Last week a&g completed its involvement in our first ever Advertising Apprenticeship Program. a&g partnered with Pile + Company, Timberland, and Citizen Schools to participate in an advertising program for middle school students from around the greater Boston area. This program was an exciting and meaningful experience for students and volunteers alike.

Melissa Vigdor, Paul Salafia and Matt Kiley represented a&g as teachers/mentors in this advertising apprenticeship program. They dedicated 90 minutes one afternoon per week (plus preparation time) for 10 consecutive weeks, from early fall through December, teaching the basics of advertising. A group of 10-15 students were bused to our office for each 90-minute session from Edison Middle School in Brighton.

In this advertising apprenticeship, students participated in a mock-agency review and design advertising campaigns for a Timberland product. Melissa, Paul and Matt partnered with their students to create the best ad campaign possible. At the culmination of the 10-week project, students presented their campaigns at an industry-wide event to a panel of judges including Pile + Company, Timberland executives, community leaders, media representatives and others.

Our apprentices competed against another middle school from Dorchester who partnered with Mullen. While both teams presented well, I’m proud to share that the Edison Middle School kids took home the BIG IDEA award!

Melissa, Matt and Paul, thank you for sharing your knowledge, leadership and project management skills and working to diversify our profession. Maybe one of our apprentices will end up at a&g someday!

As we continue to explore creative ways to make Allen & Gerritsen an even more incredible place to work, we’re launching a “Food for the Soul, Food for the Mind” lunch program hosted by our very own administrative assistant and culinary guru Leslie Simpson.

As most of you who work here know, our very talented Leslie has a passion for food and loves to cook (and yes, she cooks in bulk). Since Leslie joined the agency, she has graciously and generously brought in food that has helped to feed the soul and inspire the minds of many of us working for the agency during the lunching hour. Leslie has expressed an interest in spreading her creative culinary talents to benefit those working at a&g and has launched a program we like to call “Food for the Soul, Food for the Mind.”

Here’s the skinny on how the program works:

Leslie sends out an e-mail with the lunch she intends to make one day early in the week. If the menu option sounds of interest (stews, wraps, salads, et al.) employees e-mail her back. The cost is minimal (just enough to cover the cost of ingredients–probably between $3 and $5 per meal). Employees pay Leslie promptly or no lunch for you. Lunch will be made available on a day later in the week. That’s how the program works. It’s that simple.

Although Leslie may be a culinary guru, it is not her intent of change careers into catering or enter the culinary field. Unfortunately, there are no special requests or special meal exceptions made. This is why you can opt in if interested once you’ve seen the menu option for that week. And, to ensure the program is successful, we started slowly by putting a cap on the number of participants to 10 (first come, first served) and have watched the program evolve and grow.

When you walk through the offices at Allen & Gerritsen, you’ll see diversity that spans gender, generational, cognitive and cultural diversities.  We’ve learned to embrace the differences that come from each generation’s core values, attitudes, and communication styles.  Sure you’ll sometimes experience differences in how you approach team projects, address the needs of our clients, and even approach. What makes this gorgeous mosaic of diversity at Allen & Gerritsen successful is we learn from one another another and trust in one another’s backgrounds and experiences. We leverage our strengths as a team and even when under pressure to meet a deliverable, our ability to communicate effectively and leverage our backgrounds, experiences and diversities is the winning recipe for our continued success.

Allen & Gerritsen (also known at a&g) is all about the “&.” We’re one symbol & we’re limitless possibilities. The energy that brings our ideas & connections to life is our people. We’re musicians & video game connoisseurs & sneaker junkies & closet karaoke singers & marathon runners & extreme stationary cyclists & chronic gigglers & iPod addicts. We’re people who use our unique backgrounds & talents to help our clients move their business forward. We’re people who do what we love & we are visionaries who work hard, meet deadlines & have fun doing it. We want uncommon thinkers & dreamers & visionaries who are all about pushing limits & going beyond the expected. If this gets you excited & you want to add your “&” to our list, we want to hear from you. Check out our careers in our Contact section.

