Sustainability is an issue on top of many creative minds but it can be a complicated topic to tackle. To ease the process and give designers a distilled framework to work from AIGA, the professional association for design, unveiled The Living Principles for Design at the Make/Think Design Conference in Memphis last week.
The Principles, developed by AIGA Center for Sustainable Design, build on a framework of environmental protection, social equity, economic health and culture — giving clarity to integrated sustainability and making it accessable, relevant and actionable. This is a great resource for Charlotte graphic design and advertising agencies that are looking for ways to incorporate sustainability into their professional practices.
Texting may lack the sizzle of other advertising forms, but response rates suggest it may be more effective as Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium recently discovered from its summer test campaigns. To herd visitors to its new Fantasea aquatic show, Shedd Aquarium put a couple of direct-response tactics to the test to see if consumers preferred SMS or web-based calls to action.
At the end of 30-second spots that aired on Chicago’s NBC, ABC and Fox affiliates, the aquarium announced a contest with prizes that included a hotel stay and VIP seats for the Fantasea premiere. The commercials were identical across the networks except for the calls to action: All the ads directed viewers to a website to register for the contest, except one spot, which gave viewers an additional mobile option to enter the contest by sending a text message to a special code.
The SMS call to action generated 325% more entries than the web-based call-to-action, making up 52% of the total entries, though it ran in only 25% of the ads. Want to learn more? Contact Jim Cusson at 704-332-2299 or visit the web site of our Charlotte advertising agency.
I had the opportunity to attend Charlotte’s first Social Fresh conference. birdsong gregory was one of several Charlotte advertising agencies who gathered with corporations large and small to hear practitioners in the field of social media share success stories and offer advice for companies who want to utilize social media to contribute to their bottom lines. The biggest takeaway? Having a thoughtful and calculated strategy is the most important indicator of success. What’s your plan for social media? How does it fit into your larger marketing and advertising strategy? Want to tackle it together? Give me a call at 704-332-2299 and let’s talk.
Have you always wanted to know the difference between a pictogram and an ideogram? Or where America's first advertising agency opened its doors? (FYI: it was Philadelphia in 1841). Then check out www.designhistory.org. This wonderfully illustrated site begins with the origin of symbols and type before moving through the various cultural movements (Bauhaus, Arts and Crafts, etc.) that influenced and eventually evolved into the modern digital state of design and advertising.
Here at birdsong gregory, the graphic designers and branding gurus at our Charlotte ad agency are always looking for ways to sharpen their craft and deepen their knowledge of this creative, mercurial industry. So to that end, this site is a helpful collection of facts, faces, and inspiration.
When the economy is troubled and dollars are tight, we continue to see companies invest in expensive traditional media, including digital banners and television spots. These companies are missing an opportunity to interact with their audiences. At birdsong gregory, our Charlotte ad agency, we strive to build brand awareness and engagement around content and community where the target audiences of our clients live. And all things considered, we believe advertising agencies in Charlotte can generate more effective and higher-quality impressions at a much lower price than traditional online and offline media.
Want to find out more about the ways we're helping our clients get more bang for their marketing buck? Simply give us a call.
Are you a suit or a skirt? That's just one of the many decisions you can make with MadMenYourself, a new online promotion from AMC to promote the premiere of the third season of Mad Men. Besides choosing precisely how you will look (down to the shape of your body), you'll be able to decide what accessories (including bow ties for the gents, a fur stole for the ladies) you'll be brandishing, and what scene you'll be inhabiting (office, picnic or night out?). Here at birdsong gregory, a Charlotte advertising agency, we've created an ensemble avatar.
Want to find birdsong gregory on the web? Search for Advertising Agency Charlotte, Branding Agency Charlotte, Charlotte Graphic Design or even Charlotte Social Media. These are just a few of the keyword phrases we try to optimize against because we recognize when prospective clients hit Google to research potential agency partners, it's what they'll be searching for. The more competitive or broad the phrase, the more difficult it is to win. For instance North Caroilina Advertising Agencies is one we continue to pursue, but it's a long haul.
