Mayor Hardberger & Peter Holt Announce Support of No Kill Initiative at City Hall

SAN ANTONIO – Following a close look at the city’s treatment of stray and abandoned animals, Mayor Phil Hardberger issued a challenge to San Antonians – “own up” to their responsibility to animals by helping San Antonio achieve No Kill status by 2012. Today, Mayor Hardberger formally announced his commitment to the OwnUp SA campaign, engineered by creative firm esd&associates.

The campaign, developed in partnership with the San Antonio Area Foundation and the City of San Antonio, seeks to stop the euthanasia of the 30,000 companion pets that are killed in area shelters annually. OwnUp SA will tackle the mayor’s challenge by encouraging adoptions and raising public awareness of the situation facing our community. The campaign’s end goal? To make San Antonio a No Kill city by 2012.

Through the firm’s campaign strategy a number of corporate sponsors and city leaders have offered their support and backing. “Our No Kill 2012 community initiative – OwnUp SA – will align San Antonio with other progressive cities in the nation. A campaign of this caliber could not have been conceived without the foresight and vision of great community leaders like Mayor Hardberger, Peter Holt, Sheryl Sculley and Pat DiGiovanni. Succeeding in this endeavor will have a positive impact on San Antonio’s national corporate and civic image,” emphasized Christine Kleha, Partner & Communications Director of esd&associates.

esd was a natural match for the community-driven OwnUp SA initiative, thanks to its outstanding past social marketing experience, ties with corporate supporters and vast experience with non-profit clients.

Peter Holt, CEO of Spurs Sports & Entertainment and corporate chair for the OwnUp SA Consortium of Partners, acknowledged that full community support is needed for success: “I know the people of San Antonio have enough room in their hearts to take in every healthy homeless pet in Bexar County. It’s time for us to put this compassion into action and step up on behalf of all companion pets.”

Led by Creative Director & partner Erik Simpson, esd&associates has developed billboards, unique collateral and an all-encompassing resource for animal services – OwnUpSA.com – aimed at getting community members to sign pledges to do their part! In addition, esd has worked extensively with the Spurs organization to develop unique events such as the Pucks & Paws hockey event and SeaWorld San Antonio to increase pet adoptions through half-off admission passes available at participating shelters while supplies last.

“We are excited about this challenge,” said Simpson. “As a committed vegetarian and animal advocate myself, it’s a cause that I personally believe in and feel honored to contribute to and stand behind.”

SAN ANTONIO — Among the 4,300 nationwide entries received in the 24th annual Healthcare Advertising Awards competition, University Health System garnered the only award presented to a San Antonio hospital. Taking the international bronze medal for their annual report, “A Mission for Life” — produced by esd & associates — represented a particularly rewarding coup for UHS since this publication was their first foray into producing a system-wide overview in more than a decade.

These efforts were judged by a national panel evaluating creativity, quality, message effectiveness, consumer appeal, graphic design and overall impact, in what has become the largest healthcare advertising awards competition. Healthcare Marketing Report, a leading publication addressing all facets of healthcare marketing, advertising and strategic business development, circulates to more than 2000 medical professionals and sponsors this preeminent competition.

“We knew that a benchmark would be established with this initial publication and we labored to ensure that it reflected the level of professionalism and care that UHS has consistently delivered to the region for the past 50 years,” said Erik Simpson, esd & associates creative director and partner.

esd & associates tapped for visual innovations

SAN ANTONIO — Heightened state-wide competition marked the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department design partnership Request for Proposal. San Antonio-based esd & associates submitted the winning presentation for multiple park projects focusing on enhancing the experiences of visitors to Texas State Parks.

The TPWD criteria focused predominately on the caliber of portfolios, firm credentials and the strength of their client rosters. “The quality of our work has always spoken volumes about our firm and allowed us to sustain many long-term client partnerships,” said esd & associates creative director Erik Simpson. As avid Texas State Park connoisseurs, the partners at esd & associates brought personal insight to this contract assignment, which made them particularly well-suited to the task.

SAN ANTONIO — Creative director of esd & associates, Erik Simpson, was featured in the annual “Who’s Who in Advertising & PR” section, published by the San Antonio Business Journal in their March 9 issue and included in-depth interviews with the top 21 area agency executives.

Simpson said, “I am appreciative to have been included with the distinguished professionals and successful organizations featured in the Business Journal.”

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IABC, PRSA recognize successes of client-partners

SAN ANTONIO — Local multicultural advertising and marketing firm esd & associates is applauding the successes of their client-partners in this year’s International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Bronze Quill Awards, Regional (IABC) Silver Quill Awards and Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Del Oro Awards. Together, client-partners claimed numerous awards between the two ceremonies.

“These awards signify the hard work and time our client-partners have put into their campaigns,” said Erik Simpson, creative director for the firm. “We enter our client-partners work, in their name, to showcase their remarkable work.”

