WILMINGTON, Del. (Dec. 11, 2024) — Aloysius Butler & Clark (AB&C), one of the largest independent full-service marketing communications agencies in the region, has announced that Linda Shopa, CFO, will retire on December 31, 2024. After 35 years with the agency, Shopa’s retirement comes with several long-planned leadership changes that will ensure a smooth transition and support the agency’s aggressive growth strategy.

“It’s been a remarkable journey with AB&C, and I will always be grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to contribute to our growth and help build the agency into the company it is today,” Shopa said. “I have no doubt AB&C will continue to pursue the strategies that keep the business strong and set us apart from [other] agencies in the region and beyond.”

Key leadership changes at AB&C include:

Joanna Ford, previously Director of PR & Social Media, has taken on an expanded leadership role as the agency’s Chief Communications Officer. In addition to overseeing all internal and external communications, Ford will take on responsibilities for agency operations. She also now joins Paul Pomeroy, CEO, and Steve Merino, Chief Creative Officer, as an owner.

Will Davis, Finance Director, will become CFO upon Shopa’s retirement. Davis will also expand his responsibilities in the agency’s long-term fiscal planning and operations.

“AB&C would not be where it is today without Linda’s dedication and the influence she’s had on our growth,” CEO Paul Pomeroy said. “Certainly, we are sad to see her retire. But the way we will transition and move forward is completely aligned with Linda’s commitment to the well-being of AB&C. This agency is building on the very foundations that she helped to establish to continue our growth strategies. We wish Linda all the best and are excited to move ahead with these meaningful leadership changes.”

Additional AB&C promotions driven by Shopa’s retirement and agency growth include the following new positions:

• Chris Marts—Managing Director of Technology Operations (formerly IT Director)
• Danielle Clark—Senior Financial Accountant (formerly accounting services)

About AB&C

Aloysius Butler & Clark (AB&C) is one of the largest independent full-service marketing communications agencies on the East Coast. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, with additional offices in Philadelphia and Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, AB&C has played a significant role in the industry for over 50 years. Its clients are regional, national and international in scope—and concentrated in five core market segments: healthcare, behavior change, recruitment marketing, consumer and specialty B2B. Learn more at abccreative.com.

In a creative agency, ideas are currency. But great ideas rarely emerge fully formed—they’re shaped, refined, and polished through the fires of discussion and debate. At AB&C, we believe that disagreement doesn’t mean disrespect. In fact, it’s not just welcome—it’s necessary. Creative progress demands differing perspectives, thoughtful challenges, and the courage to question assumptions.

This belief comes from experience. Some of our best work has grown out of spirited conversations and opposing viewpoints. And yet, fostering a culture where disagreement thrives without crossing the line into disrespect requires intentional effort. It means rethinking how we engage with one another and, sometimes, redefining what success looks like in a team dynamic.

The Value of Healthy Disagreement

Disagreement is not a sign of dysfunction; it’s a sign that people care. Passion for an idea or a direction often leads to pushback—sometimes strong pushback. But this pushback is vital. When team members bring their unique perspectives, they open the door to conversations that enrich ideas and expand creative possibilities.

Healthy disagreement keeps us from settling for ‘good enough’ ideas. It challenges groupthink and encourages innovative thinking. Without it, creativity risks stagnation, and we may fail to fully serve our clients or reach the potential of what we’re capable of achieving as a team.

I can vouch for this personally—some of the best work I’ve been part of started with heated debates among close colleagues. I’ve had moments where I walked out of a meeting thinking, There’s no way I’m agreeing with that idea, only to find myself passionately defending it a week later. That’s the beauty of this process—it doesn’t just evolve the work, it evolves us too.

Making Space for Dialogue and Debate

So how do we create space for productive dialogue and debate? The fact is: it’s tough. It doesn’t just happen naturally. Teams need a structure and a culture that welcomes diverse perspectives and ensures everyone feels safe to voice their thoughts. This means being deliberate about how we approach conversations and ensuring that all voices are heard, not just the loudest or most senior in the room.

This means we’re asking ourselves critical questions:

• Are our meetings structured in ways that encourage differing perspectives rather than silence them?
• Do our team members have the time and space to articulate their ideas fully before the group responds?
• Are leaders modeling constructive disagreement by encouraging challenges and demonstrating a willingness to be persuaded?

These are questions without easy answers, but the effort to address them is essential if you want to keep making better and better work. Creating a culture of dialogue and debate starts at the top, with leaders setting the tone. Yet it also requires buy-in and accountability from everyone in the organization.

The Responsibility of Every Team Member

Creating a culture of productive disagreement isn’t solely a leadership responsibility. Every team member has a role to play. Here are some principles we hold ourselves to:

1. Be Curious: Approach disagreements with curiosity, not defensiveness. Ask questions to dig deeper into someone’s perspective, aiming to understand rather than rebut.
2. Be Respectful: Always critique ideas, not people. Choosing the right words and maintaining a thoughtful tone can mean the difference between a constructive conversation and an unproductive argument.
3. Be Open to Being Wrong: And let me tell you, — this one can be tough. Strong opinions are valuable, but they shouldn’t become immovable. Flexibility in the face of better ideas or perspectives is a hallmark of true collaboration.
4. Stay Goal-Oriented: Remember that the purpose of debate is not to “win” but to arrive at the best possible solution for the client or the project.

Finding the Balance Between Passion and Positivity

In a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, it’s easy for disagreements to become heated. Passion is a good thing—it means we care about the work. But it’s also essential to balance that passion with positivity. A culture that prioritizes constructive dialogue over combative conversations will build trust within teams and strengthen the creative process.

At AB&C, we encourage our teams to view debates as opportunities, not obstacles. It’s a chance to show vulnerability, to test ideas, and to grow together. After all, the best creative work is rarely the product of one person’s vision—it’s the result of many voices coming together, refining, challenging, and ultimately building something better than any single person could have imagined.

Why It Matters

Disagreement is where innovation lives. By pushing back, we push forward. Debate and dialogue drive us to move beyond our comfort zones and uncover solutions that may not have been obvious at first glance. This process isn’t just better for the work—it’s better for the people doing the work. It fosters trust, builds stronger teams, and cultivates an environment where creativity can flourish.

