Arkansas Blog

Yeah, it will be curious to see if ADH allows Cranford to keep the Stamp Out Smoking account. Burson Marsteiller is historically infamous for manipulating tobacco public relations. Infamous, hell criminal.

There appears to be a lot happening in the ad/pr world!

The Design Group
Owner: Myron Jackson, Telly Noel and Mark Parker
Address: 400 W. Capitol Ave., Suite 1802, Little Rock, 72201
Phone: (501) 377-1885
Fax: (501) 588-0223
Hours: Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Start-up: Oct. 15, 2007
E-mail: info@designgroupmarketing.com
Web site: www.designgroupmarketing.com

The Design Group, founded by Myron Jackson, Telly Noel and Mark Parker, recently celebrated its one-year anniversary by moving to a new 2,662-SF location in the Regions Bank Building in downtown Little Rock. This "culturally connected" marketing consultancy focuses on getting its clients to "the right place, at the right time, with the right message in an effort to get the right results," Parker said.

The three owners have an "aggregate of about 60 years of experience in the multicultural marketing arena and provide market expertise to those clients who wish to reach African-American, Latino, urban and youth consumer markets," Jackson said.

All three owners graduated from public Arkansas universities. After graduating, all three owners moved out of state to gain work experience.

Jackson worked with one of the nation's largest African-American agencies in New York and Atlanta, and Parker worked with the nation's largest Hispanic advertising agency in San Antonio. The owners' travels took them from New York to San Francisco and many places in between, but all three eventually found themselves back in Little Rock.

After many years working in large, diverse metropolitan areas around the United States, the owners of The Design Group saw the value of diversity at the "decision-making table [of] communication campaigns," Jackson said. "To truly speak to a diverse marketplace, there must be an array of diverse life experiences, experiences that lead to new understanding."

After returning to Little Rock, all three men worked at a local multicultural marketing agency. Jackson said that there are many "layers within African-American and Latino consumer segments, and one agency can't tell their whole stories. We saw the market needed options and wanted to create a company to fill that marketplace void."

Jackson said The Design Group is a "research-driven firm. Everything is based on empirical data."

"Yet what sets us apart," he said, "is that we are culture-based planners who marry cultural nuances with all the disciplines of modern marketing."

Noel said that the key is "to not just know who your target is, but to know what makes them who they are."

Noel said the owners used their own money - about $100,000 - to start up the business. They have had about 20 clients so far, most notably the Peabody Hotel, the Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency and the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services. The Design Group hopes to increase its business by $500,000 a year. In the next five years, the owners hope to exploit both the Dallas and Memphis markets for growth.

"to not just know who your target is, but to know what makes them who they are."

Why are "they" who they are and what makes them that way.

That's going to be fun to quantify.
.

Good for them! I know some of this group and what they can accomplish. Talented, brainy, creative, personable go-getters.

Just like me.

Wowee!

The good people at CJRW may be fine citizens, but Burson Marsteller is the Satan of evil PR for anyone concerned w tobacco and the public health. Or should be. No one ever heard of smokers' rights until they started funding smoker's rights organizations. I wanted to link some particularly inflammatory articles but there are too many. An advocate hears "Burson Marsteller" and you hear tobacco.

There is a tremendous conflict of interest.

More optical illusion from the management at CJRW. Kinda like the "ESOP". What's the next trick to divert attention from a sick, out of touch company? If it weren't for the political connections CJRW would go down the same path as Lehman Brothers.

I'm excited to hear about the changes taking place within the central Arkansas advertising, marketing, and PR areas, including the creation of The Design Group. The more options that are available, the better the quality of work output which ultimately benefits the state. I look forward to seeing great things from such agencies in the near future.

Burson-Marsteller is a subsidiary of WPP Group, a major voice of the neo-con globalists. WPP's Board is composed of a who's who of CFRs, Bilderbergers and Tri-Lateralists; not the least of whom is Bill Clinton. Thankfully however, I'm reminded Penn's stupendously incompetent direction of Hillary's campaign ultimately resulted in the triumph of Barack Obama. I suppose their inroad to the Waltons, Stephens, Tyson triumvirate plays into the CJRW deal.....And having former Arkansas First Lady; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is not a bad second prize for the WPP cretins.

Below is an article I wrote back in March regarding WPP and its role in election 08 :

The Puppet Master'sCandidates

Back in February acclaimed Washington Post journalist, Jeffrey Birnbaum, reported the chief strategist for both John McCain and Hillary Clinton are employed by the same
British billionaire, Sir Martin Sorrell. Birnbaum's block buster report was buried on page 11 A of the WaPo then and has received almost no attention since!
Incredibly,Sorrell's 100,000+ employee WPP International media/advertising/lobbying conglomerate includes among its key leaders both Howard Paster and Mark Penn ( Hillary's chief advisors) and Charles Black (McCain's chief advisor).
In fact, Penn directs WPP owned Burson- Marsteller which owns Black's BKSH Lobbying Firm. Sorrell also employs many other major DC power brokers including ex-chairman of the Republican National Committee; Edward W. Gillespie who is now a Bush spokesman, a former House GOP
leader (Robert S. Walker), and as mentioned the Clintons' most trusted long-time
advisor, Howard Paster, who is Penn's immediate boss at WPP ! Thus the chain of command at WPP is Martin Sorrel to Howard Paster to Mark Penn to Charles Black. Martin Sorrell was deemed in 2005 as one of the most influential men on the planet by Time Magazine and he is obviously even more influential today.In fact, his nearly ignored influence over both the Clinton and McCain campaigns may well explain the Clintons bizarre cheerleading of McCain and conversely their baffling apparent efforts to derail Obama's candidacy. Does one dare speculate Hillary might well wind up as McCain's Veep choice, thus fulfilling Sir Martin Sorrell's " Dream Ticket " ?

Whoa, you guys are feisty. This is my first comment to ye olde Arkansas Blog, so feel free to hammer away at me for trolling. (not that you need permission for hammering, judging by the previous comments)

A note of disclaimer, I work for CJRW.

Personally, I'm reserving my judgment on this new relationship between CJRW and B-M. Since this is their first affiliate relationship inside the borders of the US, I don't know what to expect. I do have confidence in the folks who have chosen this course for my company - we really are employee owned - and that's why I have hope that this will be a good thing for us, and for our clients as well.

Another note of disclaimer, this is not a CJRW sanctioned comment.

Now for a little sticking my nose where it doesn't belong. I'm not a big fan of internet anonymity. It's just so tired and weak. If you're going to pop off, have the courage to claim your words. Sorry to get parental...I have three kids...It just comes out.