So we decided to have a little fun while trying to explain exactly what it is we do… in less than a minute. Whew.
Archive for the ‘Recent Waves’ Category
KJA clears a path to advertisers
May 13, 2011Award-winning Public Relations
May 18, 2010~ bouquet “offerings” on the ice…
~ the random exclamations of “encore, encore!”
~ or even the simple declaration “Good job sir!”
All have a similar effect. Each fuels the pursuit for excellence within us.
The crew at KJA just experienced that rush as judges awarded our firm for three recent Public Relations endeavors.
The Central Louisiana chapter of PRAL (Public Relations Association of Louisiana) recently hosted a competition to showcase and bring attention to the exceptional quality of Public Relations work being done here in our own area. KJA Communications Group is delighted to be among the winners for various awards.
The winning projects:
- Media Press Kit – Wall of Random Koolnez: Awarded Certificate of Achievement
- Self-promotion – Wall of Random Koolnez & KJA’s Mind Finds: Awarded Judges’ Award for Outstanding Creativity
- Blog – KJA’s MindFinds: Awarded Certificate of Achievement
And, yeah — we’re already working on those next award winning projects. Now, more passionately than ever.
* Robin Cosenza leads KJA’s Public Relations division.
Way-2-geaux Robin and team!!!
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Post to Facebook Job Shadow Day at KJA
February 3, 2010
In the spirit of “Planting trees under whose shade we’ll never sit”, KJA joined in the Rapides Parish School Board’s annual Job Shadow Day.
We consider it both an honor and an investment in our profession’s future and gladly carve out time for such a worthwhile venture. Students from Pineville, ASH and Aiken Optional spent the morning enjoying a personal tour of our facility and a comprehensive overview of our operations.
From our perspective, the Job Shadowing opportunity, a relatively new approach to career education, is to be applauded. Just a few decades ago, kids on the threshold of adulthood didn’t have such opportunities to peer over inside the career field they were considering. This approach gives the students much more information about specific professions allowing them to better determine what direction best fits their individual interests and strengths.
And who knows — one of the students who participated today just might become part of KJA’s tomorrow. In the 30+ years KJA has been doing what we do, many new, young faces have been brought into the fold. In time, those young faces became part of a very key nucleus.
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Make a one pound click
December 18, 2009
Provide one pound of food for the Central Louisiana Food Bank with your click!
This holiday season, the KJA crew will ring in the New Year with a hefty donation to the Central Louisiana Food Bank.
Your click can help!
Simply click the “Share” button and we’ll add one pound of groceries to our donation. It’s that simple. We’re hoping to load the sleigh with one ton of food for families in need. It’s like putting the spirit of Christmas in cans to be opened throughout the year. But every pound depends on your click.
Your part’s easy. Aim your cursor at the big button, and click to share. (You can send this to friends and family to do the same.) Then celebrate this season of goodwill.
Happy Holidays!
The KJA Crew
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The KJA family expands
October 28, 2009
Sometimes when a family grows – it’s awkward. Take the holidays. Daughter comes home from college with a new boyfriend. You test to figure out his likes and dislikes, try to locate his sense of humor and, reluctantly, accommodate the vegetarian-only requests. But a few years down the road, when you’re sending “Happy Birthday to our favorite Son-In-Law” cards – the family’s settled and relaxed. Now he fits. Perfectly.
You could say KJA and Baton Rouge-based public relations and media strategist Bob Munson have been dating for years. Together we’ve worked side by side to provide solid solutions to a wide array of clients. And as with any solid relationship, the connection’s grown comfortable through time.
Now, we’re pleased to announce, Bob has taken KJA Communications Group to be his very own.
Well mostly. Bob, President of The Munson Group, along with his son Robert Munson, President of M3 Communications, formed Munson Acquisitions to acquire our Alexandria agency. This father-son team brings to the table more than 30 years of award winning-experience in the field of public PR, media and marketing strategy.
KJA’s new President and CEO says, “This is very exciting for us. We’ve been interested in KJA for some time now. The people who work here are highly skilled professionals, experienced, talented and they have a range of top-tier clients.”
“KJA is a natural fit for us,” said Robert. “Their work is incredible and we know we share a common vision for communications and public relations in the 21st century. Their team has a well-earned reputation as one of the best in the business and it’s an honor for us to join them.” Apart from a change in ownership, there are no plans for any personnel changes and KJA will remain in Alexandria. “You don’t mess with something that’s worked for that long and that well,” said Robert.
“KJA allows us to bring our design, PR and communications business in house,” said Bob. “Our clients will have access to more resources and talent. But, this is not as much an acquisition for us as it is our becoming part of a professional family with whom we’ve worked for decades and for whom we have much respect.”
