Brain Trusts: Not Just For the Big Guys
Taking the Turbulence Out of Business Flights
Learn How to Build Better Communities
MTAACC Honors Standout Citizens
Corrections or additions?
This article was prepared for the February 13, 2002 edition of
U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
How an Ad Campaign Made Milk Cool Again
Poor milk. The dinner-table staple steadily fell out
of favor during the ’80s and ’80s. Ironically, it had curdled both
because it was seen as “good for you” and because it had
developed
a reputation as a health threat. Generations of moms insisting that
milk glasses be emptied — or else! — had made the drink
uncool,
and had sent kids flocking to sexier alternatives like soda. Then
the drink began to accumulate bad press as a fat-laden artery clogger,
prompting health conscious Boomers to ban the white stuff from their
diets.
By the mid-1990s, consumption was way down, and New York City ad
agency
Bozell Worldwide was called in to reverse the trend. The result is
the milk mustache campaign, one of the most successful product
makeovers
in the history of advertising. Bernie Hogya, then an associate
creative director at Bozell, was instrumental in putting the campaign
together. The pictures of celebrities, photographed by Annie
Leibovitz,
sporting milk mustaches has spawned a cult-like following, a
comprehensive
website for fans (www.whymilk.com), and a book.
Hogya, an author of “The Milk Mustache Book: A Behind-the-Scenes
Look at America’s Favorite Advertising Campaign,” speaks at a
meeting of the Art Directors Club of New Jersey on Tuesday, February
19, at 6:30 p.m. at L’Affaire Restaurant in Mountainside. Cost: $45.
Call 201-997-1212.
The book is a collection of portraits of many of the milk mustache
models, including Bill Clinton, Cal Ripken Jr., Ivana Trump, Lauren
Bacall, and Tony Bennett. It is also the story of the making of a
successful ad campaign. It reveals that the original idea for the
milk campaign featured photos of cows placed upside down on the page.
It talks about how the ad agency pulled together the milk mustache
campaign in just three weeks, and how the client suggested that the
models be famous people rather than Everyman. The book also talks
about how to keep an ad campaign fresh, and how to simultaneously
create an image that says “cool” and “healthy.”
Top Of PageBrain Trusts: Not Just For the Big Guys
The risk you run as a business owner
is that you wonder if people are telling you what you want to
hear,”
says William Rue, president of Rue Insurance. To provide himself
— and his company — with some objective advice, Rue formed
an advisory board four years ago.
On Wednesday, February 20, at 7:30 a.m. he speaks on “Creating
Your Own Brain Trust” at a meeting of the Princeton Chamber at
the Nassau Club. Cost: $23. Call 609-520-1776. Also speaking on the
subject are Steven Portrude, president of Harwill-Express Press;
and Steven Klein, partner in Klatzin & Company.
Rue is the third generation owner of the insurance company that bears
his name. The 52-person company sells personal and business insurance
and provides financial planning services. The company, now located
at 3812 Quakerbridge Road, was founded in Windsor in 1917 by Rue’s
grandfather, Charles E. Rue. A member of the fourth generation is
due to come onboard in the summer when William Rue Jr. graduates from
the Wharton School of Business. “That’s the plan, that he will
join us,” says Rue, “but with young people, you never
know.”
Rue himself joined the family business in 1969 right after he
graduated
from Rider. He became president of the company 16 years ago. He says
he has learned a lot about running a small business from sitting on
the boards of big businesses. He is a director of Selective Insurance,
1st Constitution Bank, Robert Wood Johnson Hospital at Hamilton, and
Rider University. With this inside view of how larger organizations
operate, he has delineated areas of responsibility and assigned them
to managers, who are given a great deal of autonomy, and, at the same
time, are held responsible for achieving specific goals.
“Every small business operates by the seat of its pants
sometimes,”
says Rue, but he works to keep that approach to a minimum. Goals are
set each year in areas ranging from profitability to HR efforts to
maintaining and growing client bases in each product area. Weekly
management meetings and monthly employee meetings are held to measure
results. Problem areas are addressed by “slice teams” drawn
from employee ranks. The teams meet with a consultant, work at
solutions,
and present their findings to management, and then to the entire
organization.
While each of his employees has someone to report to, and each of
his managers reports to him, Rue says it is important that he, the
owner, also have someone to report to. That is one of the reasons
he created his advisory board. He is not looking for advice on his
business. “No, there are no insurance people on the board,”
he says. “I hear from insurance people all the time.”
The fifth member of the board, a hospital administrator just retired,
leaving a banker, a partner in a large law firm, a partner in a large
accounting firm, and a partner in a nationwide accounting firm. The
board is paid, and meets three times a year. Rue says he looks forward
to the meetings, and that they have been valuable.
