Eric Rob & Isaac of Little Rock is on a roll.

It’s the new agency of record for CognitiveDATA Inc., a marketing technology company that helps direct marketers increase response rates; American Data Network, which helps hospitals maximize operating efficiencies and improve patient safety; and White River Rural Health Center, which provides health care services in several Arkansas communities.

It has also been named design agency of record for Yarnell’s Ice Cream Co., manufacturer of Yarnell’s brand ice cream, frozen yogurt and sherbet products. The agency will also provide creative services to Heifer Foundation, and it was awarded a contract to redesign the website of the Arkansas Cancer Coalition.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with some of the most well-respected and fastest-growing companies in Arkansas,” said Rob Bell, principal at Eric Rob & Isaac. “It is truly an exciting time not only for our agency, but for our clients as well. We are proud to help build on their current success and look forward to the opportunity to help drive growth and enhance brand awareness for our new clients.”

The agency has also been named design agency of record for Yarnell’s Ice Cream Company, manufacturer of Yarnell’s brand ice cream, frozen yogurt and sherbet products. The agency will also provide creative services to Heifer Foundation, and was awarded a contract to redesign the website of the Arkansas Cancer Coalition.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with some of the most well respected and fastest growing companies in Arkansas,” said Rob Bell, principal at Eric Rob & Isaac. “It is truly an exciting time not only for our agency, but for our clients as well. We are proud to help build on their current success and look forward to the opportunity to help drive growth and enhance brand awareness for our new clients.”

Little Rock-based CognitiveDATA – a wholly owned subsidiary of Merkle, a privately-held leading customer relationship marketing agency – has selected Eric Rob & Isaac as its new creative and social media agency of record. The agency will develop an evolved brand-positioning platform, rolling out new creative strategies to drive business-to-business traffic to the marketing technology company. The agency will also implement a comprehensive social media strategy over the next few months, utilizing a variety of portals, such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

American Data Network offers clients numerous products for quality and health improvement monitoring. Eric Rob & Isaac will execute a comprehensive branding and public relations campaign for the company’s newest offering – the American Data Network Patient Safety Organization, which aims to improve the quality and safety of patient care.

The agency will develop a new corporate identity and branding for White River Rural Health Center, a 22-clinic healthcare provider headquartered in Augusta, Ark. A new marketing campaign will also launch this summer, utilizing public relations, radio, outdoor and print advertising strategies.

Yarnell’s Ice Cream Company, a family owned business since 1932, produces a variety of ice cream flavors, fruit sherbets, frozen yogurts and novelties. Yarnell’s recently hired Eric Rob & Isaac to assist in the company’s overall branding efforts. Specifically, the agency’s first assignment will be the creation of package designs for the company’s new fall and holiday specialty flavors.

Heifer Foundation was established by the board of Heifer International to build an endowment to generate ongoing support for the work of Heifer International, and to educate people on how planned charitable giving supports Heifer International’s work. Eric Rob & Isaac has been selected to lead all design efforts for the foundation’s national and international fundraising opportunities. The agency will be responsible for designing print ads, corporate identity materials, online banner ads and other marketing materials.

Arkansas Cancer Coalition exists to provide a favorable environment for cancer control partners to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the burden of cancer for every Arkansan. The agency will redesign the organization’s website, launching a new interactive and user-friendly site this summer.

The board of directors for Economics Arkansas is a liaison of statewide leaders representing the business, education, agriculture and government sectors. Board members are elected to a three-year term and are dedicated to promoting and supporting economic education in Arkansas.

“Over the past several months, the nominating committee has worked to gather candidates we feel will serve as great board members,” said Sue Owens, Executive Director of Economics Arkansas. “These gentlemen represent organizations that are supporting Economics Arkansas through generous donations of time and funding. We are honored to have them on our board and look forward to their guidance and leadership in the coming years.”

Rob Bell, principal at Eric Rob & Isaac, has assisted Economics Arkansas with the development of collateral materials and promotion of various fundraising projects. Bell is also an active Riverfest board member and has contributed volunteer work and pro-bono marketing for numerous charitable organizations including CARTI, Downtown Little Rock Partnership and Junior League of Little Rock.

A. Heath Abshure, Commissioner of the Arkansas Securities Department in Little Rock, provides grant funding for Economics Arkansas’ Stock Market Game^TM each year. Abshure is a longtime advocate for investor education in Arkansas and through the Arkansas Securities Department support of the Stock Market Game^TM, students learn at a young age how to research the market and make wise decisions about investing.

David Humphrey has nearly 27 years of experience with Arkansas Best Corporation, and in addition to the firm’s financial support of Economics Arkansas, Humphrey has served for the past several years as Economics Arkansas’ Master of Ceremonies for the Fort Smith Trivia Challenge, a fundraising event held annually in the region. Humphrey is also active with St. Paul United Methodist Church in Fort Smith and serves as an honorary board member for Girls Inc. of Fort Smith Arkansas.

