The campaign aims to drive demand for Alabama Gulf seafood, particularly among consumers in the state and restaurateurs across the region, by showcasing the coastal culture and educating people about the types of Alabama Gulf seafood available.

“Alabama seafood is second to none. Whether it’s fish, shrimp, crab, or oysters, if you want good, fresh seafood, we have it here in Alabama said Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, who established the ASMC in March of 2011. “Alabama’s seafood industry is vital to our coastal economy. Choosing seafood from the Alabama coast means you’re choosing to support Alabama fishermen, tourism and other important industries in our state. The state’s seafood industry helps drive our coastal economy with an annual sales impact of approximately $390 million, and we encourage people to choose Alabama seafood.”

Traditional advertising such as TV, print, outdoor and online will direct viewers to EatAlabamaSeafood.com, where they will learn how to find, catch and eat Alabama Gulf seafood. The website includes databases of restaurants, retailers, distributors and charter boat services. Other features of the site include a seafood field guide, chef profiles, recipes, event information and more.

“Our commission members represent all aspects of the Alabama seafood community, and the website harnesses all their knowledge and much more in one place,” said Chris Blankenship, director of Marine Resources and program administrator for the ASMC. “The campaign and website go a long way to share the coastal experience and to help consumers and retailers more easily access fresh, local seafood.”

In addition to traditional advertising, the Commission’s three-year, grant-funded $5 million campaign includes partnerships with several national and local events beginning with the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores taking place May 18-20. Alabama Gulf Seafood will sponsor a tent featuring fresh Alabama shrimp, fish and oysters at the Hangout Music Festival, highlighting the fact that Alabama is historically the No. 1 processor of oysters in the U.S.

Other event sponsorships will bring Alabama Gulf seafood to food-centric cities across the country such as the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party in New York City in June. The latter is part of a larger partnership with Birmingham-based national consumer magazine Southern Living, which is the presenting sponsor of the event.

“We want people to experience firsthand the incredible taste of Alabama’s seafood product. When they think about buying or eating seafood, we want them to remember that flavor and come back for more,” said Blankenship.

The Alabama Gulf Seafood marketing campaign was created by Alabama-based Big Communications, which was named the agency of record for the ASMC in January.

We attribute the success of this video not only to our talented creative team (that’s you Jordan, Matt and Brian), but also to our client who gave us the freedom to create good work. At Big, we are fortunate to work with smart clients who understand the power of marketing and trust us wholeheartedly to represent their brands.

Read about it in The Birmingham News

Watch for yourself:

Starting at about the 3:14 mark, Bo talks about the coalition of volunteers put together to make this thing successful, and he proceeds to mention Big in the company of great brands like Trek, Nike and Lance Armstrong. That’s some pretty outstanding company.

Here’s the clip from ESPN last night:

As most of you probably know, Bo is a Alabama boy at heart. He grew up in Bessemer, graduated from Auburn and still has many family members who live here. So when the tornadoes took the lives of nearly 250 of our neighbors last year, Bo knew he needed to do something to help his home state. Nine months later, he had the support of Lance Armstrong’s management team (Capital Sports & Entertainment) as well as TREK and Nike. Click here to watch a video about it.

In February, we received a call asking if our public relations team could help spread the word about Bo’s ride in Alabama, and we immediately jumped on board. You might say Big is an old acquaintance of Bo: he worked with us on a promotion for the Birmingham Convention and Visitor’s Bureau several years back. But for us, this was more about the chance to work with an icon like Bo Jackson: it’s about the chance to do something with meaning that helps our community and our state. Hey, it’s like our mission statement says: making a difference while making a living.

So, since we’re in the promotions frame of mind, we’d like you to do more than just read about it here on our blog. We’d love for you to join us in support of Bo as he takes on this great challenge. And here’s how you can help:
1. Make a donation at bobikesbama.com or text BOBIKES to 50555 to donate $10.
2. You can also join Bo for the last leg of his ride in Tuscaloosa on April 28 and help celebrate the conclusion of Bo Bikes Bama at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater.
3. Tell others to do the same.

All contributions will benefit the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund.

And if you want to get a behind-the-scenes look at Bo Bikes Bama, follow our own @JulieWard on Twitter as she travels with Bo’s team this week. You can also get updates from the man himself at @BoJackson or @BoBikesBama.

We salute Bo for thinking big and taking on this huge endeavor to support the state of Alabama.

Wingo previously served as the agency’s Business Manager. Since Wingo joined Big in 2007, the company has seen its annual billings and its staff double in size.

“Rachael stepped up to lead the management of our company finances through a period of explosive growth for Big,” said President John Montgomery. “She is an invaluable part of our executive management team as we continue to expand our client list and our company footprint.”

Wingo holds a B.S. in Economics and an M.B.A. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She was recognized as a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society and is a Certified Financial Advertising Agency Planner.

Wingo also serves in a variety of volunteer leadership roles for community events. She serves on the United Way Young Leaders Service Committee and is a Founding Committee Member of the Greater Birmingham Humane Society’s Gimme Shelter event. Wingo has also served as the Street Manager for Artwalk and the Venue Manager and Hospitality Chair for the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. In her spare time, she enjoys riding horses competitively and helping rescue retired racing Greyhounds.

