The Doe-Anderson Experience
This summer I spent my days in Louisville, KY as an intern at one of the oldest advertising agencies in the nation. Doe-Anderson, the agency of record for some of the leading brands was called home. Doe represents such clients as Maker’s Mark, Knob Creek, Louisville Slugger, and Norton Healthcare, to name a few. Their internship program is structured in such a fashion that you spend three weeks in each department. I cycled through the media, account, and public relations departments learning and working with successful clients. Doe proved to be an invaluable experience in preparing me for the industry. Below is an article I wrote that was included in their newsletter.
A Day in the Life of an Acorn
By: Chris Nation
The acorn. Since 1915 this little nut has been showing its face on everything Doe touches and rightfully so. Whether you call it a seed, a nut or the fruit of an oak tree, it has inspired generations of brand enthusiasts and creative sages in our industry for years. Mr. Elmer Doe, as the story goes, believed that growing brands related to the saying, “Mighty oaks from tiny acorns grew.” Of course, as we know, this proved to be true. But what does the acorn have to say about all of this? Whether Mr. Doe was walking under an oak tree and had this oval-shaped nut rain down on his head, or simply glanced at one on the beaten path, the birth of a logo was born. What started off as an idea developed into a advertising giant. Now the Acorn has traveled outside its natural habitat of oak tree parents and picturesque landscapes to the forefront of Brand Enthusion. Doe now stands as the mighty oak, founded and rooted in strong ideas and talented employees.
This tiny little nut is found on the backdrop of Doe when you enter the 5th floor, or located at the top of your business correspondence, or your mouse pad, or your trusty coffee cup. Oh wait, turn your business card over-yep, it’s there, too. The acorn has saturated the advertising industry. Not almonds, peanuts, or cashews or the good old pistachio, but acorns. I think that Mr. Doe would be happy to see his little acorn that grew into a might oak-that consequently is now producing more little acorns. So, as the story goes, life is a never-ending cycle. What’s that mean for Doe? It simply means that it helps create life, and, in this case, this life is creative ideas!
Words of Wisdom from a Communication Sage
The advertising and communications industry is changing so rapidly that keeping up on current happenings is a constant feat. On Wednesday, September 9th, Douglas Tanton, a native of Canada, our northern neighbors, paid Imagewest a visit. Tanton has more than 20 years of expertise in International non-governmental organizations, non-profit, and corporate communications. Educated at York University and currently working as a Senior Development Director for America’s GPI, his focus is global developments and innovations. Tanton, arguably a sage within the industry, is currently working on international development projects in support of environment causes for Greenpeace in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, USA, and Canada.
During his visit, Tanton discussed how social, economic, and cultural conditions can and will affect communications in the industry. Discussing interesting trends and developments between the leading agencies, he poised that successful agencies are now global market driven. He expressed this new trend as what he labels “The Spirit of Authenticity.” Now, more than ever, agencies have to be credible and genuine within the market.
Tanton’s visit enlightened our creative minds to how conditions within the world and the rapidly changing technological society vastly change how advertising and public relations are executed. Tanton’s words of wisdom are valuable for those entering an industry that never remains stationary.
Chris Nation, Account Executive, Imagewest
The Daily News
Currently I have been recruited to do freelance public relations and communication work for a local family in Bowling Green, KY. Their son, Caden who is 3 years old, has developed autism. Recently this family discovered an organization that provides service dogs to assist autistic children in their everyday activities, however, in order to be provided this service dog the family has to raise 13,000 dollars. Therefore, it is my job to place them in different media channels and develop a fundraising event. Recently, I was successful in placing them in our local newspaper, the Bowling Green Daily News. I have included the story below. I hope to be able to raise all the money for this family and help provide a fulfilling life for Caden.
Daily News (Bowling Green, KY)
Family needs help for dog
JOANIE BAKER HENDRICKS, The Daily News, jhendricks@bgdailynews.com
Published: September 20, 2009
When the Butler Modaff family asked, “How much is that doggy in the computer window?” they were a little overwhelmed by the response.
For the past two years, parents Jennifer Butler Modaff and Dan Modaff have been researching different speech, occupational and physical therapies to aid in their 3-year-old son Caden’s diagnosis of autism.
The family, which includes 9-year-old daughter Ryley as well as six cats and four dogs, came across a unique type of therapy that would fit into its pack just fine.
It’s called an autism service dog, and much like other service animals, it is uniquely trained to aid in some of the common characteristics of autistic children. The Butler Modaffs found a non-profit agency in Ohio that trains the animals to perform search and rescue in the event that a child panics and flees, as well as behavior interruption skills that direct the dog to distract the child during an emotional meltdown by nudging them with their nose or distracting them.
The agency, 4 Paws For Ability, trains the dogs to perform a unique tethering system, where a child wearing a belt or harness is attached to the animal so in the event the child tries to bolt during an overwhelming situation, the dog sits or lies down to keep their companion from getting lost.
Jennifer Butler Modaff said the program uses purebreed and rescued animals for training, which seemed a perfect fit for the family that has taken in stray animals for Caden’s entire life. But after discovering what seemed to be the perfect therapy for their animal-loving son, the family discovered that the leashed therapy requires a $13,000 donation to the service dog agency.