Archie Schaffer III has worked at Tyson Foods Inc. for nearly 20 years and is responsible for enhancing and expanding the company’s role in the business community. The Springdale-based company has contributed annual donations to Economics Arkansas for many years, helping to create a more economically literate state. Prior to joining Tyson, Schaffer was the executive director of the Arkansas Business Council and served as administrative assistant to Gov. and Sen. Dale Bumpers.

About Economics Arkansas

Economics Arkansas is a private, nonprofit, non-partisan, educational organization founded by Dr. Bessie B. Moore in 1962 to promote K-12 economic literacy in Arkansas. The nonprofit is affiliated with the Council for Economic Education and six Arkansas university-based centers for economic education.  These partnerships strive to meet the needs of teachers by providing training and educational materials for Arkansas’ K-12 schools. For more information on these programs, visit www.economicsarkansas.org.

The ADDY Awards are the advertising industry’s largest and most respected competition, recognizing and rewarding creative excellence in the art of advertising. Winners in each state competition move on to compete at the district and then the national level. Members of AAF Little Rock received a combined total of 18 district awards, surpassing the 2009 total of seven.

“It’s an honor to be included in the ranks of such great advertising agencies in our region,” said Rob Bell, principal at Eric Rob & Isaac. “To be recognized in a district full of talented and well-respected agencies, many of whom work on nationally known accounts, is humbling to say the least. It’s truly gratifying to be acknowledged for the outstanding results we have produced for our clients on both the local and national level, and we look forward to raising the bar again next year.”

Eric Rob & Isaac was recognized in the following categories:

Silver ADDY Awards

• Website, B-to-B Flash, Services ­– Polk Stanley Wilcox website (http://www.polkstanleywilcox.com)
• Local Radio Campaign – Goldman Recycling “Talking Trash” campaign
• I.O. Metro “Free Design Service” TV

Bronze ADDY Awards

• Special Event Invitation – Entergy Arkansas Site Selection Center Announcement Invitation
• National TV Campaign – I.O. Metro 2009 TV campaign
• Mixed-Media, Local Consumer ­– Certified Arkansas Farmer’s Market Identity Campaign
• Arts, Poster – Sticky Fingerz Punkinhead show poster
• Arts, Poster – White Water Tavern Dikki Du show poster
• Arts, Campaign – White Water Tavern show poster series
• Special Effects, Video or Film – I.O. Metro “Free Design Service” in-store video

It’s hard to gauge the importance of the Addys these days. The signature event for the American Advertising Federation is a sort of local Oscars for the ad industry, and used to be a huge, fiercely competitive annual rite for creatives.

Since 2006, though, the bigger ad shops in central Arkansas have abstained, avoiding the time, expense ($55 or $65 per member entry this year) and employee hours it took to prepare and submit hundreds of entries. The central Arkansas awards this year received 286 entries – half of the heyday totals but the most since heavyweights such as Stone Ward and Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods bowed out.

Some 80 of those entries came from Eric Rob & Isaac, a six-year-old Little Rock shop whose principals – Eric Lancaster, Rob Bell and Isaac Alexander – felt ready to showcase their stuff at the Addys for the first time. And they just about owned the podium. Eric Rob & Isaac walked away with 39 gold, silver or bronze citations among the 88 categories. (The number and levels of those awards vary by category.)

Their comprehensive campaign for Riverfest was named Best in Show, which is all the sweeter for Bell and Alexander because they used to play the annual festival as musicians years ago. Their work as the agency of record for Riverfest was their first big account as an agency and ever since has been a springboard to greater visibility.

A haul like that makes a small agency want to mix it up with the big boys. “If I enter, I want to go against them,” Bell said. “I’d love it if they got involved again. It would be fun for us.”

Melissa Wilcoxson, the advertising and marketing manager for Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the Addy chair for AAF-Little Rock, hopes that by continuing to bring in judges from larger markets (this year’s were from Minneapolis, Seattle and Atlanta) the competition will attract new and former participants. But what’s in it for a big shop to go toe-to-toe with the scrappers?

For now, the Addys remain the battleground of the smaller firms. Other prolific winners among the 24 professional entrants were Exit Marketing (seven awards), Thoma Thoma (six) and, in photo and design categories, Arkansas Business Publishing Group’s own Little Rock Soirée, with six.

The Northwest Arkansas Advertising Federation held its own event, where, like last year, Springdale shop Saatchi & Saatchi X won Best of Show for an ad for the Animal Welfare League and 20 of the 44 awards overall. Last year, the firm’s Best in Show entry went on to become the chapter’s first to garner a national Addy.

The ADDY Awards are the advertising industry’s largest and most respected competition, recognizing and rewarding creative excellence in the art of advertising. More than 200 entries from many of the state’s well-respected agencies, hospitals and nonprofits were submitted. Winners in the Arkansas competition may move on to compete at the district and then the national level.

“Obviously, we are thrilled that our team won ‘Best of Show’ as well as many other top awards,” said Isaac Alexander, principal at Eric Rob & Isaac. “We are humbled and privileged to work with such great clients who team with us to produce award-winning creative that, most importantly, gets results. We have clients across a wide spectrum of industries, and it’s nice to see we can communicate effectively across them all.”