“We’ve been doing this for four years, so they’ve seen the good,
the bad, and the ugly,” he says in reference to the swing in the
fortunes of the insurance industry during the past few years.
Throughout
the cycle, the advisory board has reviewed goals and financial
results,
and has discussed problem areas.
Rather than provide insurance industry expertise, the group provides
a wide perspective. “They give us good insight,” says Rue.
“For example, on employee benefits, they let us know what they
are doing.” The group also weighs in on specific decisions that
Rue is facing, providing a framework for finding the answer that is
right for the company.
And the board also holds Rue’s feet to the fire. “They challenge
me,” he says, analyzing everything from how he is doing at holding
down expenses to how well he is driving the business.
While Rue seeks feedback from his employees and managers on a regular
basis, he also wants the outside feedback he gets from his advisory
board. He chose people he knew and respected, a group he believed
he could trust to “tell it the way they see it.” With no
ownership
interest in the business, he believes the advisory board has no reason
to do otherwise.
Top Of PageTaking the Turbulence Out of Business Flights
Business travelers are beginning to take to the skies
again. “Slowly, but surely, we’re seeing a come back,” says
Marie Gallagher, owner of IT Travel, an agency with offices
on Route 206 opposite Princeton Airport. Seventy percent of her
clientele
is made up of small and mid-sized businesses, and in the months
following
September 11, few were sending their people up into the air.
“After September 11, it was awful,” says Gallagher. “In
the weeks that followed we were processing refunds. We were always
in the red.” Gallagher has been on 12 plane trips during the past
four months, a number of them overseas. She speaks on
“International
Travel Considerations” on Friday, February 22, at 8 a.m. at the
Small Business Development Center at Raritan Valley Community College.
Cost: $15. Call 908-526-1200.
On September 11, some 150 of IT Travel’s clients were stranded around
the world. “We put them on trains, got them in rental cars, or
told them to stay put, and made hotel reservations for them,”
says Gallagher. Every day, she and her staff scanned their computer
screens for outgoing flights. Reservations were made on planes that
were supposed to take off on the 13th, and then on the 14th. Some
of her clients made it home on 15th, some later. Flights had to be
scheduled and re-scheduled.
Travel coordinators at area companies have told Gallagher their
employees
now fear being stranded more than they fear flying itself.
Gallagher herself takes off fearlessly. “I won’t succumb to
terrorism,”
she says. This despite the fact that she has known all of her life
that the world is not a safe place. “People have been through
hard times before,” she says. Her father, a Polish Jew, was
imprisoned
in a concentration camp in the Ural Mountains, where many members
of his family died. Along with his mother and two of his sisters,
he escaped when Stalin opened the camps. His mother died in the
journey
from the camp, and his sisters made their way to Israel.
Gallagher’s father, who had been a lawyer in Poland, joined the Allies
and fought his way through Persia and up the coast of Italy. After
the war, he married an Italian woman, and together they ran novelty
shops in Italy before emigrating to the United States and settling
in Spring Lake.
Gallagher, who opened her agency in 1983, is a graduate of Monmouth
University (Class of 1971). She studied foreign languages in college,
majoring in Spanish and Russian. After a stint as a Spanish teacher
in New Brunswick, Gallagher stayed at home for several years with
her children, Corinne Gallagher and Tina Stanton, both of whom now
work with her.
When she was ready to go back to work, she decided she wanted a
change.
The travel field was a natural for her, she says. In Italy, where
she spent a good part of her childhood, travel is taken for granted.
She and her family routinely took trips within Italy and throughout
Europe.
Far-ranging travel became routine for Americans, too, when airline
deregulation and low cost airlines such as People’s Express made it
cheap and easy in the 1970s. Now, all of a sudden, long distance
travel
is somewhat more difficult, and perceived as considerably more
dangerous.
Travel agents are a barometer for travel reluctance. “Thousands
have closed their doors since September 11,” says Gallagher.
“People
call us and say `Oh, you’re still open!’ They’re surprised.’”
IT Travel has only stayed afloat, says Gallagher, because she dipped
into her own pocket to fund operations. She also laid off four of
her 15 employees, and cut her salary in half. But after months of
cancellations, after months when even dirt cheap tickets did not bring
out the budget conscious travelers she usually books on flights to
Europe this time of the year, things are beginning to look up.
Business
travelers and leisure travelers alike, borne along on the unstoppable
airstream of life, are coming back.
The travel world these intrepid souls will find is a bit different
from the one they knew before September 11, especially if they are
venturing overseas. Here are some of Gallagher’s tips for smooth
trips.
