Blog
The Brands of the Roanoke Valley
For as long as I've lived in beautiful Roanoke, Virginia, I've heard some community leaders lament the lack of a cohesive regional brand. Several years ago a group tried to pull it off with an effort called NewVa. What's that, you've never heard of it?...
An undiscovered gem in Virginia’s travel scene
Over the last few months I have spent more time in the Alleghany Highlands than in my previous 22 years in Virginia combined. About six months ago the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism chose us to develop a tourism brand and the website, visitors...
A common denominator between advertising and social media
Successful advertising has always resulted from the smart combination of several ingredients.a. A strategy-driven big ideab. Turning the idea into an artfully designed, photographed or recorded productc. Placing the commercial, ad, brochure, poster, etc. in the exact...
Go big, or go home.
I admit it, I love this philosophy. Advertising is all about big ideas and we're constantly looking for ways to help our clients get big results. Unfortunately, this philosophy is sometimes misunderstood. “Go big or go home” does not involve reckless abandon....
Good Market Research — It’s a start.
Building a successful brand or launching an effective advertising campaign requires some up-front market research. You have to understand your customers so that you can keep them coming back as well as reach more like-minded future customers. Research can tell you...
To fund or not to fund, that is the CVB question
It seems that every week there is a news story somewhere in America about a state or local tourism office or CVB whose funding is cut, threatened or at least questioned. (Like this in Oklahoma, and this in Minnesota and this in West Virginia.) Readers of this blog...
Gut instinct is not a brand strategy
When our firm does a branding project for a client, we guide them through a three-step process. The first step is when we do our research. The next step is the evaluation of the research and the formulation of a brand strategy. The third step brings it to life with...
Focus on the experience
Advertising gurus will tell you that the way to make your message resonate with consumers is to focus on the benefits not the features of the product. In other words, instead of telling the public the details of what your product can do, tell them why it matters to...
My Holiday Wish List
I haven't compiled a Christmas list since I was a little kid, so writing this was a lot of fun. It’s much easier to create a wish list as a kid because kids want everything and they don’t know what’s possible. So why not wish for more snow days or x-ray vision. It...
What is a QR Code and how to use them effectively?
By now you have probably seen an advertisement or magazine article sporting a QR Code. If you’re not familiar with this technology, Quick Response Codes are those strange looking little blocks of black and white squares that look like static on an old television...
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