When disagreement is respectful, thoughtful, and goal-oriented, it becomes a powerful tool for growth – for the agency, the client and the individual. It teaches us to listen, to articulate our ideas clearly, and to value the perspectives of others.

At AB&C, we know that great ideas don’t come from avoiding conflict. They come from engaging with it—constructively, respectfully, and with a shared commitment to our clients and each other. So lean into the tough conversations. Let’s embrace the beautiful friction that makes magic happen. And let’s keep the dialogue going.

In a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, CEOs of health systems are laser-focused on one paramount goal: improving patient care outcomes. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, this priority tops the list of health system C-suite initiatives for 2025. Yet, achieving this goal hinges on having the right physicians in place — a challenge that underscores the value of a robust physician recruitment function.

A strong recruitment strategy does more than fill vacancies. It also accelerates the time to hire, secures top-tier talent and minimizes the organizational and financial costs of prolonged vacancies. Here’s how:

1. Faster Hiring = Better Patient Outcomes

Physician vacancies create a ripple effect throughout the organization, impacting patient care delivery, staff morale and operational efficiency. Overburdened physicians may experience burnout, leading to errors, patient dissatisfaction and even higher turnover. A well-oiled physician recruitment function ensures your health system hires quickly, keeping teams fully staffed and maintaining high quality care standards.

Key Insight:

Every day a critical physician role remains vacant, patients may face longer wait times and diminished access to care. This can jeopardize a health system’s ability to meet quality benchmarks, adversely impacting patient satisfaction scores and reimbursement rates.

2. Quantifying the Financial Benefits of Reducing Time-to-Fill

Beyond quality-of-care metrics, unfilled physician roles have a direct financial cost. The average physician generates $2.4 million annually in net revenue for their organization, meaning every day a position goes unfilled translates to lost revenue.

Organizations can quantify this impact using tools like MissingPhysician.com, which calculates the financial windfall associated with reducing time-to-fill. This data allows CEOs and CFOs to see the tangible benefits of investing in physician recruitment infrastructure.

Example:

A specialty like cardiology, with an average time-to-fill of 180 days, could result in a $1.2 million revenue loss during that period. Reducing time-to-fill by even 30 days can recapture $200,000+ in revenue.

3. Investing in Recruitment Yields Long-Term Gains

Physician recruitment isn’t just about speed; it’s also about building relationships, understanding market dynamics and strategically aligning talent acquisition with organizational goals. By investing in a dedicated recruitment function, health systems can:

• Access a larger, more diverse candidate pool.
• Strengthen employer branding to attract high-caliber candidates.
• Enhance retention by identifying candidates aligned with organizational culture and long-term objectives.

Practical Action Steps:

• Utilize data-driven strategies to forecast workforce needs.
• Partner with recruitment specialists skilled in reducing time-to-fill for hard-to-recruit specialties.
• Integrate tools like MissingPhysician.com to align recruitment goals with measurable financial outcomes.

As CEOs champion better patient care, they must recognize physician recruitment as a cornerstone of this mission. A seamless, efficient recruitment function ensures that the right talent is on board to deliver on the organization’s promise of quality care. Moreover, linking recruitment success to financial metrics, such as reduced time-to-fill and lost revenue recovery, can secure buy-in from key stakeholders across the C-suite.

Physician recruitment is an operational necessity, but it’s also a strategic lever to achieve top-tier patient care and financial sustainability. By prioritizing recruitment, health systems can address the CEO’s #1 priority for 2025 while simultaneously unlocking significant financial gains.

Want to explore the financial impact of reducing time-to-fill at your organization? Start your journey toward recruitment excellence today.

People often first encounter a company via their job postings. While companies are well versed in presenting job duties and requirements, company culture, benefits and other quality of life considerations, they often forget the most basic thing: presenting the information and the job details in a well formatted, succinct and error-free posting. According to a survey by Indeed, “52% of job seekers say the quality of a job description (e.g. spelling, grammar, role description, formatting) is ‘very’ or ‘extremely influential’ on their decision to apply for a job.” Therefore, it is imperative that companies take time in posting their openings to their applicant tracking system and on job posting sites, such as Indeed and CareerBuilder.

Here are some ways to create a professional-looking and easy-to-read job listing so that the candidate knows the duties and requirements and also comes away with a positive view of your company. Even if the candidate does not apply, they may keep your company top of mind for future job openings.

1. Make sure everything is spelled correctly, especially in the job title. A spellcheck program will find most spelling errors but be sure to read the listing again because no spellcheck program is perfect and often misses nuances that can result in an incorrect recommendation.
2. Use a consistent font of large enough size to read on multiple types of devices. What may seem like a good font size on a desktop may be too small to be read on a cell phone. And a listing with a variety of fonts gives the impression that the person who posted the job just blindly copied and pasted from one or more documents.
3. Avoid any grammatical errors. Again, a spellcheck program can spot many issues of this nature. However, be aware that many of these programs are less accurate in this regard so give extra thought to any recommendations from the program. An additional, careful read may be more reliable than any program in some situations.
4. If you copy/cut and paste from another document, make sure special characters (e.g., apostrophes, bullets) appear correctly. They may appear as question marks or other characters that are incorrect. Also, make sure any dates have not passed or are still relevant.
5. Bolding and italics are great ways to highlight items like sign-on bonuses, but don’t overdo their use or the job seeker may be confused as to what is most important in the listing.
6. Use headers and bullets or numbered lists for duties and qualifications. Doing so allows the job seeker to quickly assess what the job does and requires. Listings that put everything in a handful of paragraphs are harder to read and the job seeker may abandon the posting rather than sort through that information.
7. Do not make your listings overly long. According to Remko Glatzhofer of Indeed, “Shorter job posts (1-300 words) had significantly higher-than-average apply rates per view (the number of applications the job post got divided by the number of views).” Here are some ways you can keep the word count down in your posting:
   • First and foremost, only include information relevant to the job title, department, etc. For example, if you are hiring for an emergency department RN, do not have a generic nurse listing that includes qualifications for every department at your facility. Job seekers will not want to search for information pertinent to the position they are interested in. Also, limiting your qualifications only to the relevant job should dissuade unqualified candidates from applying.
   • You do not need to include any requirements that would seem obvious, especially if a more detailed requirement is also listed (e.g., if the IT tech position requires knowledge of a specific programming language, “computer experience” is completely unnecessary), or if the requirement is extremely basic (e.g., “ability to listen to others”).
   • If you have any qualifications listed as preferred, ask yourself if they are necessary for the person to qualify for the job. A few preferred items here and there are okay, but a potential candidate may feel unqualified and not apply if confronted by a list of preferred qualifications.
   • Avoid duplicating information. If you have benefits, for example, early in the listing, you shouldn’t list them again later. Also, if the earlier information doesn’t completely match up with the later information, it may confuse job seekers.

