Carnival of Soul

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By Rick Griffin

After a 35-year career as a newspaper reporter, including 25 years at The San Diego Union-Tribune, mostly covering business, Michael Kinsman launched into a new career in blues music as a freelance writer and producer of blues festivals and concerts. “Yep, life can take nutty twists and turns sometimes,” Kinsman told Times of San Diego, “It’s a great life because I’m living out my passion.”

After leaving the U-T in 2007, Kinsman worked for a couple of years with public relations agency Nuffer Smith Tucker. Then, over the past decade, Kinsman has spent his time on his blues passion. He has organized or consulted on more than 20 blues festivals and 200 concerts around the country.

His current project is returning as producer of the 2020 San Diego Blues Festival, which will be held as a virtual event due to COVID-19 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., on Saturday, Sept. 12. The Festival, founded in 1988, was revived by Kinsman in 2011. It had been dark for the previous six years.

“This Festival is the most important thing I do because it benefits a food bank charity,” Kinsman said. “Over the years, we have raised $1.1 million and collected 20 tons of food at the event itself.”

Event proceeds benefit the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank and its North County Food Bank chapter. Performing artists will include Tommy Castro & the Painkillers, Mr. Sipp, Southern Avenue, Watermelon Slim and Whitney Shay. All the music will be live streamed online via social media platforms, including on www.sdbluesfest.com, and simultaneously broadcast on KUSI-TV, as well as KFMB-AM 760 and KGB-FM 101.5, San Diego radio stations operated iHeart Media.

“This year’s Festival will be different because it will a live event with performances that were recorded in Memphis, Vallejo and San Diego, yet we’ll be looking for donations from everybody watching,” Kinsman said. “We will miss the 5,000 people who regularly attended in person, but the Internet will give us a chance to spread our wings.”

Kinsman, who turned 67 on Aug. 26, lived in San Diego for 40 years before moving to Memphis last September. “I like it here, it’s a great city for music and great people,” he said. “I live in a nice place that overlooks the Mississippi River. I watch the barges move up and down the river every day. It’s pretty cool.”

Also, after leaving the U-T, Kinsman spent a couple of years as a DJ for radio station KSDS-FM Jazz 88.3, located on the campus of San Diego City College,

In 2014, KSDS named Kinsman as host of “Every Shade of Blue,” a long-running Saturday night radio show begun in 1984 by Ted “T” Herring, who was legally blind from retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary disease. The show was billed as the longest running prime-time blues show west of the Mississippi.

Herring, who referred to himself on the air simply as “T,” retired in July 2014 after 36 years at the station. Herring passed away in May 2018 at age 69. Kinsman left KSDS in 2016, following the 2015 arrival of station general manager and program director Ken Poston, who succeeded Mark DeBoskey, who retired in 2014 after 12 years with the station.

Intesa Communications Promotes Mindy Wright

Intesa Communications Group, a San Diego public affairs and government relations firm, has promoted Mindy Wright from public relations account manager to senior account manager.

Wright joined Intesa in July 2018 after spending six years at the Helen Woodward Animal Center. Her career also has included working at the Center for Community Solutions and National Conflict Resolution Center. At Intesa, she specializes in media relations, strategic communications and reputation management serving clients in the higher education, real estate, nonprofit and healthcare sectors.

“Working with Mindy means getting top-notch work and creative ideas served with a great attitude,” said Nancy Ives Schroeder, director of public relations, Intesa. “She’s always ready to jump in and find the best way to exceed client goals, and we’re pleased to recognize her many accomplishments as she advances in her field with Intesa.”

Ad Results Media Adds de Nardis to Board

Ad Results Media, an audio and podcast advertising agency with offices in San Diego, Houston and Austin, has named Mainardio de Nardis to its board of directors.

The agency said de Nardis, the former CEO of Aegis Media (2006-2009) and executive VP of Omnicom Media Group (2009-2018), will bring innovative thinking and global connections to the board. In addition, he will help develop Ad Results Media’s proprietary data, analytics, ad grading, trafficking and ad quality assurance platforms.

“Mainardio has unparalleled industry experienced, a reputation for excellence and visionary leadership, along with strong global relationships that will allow us to greatly expand our presence locally and around the world,” said Marshall Williams, CEO of Ad Results Media.

“I’m very excited to join the board of Ad Results Media to help write the next chapter of their successful journey across voice marketing, which is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing new platforms,” said de Nardis, who also sits on the boards of Edelman, inVRsion and AdPredictive. “Starting from recorded audio content such as podcasts, already a billion-dollar business in the U.S. and a market which Ad Results Media currently leads, earning the right to remain at the forefront of the industry, across sonic branding and voice search optimization, audio websites and voice commerce. Every brand needs a voice strategy and Ad Results Media is one of the key players leading the way.”

Last year, Los Angeles-based Shamrock Capital, apparently attracted to the growth possibilities of podcasting, made an undisclosed investment in Ad Results Media. Alan Resnikoff, Shamrock Capital partner said in a statement, “The five partners at Ad Results Media have built an impressive business, establishing the company as the industry leader in an exciting and transformative space. Through our other investments, we have experienced firsthand the efficacy of podcast advertising in acquiring new customers and only expect this channel to grow as more and more consumers discover and engage with the podcasting medium.”

San Diego AMA Webinar on Diversity and Inclusion

The American Marketing Association San Diego chapter will present a free webinar titled “Beyond Buzzwords: Getting Diversity and Inclusion Right” from 11 a.m. to noon, on Wednesday, Sept. 2, over the Zoom meeting platform. The webinar is the fifth installment of AMA’s 2020 Cause Conference series.

Topics to be discussed will include: effective recruitment, retention and partnerships strategies; global strategy, analytics and policy advocacy; unconscious bias identification and mitigation; fostering inclusion, belonging and development; how to best leverage public relations strategies to communicate and promote your framework of inclusion and diversity.

Speakers will include Jonathan Jordan, senior VP, Edelman; and Tiffani Wang-Jones, global digital transformation leader, Ikea Group. The moderator will be Lawrence Moore, Alliant International University board of trustees member and chair of the board’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.

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