Michael Buffa
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Erin Moloney
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REBUS
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tipperobrienFiled under: Events, Recaps | Tags: breakfast club, ready+willing, strange donuts
REBUS held its inaugural Breakfast Club event last week at Rooster downtown. The attendees were treated to a free breakfast and the special treat is Strange Donuts. Corey Smale brought the donuts and told us the story of how his passion project, Strange Donuts became the phenomenon it is, in less than a year. 
The presentation was informal and felt intimate, in that Corey walked around the attendees and told his story in a casual yet passionate way. You could see and feel how and why Corey has built an almost cult following in a short period of time. The donuts were a sensational “dessert” to Rooster’s superb breakfasts.
As I was talking with Sarah Waters sitting next to me, I realized that March is REBUS’ birthday . . . it’s seventh! I was stunned by that number and how fast time has flown. I liked the evolution REBUS has experience to become what it is now.
Sarah was one of the original Co-chairs of REBUS and very helpful in getting it growing. Sarah and Kendra Gilligan helped create fREBUS, the pro bono arm of REBUS. In the first year, fREBUS was responsible for over $80,000.00 in deliverables to St. Louis non-profits. As a result of issues identified with fREBUS, Sarah and Kendra went on to found ready+willing.
I’m proud of the fact that REBUS has succeeded in influencing hundreds of young advertising professionals (and many veterans as well) and resulted innumerable “first job” offers. REBUS has visited scores of agencies and photographers’ studios and production companies, helping introduce the regions’ most influential players to the new young professionals.
A REBUS (generally without all caps) is a puzzle combining words and pictures to create another word or phrase. The original concept for REBUS was to get newly graduated writers and art directors together, so that they could collaborate with the goal of helping each other build better portfolios. I’m sure you figured out that this rebus says “Free beer for a year”. Perfect!
REBUS has provided the opportunity for the ambitious to get involved and improve their skills, while working on real projects. There have been networking opportunities and new relationships developed. I’ve been told more than once that without REBUS, someone would not have met someone or found out about something that ended up influencing their careers and/or personal lives!
The hard work and god knows how many hours have all been worth it. I’m proud that REBUS has had and continues to have, the relevance and benefit that it does. Thanks to all of you who have contributed to that effort.
Happy Birthday REBUS!
It was a festive night as people donned their chunky knit holiday pullovers and braved the snow to grab a beer with agency folk, local creatives, and ad-world outsiders at Blueberry Hill for the AdClub / REBUS Awkward Holiday Photo Party. There were seasonal outfits a plenty, but what truly stood out was the holiday cheer – no doubt thanks to the endless array of craft beer and the killer buffet table!
Old and new friends alike mingled to a mix of 90’s favorites, from Backstreet to TLC, provided by DJ/JV Jay E. Even better – new and familiar faces were captured at their most awkward at the winter-themed photo booth.
Sound awesome? It was awesome. Even Santa Claus himself took a break from his yearly rush to make an appearance, breaking it down to Destiny’s Child between brews.
Many thanks to our friends at Rukus for all their help in making the Awkward Holiday Photo Party possible! Be sure to mark your calendars for 2014, as a good time like this only comes but once a year.
Filed under: Agencies, Events, Recaps | Tags: agency visit, H&L Partners, Momentum, Schmooze and Cruise, Switch
As Brendan Corcoran wheeled his way around the corner at Switch last Thursday, he clipped the wall in his adult-sized big wheel but kept on rolling as he made his way in to a din of applause before giving a solid introduction to his beloved agency. That event proved to be a fine microcosm of the evening at large, as a late bus arrival to Switch may have set back the festivities at REBUS’ Schmooze and Cruise: Part Deux…but they were not to be stopped.
Attendees to the event put up $15 in exchange for a bus riding, agency-hopping experience that started at Switch, moved to the newly coined H&L Partners, and finished, albeit somewhat late, at Momentum.
At each stop along the way, a series of advertising-related trivia questions gave REBUS members a chance to pickup amazing prizing, such as a Merriam Webster Dictionary with CD-ROM from 1993, a Shaolin Monks DVD, and a classy Almost $ingle T-Shirt.
