Dzine.tv: Imaginary Forces Create Campaign for Time Warner

January 31, 2008

Time Cable delivers high-speed Internet, digital telephone and digital cable in a variety of packages suited to meet a variety of needs. Their marketing philosophy of meeting diverse needs of customers, as expressed by its tagline "We like the way you think," weaves through a series of 12 thirty-second spots created by Time Warner Cable's agency, RTC Relationship Marketing, a division of Y&R Brands.
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RTCRM Continues Growth in 2008 with Key New Hires

-DC Company Expands Its Advertising and Marketing Talent in Chicago-

WASHINGTON, DC -- January 28, 2008 -- RTC Relationship Marketing (RTCRM), a Washington, DC-based direct marketing agency, is starting off the new year with continued growth with the addition of David Vukits, vice president of strategy and insights; and Courtney Thompson, vice president, creative director to its Chicago operations.

In his role as vice president of strategy and insights, Vukits will utilize qualitative and quantitative research in generating strategic business tactics for RTCRM clients. Previously Vukits was vice president of the insight and innovation practice for GreenHouse Communications in Chicago, where he developed new marketing models leveraging brain physiology, human psychology and principles of marketing. His expertise includes account planning, customer relationship management (CRM), customer insight, facilitation, loyalty, research and strategic planning.

"David brings a combination of skills and experience that will greatly enhance our ability to drive results for our clients-- in particular his ability to apply consumer insights into mathematic models to predict behavior," says RTCRM CEO Barry Kessel.

A 20-year veteran of strategic marketing solutions, Vukits has created and implemented tactical advertising campaigns for clients including Citigroup, United Airlines, Bank One, Bristol-Myers Squibb, UPS, Amoco and Hilton Hotels. His accounts at RTCRM will include leading companies within the technology, financial services and pharmaceuticals industries. Vukits holds an M.B.A. from the University of Illinois and a B.A. from Marquette University.

Also, RTCRM announced the hiring of Courtney Thompson as vice president, creative director in the Chicago office. A seasoned business-to-business (B2B) and relationship marketing professional, Thompson was a creative director at MDB Communications in Washington, DC, where she managed award-winning and results-producing creative for the DC Lottery, National Geographic, Fannie Mae and the National School Boards Association. Thompson now returns to RTCRM, where she previously managed agency clients GlaxoSmithKline, AARP and Road Runner High Speed Online. In addition, she has headed pro bono campaigns for both the Red Cross and The Women's Center.

"It's nice to welcome Courtney back to the RTCRM family," says Barry Kessel, RTCRM's CEO. "She's a gifted creative professional and will add to our ability to create powerful, insight-driven creative that builds our clients' business."

As vice president, creative director, Thompson is responsible for the overall development and execution of creative campaigns that deliver fresh, incisive and results-oriented communications for RTCRM clients. Thompson has extensive strategic and creative-development experience for integrated, multi-channel acquisition, retention and relationship-building campaigns for both B2B and consumer targets. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Rollins College in Winter Park, FL.

DMNews: Fire Up a Fan Frenzy

by Mary Elizabeth Hurn

January 8th, 2008

Facing an increasingly crowded market, entertainment marketers are using creative direct tactics to engage consumers and build buzz.

When it comes to entertainment, consumers have endless options to choose from, whether they are diverted by the latest video on YouTube, a new online game or a message on their Facebook page. So it's clear that marketers of movies, TV shows and entertainment brands can no longer rely on a simple preview or banner ad to solicit viewers. Instead, they are using new technologies and creative ideas to help reach potential fans.
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RTCRM 2007 Holiday Card

Real Holidays They Don't Want You To Know About

December 1, 2007

For the 2007 holiday season, RTC Relationship Marketing exposed one of the greatest cover up schemes of all time. Yes, it's true every day is a holiday. Learn about Squirrel Appreciation Day. Commemorate Defy Superstition Day. Rejoice on William Howard Taft Day. See how RTCRM celebrates these special days, every day, and discover what you've been missing.
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BtoB Magazine: Companies Use Fun and Games to Find Serious Business

