“This work has won already numerous advertising and marketing accolades, but we’re proud to be honored by the television industry as well. It’s a testament to our extremely collaborative relationship with MASN,” says RP3 Creative Director Jim Lansbury. “We both share a passion for baseball, and MASN’s prowess in production and editing allows us to get the most out of our budgets and create campaigns that look and feel bigger than other regional networks.” The campaigns also extend beyond television into print, online, promotions, events and social media.

Other collaborators on the campaign include Director Peter Churchman of Churchman Productions, and Shooters Post and Transfer.

For more information on the show and a complete list of winners, click here.

RP3 Agency has been chosen by the National Recreation and Park Association, NRPA, to increase consumer awareness and ignite consumer passion in support of parks and recreation across the nation. The program begins with brand planning, consumer positioning, and messaging that distinguishes it as the indispensable part of American communities. Implementation will begin with a “friends of parks” program to enhance its existing membership campaign.

RP3 Agency was selected over a number of other firms because of its brand planning experience, unique methodology for uncovering deep audience insight, and engaging creative that has delivered proven results across industries by increasing awareness, involvement, and brand advocates.

NRPA is dedicated to educating professionals and the public on the essential nature of parks and recreation. Through learning opportunities, research, and communications initiatives, they strive to generate significant public support to advance the development of best practices and resources for parks and recreation nationally. They also advocate for increased national funding for parks and recreation through federal grants and initiatives that support healthy lifestyles, economic vitality, and environmental stewardship.

“Public parks and recreation are our nation’s greatest treasures,” said Barbara Tulipane, CEO of NRPA. “We need a partner that can help us clearly articulate our mission and connect with consumers who are most likely to share our convictions and participate in our mission. RP3’s approach and passion convinced me they will be a great partner in this critical endeavor.”

“Parks have touched the lives of nearly every consumer,” said Beth Johnson, President of RP3 Agency. “We are very excited to find compelling and innovative ways for NRPA to engage with public audiences, differentiating their mission and positioning them to succeed for generations to come.”

RP3 will provide NPRA with a fully integrated campaign including qualitative research, strategic planning, creative development, traditional and new media, guerilla and experiential, social and mobile media, events, and other unique communication solutions.

About National Recreation and Park Association
The National Recreation and Park Association is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing park, recreation and conservation efforts that enhance quality of life for all people. Through its network of roughly 21,000 recreation and park professionals and citizens, NRPA encourages the promotion of healthy lifestyles, recreation initiatives, and conservation of natural and cultural resources. For more information, visit http://www.NRPA.org. For digital access to NRPA’s flagship publication, Parks & Recreation, visit http://www.parksandrec-magazine.org.

Chris Sheldon joins as Associate Creative Director after collaborating with the agency on numerous projects over the past few months. Chris brings a wealth of experience to RP3, having created award-winning integrated campaigns for a range of clients including Sears, Nintendo, Kelloggs, P&G and Motorola. Prior to joining RP3, he served in a similar position at Arnold’s DC office, where he spearheaded work for Choice Hotels, Amtrak and the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.

“We’re lucky to have a talent like Chris on our team”, said RP3 Creative Director Jim Lansbury. “He brings a great eye as an art director and designer and knows what it takes to deliver big ideas that engage today’s empowered consumer across multiple platforms. “

Chris has also worked at renowned creative agencies like Ogilvy and Leo Burnett in Chicago and TBWA/Chiat Day in New York. His work for the Chicago Wolves AHL hockey team was shortlisted at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival awards.

Also joining RP3 as an Account Coordinator is Amanda Marinelli. A recent graduate of the University of Kentucky with a major in Integrated Strategic Communications, Amanda found her way to RP3 through a combination of determination and plain luck. After researching a select group of agencies, she came knocking on the doors of Rosenthal Partners, only to discover those doors had recently been closed.

On her way out, she ran into a former employee on the elevator who informed her that a new agency called RP3 was being founded by the leadership team from Rosenthal, with offices on the 7th floor. Unfazed, Amanda marched in and approached RP3 President Beth Johnson with an offer she couldn’t refuse. “I’ll work without pay for 3-months, if you agree to seriously consider me for a job when I’m done.” The rest, as they say, is history. “I was very impressed with the passion and initiative Amanda showed that day, and every day since, said Johnson. “She embodies the can-do spirit our agency was founded on, and we’re delighted to put that passion to work on behalf of our clients.”