Check twice for pocket knives. On her last trip —to Spain — Gallagher’s travel companion packed quickly. “Allinternational traveler’s pack quickly,” she says, speaking fromdecades of globe-trotting experience. In her companion’s case, thehaste led him to forget there was a little knife at the end of hisgolf bag. “Make sure, no matter how much of a hurry you’rein,”says Gallagher, “to pack carefully.”Look at your belongings with a new eye. Even seemingly innocuous itemslike hair spray will not make it through the metal detectors at checkpoints.Mail those pocket knives to yourself. Making it clearthat she wants to cast aspersions on no gender group, Gallaghernonethelessnotes that men tend to be enamored of those pocket gadgets sold atplaces like the Sharper Image. Many contain knives, almost all containsharp tools, and none are allowed onboard. If you put your hand inyour pocket before approaching the metal detectors, and find acherisheditem of this sort, Gallagher suggests you duck into the nearestairportgift shop, buy an envelope, and mail it home to yourself. When itemsare confiscated, they are gone forever. “They throw themaway,”says Gallagher.Get a seat assignment. “Every plane is going outfull,”says Gallagher. This is so because, in the face of falling demand,airlines have cut back on their flights. The result is an increasein bumping. “Make sure you get a seat assignment,” saysGallagher.That is the best way to make sure you will leave when you plane does.But some airlines, especially in the budget category, don’t giveadvanceseat assignments, and most airlines do not give seat assignments topassengers who book close to the date of departure, when the flightis nearly full.If your airline can’t give you a seat assignment when you book itis now imperative that you arrive at the airport early enough to snagone of the last seats. Passengers with seat assignments should arrivetwo hours ahead of time, for both domestic and international flights,says Gallagher. But those who have not yet gotten a seat assignmentneed to get there a good three hours before departure time.Mend your socks. Guards really do ask travelers to removetheir shoes. On her last trip, Gallagher was mortified to discovera hole in her stocking toe during the procedure. In addition tocheckingfor holes, travelers, especially the less limber or those busy ridingherd on small children, might want to choose loafers or clogs overlace up boots or similarly difficult to remove footwear.Don’t joke around. Really, this is no time to kid aboutexplosives, plots, or powder.Double-check your name. In the recent pass, airline agentswould let a Betty Smith board with no hassle, even if her photo IDread “Elizabeth Smith.” No more. Gallagher says it isextremelycommon for people in charge of making corporate travel reservationsto use employees’ nicknames. This is now one of the easiest ways toensure that those employees will miss their flights. The name on theticket must match the name on the photo ID exactly. No exceptions.Get photo IDs for the kids. Not long ago, it was possibleto board a plane with no photo ID other than, perhaps, a 10-year-oldPrinceton University library card. In New Jersey, one of the veryfew states not to require photos on drivers licenses, Garden Statepassengers boarded with these library cards, or even lesser ID. Nowa passport or driver’s license is essential for adults, and childrenalso need picture ID, especially when traveling alone. A passportis a good idea, and a school ID will usually work as well.Don’t be argumentative. Yes, screening has tightened.Accept it. Gallagher has seen passengers argue about removing a belt.Don’t, is her advice. “If you’re argumentative, they’ll respondin kind,” she says.Dress with metal detectors in mind. There have beenreportsof underwire bras setting off metal detectors. Think about travelclothes, and choose metal-free items where possible. And, saysGallagher,knowing that your belt may have to be removed, choose pants “youknow won’t fall down.”Be aware of your surroundings. “Look in alldirections,”says Gallagher. Notice who is around you, and what they are doing.Consider using a travel agent. Gallagher says she doesn’twant to toot her own horn — or that of her industry — but,she says, September 11 travelers who had an agent to call were ina better position than were those who had booked online and had tofend for themselves. The Internet is fast, and fares are sometimesless expensive, but when flights are canceled — if only becauseof a blizzard — it can be comforting to have the number of aprofessionalwhose job it is to get you home.Finally, chill out. Gallagher says some people freak out whenthey encounter gun-toting soldiers in airports. She is used to seeingarmed airport guards in Europe, and they make her feel safe. Today’sinternational traveler needs to learn to take the guns in stride,along with the thoroughly screening and the occasional delays. Theworld has never been a safe place, despite the happy illusion mostAmericans carried so lightly for several decades as they skated intoboarding gates with nary a second to spare.February 25Top Of PageLearn How to Build Better CommunitiesNow that professional education for volunteers is soughtafter, consider the array of workshops for