So the family’s expanded… and lucky for us, we get to skip right past those stiff exchanges and forced smiles. So let’s get down to business. Pass the tofu meat loaf!
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VeRetta’s artsy soiree
September 2, 2009
VeRetta Garrison-Moller
A lifelong precedent of amazing work naturally creates high expectations. So did the preliminary glimpses into what would be fully revealed when the curtains went up. And when the time came, the response was – as expected – incredible.
The River Oaks Square Arts Center Artists’ Reception this past Friday evening marked the official opening for three amazing exhibits. One featured VeRetta Garrison-Moller, one of KJA Communication Group’s most active clients.
Since early 2008, VeRetta has partnered with our team on many levels of marketing, promotions, and strategy. As a result, our lives have been enriched by this exceptional individual who can be described as nothing less than “a shaker and a roller”. Together, countless hours have been invested mapping out specific plans and objectives.
Because of that partnership, the KJA crew is completely aware of VeRetta’s creativity, resourcefulness and successes. For many in our community though, her exhibit “Color-Culture-Creativity” provided their first real glimpse of her amazing work.
The entrance of the space immediately set the tone for the exhibit. A richly detailed table covering made from a compilation of VeRetta’s collages lay beneath a stunning floral sculpture (created by her personal friend, Jo Betty Sterkx). At that point, it became obvious this wasn’t just another art opening. Admirers filled the space throughout the evening, exploring the scope of VeRetta’s art and objects.
Her original art stands on full display, featuring recent, richly detailed collages & rubbings. In addition to these works of art, she’s showcasing an array of consumer products developed from her original art. The sheer variety of these products is quite impressive: lavish accent pillows, richly ornamented decorative boxes, limited edition posters, spectacular canvas totes, unique T-shirts, ceramic coasters, and framable, limited-edition Giclee reproductions of the collages themselves.
We congratulate VeRetta on yet another, very successful venture.
We also encourage you to learn more her rich and diverse “previous lives” by digging around in her web site – www.verettaart.com. Download the PDF file under the “Life” tab. You’ll be treated to a heartwarming overview of her story – where victories and trauma interweave seamlessly into a rich garment.
See VeRetta Garrison-Moller’s work for yourself at River Oaks Square Arts Center through Oct. 3, 2009.
Click here or on any photo to see more shots from the evening.
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Charting a course
July 21, 2009
The dust hadn’t even settled good from my acceptance to the board before I found myself neck deep in an exciting and ambitious strategic planning retreat. This past Saturday, the board members of the Arts Council of Central Louisiana (which serves eight parishes) gathered for six hours of intense training and brainstorming.
Two highly specialized coaches came in for the day to train and direct this visionary team. The goal: learn how to establish a solid strategy for enhancing the arts in our region for years to come.
David Crain, KJA Creative Director
At the end of the day, this group of community leaders walked away with a renewed passion and commitment. We will wholeheartedly support, promote and enhance the various art venues under our jurisdiction — to the best of our ability.
The setting for this retreat couldn’t have been more appropriate. The amazing architectural design of the Roy O. Martin headquarters (on North Drive in Alexandria) provided an ideal environment for challenging each of us to reach higher and further. A hearty thanks to ROM for the use of their facility!
I’m personally thrilled to be part of this amazing team. My hopes are high. I feel confident that together we can chart an effective course that will grow the arts in central Louisiana.
Click the photo to see a few more shots from the weekend.
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Cenla Focus highlights poster
March 10, 2009The central Louisiana community paper Cenla Focus included a piece about the award winning Pecan Festival poster in their latest edition. Check out a reprint of the article below the photo.
Pecan Festival Poster Earns Top Award
The Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals awarded the distinction of “Best Poster” to the 2008 Louisiana Pecan Festival. Announced during the association’s annual convention, the Pecan Festival’s entry stood out among notable competition. The festival falls in division three, based on its average attendance of 49,000 to 100,000 people. Submissions representing the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival, Lake Charles’ Contraband Days, the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival and Crowley’s International Rice Festival were also considered.
The win means quite a lot to Pecan Festival board member Nancy Paige, “We’re so excited to win in our 40th year. Everybody said it was the best poster we’ve ever had.” The festival, which grew out of Grant Parish’s centennial celebration, commemorated its 40th year in 2008. Because of the anniversary, festival officials turned to local advertising agency KJA Communications Group to develop a special anniversary edition of the poster.
Historically, the festival’s ‘official’ posters have been created mostly by local artists, showing scenes from the area and festival itself. KJA’s Creative Director David Crain felt this anniversary provided a good opportunity to shift the focus. “We really wanted to hone in on the multitude of goods produced from the pecan. Paying homage to the pecan felt like the perfect way to celebrate the Pecan Festival.”