Are you on page one for your company's keywords? If not, give Jim Cusson a call at 704-332-2299 or visit our site at www.birdsonggregory.com
And in a big way. Plans were announced this summer that Apple will invest $1 billion in a computer data center over nine years.
The data center is expected to have at least 50 full-time employees, although another 250 contractors could be employed to manage security, landscaping and heating and air conditioning systems. Including construction jobs, the presence of the facility could put a total of 3,000 people to work, according to Department of Commerce estimates. This would provide a significant economic boost to local communities, the state, and possibly Charlotte branding agencies and the wider Charlotte graphic design community.
The exact location is still undecided, but Apple has to build the data center in one of North Carolina’s more economically distressed counties, according to provisions in the incentives legislation. It is expected to choose a location in the western part of the state, likely between Charlotte and Asheville.
To learn more about our branding agency or the marketing, advertising, and graphic design services we offer, please visit birdsong gregory online, contact Jim Cusson at 704-332-2299, or stop by the next time you’re in downtown Charlotte.
Command X: Season 2 is a graphic design reality show featuring seven up-and-coming designers who step into the spotlight and have the chance to break into the industry in front of 2,000 peers, heroes and potential employers during "Make/Think" the 2009 AIGA Design Conference. Throughout the conference, contestants will take on a series of design challenges to complete and present on the main stage within 24 hours. Although no one from the Charlotte advertising or design community was featured in Season 1, a designer from a North Carolina ad agency in Raleigh did compete and was a runner up. Way to go, Matt!
This year, seven lucky participants will show off their talent before the world's best designers. Each will receive a complimentary registration to the conference—although they’ll be hard at work on their next design challenge most of the time! The winner of “Command X: Season 2” will receive $1,000, design software and iPhone and best of all Glory.
Today, it’s not enough to have a well-designed website or a secure e-commerce presence. You need people to actually go there and interact with your online brand. And if you are a member of the branding Charlotte or marketing Charlotte, NC communities, you know you have to pay to play.
Pay per click search engine marketing is a form of online advertising where the advertiser pays to be listed in the sponsored link section of the search engines. When you launch a PPC advertising campaign, you pay only when someone clicks on your ad. Of course PPC ads, also called sponsored links, are related to the searches made by the users. You have to buy keywords using an auction feature that determines the Cost Per Click (CPC) of a given keyword, this bid also has an influence on your position among the other ads on the page.
You then set a maximum budget for your campaign. That means that if you set a $500 budget for a $1 keyword your ad will virtually be printed on search pages until five hundred users have clicked your ad and landed on one of your website’s pages.
Charlotte, NC advertising agencies please take note: PPC advertising is one of the most effective marketing methods used on the Internet. According to some experts, online marketers will spend more than 5 billion dollars on PPC campaigns by 2010. Consequently the competition for keywords is likely to get tougher and tougher as time goes by, making the optimization of that process ever more necessary for North Carolina advertising agencies, from Charlotte to Raleigh.
You know that tired old mantra as to why it's smart to advertise during a recession? Ever wonder why it's regurgitated ad naseum every time the economy tanks? Because it's true! Yes, advertising during a recession is the right thing to do and there's research to back that up.
A McGraw-Hill study of 600 businesses found those that maintained or increased their ad spending saw higher sales growth during a recession and in the years following. In fact, the study found those who maintained or increased their ad budgets experienced a 256 percent increase in sales compared to those who cut their budgets.
Another study found businesses that advertised during a recession saw their market share increase 2.5 times.
And if you think waiting until the recession is over is a smart thing to do, consider this; a third study revealed 80 percent of the businesses that waited until a post-recession economic expansion to advertise saw zero increase in market share. Which, of course, is obvious since everyone else began advertising again.
Sadly, not many companies take these facts to heart. Rather, they recoil, close the wallet and pray. Other realities come into play such as the indisputable realization that if there's no budget, there's no budget. And all the desire in the world to advertise during a recession isn't going to change that sad fact.
But...if you can beg borrow and steal, study after study proves, time and again, it's the smart thing to do.
birdsong gregoryis just one of many Charlotte advertising agencies preaching this advice – because smart marketing and branding are essential when times get tough.
Then tell a story. That’s the top finding from an intensive three-year study released earlier this year, and Charlotte advertising agencies should pay attention.
