We here at Jigsaw are extremely excited to announce our newest client relationship, with Dirty Girl Mud Run.

The Dirty Girl Mud Run series debuted in 2011 to a sold-out field of over 6,000 women in Wisconsin. The inaugural year also featured overwhelmingly successful events in Colorado and New York. In 2012, Dirty Girl is expanding to 12 cities. Dirty Girl differs from others in the increasingly-crowded field of mud run competitors in that it is specifically designed to be fun and accessible for women of all ages and athletic abilities.

In addition, Dirty Girl is very socially conscious. A portion of all proceeds from Dirty Girl registration fees is donated to National Breast Cancer Foundation. In 2011, Dirty Girls helped donate over $50,000 to help win the race against breast cancer. In each city of the 2012 tour, 250 cancer survivors will receive complimentary registration and special recognition.

In the two short weeks since our partnership with Dirty Girl began, we’ve completed several projects, including a home page redesign and creation of materials for promotion visits to Dirty Girl race markets, such as postcards, posters and vehicle signage. We’ve also begun collaborating on social media and blogger outreach, while planning additional ways to build registration, particularly in new markets for the race.

Jimmy Gohsman, Dirty Girl Race Director, says:

“From the first time we met with the Jigsaw team about possibly doing business with them up until now, our expectations have been exceeded time and again. They took the time beforehand to learn about our business, what we are trying to accomplish, how we are trying to accomplish it, and understood it right off the bat. Their passion shines through in their speedy and remarkably high-quality work, and it’s been fun working with them. It’s very obvious that their goal is to help us succeed by working collaboratively with us, which is very important to us. We are looking forward to a long term relationship with Jigsaw both personally and professionally.”

I, personally, cannot wait to do the Dirty Girl Mud Run here in Milwaukee (Hartland, actually) on August 18th. I haven’t run since my son was born over six years ago (gulp) so it’s going to be an interesting, challenging Spring and Summer.

Check out the Dirty Girl race locations and schedule and Go Dirty Girl!!!

Last night I had the great pleasure of sitting on a United Adworkers-sponsored panel discussion at Discovery World with Jigsaw CD Nick Pipitone, Mitch Markussen from BVK, Dennis Jenders from Laughlin Constable and Andy Larsen from Boelter Lincoln.

It’s always fun talking to students, and this was clearly a highly-motivated group, to come out during finals week to hear Nick pontificate about the Chicago Cubs and give some career advice in between sports metaphors. The students asked a ton of excellent questions, and while I wasn’t taking notes, I’ll do my best to capture some of the key themes from the discussion.

1. NETWORK. The old cliche “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is true; often that’s what will get you in the door. And if nothing else it will make your cover letter, the necessary evil that we established that we all dislike, less awkward. Use the tools at your disposal – social media in particular – to research your audience and know what they care about. Connect with them and offer some value.

2. BE PERSISTENT. Nick and I often disagree, but not on this point – if you contact someone, and they don’t respond, don’t give up. I get that you don’t want to be a “pest”, as someone said to me last night, but you have to understand that we are all crazy-busy people with a million balls in the air at any one time. It’s entirely possible that we read your email or your letter and are absolutely open to meeting you, but it just gets lost in the day. Try, try again. Unless we say “No” and then, it’s time to move on. : ] Likewise, if one agency says “no”, don’t give up then either. You might be a great fit with the next agency.

3. MAKE YOUR WORK AS GREAT AS IT CAN BE. Mitch said it well: “Who you know will get you in the door. Your work will keep you there.” Whether you’re a designer or writer or a strategist or a PR person, we’re all obviously looking for mad skills. Ask as many people as you can for honest feedback on your work, and keep polishing it.

4. LESS IS MORE. Whether it’s a cover letter, a resume, or a portfolio of work, share only your best stuff. A paragraph written smartly and with personality is a better cover letter than a page-long regurgitation of what’s already on your resume. Keep your resume to a page or, at most, two, just summarizing your major accomplishments.

5. BE YOURSELF. When making hiring decisions, agencies are looking almost as much for a personality that fits the agency as they are for great work. Both have to be there. And you owe it to yourself to find an agency that is a great fit with YOU, too. So don’t be nervous or try to fake anything. You have to be you.

6. BE PASSIONATE. One of the most important factors in getting our attention, an interview, an internship or a gig is your passion. Demonstrate that you’ll bring energy and initiative to the job.

7. DON’T ACT LIKE THE SMARTEST PERSON IN THE ROOM. We want you to speak up and share your ideas, and we want to learn from you because you ARE smart, and we’re all still learning too. But the sense of entitlement that we see from young professionals sometimes is not attractive. Be confident, but also be humble.

8. EXPECT TO WORK HARD. We’re in an incredibly fun, interesting, always-different business. But don’t expect it to be a walk in the park. We often work long hours…be ready for it. It’s a mad and crazy business but worth it. So, no, you’re not crazy to get into it…but sometimes you will think that you were.

I think those are the high points. What did I miss? What other questions do you have?

