The Advertising Club of Buffalo: An outlook on 2016–2017.

A new school year is almost upon us, which means another year for the Advertising Club of Buffalo is about to begin. And as a longtime agency member, Crowley Webb is excited to give you a sneak peak into what the club has in store for 2016–2017.

To kick things off, there’s the sixth annual Big Tip-Off this Thursday, August 25, at Soho Burger Bar. This event is near and dear to our hearts since it’s for a good cause – all money raised goes toward student scholarships. Not to mention Crowley Webb is the reigning champ for pulling in the most tips last year (thanks to Tricia Barrett). Our VP associate creative director (and former Ad Club VP) Matt Low will be behind the bar for us this time around. We’ve also heard that the club will be making an announcement at the event – but you’ll just have to show up to find out what it is.

This year, Ad Club is also planning to hold two of their coveted AdLab Skillshops. Last year, Crowley Webb hosted two hands-on workshops, the first of which was on WordPress (led by yours truly) and the second on digital advertising (led by our media supervisor and new Ad Club board member Erin Haskell) – and both were huge successes. The first AdLab Skillshop of 2016 is scheduled for September 8 and will discuss video production. The event is for members only, so don’t forget to renew or sign up now (shameless plug).

New this year is a Spotlight Speaker series. Four out-of-town speakers will be coming to Buffalo throughout the year to present on different hot topics in marketing and advertising.

• October 12: Zontee Hou, principal and founder of Media Volery LLC, will present “Marketing Your Customers Want: The Alchemy of Content Marketing.”
• November 15: Jonathan Kranz, copywriter and founder of Kranz Communications, will present “Nightmare Marketing: How to Create Great Content for ‘Boring,’ Complex, and Undifferentiated Products.”
• April 11: Aaron Irizarry, director of UX at Nasdaq, will present “Hold Fast: Managing Design Teams When Sh!t Hits the Fan.”
• May 9: Todd Radom, independent graphic designer specializing in branding for professional sports franchises and events, will present “Design for Sports with Todd Radom.”

Zontee Hou will present during Ad Week, which begins Monday, October 10. The first event of Ad Week will be with Buffalo Prep, where students will spend the day immersed in the advertising world. The students will visit Crowley Webb, Luminus Media, and dPost to get a well-rounded view of our industry. Be sure to visit the Advertising Club of Buffalo’s website for more details on Ad Week.

The club is also bringing back favorite events like the holiday bowling tournament, Uber Bowl, Preview Night, and – our biggest event of the year – the ADDYs. Crowley Webb will be taking the creative lead for the show this year, and I’d love to tell you more about what we’re cooking up, but you’ll just have to wait.

So, yes, there’s a lot to look forward to this coming year. Including seeing all your lovely faces at these exciting events.