Stay tuned for more announcements as RP3 continues to expand and strengthen its capabilities.

Kogod MBA candidates enrolled in the Advanced Advertising Practicum, are working directly with Long & Foster as their client to gain important real world professional experience. Students are responsible for client meetings, marketing research, planning and development of communications strategy, developing an integrated marketing plan, and social media strategies based on the client’s business objectives.  The graduate students will present their final findings in a formal presentation to Long & Foster leadership.

“Our brand stands for something, from the past, today, and into the future,” said Barry Redler, Chief Marketing Officer of The Long & Foster Companies. “What that is and how it changes over time is critical knowledge for a marketer. I am thrilled to have an outstanding group of MBA candidates help us think about our brand positioning for the future.  These smart, young professionals ask the tough questions, probe the delicate issues, and assess solutions from new and different vantage points.  It’s a refreshing and exhilarating experience that should add value for our company and our sales associates.”

RP3 has a tradition of engaging with the academic community to derive innovative outcomes. From showcasing client brands in classroom projects, providing industry thought leadership, and practical hands-on experience, this collaboration fuels creativity, knowledge and innovation.

“It will be energizing to see how the next generation of marketing and communications practitioners perceive the issues and challenges that we as industry professional wrestle with everyday,” said John Heenan Chief Marketing Officer for RP3 and the course instructor.  “They are the emerging consumers who will shape marketing practices for years to come. It is quite extraordinary for the students to be able to develop fresh new strategies using digital and social media to help a storied brand engage with consumers.”

RP3 announces a business win called Draftix, the world’s first web site dedicated to facilitating the sharing of sports season tickets. RP3 will help launch the brand, create awareness, engagement, and grow the subscriber base within the sports marketing industry.

Draftix’s mission is to put season tickets within the reach of all fans. RP3′s mission is to put all fans in the reach of Draftix. As a season ticket owner, the site’s founder, Mike Tobin, realized the demand for an online tool to help populate and manage season ticket groups. “The idea started from my own season ticket experiences with friends and family,” said Mike Tobin, Draftix chief executive officer and founder. “That’s why I am thrilled to have RP3 on the case. Their knowledge of the sports industry, social media, and creative ways to build fan engagement sold me. Not only are they charged with driving big subscriber goals in test markets but we’ve brought them in as investors and advisors because of their experience in online marketing, sports marketing and their intimate understanding of the sports fan mindset.”

“When I first heard the idea, I knew I wanted in,” said Jim Lansbury, RP3 founder and creative director. “There couldn’t be a better product for the serious sports fan, an audience we know very well from working with brands like EA Sports and MASN. I’m confident we’ll help them attract new members. In fact, I’ll be the next to sign up.”

Draftix plans to introduce their service to hard-core baseball fans during the preseason season ticket buying frenzy in key markets at http://draftix.com/baseball. RP3 will develop an integrated marketing plan using traditional, new, and social media, together with promotions and unexpected tactics, to engage baseball fans, communicate the benefits of the service, and sign up subscribers. The campaign will run until the opening of the 2010 baseball season and then refocus on the next professional sport.

“We really like the business model and the people behind it. Mike and Alan Taffel, also a Draftix founder and former CMO of MCI and WorldCom, are laser-focused and well prepared to achieve their aggressive goals. Even more exciting is having an ownership stake in the company. Our success is tied directly to Draftix’s success. I have no doubt that my team has the experience and creativity to make this a big win for all of us,” said Beth Johnson, RP3 founder and president. Draftix is launching an aggressive test marketing effort in key cities beginning with the 2010 Major League Baseball season and expanding with each major sport season throughout the year and across the nation.

RP3 founder and head of strategic planning Scott Gold will lead the process, drawing on his 15+ years of experience helping complex brands like Long and Foster Companies, CareerBuilder, and Hospital Corporation of America. He will be conducting a planning process using a “values” based approach that will lead to the articulation of a focused value proposition for the organization.

“We are excited to be part of the NRTC’s vision for the future of an organization that serves the quickly evolving telecommunications and electric industry,” said Gold. “Their mission to bring these vital services to all of America is a critical step in bridging the digital divide and enabling opportunity and connectedness to all Americans. With innovative products and sophisticated services, the NRTC can benefit from a sharply focused brand platform and messaging architecture.”