For a number of years, esd & associates has entered campaigns and creative work for client-partners solely in the name of the client-partner. This method, although unconventional, ensures that the body managing and developing the work receives proper credit.

Some of our Client-partner award winners this year were Community First Health Plans — IABC Bronze Quill and Silver Quill Award, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities - Del Oro Award, Texas Cancer Clinic - two awards in IABC and PRSA categories, and Enterprise Foundation - two awards in both IABC and PRSA categories. Contact esd & associates for a complete listing of their 2006 esd client-partner award winners.

esd & associates chosen to reach students

SAN ANTONIO — Students begin filling out their university applications and gathering their numerous letters of recommendations at the beginning of their Senior year. By Spring they have finalized their institutions of choice down to just a mere handful and are awaiting for word from these renowned institutions. esd & associates was hired to make sure Texas State University stays in that mere handful and remains a top pick for incoming freshman.

esd & associates partnered with Texas State this last Spring to increase enrollment through admissions branding. Developing a new creative message to be implemented in publication design and admission campaigns is the first step to encouraging high school students to make Texas State their final choice.

“This is an excellent opportunity for our firm and our team to step into the higher education field and help Texas State increase recognition as an institution of excellence in academia,” said Blake Lyons, project manager and alumni of Texas State. “Though we have a tight deadline, we are fully confident in our ability to design a unique campaign focused on the pillars of Texas State.”

The firm will focus on national known aspects of the University to help create immediate awareness. Earlier this year, The Princeton Review recognized Texas State as “An America’s Best Value College.” In addition, Denise T. Smart, Dean of the McCoy School of Business, was recognized as the “Most Supportive Dean in America” by the national board of directors of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE), many of whom are Fortune 500 executives.

“We’re developing a ‘fresh’ approach to appeal to today’s Gen Y demographic,” said Erik Simpson, creative director and partner of esd & associates. “We’re going to keep it sophisticated, yet simple for this very savvy target market. ”

Along with high school students, the firm will focus on parents, Hispanic students, First Generation students and their parents to create greater awareness of Texas State’s accolades among students ranked in the Top 10% of their graduating class.

As Texas State continues to grow its long, award-winning tradition of excellence in academics, the firm will promote the University as a valuable, preferred destination for higher education students in Dallas, Houston, South Texas and beyond.

esd & associates selected from pool of regional and national agencies

SAN ANTONIO — For more than 130 years, Hispanics have been working, living and learning at Texas A&M University. Local marketing firm esd & associates will portray that message to thousands of people expected to visit the exhibit Hispanics at Texas A&M: Celebrating 130 Years, 1876-2006 throughout 2006-2007.

“This is a great opportunity for our multicultural firm,” said Creative Director Erik Simpson. “The mission of this exhibit is to educate people throughout Texas about the broad range of Hispanics who have served the University in almost every capacity.”

The exhibit is funded through the Cushing Memorial Library at Texas A&M. Cushing and its Archives reflect the comprehensive nature of the research and teaching mission of Texas A&M, as well as, the wide diversity of interests found among current and former students, faculty, staff and friends of the University. Collections span the breadth of recorded history, from Sumerian clay tablets dating from 2200 b.c. to contemporary paperback editions.

“We’re very excited about opportunities for this venture,” said David Chapman, University Archivist and Associate Director at Cushing. “esd & associates has the creative experience and intelligence to design our exhibit for travel outside of A&M and develop components for those who cannot see the exhibit in person.”

esd & associates will create a detailed catalog and interactive Web site to compliment the physical exhibit. The catalog will provide patrons at the exhibit with in-depth articles that elaborate on the overall focus of the exhibit. The online component will recreate the physical exhibit and allow alumni and benefactors to submit their personal material via the Web.

“This exhibit will be built to look as if it were specifically designed for each space it appears within,” said Nick Zuniga, a team member with esd & associates. “It will be engineered to allow for partial or full exhibit movement. We hope to take it on the road and educate thousands of Texans about A&M and it’s success within the Hispanic culture.”

The exhibit is scheduled to open in early March and will be onsite for a year. After which, esd & associates and Cushing leadership will develop site locations for the exhibit. Several universities and museums throughout Texas and the Southwest are being mentioned as possible exhibit sites for 2007 and beyond.

Local Web design firm esd & associates creates Web tracking system for family walking program

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Sports Foundation partnered with esd & associates, a leading San Antonio advertising and communications firm, to develop and launch the 2005 Valero/Diamond Shamrock Go!Kids Challenge™ Web site. The site, unlike any other in San Antonio, is expected to draw more than 60,000 new children to the program this year.

In its third year, the Valero Go!Kids Challenge will be implemented in 18 San Antonio, Boerne and New Braunfels school districts and many private schools involving more than 165,000 children. Each participating child will be encouraged to walk one-half mile every day for a total of 26.2 miles - the distance of a marathon.

