A few months ago, we recapped what was already a remarkable year for Birmingham thanks to a number of positive accolades from well-respected national sources.

Lately, we’ve noticed lots of other folks recapping our city’s recent successes. Even The New York Times couldn’t ignore what’s happening here in Birmingham.

While it’s already been quite a year, Birmingham was just handed its biggest honor yet: for the first time since 1970, Birmingham was chosen as an All-America City by the National Civic League (NCL), a century-old community service organization.

Every year, the NCL chooses ten cities that “demonstrate innovation, inclusiveness, civic engagement, and cross sector collaboration by describing successful efforts to address pressing local challenges.” Every city that applies must show how they’ve met these criteria over the past five years.

Considering that more than 600 cities have been awarded such a designation and no city has won more than five times, this is quite an accomplishment.

Mayor William Bell believes that the 50 Years Forward campaign, which we’ve had the honor of working on with the Mayor’s staff, had a great deal to do with the victory. “We are thankful that the National Civic League jury recognized that Birmingham is ’50 years forward,’” Bell said in a statement for AL.com. “We look forward to working to prepare the city for the next 50 years.”

But just what does this distinction mean for Birmingham?

According to AT&T Alabama president and Birmingham Business Alliance chairman Fred McCallum, it’ll be a driving force to help recruit new business to Birmingham. “[This honor] will be a useful tool to entice companies to relocate and expand in our region,” said McCallum.

Birmingham will be a key component of the upcoming report from the NCL that encourages other communities to participate in similar programs and initiatives. In other words, our city is more than just a thriving metropolis—it’s an example for other cities with like-minded aspirations to follow.

We’re proud to be able to work with many Birmingham-based, civic-minded groups that have helped make this city even more special in recent years. And most of all, we’re all really excited to be living here.

The post Bringing Back the Magic: Birmingham Named an All-America City appeared first on Big Communications.

Since not all offices are dog friendly, we’re opening our doors to you and your pooch on Friday, June 21. We will host a variety of fido-friendly activities throughout the day, all to raise awareness of pet adoption and help out our friends at the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Fido Photo Booth

Noon – 2 p.m. in the lobby

Donate money or supplies to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, and you and your pooch can have a photo shoot in our lobby with fun props. Every dog that participates will receive a commemorative orange bandana and the chance to win free doggy daycare from Dog Days of Birmingham.

Group Dog Walk 

2:30 p.m. from Big to Railroad Park

Join us for a group dog walk to Railroad Park, starting from our office. Upon arrival at the park, dogs will be greeted with treats and toys. (There may even be sweet summer treats for humans, too!)

Yappy Hour

4 – 6 p.m. at The Metro Bar

Join us for happy hour drinks from 4 to 6 p.m. with our friends next door at The Metro Bar, where a portion of the profits from drinks sold will be donated to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society. As if we needed another excuse to indulge in one of Silky’s famous fresh-squeezed Salty Dogs!

Can’t join the festivities? Click here to donate to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.

The post Take Your Dog to Work Day – Friday, June 21 appeared first on Big Communications.

The Outreach & Recruitment Specialist will assist the PR team in coordinating and planning travel. Candidate should be comfortable presenting to large groups including students, teachers, counselors, parents and the general public.

This position is currently temporary and will run August-December. There is extensive overnight travel during the week and possibly some weekends.

Requirements:

-Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university preferably in marketing, public relations or a related field
-0-2 years experience in marketing or public relations
-Proficiency with Word, Excel and Outlook
-Exceptional communication, interpersonal and organizational skills
-Social media skills
-Strong attention to detail
-Strong interest in recruiting

About Big Communications

Big Communications, Inc. is a Birmingham-based, full-service advertising and public relations agency specializing in media strategy, public relations, advertising, grassroots marketing and promotions. The agency’s diverse client list includes national, regional and local clients with an emphasis on tourism, entertainment, healthcare, workforce development, telecommunications, recruitment and retail.

To apply, send resumes to Danielle Kimbrough at danielle@bigcom.com

The post Grassroots Marketing Job Opportunity appeared first on Big Communications.

From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., vendors from across the city and Second Avenue merchants will line the sidewalks of Second Avenue North selling vintage clothing and curiosities, artwork, handcrafted jewelry, hand-printed cards, crafts, skateboards, shaved ice and more. Neighborhood favorites including What’s On 2^nd?, Charm, Faith Skate Supply, and Levy’s will be out in full force.