Shayda has been here for a while, helping streamline some of our media processes. She’s become Sally’s right hand woman. Niki is a fresh import to Birmingham from Mobile. She’s a seasoned PR vet who’s knee deep in seafood right about now. Brittany is a workhorse in our PR department, as well. She is always right with Danielle and Robin helping manage details and get things done. And Randy, the newest addition to the team, is burning plenty of oil to get a backlog of websites out of the queue and into the internet.

Stay tuned for more new hire announcements in the coming weeks.

And when it’s time to add personnel to our staff, we set our standards pretty high. Mythical creature high. Unicorn riding across a rainbow high.

So if you think you’re creative, smart and hybrid enough to be on Big’s team, check out the description below and give us a shout:

Senior Account Executive

The Senior Account Executive is responsible for daily contact between the agency and multiple client accounts. The Senior Account Executive interfaces with various agency departments to move projects through the agency on behalf of the client. This includes meeting with the creative director concerning creative issues and input, the media director concerning media issues, the public relations director concerning publicity, the director of interactive marketing concerning interactive projects, the business department with financial concerns and the production manager concerning scheduling and timing.

The Senior Account Executive has major input in developing strategic marketing plans for their clients. After plans are developed and presented to clients, the Senior Account Executive is responsible for carrying out the plan on a daily basis.

Responsibilities: 

• Handles day-to-day activities for assigned clients.

• Keeps apprised of progress of clients’ projects through production and traffic managers or other relevant personnel.

• Receives client briefings. Quickly and accurately relays Client Change Orders to all appropriate agency personnel.

• Effectively presents, sells and defends all agency work and proposals to clients; supports other client service team members in these functions.

• Keeps apprised of clients’ brands/products/services/marketing developments.

• Assists in preparing client proposals, marketing communications and strategic marketing plans, media and public relations plans.

• Regularly checks for and responds promptly to all client communications, including calls, faxes and emails. Communicates with clients after regular work hours when necessary.

• Coordinates with interactive account executive to ensure traditional/interactive synthesis of marketing efforts.

• Oversees execution of approved programs.

• Oversees Junior Account Executives on project work. Reviews Junior Account Executive client proposals & manages client interactions

• Checks and approves creative/production materials, copy, layouts, and production art, and coordinates client approval.

• Reviews billing when requested and ensures prompt collection of accounts receivable.

• Coordinates project timing and budgets with all relevant agency personnel.

• Actively seeks additional projects/new business from client contacts.

• Keeps account coordinator/assistant informed of client activities.

• Represents agency at industry and community functions.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 5-8 years experience as account executive on accounts totaling at least $2 million in billings.
• Bachelor’s degree in related field.
• Strong multi-tasking skills with ability to manage multiple projects and deliver plans in a short time period.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency in all Microsoft Office Suite programs.

To apply, email your resume to Libby Sexton – Libby@bigcom.com

So when Earl mentioned The Birmingham News “this is our story” campaign in his blog at INMA.org, we were thrilled to say the least. check out Earl’s blog here.

“John’s personal passion and mantra for ‘making a difference while making a living’ continually propels our agency forward,” says Ford Wiles, Chief Creative Officer of Big Communications. “It is this simple philosophy that John brings to work every day that not only helps the company grow but it also leads to a lasting, powerful and ever- present-effect on the city and community around us.”

John started his career as a teenager, working as a promotions intern for the Birmingham Bulls. He founded Big in 1995 armed with nothing but a laptop, a loft and a giant cell phone. While the irony of the name was not lost on his first clients, John’s well-beyond-his-years experience in public relations, media and event promotions delivered against it, with an invaluable combination of headline-grabbing tactics, great relationship building and media targeting smarts.

In 17 short years, John has grown Big from a one-man PR circus to one of the hottest shops in Alabama. Though Big’s client roster now includes leading brands across the state and region, John has made sure that the agency proudly maintains its commitment to being a local firm first.

Big’s Chief Branding Officer Mark Ervin says “John is officially Birmingham’s biggest fan and actively pursues opportunities to make our city a better place to live and work. He loves this community and is proud of the potential, the progress and the collective creativity of Birmingham.”

John’s commitment to the community is visible through projects such as the popular Birmingham Convention and Visitor’s Bureau “IN” campaign, The Birmingham Business Alliance Blueprint Birmingham rollout and the reinvigoration of The Birmingham News brand. Regional efforts include the Alabama Construction Recruitment Institute’s Go Build campaign as well as Serve the Gulf, a pro-bono effort launched by John to counteract misinformed perceptions after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Robin Oliver, Big’s Vice President of Public Relations, says “John Montgomery is one of the most creative entrepreneurs in this field and quite possibly the brightest PR mind in our state. He’s a compassionate employer who puts the welfare of family and friends well ahead of profit and gain. We are grateful for the advertising community’s public recognition of John’s commitment to excellence.”

Big Communications also took home seven awards for its 2011 work at the ADDY Awards, held Thursday, January 2 at The Club. Big’s awards included:
Silver – Entertainment District Brochure, Bayer Properties Silver – Website, Big Communications Silver – Birmingham Airport Display, Birmingham Airport Authority Silver – Consumer or Trade Publication, Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau
Gold – EspresShip Sales Video, Royal Cup Coffee Gold – Shuttlesworth Service Brochure, Shuttlesworth Foundation Silver – The Civil Wars Poster, Standard Deluxe Silver – ‘This Is Our Story’ Musical Score, The Birmingham News Silver – Birmingham Magazine Campaign, The Birmingham News