Flock and Rally awarded two ADDY’s for S.C. State Fair ad campaign
Flock and Rally, a women-owned integrated communications and marketing firm based in Columbia, earned two 2020 ADDY Awards for its advertising and creative work for the 2019 South Carolina State Fair. The American Advertising Federation (AAF) of the Midlands presented the awards at its annual American Advertising Awards gala last month in Columbia.
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South Carolina State Fair posters designed by Flock and Rally. Click image to enlarge.[/caption]
More than 75 awards, which honor exceptional work in creative and engaging advertising over the past year, were presented to Midlands’ professionals and students in a variety of print, interactive and broadcast media categories.
Flock and Rally won a Silver ADDY award in consumer campaigns for the South Carolina State Fair’s 2019 advertising, as well as a Silver ADDY in ambient media for the campaign’s series of four posters illustrated by designer Cait Maloney. Flock and Rally shares the consumer campaign award with Maloney as well as Forrest Clonts Photography, Cinema Couture Films and voiceover talent Joe Pinner.
“It was such a pleasure working with the S.C. State Fair as it celebrated its 150th anniversary,” says Merritt McNeely, vice president of marketing at Flock and Rally. “It was a fun campaign that yielded nearly double the advance ticket sales and the largest opening day crowd ever, both of which are a direct reflection of this campaign’s early, targeted marketing and advertising. We are proud to celebrate these achievements with our partners and clients.”
The 12-day S.C. State Fair offered several unique exhibits and experiences including a new, free daily circus, as well as more than 70 rides and 90 food vendors. Flock and Rally already is hard at work with the S.C. State Fair team on the campaign for the 2020 event, which runs from Oct. 14 to 25.
The American Advertising Awards is one of the industry's largest creative competitions, attracting nearly 35,000 professional and student entries each year through local club competitions.
About Flock and Rally: Integrated Communications for a Brave New South
Founded in 2010, Flock and Rally is a full-service, women-owned creative agency based in Columbia, South Carolina. The firm integrates branding, public relations, marketing, traditional advertising, digital advertising, social media and more into campaigns for a diverse base of clients, ranging from regional nonprofits to large-scale businesses across South Carolina and beyond. Serving industry sectors ranging from lifestyle and tourism to business, technology, real estate, economic development and more, Flock and Rally’s mission is to rally the community around great ideas. Learn more at www.flockandrally.com.
Twitter: www.twitter.com/flockandrally
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flockandrally
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flockandrally
Top design is Fort Mill student’s ticket to art acclaim
From the Rock Hill Herald
Nation Ford High School Senior John Hord will have his original design in the hands of thousands of people Dec. 17 when fans fill Gibbs Stadium at Wofford College for the 2016 Shrine Bowl.
Hord’s artwork was selected in an annual contest for use on the Shrine Bowl programs, posters, and tickets. His design was chosen among 73 student submissions from Joe McConkey’s Digital Art and Design Level Two Class at Nation Ford High.
“It’s exciting, and overwhelming,” Hord said.
“And at the same time, I’m shocked. I am very excited about winning this project and having my work out there for everyone to see the hard work I put in for this.”
This is the fifth year McConkey’s class has partnered with the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas to design the program, ticket, and poster. The competition gives the students real-world experience in designer-client relationships, McConkey said.
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John Hord's design[/caption]
“The experience is exactly how it would work if they were working for a design agency,” McConkey said.
“It’s one of few programs at school that provides real world experience. In a typical class, you’re doing fictitious projects, with no real buy-in. It’s just for a grade. But when you know its published work and the doors that might open and notoriety that may go with it, that raises the level of the work.” he said.
The winner was chosen by two members of the Shriners Board of Governors. Cassidy Sobas won second place in the competition. Third place went to Kristen Maso.
North and South Carolina Shrine Bowl Coaches gathered at the Oasis Shrine Center in Charlotte on Monday for the selection announcement of the 88 Shrine Bowl players as well as the unveiling of Hord’s artwork.
This year’s 80th annual Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas will take place on at 2 p.m. Dec. 17 in Gibbs Stadium at Wofford College. Since the first game, more than $77 million has been raised for Shriners Hospitals.
First STEAM middle school in SC wins international design award
From the Greenville News
Article by Nathaniel Cary; photos by Mykal McEldowney
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Classroom spaces at Dr. Phinnize J. Fisher Middle School are set up to be flexible, providing options for teachers to use team and project learning programs,[/caption]
When Greenville County Schools opened Dr. Phinnize J. Fisher Middle School in Greenville in August 2014, the district knew they’d created something new and different, possibly even unique in the United States.
