BroadBased Communications: Marketing, Public Relations, Graphic Design

November 2008

It’s a Boy!

Please join us in welcoming Sean Collins, the newest member of Team BroadBased.

Sean – our own self-declared Web ninja – holds a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of North Florida with additional post-graduate work in advanced Web design.

A specialist in Web development, Sean brings a wealth of new capabilities to our team. While he contributes to print, identity, and multimedia projects, most often you’ll find him working in support of clients who require an exacting command of Web-based tools and associated media. He is well versed (just try to stump him!) in the newest technologies and techniques to ensure your Web site performs to its fullest interactive and SEO potential.

And, like many ninjas, Sean easily spins 180 degrees and enjoys creating mixed media drawings, showing his works in several area art shows. Welcome Sean Collins!

November 2008

The End of an Era

November 6th marked the end of an era as, after nearly nine years, we bid Harrison adieu. He left BroadBased to launch an entrepreneurial foray into franchise restaurant ownership. Harrison, with his father-in-law and brother-in-law, purchased a Church’s Chicken franchise. The first store will open on Normandy Boulevard in the coming months.

Harrison was honored by his co-workers and clients with a variety of mementos, including this custom magazine cover.

Click image to view full cover

November 2008

Focus Groups Offer a Fresh Outlook

Focus groups are a very helpful marketing tool that we don’t think are used enough. We asked Nancy Ulrich, president of Concepts in Focus, a top-rated Northeast Florida research facility in Orange Park, if she could set expectations for a company considering adding focus groups to their 2009 research arsenal.

“The very act of sitting together and interacting with both a skilled moderator and a mixed group of people stimulates new ideas and information that is hard to come by in any other way,” said Ulrich. “Typically, a group is held in a facility with a one-way mirror and recording devices (audio and video), allowing the observers to participate in a secluded setting. Non-traditional settings may work just as well if there is minimal need for observation and quality recordings.”

Have you ever wondered how your front-desk or customer service staff interacts with patients or customers when you are not near? Or have you wondered what the customer service experience is like at a competing office or store? Ulrich suggests that a mystery shopper or shop-along program may be exactly what you need to determine how you stack up against your competition.

These strategies can answer many specific questions you may have about how your product or service is perceived by the general public, including:

• What are some pluses and minuses for our product and those of our competitors?
• What improvements would make our product stand out from the rest?
• Why are our sales down and our competitors’ up in a market that stopped expanding?
• How can we get people to buy our product or service?
• Would this concept or idea convince people to use our product or service?
• What are our ex-customers saying about us?

If you are interested in the answer to any of these questions about your own product or service, then maybe it’s time you consider allocating part of your marketing budget to research that can truly provide you with answers to what’s working, and what isn’t.

November 2008

The Case for Press Releases

According to a recent study by Fellows of the Society for New Communications Research, press releases – once the paper-based province of PR professionals – are now primarily online vehicles important to PR and marketing professionals alike, but for different reasons.

PR professionals surveyed place more importance on announcing news and influencing thought leaders about their clients as goals for press releases. Marketers surveyed cited press releases as tools in reaching consumers directly, reaching bloggers and other new social media, and search engine optimization (SEO) for Web sites.

How do the two groups measure success for an online press release? Both had the same criteria:

• Number of online views
• Generation of an article in the media
• Number of calls from media requesting interviews

The findings of the article aside, some PR and marketing professionals believe the press release is dead, with each new means of social media a nail in its coffin.

“Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogs have taken away most of the spotlight from the press release,” says Maria Coppola, BroadBased’s PR director. “But in my experience, every time I pitch a story, the first thing out of a reporter or editor’s mouth is ‘Do you have something to send me?’ They still need that guidance and information a press release can provide. We’ve found that our biggest successes in generating meaningful articles for our clients continues to be the direct introduction of a reporter or editor through phone calls and meetings. Press releases are helpful, but are certainly no replacement for good old-fashioned relationship-based pitching.”

October 2008

Karen Okie: BroadBased’s New Communications Director

This month we welcome Karen Okie as the newest Broad to join the company. She is a Jacksonville resident since 1991, an experienced writer and editor, and most recently an employee communications specialist for a large corporation based in Jacksonville.

As a communications strategist, Karen works one-on-one with clients to develop and implement employee, customer, investor and corporate communications across all media.

Says Jan, “We are excited to have Karen join our team! This position was developed to support increased requests from clients for more complex internal and external communications solutions, including development and population of more complete online employee communications initiatives.

“The addition of this new director position, coupled with the 2007 launch of our growing public relations division, illustrates our continued commitment to expansion of staff and services to provide our clients with an expert base of marketing and communications counselors.”

Please join us in welcoming Karen! You can contact her directly at Karen@bbased.com.

October 2008

Trends in Marketing

Recent surveys show marketing directors dramatically increasing interactive and digital marketing budgets.

