Chris Huls: Award Winner

May 15, 2012

Our production manager, Chris Huls, is passionate about Sioux Falls Synergy, a networking group for Sioux Falls professionals in their 20s and 30s. That passion has paid off in an unexpected way: last week Chris was named Synergy’s 2012 Member of the Year. Chris Huls

Chris is only the second person to be honored with the award. The first was given to Sioux Falls Synergy member Dave Duman in 2011 for his support and involvement in Synergy. The Executive Committee chooses the Member of the Year; to even be considered for the award, nominees must be long-term members who are committed to the organization and attend most events. Nominees must also promote and support the organization in the community. (We didn’t know it at the time, but we were campaigning for Chris with this blog post!)

Our award-winning thinker has always gone above and beyond that for Synergy. Chris has been actively involved in the organization since it began in 2006, he served as the civic chair on the Executive Committee in 2007-08 and he also maintained the Synergy website—in addition to participating in most of Synergy’s social, civic and professional development activities.

At HenkinSchultz, we’re very supportive of community involvement and we couldn’t be more proud that one of our own is being recognized for his involvement. Congrats, Chris, and keep up the good work!

By betsy

Filed Under HenkinSchultz

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Test Driving the Robot

May 1, 2012

Is there anything more fun for a kid than playing with robots? For that matter, is there anything more fun for an adult than playing with robots? There’s a child in all of us, and Avera McKennan Hospital & University Center capitalized on that during a recent promotion at The Empire Mall.

We got a little giddy when Avera McKennan asked us to facilitate and help promote the April 21 event that allowed people to come test drive a robot—the hospital’s robotic surgery equipment, to be exact. Avera McKennan wanted people to experience for themselves how intricate and advanced the da Vinci S™ 3D HD is. Avera McKennan is the only hospital in Sioux Falls to have the technology, which is used for gall bladder surgery, prostatectomies, hysterectomies and more.

As people test drove the robots, they learned how the advanced robotic technology allows patients to have smaller incisions, less scarring and faster recovery times. When used by highly trained physicians in a hospital setting, instead of a 10-year-old in the mall, of course.

The hospital had let people test drive the equipment before at events at the surgery center, but they wanted to take it to a broader audience. We used our contacts at the mall to help plan and organize the event, and we placed advertisements to ensure that word spread about the event.

The result? The test drive was a smashing success. I mean, it’s robots. How could it not be?

By amie

Filed Under Technology, Marketing

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Work Hard. Play Hard.

April 17, 2012

Recently, we’ve been talking about the work we’ve done for Chairity, State Theatre and the interior design of Icon Lounge. (We’ve been busy around here!) Last Thursday evening we saw all of our work come together at a magical event.

Well, maybe not magical…but it sure was cool. And a whole bunch of us HenkinSchultz Thinkers were there to show our appreciation. (Okay, really we were looking forward to hanging out instead of just working together.)

On Thursday evening, we attended Chairity, a fundraiser at Icon Lounge to support the State Theatre (it raised $17,000). We enjoyed taking a look at all the awesome chairs that were created — and we even got to take one back to the office! (Thanks, Tom!)

In addition to the classy atmosphere, the delicious hors d’oeuvres, refreshing drinks and cool people supporting the State Theatre, we really enjoyed spending time with other HenkinSchultz Thinkers outside of work. Building camaraderie is something that has value beyond a Thursday evening. We’ve heard that it helps employees learn how to work together as a team, exercise their leadership skills and improve their problem-solving capabilities. We’re pretty awesome at those things…but we toast to any opportunity that enhances our camaraderie! Cheers!

HenkinSchultz employees

Graphic Designers Cami Lovely, Tanya Johnson, Lindsey Rohlfsen (a former employee) and Melissa Carter

HenkinSchultz employees

Designer Jason Jellis, Art Director Lynell Unruh and Graphic Designer Tammy Larson

By betsy

Filed Under Off Topic, HenkinSchultz

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Take a Seat at Chairity

April 3, 2012

You may want to sit down for this. Tickets are still available for Chairity, an April 12 benefit auction for the State Theatre in downtown Sioux Falls. HenkinSchultz is a strong supporter of both the State Theatre and the South Dakota Advertising Federation, which is organizing the fundraiser.

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By amie

Filed Under Design, HenkinSchultz

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Elevating a Lounge to Iconic Levels

March 20, 2012

Icon Lounge artworkThe owners of Icon Lounge knew they wanted their new bar to become an iconic symbol in Sioux Falls. They want it to be the first place people think of as a modern, comfortable place to gather with friends and family. What they didn’t know was how they were going to carry that theme into the interior design. HenkinSchultz Partner Kirby Schultz had the vision to make Icon Lounge beautiful and marketable by using iconic people as the artwork.

Icon Lounge hired Kirby to do the artwork and interior design for the downtown Sioux Falls bar, which opened March 12. Kirby and Designer Jason Jellis had their hands in every aspect of the design—ordering furniture, producing the artwork, installing the pieces, creating the bar, designing the lighting and even arranging the seating areas. But the concept was crucial.