“We help rural electric and telephone utilities strengthen their businesses with solutions uniquely suited to the needs of their consumers. We chose RP3 because they demonstrated an understanding of our organization and our mission, and have the skills to help articulate the great things we do,” said NRTC vice president marketing and communications Phil Brenner. “I managed the review of a number of top firms with our senior leadership and have to say the choice was unanimous. We selected RP3 because they understood the complexity of our challenge, and had a smart approach to help us to meet it.”

RP3 president Beth Johnson added, “I am excited to be working with such an impressive organization. The NRTC is a champion for its members with an impressive track record of services and products that return real value to its membership. Today, energy and communications are critical issues for the economy, national security, and jobs. The NRTC is at the forefront of these issues and can be even more effective with a refined and focused brand that asserts their leadership.”

RP3 Agency President Beth Johnson was recently interviewed by the Washington Business Journal. Below are some highlights of that conversation, including how the new agency came to be, why we’re different, and where we think the advertising and marketing industry is headed next.

During the 15 years Beth Johnson worked for Bethesda advertising agency Rosenthal Partners, the idea of starting her own shop had quietly floated between the lines of items on her account management to-do lists. She would do it “someday.”

Well, someday showed up June 12. That’s when Dan Rosenthal called her into his office to say he was retiring. But instead of selling or transitioning the business to new leadership, Rosenthal had decided to shut down the company.

“In a way, it was perfect timing,” Johnson says in hindsight. The advertising industry is in the midst of a seismic shift, with shrinking client budgets and the expanding popularity of social media. Agencies are downsizing from the overhead-heavy business model they have clung to for decades.

Rosenthal Partners had been planning to make some of those changes, but slowly. Now Johnson had a clean slate, which was both wonderful and terrifying. She went home, sat down on the couch with her husband and a glass of wine, and pondered: Now what?

In a fairly quick conversation, her husband summed up the scenario: Opening your own agency has always been your dream, he said. It’s just not the way you thought it was going to happen.

The next day, after a somewhat sleepless night, Johnson invited two colleagues, Scott Gold and Jim Lansbury, to lunch. Both were people she had helped recruit to Rosenthal with the idea of finding long-term partners to build a business.

By the time the waiter offered coffee, the three had agreed to start an agency. Johnson had been with Rosenthal from its early days as The Dan Rosenthal Company to its re-branding as Rosenthal Partners. Now, it was time for the 3.0 version, or RP3 LLC.

What followed was a two-week whirlwind of phone calls, meetings and consultations with accountants and lawyers. By July 1, the new team was in business. Clients received the news well, all of them agreeing to come along, including Honest Tea, Mid-Atlantic Sports Network and Quality Pavement Repair (yes, Geico isn’t the only company with a talking pothole). One client even offered to invest in the business.

She reports that the new/old company — “a startup with an asterisk” — is profitable. There is still plenty of overhead, but it’s managed differently. Johnson compares the shift with what happened to Hollywood’s business model: At one time, everyone from actors to grips was on staff at the big studios. Today they are artists for hire. Advertising, like Hollywood, is now building handpicked teams on a project-by-project basis.

Marketing’s mission has also changed. “What we used to do was interrupt people with dramatic messages,” Johnson says. Now, instead of talking at consumers, “it’s about two-way conversation.”

RP3’s early work reflects that change. A simple, stick-figure animation spreads the message of the Washington Area Women’s Foundation, and baseball fans were invited to share their defining moments as part of a campaign for Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.

Johnson is the first to admit this new chapter in marketing and advertising has plenty of opportunity for dead ends. Even the smartest companies will make mistakes. That’s why RP3’s budget includes a specific line item for experiments.

Failures need to be rewarded too, Johnson says. “In our business, it is all about testing and learning and refining.”

Johnson’s take-away: Surround yourself with people who challenge you, who think differently than you. You need people who can push you, make you uncomfortable and help you see various sides of an issue.

View full article here.

In a recent Washington Post article, business columnist Steven Pearlstein celebrated those area companies that maintained or increased their corporate giving in 2009, despite the difficult economic conditions. While far from the biggest contributor on the list, RP3 is proud to be included for our partnership with the Washington Area Women’s Foundation. On behalf of the foundation, we produced the “Be That Woman”  video and website to ignite a new movement of women’s philanthropy. By year’s end, over 15,000 people had seen the video, and the foundation had exceeded its fundraising goals. In 2010, the campaign will expand with the addition of more social media tools and the opportunity for members to share their personal stories of inspiring women in their lives. We look forward to a long and successful partnership, with even more good news in the years to come.