volunteer leaders availablethis spring. Marge Smith is the lead trainer in all of them. Shestartswith an all-day session at Allentown First Aid Squad on Saturday,February 9, sponsored by MCCC’s Institute for Business andProfessionalDevelopment. Joining her for the day will be another MCCC trainer,Prim Greeves. Sessions will cover Leadership for Volunteers,Positive Team Building, Public Relations, and the Three Rs ofVolunteering.Cost: $95. Call 609-586-9446.Then for MCCC’s Certificate in Nonprofit Management, Smith teachesa six session course in Financial Management and Fundraising startingMonday, February 25, at 7 p.m., costing $119. It will be followedby Fundamentals of Nonprofit Management, on Monday, April 8. The sevensession course is $139. Two other courses in this series will beofferedin the fall. Call 609-586-9446.Smith’s organization, Community Works, joins Hands on Helpers atUnitedWay of Greater Mercer County for a three-part series on volunteermanagement. It is scheduled for Thursdays, April 18, April 25, andMay 2, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the United Way building at 3131PrincetonPike. The series costs $30 and different people may attend eachsession.Individual workshops are $15. Call Janet Weber-McCarthy of Hands onHelpers at 609-921-8893 or Marge Smith at 609-924-8652.Top Of PageMTAACC Honors Standout CitizensThe Metropolitan African American Chamber of Commerceholds its Black Executive Corporate Awards Reception on Thursday,February 28, at 6 p.m. at the Hyatt. Keynote speaker is WestinaMatthewsShatteen, first vice president of the private client group at MerrillLynch. Honorees this year include:Catherine Graham. Active in Trenton city government since1950, Graham served as director of health and human services from1986 to 1990. She is the founder of the Trenton branch of the NAACPand of Minority Women for Democratic Action. She is a member of theNew Jersey State Democratic Committee, the National Political Caucusof Black Women, and the Black Democratic Caucus.Rev. Willie Smith. Active in McCarter Theater and theAmerican Red Cross, Smith ran New York City’s Neighborhood Youth CorpsProgram in the 1960s, taught at Rutgers from 1969 through 1982, andhas written for the Trenton Times since 1985. He is now thatnewspaper’sassociate editorial page editor.Charles N. Thomas. With Prudential since 1966, Thomasis now that company’s executive vice president and ethics officer.He serves on the board of Inroads, the National Eagles LeadershipInstitute, and the Metropolitan Trenton African American Chamber ofCommerce. He has served as chairman of the Newark Private IndustryCouncil.Vernon Hammond. A native of Trenton, Hammond is an agentwith the Guardian Life Insurance Company. He is a founding trusteeof the Granville Academy, has taken part in 18 crop walks for hungerrelief, and raises money for the Mercer County Muscular DystrophyLock-Up program.He is on the board of the Capital Health System, the New JerseyIntergenerationalOrchestra, the Pennington School, New Jersey Network, and otherorganizations.Phillip Woolfolk. Fair lending manager with SovereignBank, Woolfolk is chairman of the board of the Granville School. Heis also active in a number of other organizations, including theCapitalArea Housing Resource Center, where he serves as treasurer and memberof the executive board.Top Of PageCorporate Angelsd>The Junior League of Greater Princeton hasannouncedits 2002 volunteerism scholarship to recognize outstanding serviceof high school seniors. The primary criterion for selection is ademonstratedcommitment to volunteerism, followed by extracurricular activitiesand work or family responsibilities.Two $3,000 scholarships will be awarded to students planning to attendeither college or vocational school. One scholarship will be awardedbased on overall volunteer service, while the other will be awardedbased on demonstrated leadership in a one-time project.The scholarship is open to women residents of Mercer, Bucks, orSomersetcounties. Financial need is not a factor for consideration. Call609-771-0525.Mark Pratico Jewelers of Hamilton has donated a one-halfcarat certified loose diamond to the American Heart Association’sHeart Rock Cafe dinner dance, set for Friday, February 15, at thePrinceton Hyatt. Those who purchase one of 50 champagne glasses duringthe silent auction are eligible to win the diamond. Sidney L. Hofingof the Eagle Group and Nina D. Melker of Yardville NationalBank are co-chairs. Call 732-821-2610, extension 3082.Top Of PageDonations NeededThe First Book program, sponsored by United Way of MercerCounty,seeks grants and gift-in-kind donations of books. It distributes newbooks, at no cost, to children who have little or no access to books.”Ninety million Americans lack basic literacy skills, and 61percentof low-income families have no books in their homes for theirchildren,”says Patricia Fordyce, director of First Book for United Way.”Many children never hear the magic of legends, mysteries, andadventures.”Last year the program awarded grants totaling $8,200 for 3,280 booksto five agencies serving 316 children. The program seeks grants anddonations of books. Call 609-637-4900 for information.Previous StoryNext StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