Investing in the appearance and readability of your posting from the beginning can potentially increase not only the number of applicants, but also the quality of those applicants. If your listing looks poorly written or requires too much time to read and understand, you may lose out on a quality candidate for not only the initial job listing they encounter, but any future listings. A well-formatted, professional-looking listing helps to win over a job seeker to an opening and to your company overall.

Recognitions include six platinum awards—the most of any agency on the East Coast—for outstanding creativity and strategy.

WILMINGTON, Del. (Nov. 18, 2024) — Aloysius Butler & Clark (AB&C), one of the largest independent full-service marketing communications agencies in the region, recently received a total of 15 recognitions during the 20th annual MarCom Awards. Presented by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals (AMCP)—an international organization founded to provide credible recognition of excellence and achievement in marketing and communications—the MarCom Awards annually receive thousands of entries from around the world. From the 15 entries they submitted in 2024, AB&C received six platinum awards, five gold awards and four honorable mentions. With winning entries spanning everything from television and digital PSAs to outdoor and social—for clients in industries including healthcare, public health, higher education and tourism—AB&C demonstrated the depth and breadth of the agency’s strategic and creative capabilities.

“Awards are great, but results are what really matter,” said Steve Merino, AB&C’s chief creative officer. “We’re especially proud when we can do both at the same time. Not only was our work recognized, but every campaign submitted helped improve our clients’ bottom line. That’s what it’s all about.”

Since its inception in 2004, MarCom has evolved into one of the largest, most-respected creative competitions in the world. Unlike some traditional marketing and communications award programs, MarCom submissions are not accompanied by written narratives to “build the case” for the creative execution. Instead, all work is evaluated solely on its own merit—taking into account excellence in quality, creativity, and resourcefulness.

AB&C’s 15 winning entries were judged in a highly competitive field of an estimated 6,500 submissions from dozens of countries. AB&C’s MarCom honors for 2024 include the following:

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About AB&C

Aloysius Butler & Clark (AB&C) is one of the largest independent full-service marketing communications agencies on the East Coast. Proudly founded in Wilmington, Delaware, with additional offices in Philadelphia and Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, AB&C has played a significant role in the industry for over 50 years. Our clients are regional, national and international in scope—and concentrated in five core market segments: healthcare, behavior change, recruitment marketing, consumer and specialty B2B. Learn more at abccreative.com.

There was a time when the full-service agency model felt like the ultimate solution. Clients loved the convenience of one-stop shops, where strategy, creative, media, production, and PR all lived under one roof, ready to work together seamlessly. But as marketing has evolved, it’s become clear that no agency—no matter how talented or resourceful—can be everything to everyone.

The pace of change in technology, consumer behavior, and media complexity has made it nearly impossible for a single agency to excel at every specialty. And that’s okay. In fact, it’s better. By embracing collaboration, focus, and adaptability, we can build a new, more effective way of working—one that reflects the complexity and opportunity of today’s marketing landscape.

Why the One-Stop Shop is Losing its Luster

1. The Age of Specialization: Marketing today is more complex than ever, with fields like data analytics, programmatic advertising, TikTok trends, and UX design demanding deep expertise. No agency, however large, can be the best at all of these—and clients shouldn’t expect them to be.
2. The Fragmentation of Media: The days of a single, unified campaign spanning just a few channels are long gone. Today, campaigns need to adapt across dozens of platforms, each with its own nuances and audiences. This level of specificity calls for specialists who live and breathe their craft.
3. Shifting Client Expectations: Clients no longer need agencies to own every piece of the puzzle. Many are building strong in-house teams and are looking to agencies to complement their capabilities—offering fresh perspectives, specific expertise, or strategic guidance.
4. The Rise of Collaboration: Clients increasingly assemble their own teams of partners, blending agencies, in-house talent, and specialists. What they need now isn’t one team to rule them all—it’s a team that plays well with others.

A Smarter Approach to Agency Partnerships

The idea that one agency can do it all is outdated. But that doesn’t mean agencies are any less valuable. Instead, the opportunity lies in evolving how we think about agency-client relationships.

1. Specialize with Intention: Agencies should focus on what they do best and lead with those strengths. Whether it’s brand strategy, creative development, or campaign execution, excelling in a few areas builds trust and ensures higher-quality work.
2. Be the Connector: Instead of trying to be the one-stop shop, agencies can serve as strategic hubs—bringing together the right partners for each client’s unique needs. This means not only knowing your craft but also knowing who to call when a client needs expertise beyond your scope.
3. Collaborate, Don’t Compete: The best agencies understand that working alongside other partners is the norm, not the exception. A client’s in-house team isn’t competition—it’s a resource. Other agencies aren’t rivals—they’re collaborators.
4. Offer Modular Solutions: Instead of all-or-nothing retainers, agencies can offer flexible, project-based options. This approach meets clients where they are, whether they need a single campaign, a long-term strategy, or just some extra hands on deck.
5. Focus on Outcomes, Not Ownership: Clients don’t care who came up with the idea or executed the campaign. They care about results. Agencies that prioritize outcomes over ego build stronger relationships and create better work.

The Power of the Hub-and-Spoke Model

Rather than trying to be all things to all clients, successful agencies are embracing a hub-and-spoke approach. Think of the agency as the hub: a central core of expertise and shared values. From that hub extend specialized business units or “spokes,” each focused on a distinct discipline, audience, or industry.

At AB&C, we’ve structured our agency around this very idea. We have dedicated teams for healthcare, behavior change, B2B, consumer, recruitment, and higher education. Each unit is its own expert, deeply embedded in its field, but the magic happens in the overlap.

