An anvil is a critical forging tool used to create a new element – which is why it’s a fitting title for PRSA’S most prestigious award. We are beyond thrilled to accept the PRSA Silver Anvil for Integrated Communications award for the “From Wisconsin With Love” brand activation tour for Culver’s.     The From Wisconsin With Love tour was more than a food truck – it was a love letter on four wheels to loyal guests and an opportunity to create new fans along the way. Guests in 17 cities across 14 different states were able to experience the sights and sounds of Wisconsin’s small-town hospitality that Culver’s proudly serves up at every interaction.      Whether it was discovering that first delicious bite of a cheese curd, a sample of creamy Fresh Frozen Custard or playing on an interactive display brimming with Wisconsin fun facts right next to a cheese sculpture resembling the visited city – every guest was welcomed to delicious with a big Midwest hello.     Successfully orchestrating a cross-country tour was an extremely intense task that was only possible with a strong partnership between our entire agency and our partners at Culver’s. Receiving this incredible national recognition serves as a humbling acknowledgement of the power of collaboration and innovation between client and agency partners.

The rumbling of the bleachers, the blinding stadium lights and thousands of fans draped in their school colors – the anticipation of the game is electric. What is it about college sports that inspires such excitement? The answer is easy: the athletes on the rise.     For decades, the NCAA enforced strict amateur status rules that rendered student athletes ineligible to receive paid endorsements for their name, image and likeness while on an athletic scholarship. In 2019, a movement to help student athletes monetize their fame without risking their eligibility began. After a long legal battle that culminated with a ruling from the Supreme Court, student athletes were granted access to monetization of their Name, Image and Likeness – NIL for short – in 2021.   With the unprecedented nature of the newly implemented NIL laws, communities of alumni, donors and local citizens began to form collectives. These collectives are school-specific, independent groups that pool together money and resources to bring paid endorsement opportunities, educational support and personal branding best practices to these athletes on and off the field.     True to their Badger mascot nature, the UW-Madison community rallied and got right to work – creating the first and only donor- and alumni-led NIL collective serving Wisconsin Badger student-athletes: The Varsity Collective Charitable Fund, Inc. – better known as The Varsity Collective (TVC).      The newly formed Varsity Collective had to get the word out about their mission – and they had to do so in uncharted territory. We set out to solidify TVC’s arrival to the Wisconsin Badger community – and the collegiate athletics landscape at large – with a power-packed sports press conference.

After a six-month RFP process, we are excited to announce a partnership as the new agency of record for the global powerhouse Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Welding. Hiebing will support ITW Welding’s industrial and commercial divisions and central marketing team through marketing planning, research, creative, public relations, social media, content creation, media planning and buying, measurement and more.

For those of us who hear the term “artificial intelligence” and are immediately on guard for Skynet and their Terminator shenanigans – don’t worry. Terminators aren’t real… yet.

Chef and TV personality Andrew Zimmern knows delicious – so it only made sense that he was a fan of Culver’s ButterBurgers and creamy Fresh Frozen Custard. As good Midwestern neighbors, we invited him to get a true taste of Wisconsin, right where it all started. Here’s how it went.

Sparks are flying. The creative is right. The storytelling is succinct. The team is genuinely excited to power your brand voice. You know exactly what you want to do: swipe right. Much like being in the dating game, when you find that right marketing partner to help you achieve your business objectives, you just know.

Every year, the SXSW conference brims with insights from creative minds, innovative entrepreneurs and forward-thinking leaders from around the world who dig into topics and trends relative to the rapidly evolving global landscape. This year’s presenters inspired, informed and entertained a handful of Hiebingites. Whether you’re a seasoned SXSW veteran or a curious newcomer — we’ve gathered a little bit of everything from the conference. Here they are, our 2023 SXSW takeaways.

2022 may already feel like a lifetime ago, but we can’t say our last sayonara before celebrating the special partnerships that inspired us last year. We’re so grateful to our clients for trusting us to move their brands forward. Each year, our work with them fuels our curiosity, ignites our passion for excellence – and powers our ability to drive change in the communities we call home. In our third annual Hiebing Impact Report, we highlight some of the collaborations that gave our team the opportunity to help shift the world around us. We’re so honored to share this report with you.

Mad City, Madtown, City of Four Lakes – just a few of the names our city of Madison, Wisconsin, is known by. What some may not know is that Madison holds a slice of architectural history – Monona Terrace. Designed by a native Wisconsinite hailed as the greatest architect of the twentieth century, Frank Lloyd Wright spent years championing this design as his gift back to the state he so loved. Wright dreamed of building a terrace that linked Wisconsin’s state capital to the beautiful Lake Monona. A project that came to fruition 59 years after its inception, Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center stands tall as an iconic feature of Madison’s downtown skyline.

Recall a time when you had a great experience with a brand from start to finish. What made that experience unique? If we had to guess, it had something to do with an easy experience that went above and beyond expectations. Every interaction a consumer has with your brand becomes an opportunity to forge relationships that nurture brand loyalty. This journey is otherwise known as the Customer Experience – CX for short.

The new year brings hopeful reflections for what the next 365 days will hold – and what challenges may arise. In an ever-changing arena like marketing, finding a foothold can be tricky. Our Hiebing experts are here to help. We asked our experts what trends could maximize a brand’s impact in the new year – and they delivered. Here are the marketing predictions worthy of consideration for 2023.

On average, users of all ages nowadays are spending at least 2.5 hours per day scrolling through social media – with 95 minutes of that time spent endlessly scrolling through TikTok, according to SensorTower’s Power User Curve. The time spent on this platform is significantly higher per day in comparison to the likes of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Marketers are now asking how TikTok is keeping audiences engaged longer in a way other social networks just aren’t?