Playful Platforms Reach Audience Subsets and Spark Viral Campaigns
By Carol Krol

December 10, 2007

Playing games is serious business for b-to-b marketers. Companies such as Office Depot, Samsung Electronics Corp., United Parcel Service of America and QAS, an Experian company that handles address data verification, have all introduced viral games in order to stand out from the pack by appealing to their customers' playful side.
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RTC Relationship Marketing and Time Warner Cable Team Up to Promote "Fred Claus"

November 8, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. - This holiday, Mr. Claus will be checking to see who's been naughty or nice-Fred Claus, that is! RTC Relationship Marketing (RTCRM) and Time Warner Cable (TWC) have launched a multi-platform marketing and advertising campaign around the new Warner Bros. Pictures film "Fred Claus", starring Vince Vaughn, which opens nationwide on Friday, November 9. It's a promotion with lots of presents for Time Warner Cable subscribers: exclusive content in HD and On Demand, original vignettes and games online, e-cards, a sweepstakes and more.

Alongside Time Warner Cable (TWC), RTCRM conceived and designed the program, including a dedicated website (www.fredclausgiveaway.com), email programs and the use of exclusive content to drive new marketing platforms such as mobile text messaging and a dedicated video-on-demand channel. Sister WPP company OgilvyOne and the Ogilvy Branded Content Group, as well as FAME and Don Jagoda Associates, all contributed to the effort.

"We saw the Fred Claus promotion as a way to provide our customers with free, engaging HD and standard definition content that not only promotes the movie but demonstrates what the Time Warner Cable platform is capable of," says Lauren LoFrisco, Group Vice President of Marketing Communications, Time Warner Cable. "We're giving consumers the content they want, when they want it, on the devices they want."

"Only Time Warner Cable subscribers will see all the gee-whiz cross-platform stuff but there's loads of content online for tire-kickers too," says John Mullin, Senior Vice President, Group Account Director at RTCRM. "The site has trailers, a holiday e-card, seven original games and a home theater sweepstakes. It's also where consumers can engage us and tell us what else they'd like to see more of from Time Warner Cable."

Time Warner Cable and RTCRM have shared a relationship since 2005, with the D.C.-based company handling all single product acquisition broadcast, print, DM, and online projects for Road Runner High Speed Online, Digital Cable and Digital Phone.

Samsung Awards $30,000 Grand Prize Package to the Crossroads School

November 2007

Winning School Receives Technology "Makeover" from Samsung as Part of Company's "Be Your School's Hero" Contest

RTC Relationship Marketing (RTCRM) created this hugely successful School Technology Makeover promotion from start to finish. We engaged school IT professionals by sending them a direct mail piece that worked as a "secret decoder." The mailing drove people to an online destination where they'd hold up their decoder to see if they were the winner of a School Technology Makeover and many other prizes. Finally, IT guys had an opportunity to become their school's hero.

And so they played and played and played. People could come back every day for a chance to win. Approximately 100,000 decoders were mailed, and the site received 23,835 unique visitors. But there could only be one grand prize winner, and the IT professional at The Crossroads School in Baltimore, MD was the one.

BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a global leader in digital technology, today announced The Crossroads School in Baltimore, MD, as the winner of the company's "Be Your School's Hero" contest, which honors one winning school with $30,000 in Samsung's latest innovative technology products.

Steve Glickman, IT coordinator at The Crossroads School, accepted the award at a press conference held at the school, along with Marc Martin, the school's principal, and Scott Raymond, Vice President of Education of the Living Classrooms Foundation.

The grand prize package included several of Samsung's award-winning products totaling a value of more than $30,000: color laser printers and multifunction printers including ten CLP-300N color laser printers, one LCD high-definition television, one camcorder, and one DVD-VHS combo player.