• Specialization Drives Depth: Each business unit hones its expertise, staying on the cutting edge of its sector’s trends, challenges, and opportunities. This focus allows us to bring unmatched knowledge to our clients.
• Cross-Pollination Sparks Innovation: While each unit specializes, they don’t operate in isolation. Ideas, strategies, and creative inspiration flow freely between them. A recruitment campaign might borrow behavior change principles from our healthcare team, or a B2B strategy might adopt consumer-focused storytelling techniques.
• Flexibility Meets Scalability: This model also allows us to scale our solutions to meet client needs. A higher education client looking to amplify enrollment could benefit from the consumer team’s creative muscle or the behavior change team’s expertise in motivating action.

The hub model doesn’t just benefit clients—it strengthens the agency itself. When teams share insights and draw from each other’s experiences, it creates an environment of collaboration and innovation. It keeps ideas fresh and ensures that no matter where a client enters the ecosystem, they’re gaining access to the full breadth of the agency’s expertise.

This isn’t just a theory—it’s a practice we live every day at AB&C. When a healthcare project demands recruitment expertise, or a behavior change campaign benefits from consumer insights, our teams are ready to lean on each other. The result? Stronger relationships, smarter strategies, and better results for our clients.

Why It’s a Good Thing

The shift away from one-stop shops isn’t a failure of agencies—it’s a reflection of how much marketing has evolved. Collaboration is the new cornerstone of success. By leaning into our strengths, building relationships with specialists, and embracing a collaborative mindset, we can deliver better results for clients while fostering stronger partnerships.

At AB&C, we believe no agency is an island. We thrive by focusing on what we do best and working hand-in-hand with our clients and their other partners to create campaigns that exceed expectations. Our role is to simplify the complex, navigate challenges, and act as a trusted guide in a fast-changing marketing world.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not about owning everything. It’s about owning what we do best—and being willing to share the spotlight when it’s what’s best for the client.

Let’s Talk

Are you rethinking what you need from your agency partners? We’d love to hear your thoughts—and how we can help you navigate this new world of collaboration and specialization.

Timing is everything in recruitment. While certain months are peak hiring seasons for some industries, real success comes from a consistent, year-round effort. That’s where a smart checklist makes all the difference. It ensures you stay ahead, ready to connect with top talent and fill roles efficiently. To help you get started, here are some ideas you can build on to craft a checklist customized to fit your hiring goals.

January & February

• Develop a detailed and organized onboarding process — or refresh your existing one — to kick-start a new hire’s journey. A great onboarding experience sets a positive tone and establishes the foundation for lasting engagement and retention.
• Review your pipeline and reconnect with candidates you haven’t been actively engaging. They may not be open to a new job or conversation, but reaching out is never a missed opportunity.
• Start planning for spring, when new graduates (who are eager to start their careers) are entering the job market. While many employers often overlook new grads, viewing them as inexperienced, they typically bring fresh ideas, strong tech skills and a passion for learning.

March & April

• Create a conference engagement plan. Choosing which conferences to attend shouldn’t be left to chance. Some events will offer far more benefits than others, but the value you gain will depend on your specific goals.
• Establish your pre-conference marketing strategy. How will you measure success at the event? Through the number of new email leads you capture or the number of interviews generated? The answer may vary, but using consistent metrics across all your conferences gives you a meaningful comparison.
• Start building a conference playbook with key contacts, phone numbers, budgets, receipts and anything else you might need. Think of a playbook as your survival guide. If anything goes off track, a playbook keeps everything at your fingertips. It also frees up your mind so you can stay focused and fully engaged at the conference.
• Identify key dates in your industry — conferences, special events, observance days — and start crafting relevant content to share with future hires. For example, if you’re recruiting nurses, you could create content for National Nurses Week each May. In construction, you might earmark content for National Safety Month each June.

May & June

• Remember the goals you set in January? Review your progress and adjust, as necessary.
• Start prepping for fall career events. Late September and early October are the most popular times for career fairs, and graduating students are motivated to start looking.
• Create templates for invitations or social media posts for career events — and don’t forget to include a booth number, contact information and a link for registration.

July & August

• Reevaluate your employee value proposition (EVP) and brand. There’s ample evidence that a strong employer brand doesn’t just attract top talent — it drives real results. LinkedIn reports that 72% of recruiting leaders worldwide agree that employer brand has a significant impact on hiring. With a great EVP, you’ll fill roles faster and save on recruitment costs, all while boosting your bottom line.
• Evaluate responses from candidates you’ve engaged with over the year and find opportunities to refine and improve your job titles, posts and other messaging. Which subject lines got the most responses? Does one job post stand out and why? For inspiration, check out 12 Tips for More Effective Indeed Job Titles and Mastering the Art of Effective Job Descriptions.

September & October

• Assess your sourcing and marketing tools. Finding the right candidates is an art that needs targeted search capabilities and more. You should also start figuring out your top hiring priorities for the upcoming year and decide which recruitment tools to implement.
• Rethink incentives and compensation for your roles. Start with a hard-to-fill position and ask, “What does the ideal candidate for this role look like?” Use those traits to sharpen your search and adjust the incentives to attract the perfect fit.
• Review your budget and expenses compared to last year and start planning for the year ahead.

November & December

• The holiday season is the perfect time to recruit for many organizations. End-of-the-year rethinking has people reexamining their future, and you should take full advantage of it. Many potential candidates also have slower schedules or days off, which means more time to read your emails, search job boards or take a recruiter’s call.
• Review recent and past hires — and their lead sources — for valuable insights to improve future recruitment efforts. Do most of your hires come from the same source? Are some sources underperforming in lead generation? Ultimately, your ability to make quality placements hinges on how effectively you source candidates, so understanding where your best leads come from is crucial.
• Do you have candidates you want to hire, but know they’re not ready to sign on? Don’t risk losing them to a competitor or indecision. Try writing a letter of intent or “offer letter.” It serves as a written expression of mutual interest and good faith from both parties. While not legally binding, it can help candidates take an important mental step toward formalizing an employment contract.