You’ve all heard the truisms in advertising and marketing: In lean times, ad dollars fall. But it’s in those times when marketing is more important than ever.

Marketing strategies are much more complex now than merely a print and ad budget. There is print advertising, broadcast advertising, online presence, direct mail, html newsletters, search engine optimization, social media, paid online advertising and on and on. We at BroadBased have continued to see printing budgets fall over the last several years as marketers turn their efforts to online and e-solutions. So in these lean times, where are executives for some of the nation’s biggest brands aiming their marketing dollars?

According to the Oct. 16 Research Brief from the Center for Media Research, the dollars destined for interactive and digital marketing are increasing dramatically, while dollars earmarked for traditional marketing methods are in a nose dive.

Their interactive/digital preferences are leaning toward social networking, blogs and podcasting. We at BroadBased also see a sustained rise in organic search strategies. Being among the first listed in an online search is the FRONT line for most, if not all, marketers.

Here’s a look at the figures from the Center for Media Reseach's survey of 175 marketing executives:

October 2008

‘Orphan Works’ in the News

How the Orphan Works Act of 2008 Can Affect Your Bottom Line

Orphans are not a subject we would ordinarily cover, except for the word’s importance in copyright law. ‘Orphan’ is the peculiar name assigned to works of illustration, photography, or any art whose original creators or copyright owners have not been found. Under cover of passage of September’s massive financial bailout bill, the lesser known Orphan Works Act of 2008 stalled in the House.

That’s important to many of you. Under current law, creators of works of art own the copyright to that work until they convey those rights. Under the proposed Orphan Works Bill, that protection would be limited or non-existent.

Possible new fees are on the horizon if you want to protect your custom illustrations or photographs.

Artists and photographers would be required to digitize and register each photograph or illustration commissioned by your company with privately owned commercial databases, and those fees will be passed on to you. Failure to register an image makes the image fair game for any person who pulls your image from your Web site or perhaps scans your brochure. They just have to claim they couldn’t find the artist, photographer or copyright owner. Imagine paying an additional $50-$100 fee for every custom image your organization commissions that you want to protect. That can certainly have an impact on your bottom line.

“It’s just a poorly written law,” said Ken Dubrowski, nationally recognized professional illustrator based in Massachusetts and Orphan Works Bill detractor. “If you treasure and value your works of art or photography, you’ll ask your legislator for a rewrite to make it fair.”

Many aspects of the proposed bill are troubling. Proponents will resume their efforts toward passage when Congress reconvenes for a lame-duck session on Nov. 17, after the election.

In the meantime, we’ll keep you posted on future developments.

September 2008

Great Outdoor Adventure

Continuing the branding theme developed by BroadBased in 2004 for RALLY Jacksonville! and Mayor Peyton’s Book Club, the newest component of the Book Club is the Great Outdoor Adventure. The new logo, developed by BroadBased and drawn by children’s book illustrator Ethan Long, features Mayor Peyton and Pete the Dog ready for some outdoor fun! The Great Outdoor Adventure will provide opportunities for Jacksonville 4-year-olds and their families to get outdoors and learn about nature, conservation and the environment.

In addition to the original 11 books and other literacy tools provided to members of Mayor Peyton’s Book Club, members will also now receive a twelfth book. The new book, “We're Going Green!”, developed by BroadBased and printed on recycled paper, is sponsored by JEA and focuses on “going green.” It will launch with the 2008 rollout of RALLY Jacksonville!

September 2008

Legacy Trust Company

Legacy Trust Company of Ponte Vedra Beach is an independent multi-family office offering wealth management for multi-generational families. Partners Kip Zebroski and Kristin McLauchlan wanted to update their existing site with a new message and graphics that better represented their complete “Life Management” philosophy. “The process was incredibly easy from our perspective,” said McLauchlan, chairman and CEO. “I loved that BroadBased ‘just handled it’ and made it happen on the schedule they said they would.”

September 2008

BroadBased Public Relations Captures the Numbers

Fifth Third BankFifth Third Bank recently selected BroadBased to manage the bank’s Jacksonville public relations efforts.

Have you noticed the local banking centers and wondered about the bank’s name? Fifth Third traces its origins to the Bank of the Ohio Valley, which opened its doors in Cincinnati in 1858. In 1871, that bank was purchased by the Third National Bank. With the turn of the century came the union of the Third National Bank and the Fifth National Bank, and eventually the organization became known as Fifth Third Bank. As John Faiella, Vice President - Business Banking explained (tongue firmly planted in cheek) “It couldn’t be named Third Fifth Bank because we couldn’t be less than one.”

Fifth Third has nine Jacksonville locations and an ambitious expansion plan for the First Coast. We’re sure you’ll be hearing more about the bank and its services soon as BroadBased’s PR division starts spreading the story of the 150-year-old bank.

September 2008

Incisive Media Selects BroadBased as Partner

Incisive Media, a global company and one of the world’s fastest growing B2B information providers serving the financial and professional services markets, has chosen BroadBased Communications as a marketing communications partner for its Atlanta office.

