On March 18th Luckie coordinated a first-ever live chat between snack cake fans and the “real” Little Debbie — Debbie McKee-Fowler, granddaughter of company founder. More than 1,100 Little Debbie faithful joined in and submitted hundreds of questions about the brand, products, and life as the little girl on the box.

While Debbie only had time for a few dozen of the questions submitted, we’d like to thank all those who participated and made the chat such a success. If you missed out, check the transcript below to see how it went for yourself:

Each month we publish a series of four marketplace specific Trend Tracker newsletters that take a quick topical look into the banking, snacking, telecom and tourism industries. While we sometimes look at traditional stuff like new campaigns and promotions, we really tend to focus on interesting insights that relate to emerging technologies, digital and social happenings and consumer behavior.

Read below for the headline stories in each report and download the reports for free by clicking on the respective links.

 Banking Tracker

• Beta Stock Portfolio Unites Most Loved Brands
• Mash-Up Takes The Pain Out Of Filing Taxes
• Could Twitter Kill Credit Cards?
• Buxter Money Transfer Service Launches On Facebook
• Zoompass Launches Contactless Mobile Payments Test In Canada
• Parents Teaching Kids Money Values
• More Than 100 Banks To Launch P2P Payments Service In First Half Of 2010
• Buzzworthy At The Bank: A Hybrid Credit And Debit Card
• AMEX Partners With AirTran On Open Savings

Snacking Tracker

• Chocolate With A Conservation Commitment
• Skinny Cow Uses Facebook To Focus On Quality
• 2009 Top Ten Coupon Categories
• Wonder Bread Takes A Bit Out Of Mobile
• Dunkin’ Taps Twitter For Waffle Sandwich Promo
• Odwalla Strikes Deal With All 50 State Parks
• Nineteen Kit Kat Flavors And Counting
• Del Monte Cultivating Vending Machines
• Greeting Card Folds Out Into Living Garden

Telecom Tracker

• New Concept Phone Uses Coke For Battery Power
• Sony Developing Playstation Smart Phone
• LG Urges Youngsters To Think Before They Text
• New Sprint Work Takes On Verizon And AT&T
• Mobile Phones Are Going Postal With Postcard Upgrades
• Nokia Helps Runners Track Their Miles
• App Designed To Keep Motormouths In Check
• Zoompass Launches Contactless Mobile Payments In Canada

Tourism Tracker

• Nike’s True City App Gives Inside Scoop
• Weston Opens Storefront On Amazon
• Spain Offers Free Trips Via Facebook Contest
• Airport Rideshare Continuing To Grow
• TripTracker App Relieves Frequent Data Entering Fatigue
• VisitMobile App Puts Visitors Bureaus In Control
• Panama City Beach Gets Social To Lure Wild Co-Eds
• Stowe Mountain Resort Rewards Loyalists Via Mobile
• New Global Review Directory For Medical Tourists

For a free subscription to Trend Trackers — or our other monthly newsletter, Generational News and Views — just drop David Stutts an e-mail.

A great article in USAToday about Luckie’s latest efforts for our Alabama Tourism client. The story is a quick snapshot of “The Year of Alabama Small Towns and Downtowns” which just kicked off as a yearlong tourism push for 2010. To support this effort, we created traditional advertising such as TV and print as well as a slew of digital work including; social media, Web site design, SEO, banner and mobile Web.

A big part of this effort is a state-wide event we created called The Great Alabama Homecoming. A total of 215 communities, ranging in size from Mooresville, population 54, to Birmingham, population 300,000, have scheduled events throughout the year.

These communities have been encouraged to create campaigns inviting former residents and guests to return for celebrations that will be staged under a variety of names. Events such as Demopolis’s Christmas on the River, Hartselle’s Depot Days and Ozark’s Claybank Jamboree are well established, while Jacksonville, Ashland, Gulf Shores and York will host events organized specifically for this year’s homecoming theme. Natives of Ensley, long absorbed by Birmingham, will have a function at Tuxedo Junction.

More information can be found at www.alabamahomecoming.com

Luckie & Company Senior Vice President Mike Murphy has been awarded a 2009 Silver Medal by the Birmingham chapter of the American Advertising Federation. The group honors one outstanding individual based on their contribution to his or her company, the advertising profession and the community. The award was presented to Murphy by last year’s recipient Shelley Stewart at the annual AAF Birmingham’s ADDY Awards gala at Old Car Heaven.

 Murphy was nominated for the award by longtime friends and colleagues at Luckie. In the nomination, Murphy was characterized as a brilliant strategic thinker, and a great problem solver with legendary creativity. Murphy’s co-workers believe Mike’s efforts, leadership and contributions are continually a major factor in the success of Luckie & Company. And his wicked sense of humor, impeccable taste, and personal mantra that “it’s not done until it’s overdone” can’t hurt.

