As Post-Advertising Age Dawns, Story Worldwide Launches Media Division, Expands Senior Leadership Team

New York, NY (PRWEB) January 11, 2012

Story Worldwide, the global brand-storytelling agency, recently announced the launch of its media division, Story Media, along with significant additions to its executive team. Gian LaVecchia, a widely respected and innovative digital-media pioneer, will lead Story Media. Along with LaVecchia, Josh Golden, a veteran of traditional agencies, has joined Story Worldwide as North American Executive Vice President of Marketing and Strategy.

LaVecchia, Executive Vice President of Media for Story, brings to the group more than 13 years of expertise in digital media, branded content and social media, having developed a number of award-winning digital-media programs for brands including Subway, Heineken, Kraft, DICE and Sony. Story Media specializes in strategy, planning and buying services for social and digital media, utilizing its deep expertise in developing high-impact brand experiences that drive extensive audience engagement across established and emerging media platforms.

?As digital and social take over, marketers need flawlessly planned and executed media programs that dovetail seamlessly with highly innovative creative executions across all platforms,? said Kirk Cheyfitz, Story Worldwide?s CEO and Chief Editorial Officer. ?The giant media agencies just can?t and don?t do this kind of micro-detailed work, but Gian is exactly the visionary media thinker who understands what clients need and possesses the deep expertise to deliver results.?

?It [Story Worldwide] is a talented and passionate group of brand marketers and storytellers,? LaVecchia said. ?Introducing digital-media expertise to Story?s existing offerings further distinguishes an already exceptional agency in the marketplace.?

Golden, who joins Story as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Strategy, has nearly two decades of award-winning integrated and digital experience in advertising, marketing, technology and production. In his new role, he will be responsible for setting the strategic path on which Story will continue advancing the explosive growth in its multi-platform content-creation solutions. His purview will include key-client leadership as well as driving the strategy and analytics teams? evolution.

Before arriving at Story, Golden was the chief digital officer at Grey New York, where he set and implemented the agency?s digital vision and oversaw all key digital communications. Beyond driving Grey?s digital-growth agenda for all clients, he worked closely on global award-winning fully integrated campaigns for Canon, Hess and Red Lobster as well as P&G?s multibillion-dollar Pantene brand. Previously Golden had worked at Euro RSCG New York as the managing director of digital. In this position he was instrumental in expanding the division to more than 80 people, quadrupling revenue and managing award-winning work for clients including Dos Equis, Volvo, ExxonMobil, GSK and Charles Schwab.

?Josh is that extremely rare person whose unique talent and experience make him the perfect marketer for the post-advertising age,? Cheyfitz said. ?He?s a digital native who knows TV as well as Twitter, a web expert with a brilliant understanding of storytelling, a big-agency veteran with the rapid, pragmatic reflexes of a guerrilla marketer. We are immensely proud to add him to Story?s senior leadership team as we continue to grow exponentially.?

?I simply could not be more excited to be a part of the Story team,? Golden said. ?As I have had the tremendous opportunity in the past to be exposed to many agency and brand models, I am quite fortunate to be joining a team that has optimized the storytelling model to supercharge the voice of a brand. Most important, Story understands how to drive brand passion within the incredibly complex and constantly evolving communication ecosystem.?

Story Worldwide is one of the world?s leading independent agencies, having offices in New York, Seattle, London, Nagoya and Hong Kong. It has won major awards for its film work, long-form content, magazine-style web work, entertainment, apps, games and other formats. In the past year Story has more than doubled its client base, which now features many large marketers across all categories, including Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Lexus, Holland America Line, General Mills, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Est?e Lauder, Westfield malls, Finlandia Vodka and Constellation Wines.

###

Restaurant.com Expands with New and Exciting Multi-Unit Partners in its Fourth Quarter

Arlington Heights, IL (PRWEB) January 11, 2012

Restaurant.com today announced new chain partners joined the program in the fourth quarter of 2011, helping business owners generate greater exposure and improve profits, while allowing consumers to try new restaurants nationwide.

?We?re excited to announce our partnership with several new chain restaurants and help our new partners achieve success in the New Year,? said Restaurant.com Vice President of Partner Marketing Ken Devlin. ?Each new partnership creates the opportunity to fill tables and generate business for restaurants and introduce consumers to new dining experiences nationwide.?

The latest multi-unit partners to join Restaurant.com?s extensive base of more than 18,000 restaurants nationwide include:

