After an agonizing, nail-biting wait, the search is over: Kegasus is back.

When the Maryland Jockey Club announced the headliners for this year’s Preakness InfieldFest, its officials evaded questions about the return of the beer-drinking centaur who was the mascot of last year’s event.

In February, a mysterious, anonymous campaign to replace Kegasus with the Easter Bunny or the Leprechaun launched.

Today, MJC announced that Kegasus will again be the face of the event.

But it doesn’t end there for the half-man, half-horse mythical creature: Standing tall at Kegasus’ side will be UniCarl, a “part human, part unicorn, part personal assistant and part personal trainer,” according to a statement by MJC.

“We are honored to work hand-in-hand with the Maryland Jockey Club to evolve last year’s campaign, bringing a fresh look to what’s become a fun and engaging icon,” said Jimmy Learned, president and founder of Washington, D.C.-based Elevation Ltd., the advertising company that has been running the Preakness’ campaigns for the last two years.

“We have again created a campaign that will galvanize that younger demographic. It speaks their language. We are all looking forward to yet another legendary InfieldFest.”

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Baltimore’s quasi-city agency that oversees development has posted a detailed job description for its soon-to-be-vacant head job following the retirement of M.J. “Jay” Brodie last month.

The Baltimore Development Corp. is seeking a “well-qualified economic development official” as president and CEO, a post that also holds a seat in the cabinet of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the job posting on the BDC’s website says.

Rawlings-Blake will hire a replacement for Brodie, who is stepping down after 16 years, subject to approval of the City Council.

The ideal candidate, the job posting says, will have “strong leadership qualities and possess thorough knowledge and experience in urban economic development, a passion for business and real estate development, and demonstrate a successful track record in the strategic planning, implementation and completion of complex projects, business negotiations and organizational restructuring.”

Among the other duties, the candidate is responsible for:

– Creating a strategic economic development plan with the BDC board of directors, mayor’s office and public and private partners
– Recruiting new businesses and supporting existing businesses that create job opportunities for city residents
– Providing business assistance and opportunities for minority- and women-owned and small businesses
– Facilitating new commercial development projects in Baltimore
– Actively and strategically marketing Baltimore as a premier urban location to do business and real estate development
– Actively advocating for public policies and development projects that support Baltimore’s economic growth

Brodie’s salary in 2009 was $204,175, according to the latest federal documents with BDC compensation on file.

Applications will be accepted through April 6, the posting says.

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Members of the International Brotherhood of Mythical Creatures  are taking matters into their hands, hooves and paws.

The group released a statement from the North Pole on Monday afternoon officially declaring Kegasus, Lord of the InfieldFest at the Preakness, is missing.

Organizers of the event hinted at similar concerns earlier this month when they announced this year’s musical headliners, but skirted the question of the return of the centaur.

(As far as advertising campaigns go, this one seems to be on target with organizers’ desire to attract a younger, hipper crowd. It also avoids the fear of Jimmy Learned, president of Elevation Ltd., the advertising company that has been running the Preakness’ campaigns for the last two years: “doing vanilla work.”)

The Leprechaun and The Easter Bunny have launched campaigns to claim Kegasus’ title, much to the dismay of the council, which forbids members “from performing the duties of another member,” according to the statement.

“The IBOMC plans to convene an emergency board meeting to review its bylaws concerning the matter,” the brotherhood said.

No date for the meeting was announced.

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Say you had to tweet your cover letter and file your resume through a Facebook page. Does the idea make you panicky?

Under Armour is looking for two intern candidates to join its “Ultimate Intern Team.” The program is open to undergrad and graduate college students who want to learn more about sports and marketing.

But they have to make their pitch in 140 characters and use Under Armour’s Facebook fan page to submit their resume through May 12. The chosen interns will be working with the digital marketing team at the company, focusing on social media engagement.

The internship sounds like a pretty sweet gig. For five weeks, the interns will work with some of UA’s athlete sponsors, see the technology behind the brand’s innovation and spend some time getting to know CEO Kevin Plank to discuss leadership and entrepreneurship. The students will also work on Facebook posts, Twitter tweets and blog entries on their experiences with the company. Reminds me a bit of when Charlie Bucket gets to take the glass elevator trip with Willy Wonka. If only.

