Here’s the official press release:

American Heart Association named as 2013 Health NonProfit Brand of the Year in Annual EquiTrend study
(DALLAS, March 20)— The American Heart Association has been named the Health NonProfit Brand of the Year by the 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrend®, an annual tracking study that measures and compares more than 1,500 brands.

“This recognition is a tribute to our more than 22.5 million volunteers and supporters, from the researchers who continue the lifesaving vision of our founders to the families who lace up their shoes for our Heart Walks,” said Nancy Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the American Heart Association. “It is especially meaningful as we work toward our goal of both a 20 percent improvement in cardiovascular health for all Americans, and a 20 percent reduction in cardiovascular and stroke deaths by 2020. Statistics show we are making progress, and this study serves as further confirmation that we are a trusted source for changing and saving lives.”

The American Heart Association funds more cardiovascular research than any entity outside the federal government – more than $128 million in the last fiscal year, and more than $3.5 billion since 1949.

While the American Heart Association prides itself on being rooted in science, programs and campaigns aimed at consumers continue to have a major impact. Examples include:

The Heart-Check mark that helps Americans make healthier choices on grocery store items and restaurant meals; the mark is a recognized and trusted nutritional icon.
CPR training of more than 14 million people worldwide each year.

The Hands-Only CPR campaign reminds people that anyone can be a lifesaver; when an adult collapses, just push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of the song, “Stayin’ Alive.”

Go Red For Women, the awareness campaign educating the public that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the U.S., claiming more lives than all forms of cancer combined, and that the warning signs of a heart attack can be different for women than for men.

“The mission of the American Heart Association touches every household in America,” said Donna Arnett, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., the organization’s President and Chairperson of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. “These results indicate that the American Heart Association is recognized as leading the overall fight against heart disease and stroke, and is a valued resource in the fight for the lives that mean the most to you.”

This is the 25th year of the Harris Poll EquiTrend, which evaluates a brand’s position within and outside of its industry based on a survey of more than 38,500 Americans.

The EquiTrend ranking is based on an “Equity score” which provides an understanding of a brand’s overall strength. That score is determined by a calculation of Familiarity, Quality and Purchase Consideration.

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About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke—America’s No. 1 and No. 4 killers. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or join us, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or any of our offices around the country or visit heart.org.

About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world’s leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll® and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research. Harris possesses expertise in a wide range of industries including health care, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing our client’s research investment. Serving clients in more than 196 countries and territories through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients—stay ahead of what’s next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

Media Contact:
Miriam Hansen
Miriam.Hansen@heart.org; (214) 706-1527

We had an amazing time meeting some of the most passionate fans in the world while shooting the new Jacksonville Jaguars season ticket campaign. We wanted to celebrate the people who Stand United with the team; the season-ticket holders. Our goal was to capture the pride and ownership that they feel for the Jaguars, while inviting everyone in the region to claim their section.

“Our team noticed that when two Jaguars fans meet, one of first things they share is their section number in Everbank Field.” says Kevyn Faulkenberry, Dalton Agency vp/executive creative director. “It’s a sign of pride, of loyalty. Each section has its own personality and attitude, and we just wanted to tap into their passion for the team, to share it with the fans who have not yet discovered their section.”

For information on how you can claim your section, visit www.jaguars.com or call 904-633-2000.

Agency to feature innovators from region’s growing technology community for One Spark, five-day festival in downtown Jacksonville

The Dalton Agency will host eight local creators during the One Spark festival, which will be in downtown Jacksonville April 17-21 and feature the work of more than 500 people in the arts, sciences and technology at 65 venues.

Agency President and CEO Jim Dalton, who relocated the agency’s headquarters to downtown five years ago, said that One Spark is an opportunity to showcase Jacksonville’s impressive arts and technology community and also its downtown.

“As a downtown business owner, I have long-believed in the potential of our urban core, and I am energized by One Spark and the life and vibrancy it will bring to downtown Jacksonville,” said Dalton. “One Spark is also consistent with our core values of fostering creativity and supporting downtown, and we are proud be a part of the event.”

The Dalton Agency will feature the following eight creators, the majority of which are technology start ups from Jacksonville and its surrounding communities:

Debuit.com – an online pilot television measurement site that measures the success of pilot television for network and cable clients to prove audience acceptance before millions are spent to produce and market a new series.

Creator:                 Jennifer Valenti; www.debuit.com

Nerdular- amulti-vendor, e-commerce website where buyers and sellers of “nerd stuff” can go to find new and used comics, video games, collectibles, table top games, trading card games, apparel, media and more. It is a remodeled eBay for the “nerd” market with an emphasis on community engagement. Visit the booth at the Dalton Agency to talk about “nerd” interests and play trivia. Those brave enough are encouraged to come by in their best costume play costume for a prize.