Thanks to everyone who made The REBUS Schmooze and Cruise a possibility, particularly to our friends at Switch, H&L Partners, and Momentum. See you at the next stop!
Filed under: Events
Want an official S&C2 poster for your agency or fridge? DM us @REBUS_STL. Thanks to Katie Marshall of H&L Partners for her design!
https://www.facebook.com/events/244438642371986/?notif_t=plan_user_joined
Filed under: Agencies, Events | Tags: Hoffman Lewis, Momentum, Schmooze and Cruise, stl, Switch
It’s that time again. What happens when you load an entire school bus with beer and cruise your way to three agencies in a single night? Come to the REBUS Schmooze and Cruise Part Deux, a bar crawl meets agency-visit experience where a measly $15 gets you beer, food, and a damn good time.
On Thursday, October 17th at 6PM you can schmooze and booze while we cruise to Switch, Momentum, and Hoffman Lewis, playing advertising trivia along the way for a chance at fabulous, once-in-a-lifetime prizes. Maybe you win a VHS of The Land Before Time Seven, maybe you pick up a collection of Smurf’s-themed slap bracelets, maybe you get a half-used package of napkins….who knows? Maybe you win nothing but a rootin-tootin good time because you don’t know what Folger’s tagline was in 1987. But you’ll never know unless you go, so head to Eventbrite today, pick up your ticket, and get ready to Schmooze and Cruise on October 17th.
Filed under: Agencies, Recaps | Tags: Advertising, Integrity, marketing, REBUS, stl, visit
When Integrity hosted the REBUS event on Tuesday, they bared all and called in the police for those fascinated with the digital marketing world today. It all started in their simplistic quarters on The Loop, where mostly younger folks ate, drank, laughed and shared good times.
Then, Angie Hayden revealed a full checklist to us that will ensure we’re creating interactive applications that are relevant and actually work. Jeremiah Harris explained why native applications are on the rise, compared to HTML. And he confessed that getting it finished (and live) is better than getting it perfected. After all, we will need to make tweaks after user feedback anyhow.
Lastly, partner and CCO Ed Morrissey made one spectator recite the alphabet backwards after answering “no” to “does the product being marketed really need to be that good?”. OK, so Ed didn’t really do that. But he did make it resoundingly clear that YES, the product has to be a good product. Because so much user feedback is immediately available with technology now, your shit needs to be good and relevant or your brand will be obliterated like Polaroid or Circuit City!
The crowd at Integrity also shared the excitement around St. Louis potentially becoming a leader in digital marketing technology and execution. For those of you who missed the event, we invite you to get involved and help our talent-laden city prevail in this effort.
You can start by checking back for the details about the REBUS Schmooze ‘n Cruise event coming in October!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Integrity | Tuesday, 9/24 at 6PM
6358 Delmar Blvd. Suite 444,
Saint Louis, Missouri 63130
Back by popular demand…REBUS agency visits! Join us to check out Integrity in the Loop on September
24th to get a quick shot of some of the emerging trends in the digital world.
As one of St. Louis’ premier digital companies, Integrity has built an exciting history of success
connecting brands with their consumer’s in the digital world.
Starting at 6pm, we’ll take a look at their capabilities with mobile apps, see their approach to network marketing, and hear their thoughts on interactive design.
As always, we’ll have great food and drinks to help celebrate, and odds are good that we’ll hit up Delmar afterwards. See you there!
Must be 21 and over to attend | Cost: $10 for Non Ad Club Members
FREE for paid Ad Club Members
Filed under: Uncategorized
Odds are good, if you’re like most agency types you’ve said the following: “Man, I really need to update my portfolio…I’ll get to that next week.” Well, whether you’re a seasoned professional, or new to the ad world, REBUS is bringing you the perfect reason to update that old portfolio and get it ready for the next step in your career.
