The Blog
EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ADVERTISING, I LEARNED ON VACATION IN EUROPE
A version of this article was first published on LinkedIn on August 22, 2019 Al Navarro Co-Owner & Chief Creative Officer, Mint Advertising 1 article Following The first in a series of essays from award-winning creative director and small agency co-owner, Al Navarro....
The Mint Holiday Wish List
This holiday tradition goes back a few years, to an earlier iteration of Mint’s e-newsletter. Believe it or not, one year, something on our list was actually delivered to Mint anonymously. Thanks again, secret Santa! So now we believe that anything is possible. In...
Mint’s West Coast Tour
About one week before the Northern California Camp Fire, three Minters headed out for a three-day road trip from San Francisco to Portland to visit three clients. We asked them to name five of their favorite things about their road trip. Favorite Stretch of Driving:...
Do you need to go to college to succeed in advertising?
Eric Schoenfeld, CEO & Co-Founder Every year around late April through the end of May, we get our share of resumes for summer internships and/or first jobs. Everyone writes the same type of thing: I go to this school… I major(ed) in… I am a great candidate because…...
The Future is Now
Al Navarro, CCO & Co-Founder When I was growing up in the 1970s, I remember reading Dick Tracy comic strips where the characters used a “2-way wrist radio.” It seemed so far-fetched at the time, but of course, in 2018 we’ve got cellular-enabled watches that can do a...
The importance of having a breadth of knowledge and a sense of curiosity.
Al Navarro, CCO & Co-Founder Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve no doubt heard of The Roots, the Philadelphia rap group that serves as the house band for Jimmy Fallon’s version of “The Tonight Show.” Arguably the most famous member of The Roots is Amir...
Observations and opinions from the show floor of one of the largest trade shows in the country.
Al Navarro, CCO & Co-Founder If you are at all into cars, and maybe even if you aren’t, you’ve no doubt heard about SEMA — the Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show held annually in Las Vegas. Even though it’s not open to the general public, the show is...
Why Companies with Internal Creative Departments Still Use Ad Agencies
Al Navarro, CCO & Co-Founder One development I’ve noticed over the 15 years Mint’s been in business is that many companies have started or expanded their own in-house creative department. Brands like Target, Hyundai, and Fidelity all have in-house creative departments...
The Top 5 Mantras That 15 Years of Mint Has Taught Me
Author, Eric Schoenfeld CEO If you build it, they will come. When it’s a company that you helped co-found, it certainly makes you loyal to whom you work for! I think the longest position that Al, Billy or I ever held before this wasn’t more than 4 years. And we...
How A Baking Show Can Teach You Almost Everything You Need To Know About Advertising
By Al Navarro, Chief Creative Officer Source: The Great British Baking Show / PBS If you haven’t heard of it, there’s a very popular baking show in the UK called “The Great British Bake Off”. It’s shown on PBS (renamed “The Great British Baking Show” due to a...
New Local “Client Worthy” Restaurant Opens Up Near Mint HQ
When we moved our headquarters to Clinton from Branchburg, one of the things staffers were most looking forward to was proximity to a town center — and a bevy of new restaurants to try. Five years later, what was once new and different is now the norm…and we’re always...
Creator Branding in Pop Music
By Al Navarro, CCO & Co-Founder
I’m the father of two young women, one in college and one a high school senior. So I get exposed to a lot of music that I might not hear were it not for my kids. One somewhat recent song is “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd (that’s “Ear Drummers” spelled backwards). It’s a catchy (if not entirely family-friendly) song that defies categorization. While it does feature rapper Gucci Mane (what’s up with these names?), it’s much more melodic than most songs in the rap genre.
Mint Advertising wins two ADDY Awards
Clinton, N.J. — Mint Advertising, a full-service advertising agency with its main headquarters in Clinton, N.J. and a satellite office in Allentown, Pa., won two silver American Advertising (ADDY) Awards at a ceremony hosted by the Philadelphia Ad Club in center city...
Mint Advertising Wins Platinum in the LACP Vision Awards Annual Report Competition for fourth year in a row
Mint Advertising, a full-service advertising agency with its main headquarters in Clinton, N.J. and a satellite office in Allentown, PA., took home a Platinum award (the highest possible level) in the 2015/16 League of American Communications Professionals (LACP)...
Helping Lawn Doctor, Inc. Reach New Customers
Lawn Doctor franchisees from all over the country use these door hangers to reach new customers. Due to the different regions and service offerings of each Lawn Doctor location, a variety of door hangers were created to accommodate location and services offered. These...
Two big thumbs down for false advertising in movie trailers
By John Schlicher, Senior Copywriter Image Source: Milner's Blog I admit it. I’m a Star Wars nerd. I’ve memorized tons of useless trivia, like where the Millennium Falcon was docked at Mos Eisley Spaceport (docking bay 94, of course). I have a pretty impressive...
The best James Bond you’ve never heard of?
By Al Navarro, Co-Founder and CCO Source: YouTube So, the other day, I was walking through the creative department and overheard people talking about James Bond. Being a fan of both the novels and the films, I joined in and eventually the talk turned to favorite...
How to Come Up With Ideas… When You’re All Out of Ideas
By: Al Navarro, Co-Founder & CCO When I was a fresh-out-of-school junior copywriter working on Madison Avenue (well, technically, the office was on Third Avenue), there was an experienced writer at my company named Sid. And while he would often resort to puns, one of...