BLOCK ADVERTISING & MARKETING, Verona, has been awarded a certificate of excellence in the 25th annual Graphic Design:USA American Graphic Design Award competition. Block’s winner was the packaging design for Thai Pavilion, a new line of Asian cuisine imported by Source Atlantique, Englewood. The agency also won three Healthcare Advertising Awards at the 21st annual competition sponsored by Healthcare Marketing Report for Green Hill, a senior residence in West Orange.

Nisha Shah

NISHA SHAH joins GIANETTINO & MEREDITH, Short Hills, as a Media Planner and Buyer. She comes to G&M from The Marathon Group, where she was employed as a media manager. The agency was the top awards winner at the recent 30th Annual Jasper Awards dinner at the PNC Banks Arts Center with ten citations.

BREAKTHROUGH COMMUNICATIONS, a strategic public relations and marketing communications consultancy firm, has been acquired by Totowa-based PFS MARKETWYSE. Under the agreement, the firm’s founder and CEO, CHRIS FAUST, joins PFS as Vice President of Communications and Client Relations, reporting to Deirdre Breakenridge, President. The acquisition enables PFS to broaden its presence in key industries, such as financial services, technology, healthcare and hospitality.

THE STAR GROUP, Cherry Hill, has been tapped by Exempla Healthcare to develop a branding campaign for the Denver-based hospital network. The effort is aimed at repositioning the healthcare system and its hospitals for continuing growth and stature in one of the nation’s largest healthcare markets.

BARRY COHEN, principal in ADLAB MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS, LLC, Clifton, has been selected as a presenter at the Radio Advertising Bureau’s 2005 Annual Sales Conference February
10-13. His topic is entitled “Drop Dead Management” and will focus on success in difficult times, which promises to be a challenge for current broadcast management practices.

Ivysport, purveyors of fine casual apparel bearing Ivy League school identification, has retained S3,to provide public relations services. The first phase of the PR campaign will break during the fourth quarter on local, regional and national levels. The Boonton/Irvine, Calif.-based agency has also been hired to develop a new corporate identity campaign for Johnson + Associates, a well-established interior tenant contracting firm located in Orange, Calif. The identity revision program includes logomark design, color/ font exploration, tagline and stationery materials.

MASTERMINDS ADVERTISING, Egg Harbor Twp., has hired four creative professionals: MICHAEL NEIDERER as Creative Director, R. T. HERWIG as Art Director, SUZANNE SCAFFIDI as Art Director, and PRAGATI MULANI as Copywriter. Neiderer comes from Richardson, Myers & Donofrio, Baltimore; Herwig from Good Thief Productions, Philadelphia; Scaffidi from Whitcomb & Associates, Galloway; and Mulani from Red Chilli Designs in India. The agency won the President’s Choice Award at the Jasper Awards for its hotel sales kit for Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, in addition to four additional citations.

MATHENY SCHOOL AND HOSPITAL, Peapack, has changed its name to MATHENY MEDICAL AND EDUCATIONAL CENTER to reflect the breadth of medical and therapeutic services offered to children and adults with developmental difficulties. With the opening of Matheny Center for Medicine and Dentistry last year, the 56-year-old institution has become a comprehensive medical facility serving the healthcare needs of persons with all types of disabilities.

CREATIVE MARKETING ALLIANCE PUBLISHING GROUP, Princeton Junction, earned an honorable mention in the 2004 “Best of the Best” Marketing Award sponsored by The Electrical Distributor Magazine. CMA received the citation for its in-house-produced industry trade publication Electrical Advocate.

TURCHETTE ADVERTISING AGENCY, Fairfield, has added eight new clients to its roster: Comfort Bath Walk-In Tubs, South Plainfield; Community National Bank, Great Neck, N.Y.; Fette America, Rockaway; IWKA PacSystems, Fairfield; Mitch Berlin, Augusta; Orion Ventures, Convent Station; SAB Associated Wire Products, Fairfield; and Vac-U-Max, Belleville.

Bob Tamburri

BOB TAMBURRI has joined the GRÁFICA GROUP, Chester, as an associate Creative Director and Senior Writer. Tamburri, who had been working as a consultant to the agency, played a key role in the creative development of several television campaigns for Gráfica’s client the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. He has worked in advertising for more than 20 years and is most well known for the hugely popular Miller Lite TV spot featuring Bob Uecker’s famous line about being
in the “front row!”

NEW JERSEY AD CLUB Board Member and Treasurer MARVIN J. STRAUZER has been appointed to a newly organized marketing advisory board for the Boys and Girls Clubs of New Jersey. An Account Executive with CLEAR CHANNEL OUTDOOR, he joins representatives from Whole Foods, Pepsi Bottling Co., New Jersey Devils, New Jersey Devils, New Jersey Nets, Six Flags Great Adventure, Borders Books, UPN-9, WB-11, Clearview Cinemas, Rosica Strategic Public Relations, Princeton Communications Group, New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, Windup Design, and Cheshire Studios. The purpose of the board is to increase public awareness of the organization, which currently serves 70,000 youngsters in the state.

SIGMA GROUP, Oradel, has been named agency of record by Wellsoft Corporation. Sigma is expected to develop brand awareness for Wellsoft, increase sales and drive growth in the company’s target market.

HAMMERHEAD ADVERTISING, Hoboken, has pried buybuy Baby, one of the region’s largest baby products retailers, away from its long-standing relationship with Berenter Greenhouse Webster, New York, now owned by Interpublic Group. Hammerhead will handle all aspects of the retailer’s advertising.