Black Lab Creative

Hello world!

blc_admin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:45:05 +0000

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Black Lab Creative climbs the ladder successfully

blc_admin — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:40:50 +0000

Every year that I go to the Fair with my office, I win something for my son Alfred. The first year I won a giant Nemo, then a giant Scooby Doo with a ghost in his mouth, a giant Grover, a giant pug and this year I won a one-eyed Minion from Despicable Me.

Yesterday, Hilary and I took Alfred to the Fair for the first time. We saw how cows get milked, we had lunch in front of the Cotton Bowl, saw the bird show, played games, rode rides and had a great time. And before we left, I won a two-eyed Minion for Alfred, while he watched me climb the ladder. It was a pretty perfect day.

About 35 years ago my dad built one of these in our backyard, after our vacation in Myrtle Beach where we saw one at a carnival there. I remember all the kids in my neighborhood learning to climb that thing in our back yard. I don’t know if any of those guys can still do it, but I know my brother and I can. We also learned how to ride a unicycle in the backyard. It was all fun and we learned a lot about balance. That’s helped me in my life, that’s why I started Black Lab Creative with Chad, Brett and John – to get some balance between work and family back.

I think I’ll build one for my son Alfred, teach him about balance. The girls he’ll meet later in life will like it if he can balance as he climbs the ladder too, because that’s where the big prizes are – literally and probably figuratively as well.

Join us for our September Happy Hour

blc_admin — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:56:04 +0000

BLC Happy Hour – March ’11

blc_admin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:11:46 +0000

BLC Happy Hour – June ’11

blc_admin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 16:47:52 +0000

BLC is about to get more awesome-r

blc_admin — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:43:30 +0000

We’re moving on up!

Not to a deluxe apartment in the sky,
but we are upgrading to a new website.

Over the next few weeks (or months, depending on how busy we are), we’ll be populating the new site with pictures, words and other stuff.

We’d love to keep in touch with you, but the lawyers tell us that we need to make sure we have your permission. If you want to get email from us, we’d love to keep you on the list. Don’t worry, you won’t get a lot. Client work always comes first, so we’ll be lucky to send out an email more than once or twice a month.

If you want to remain on our list, don’t do anything. If you’d rather not hear from us again, just click the link at the bottom of this email that says, “unsubscribe from this list.” We’ll understand, and eventually get over it.

Once the site is live, we’ll send another email letting you know it’s ready. If you’re feeling nostalgic and want to see the existing site in all it’s glory, just click here.

Brett, Chad, Eddie, John

BLACK LAB CREATIVE WINS FOUR ADDY AWARDS

blc_admin — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:14:25 +0000

DALLAS – February 28, 2011 – Dallas-based Black Lab Creative, a full-service marketing and advertising agency, was awarded with one Gold and three Silver ADDY Awards from the Dallas Ad League at the 2011 Dallas ADDY Awards Show held in February. The ADDY Awards continue to be the most aggressive and largest competition in the world with more than 40,000 entries annually. It is unique among other advertising creative competitions in that it is the only competition that includes three levels of judging: local, regional, and national. The ADDY Awards offer the best opportunity and challenge to compete in the market by recognizing all forms of advertising from a variety of media, creative of all shapes and sizes, and multiple levels of entrants throughout the world.

Black Lab Creative received its first Gold ADDY Award for the creation of the Lone Star Puppy Raisers logo and informational collateral. The Lone Star Puppy Raisers is the newest addition to the puppy-raising program for Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) and is the first chapter of puppy raisers from GDB in Texas. The program has more than 1,400 dedicated puppy raising volunteers to help raise good canine citizens and prepare them for their formal guide work training.

The Silver ADDY Awards presented to Black Lab Creative were designated for the firm’s design of the Cassandra Fine Catering web site; the Parish Episcopal School’s Parent Association’s Gala for the concept and design, “Laugh Inn Motel”; and for invitation design for The Eye Ball, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s event benefitting blindness prevention.

“We are proud of the great work we were able to create with our clients. It is always a collaborative effort and receiving four awards this year is extremely rewarding,” said John McFarland, partner of Black Lab Creative. “The ADDY Awards are a great opportunity for our company to be recognized for our hard work, and we look forward to competing at the regional level.”

Black Lab Creative, an award-winning marketing and advertising agency located in Dallas, Texas, was established to create a paradigm shift within the advertising world by developing a more passionate, loyal, determined and spirited way for an agency to work with clients. Chad Costas, Brett Dougall, Eddie Hale and John McFarland help their clients build brand awareness and drive business through strategically based, unique creative solutions. Black Lab Creative is a full-service firm offering integrated marketing communications, branding, account planning, advertising and interactive expertise. Black Lab Creative’s clients represent industry leaders in non-profit, financial services, consumer electronics, construction, commercial real estate, restaurant and hospitality design sectors. For more information, please visit www.blacklabcreative.com or call Chad Costas at (214) 662-8788.