Jay Shears, Samsung's Director of Office Automation, presented the award to The Crossroads School. "Samsung's commitment to Education is strong. Our hope is to use our leading technology solutions in order to create opportunities for students and help them prepare for the future," said Shears. "We are proud to provide the technology resources to enhance the learning experience at The Crossroads School and help the deserving student body realize its full potential."

"The Crossroads School is grateful that Samsung recognizes the importance of technology in the classroom and how it's beneficial to the growth and success of the students at the school," said Steve Glickman, IT Director and teacher at The Crossroads School. "We look forward to incorporating these new resources into the students' everyday learning and watching them prosper because of this generous donation."

The Crossroads School is a public, tuition-free charter middle school operated by Living Classrooms Foundation through a contract with the Baltimore City Public School System. The school, which opened its doors in September 2002, draws underserved youth from some of Baltimore's most challenged communities, and currently serves 150 students in sixth through eighth grades.

The Crossroads School prides itself on being a "school of choice" whereby students, families, and teachers choose to be a part of the Crossroads educational community. The curriculum focuses on the fundamentals of reading, writing, and math with a hands-on, interdisciplinary approach. Technology, cooperative learning, critical thinking, and real-world application of knowledge are also considered to be fundamental to the core curriculum.

Editor's Note: To speak with a representative from The Crossroads School, please contact Kristi Betz directly at 410-243-1333 ext 225 or via email at kbetz@weinbergharris.com.

Samsung contacts: Samsung Electronics America, Information Technology Division, Alice Collins at 949-975-7245 or acollins@sea.samsung.com or MWW Group for Samsung Electronics America, Information Technology Division, Talia Ton at 949-567-9319, tron@mww.com

RTCRM Continues Unprecedented Growth in 40th Year of Business

Released: October 16, 2007

-Senior-Level Management Added Due To Increased Advertising and Marketing Business-

WASHINGTON, D.C.-RTC Relationship Marketing (RTCRM), a Washington, D.C.-based direct marketing agency, continues its expansion in its 40th year of business and continues to experience explosive growth, as shown by the recent hiring of several senior-level executives.

Recently, RTCRM hired Brad Blackmon as Vice President/Account Director overseeing the telecommunications sector targeting adults 18-65. Prior to joining RTCRM, Blackmon oversaw the Pergo and Beazer Homes business for Fitzgerald+CO. Blackmon also brings a wealth of experience from Wunderman London, where he led the Microsoft Servers and Tools team as well as worked with Wunderman Europe, Middle East and Africa Hub to facilitate seamless programs across those regions. Blackmon graduated from Lee University with a BA in Advertising and Communications.

Mark Adams looks to add strategic and business insights gained from qualitative and quantitative research at every stage of the client engagement in his new role as Vice President/Associate Director, Strategy & Insights. Prior to joining RTCRM, Adams gained branding, strategy and business development experience with ad agency Blattner Brunner as a brand strategist. Prior to agency life, he gained 13+ years of branding, corporate communications, business development and strategic marketing experience with global financial leaders Merrill Lynch and T. Rowe Price. Adams also acquired additional strategic planning acumen and client-relations skills from his technology consulting experience with Booz Allen Hamilton, where he led large-scale change management and planning efforts. Adams received his MBA from Virginia Tech.

Carol Freed joins RTCRM as Vice President/Director, Marketing Services and is responsible for developing procedures to enable collaboration among print production, project management and studio and all other agency departments. Prior to joining RTCRM, Freed managed creative services for companies including G2 Branding and Design (a division of Grey New York) and Ralph Lauren Advertising.

Also, RTCRM hired Dawn Panzeca as Vice President/Creative Director and creative lead over its diabetes health portfolio, which is dedicated to diabetes prevention, education and care. Panzeca has a wealth of direct and relationship marketing experience. Immediately before joining RTCRM, she ran her own business, Panzeca Creative. Her clients included AT&T Broadband, Procter & Gamble, Bausch & Lomb, Bank of America and Cincinnati Bell. Before venturing out on her own, Panzeca spent five years at Frequency Marketing, where she served as creative director on accounts such as American Express, AutoNation, Cracker Barrel, Eddie Bauer and Verizon. Panzeca holds a degree from the Art Institute of Dallas. She is a member of the Direct Marketing Association, has served as a judge for the industry's Echo Awards and has participated in numerous creative workshops.