????IHOP Restaurants ? Several International House of Pancakes (IHOP) locations teamed up with Restaurant.com in the fourth quarter, including locations in Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey and Virginia.
????Bono?s Pit Bar-B-Q ? This award-winning traditional Southern BBQ joins Restaurant.com with locations in Jacksonville and St. John?s, Fla., with the philosophy that ?It's about soul - and service without soul, no matter how great, is quickly forgotten by our guests.?
????Pita Grill ? This New York-based ?positively healthy? Mediterranean-inspired sandwich and salad option expanded its relationship with Restaurant.com with four new chain locations.
????Cantina Tortilla Grill ? Alabama is home to Cantina Tortilla Grill. Restaurant.com is excited to offer this unique taqueria to its customers in Birmingham and Montgomery.
????Fuel Grill and Juice Bar ? With three chain locations in New York City joining Restaurant.com, Fuel Grill and Juice Bar prides itself on delivering an excellent experience for every customer, using only premium ingredients.
????El Campesino Restaurante Mexicano ? Boasting the best Margaritas in town, six Pennsylvania-based El Campesino Restaurante Mexicano establishments have joined Restaurant.com.
????Cornucopia?s Maize Lounge ? Cornucopia?s Maize Lounge, located in Eugene, Ore., has joined Restaurant.com , offering consumers the best burgers in town. (The Eugene Weekly voted them as having the best burgers in the whole city in 2010.)
????Mexico Restaurant ? Mexico Restaurant?s eight Virginia locations have joined Restaurant.com, offering customers the best genuine Mexican cuisine in the area.
????Mario?s & Tony?s Pizza ? All ten North Carolina locations (five Mario?s and five Tony?s) joined Restaurant.com, adding a cuisine they describe as something people can ?eat every day.?
????Santa Fe Dining Group ? Santa Fe Dining Group?s La Casa Sena and La Cantina, located in Santa Fe, N.M., have joined Restaurant.com, offering customers mouth-watering dishes in a historic atmosphere.
????Marra Restaurant Group ? Marra Restaurant Group joins Restaurant.com with six Rhode Island locations: Cucina, Cucina Twist, Grille on Main, The Grille, Twist Restaurant and Waterplace.

"We have been with Restaurant.com for about four weeks and have never seen our business pick up like this in such a short span of time," said Mario Abbondanza, director of marketing for Marra Restaurant Group. ?We are very pleased with the amount of traffic this program has driven through our doors.?

Each new Restaurant.com partner is equipped with a custom web page on Restaurant.com, featuring a personalized description of the restaurant. The profile includes cuisine type, menu items, d?cor, pricing, and hours of operation for each participating location. Restaurant.com partners benefit from the program?s extensive marketing efforts, which create greater exposure and increase customer traffic. The company never sends its restaurant partners a bill, only hungry diners.

The Restaurant.com program supplies multi-unit restaurant operators with recurring custom reports that combine data from each chain location. Operators can evaluate total and individual location-specific program results with information such as profit estimates, number of tables filled, web page traffic and more. Restaurant.com also sends surveys to guests to collect feedback about their dining experiences. The survey data can be used to help modify menu items, improve and reward service, and support in-house incentive and loyalty marketing programs. More than 1.65 million surveys with nearly 800,000 customer comments were completed by Restaurant.com patrons in 2011, giving restaurant operators unparalleled, exclusive insight into their customers? dining experiences.

Restaurant.com has a rapidly growing network of more than 18,000 restaurants nationwide. In 2011, Restaurant.com filled more than 5.5 million tables across the country nationwide with more than 18.4 million diners - an increase of 10 percent over 2010?s record year - generating nearly $ 400 million in revenue for the restaurant industry.

For more information about how Restaurant.com promotional marketing services deliver profits for restaurants, visit http://Partners.Restaurant.com.

About Restaurant.com

Restaurant.com helps deepen relationships and create lasting memories one dining experience at a time. The company offers savings at more than 18,000 restaurants nationwide with more than 45,000 daily gift certificate options. Restaurant.com brings family and friends together to relax, converse and enjoy dining out. Restaurant.com has helped customers save nearly $ 2 billion since the Arlington Heights, Ill.-based company was founded in 1999. The company was named one of the Top 100 Places to Work by the Chicago Tribune in 2011.

# # #

Find More La Extensions Press Releases

Flame-Resistant Clothing Manufacturer Expands Management Team

Morgan City, LA (PRWEB) January 12, 2012

Flame-resistant clothing maker LAPCO Manufacturing Inc. has added three employees to its management team.

Jenna Knapp, a two-year LAPCO employee, has been named customer service manager; Freddy Williams, formerly with the Cal Dive International supply chain, is now operations manager; and Jarrod Conner has been named director of sales after five years in LAPCO?s Texas territory.

?At LAPCO, we know that our business depends on our ability to satisfy customer needs,? General Manager Micah Triche said. ?We do everything in our power to produce a high-quality garment that meets the expectations of both our customers and the end-user.?

Knapp, Williams and Conner each bring special talents to their new positions to achieve that goal, he said. ?Jenna knows every particular of the customer service experience and works to ensure that every request is processed efficiently, to the customer?s satisfaction.

?With 10 years of logistics experience and significant knowledge of ISO 9001/2000, Freddy will play a critical role in advancements in our delivery and distribution system.

?Jarrod?s extensive sales and customer service experience will serve him well as he ensures our sales staff is knowledgeable, skilled, and committed to providing our customers the presence they need in the field.

?These three additions to our management team represent a significant commitment and advancement in our ability to meet and exceed customer needs,? Triche said.

Morgan City-based LAPCO is a leader in the manufacture and distribution of a wide variety of flame-resistant work gear and clothing, including pants, coveralls, hoodies, shirts and welding leathers.

# # #