On June 18th, come down to FK Studio for SHINOLA IV: Building a brand called “YOU”!, brought to you by REBUS and The Creative Group. Doors open at 5:30pm followed by presentations from some of St. Louis’ top creative minds. After these quick, insightful discussions, agency professionals from other top local agencies will review your portfolio and offer expertise on prepping that resume, assembling your portfolio, interviewing in the St. Louis area, and most importantly…getting a job.
In addition to access to top industry speakers and portfolio reviewers, your $20 ticket also gets you chance to network with seasoned advertising professionals, check out the space at FK, and enjoy good food and beverages.
This event is great for agency newcomers, long-time advertising personnel looking to brush up on their knowledge, and college students alike, but make sure to RSVP ASAP. The first 25 paid reservations are guaranteed one-on-one portfolio reviews with leaders from some of St. Louis’ top agencies, and space is limited to 100 attendees.
RSVP NOW:
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6894003149
Filed under: Uncategorized
FleishmanHillard beeindruckt (that’s true German for impressed!) the audience Tuesday night with their presentation of Advolution: How Ads Start To Finish.
Executive Creative Director Tom Hudder showcased FH’s new ATL (English acronym for above the line) Kräftig creative for radio, outdoor TV, packaging and premium goods. Kräftig Brand Manager Mike Brooks then explained his goal for promoting the brand and why FH made such a great fit. To paraphrase a bit, his direction to FH went something like this, “We want to really play up the flavor and sessionability of this beer. Oh, and make it funny as shit!”
The FH team discussed how Kräftig is brewed using Reinheitsgebot (RHINE-heights-geh-boat), the German Beer Purity Law, unlike any other domestic lager and light beer. They also confessed their whimsical thoughts throughout the creative process and how they narrowed down the focus.
The crowd at Harry’s listened intently while experiencing Reinheitsgebot and some appetizers. After their presentation, the team opened the floor to questions. And had answers for all, including “did you ever consider using sex appeal like other beers?”. FH encouraged us to recall Language Lessons: Sausage ad, and to stay tuned for the next round of Kräftig ads….
Besides showing off some great creative and providing us with köstlich (German for yum) purity brewed Kräftig and Kräftig light, the FH team left us with some key points:
– Go ahead and produce your off-the-wall ideas to do them justice, and the client may buy off on them. Just like the Kräftig Reinheitsgebot Song.
– Always use a LIVE international interpreter for translation to make sure you don’t talk in offensive language or context!
We saw new faces at this Advolution event, along with lots of mingling and awesome local creative work. Thanks to FleishmanHillard for making behind-the-STL-ad-scenes front, center and fun.
Filed under: Agencies, Entertainment, Uncategorized | Tags: Advertising, DJ Elle, model, REBUS, st. louis, Talent, TPUniversal
As her mad pink kicks crashed up and down on the light-flashing dance floor, the music bumping through the room, you knew one thing: DJ Elle Morgan came to party. And so did REBUS at last month’s TalentPlus event. With two parts party and one part professional, TalentPlus put the hammer down on our April event. The room was filled with pounding house beats delivered by Texas prodigy DJ Elle Morgan (http://www.facebook.com/djellemorgan ) who was on her way to showcase her skills at the FIRST Robotics Championship downtown on Washington Avenue.
The entire event was a delight for the senses. Top notch hors d’oeuvres, a step and repeat “live” red carpet anchored by a beautiful TalentPlus model, ceiling light show, refreshments, and Elle Morgan created an atmosphere that made for one of REBUS’ best events ever. In fact, it was more of a party than anything else, as TalentPlus showed off a variety of their offerings to the lucky attendees who were happy to show up in the midst of the downpour outside.
Attendees had a chance to tour the TalentPlus space and learn about their recent evolution to TP Universal, and the various offerings underneath that umbrella, before jamming the night away on the outskirts of Forest Park.
Our next REBUS event, Advolution, How Ads Start To Finish, examines the process by which an idea actually becomes an ad. Our subject will be the recent Above The Line for Kraftig released last month by Fleishman Hillard. Stop in to hear from ECD Tom Hudder how this work came to life.
REBUS St. Louis 