While it’s wonderful to get outside on a weekend, the Second Saturday Sale is more than just a fun time – it’s a good cause. The goal is to promote local businesses and raise funds for branded signage and street furnishings.

Two years ago, our very own Shannon Harris was approached by local architect Jeremy Erdreich and Robert Emerick of REV Birmingham about volunteering to help create a brand for Second Avenue North. She picked a color (Pantone 130c, which Shannon affectionately named “Butternut”), designed a logo, and began fleshing out the aesthetic feel that would become Second Avenue North.

“I was so inspired by Jeremy’s ideas and the energy that these small business owners like [Charm owner] Chatham Hellmers and [What’s On 2^nd? owner] Steve Gilmer had already created,” she said. “I was immediately on board.”

The biggest obstacle, though, was funding. So Shannon and Chatham came up with an idea that would accomplish that goal while also bringing the neighborhood together: The Second Saturday Sidewalk Sale.

“We went back to our original goals about pride and awareness and thought a community event would be the best way to start tackling the business of raising funds,” Shannon said.

Vendor fees and proceeds from Second Avenue North t-shirt sales, as well as generous donations from businesses like Levy’s and What’s On 2^nd? will ultimately bring Shannon’s ideas to life.

In fact, the wheels are already moving. The Regional Planning Commission has agreed to donate 80 percent of the cost for Local Bike Racks to be placed along Second Avenue North as part of their Commute Smart program. The bike racks will all be powder coated Butternut, of course.

“It’s going to take several events and a lot of t-shirt sales to raise the money we need for this project,” Shannon said. “But the sense of community and energy is really exciting. I can’t wait to see everyone out again this Saturday!”

It’s never too late to join the party, so if you’re interested in setting up a table this Saturday or in the future, send an email to secondavenuenorth@gmail.com.

Grab a friend, hitch a ride, or just put one foot in front of the other and make your way down to Second Avenue North this Saturday.

See you this weekend, Birmingham.

The post Second Saturday Sidewalk Sale Returns to Downtown Birmingham appeared first on Big Communications.

This month, more than 5 million Delta passengers will get a 30,000 foot view into what Alabama has to offer – from entertainment to enterprise – in the airline’s June issue of Sky magazine. This is the first time Sky has featured Alabama, and thanks to significant advertising support from Alabama businesses, this 44-page special sections is one of the largest the magazine has ever produced to date. While attention to Alabama seems to have magically amplified throughout the past few months, this feature reminds us that cooperative efforts among business leaders and investors deserve the credit for raising Alabama’s flag on the map.

So, why are we so proud of it? Other than it being a big celebration of all things Alabama, it’s a fantastic feature of our Made in Alabama campaign for the Alabama Department of Commerce. Big worked closely with Secretary Canfield’s office and chambers of commerce across the state to highlight the different industries of focus positioned all across the state, from biosciences in Birmingham and manufacturing in Mobile to aerospace in Huntsville. The magazine also spent considerable time discussing the arrival of Airbus in Mobile, which gave us a great opportunity for our aviation clients to get into the mix.

As believers in Birmingham and the great state of Alabama, we thank Delta for telling our story to the rest of the world. The June issue will be on board Delta’s 13,000 daily flights this month, and the feature can also be viewed online here: http://bit.ly/deltasky_al

Don’t Miss:

A4 – Two-sport legend Bo Jackson on Bo Bikes Bama, Southern twang and coming back home to feel grounded

A10 – Florence fashion designer Billy Reid on Gulf seafood and the music of Muscle Shoals

A22 –Birmingham as a catalyst for national change during the Civil Rights Movement

A26 – Suggested travel spots include The Hangout in Gulf Shores, the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Walking Trail, True Midtown Kitchen, Standard Deluxe in Waverly and PieLab in Greensboro

A41 – An advertorial outlines Big’s role in launching a Made in Alabama and helping the Alabama Department of Commerce become a source for positive economic development news

The post Delta Sky Magazine Profiles Alabama appeared first on Big Communications.

Last year, our Chief Creative Officer Ford Wiles’ daughter Falcon was one of 54 kids from around the country chosen to have lunch with First Lady Michelle Obama. Falcon entered a recipe (Alabama’s Yummy Summer Soup) in the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, part of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! Initiative.