Finally, Meaghan Shawcross joins RTCRM as SVP/Group Account Director managing all pharmaceutical accounts for the agency's New York office. Shawcross leads pharmaceutical accounts ranging from women's health care to diabetes care and cholesterol management. Prior to joining RTCRM, Shawcross was a Relationship Marketing Strategist for CommonHealth Consumer Group (CHC) where she provided leadership in strategy over a broad range of CHC businesses including AstraZeneca, Genentech and Reckitt Benckiser. Also, Shawcross has extensive experience working on Procter & Gamble Scale Marketing business through Meredith Integrated Marketing. She is a recipient of several industry honors including Caples, ECHO, PhAME and MM&M awards. She earned her BA in Theater and Communications from Connecticut College.

RTCRM Names Top Brands For Consumer Loyalty and Brand Experience in Nationwide Study

Released: September 26, 2007

ING Leads the Way in Nationwide Brand Experience and Loyalty Study.
Number-One Rankings for ING and Honda on Key Loyalty Dimensions.

A nationwide study released today by RTC Relationship Marketing (RTCRM) gives financial services giant ING and automaker Honda top ranking based upon customer brand experience. Toyota, Volkswagen, Southwest Airlines, Radisson, GM, Hyatt, Westin and The Home Depot rounded out the top 10 brands with the best customer experience.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this week, RTCRM is a full-service relationship marketing agency serving Fortune 100 companies, based in Washington, D.C., with offices in New York City and Chicago. RTCRM delivers innovative, targeted solutions to grow its clients' brands and help them forge lasting, valuable relationships with their customers.

"This study clearly demonstrates how brand experience can be leveraged as a major differentiator, even among leading brands," stated RTCRM CEO Barry Kessel. "While the automotive industry has been doing this successfully for years, it's compelling to see a financial services brand like ING so significantly outperform its competitors on experience. While marketers spend billions on brand awareness and acquiring new customers, it's equally important and highly profitable to keep customers happy and committed by delivering a positive experience. It just makes good business sense," said Kessel.

In addition to its overall top ranking, ING ranked number one for the sense of community its customers feel with other users of the brand as well as number one for "listening and addressing customer concerns." Sesame Street and Wonderful World of Disney were second and third after ING on the criterion of "sense of community with other brand users."

Honda and Southwest Airlines came after ING on "listening and addressing customer concerns."

Honda, ING and Toyota ranked highest on this brand performance criteria: "meets needs and worth a premium."

RTCRM's study ranked leading brands from Young & Rubicam's BrandAsset ValuatorTM, the world's largest ongoing brand study. Fifty-four brands in eight categories were evaluated using the proprietary Brand Experience ScorecardTM model. The model correlates brand performance, customer treatment and sense of community as the major drivers of overall brand experience. These scores indicate customer commitment to the brand. Categories included in the study were: automotive, banking, television programming, mobile phones, Internet providers, hotels, airlines and specialty retail.

Top Three Brands by Experience Ranking by category included the following:

Airlines: Southwest, JetBlue and Continental
Auto: Honda, Toyota and General Motors
Banking: ING, Wachovia and Wells Fargo
Internet: Verizon, Google and AT&T
Hotel: Radisson, Hyatt and Westin
Specialty Retail: Home Depot, Bath & Body Works and Best Buy
TV Programming: Sesame Street, Wonderful World of Disney and Oprah
Mobile: Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Motorola

Honorable mentions not ranked due to low base sizes included: Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Volkswagen, Apple iPhone, Virgin Atlantic Airlines and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Data was compiled from an Internet survey of 1,035 adults 18 or older conducted the week of September 10, 2007, by Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, a market research firm with more than 30 years' experience applying lessons from the political campaign trail to give clients the insights they need to beat the competition.