Ready to step up your recruitment game? A smart checklist is your secret to staying ahead, no matter the season. Whether you’re gearing up for the next hiring wave or fine-tuning your year-round approach, AB&C is here to craft a custom plan that aligns with your unique goals and keeps you ready to attract top talent. Let’s talk.

Awards include three best-of trophies, recognizing some of the agency’s most compelling work for print, outdoor, digital and broadcast media.

WILMINGTON, Del. (Oct. 16, 2024) — Aloysius Butler & Clark (AB&C), one of the largest independent full-service marketing communications agencies in the region, recently received a total of 10 recognitions—including four first-place, two second-place and three best-of awards—at the New Jersey Ad Club’s 2024 Jersey Awards. Marking its 56th year, the Jersey Awards program celebrates creative excellence that drives results across communication platforms. To be considered for an award, work must support a New Jersey­–based business or be created by a New Jersey–based agency. This year, AB&C’s awards demonstrate the agency’s depth and breadth of capabilities by showcasing stellar print, outdoor, digital and broadcast media advertising—delivering on strategic objectives for well-known New Jersey entities, including Adventure Aquarium, AtlantiCare and Englewood Health.

“New Jersey has always been a fundamental part of our DNA,” said Steve Merino, AB&C’s chief creative officer. “Our team lives and vacations all over the state. We know how to talk to New Jersey audiences in ways that connect, compel and ultimately drive results. These awards are for all our New Jersey clients, who trust us to push the envelope and get them noticed.”

AB&C’s 10 winning entries were selected by a distinguished panel of judges from a highly competitive field of more than 380 submissions. Members of the team proudly accepted their awards at the 56th Annual Jersey Awards Exhibition and Ceremony on Sept. 18. AB&C’s honors include the following:

First-place awards

• Magazine Ad—Englewood Health, With Women, For Women
• Out of Home, Environmental Design—Adventure Aquarium, Adventure Awaits
• Out of Home, Billboard—Adventure Aquarium, Adventure Awaits
• Newspaper Campaign—AtlantiCare, Heartburn print ad series

Second-place awards

• Multimedia Campaign—Adventure Aquarium, Adventure Awaits
• Identity, Logo—Adventure Aquarium, T-shirt design

Best-of trophies

• Adventure Aquarium, Adventure Awaits campaign
• AtlantiCare, Heartburn print ad series
• Englewood Health, With Women, For Women ad

AB&C also received an Award of Excellence for its Adventure Awaits television ad series created for Adventure Aquarium.

About AB&C

Aloysius Butler & Clark (AB&C) is one of the largest independent full-service marketing communications agencies on the East Coast and one of Adweek’s 50 “Top Shops” in America. With offices in Wilmington, Delaware, and Philadelphia and Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, AB&C has played a significant role in the industry for over 50 years. Established in business-to-business and consumer marketing, the agency brings creative intelligence to local, regional, national and international accounts in a variety of industries.

Work and workplaces are changing at lightning speed. For organizations to operate efficiently to achieve success in today’s environment, it requires increased diligence and a willingness of business functions to collaborate. For instance, the overall aging of the population, organizations’ desire for the efficient and effective search for new customers, a rise in the use of technologies and artificial intelligence, variable return-to-the-office company policies and an increasingly competitive market for talent with in-demand skills is creating a greater need for marketing and human resources (HR) professionals to work together.

Marketing and HR are interdependent business functions that share similar goals, but for different audiences. Marketing is responsible for understanding and enforcing an organization’s brand and communicating it to customers to increase awareness, usage, loyalty and referrals. HR is responsible for understanding the needs and desires of an organization’s workforce, imposing employment branding and ensuring an organization is perceived positively by external candidates and internal staff who fulfill customer brand promises.

Your marketing team should work with your talent acquisition team to ensure they are bringing in talent that seeks to fulfill the organizational brand promise. HR can lean on marketing’s understanding of the unique components and needs of prospective audiences to bolster the hiring process with brand authenticity tied to your organization’s overall strategy.

According to LinkedIn’s report, The Future of Recruiting 2024, talent acquisition teams will need “new skills, new tools and agility to attract, hire and retain the best talent.” LinkedIn Research surveyed 1,951 recruiting professionals and hiring managers across 23 countries between October and November 2023. The research found that 49% of those surveyed say that employer branding will shape recruiting over the next five years, trailing only the need to measure the quality of hires (54%). In addition, employer branding is the recruitment function that’s expected to receive the greatest increase in spend with 57% of respondents predicting their investment in employer branding will increase in the coming year to match their authentic look and feel and the reality of what prospects find on employer review sites.

The Deloitte Insights 2024 Global Human Capital Trends survey of 14,000 business and human resources leaders across multiple industries and sectors in 95 countries identifies a mindset shift for HR — what Deloitte terms “boundaryless HR,” the adoption of a “different set of practices, skillsets, metrics, technologies and even structural changes.” The survey report emphasizes that “For many organizations, nothing is more important than its people … Human connections drive the majority of value for an organization, including revenues, innovation and intellectual property, efficiency, brand relevance, productivity adaptability, and risk.” Over 80% of executives surveyed said working with other disciplines to solve business problems, improve employee engagement, align HR practices to the overall business strategy and create brand ambassadors is increasingly performed across functional boundaries.

These research surveys highlight the importance of marketing and human resources professionals working together to build and maintain an employment brand.

Good employment branding can help an organization attract higher-quality candidates, making it easier to fill job openings. It can also boost employee morale, engagement and retention by highlighting points of pride and commonality for employees. Good employment branding can give customers a positive image of — and correct misperceptions about — an organization. This is why HR and marketing professionals should work together to ensure that all external marketing and branding — employment and customer — is consistent across all media channels.

Hear are four tangible ways that HR and marketing can work together to make your employment branding equal your customer branding.

• Onboarding – Create an employee onboarding program that is based on your organization’s mission, vision, values and brand promise to spread the right messaging and get buy-in from the start of every staff member’s employment journey.
• NIL (Name, image, likeness) – Don’t use stock photography for marketing materials. Highlight staff quotes, personality and likeness in messaging and imagery in all internal and external marketing communications.
• Brand ambassadors – Your organization’s story and people are the foundation for your employment brand, and employees can be the best brand ambassadors of your organization’s values. Aligning and communicating your brand message effectively throughout your organization supports marketing’s mission of sharing it with customers and HR’s mission of sharing it with talent prospects.
• Social media – Just as marketers leverage social media to reach customers, HR can utilize social channels to bolster talent acquisition. Build and foster a consistent and active social media presence and encourage staff to speak freely. Promote your organization and staff achievements and accomplishments to enhance the perception of your brand internally and externally, as well as reach and engage talent.