The selected interns will receive a $5,000 scholarship paid directly to his or her school. The final 100 candidates will be announced on May 16, then the top 10 will conduct a Skype interview on May 23 with UA officials. Airfare, travel and housing will all be covered as part of the internship, which lasts June 13 to July 15.

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I really like preventative giving. Meaning, I think it’s great to offer help before a situation turns dire.

Purple Cat PR, a Chester-based boutique public relations agency, is doing just that, offering pro bono marketing services to nonprofit applicants of CreatAthon, a national program.

How does it work?

Public relations or graphic design agencies, like Purple Cat, sign up as local affiliates and choose a specific market. They then solicit applications from nonprofits in their region and choose five organizations to offer their services. The projects are completed free of charge during national CreatAthon week, held Sept. 13-17.

Somewhat unique to Purple Cat, a one-man firm, is that everybody wins: Even the agencies that aren’t selected get a three-hour pro bono consultation.

Purple Cat’s founder and owner, Carol D’Agostino, said she used to work in the nonprofit sector herself, so she understands the stress of trying to put together the yearly budget. That stressed only increases during a recession, which hits nonprofits hard because donations typically decrease while the demand for services increases.

“I wanted to serve the nonprofit sector because I knew it the best,” D’Agostino said. “Part of everyone’s business plan should be giving back.”

Since 2002, CreateAThon has benefited more than 1,100 non-profit organizations with 2,500 projects valued at more than $11 million. Purple Cat says it has assisted 25 Maryland nonprofits and one New Orleans-based organization on projects valued at almost $81,000.

Applications are due July 12 and can be found here.

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In this never-ending quest by phone companies to alleviate the pressures of thinking for ourselves, the Ocean City Department of Tourism is jumping on board and has announced the launch of its free iPhone application.

Ocean City Mobile is now available through the iTunes Application Store and provides information on restaurants, accommodations, entertainment, services, promotions, weather forecasts and more.

Ocean City is one of the first beach destinations to launch an official iPhone app, according to the news release, which also notes a version of Ocean City Mobile for Blackberry and Android will be available “in the near future.”

I am doing my best to avoid the iPhone/Blackberry/Android revolution so can’t comment on the potential awesomeness of the new app. But I can comment on the marketing benefits to Ocean City. With its biggest summer marketing budget ever, the beach town is staying relevant to its audience AND making itself more accessible.

Now the trick is once people get to Ocean City, how to pry the phone out of their hands so they actually enjoy the sights and sounds of the tourist town. Is there an app for that?

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I attended a Memorial Day parade with my family Saturday morning. My high school’s marching band made an appearance, which brought back a flood of memories. So I documented it the way I often do with these sorts of things, by uploading a picture and caption to my Facebook page.

Within minutes I was reminded of candy sales held 25 years ago to raise money to buy new uniforms, as well as a long-forgotten crack in a Sousaphone bell and how it got there. Old friends in other states were reminiscing with me, practically in real time, about things my memory had misplaced. It was another testament to the power of Facebook, the way the social networking platform bridges vast distances of time and place and powerfully connects people.

Coming as it did within days of Facebook announcing changes to its privacy policies, however, my warm remembrance also had a healthy streak of cynicism running through it.

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For the past few months I’ve been hearing people talk about Foursquare and haven’t paid much mind, kind of hoping that our society is all social-networked-out between Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and whoever else still uses MySpace.

No such luck.

I got my first Foursquare marketing campaign e-mail today from MGH Inc. The Owings Mills-based advertising company has launched a social networking campaign for Miss Shirley’s, owned by Crazy Man Restaurant Group, and the restaurants operated by Classic Catering People. The eatery is among the first in Baltimore to offer a special deal to customers through the new social network.