Creator:                 CG Salgueiro; www.nerdular.com

Pajama Monsters – once upon a time, the creators of Pajama Monsters knew a little boy who was scared of the dark. In fact, they knew several kids who pulled their toes under the covers in fear of the big-bad-hairy-something that was lurking just under the bed. So they created Pajama Monsters, a group of protectors to stand guard over kids. Many peaceful nights later, they’re told the boogeyman is not so scary, when your best friend is a monster. Handmade locally and previously sold in small batches across the US, Europe, Britain and Australia.

Creator:                 Megan Champion; www.pajamamonsters.com

ProfileGorilla – provides a comprehensive, inexpensive and easy to implement software system that businesses can utilize to securely store, track and manage critical business information and documents. The business can also connect online with external business partners and stakeholders to share, maintain and exchange administrative and transactional data. The power of ProfileGorilla is using its collaborative functionality, where a business can connect to external business partners to share and exchange specific information and documents.

Creator:                 Ed Baldwin

Redeploy Me – an exclusive network for contract and temporary employees, many of whom go to work with the uneasy feeling that at any given time their assignment may end. This pool of employees is a very valuable source of hire since they are actively employed and typically have been vetted through background checks, skills tests and multiple interviews prior to starting any given assignment. Redeploy Me provides an exclusive marketplace for this pool of employees and bring a new level of transparency to the “hidden” job market that exists between staffing agencies and hiring companies.

Creator:                 Donald Horne; www.redeployme.com

Restroom Alert - a unique restroom management system developed to help businesses provide consistently clean, well-stocked and fully functional public restrooms. Restroom Alerts believes in the simple idea that “clean restrooms are good business.“

Creator:                 Rod Dornsife; www.restroomalert.com

Stocktagon – anequity market research tool combining big data, visualization and document searching so users can see the market as a whole and discover trends, rather than looking at one company at a time.

Creator:                 Paul Irwin; www.stocktagon.launchrock.com

The Factory – a focused, no nonsense and distraction-free environment that connects entrepreneurs to launch quality tech startups and drive economic growth. It provides access to like-minded entrepreneurs, business partner networks, software tools, application development, cloud hosting services and market visibility. All accepted founders are expected to have done plenty of research, skin in the game and a focus on growing sustainable businesses.

Creator:                 Jeremy Vaughn; www.oldcityfactory.com

One Spark creators will be available at the Dalton Agency during event hours, which are:

• 3 – 8 p.m., Wednesday, April 17
• 9 a.m. – 9 p.m., Thursday, April 18
• 9 a.m. – 9 p.m., Friday, April 19
• 9 a.m. – 9 p.m., Saturday, April 20
• 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., Sunday, April 21

Be sure to stop by and support your local creators and innovators. Learn more at www.beonespark.com.

The Diocese of St. Augustine Stewardship Appeal was initiated to raise much-needed funds for the Diocese of St. Augustine. Their goal was to raise enough money to support the Diocese’s outreach programs and efforts including Catholic Charities, Catholic Education, and Seminarian education. The challenge: many parishioners were unclear of what the Diocese role was on a local parish level. So why give?

We created a comprehensive campaign utilizing all our resources and capabilities that demonstrated how the Diocese’s programs positively impact their parish and all parishioners within the diocese. Under the campaign theme of One Faith, One Family, we showed how the Diocese doesn’t just help the homeless in the next town; it helps your neighbor in the next pew. To spread this message of “oneness”, Dalton developed an engaging, emotional video that was played at all parishes, as well as a brochure, prayer card, and posters. Dalton even created Spanish versions of all pieces, including the video.

The campaign exceeded the Diocese expectations and resulted in inspiring at least one parishioner to enter the seminary because he “was so moved by the video.”

Our pro bono work for the Diocese of St. Augustine is just another example of our commitment to help local non-profits promote the good that they do.

The Dalton Agency developed the simple-to-use mobile platform to tie into PayPal for donations and act just like a smart phone app but without requiring any previous download, just simple Internet access.

“We wanted to make this as easy, and as turnkey, as we could for the JHS,” said Kevyn Faulkenberry, Dalton Agency vp/executive creative director. “Michael (Michael Munz, Agency partner/evp and current Jacksonville Humane Society Board chair) had this wonderful idea and our Director of Interactive, Kelli Dandelake, brought it to life. We would love to be able to adapt this platform for other causes down the road.”

We also developed large “dog tags” (with the url featured on them) that their dogs could wear, and a banner that can now go to every JHS event.  It went live at the JHS’s recent Mutt March.

To make a donation to the Jacksonville Humane Society, or just to check out the mobile donation tool, please visit donatejhs.com.

Dalton’s talented in-house video production department is driven to create unique, effective videos for our clients. Supported by our talented creative department, our team of animators, editors, motion graphic artists, sound designers, and cinematographers are involved from concept to creation on each video and are dedicated to producing high-concept, high-quality infotainment. And they would love to help one of these deserving nonprofits get their message out!!