When making a significant purchase such as buying a new car, isn’t it common practice to look at a variety of makes and models and decide which ones you want to take out for a test drive before you pay that down payment and sign a lease or an auto loan? Shouldn’t the same be true when hiring the next generation of talent for your workplace?

Allen & Gerritsen applies this “buying-a-new-car” philosophy to our college relations and internship/co-op program. I’m not suggesting you kick or beat the tires of college students looking for an internship or co-op. How about facilitating a structured internship program that gives you a chance to see how young future talent fits into your workplace and team?

The anatomy of the Allen & Gerritsen Internship/Co-op Program integrates interns/co-ops into the a&g culture through a variety of projects and social interactions. The program provides us an opportunity to obtain ambitious and enthusiastic talent to assist with a variety of agency projects. Interns and co-ops are highly motivated, creative, and energetic, and require little if any funding from a department. The intern experience is all about education and exposure to the advertising industry and the innovative a&g agency business model. Our program provides hands-on and challenging experiences through work assignments, mentoring programs and social interactions to see how they fit into our culture.

The benefits of a program like this are simple:

* Generates positive internal and external agency public relations in our community. Helps students discover their career interests; clarifies the specific job they would like to have after graduation.
* Gives students an opportunity to apply classroom learning in a “real-world” agency environment.
* Provides students with practical employment experience while potentially earning college credit.
* Increases a&g’s ability to be a destination for future interns by increasing current interns’ job marketability through experiences gained in this program.
* “Try before you buy.” We see our Intern Program as a means of developing potential a&g employees after graduation.

“What’s in it for me?” is a question your manager(s) might ask when you suggest implementing a program like this:

1. Professional Development Experience

+ Manager of people experience

+ Ability to delegate

+ Developing others –- mentoring/teaching

2. Leverage Additional Resources

+ Additional research capabilities and bandwidth

+ Ensure up-to-date client information

+ Have interns help with workload as appropriate

The makeup of the successful program is simple: we provide hands-on involvement throughout the intern experience. And that hands-on experience is the most effective means interns have to learn and showcase their talent. It also gives you a chance to see the intern’s potential. Whenever possible, we encourage and channel opportunities for learning our agency disciplines and processes.

Mentoring Program — Assign each intern a committed and energetic mentor. The mentor’s responsibility is to provide guidance and act as a resource for the intern throughout their experience. The mentor should offer agency process knowledge and assistance; provide a perspective outside of the intern’s assigned area; encourage networking and social interaction; be a positive non-biased role model. It’s the mentor’s responsibility to have regular contact and lunches with interns.

Training Classes Through Lunch-and-Learn — Interns are required to attend agency-hosted lunch-and-learn training opportunities. Interns learn, eat and interact together. Included in the interns’ “on-boarding” and induction is a lunch-and-learn schedule. The agency will determine presenters who will speak on topics such as: Insight into Brand Promotion, Digital Incubation, Client and Marketing Strategies, Advertising Overview, How to Pitch New Business, Resume Writing & Interviewing Tips.

Relevant and Challenging Group Projects — Interns can be assigned relevant, challenging group projects. This provides an experience that allows interns to collaborate and compete in an authentic agency situation. Interns will develop an “execution” or campaign and use as many agency functions as possible. Intern group projects provide business problems and/or mock new-business pitches, a creative rumble, etc. Examples of group projects include: Boston Olympic Bid, existing piece of client business, internal focus, and a&g college recruiting materials.

Social Opportunities — Interns will be strongly encouraged to actively participate in social opportunities. Included in the interns’ “on-boarding” and induction schedule is a list of social opportunities. It includes events such as a Welcome Event with the a&g team, Celtics games, and more. A master calendar of Boston festivals, museum features, theater events and concerts will be provided to encourage interns to socialize together outside the agency. Interns will also be given a master contact list with all e-mail and cell phone numbers of other interns (with permission granted by each intern).

