What better way to start things off than by announcing some recent additions to our client roster?

Adding to our automotive expertise is Blue Magic, makers of car care and appearance products. As agency of record, our first task will be to launch an all-inclusive wheel and tire cleaning kit with creative launching this spring.

National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) and their dance counterpart, National Dance Association (NDA) selected us to be their agency of record to help them raise their profile and preference among teenagers and school cheer/dance programs. Our work will include a national print campaign as well as promoting their camps and competitions.

Western Governors University is one of the most highly regarded online institutions in the country and we were proud to be selected to launch their new WGU Texas branch. An introductory campaign comprised of TV, radio and outdoor will break late January with the goal of encouraging thousands of prospective new students to get the degree they’ve always wanted.

Last, but certainly not least, we’re very pleased to add another media client to the roster. Verizon Fios has tapped our local expertise on a planning project to help them gain better awareness and penetration into the DFW market.

Work is already well under way for each of these terrific new additions and we look forward to generating great results for them in the year ahead.

Thanks to everyone who came out to our latest House Guests. It was an incredible event. Michael’s art was flying (or swimming) off the walls and the Bacardi Together team kept the rum running all night.

If you weren’t there, here’s a taste of what you missed:

So who do you think our next House Guest should be? Let us know in the comments.

Each year we dedicate one day to Making A Difference in our community. We’ve fed the hungry at North Texas Food Bank, we’ve spruced up Spruce High and this year we adopted, of all things, a couple of firehouses.

Armed with a fine selection of supplies from our favorite home improvement warehouse, we took over Stations 32 and 36. It was an awesome day spent side-by-side with firemen and firehousers, improving two very deserving stations.

Fun Things We Learned:

Did you know that a fire engine and a fire truck are not the same thing? Fire engines carry and pump water. Fire trucks don’t.

In Texas it’s against OSHA codes for public service personnel, including fire fighters, to climb portable ladders exceeding six feet in height.

We are looking for a creative thinker with excellent presentation skills and a true passion for media.

The Media Strategist will be responsible for developing media strategy, negotiation and cost comparison of media buys, creating presentations and presenting to clients.  The Media Strategist should have the ability to manage accounts with media mixes that includes physical and digital media.

It is critical that the candidate have solid experience in search engine marketing and SEO, and can grow to become the resident expert.  This person will be responsible for managing SEM across multiple clients and educating agency teams on best practices.

Sound like you? Find the full job description here.

We’re looking for a proven community manager who has the right combination of strategic sense and creative ability.

This person will be responsible for managing a range of social media efforts for clients, ensuring the agency is effectively leveraging the latest in social promotions and programming. This person will also interact directly with account, creative and planning team members, as well as with clients, serving as a social media strategist and providing support for new business efforts.

Sound like you? Find the full job description here.

Our next House Guests event is around the corner. This quarter we’re proudly featuring the works of local photographer, friend and steel artist, Michael Haskins. Plus, the Bacardi Get Together gang will be here serving up rummy treats (read: free booze).

See you here.

This summer has been a rough one for the Southwest. Towns in this part of the country are either experiencing historic droughts, damaging wildfires, record-breaking temperatures or a combination of all three. With that in mind, we created this summertime outdoor campaign to remind people that our client, Stripes Convenience Stores, is here to help you beat the heat. Using their iconic cup as the centerpiece, these boards say it all without having to say much.

We dig ‘em. Hope you do too.

Making lists is something I’m really good at. Unfortunately, thinking of cool names for said lists is not. I’ve been secretly keeping track of the things I’ve learned this summer, just in case anyone asks me to prove that I did something other than drink champagne on occasional Thursdays. So, here it goes, with the most annoying acronym ever invented. TTILDMSIAF: Ten Things I Learned During My Summer Internship At Firehouse. Note: not all entries are work-related. Another note: this is not an all-encompassing list of things learned…more of an “including, but not limited to” collection.

1. The love and affection the people of South Texas have for a gas station is so strong, it’s astonishing.

2. Firehouse’s Media department alone has more acronyms than the rest of the entire English language combined.

3. Talking on the phone is not so scary, once you a) learn how the phone works and b) pretend to know what you’re talking about.

4. There actually is a lot of skill and technique involved in foosball. And I don’t have it. Years and years of spinning like mad until you get a point is a habit that takes a while to reverse.

5. Dressing alike with a co-worker, although unplanned, will result in endless questioning and mocking. Avoid at all costs.

6. When one of your bosses sends you out to buy flowers for centerpiece arrangements, do not come back with potted plants. Those are unacceptable.

7. The phrase “throw this in a deck” is just fancy code for “make a PowerPoint, then print it.” Took about 6 weeks to learn that one…

8. Cooking in a kitchen with one skillet, one pot and a slim selection of utensils can yield a surprisingly large array of wonderful dishes, with the help of a few food blogs and a lot of improvising.

9. Stalking the battery section of Autozone with an undercover camera is quite thrilling, especially knowing that any potential bail money can be filed as an expense report.

10. Signs that say “NO DIVING” should not be ignored. It is difficult to explain to agency folks that your trip to the emergency room was not alcohol-related. They will not believe you.

I also learned a lot of industry-relevant things that will prove very useful during my senior year at Notre Dame, which starts in approximately 15 days, 11 hours, and 5 minutes. Everyone here at Firehouse has been so wonderful, helping me to understand the ways of this business and how I might fit into it. I’m so lucky to have had this opportunity and I’ve loved (almost) every minute of it.

Kidding. I loved it all.

One of the great things about Firehouse is our commitment to making a difference – not just to the bottom line of our clients, but to make a difference in our communities and champion causes we believe in. Having reached my 10-year anniversary at Firehouse, I was entitled to take an entire week off to volunteer for a cause I deeply believe in.

Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast and the city of New Orleans way back in August of 2005, killing over 1,800 people and causing an estimated $81 billion in property damage. While much has been accomplished, there is still much more work to be done. Thousands of homes, business and churches lay in the same state they were back almost six years ago. As is the case in our society, once a catastrophe or natural disaster is off the front page, the victims and the destruction are mostly forgotten.

A team from my church, Legacy Church in Plano, TX, has been making an annual trip since the devastating hurricane to lend a hand and help rebuild homes, churches and hopefully some of the spirits of those who have lost so much. This past Sunday, July 17th we took 45 students and 12 adults for the week.

The construction work and painting were definitely tiring but fulfilling. The team was truly able to make a difference for a small church – All Nations Fellowship as we were able to finish the remodel of several offices, children’s areas and a few dorm rooms in their community center. By completing this work for them, this church will now be able to serve the spiritual and physical needs of their community for a long time to come.

The best experience, however, was the time I spent at the New Orleans Mission. Our church had the opportunity to lead the evening worship at the mission for around 100 homeless men and women. It was such a blessing for me to see a few lifted spirits and a renewed sense of hope that I think we were able to deliver those three nights. I spent each night alongside Lewis, a 59-year-old man who was displaced, along with so many others by the hurricane and flooding of Katrina. He has struggled ever since to rebuild his life and purchase a new home on the little income he can find from odd jobs and the social security he receives. Despite it all, he greeted me each night with a warm smile and a firm belief that all things work together for good.

I am not sure I would have the same sense of hope if I were in Lewis’ tattered shoes. As I hugged him good-bye on our final night of worship, I told him what a blessing he had been to me, and that I would continue to pray for him and his family. He assured me that I had blessed him too – I hope that is true. One thing I do know, and something I continue to realize is the truth in the old adage “the more you give, the more you receive”.