved the analogy they used when explaining customer ROI. Advertising to a customer is much like asking them on a date. An advertiser must earn attention, introduce themselves, deliver a benefit and get them interested enough to spend time with them.

They had some really great ways of explaining things simply and interestingly, and I will carry their nuggets of information with me!

By: Anna Pavone

Anna Pavone — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:05:45 +0000

R/GA had a phenominal presentation. It was great because what they covered, is what is being covered in my classes now, and what I have already been taught. However, they put it into real-world perspective which allowed me to understand the information clearer and get a handle on what it takes to become successful in the industry. They went over information such as what different positions do, finding out the placement, audience, and message, how to figure out where things are being placed, who is seeing it and what message we are able to see. Also, it was cool when they showed us a retargeting example of if you were to go to Verizon’s website, and Kayak.com, and then go onto another website, ads will pop up of those websites you were just on. Right now in one of my classes, we are exploring websites to see who the audience is, what the interests are, where the people are and what they expect out of the website. All of this information was also covered in the presentation. R/GA really put everything together for me by clarifying things I was confused about by making the presentation very structured and organized, with great information.

By: Thanh Le

Thanh Le — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 04:09:09 +0000

A really great presentation by R/GA. One of the important things that I have learned was that advertisers shouldn’t expect consumers coming to their ‘brand’. In fact, advertisers should actually try to push their ‘brand’ to the consumers. One of the best mediums is obviously through digital advertising by placing ads either as banners on websites that would link right to the direct home page. Doing the creative brief for the Nike fuel band project has helped me realized how many different types of possibilities there can be for target segments ranging from young mom consumers, athletic consumers, young teen consumers, and more. As long as the right strategy fits with the right target segment, the execution of the advertising will work.

By: Alex Sikora

Alex Sikora — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 03:43:22 +0000

these guys were cool. i like seeing professionals in the industry being so down to earth. makes me feel like im getting into the right field. the digital techniques they use are the future of advertising and every student in art direction should be looking into learning some of the basics of motion graphics.

By: Courtney Dolan

Courtney Dolan — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 18:02:42 +0000

R/AG did a phenomenal presentation! They were very current and helped me better understand how digital advertisers use special programs to gather information of consumers to better target them. I thought it was interesting when someone posed an ethical question about target marketing. He asked something along the lines of, “Is it an ethical concern that individuals can be wrongly put into judgmental classifications based upon economic status and things of that nature?”. Michael and Dan answered that these programs can only make assumptions; they can’t ask for your name or telephone number. And they also put target marketing in a neat perspective; wouldn’t you as a consumer want advertisements that are relevant to your likes rather than random ones?

By: Kasey Cooper

Kasey Cooper — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 19:30:55 +0000

The presentation was great and very informative! I was surprised to hear that Mike began his advertising career doing junk mail and quickly progressed to the great work he does today. I also enjoyed the discussion of the importance of focusing advertising on the customers and their stories rather than the product itself. A lot of what he said went along with what I learn in my classes, which made me feel more confident in the work I am doing.

By: Courtney Dolan

Courtney Dolan — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 19:00:26 +0000

It was an excellent presentation given by R/GA. Dan and Michael were both very current and engaging which kept my interest. I was also fascinated with the programs they mentioned that use your cookies to suggest targeted advertising. It was also interesting to hear the audience’s questions in regards to specific target marketing. One question that stood out was, “do you find that specified target marketing can cause ethical issues in a sense that it’s classifying individuals into certain lifestyles, economic classes, etc”. And the presenters had a great response in that the programs can only assume certain things about you based upon your website history. They can never know your name, phone number. It was very thought provoking!

By: Nicole Loomis

Nicole Loomis — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:16:27 +0000

Michael Lowenstern and Dan Fradin were such great speakers! I think it’s interesting that R/GA started out as a motion graphics production house but has evolved into one of the forerunners in digital advertising. It was exciting to get an inside look at the possibilities of technology in regards to advertising. Talking to consumers like individual people instead of a mass audience is one of the perks of being an advertiser in the digital age. (And I feel better knowing that we’re all helping to keep the internet free.)

By: Jineen Carcamo

Jineen Carcamo — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:41:23 +0000

I thought the speakers were great. It’s really enjoyable when management and strategy people come in and talk about all the work that goes on behind good looking ads. They’re tips for “Goodvertising” were really on point and I can see how ads will reach consumer on a more relatable level.

I went to the Open Q&A after the presentation and it was great to get a chance to talk the guys more one on one They asked us our thoughts on the future of Advertising in this digital age and really made it a two way discussion.

By: Mike Matthews

Mike Matthews — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 18:29:02 +0000

Very insightful presentation from two very engaging speakers. They really explained how the art of engaging the customer is the new way to sell a product through consumer interaction. The Nike fuel band project was also helpful in modeling how a typical day in the life of an advertising agency member is. I really wish I won that million dollars though…