So when Valerie Ramsbacher, President of the Junior League of Birmingham (JLB), approached us to help take their Kids In The Kitchen program to another level, we were excited about the collaboration.

Kids In The Kitchen helps teach healthy eating habits to combat childhood obesity. But until recently, there was something missing: mobility.

“We had this program in the schools but we didn’t have a kitchen,” Ramsbacher said in an interview with AL.com. “And we wanted to be able to get out in the community.”

After hours of brainstorming, the JLB came up with Project Yummy, a mobile teaching kitchen that takes healthy eating demonstrations all across the community.

The Project Yummy van, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, is a fully functioning mobile kitchen, complete with a gas stovetop, a microwave, two sinks and two refrigerators. There’s also a built-in camera that will allow cooking demonstrations within the van to be shown on a video screen on the outside.

The program targets a much different audience than a regular food truck, so the JLB asked us to create a design that would help children get excited about healthy eating. So we decorated the outside of the van with bright, colorful panels. But this design is more than just pleasing to the eyes—it’s educational. Each colored panel contains images of healthy foods that match that color in order to help younger children identify them.

“We had to consider the target audience,” said Creative Director Aaron Gresham. “Eating healthy isn’t exactly the coolest thing to kids this age. So we wanted to make it more fun, and more accessible.”

In order to get their message out to the public, the Project Yummy van will be making stops in locations like Railroad Park, Pepper Place, and other areas where fresh, local products are sold.

We at Big are proud to be working toward such a noble goal, and we’re honored to work with a great organization like the Junior League of Birmingham to reach that goal. Look for the Project Yummy van in your neighborhood!

The post Junior League of Birmingham Teams Up with Big for Project Yummy appeared first on Big Communications.

But when our collaborations result in award-winning work? Well, that’s icing on the cake.

That was the case Monday night in Atlanta when Birmingham magazine won Best Redesign of a Magazine at the City and Regional Magazine Association’s annual conference.

The award pitted Birmingham magazine against a slate of strong national contenders, including Philadelphia magazine, San Antonio Magazine, The Washingtonian, and Dallas’s D Magazine.

The Birmingham magazine redesign debuted in the January 2012 issue. We were pleased to work with key members of the Birmingham magazine staff, including editor Julie Keith and managing editor Carla Jean Whitley, in order to make it happen.

The redesign included a new masthead, new templates, departments, content strategy and a new style guide.

“We wanted to give the magazine a certain degree of culture and sophistication to reflect what Birmingham has become,” Creative Director Aaron Gresham said. “They needed a design that was very genuine to Birmingham now.”

The CRMA Awards bring together the best city and regional magazines in the nation, and the competition is always tough. After coming up short in the General Excellence category in 2012, Birmingham magazine brought home an award for the first time this year.

“We are so excited about this recognition,” Keith said in an interview with AL.com. “…[T]his is our first year to win and we are thrilled, particularly when you look at the caliber of the publications that were finalists for Best Redesign this year.”

Congratulations to everyone at Birmingham magazine. We’re honored to be a part of the team.

The post Birmingham Magazine Redesign Earns National Recognition appeared first on Big Communications.

“Our creative team developed a truly authentic campaign to celebrate the hard working individuals of Alabama’s seafood industry,” says John Montgomery, President of Big Communications. “We are thrilled to be recognized for our work, but most of all, we are honored to have been given a platform to tell the rest of the country that the best seafood comes from the Gulf Coast of Alabama.”

In addition to Overall Best of Show, the Alabama Gulf Seafood campaign received two Gold ADDY® Awards. Big’s production partners, Six Foot Five, also received Gold ADDY® Awards and one Silver ADDY® for the Alabama Gulf Seafood TV campaign. Big was also awarded a Gold ADDY® for Donaldson Landscaping and three Silver ADDYs® for the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Advertising professionals from San Francisco, Minneapolis, New York City and Cincinnati judged the 826 professional entries and selected 193 winners (80 Gold, 113 Silver). Notable work honored at the District 7 ADDYs® included the Guinness Pubfinder campaign by breensmith, DVL’s work for Jack Daniel Distillery and videos for Nike Snowboarding by TYTAN. For a full list of the District 7 ADDY® winners, visit http://bit.ly/D7ADDY.