The Advertising Research Foundation and American Association of Advertising Agencies, both based in New York, set out to measure consumers’ emotional responses to TV advertising. What they discovered is that advertisements that tell a branding story work better than ads that focus on product positioning.
The report contends that in many ways, advertising is stuck in the past. The 20th century was dominated by a one-way transactional focus where ads were pushed at consumers. Today, consumers interact with ads to “co-create” meaning that is powered by emotion and rich narrative. “Advertising has been standing on the sidelines, stuck on the language of positioning,” said Jim Cusson, Principal at birdsong gregory, a Charlotte, NC branding and marketing firm. “Telling a story about the brand is more engaging, memorable and compelling than telling a bunch of facts. What worked 30 years ago with a 30-second spot doesn’t work today.”
Thirty-three ads across 12 categories, from brands like Budweiser, Campbell’s Soup and MasterCard, were analyzed by 14 leading emotion and physiological research firms. The research tools varied from testing heart rate and skin conductance of the ad viewer to brain diagnostics.
One such pattern was that a campaign like Bud’s iconic “Wassup” registered more powerfully with consumers than Miller Lite low-carb ads that essentially just said, “We’re better than the other guys.” Why? Because Bud told a story about friends connected by a special greeting.
Can you believe some advertising agencies don’t like working with babies? Well at birdsong gregory, everyone at our Charlotte agency had a blast time filming this spot for Britax, an industry leader in child safety seats. Our charming baby model was plucked from the stands of a Little League game and makes her acting debut in this spot to help with marketing the Chaperone Travel Collection.
What do you call it when advertising agencies come together . . . to advertise themselves? How about Minneapolis.
Local agencies up in the frosty Gopher State are setting aside their usual rivalries to join forces for the promotion of the state’s biggest city, Minneapolis, as a place for anyone in advertising to work and live. The centerpiece of the effort — to be called MinneADpolis, the City of Advertising — is a website scheduled to start this week. Take a look here
The site will include samples of campaigns produced by Minneapolis agencies, video clips of employees discussing why they like the market, information on events and careers and even a virtual tour of the town that can be taken with personalized avatars called advatars, which can be dressed in skinny jeans, flannel shirts and other signature outfits of the creative class.
This an interesting idea for Charlotte ad agencies and branding firms to consider. How can we do a better job of letting the rest of the Southeast (and the country) know about the local creative talent we have right here in the Queen City engaged in marketing in Charlotte.
We’re not telling our fellow Charlotte advertising agencies anything they don’t already know, but trade magazine, Chief Executive, has confirmed the fact that companies of all sizes and in all industries continue to stream into North Carolina. This is good news for creative Charlotte and branding Charlotte.
According to the publication, North Carolina is the second-best state in which to conduct business.
The magazine evaluates states on natural resources, regulation, tax policies, quality of living, education and infrastructure, among others. North Carolina ranked No. 3 last year. The state’s best asset is its work force, the magazine says. Chief Executive ranked North Carolina’s work force as third-best in the country.
Other areas of strength included access to capital (No. 10), business friendliness (No. 10), transportation (No. 15) and technology and innovation (No. 18). Texas maintained its ranking of first on the list, which was based on surveys of more than 500 chief executives. The magazine says states that perform well in the rankings tend to have lower taxes and little unionization.
California and New York were ranked the worst and the second worst, respectively.
There’s no question that “Mommy Bloggers” are an interesting demographic, and recent statistics show there are more than 36 million of them online. Because having children means you have to go shopping (for clothes, toys, car seats, etc.), these online Moms definitely wield influence in purchasing power – which is why many companies (and Charlotte advertising agencies) think this community is particularly open to a word-of-mouth campaign.
A few key facts about Mommy Bloggers:
Of the 36.2 million women actively participating in the blogosphere (either as publishers or readers), 46% – or just over 16.5 million – have children at home.
67% of Moms online look for help making a purchasing decision.
Overall, full-time working Moms use technology at the highest rates.
The mobile phone is the technology used most often by Moms to communicate with their kids, and 80% say it is the direct line to their child and babysitter.