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By amie

Filed Under Marketing, Design

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Write Better Web Copy

March 7, 2012

Writing copy for a website is different than writing for print materials. Copywriter Amie Van Overmeer weighs in with five easy tips to improve your web writing today.

Write informally.
Even people with huge vocabularies want to understand your copy immediately. Be conversational, even when you’re working on forms or policies.

Keep it simple.
People want to find what they need and get off the page. Avoid repetition and cut unnecessary words. However, make sure the words you use optimize your website for search engines.

Talk directly to your readers.
Use “you.” This is different than in most print materials. Anticipate what your readers want to know.

Use headings and make bulleted lists.
If you can say it in a list, do it. People often don’t want to read solid paragraphs of text.

Check your spelling and grammar.
Just like in print publications, proper use of the language lends credibility to your writing and your organization.

By amie

Filed Under Advertising, Marketing

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These Signs Are Hard to Miss

February 21, 2012

The signs of a heart attack can sometimes be difficult for the average person to detect, but these signs at The Empire Mall sure aren’t.

Avera Heart Hospital has begun a campaign at The Empire Mall in Sioux Falls to raise awareness about the symptoms of heart attacks. And what better way to do that than to cover the mall’s food court and windows with enormous signs? We worked with Avera Heart Hospital to create banners, window clings and floor clings that talk about heart disease.

Empire Mall windows
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By amie

Filed Under Advertising, Marketing, Design, HenkinSchultz

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Potatoes and Passion

February 7, 2012

When it comes to day jobs, we pretty much think we hit the jackpot. After all, we get to do what we love. And, for most of us, we’d still do the same stuff on our own time because we like it that much.

Two of our thinkers — Frank Fradella and Joey Schultz — recently joined with a group of other such passionate people whose careers and hobbies meet in the middle, and participated in the 2011 National Film Challenge (a 48-hour film festival). Frank, Joey and the rest of the team had 48 hours to produce a film from start to finish — but they had a few parameters to follow: genre (Film de Femme — they were told to think Erin Brockovich and Juno), prop (bag of potatoes), line of dialogue (“Are you sure you should be doing that?”), character (Cameron Murphy) and the character’s profession (pizza delivery person). Now you try coming up with a script, filming and finalizing a film in 48 hours with those details! You’ve really gotta have some passion if you want to devote your entire weekend to this.

Needless to say. They got it done. And enjoyed themselves. And still enjoy working together. (It’s weird, I know.) They did such a great job that the film even won an award for Best Titles and Graphics — something Joey’s mad graphic skillz get (partial) credit for (props to the rest of the graphics team!). You may have even seen some of Joey’s work recently, in a Power Brokers commercial that ran during the SuperBowl on Sunday. Yeah, we’re that good.

Now, grab some popcorn and see what can be done in 48 hours. Without further ado, A Spud’s Life.

By betsy

Filed Under HenkinSchultz

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Fluent in Java Script and Klingon

January 19, 2012

Good thing nerds are cool because Junior Web Designer and Digital Strategist Alex Knust just joined the HenkinSchultz team.

Now, before you pull out your light sabers to defend his honor, know that Alex is a self-proclaimed nerd. He’s more than happy to talk about new web stylings, cool fonts, great new independent music or classic sports uniforms. And if you’re really, really lucky, he’ll do his Gollum impression for you.Alex Knust, Web Developer

Fortunately, Alex’s nerd cred goes beyond being a fan of Lord of the Rings. He’s definitely got the smarts to qualify. While earning degrees in marketing and interactive web development from Creighton University in Omaha, Alex interned at several marketing and design firms. He also studied for five months at the Florence University of the Arts in Florence, Italy, and traveled all over Europe at the same time.

Now if you’ll excuse us … we need to get back to debating with Alex what would be better: running a record label or owning a vineyard in Tuscany. Jinkies! Even Alex’s fantasy careers are creative, nerdy and awesome. Just like him.

By amie

Filed Under HenkinSchultz

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A Journey of Faith

January 11, 2012

Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center challenged HenkinSchultz with producing the hospital’s 100-year celebration at the end of 2011. The event needed to acknowledge the hospital’s current success while honoring its rich past.

Avera McKennan began as a small seed planted in the mind of Helen McKennan, who donated the money to open McKennan Hospital in 1911. Since then, Avera McKennan has grown to be a 545-bed tertiary hospital that employs 550 physicians in 60 distinct specialties. According to Regional President and CEO David Kapaska, the hospital’s first 100 years has been a journey of faith.

So, too, was the planning of such an ambitious event, which appropriately honored the hospital’s donors, sisters, doctors, nurses, employees, volunteers, innovative leaders and patients. Congratulations to Avera McKennan on 100 incredible years.

By amie

Filed Under HenkinSchultz

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