2013 District 7 ADDY® Awards for Big Communications

AAF District 7 Overall Best of Show 
Alabama Seafood Marketing Commission Campaign

Gold ADDY® Award in Collateral – Brochure
Alabama Seafood Marketing Commission Brochure

Gold ADDY® in Integrated Campaigns – Consumer – Regional/National
Alabama Seafood Marketing Commission Campaign

Gold ADDY® Award in Elements of Advertising – Visual
Donaldson Landscaping Logo

Silver ADDY® Award in Elements of Advertising – Visual
Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau 50^th Logo

Silver ADDY® Award in Elements of Advertising – Digital Creative Technology
Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau IN App

Silver ADDY® Award in Elements of Advertising – Digital Creative Technology
Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau IN App

About The American Advertising Federation ADDY® Awards

The ADDYs® are the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition, attracting over 50,000 entries every year in local ADDY competitions. The mission of the ADDY competition is to recognize and reward creative excellence in the art of advertising.

The awards are a three-tier, national competition conducted annual by the American Advertising Federation (AAF). Concurrently, all across the country, local entrants vie for recognition as the very best in their markets. At the second tier, local winners compete against other winners from cities in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, which is one of 14 District competitions. The District ADDY Awards were presented in Jackson, Miss. on April 19. District winners are forwarded to the third tier, the National ADDY® Awards Competition, which will take place June 8 in Phoenix, Ariz.

The post Big Takes Home Overall Best of Show Award at District 7 ADDY Awards appeared first on Big Communications.

Thankfully, our friends at the Outlet Shops of Grand River are hosting the Spring Out Event April 19-22. They’ll be accepting donations of gently used clothing to be sent to King’s Home, and if you’re one of the first 1,000 people to donate ten or more clothing items, you’ll receive a free $25 gift card.

When we were asked to do a commercial for the event, our creative team came up with an intriguing and enticing choice: a stop-motion video featuring articles of clothing that spell out simple but meaningful words.

But we decided to go one step further.

The video shoot would require lots and lots of clothes, so everyone at Big banded together and brought in our used clothing items to use during the shoot (which took place in our own kitchen) and then donate afterwards.

As a result, the video is more than just a promotion—it’s a positive message.

“The simple style of the video originated from the simplicity of donating,” said Brian Curtin, our Motion Design Director. “Giving helps, and it’s not hard to do. So we let the clothes do the talking.”

Motion Designer Ali Clark, who co-directed the spot, echoed, “I’m very pleased with the finished product. We couldn’t have done it without all the wonderful clothing donations from Big employees!”

Check out the video below, and join us at the Outlet Shops of Grand River next weekend for the Spring Out Event.

The post Turning Spring Cleaning into Spring Giving appeared first on Big Communications.

So what is the legendary two-sport superstar doing to celebrate? He’s using his athletic prowess to raise money for Alabama’s tornado victims. And we’re honored to be helping Bo promote such a worthy cause.

On Saturday, April 27—the two-year anniversary of the devastating tornado destruction that occurred throughout central Alabama—Bo will be leading his second Bo Bikes Bama charity bike ride.

This year, the ride will take place in Cordova, Ala. Registrants will have the option of participating in either a 20-mile ride or a 60-mile ride, both of which will begin and end in Cordova.

Last year’s ride raised more than $600,000 for tornado victims as hundreds of cyclists from across the nation (and even Canada) joined Bo and other sports icons like Ken Griffey, Jr., Scottie Pippin, and Picabo Street in riding throughout north Alabama over the course of five days.

We here at Big Communications were thrilled that our public relations team was asked to help promote last year’s event, and we’re equally excited to be back on board this year.

Bo Bikes Bama is open to all who are interested. A minimum donation of $60 in advance / $100 the day of the ride is requested to participate in the 60-mile ride and a minimum donation of $40 in advance / $60 the day of the ride is requested to participate in the 20-mile ride.

All contributions to Bo Bikes Bama will go straight to the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund, which was established to help any Alabamians affected by the tornadoes who have exhausted all other avenues of disaster relief. Visit bobikesbama.com to donate, register to ride or buy tickets to the silent auction.

The post Big Communications Partners with Legendary Athlete Bo Jackson for the Second “Bo Bikes Bama” Ride appeared first on Big Communications.