First, what is Foursquare? For a detailed explanation, read Larry Fiorno’s article in a December issue of The Daily Record. In short, it’s a location-based social networking website, software for mobile devices and a game. Users “check in” at venues using text messaging or a device-specific application and they are then awarded points and sometimes “badges.”

Miss Shirley’s is allowing the customer crowned “Mayor” –- the person who has checked in via Foursquare the most at the Roland Park or Inner Harbor locations –- to show his/her “Mayor card” on their mobile device and skip waiting in line at the popular breakfast, brunch and lunch destination.

That’s actually a really good prize if you’ve ever tried to get breakfast on a weekend at the popular eatery.

S’ghetti Eddie’s and Roland Park Bagel Co. are also getting in on the game and will reward frequent patrons through Foursquare with freebies.

So kudos to the restaurants and MGH for getting in on the latest trend in social networking. But how long do people think this one will last? Seems to me the new network is also the perfect virtual stomping ground for stalkers or just creepy people in general.

It’s way too easy to know a lot about a person with just a little effort. For instance, the name of the current mayor of Miss Shirley’s is listed as first name and last initial on his Foursquare profile. But from that profile and you can go to his Facebook page and view his entire name. You can also see his siblings’ names, his wife’s name and where he works, among other things.

Between the two pages we know a lot about this guy and where to find him. I can only imagine how fast this marketing campaign would shut down if something were to happen to one of the frequent diners at these establishments and Foursquare was the connection.

Granted, Twitter’s not that different in that people freely announce where they are, what they’re eating, etc. But for me, basing an entire site on tracking people’s movements is jumping into murky water.

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In today’s story about how the Orioles can sell hope to its fans (or, really, how they can’t) several people I interviewed mentioned it’s tough to sell an intangible like a feeling or emotion.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t try to measure it.

According to New York-based Brand Keys Inc.’s Sports Loyalty Index, Orioles fans rank second-to-last in the MLB. Company founder Robert Passikoff said brand loyalty was measured using four criteria:

• Play on the field
• Authenticity (i.e. is the team believable; typically a new stadium boosts this category)
• Fan bonding (does the team have people its fans can relate to)
• History and tradition

Um, guess which category is bringing the 12-straight-losing-seasons-Orioles down? Yeah. It’s that one.

And no wonder that the team’s ranking is sandwiched right between the Kansas City Royals (25 years since a postseason appearance and one winning season in the last 15) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (who hold an MLB-record 17 straight losing seasons).

“Losing isn’t everything but it’s a lot,” said Passikoff. “You don’t have to always win but you have to play well and you can’t just do it on history and tradition alone.”

But here’s some good news for O’s fans who are reading this and getting more insulted by the minute (by a New Yorker whose wife is a Derek Jeter fan, nonetheless). Fan bonding has improved over the last year, a direct effect of the team developing players within its minor league system.

“Their issue has always been of fan bonding,” said Passikoff. “Once [Cal] Ripken [Jr.] was gone you didn’t have a lot of people to look for. That changed last year.”

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This Friday 20 Baltimore high school students are hopping on a bus to New York to present their marketing plans to Bad Boy Entertainment, rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs’ recording label.

The trip is sponsored by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s Baltimore affiliate and the students have collectively worked on three proposals: 1) the importance of micro-enterprise, 2) going green through business ventures and 3) developing a new product line for women 35 and older.

(I’m especially curious about what kind of perspective high school students would bring to that last topic.)

Upon their arrival the students will meet with an NYU business professor and two campus entrepreneurs over lunch. They’ll also get to visit Bad Boy Recording Studio and the 105 Radio Station.

We’ll keep our fingers crossed for the students, who won’t know until they get to New York whether Diddy will be able to join Bad Boy’s executive team members for their marketing presentation. He was able to meet with students two years ago for NFTE’s last trip there.

NFTE was founded in New York in 1987 and provides entrepreneurship education programs to young people from low-income communities. The nonprofit’s regional business plan competition was held last weekend and Reginald F. Lewis High School 11th grader Shawn Curtis won first place for Dante’s Cleaning Service, a business that caters to the elderly and to working professionals. He received $1,000 to grow his business.

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