Please keep spreading the word to your supporters! People can vote for their favorite poster or nonprofit by visiting www.daltoncares.com.  Voting ends at midnight on  April 15. And a reminder, people can vote once each day.  Each nonprofit will be presented their artwork, to use as they wish, which is valued at $5,000, and the charity with the most votes will receive an additional $1,000 cash donation.

Here are the 2013 Dalton Cares nonprofits. We invite you to follow them and get engaged with them on social media.

Angels Among Us Pet Rescue (Atlanta)
http://angelsrescue.org
http://www.facebook.com/angelsrescue
http://www.twitter.com/angelsrescue

Big Cat Rescue (Tampa)
http://www.bigcatrescue.org
http://www.facebook.com/bigcatrescue
http://www.twitter.com/bigcatrescue

Daniel Kids (Jacksonville)
http://www.danielkids.org
http://www.facebook.com/danielkids
http:///www.twitter.com/danielkids

Girls for Africa (Jacksonville)
http://www.girlsforafrica.org
http://www.facebook.com/girlsforafrica

Hands On Atlanta (Atlanta)
http://www.handsonatlanta.org
http://www.facebook.com/handsonatlanta
http://www.twitter.com/handsonatlanta

Make A Wish Georgia (Atlanta)
http://www.georgia.wish.org
http://www.facebook.com/makeawishgaal
http://www.twitter.com/makeawishga

Miles for Moffitt (Tampa)
http://milesformoffitt.com
http://www.facebook.com/MilesforMoffitt

K9s for Warriors (Jacksonville)
http://www.k9forwarriors.org
http://www.facebook.com/k9sforwarriors
http://www.twitter.com/k9sforwarriors

Ronald McDonald House of Central Florida (Orlando)
http://rmhccf.org/
http://www.facebook.com/rmhorlando

Here’s the video we did for a previous Dalton Cares winner, First Coast No More Homeless Pets.

When we made a commitment to engage in social media five years ago, we set a strategic goal of making it one of our core competencies and making sure we practiced what we preached. After all, if we were going to enter the world of new media and advise our clients, we had to walk the walk.

To begin, we invested in talent by promoting from within and recruiting some of the best minds in social media. We then set out to demonstrate our expertise in social media strategy, social channel development, community management and social media monitoring/metrics within the agency’s own social media channels.

One of those channels is Facebook. We knew that Facebook would continue to be an ideal platform to share experiences within the agency, promote and showcase our clients and share our agency culture. Growing followers has always been a goal and our initial hope was to someday have 5,000 followers. At the same time, we know that the real currency in social media is engagement – not just “likes.”

I couldn’t be more proud of our team, their efforts and the ongoing engagement from our followers. I am hopeful that everyone that engages with us on our social media channels feels connected to the Dalton Agency in some way.  And, as proclaimed in the headline above, the Dalton Agency will celebrate a major milestone today. One that many major advertising agencies throughout the country cannot come close to – 10,000 followers on Facebook!  It is up to us to keep the conversation going and engaging!

I certainly feel comfortable telling clients and potential clients that when it comes to social media – we truly Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk.

“I grew up listening to my Dad tell me stories about his experiences in World War II—stories that were interesting, exciting and sometimes funny. These were the “war” stories I knew. When we started working with Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP), I began hearing war stories of a different kind.

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany  is one of the first locations warriors are taken after being injured. Most of the time during transport, the warriors’ belongings are not taken with them. WWP provides comfort items such as jackets, sweatpants, T-shirts and blankets to them, trying to make their stay and travel back to the States as comfortable as possible.

WWP also supports the doctors and nurses caring for Wounded Warriors. Through a “thank-you” campaign with warrior stories in the form of posters and videos, they are able to share gratitude and encouragement for the staff who take such great care of all Wounded Warriors.

It’s these stories that have had a profound impact on my life. I have had the privilege of directing many of these “resiliency” videos. Sitting down with these men and women and talking with them about their trials and triumphs has been a great experience.

I’ve been able to meet some of these men and women at different points in their recovery processes. It has been encouraging to see the adaptation of these courageous warriors to their new “normal.” Listening to these stories has made me put my own obstacles (or as one warrior put it “speed bumps”) into perspective. I have also learned to celebrate what you have and not to be discouraged by what you don’t have.

I know these videos are to thank that staff in Landstuhl and let them know that the work they do has a tremendous effect on the lives of these soldiers. But I realized that their work also has a ripple effect on the people around these warriors. I’m one of them.”