It was a middle school designed around a curriculum. Every facet of the school — from color-coded exposed pipes to glass enclosed communications and power panels to showcase the building’s technology to its bio-retention pond to retain storm water and to remove harmful hydrocarbons — everything was built with instruction in mind.
Now, the school has been recognized with an international award for its design.
Fisher Middle School received the 2015 Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) James D. MacConnell Award during the CEFPI Annual Conference in San Diego, California, on Sunday, Oct. 25.
The award recognizes the comprehensive planning process that results in educational facilities that serve the community, enhance education and meet multiple goals. The school was selected from four finalists from across the nation. The school is the first in South Carolina to receive the award.
It was presented to representatives from the school district and the architectural firm McMillian Pazdan Smith, which was part of the team that designed the school.
Fisher is the first STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) middle school in the state.
Plans for the school launched in 2011 with initial concept meetings with Clemson University to place a STEM-focused middle school in Greenville.
A team assembled to plan the curriculum, design, technology and energy-efficiency. That team included school district representatives, education architecture firm Fielding Nair International and Greenville-based architectural firm McMillan Pazdan Smith.
The $30-million school was split into learning communities with flexible spaces for each separate community. Classrooms, or design labs, have movable walls and large windows to let in sunlight. Most have garage-style doors that roll up and down and can open classrooms into larger collaborative spaces.
A ground-level innovation lab is large enough to drive a car into from Clemson’s nearby International Center for Automotive Research, where students can learn hands-on.
Student project galleries line the hallway walls. A fine arts wing puts the “A” for Arts in STEAM. Even the lighting brightens and dims automatically based on the amount of sunlight available.
Fisher Middle was previously awarded a rating of three Green Globes through the Green Globe certification process that encourages facility design to conserve energy, reduce water consumption, and promote responsible use of materials.
It was named for retired GCSD Superintendent Phinnize Fisher and dedicated to her in November 2014. It opened with sixth grade and added seventh grade this fall. It will add eighth grade next fall.
Image above: the media center inside Fisher Middle School
From Kingstree High to Governor’s School to Cleveland Institute of Art: Young artist pursues automotive design career
From The Kingstree News
Article and photo by Michaele Duke
The children at the Williamsburg County Library were in for a treat last week when Shawn McClary, an artist who recently graduated from the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, showed up for a class.
McClary joined a long list of speakers who volunteered their time to enlighten the young ones through STEAM, a mini-grant funded by the SC State Library. The classes meet twice weekly with a number of speakers participating and will conclude with a gallery opening at the library on July 13, to display the students’ writings and artwork.
For his part in the STEAM program, McClary described his time at the school and conveyed his view of the world through his art. “They actually focus more on experimenting and finding new ways to approach art, rather than a great artist being defined and sophisticated in the arts,” said McClary. The Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities is a public residential high school for emerging artists. Students must apply and audition to attend the school.
While at the Governor’s School, McClary majored in the visual arts. This fall he will head to the Cleveland Institute of Art where he will continue his pursuit in design.
Most of his drawings focused on automobile design, which is a telling of his goals that began when he was a sophomore at Kingstree Senior High School. “It was the summer of my 10th grade year and we went to the BMW manufacturing plant,” said McClary of that fateful day in Spartanburg. “I really liked their aesthetics and that really influenced me to look into automotive design.” McClary’s goal is to work for Chevrolet or GMC as an exterior designer.
For his next step into the world of automotive design, McClary chose Cleveland Institute because they offer an industrial design program in which he can concentrate in transportation design.
He said three major auto companies participate in the program. “Just about every Saturday they come and teach the children how to draw cars and you can sign up for internships.”
He has one up on the drawing portion of the classes. He said he recently entered the Dodge Autorama design competition and placed in the top 10 out of approximately 90 sketches.
McClary’s mom says it’s been a pleasure watching him grow into an artist. “This is so exciting to me,” said Angela. “The house has become a museum of his work. I hate to see him leave but he’s following his dream.”
Chapman Cultural Center seeking artists experienced in wooden sculptures
The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg/Chapman Cultural Center is looking for a professional South Carolina artist with experience in woodworking and large 3-D wooden sculptures to participate on a design team for an arts project in Spartanburg S.C. The project would not begin until June 2015 and is contingent upon the Arts Partnership being awarded an Art Works: Design Grant for Livability from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The project is part of a larger neighborhood-wide redevelopment initiative to create a “Choice Neighborhood.” The arts project is the next step of a successful cultural planning process funded by an Our Town Grant from the NEA. The plan for the Northside Neighborhood of Spartanburg (pictured above) identified short-term and long-term goals for arts infusion in this underserved neighborhood with innovative approaches to how the arts may be experienced and appreciated. The design team will include neighborhood residents, college students, national arts planners and local arts agencies. The design team will design and build prototypes for permanent impromptu performing venues in the neighborhood.