There should be no line between marketing and HR in collaborating to ensure your employment brand is strong, driving your culture and helping to attract top talent, and to ensure that employees are sending out the right brand message to your organization’s customers through their actions and words.

Advertising is supposed to be fun. It’s about creativity, connection, and turning bold ideas into campaigns that make people laugh, cry, or think. But if you’ve scrolled through LinkedIn lately—or sat through an industry event—it might not feel that way.

Instead of celebrating the craft, we’ve turned into professional nitpickers, trading excitement for cynicism and turning critique into sport. It’s not that critical thinking is bad—it’s essential. But somewhere along the way, the industry’s collective voice shifted from “How amazing is this idea?” to “Here’s why it could’ve been better if I’d done it.”

LinkedIn: Where Inspiration Goes to Die (Sometimes)

Remember when LinkedIn was a space to cheer on your peers, celebrate wins, and swap creative inspiration? Now, it often feels like the “Hot Takes Olympics.” Every campaign post gets dissected like a college lit paper. Someone’s bold creative swing? Reduced to “Not sure I’d have gone that direction, but okay.”

The rise of this critique culture didn’t happen overnight:

• The Social Media Effect: Platforms thrive on drama, and “this could’ve been better” tends to get more engagement than “Great work!”
• Hot Takes Are Currency: These days, it seems the quickest, most contrarian opinion wins, even if it’s missing the bigger picture.
• Data-Driven Paralysis: With everything optimized to within an inch of its life, we’ve grown so obsessed with perfection that we’re too quick to dismiss anything that doesn’t hit every metric.
• Proving Ourselves: In a hyper-competitive industry, critique has become a way to signal authority. After all, tearing something down is easier than building it up.

The Cost of Cynicism

Here’s the thing: all that cynicism has consequences. It stifles creativity, discourages risk-taking, and fosters a culture of fear instead of collaboration. Why take a swing for the fences if a thousand armchair critics are waiting to pounce?

It also chips away at the relationships that make our work great. Clients can feel when an agency has lost its spark. Teams burn out when every idea is met with skepticism. And as an industry, we miss the joy of doing work that matters.

Finding the Joy Again

It’s not all doom and gloom. The joy of advertising is still here—we just need to remind ourselves to look for it. Here’s how we can start shifting the culture:

1. Celebrate the Wins: Perfection is overrated. Every campaign has a story, and every effort deserves a moment of recognition. Did it spark a conversation? Reach its audience? Let’s give it its due.
2. Build, Don’t Tear Down: Critique is valuable, but it should be constructive. Share insights that help, not just hot takes for clout.
3. Put People First: At the end of the day, our work is for the audience—not other advertisers. If they love it, we’ve done our job.
4. Reconnect With Curiosity: Approach every project with a sense of wonder. What can we learn? What new ground can we break? This industry thrives on possibility, not predictability.
5. Gratitude Goes a Long Way: Celebrate the teams behind the work. Whether it’s a bold client, a sleepless creative team, or an account lead who made magic out of chaos, let’s give credit where it’s due.

A Call to Bring Back the Spark

Advertising isn’t just about selling things—it’s about creating moments, memories, and meaning. And that’s worth celebrating. So next time you’re about to post a critique on LinkedIn or make a snarky comment, ask yourself: Am I adding value? Or just adding noise?

The truth is, we don’t need to love every campaign. But we do need to remember why we’re here—to connect, create, and, yes, have fun doing it. Let’s bring that joy back, one ad (and one LinkedIn post) at a time.

As a recent graduate or entry-level marketer, you’ll quickly realize that not all marketing is created equal when you step into the vibrant world of marketing. One area that stands out for its unique challenges and opportunities is recruitment marketing. This specialized field blends traditional marketing techniques with human resources to attract and engage potential job candidates. In this blog post, I’ll delve into what makes recruitment marketing unique and how it differs from what you’ve learned in your undergraduate journey.

What is recruitment marketing?

Recruitment marketing is the process of promoting a company as an employer to attract and engage top talent. It involves discovering and promoting a strong employer brand, utilizing various channels to reach candidates, and ensuring a positive candidate experience. While traditional marketing focuses on attracting customers to buy products or services, recruitment marketing aims to attract candidates to join an organization by ensuring their target audience aligns well with the company’s core brand and, more importantly, its values and identity.

What are the key differentiators?

Understanding the key differences between these two styles of marketing was daunting in the beginning of my career. We’ve all heard the term “value proposition” a thousand times over during lectures, but during my first meeting as a new hire, I had heard the term employer value proposition (EVP) for the first time. What is an EVP, you ask? An EVP highlights the distinct advantages prospective employees gain by joining a specific business. It encapsulates the core of the company’s identity: their values and what they provide. This is something that new grads and entry-level candidates are seeking when applying for new positions. Studies show that 84 percent of the world’s top 100 most attractive employers (as defined by college students) have something in common: An employer value proposition (EVP), also known as an employee value proposition (EVP).

Let’s dive into what a company does to differentiate between its employer value proposition and the company’s core brand and identity!

Core Brand and Identity

The core brand and identity encompass the company’s overall image and reputation in the marketplace, including its mission, vision, values, products, services and market positioning. This is what we are commonly taught while in school and it provides is an important piece in setting the tone on how the company wants to be perceived. Not only that, but it also allows a company to set clear goals and begin thinking about the type of talent that they want to attract. Below are some examples of the building blocks that go into establishing your brand:

• Mission and Vision: Overarching goals and long-term aspirations.
• Values: Guiding principles and beliefs.
• Brand Promise: Consistent customer expectations.
• Visual Identity: Logos, colors, typography and design elements.
• Voice and Tone: Communication style with the audience.