Well-known local artist and Cenla Focus contributor, Dr. Henry Blount was tapped to handle the original watercolor paining. Dr. Blount, a retired Methodist minister and long-time resident of Alexandria, currently offers watercolor classes at River Oaks Square Arts Center.
The award-winning Pecan Festival poster is still available for purchase at the Grant Parish Library.
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Bassmaster Bash
February 26, 2009This past weekend some of the KJA crew and 137,000 of their closest friends gathered in Shreveport to take in the ’09 Bassmaster Classic. A couple of fish tales follow. Enjoy!
Bassmaster Bart – Photographer Extraordinaire
(caught mugging here with BASS founder Ray Scott)
It’s Friday morning around 4 AM and I’m reluctantly getting out of my hotel bed. I’m stumbling from the room to my car thinking, “Who is honestly going to be at this launch?” Little did I know the power of the BASS! When I pulled into the Red River South Marina at 4:45 AM, more than 1000 people stood watching ESPN’s popular “Mike and Mike in the Morning.” Of course I couldn’t help but notice the 60 or so bass boats to my right..which made me think, “Who ISN’T here?” I had no clue this event would pull so many people out of bed to root for their favorite angler.
With the official start, you could almost sense the fish fear, as the contestants head off to reel in some of the biggest bass the Red River has to offer.
After the launch, I journeyed through the beautiful city of Bossier to the busy downtown streets of Shreveport in search of the The Bassmaster Classic Expo. I didn’t need a depth finder to locate it - all I had to do was follow the record-setting crowd to the Shreveport Convention Center. The Expo was even more of an event than the launch! There were huge tanks filled with bass where professional anglers were giving the public tips and tricks of the trade. The Red River Waterway Commission had a booth highlighting the importance of the commission to the Red River and how the commission helps Louisiana by finding ways to create jobs and strengthen our economy. Folks were decorating their own wooden fish to hang on their walls. It was quite a spectacle.
After a grueling day fightin’ the crowds it was time for the exciting and dramatic Bassmaster Classic Weigh-in at the Centurytel Center. Here I joined a capacity crowd of over 9000 screaming fans impatiently awaiting the arrival of their favorite anglers. With every weigh-in, the excitement levels rose higher and higher, swelling like a river at high tide. You could feel the tension in the air grow as the final competitors made their way to the platform. At the end of the day, California’s Skeet Reese landed the Red’s biggest bass, out angling the second place finisher by a mere 13 ounces over the 3-day event. Let the fireworks and confetti begin!
Bassmaster Robin – Public Relations Guru
After months of preparation for the 2009 Bassmaster Classic, it was a great feeling to see it all come together. And with that hard work came a lot of perks…like meeting some of the ESPN staff members that I’d been working with via phone and email for the past several months…and having pictures taken with the pro anglers and getting their autographs! This event was a huge success and has definitely put the Red River on the map!
I couldn’t believe the final attendance numbers. ESPN and Shreveport Times reported all previous attendance records were shattered. Over 137,000 people came out to the Bassmaster Classic – pretty impressive and so very beneficial for the Shreveport and Bossier City economies. The State of Louisiana predicted that 70,000 would attend generating an estimated economic impact of $24 million…looks like the actual numbers far surpassed the initial projections!
I was going from venue to venue on Sunday and the tourism gear of my brain kicked in – it does that from time to time. Guess that comes from working in tourism for several years. I was very impressed with Shreveport and Bossier City’s hospitality efforts. It was all done right – welcome signs and banners throughout the cities, all local merchants and businesses prepared for massive crowds, traffic flowing smoothly – they definitely had it together.
Check out some photos from the event at flickr.
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Nutty press release
February 16, 2009
The entire purpose of a press-release – GRAB ATTENTION. You want favorable coverage from the news media. How can one expect a plain ol’, black & white, paper press release to stand apart from the 47 other plain ol’, black & white, paper press releases crowding a reporter’s desk?
KJA recognizes this problem – and completely enjoys devising clever solutions for overcoming it. Resourceful packaging – along with added little perks – work wonders.
The 2008 Louisiana Pecan Festival 40th Anniversary Poster, designed by KJA, was designated “Best Poster” by the Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals. Certainly an honor worth touting!
So the KJA crew donned their creative hats and developed the press release shown in the photo. All the details are carefully wrapped up in a nice package that’s reminiscent of the Pecan Festival itself. It even includes a complimentary poster – just to sweeten the pot.
Just another example of innovation working to achieve RESULTS.
Have you sent or received an announcement that made folks stop and take note? As ever, the comment section belongs to you. Weigh in!
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