 “Winning this is a great honor for me, but I credit much of this success to my team and the talent of the agency as a whole,” says Murphy. “What’s even more exciting for me is that my wife and all four of my children were there to see me presented with this award, one even came in from Dallas and one from Memphis.”

 Raised in Andalusia, Ala., Murphy is a graduate of Birmingham Southern College. He originally joined Luckie & Forney in 1980 as the head of the South Central Bell advertising account. Today he leads a department of 15 people who work primarily on direct marketing for AT&T. Mike is also the head of Luckie & Company’s San Antonio office, which opened in 2007. In 2010, Murphy said, Luckie & Company will be doing something many agencies aren’t doing right now – hiring.

 “We’re thrilled that we’ve been able to grow new business this year, and that growth will result in having new positions available soon at both our San Antonio and Birmingham offices.”

 Murphy joined the Birmingham Advertising Club (now AAF Birmingham) in the early 70s, and served as President in 1979-1980. On his watch, the BAF was highly active and the recipient of six Club Achievement awards at the AAF National Convention in 1980 – including an award for Murphy as the national Ad Club Group 2 President of the Year. He has served on the AAF Birmingham board of directors many times, and was instrumental in making the AAF 7^th District Quad Convention in Birmingham a rousing success.

Want to learn more about what Mike and his team can do for you? Mike can be reached at mike.murphy@luckie.com

Some great print work Luckie did in 1977 has been recognized as one of the best print ads in the world in a new book published in Japan entitled Intelligent, Lively, Distinguished Ads from Around the World. Copy on the ad reads “Your first ride in a Cadillac shouldn’t be your last. Drennan Cadillac.” You’ll get bonus points if you can tell us what the book copy says.

We’ve got a few staffing announcements here at Luckie HQ, including the creation of an entirely new digital offering for our clients.

Shelley DeLuca

Shelley DeLuca has been named the agency’s first Digital Content Strategist, a position created to help manage the big-picture role of interactive content beyond simply filling space with copy and images. Shelley will partner with agency team members and clients to develop, create and produce new Web content on any scale — from brief blog posts to massive Web experiences that combine video, real-time engagement and long-form copy.

Shelley has been with Luckie & Company for the past year, first doing freelance work for the interactive team, then coming on full-time as a proofreader. Shelley has spent more than 15 years in editorial and publishing positions, most recently with Southern Progress and Crane Hill Publishers. Her experience with books, magazines and Web content focusing on nature field guides, home improvement, gardening, how-to projects, cooking and travel will be an asset to the agency, particularly in this position.

“Her mastery of the written word, her experience in editing, her ability to make sense of the senseless and her obsession for order have made her the perfect candidate for the role of Digital Content Strategist,” says Brad White, Luckie’s Executive Creative Director.

Luckily, we’ve got someone just as brilliant as Shelley to pick up the red pen where she left off. Veteran newspaper editor Edward Bowser has been named Luckie’s proofreader, a position that requires an extreme attention to detail and an ability to be downright perfect under the tightest deadlines.

Edward Bowser

Edward will serve as Luckie’s style guru and last line of defense — checking our work for accuracy and giving the final bit of polish to our clients’ campaigns before they hit the streets.

Edward is a native of Southeastern Virginia and a magna cum laude graduate of Norfolk State University. While in school, he completed an internship at The Virginian-Pilot, working as a copy editor for Virginia Beach’s Beacon. He then spent eight years as a copy editor for The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky.

In addition to Edward’s impressive understanding of AP style, he also has an encyclopedic knowledge of R&B and hip hop music. He says his greatest dream was fulfilled last spring when he met Keith Sweat. We’re sure that working at Luckie was a close second on the list.

Contact info:

Shelley DeLuca | E-mail | Twitter | LinkedIn

Edward Bowser | E-mail | Twitter | LinkedIn

The Little Debbie Cupcake Car

Sometimes it can seem like all the buzz around social media is all talk and little action. So when Luckie helped rack up more than 350,000 Facebook fans for Little Debbie in less than a week and got the attention of Adweek, we thought you might be interested in how we did it.

It began with last month’s unveiling of the Little Debbie Chocolate Cupcake, expected to be the 50-year-old brand’s biggest product launch ever.

To help make the launch a suitably huge success, we created the Little Debbie Share-a-Thon, a cross-country tour featuring free samples and the unforgettable Cupcake Cars — four custom-designed, squiggle-topped Smart Cars destined to get drivers drooling nationwide.

