You KNOW we love the Doggie Olympic Games!

Have you seen the ad we designed for the event, currently running in BOW-WOW! Magazine?

This campaign began with a whole lotta “Save The Date” postcards, a great strategy for the organizers of this event because they have been meticulous about developing and cleaning their mailing list.  Direct mail has drifted in and out of favor with marketers over the years but the quality of the list is, perhaps, the most critical factor in the success of a campaign.  Of course, the piece itself needs to be eye-catching, and particpant dogs gave us great options for an engaging cover photo:

The other thing to really watch in a campaign like this is to not over-do things.  The message has to be simple, straightforward and uncluttered.  The Doggie Olympic Games team was able to do just that.  They make the reader quickly aware of what they’re about and they ask for the sale.  In this case, that’s to save the date for the 2009 games.

The postcards went out over about 8 weeks in the early Spring and were followed up by a somewhat elaborate combination brochure & entry form:

This is an 11″ x 17″ piece which folds in half and then letter folds to a standard brochure size.  All that paper allowed the group to make the piece a self-mailer, with a registration form that could be mailed back without an envelope while also giving key information about the events for which participants can register and also about the mission of the group organizing this successful young festival.

It also saved the group time and money because they were able to combine multiple products from previous years into one piece, saving on both printing and mailing costs.  Because it self-mails, they save on envelopes and, because it folds to display size, it is easy for helper organizations to display for the group.

Only time will tell if this year’s re-design was successful but initial feedback has been highly favorable and early registrations are up so, we’re feeling pretty darned good about it!

Colleen Smith of Tapestry Rose and Full Circle Cafe came to visit this week and the dogs simply fell in love with her.  Perdi was like glue to her side right up to the point that Lilly sat in her lap.

Thanks for being such a good sport, Colleen!

The Beach to Chowder Challenge has been a popular 10K Run and 5K Run or Walk for more than thirty years.  This year, event organizers have added a Half Marathon to the offerings.  Here’s a link to event information.  It’s a good time for all ages and ability levels.  Bring your well-behaved pooch and make it a family affair!

Artist Don Nisbett created a gorgeous painting for the event last year, incorporating the mascot, a razor clam, a steaming bowl of hot chowder at the finish line, sand, surf and more.  He also converted his painting to a blackline version for use in promotional materials.  Don made our job easy!

After laying text on the artwork for the combination brochure/entry form, it was easily translated into an ad for a runner’s magazine and an inexpensive-to-print flyer for posting around town and handing out at key events.  Because all the materials were developed at once, art time was saved and the Long Beach Merchants Association, owner/sponsors of the event, were able to come in under budget.

When John Thero needed a new web presence for his company, he asked trusted friends and associates who to call.  We’re delighted that we were on that list of answers!

John’s company, Thompson Machinery Sales, is in Henderson, Nevada.  He needed his existing site brought up-to-date technologically.  He was also aware that it could be more user-friendly and he wanted to be able to edit it in-house.  The scope of his business model meant that Search Engine Optimization was a key consideration and part of his online marketing plan.

Karl worked with John to recreate his site in WordPress, a great solution for folks wanting to update sites on their own.  It also lets a business get online quickly because they can start by choosing from a wealth of  “themes” for look and feel.  While most business clients don’t (and shouldn’t) use a theme without customizing it to match their existing branding, starting this way saves both time and budget.  The men located a theme John liked that evoked strength and masculinity, then tossed the job to Keleigh for some visual brand customization.

While she was playing with her digital pencils and paintbrushes to respond to John’s request, Karl worked with him to add a variety of functional elements that would make the site truly exciting with expanding posts, slideshows, language translation and interactive forms.

Meanwhile, Kathy took charge of researching the large equipment industry and how it is affected online so as to generate keywords and integrate the necessary features to help Thompson Machinery Sales garner more Google recognition.  She also worked with two of our extended network, a videographer in Las Vegas and a professional writer, to expand the content of the site for benefit of her Search Engine Optimization efforts.

All the parts came together quickly once each arm of this project came together and *poof* a website was born.  Kathy checks in on the progress of the site’s search engine rank and we’ve all been pleased to see it leaping upward weekly.  Owner John Thero has been pleased with the layout and functionality and is eagerly working toward adding more content to help increase web traffic and business on his own.

We all enjoy projects like this one immensely because it our client knew his strengths and weaknesses, was willing to pay for what he didn’t have time, talent or experience to do himself, was quick to respond with his part of our team equation and, most importantly, we’re all seeing RESULTS.

Sandra Lill came to us with a wealth of experience in art and design and she knew exactly what she wanted.  Unfortunately, the paper sample she had was all but out of stock.  We were able to hunt it down, but the cost of procurement made it less desirable in the final evaluation.  We pulled out the paper and Pantone swatch books and she soon found a combination that pleased her educated eye.

Because Sandra did the business card and rubber stamp at the same time, we were able to combine the art effort into one block which made the projects more cost-effective than if they had been done separately.  Despite the research and changes taking a bit of time, we still got everything to Sandra in time for the show for which she needed them.  <whew!>