Employer Value Proposition (EVP)

As mentioned, the EVP is the unique set of benefits and values offered to employees, designed to attract, motivate and retain them. This is something that is overlooked in higher education and should be taught while learning about the function of human resources. It is pivotal for a company to attract the right talent, but that’s only half of the battle. By clearly communicating your EVP and upholding its messaging, you can save precious time and money. Studies suggest that “Organizations that effectively deliver on their EVP can decrease annual employee turnover by just under 70% and increase new hire commitment by nearly 30%“. Elements that go into establishing your EVP are as follows:

• Compensation and Benefits: Salary, health benefits, retirement plans, etc.
• Career Development: Training, growth and advancement opportunities.
• Work Environment: Company culture, work-life balance, workplace atmosphere.
• Recognition and Rewards: Acknowledgment and rewards for contributions.
• Purpose and Impact: Meaningfulness of work and impact on the company.

Conclusion

Recruitment marketing is a unique and exciting field that requires a blend of traditional marketing skills and a deep understanding of human resources. By recognizing the differences between traditional and recruitment marketing and by focusing on building a strong employer brand, creating engaging content and leveraging the right channels, you can excel in this dynamic industry.

Stay curious, stay innovative and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions about recruitment marketing! If not, let’s still connect and potentially collaborate.

Compelling content is a driving force behind successful physician recruitment marketing. Creating original content — think blogs, social media posts, infographics, and videos — can educate your audience and help you build relationships. After all, that’s what recruiting is all about, right? But coming up with fresh and engaging ideas is a whole other ballgame. That’s why we’ve created a list of seven valuable content ideas to help you capture the interest of physicians.

1. Express your gratitude on important recognition days. A full calendar of days, weeks, and months—such as National Doctor’s Day (March 30, 2025) and Women in Medicine Month (every September) — offers ideal opportunities for content marketing. Use the opportunity to engage with physicians and display your organization’s culture while showing appreciation and support for the people who make healthcare thrive. Other events on the healthcare calendar like National Depression Screening Day (October 10) and National Kidney Month (every March), also offer opportunities to raise public health awareness, promote preventive care, and talk about physicians in related specialties. Here’s a calendar of health observances and recognition days to get you started.
2. Use testimonials to harness the power of trust. Host brief Q&A sessions or one-on-one interviews with physicians and leaders within your organization to gather valuable perspectives and insights. You should prepare four or five thoughtful questions, including one like, ‘What made you choose (your organization’s name) for your career? Turn these responses into compelling testimonials that highlight your organization’s strengths, using direct quotes to add authenticity and impact. According to behavioral science, people respond more positively when they trust the information, so you could also feature testimonials from other respected industry voices to help build authority and connect with physicians.
3. Publish content that focuses on technology and innovation. Technology is revolutionizing healthcare, and physicians play a pivotal role in driving innovation and adopting new technologies. According to a survey by the American Medical Association (AMA), 85% of doctors believe digital health solutions can positively impact patient care. Physicians are also optimistic about digital health’s potential to enhance practice efficiency, improve patient safety, boost diagnostic accuracy, and even reduce burnout. To gain physician interest with your content, focus on product launches, technological advancements, and time-saving integrations that align with their core interests.
4. Share industry insights and updates that set your organization apart. Physicians are always eager to stay informed about the latest advancements in their field. Go beyond the headlines they might see elsewhere and tailor your content to highlight how your organization is not just keeping up but setting the standard. Whether it’s innovations in practice management, workflow improvements, or key trends in the medical specialties you’re recruiting for, connecting industry news to your own initiatives can provide value and position your organization as a true partner in physicians’ career growth.
5. Broadcast your efforts to address clinician well-being. Overwork, administrative burdens, and burnout are real challenges, so use your content to discuss how your organization is tackling these issues. Promote initiatives like wellness programs, peer support networks, or platforms that foster physician connections. By showing your commitment to clinician well-being, you position your organization as a supportive and caring workplace.
6. Shine a spotlight on real-world patient clinical experiences. Sharing detailed case studies that focus on clinical outcomes gives candidates a firsthand look at the meaningful work being done. By emphasizing success stories of innovative treatments, collaborative care, and new initiatives your organization is implementing, you create a powerful narrative that underscores your commitment to innovation and quality care. This approach goes beyond the typical recruitment pitch, giving physicians a compelling reason to see your organization as a place where they can make a true impact.
7. Maximize the value of third-party content by repurposing it creatively. This not only gives you opportunities to engage your audience and provides a nearly endless stream of content, but using credible sources also strengthens trust and authority. Whether you write an article inspired by a podcast or turn important insights into a social media carousel or infographic, always (always, always) remember the golden rule: give full credit to the original author(s) or organization(s), and link to the source — no exceptions.

Every piece of content you create can help connect with physicians and strengthen your brand as an employer of choice. At AB&C, we specialize in crafting content that resonates with healthcare professionals — and beyond — and helps attract top talent. Let’s talk about creating a recruitment marketing strategy that sets you apart and drives real results.

Marketing and fantasy football. On the surface, these two things may not seem like they are in the same plane of existence. I guess that’s true in that one is a very real thing while the other is essentially make-believe, but what I’ve found after years of doing both is that they both satisfy my love of strategic challenges and understanding of consumer psychology and behaviors. So, when I was asked to do an end-of-summer blog — the time when fantasy football seasons are starting — I saw the opportunity to share some of the key marketing principles and lessons that I have applied to fantasy football over the years. Here are just a couple ways that thinking like a marketer can help you dominate your fantasy football league:

Avoid the Sunk-Cost Fallacy

In both marketing and fantasy football, the sunk-cost fallacy can lead to poor decisions. This phenomenon occurs when people continue investing in something just because they’ve already put resources into it. In fantasy football, this might mean holding onto a high draft pick who’s underperforming. But the smart move is recognizing when to let go. If you notice this fallacy playing out with one of your opponents, you can turn it to your advantage, like offering a trade that seems to add value to their struggling pick. It’s a strategy marketers commonly use to upsell customers who have already committed to a purchase, like when you order a pizza online and then get an offer at checkout to add dessert and drink for a few dollars more. It works at the point of sale, and it can work for your fantasy trades, too.