Performance Reviews and Goal Setting — Goal setting and performance evaluations are completed for each intern. Those mentors managing interns should complete a mid-term evaluation and end-of-semester evaluation. Interns will also complete an evaluation of the a&g Intern Program. This is an opportunity for a&g to gain feedback on the program’s overall success.

Feedback & Coaching — Feedback should be provided to the intern on a regular basis regarding their performance, and progress should be measured against the goals that are set.

Giving back to our communities is an important part of our culture. Giving back can be done in a variety of ways:

…raising money for a cause you believe in.

…volunteering your time.

…tutoring or mentoring a child.

…rallying a group of people around a cause.

…fundraising efforts.

“Room to Dream” is a local foundation that creates healing environments for chronically ill children and their siblings. They renovate space (rooms, etc.) to improve the quality of life, promote strength, imagination and self-worth, and aid in the recovery process of those chronically ill children.

When people around the agency learned about Room to Dream, a team of 15 rallied together and decided this was a cause they believed in supporting as an agency. This team of organizers, leaders, and creative thinkers met and formed The Allen & Gerritsen Room to Dream Team. Efforts are already under way to generate fund-raising events to raise about $5,000 to support Allen & Gerritsen in sponsoring a family through the Room to Dream Foundation. We help raise the money and design the rooms, and some have already expressed interest in helping with the work being done in our sponsored families’ homes.

We have talented people working here that genuinely believe in the importance of giving back to our communities. For those interested in giving to support the efforts of the Allen & Gerritsen Room to Dream Team, contact Dan Lyons at dlyons@a-g.com or Jeff Tully at jtully@a-g.com.

Allen & Gerritsen demonstrates its commitment to a healthy work life and family balance that is supportive and effective. We do that in a variety of ways:

Not looking over employees’ shoulders making sure they produce great work. As an agency, if we demonstrate trust, yet make employees accountable and focus on results, it’s win-win for everyone.

No one employee is the hero. It’s a team effort that must deliver on performance. If we surround ourselves with those who are available and willing to help us be successful, and encourage our employees to leverage their team for help when necessary, we’re guaranteed not to have any superhero individuals, but a powerhouse team instead.

Here’s one that might catch your attention: don’t think that automatically putting “clients first” above employee concerns is the best way for us to be successful. We’ve learned that a workplace that addresses employee issues is an agency and team that is more responsive to our clients.

Do killer hours and lots of face time at work ALWAYS result in profit? Nope. Long hours and face time at the office can sometimes be an indication that someone is not working intelligently. We strongly encourage employees to take time out of the office to renew their focus and ensure they produce their best work. If their home life is a mess, how productive can they be at work?

Only workaholics need apply? Nope. We’ve found that having a blend of work horses along with those who have a strong family and community focus is what’s needed to be successful.

Need to develop an alternate work schedule to balance your family and work life? Let’s talk about your situation and together we’ll come up with a plan that works in everyone’s favor.

Allen & Gerritsen is partnering with WGBH to film an episode of FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman here in our agency. FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman is a children’s television series on PBS geared toward kids from kindergarten to 5th grade. It’s a game show/reality show parody that’s hosted by an animated, anthropomorphic dog who dispenses challenges to the show’s real-life contestants.

The president and CEO, art directors, copywriters, studio and marketing staff were asked to participate in the filming. What was the topic of the episode? Well, you’re going to have to wait until the 2009 season to find out. One of the best episodes yet!

To learn more about FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman, check out their website at http://pbskids.org/fetch/.

We do consumer. We do b2b. We do retail & technology & healthcare & sports & entertainment & financial services & consumer goods. Whether they provide food for families or instruments for scientists, we’re constantly learning new things about our clients, their marketplaces & their customers. We get psyched about who they are & what they do. Then we get their customers psyched up too. & we’ll do the same for you: with audience intelligence & promotions & digital & design & direct marketing & mobile marketing & broadcast & print & much more.