- Pat McKinney, Dalton Agency partner/evp/chief creative director

“Putting someone else before yourself will benefit you more in the long run than worrying about yourself.” Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Brian Sellers talks about his recovery from a combat wound in Iraq, and the wonderful medical teams in Landstuhl, Germany, and Bethesda who saved his life and inspired his career.

by Jeremy Nettles, Dalton Agency Community Manager

One of the most difficult things in marketing is getting your product or brand in front of its target market in a unique way. But have you really explored all of the different ways to get the word out? In particular, have you thought about appealing to senses other than sight or sound?

The SXSW Interactive Session, Show & Smell 2, set out to explore all the different ways to market to our other senses. While some of these techniques may seem unconventional, they can also be highly effective.

If you market food or beverage items, then you know that just getting people to taste your product is half the battle. Well there are some creative ways that marketers have come up with to accomplish that without making the customer purchase the product or even go into a store. Ogilvy Dubai recently published an edible print ad that you could literally tear off the page and taste the beverage they were advertising. While US restrictions currently prohibit these kinds of ads, they do not prohibit sending out taste strips. Anyone who has ever used a breath freshener strip will know how these work. We were provided a few taste strips to try out, and they work remarkably well. The product was a honey liqueur, and you could really get a good idea of how it tasted.

Want to sell some coffee? Have the always-identifiable smell of coffee accompany ads on a metro service that drops of passengers near one of your locations. Do you have passionate super fans that want to take your product with them wherever they go? Offer a cologne or perfume that they can purchase and wear with pride. We were provided with smell cards of a pizza-scented perfume that is currently on the market to demonstrate. Now, this isn’t something I would ever spray on myself, but I’m sure that there are pizza fans out there that would wear it with pride.

So next time you’re stuck trying to think of a creative way to market a product, think of how you can engage all of your audiences senses.

by Aliera Peterson, Dalton Agency Director of Social Media

This particular panel at South by Southwest (SXSW), was in high demand and a very insightful look into the world of crowd sourcing by team members from PepsiCo and Frito-Lay, two brands that have had obvious success and received tremendous fan engagement and goodwill from their own crowd sourcing efforts. Moderated by Todd Wasserman from Mashable, the panel included:

• Jen Saenz, Senior Director of Brand Marketing for Frito-Lay
• Shiv Singh, Global Head of Digital for PepsiCo
• Kevin Knight, Creative Strategist at Facebook

According to our panelists, even though crowd sourcing has been around for hundreds of years (with the Oxford Dictionary cited as the first recorded crowd sourced initiative), it’s hotter than it’s ever been. What’s different now is how and why companies are applying it, and the technology they use to engage personally with fans.

But what is crowd sourcing? It’s when you look to a larger audience to solve a defined problem.

Why crowd source?
Our industry has changed dramatically over the past fews years. Traditional marketing is not as effective as it once was, and for marketing budgets that have felt the strain of the recession, digital tools have proven an effective method of stretching limited budgets. That being said,  even brands like Frito-Lay and PepsiCo feel as though marketing budgets can never be big enough to reach the audiences they need to reach, which is why they also rely heavily on advocates to share message.

Besides the budget challenge, research shows that our traditional marketing efforts are less effective than they once were. Why? In a world where everyone has smartphones, laptops, tablets, blogs and social networks, everyone is their own brand/marketing channel with their own unique circles of influence. To reach this new type of consumer, the more screens you can be on, the bigger your ROI will be. And this shift from anonymity to authentication on the web has been a change that’s encouraged a shift toward the crowd sourcing model.

How is crowd sourcing beneficial for brands?
You’re giving your fans a voice, creating a more personal relationship and truly learning what resonates with your audience. Crowd sourcing (when done well) also leads to better marketing, because you have better information on your customer and how they relate to your brand. And by giving them free range in how they respond, quite often you tease out a more in-depth understanding of why they love their brand, which in turn allows you to create more powerful, relevant messaging.

How do agencies fit into the crowd sourced equation? Should they be concerned?
Marketing has evolved dramatically. It goes beyond making a great commercial; it’s about building that emotional buy-in from consumer to brand. The best agencies embrace that, and help brands become a bridge to the collective culture of their consumers.

From the standpoint of both Jen Saenz (Senior Director of Marketing for Frito-Lay) and Shiv Singh (Global Head of Digital for PepsiCo), it is agencies that handle community management activities over traditional channels have better, that have more informed creative, which in turn, leads to more innovative ways to reach the target audience.

Additional Takeaways About the Crowd Sourcing Process:

1. A crowd sourcing strategy should reflect the needs and behaviors of your audience/community.
2. Know the limits of your platform. (Twitter is great for voting, but not so great at submissions.) Play to each platform’s strengths.
3. Guide the fans through crowd sourcing, don’t give them the keys. Don’t risk losing your brand identity.
4. You have to trust your fans. You can’t go into defensively. Plan for what you’ll do if something goes wrong – manage the risk.
5. Crowd sourcing is catchy. Do it a few times, and consumers start to associate participation with your brand.