Leveraging Brand Bias

Brand bias is when consumers prefer one brand over another due to emotional or psychological connections. In fantasy football, this translates to managers who have a clear preference for certain types of players. By understanding these biases, you can predict their draft choices or use their favorite types of players as leverage in trades, much like how a marketer would use brand loyalty metrics or buyer personas to help predict consumer behavior. This is helpful when you know that other league members like to draft high-upside guys, like speedy wide receivers or value the point advantages of taking elite tight ends early. These are markers for brand bias that you can use to snag the players you want ahead of league mates during fantasy drafts.

Researching the Competition

Which brings us to researching your competition. Just as marketers analyze competitors to gain an edge, fantasy football managers must research their opponents. Understanding your league mates’ tendencies allows you to anticipate their moves and adjust your strategy. In marketing, finding gaps in the competition’s offerings can lead to new opportunities — just as spotting weaknesses in your opponents’ strategies can give you an advantage in your fantasy league.

Using KPIs to Make Decisions

In marketing, we rely on key performance indicators (KPIs) to guide our strategies. The same logic applies in fantasy football. Your league’s scoring rules should help you make informed decisions. For instance, if one quarterback is on a hot streak but facing a tough defense, while another has been cold but is up against a weak opponent, you need to analyze the data to decide who to start to give you the best chance to score. This mirrors how marketers use data to forecast outcomes and make strategic decisions with media spends and direct marketing tactics.

These are just a few basic marketing lessons that can help you gain a competitive advantage in your fantasy league. But just like in marketing, the more you pay attention to the trends and watch the way markets move, the more likely you are to have success in fantasy football. Start putting these principles to use this year and before you know it, you won’t just be playing fantasy football — you’ll be mastering it.

Good luck to all my fellow fantasy footballers out there.

If you are reading this blog post, you probably understand the pivotal role that a seamless application process plays in attracting and retaining top talent. Today, we’ll delve into the importance of simplifying the application process, particularly on mobile devices, and explore strategies to enhance the experience for both candidates and your recruitment team.

Mobile Matters

In an era where mobile devices dominate, it’s essential to acknowledge that most job seekers conduct their searches on handheld devices. Have you ever attempted to navigate your applicant tracking system (ATS) on a mobile device? If so, you’ve likely experienced the challenges that an intricate process can pose. Recognizing the prevalence of mobile job searches (60–70% of visitors to most sites AB&C maintains), you must ensure that your application process is optimized for mobile users. A user-friendly interface that is quick and easy to use on a handheld device is not just a convenience but a necessity in attracting a diverse range of candidates.

Alternative Calls to Action

For roles that are harder to fill and could benefit from a more human touch to the application process, consider implementing alternative calls to action. Provide a quick and straightforward method for candidates to express their interest. This initial step is not a substitute for the comprehensive application process but serves as a strategic starting point. Empower your recruitment team to take the lead in guiding candidates through the application process. By offering personalized assistance, recruiters can address concerns, provide clarity, and ensure that candidates feel supported at every stage. For positions with too many candidates, leave the full ATS application process in place.

Efficiency in Recruitment

Simplifying the application process is not about shortcuts but about efficiency. A streamlined process not only enhances the candidate experience but also enables our recruiters to focus on doing what they do best: ensuring that the right candidates progress through the hiring pipeline smoothly. Minimize the number of fields in your forms. Only ask for the bare minimum info your team will need for effective follow-up.

A Candidate-centric Approach

Ultimately, simplifying the application process is a testament to your commitment to job seekers. It’s about respecting their time, acknowledging their preferences, and fostering a positive impression of your organization from the very first interaction. By simplifying the application process, you not only enhance the candidate experience but also position yourselves as an employer of choice.

I hear you.
I understand.
I’ve got your back.

When it feels like nobody gets you, can relate or extend a helping hand, it’s isolating. However, heartfelt and simple words like the above from another person can make a real difference.

Having an ally—a person who uses their own influence and makes a conscious effort to help another who is facing an adversity—is powerful. That power comes from knowing you are supported. It builds confidence that can be transformational and sow greatness, especially at work.

Building allyship between colleagues can only stem from an established foundation of mutual respect. In recent years, we’ve seen increased and purposeful efforts across organizations do just that through diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) programs. A recent Pew Research report noted that while there were marked differences by race, ethnicity and age to survey questions about the influence of these programs, 72% of workers confirmed that DEIB-related policies and resources have had a positive impact where they work. Often, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) play a very important role in that success as do the allies that support and advocate for them.

Inclusion and allyship go hand in hand. How else can the often-stated claim from organizations that employees can be their true selves at work ring true without a culture that extends a safety net for open conversations and active listening?

Microsoft has had an allyship program in place since 2020 and I particularly like how they describe it as a different kind of diversity program “inspiring people to be better allies—and be OK with making mistakes.” The stated goal of the program is to provide their team with the language they need to discuss different viewpoints and difficult things inclusively and with empathy. It’s a noble one and bound to be imperfect. And that’s even with a two-year runway to develop it with a team of neuroscientists. People will unquestionably make mistakes but that’s no reason to not encourage allyship.

Making progress rather than perfection can be a very achievable goal. Efforts can start by communicating some of the basics on how to be an ally like these:

Always be curious. Take the time to learn about cultures, experiences and identities that are different from your own. By gaining a deeper understanding, you’ll deepen your empathy for others. Even more so, this type of education will also help ensure that well-intentioned, but out-of-touch communication misfires can be avoided.

Don’t stay silent. Speak up when your microagression radar pings. And use that opportunity not just to correct, but to explain why some words are truly harmful.

Be the change. Actions speak, so think about ways to actively show support for DEIB and ERG initiatives or offer mentorships to underrepresented employees in an impactful way.

The investment in fostering a more equitable work environment is important. Think of the appreciation for that investment from employees who genuinely need more people in their corner. Plus, it is an investment in creating a more empathetic and engaging culture.

A 2023 study by the Harvard Business Review indicated that organizations that integrated allyship into their core values and provided ongoing training saw a 34% increase in employee engagement. By incorporating the stories of allies into your employer brand activations and advocacy program, you can reinforce to each other, as well as prospective employees, that you’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. These stories add authenticity and depth to your messaging, demonstrating that your organization isn’t just talking the talk—you’re walking the walk.