RTCRM Experiences Unprecedented Growth in 40th Year of Business

Released: July 16, 2007

Senior-Level Management Added and Promoted Due to Increasing
Advertising and Marketing Business

WASHINGTON, D.C.--RTC Relationship Marketing (RTCRM), a Washington, D.C.-based direct marketing agency, is experiencing explosive growth, as shown by the recent hiring and promotion of several senior-level executives. The significant expansion has led to the agency's hiring an average of one new hire per day since the start of 2007. As a result of this growth, RTCRM has expanded to four buildings in Georgetown, in addition to offices in New York City and Chicago.

The company has filled positions in the areas of production, teleservices, marketing intelligence/strategy, interactive, editorial services, creative and account management.

Recently, RTCRM hired Kris Filan as Senior Vice President/Group Account Director. In this role, Filan will be responsible for management of product and services marketing to seniors. Filan joins RTCRM from Harte-Hanks in Billerica, Mass., and has extensive senior-level account management experience, having worked at Digitas and Customer Development Corp. (now ChoicePoint). Filan is a graduate of Boston College.

Also, RTCRM recently hired Elizabeth Upton as Senior Vice President/Group Account Director. Upton will focus her efforts on marketing health care brands to women. She joins RTCRM from Corbett Healthcare Group, and over the course of her career has led worldwide agency account teams on strategy and creative development for full pharmaceutical and health care product lines. Upton is a graduate of Duke University.
Internally, Rick Hirsch has been promoted from Vice President/Account Director to Senior Vice President/Account Director focusing on Abbott.

"Our company is experiencing significant growth and we are placing a great deal of emphasis on hiring quality people and promoting those from within," said Barry Kessel, CEO of RTCRM. "It's tremendously rewarding to be a part of one of the largest and fastest-growing relationship marketing companies."

RTCRM Expands Operations

February 22, 2007

Company to 60 New Jobs To Fulfill Growing Advertising and Marketing Business

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- RTC Relationship Marketing (RTRCM), a Washington, DC-based direct marketing agency, announced today that it is prepared to add 60 marketing professionals to its business operation due to significant growth. RTCRM is a subsidiary of the WPP Group, one of the world's largest communications services group WPP companies also include Wunderman, Y&R, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, JWT and Landor. "Beginning today, RTCRM is seeking 60 advertising and marketing professionals to fulfill the explosive growth experienced in the past several years. In particular, we are responding to a growing need for innovative, creative and original work in the area of interactive advertising and marketing with our new clients," said Barry Kessel, CEO of RTCRM.

RTCRM is recruiting for positions such as broadcast producer, teleservices manager, database manager, marketing analyst, Web developer, interactive producer, copywriters, art directors, production managers and designers.

RTCRM also announced today the addition of George Fencl as senior vice president and director of strategy and insights. In this new network role, Mr Fencl will be responsible for building a strategy practice -- managing primary and secondary research needs and delivering strategic insights to help RTCRM's clients respond to their business and marketing challenges. Mr. Fencl joins RTCRM from Tocquigny Marketing in Austin, TX. Prior to working in Austin, he spent much of his career in New York, having worked at Wunderman, Scient, Barry Blau & Partners and Bates Advertising. Mr. Fencl is a graduate of Harvard University.

RTCRM is a full-service, direct, relationship marketing agency based in Washington, D.C., in the heart of Georgetown with offices in New York City and Chicago. Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2007, RTCRM delivers innovative, targeted solutions to grow its clients' brands and help them forge lasting, valuable relationships with their customers. What distinguishes RTCRM is its unique ability to analyze data and research on both a rational and emotional level. RTCRM's clients include major brands in the telecom and technology, pharmaceuticals and industry business sectors, and include AARP, Road Runner High Speed Online and Time Warner Cable. RTCRM's innovative campaigns have won multiple advertising and direct marketing awards.