The firm, led by Creative Director Erik Simpson, began producing the site for San Antonio Sports Foundation in March 2005. With an end goal of increasing participation and awareness in the program, esd & associates created an innovative, interactive first for the organization.

“We chose esd & associates because they have an amazing amount of experience and interactive expertise,” said Ross Davis, Creative Director for the organization. “We were astounded by their efficient management style and creative abilities.”

esd & associates meticulously developed a step-by-step process to follow San Antonio children through every step of the program. Children and their parents are able to track their progress and log-in daily to input their number of miles walked-exactly as they would on paper. In addition, children take part in educational surveys and receive printable coupons as their reward for walking every six miles.

“We took everyday elements of some of the top Web sites across the country and we curtailed them to fit this site,” said Simpson. “We maximized usability by following the paper version, but also gave children an outlet to learn more about the Internet at the same time.”

New to the site this year, teachers and educational administrators throughout San Antonio will have the ability to track their school’s progress against others in San Antonio through the site’s unique “Tracker.” This element provides teachers with a real-time tracking capability and breeds new life into classroom participation for students and families who otherwise may not have participated.

“The Tracker gives teachers the ability to create a fun and competitive classroom exercise,” said Simpson. “We decided early on that this would allow us to evaluate program participation as a whole and make decisions about where the organization could increase awareness efforts.”

San Antonio Sports Foundation and esd & associates will kickoff the program and launch the Web site on Wednesday September 21 at the Southwest Independent School District Headquarters located at 11914 Dragon Lane.

2005 IABC Bronze Quill Award Bestowed for Publications Category

SAN ANTONIO — There are several reasons to celebrate this Fiesta season. For esd & associates, it’s to celebrate the accomplishments of their client-partner, The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).

HACU is the 2005 recipient of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Bronze Quill Award for Publication Design. The Bronze Quill Award of Recognition is given to those companies that go above and beyond their roles in communication. esd & associates entered on HACU’s behalf in the Publication category for their 18th Annual Conference in Miami, Florida.

“We’re extremely happy to see HACU receive this recognition,” said Erik Simpson, creative director at esd & associates. “Everyone spent a tremendous amount of time ensuring that the event was a success.”

Each year, HACU conducts conferences and special events to educate their supporter base about the critical importance of ensuring Hispanic Higher Education success. Student participation, especially at the Annual Conference, has been an important dimension over the past five years. In 2004, over 1,200 educators and students traveled to attend the conference — a record for HACU.

The Annual Conference promotes advocacy, forms collaborations and disseminates information necessary to achieve educational funding for Hispanic Serving Institutions of Higher Education.

Since 1997, esd & associates has worked with HACU to develop and manage all communications and creative design for their conference materials. This partnership has led to uniquely designed materials that deliver their message on event programs, save-the-date cards, event schedules and call for papers for the Capitol Forum, Annual Conference and International Conference. All materials are designed around the participant to promote action. Each conference requires a dedicated direct mail system in which to distribute materials to the 10,000+ HACU members worldwide. This unique direct mail distribution system is managed by esd & associates and is conducted in San Antonio.

“Our direct mail system is a perfect fit for HACU,” said Mario Diaz, Publication Specialist for esd & associates. “HACU demands a seamless communication system to reach their members. This system allows us to get information out in a timely fashion, from one direct source.”

Since their inception, HACU has succeeded in providing students access to educational opportunities in some of the nation’s premier colleges and universities.

To further this mission, HACU formed a partnership with the National Education Loan Network (Nelnet) at the 2004 Annual Conference. This partnership will provide all of HACU’s 400+ college and university members and affiliates with access to Nelnet’s student loan services, college planning and financial aid information — all designed to simplify and enhance opportunities to fund a college education.

HACU’s increased public awareness has allowed them to receive the support of Henry Cisneros, former HUD Secretary and San Antonio Mayor and Univision Anchor Jorge Ramos. These well-regarded figures chose to be keynote speakers at this year’s conference to demonstrate their steadfast dedication to the Hispanic education community. esd & associates will continue to support HACU’s efforts in advocating the Hispanic voice in Higher Education.

New building, passion drive esd & associates

SAN ANTONIO — For years Erik Simpson has taken his creative flair to the market for all of his client-partners. In March, Erik and his team at esd & associates were recognized for their efforts in the San Antonio Business Journal.

The article features the work of esd & associates on the “don’t” campaign for the South Texas Health Research Center. The successful campaign garnered over 22,000 signatures of teenagers who vowed to not start smoking. In addition, the article recognizes the team’s success with Henry Cisneros’ non-profit community development corporation, American Sunrise.

esd’s beginnings on the West side are also noted. Simpson started his one-man shop in 1993 and now has a company of 13, in a new and spacious headquarters near Bitters and Blanco Roads on the North side.

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