Please submit a resume, up to five images (or a website address) and a checklist identifying the images by July 15, 2014, to jevins@spartanarts.org.
Related: Read the 2013 announcement of the Our Town grant.
Via: Chapman Cultural Center
Rock Hill Designs invites proposals for public art and design features
Application deadline is July 7.
The Rock Hill Designs Committee is seeking qualifications from artists and designers in creating distinctive, permanent design features within the Woolworth Walkway, which will serve as the connecting corridor between the recently constructed Old Town Market area and the mid-block of Main Street in the City of Rock Hill. The committee is seeking proposals from artists located in the Southeast region only (S.C., N.C., Ga., Tenn., Va.) due to the high level of community engagement that is expected.
The anticipated budget for the artist engagement/design portion of this project is $18,000. The proposed budget is intended to cover all associated costs for the visioning & design selection process including artist and apprentice fees, materials, travel and convening expenses. Excluded from this budget is the final implementation and installation of accepted design.
The integrated design features will be located in a new walkway being created on the site of the former Woolworth building on Main Street in Rock Hill, S.C., which is currently being demolished. Main Street Rock Hill has a rich civil rights history: the Woolworth & McCrory’s lunch counters were the location of the “Friendship Nine” sit-in in 1961, which ultimately resulted in the “Jail No Bail” stance that was replicated in civil rights protests across the South. One of the goals of this project is to incorporate this history into a theme of civil rights/social justice within the spaces that will be created.
The selected artist will be part of a design team including the City’s selected architect and civil engineer that will incorporate locally inspired themes into the spaces created by the project.
Strong preference will be given to artists who demonstrate experience and success with engagement of local residents and students in the creation of locally imagined themes and spaces.
Rock Hill Designs is a collaborative effort including the City of Rock Hill, Rock Hill School District 3, Winthrop University, Clinton College, York Technical College, the Arts Council of York County, the Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation’s Quality of Life Committee and other interested parties whose goal is to facilitate incorporating locally inspired art into the design of new public investments in the Rock Hill Community.
View complete information and apply.
Via: Rock Hill Designs
High school students invited to apply for arts education scholarship
Parents and educators - do you know a high school student who wants to attend a pre-college, summer or after-school arts education program? Make sure they apply for the Anthony Quinn Foundation's 2014 Scholarship Program! Students from around the world are invited to apply and must be enrolled in high school or officially registered as a home-schooled high school student. Applications will be accepted through January 1, 2014.
Modeled after the personal experience of Anthony Quinn, the program is for young adults in high school who demonstrate exceptional talent and dedication with a strong commitment to personal artistic growth and who will benefit from financial support. The Foundation makes an effort to distribute the funds evenly across the fields of focus: Visual Arts & Design, Performing Arts, Media Arts, and Literary Arts.
Funds awarded will be sent directly to the pre-college, summer or after-school arts education program designated by the student. The scholarship cannot be used for secondary school or college tuition.
Winners will be notified by April 1.
Find out more and apply here.
Via: The Anthony Quinn Foundation
Find out how to benefit from a design arts grant or program
This conference call was postponed in October and has now been rescheduled.
The South Carolina Arts Commission, in collaboration with the Columbia Design League, will offer South Carolina artists, arts organizations, designers, cities and communities an overview of design arts programs and grants available from the National Endowment for the Arts via conference call on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 10 a.m.
Join us to learn more about the variety of design programs offered by the NEA and how your community can benefit from a range of opportunities, including rural design workshops, design project grants, community development through the arts and creative placemaking initiatives.
To date, three South Carolina communities have received Our Town grants: City of Charleston, Town of Pendleton and City of Spartanburg
(Related: City of Spartanburg awarded $25,000 Our Town grant. Also, read how Spartanburg plans to use this grant: Emphasizing the arts during a neighborhood revitalization.)
WHAT: Conference call with Jason Schupbach, Director of Design for the National Endowment for the Arts, and Ken May, Executive Director, South Carolina Arts Commission (pictured left to right).
WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 21, 10 - 11 a.m
WHO SHOULD PARTICIPATE: Artists, designers, and representatives of arts organizations, cities, communities, local government and other institutions interested in funding and program opportunities for design projects.
COST: Free
PARTICIPATING IN THE CONFERENCE CALL
RSVP to Shawna Bauer at sbauer@arts.sc.gov or (803) 734-8687. Please indicate whether you wish to participate by phone or in person.