Eric Rob & Isaac was recognized in the following categories:

Best of  ADDY Awards

• Best of Show – Riverfest “Get Down to the River” campaign
• Best of Broadcast – I.O. Metro 2009 TV campaign
• Special Judges’ Award: Most Memorable Broadcast – Conway Corporation “Gimme 5” campaign

Gold ADDY Awards

• Sales Kit – I.O. Metro media kit
• Packaging Campaign – Max Recordings 2009 catalog
• Point-of-Purchase – I.O. Metro 1492 hang tag
• Stationary Package – Max Recordings stationary package
• Special Event Invitation – Entergy Arkansas Site Selection Center Announcement Invitation
• Website, B-to-B Flash, Services ­– Polk Stanley Wilcox website (http://www.polkstanleywilcox.com)
• Local Radio Campaign – Goldman Recycling “Talking Trash” campaign
• Local TV Campaign – Conway Corporation “Gimme 5” campaign
• National TV, Consumer Outlets – I.O. Metro “Free Design Service” TV
• National TV Campaign – I.O. Metro 2009 TV campaign
• Mixed-Media, Local Consumer ­– Certified Arkansas Farmer’s Market Identity Campaign
• Arts, Poster – Sticky Fingerz Punkinhead show poster
• Arts, Poster – White Water Tavern Diki Du show poster
• Arts, TV – Riverfest “Get Down to the River” TV
• Arts, Campaign – White Water Tavern show poster series
• Self-Promotion, Invitation – Eric Rob & Isaac 5-Year Anniversary party invitation
• Logo – Love Ghost Band logo
• Special Effects, Video or Film – I.O. Metro “Free Design Service” in-store video

Sliver ADDY Awards

• Brochure, Color – Conway Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting brochure
• Specialty Advertising – Max Recordings skateboard
• Outdoor Board – First Security Bank “Free Checking Rocks” Razorback Stadium digital signage
• Consumer/Trade, Full Page, Color – Conway Area Chamber of Commerce Oxford American ad
• Emails/E-Cards – Mitchell Williams holiday e-Card
• Mixed-Media, Local B-to-B – Polk Stanley Wilcox identity campaign
• Arts, Poster – Riverfest 2009 festival poster
• Arts, Interactive – Riverfest expandable banner ad
• Arts, Mixed Media Campaign – Riverfest “Get Down to the River” campaign
• Logo – Organic Dog logo
• Illustration – Riverfest 2009 festival print
• Photography, Black and White – Chris Michaels album photography

Bronze ADDY Awards

• Out-of-Home Campaign – First Security Bank Razorback Stadium digital signage
• Website, Consumer HTML, Outlets – I.O. Metro website (http://www.io-metro.com)
• Banners/Pop-ups/Screensavers – The PI Company ArkansasBusiness.com online banner ad
• Cinema, Movie Trailers ­– I.O. Metro price & category cinema advertising
• Self-Promotion, Non-Traditional – Eric Rob & Isaac sandwich board guerilla marketing
• Logo – Riverfest Rock-N-Stroll logo

The announcement that Eric Rob & Isaac, a Little Rock-based advertising agency, has been named the agency of record for I.O. Metro of Bentonville, draws attention to another small Arkansas company that is doing well.

I.O. Metro, founded in 2005, is a specialty furniture retailer that sells imported furniture and accessories in 14 stores across the Midwest. It opened its first store in Bentonville in 2005 and has expanded to stores in Fayetteville, Rogers, Little Rock, Jonesboro, Memphis, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Columbia and Kansas City, Mo.; Jackson, Miss.; and Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, Ala.

I.O. Metro was founded by Jay Howard, now the chief executive officer. It recently opened its 14^th store, in Dallas, with plans for additional store openings this fall.

Eric Rob & Isaac is a relatively new ad agency, founded in 2004 by Eric Lancaster, Rob Bell and Isaac Alexander.

Bell said I.O. Metro is known for cutting-edge contemporary furniture. He said the ad agency will “reintroduce” consumers to I.O. Metro’s niche in the furniture industry.

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Eric Rob & Isaac of Little Rock will head advertising campaigns for all 109 7-Eleven stores in Oklahoma, principal Eric Lancaster said. ERI is finalizing a radio campaign that includes 16 radio spots and may grow into other media.

7-Eleven will take care of media placement. The spots are being produced with help from Lucky Dog Audio Post of Little Rock, and a Feb. 1 launch is planned.

And now for a little news from Eric Rob & Isaac, the shop positioned above the Flying Fish in downtown Little Rock. Since Outtakes last spoke to the trio, the company has taken on a few new clients. The small shop has added the Doubletree Hotel in Little Rock, the Junior League of Little Rock’s Holiday House and creative work for KKPT-FM, 94.1, “The Point,” owned by Signal Media of Little Rock.

The Doubletree’s recent $12 million renovation warranted the new media campaign, Rob Bell said. And with the recent transition of KMJX-FM, 105.1, from classic rock to country music, Signal Media decided it wanted to capture as much of the classic rock market as possible.

Bell, a principal, would not disclose the size of each account. Eric Rob & Isaac are looking to possibly hire two new employees, though, he said. The ad agency is talking with a few individuals about an account services position and a copywriter slot.