See mom, all that money for grad school didn’t go to waste after all

blc_admin — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:29:54 +0000

Cox MBA Utilizes SMU Connections to Form Award-Winning Advertising Agency –

Chad Costas (MBA ’99) was raised in northwest Indiana where at the age of eight, he began working as a bagboy in the family supermarket – a business established by his great-great grandparents after emigrating from Greece. Ever the fast learner, he quickly moved up the ranks to checkout clerk, stocker, loading dock receiver, and produce clerk – all before he entered high school. The hands-on sales and customer relations experience would serve him well throughout his career.

In high school, Costas attended boarding school in Connecticut, where he quickly tired of the coat and tie dress code. It was then that he developed his “look” – an ever-present bowtie – as a way to stand out, if only slightly. The look stuck with him, and he continues to don the signature accessory.

“I think there is something about wearing a bowtie that makes one seem somewhat mischievous, like you don’t know what they’re going to say or do next,” said Costas. “Which fits me pretty well.”

After high school, Costas promptly headed to Dallas to attend SMU, where he majored in advertising. Despite his parents’ wish for Costas to get a “suit job” upon graduation, he instead headed to New York City where he landing a marketing gig at a well-known record label.

“It’s a great first job for a 22-year-old kid and I highly recommend it,” said Costas. “My friends had 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. office jobs. I got to hang out with rock stars.”

After four years of hanging around rock stars and groupies, Costas was hungry for academic knowledge. He packed his bags and moved back to Dallas to reset his professional life by earning an MBA from SMU Cox.

“I was able to learn and grow academically in ways I hadn’t in undergrad, which allowed me to determine what path I wanted to strike – and do something I not only enjoyed and was really good at, but also could provide a decent living,” said Costas.

Costas knew he wanted to go into marketing, but he found marketing departments at the companies for which he interviewed to be very “boring.” However, as luck would have it, he found an opportunity that would shape the trajectory of his career.

“I was in the Business Leadership Center one day and noticed that Tracy-Locke was looking for an MBA candidate to work on the Pepsi account,” he said. “I think I was the only one who applied, which meant I was the best qualified. Once I got there I realized that was what I wanted to do when I graduated.”

Costas was able to satisfy his business and academic interests surrounded by people who solved problems every day in a creative way. He found it invigorating to watch an idea form, take shape and change throughout the process on the way to becoming something real.

After Tracy-Locke, Costas sharpened his skill set at some of the top advertising agencies in Dallas – Temerlin McClain, DDB Dallas and The Integer Group. He learned everything he could about all the possible marketing disciplines that help motivate consumers to buy a product including branding, mass reach advertising, direct response, retail marketing and consumer promotions.

Several years later, Costas enrolled in Jerry White’s “Starting a Business” class, and he began to think starting a company would be the next step in his career. As fate would have it, he ended up connecting with three other men with SMU backgrounds who would change the course of his life. They started talking about their future and how they wanted to control it.

The four talents, all possessing significant big brand and big agency experience, asked each other how they could build a better creative agency. Together, they went on to form Black Lab Creative, and created a paradigm shift within the advertising industry by establishing an agency that cares about its clients, listens to them, partners with them, and works hard to achieve their objectives.

“SMU as a school has had a big impact on our company and partners’ lives. We all went to SMU, and one of my partners still likes to think he goes there, at least on the Boulevard during football season,” said Costas. “When we started our company, we actually officed out of the SMU library for about three months. Free wi-fi and study closets for client calls saved us until we found a place of our own.”

Today, Black Lab Creative is a highly-respected, award-winning creative agency with an impressive client roster including Simple Solution, Baylor Health Care System Foundation and two entities of Bright & Co. – Castle Hills and American Legend Homes. Black Lab Creative was recently awarded its first Dallas ADDY Award, presented by the Dallas Ad League for the design and development of the 2009-2010 Baylor Health Care System Foundation Annual Fund campaign. Proof – according to Costas – that all it takes is hard work, determination and a bowtie.

Other agencies say they’ll do whatever it takes, but how many will actually prove it to you?

blc_admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:16:59 +0000

Need it fast? We’re already done.
Have a budget? We can work within it.
Want awesome creative? Look no further.
Want to see how dedicated we are to customer service? John, show ‘em your other leg.