Then we created a rockin’ giveaway, with prizes including a year’s supply of cupcakes and even one of the coveted Cupcake Cars. Next, we brought it all to life through a new microsite and a wide range of social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

All that was left was some good old advertising — specifically an intense Facebook ad initiative that used the social network’s most cutting-edge placements to generate 210,000 new fans in 24 hours and 169,000 more through organic growth in the days ahead.

Best of all, the Share-a-Thon is just getting going, so if you’re interested in following the action, here are a few links to check out:

LittleDebbieCupcakes.com
Facebook.com/LittleDebbie
Youtube.com/TheRealLittleDebbie
Twitter.com/CupcakeCar
To see what other folks have to say about the campaign, you might want to give some of these a read:

Adweek: “Success factors for brands on Facebook”
Adrants.com: “Little Debbie: Bringing Creme-Filled Goodness to a Suburb Near You!”
Momentum Australia: “Little Debbie Hits The Road, Giving Away Cars and Cupcakes”
And of course, if you want to find out how Luckie can help you bake up a sweet social media initiative, drop a line to Social Media Strategist David Griner by e-mail or on Twitter.

Bill Abel

Sure, every Web project is like an experimental foray into the ether of modern connectivity. But someone’s got to make sure that magical little rainbow actually makes it out the door on time, on budget and with no trace of a typo.

At Luckie, that man is Bill Abel.

A veteran Web developer and multimedia maven with a knack for shepherding even the most sprawling projects, Bill was recently brought on at Luckie as Director of Digital Production. That means he’ll be responsible for leading digital project management and digital production.

“Bill is equally strong in interactive strategy and technology,” says Luckie & Co. Executive Vice President/Creative Director Brad White. “He is the bridge between those of us who imagine what is possible and those who make it real. In the interactive space, he can not only tell us what can be done, but how long it will take, how much it will cost or if we are totally out of our minds.”

Bill has previously worked with Regions Bank, Smithfield Foods, and Scripps Networks. He spent time in the USA Peace Corps, working with village leaders in rural West Africa. He says he loves technology, programming and “geeky stuff like that,” but still finds time to sail, backpack, and read books with his three children (their favorites are Beatrix Potter, Eric Carl and The Wind in the Willows.)

Bill is a native of Glencoe, Alabama and a graduate of Auburn University. Here’s some contact info for Bill if you’d like to learn more:

Bill Abel | E-mail | Twitter | LinkedIn

Patti Siegel

With a proven track record in account and agency management, Siegel was most recently with Deep Blue Insight Group, an Atlanta-based brand planning and research company where she was director. There she worked on new product developments for a number of national brands.

Prior to that, Siegel was executive vice president, director of account management at TG Madison in Atlanta. There she was responsible for all client relationships and revenue forecasting. She also supervised the account management team, participated in agency policy-making as a member of the executive committee and was a key member of the new business team.

“Patti has a proven track record in account management and agency management which will greatly benefit our company,” said Luckie & Co. President, Tom Luckie. “More importantly, her background and experience will enhance the work we do for our clients and their business.”

Siegel is married to photographer Jeff Siegel. She is a graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in Journalism and Communications and joins a handful of her Luckie colleagues as a loyal Florida Gators football fan. Siegel can be reached at patti.siegel@luckie.com.

Mike Knowles

The rumors are true. OK, there probably weren’t any rumors, but they’re STILL TRUE! Mike Knowles has joined Luckie & Company as vice president, group account director. He comes to the agency from TracyLocke in Dallas, where he was group account director on the Blockbuster account. Knowles brings with him a wide array of agency experience and knowledge, particularly in the packaged goods sector.

Mike was previously with Publicis Mid America for 10 years as account director for Nestle Beverage and Nutrition Division. In that capacity, he led the Juicy Juice and PowerBar teams, functioning in many instances as an extension of the brand team at Nestle. Knowles was team leader in the development of annual marketing plans for Juicy Juice and PowerBar brands.

Prior to his tenure at Publicis Mid America, Knowles was with Young and Rubicam Advertising in New York where he worked on the American Home Products and AT&T accounts.

“Mike is a natural fit for this agency,” said Luckie & Co. President Tom Luckie. “His experience with packaged goods will obviously prove handy for clients like Little Debbie and Sunbelt Snacks, but his broad management experience brings leadership value to our entire account service team.”

Knowles has extensive experience in leading strategy for all aspects brand marketing including advertising, promotions, public relations and interactive. During his career he has successfully managed projects from initiation through execution in media such as TV, print, radio, outdoor, online, events, direct, PR, promotions, gaming and sporting events.

Mike graduated from Ole Miss (that’s The University of Mississippi for the non-Southerners among us), where he was All American and captain of the tennis team. He also received his MBA from SMU in Dallas.

Here’s some contact info if you need to reach Mike:

Mike Knowles | E-mail | Twitter | LinkedIn