You’re invited to hang out with us at The Conversation Friday on Thursday, May 20, between 5 and 8pm.

If you’re in the neighborhood and want to finish your Thursday here, come on over anytime after 3pm. Use our Wi-Fi, use our conference room, make some calls, play some pinball, whatever. We’ll be here.

Our friends from the Liquor Loft/ Proof, Byron Burroughs and Angela Harding, will be here between 5 and 6pm to kick things off with a tasting of two unique beverages: the cocoa-infused Alchemia Czekoladowa Vodka from Poland, and the coppery blond beer, Bons Vœux, brewed by the La Brasserie Dupont. If you haven’t been to the Liquor Loft, they’re right on Tennessee Street next to the Starbucks.

At 6pm we’ll tap the Stella Artois barrel, uncork the wines, and hang till 8pm. If there’s anything specific you’d like to drink, bring it with you. We’ve got a thirsty fridge.

Hope you can make it over for a little while — or even a few minutes.

Date: Thursday, May 20, 2010
Time: 5-8pm (Doors open at 3pm)
Address/ Map link: 3033 Powell Road
Parking: Please park at the BrackenChase lot adjacent to the Conversation Factory just off Eliza Rd. If you haven’t been here, please see photos below.

Big and special thanks, as always, go to David Hanselman, owner of BrackenChase Home Builders, who’s been a driving, supportive force behind The Conversation Factory, Conversation Fridays, and transplant.

Thanks to Chad Caufield and MMB Boston for calling us in on this :30 Subway project. The original spot was conceived by the creatives at McCarthy Mambro Bertino. Transplant was subsequently called in to assist with transcreation into Spanish language, casting selects, and voice direction.

¡Muchas gracias, compadres!

transplant and the conversation factory believe the agency commission system — as defined below (and here) — neither fairly nor honestly represents the best interest of any client.

What’s it mean to your business? Media placement services rendered by us will be approximately 15% lower than those of traditional agencies.

It’s about building trust.

Buying media should be based solely on strategy, not commission. We want you to trust us to make the right decision for your brand, your company, and its future. Doing away with this standard agency commission fluff is absolutely a step in the right direction for all agency/client relationships.

We think you’ll agree (well, unless you’re a traditional agency).

agency commission:

1. fee that an advertising agency charges a client for time and effort spent in selecting and supervising production work done by another company (e.g., printing, photoengraving, photography, commercial recording, filming, and film editing). The amount charged the client is usually 17.65% of the gross production cost.
2. compensation paid to advertising agencies by the media (broadcast or print) for purchases of time or space made on behalf of clients. Since the ad agency saves the media the expense of direct sales and billing, the media allows the agency a 15% discount (16.67% for outdoor advertising), based on the gross advertising rate billed to the client. (The discount also serves as incentive to the agency.) For example: If XYZ Corporation spends $1 million on advertising placed through a recognized ad agency, the agency commission is $150,000 and the balance of $850,000 is paid to the media. The agency commission system represents the basic financial structure of the ad agency business.

Though I’ll never refer to myself as a social media expert or guru or shaman or any other faddish buzzword, I can happily use the term certified.

If you’re looking for someone to help you explore new ways to market your business, shoot me an email. Onward and upward.

Every email is not important and urgent.

The same with every phone call and voice mail.

Do you have to do every part of every project yourself? Or can you delegate?

Are you spending too much time on stuff that’s neither urgent or important? Like worrying about things you don’t have any control over? Or making mountain ranges out of mole hills?

In this era of 24 hour connectedness, time-management isn’t what’s needed. It’s you-management. The more the clock ticks and tocks, I sense it’s not about attacking a to-do list but about writing out a want-to-do list, and figuring out how to delegate or spread out the to-do list so that the want-to-do list gets done.

After all, spending more time on the things you want you to do versus the things other people want you to do is way more important. Those are the things re-fuel, energize us, and keep us going. Most importantly, they allow us to give more to the people who count on us.

So, how’s today looking?

A few weeks ago, transplant landed a logo assignment, which is always a great opportunity to get in on the ground level of a new business and lay some graphic groundwork. Just yesterday we presented three options. This morning, we received feedback from one of the investors. It’s the kind of feedback that keeps us in business, always striving to create better work: OMG – i love them (WE love them) how can we choose?  give us til tomorrow or something….LOVE LOVE LOVE the first and third most of all!!!!!! thank you  ;o)d 

every third thursday of each month, the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce — with sponsor, premier bank — puts on business nuts & bolts, an event that offers breakfast, networking, and solid advice…all before the shop opens (a term which means 7am — an ungodly hour as small business owners like myself rarely get to sleep before 5am). i will be co-chairing with michelle rehwinkel vasilinda from september, 2006 to september, 2007. this morning's function was our first. the topic: preparing your business for the avian flu. my question to the speaker was this: considering the tailgating community in Tallahassee, is this something that would affect buffalo wings? calienes and vasilinda are seen here during a dress rehearsal at the local IHOP. to spite the content of tomorrow's topic, they punctuated the success of the rehearsal with the eating of an omelet.

massachusetts design firm Mechanica USA — with transplant creative director michael calienes as site copywriter — landed top prize in the chicago area marketing and management excellence awards for the their work for sky55, a luxury high-rise apartment building in the heart of central station, chicago. additional site credits go to matthew parmet, designer, and ezra friedman, agency producer. to visit the award-winning site, click here.