- By phone: Shawna will send instructions for connecting to the call
- In person: Up to 20 seats are available at the South Carolina Arts Commission on a first-come, first-served basis. Reserve your space with your RSVP
PREPARATION FOR THE CALL
Review the online guidelines for any of the following design arts programs and grants to determine if the opportunities fit your organization or community:
CANCELED: design arts conference call; panel still on
Due to the federal government shutdown, National Endowment for the Arts Director of Design Jason Schupbach is on furlough and will not be available to participate in the design arts lecture scheduled for Oct. 15 nor the Oct. 16 conference call. We will make every effort to reschedule the conference call later this year.
The lecture has changed to a panel discussion featuring Hub Bub Director Cate Ryba, recipient of an Our Town grant, SCAC Executive Director Ken May and other design arts leaders. The public is invited to the panel, which takes place Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. at the Columbia Museum of Art. Tickets to the panel discussion are $10 for those who are not members of the Columbia Design League, but RSVPS are not required. The panel is produced by the Columbia Design League and the South Carolina Arts Commission.
Our Town grants available for creative placemaking and design arts projects
Guidelines and application materials are now available online for Our Town, the National Endowment for the Arts' primary creative placemaking grants program. Pending funds availability, grants will range from $25,000 to $200,000. Previous Our Town grant recipients in South Carolina include the cities of Charleston, Pendleton and Spartanburg.
(Related: Can your community benefit from a design arts grant or program? Participate in a conference call Oct. 16 to get the scoop on NEA's design arts programs and grants.)
Our Town will invest in creative and innovative projects in which communities, together with arts and/or design organizations and artists, seek to:
- Improve their quality of life;
- Encourage greater creative activity;
- Foster stronger community identity and a sense of place; and
- Revitalize economic development.
Projects may focus on
- Arts engagement activities including
- innovative arts programming
- festivals/performances
- public art that improves public spaces
- Cultural planning activities including
- creative asset mapping
- cultural district planning
- master plans or community-wide strategies for public art
- creative entrepreneurship
- creative industry cluster/hub development
- Design activities including
- design of rehearsal, studio, or live/work spaces for artists
- design of cultural spaces
- design of public spaces
- design charrettes, design competitions, and community design workshops
Other key information:
- Complete Our Town application guidelines are available in the Apply for a Grant section on arts.gov
- Application deadline is January 13, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. ET
- Our Town FAQs provide answers to many questions about the program.
- A webinar to learn more about this funding opportunity will be held on November 4, 2013 at 2 p.m. ET
- For program inquiries, please email OT@arts.gov with specific questions and a design specialist will respond.
- Sample application narratives for these types of projects can be found at arts.gov.
Now in its fourth year, Our Town has provided $16 million to support 190 projects in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. These projects are diverse in geographic distribution, number and types of partnerships, artistic discipline, and type of project. In FY 2013 alone, 35 of the 59 grants supported projects in communities with populations under 100,000.
To view a map of all the Our Town projects along with project descriptions and images, visit the
Our Town section of arts.gov.
Via: National Endowment for the Arts
South Carolina State Fair posters designed by Flock and Rally. Click image to enlarge.[/caption]
More than 75 awards, which honor exceptional work in creative and engaging advertising over the past year, were presented to Midlands’ professionals and students in a variety of print, interactive and broadcast media categories.
Flock and Rally won a Silver ADDY award in consumer campaigns for the South Carolina State Fair’s 2019 advertising, as well as a Silver ADDY in ambient media for the campaign’s series of four posters illustrated by designer Cait Maloney. Flock and Rally shares the consumer campaign award with Maloney as well as Forrest Clonts Photography, Cinema Couture Films and voiceover talent Joe Pinner.
“It was such a pleasure working with the S.C. State Fair as it celebrated its 150th anniversary,” says Merritt McNeely, vice president of marketing at Flock and Rally. “It was a fun campaign that yielded nearly double the advance ticket sales and the largest opening day crowd ever, both of which are a direct reflection of this campaign’s early, targeted marketing and advertising. We are proud to celebrate these achievements with our partners and clients.”
The 12-day S.C. State Fair offered several unique exhibits and experiences including a new, free daily circus, as well as more than 70 rides and 90 food vendors. Flock and Rally already is hard at work with the S.C. State Fair team on the campaign for the 2020 event, which runs from Oct. 14 to 25.
The American Advertising Awards is one of the industry's largest creative competitions, attracting nearly 35,000 professional and student entries each year through local club competitions.