Since its launch (covered on Thanksgiving in this great OnMilwaukee article), the FoodFightMKE crew has been busy planning to rock three great December events to raise hunger awareness and money to help Hunger Task Force beat hunger in Milwaukee this holiday season.

The next event is FoodFightMKE night at AJ Bombers, next Friday, December 9th 5PM-7PM. AJ Bombers is always fun, and jumped in early on to ask how they could help get FoodFightMKE off the ground. We’ll be serving up a special cocktail, the Hunger Hammer. Just for showing up, you get a ticket to win some ridiculously great door prizes, from generous, community-minded folks including Radio Milwaukee, Sprecher Brewery, Stone Creek Coffee, Mason Street Grill, and Botanas. Who knows what else the FoodFightMKE crew will dream up for this event.

The very next day (go easy on those Hunger Hammers, kids!), December 10th, from Noon to 4PM at Best Place at Historic Pabst Brewery, we’ll be at the MKEfoodies holiday charity bake sale, benefitting Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. A bake sale, with a great group (MKEfoodies), for a great cause, followed by an after-party at Hotel Metro? We’re in. We’ll be there selling our cookies and showing our support. (Technically, it’s not a hunger fundraiser, to be clear. But if you want, you can still donate cash or by texting FOOD to 52000.)

Finally, there’s a really exciting food event called Soup & Bread: FoodFightMKE Edition on the front burner (ouch…pun…sorry) for December 15, 6PM-8:30PM at Riverwest Public House. Area foodies and chefs, including Dan Van Rite of Hinterland , Justin Aprahamian from Sanford, Mitchell Ciohon of Sabor and Ryan Oschman from The Eatery, will donate soup and bread. Those attending can donate “at will” whatever they can to FoodFightMKE. It’s an event that will fill your stomach and warm your soul.

HUGE thanks to all of our amazing and generous community partners, including AJ Bombers, Radio Milwaukee, Sprecher Brewery, Stone Creek Coffee, Marcus Restaurants/Mason Street Grill, Botanas, MKEfoodies and Soup & Bread. It’s heart-warming to see the Milwaukee community rallying around these events to give hunger the finger.

Now all we need is…you. Please join us in this fight against hunger by joining us at these events, or simply texting FOOD to 52000 to make a $10 donation to Hunger Task Force.

We wish you the happiest of holidays : ]

It’s not new news, but most of the time, even in our changing world—many advertisers still want to talk more about themselves than their consumers. In their version of the advertising strategy, features outweigh benefits in key messaging platforms. Especially with limited dollars, “more bang for the buck” comes with cramming every nook and cranny of a spot with something to say about the product. I’m not casting judgement. I get it—with the pressure to succeed, and success ever more tied to ROI, it’s tough to be a marketer. But I urge us all to still focus on the consumer. Something I think we did well (along with our client) in these recent spots for HSHS (Hospital Sisters Health System) in Green Bay.

You may have read a post here months back, on a 60 second spot we shot with Michael Prince for the brand. Well, these are the harder-hitting siblings of that spot. What we’d call the “service line” spots for cancer and orthopedics. These spots carry some pretty heavy loads—boasting that “we provide the most treatment options,” that “we beat national survival rates” and that “we are among the nation’s best” when it comes to cancer. Product features, not benefits. But notice how the facts are surrounded both visually and verbally with “life”, “hope” and “a new belief.” Things I believe every person with cancer wants as much as the latest and greatest treatment.

By identifying that what we see in a cancer patient is a path to new life, we brought context, benefit and a personal connection to what would be a list of ingredients. Kudos to the team and the client on recognizing the fine balance between logic and emotion, especially when it comes to our health.

Last week, we helped our rock star Jigsaw OrangeAid interns launch FoodFightMKE. As always, the wonderful Milwaukee community jumped in with enthusiasm, killer dance moves, blog posts, tweets, offers of support and upcoming events, to be announced very soon. And in its first week, everyone who contributed to FoodFightMKE raised over $500 for hungry families. Way to go, everyone! Many, many thanks from all of us.

FoodFightMKE is a movement initiated by young adults dedicated to educating, engaging, energizing and inspiring local citizens to beat hunger in Milwaukee, in partnership with Hunger Task Force. Their chosen launch event? This Michael Jackson “Beat It” flash mob outside the Bradley Center. What else?

Some have asked about our ultimate goal with this project. How much as we trying to raise? To be honest, it’s a work in progress/moving target. Our initial thought was at least $10,000. But we recognize that this time of year (any time of year, really) there are so many ways to give and help that if we were able to raise $5,000 that would be a significant triumph. With your help, we’ll do all we can.

Please follow the FoodFightMKE Tumblr blog here and follow them on Twitter here.

And, if you can swing it, please text FOOD to 52000 to make a $10 donation. It’s super easy, and badly needed. Hunger Task Force is expert at making your dollars go as far as they possibly can. Every $10 donation feeds dinner to a family of four. And with half of the kids in Milwaukee living in poverty, and one in four families experiencing serious food hardship, every $10 matters in a BIG way.

Thanks for your support! We’d love to hear from you. What are you doing to help beat hunger this holiday season?