But at birdsong gregory, a Charlotte branding and marketing agency, we think the notion of a homogenous Mommy (or Daddy) blogger block is a little shortsighted. In fact, Moms online are just as diverse as the rest of us. And while it’s tempting to think these mouse-clicking Mommas do things in lock-step, there are many different niches and interests the well-aimed marketing efforts of a Charlotte company can explore. Lifestyle, safety, green, frugality, parenting, sports and family issues are just a small set of the segments you can speak directly via online marketing channels. And aside from the blogs, the above chart breaks down the top 10 activities of Moms online.
Looking at the points of transaction, it opens up an opportunity for conversation and engagement with Moms on other sites and platforms as it relates to those activities. To learn more about the branding, marketing, advertising, and design services our agency offers, please visit birdsong gregory online, call me at 704-332-2299, or stop by the next time you’re in downtown Charlotte, NC.
At least one of us, anyway. As president of the Charlotte chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design, I’m excited to visit über-hip Portland and learn what designers from across the nation have been working on within their own local Chapters. The retreat is an opportunity for the organization’s leaders to meet together, compare notes, and discuss the future. This year’s leadership retreat is particularly important, as we will be discussing the findings from a six-month process of ascertaining what board members, chapter leaders and members believe is the appropriate course for AIGA as we approach the organization’s centennial in 2014.
Called “Sea Change,” the 2009 retreat will be held June 4–6 in downtown Portland, Oregon. I will be one of five members representing the Charlotte graphic design community. There will also be some folks from Raleigh advertising agencies there representing our neighboring Raleigh Chapter. I’ll take plenty of pictures, sample the craftmade beers for which Portland is famous, and be sure to report back on what trends are developing for AIGA and the future of brand and identity design.
When Microsoft decides to imagine the future, it never fails to impress. Not only do you have some of the smartest people envisioning what’s possible, but they also invest so much into communicating these ideas through sights and sounds – with production values that can be compared to most blockbuster sci-fi films.
In February 2009 at the Wharton Business Technology Conference, Microsoft’s Business Division president Stephen Elop unveiled the latest production from Microsoft Office Labs called 019, starring men, women and children playing with the next-generation of communication, collaboration and production technologies. How will this vision of what lies ahead impact the efforts of North Carolina advertising agencies? Here at birdsong gregory, a Charlotte integrated branding agency, we have our own ideas of how to help our clients take full advantage of new trends and technologies.
Some of the new technologies showcased include a “transparent wall” between two classrooms around the world, animated drawings, realtime conversation translations, surface displays, electronic boarding cards, transparent displays, and mini projectors among many others.
It’s all true. Every word that falls out of these munchkins’ mouths. Not only can big ad agencies be difficult, expensive, and cumbersome to work with, they can also be a bitch to work at. I know firsthand, having started my career at BBDO Atlanta, and this fun kid-filled spoof (an oldie but a goodie) always makes me want to laugh… and cry.
Fortunately, life at birdsong gregory is a lot more fun and rewarding than the frustration and unnecessary layers described here. As a nimble, boutique Charlotte advertising agency, I get to work directly with clients on a wide variety of creative projects across the full spectrum of marketing and branding channels. And as we watch the Information Age evolve into the Network Economy, the opportunities to help companies move their brand online in meaningful, authentic ways gets me up in the morning – along with two cups of strong coffee.
The A.P. Moller - Maersk Group is a worldwide organization with about 120,000 employees and offices in around 130 countries. In addition to owning one of the world’s largest shipping companies, the compnay is also involved in a wide range of activities within the energy, shipbuilding, retail and manufacturing industries. To develop its Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Annual Report, the Charlotte office of Maersk Logistics USA asked our advertising agency to come up with an effective way of communicating this company’s remarkable commitment to a safe environment for employees, partners, and the global community. Our solution was to create an effective communications piece with plenty of marketing savvy and brand integrity. On a side note, the Charlotte Ad club awarded this project a Silver ADDY in 2008.
To learn more about the branding, marketing, advertising, and design services our agency offers, please visit birdsong gregory online, contact Jim Cusson at 704-332-2299, or stop by the next time you’re in downtown Charlotte.
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