Natalie Nuce, associate director of 4 Paws For Ability, said the donation to the agency goes toward paying a trainer to train a dog to go into a home. Nuce said more than 500 hours go into training each dog. The canines learn basic functions from prisoners, who take weekly classes from trainers to learn how to train the pups in commands such as sit, stay and come.
But rather than accept payment for the dog, the agency asks families to fundraise in an effort to raise awareness about the cause.
The family moved to Bowling Green in July after Dan Modaff took a job at Western Kentucky University as the head of the communications department and Jennifer Butler Modaff began working in WKU’s University College. The parents said they were slightly discouraged at the idea of fundraising in a town where they didn’t know anyone, but have recently been discovered by several student organizations that are helping out.
Chris Nation, president of Communication Organization for Graduate Students at WKU, said when they learned of the family’s circumstance, the organization took it on as its annual community service project. The graduate students will work to promote the cause by organizing campus awareness events about Caden and autism.
“This caught my heart and the hearts of the other officers,” Nation said. “Just children in general, when they have a disability, it makes me want to help that person and want them to have a fulfilling life with the most resources it takes to make that possible.”
Jennifer said the service sorority Omega Phi Alpha has also reached out to help the family reach its goal of having a dog in place and familiar with Caden before he starts kindergarten. The family has already raised about $1,100. Some of that came from Ryley’s lemonade stand and a rummage sale, where Caden’s big sister sold all her Barbie dolls and some of her toys in an effort to help her brother.
The parents said they think the dog will not only help Caden be able to function comfortably in social settings, but will help the entire family.
Oftentimes Caden becomes overwhelmed in places like as the mall or in a restaurant, and sometimes has uncontrollable crying fits.
For school, Ryley recently presented a report on autism to her fellow classmates and described her experience with Caden. “Autism makes me feel sad because there is no real cure,” she said in her report. “Sometimes I get jealous because I feel Caden gets more attention and gets away with stuff that I get in trouble for. I also get irritated because Caden has big, loud tantrums and sometimes people stare at us in stores and when we are eating out. Even though Caden has autism, in his own personal way, he is fun, exciting, hyper and sometimes helping him deal with stuff gives me little rewards and little chores. I would change his autism if I could, but I would not change his personality because I think he’s smart, loyal, hardworking and he loves me a lot.”
Having a service dog with an easily identifiable vest may make things easier on the entire family, Jennifer said. While Caden craves regular schedules and tends to get upset when things are done differently, having a constant companion there will supply her son with a sense of security and the consistency he needs.
“When we started, we thought this would be really neat for him, but it seems like it’s something we’re doing for everyone in the family,” she said.
Jennifer said when Caden was about 14 months old, he had a vocabulary of about 24 words. By 18 months, that lexicon had declined to two words, and “that’s if you include ‘uh-oh’ as a word.”
“The worst moment was when I was working in the basement and Jennifer came down crying,” Dan said. “She said, ‘I just wish I could hear “mommy” one more time.’ Now she has ‘nonny,’ but you feel like you need to go around with a recorder because you never know when he is going to lose something.”
A couple of years ago, the parents said they watched their son spend Christmas evening lining up all the presents his grandparents had brought into the living room. It became obvious that like many autistic children, Caden had a strong desire to line and stack things. A few tests later confirmed their suspicions, and knowing there is no cure for the developmental and communication disability, they began checking into therapies.
After learning about 4 Paws For Ability, the family had to complete essays and collect letters of recommendation. Soon they will have to send hours of video to the agency so trainers can determine Caden’s personal needs as well as what skills the dog should have to benefit the family.
Once the $13,000 is raised, the family will go to Ohio to spend 10 days learning commands and working with their new four-legged therapist.
Jennifer said her daughter has described the search and rescue animal as a “GPS for Caden, except it’s a dog.” But the parents are hoping the dog does more than just help anchor their son. The mother said above all, she hopes the dog will give Caden security.
“It’s like Ryley said, if I could fix autism, I would, but I would not change Caden,” she said. “I just hate for him to have to go through life scared. I could be OK without him talking or even not saying much, but I hate for him to go through life scared.”
— To make a donation for Caden to receive an autism service dog, go to www.pawsforability.org. Include “In honor of Caden Butler Modaff” in the donation for the family to receive credit. For more information about Caden, go to www.adogforcaden.yolasite.com.
Copyright 2009 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)
The Beginning of the Digital Revolution
The communication world is changing so rapidly that in order to remain current one must be able to tackle digital media. Becoming an expert in these fields is no longer a pleasure but a necessity. The medium of print is vastly diminishing within mass communication, in fact as Cliff Shaulta, associate professor of ad and pr at WKU stated “we have cut out the mass media completely.” The digital revolution has brought about the ability to access information anytime and anyplace, making broadcast journalism no longer the authority on current information. This availability of information has not only increased the ability to reach content, form communities, and network with almost any individual around the global, but it has regretfully decreased the creditability and authenticity of information. Now more than ever, the search for genuine information, via the web, is difficult to find. However, even with this, I consider the digital revolution a great asset to the modern world, a world that will never remain stationary again.