Specializing in print and online content, Incisive Media has selected BroadBased to specifically support marketing initiatives and special projects for the Daily Report, the official legal organ of Fulton County. The North American offices for Incisive Media are headquartered in New York.

September 2008

CSX Sports BroadBased Design

Nearly 50 CSX employees are riding in the PGA TOUR Cycle to the Shore 2008 September 20 and 21. Cycle to the Shore is a two-day 172-mile ride from St. Augustine to Daytona and back, and benefits MS. For the fifth consecutive year, the CSX cyclists will sport team jerseys designed by BroadBased Communications. This year’s “green” theme, designed by Carolyn Audije, was intended to portray CSX trains as a green shipping alternative to trucks – just as cycling is a green alternative to cars. In fact, CSX trains can carry a ton of freight 423 miles on one gallon of fuel! We think it is very appropriate that CSX’s corporate colors of blue and yellow combine to make environmental green!

July 2008

What to Get the Guy Who Has Everything

If you’re looking for something to buy the guy who has everything — or just in the mood for a big-game daydream — you have to check out the Web site of John Rigby & Co., maker of the world’s finest custom firearms.

The legendary firearms maker engaged BroadBased Communications to evolve the nearly 300-year-old brand with the development of a new Web site. Since 1735, Rigby has served the needs of sportsmen who demand the highest quality, reliability and accuracy in their firearms, and the company needed a 21st century Web presence that matched their product quality.

Rigby firearms start at $30,000 for a double rifle — used for African dangerous game, such as cape buffalo, elephant, lion, rhino, and hippos — and $47,000 for an over and under sidelock shotgun (the preferred firearm for hunters of wild fowl, such as quail, dove, chucker, grouse and pheasant). Custom animal scene engravings are also available and start at $72,000.

“It was apparent early on that BroadBased would exceed our expectations," says Tom Norton, Web Site Strategist for John Rigby. "Although we provided only generic guidance, the design team quickly began the transformation process and produced a draft product that closely resembled most finished products. Selecting a marketing firm for future projects will be an easy choice."

July 2008

Florida Coastal School of Law Launches New Magazine

Continuing a rich tradition of publication design, BroadBased recently assisted Florida Coastal School of Law with the design and launch of Coastal Law Magazine.

The magazine, which replaces the Coastal Currents newsletter, showcases feature articles written by faculty on timely themes, with departments highlighting alumni and faculty news and achievements. “Our students, faculty, staff, and alumni couldn’t be happier with the final product,” said Margaret Dees, Director of Institutional Advancement at Coastal School and a driving force behind the new product.

In an age where printed newsletters and magazines are dwindling, the magazine shows that they can still play an important role in an organization’s mix of marketing media for customers, employees and – in this case – school publications. Said Brooks Terry, Marketing Director at Coastal Law, “We really enjoyed collaborating with BroadBased on our new magazine. The exchange of fresh ideas and information – not to mention all of the hard work on all of our parts – made it the success it is.”

A Company eNewsletter Can Significantly Improve Leads

A very good friend of ours said recently, “I really like your email newsletter. I’m going to steal the idea.”

Er, thanks? As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! We don’t mind sharing a good thing, but let BroadBased give you a hand in the design and launch of your e-newsletter. Our own BROADcast – emailed directly to 650 of our closest friends, clients and prospects each month – is designed to promote our capabilities and successes. We started it in 2005 after hearing one too many times that, “I didn’t know you did that, we hired such-and-such to do that for us.” There is nothing more heartbreaking than losing a piece of business from a good client because they don’t know you perform the service!

If you would like to find out how an e-newsletter can enhance your marketing strategy, give Jan a call at 398-7279. We will help you with development of the program, either as a one-time project that you then manage yourself, or as an ongoing resource. We can:

• Build and manage your database with opt ins/outs
• Design the look of your e-newsletter
• Develop content
• Oversee distribution and report on opening statistics or bouncebacks

July 2008

Cultivate Stories and Build Your Reputation

Ever wonder how your competition gets featured in the media and you don’t?

The foundation of public relations at BroadBased is media relations. Good media relations rely on expert timing, strategic “placement” and the right communicator. We know how to tell your story to the right people — from print journalists to TV and radio reporters — to gain positive stories and maximum exposure. No one knows your industry or company better than you do. But we help you cultivate stories and build your reputation because we know how the media likes to see and receive information. Our public relations director, Maria Coppola, will help you identify your stories and coach you on interview techniques and training.

Sure, we create and distribute press releases and media kits – but that’s just the beginning!

Contact Maria Coppola at 904-398-7279 to find out more about how media relations can build your reputation.

June 2008

BroadBased Featured in 904 Magazine

Team BroadBased is featured with a full-page photo in an article about advertising agencies in the latest issue of 904 Magazine. We developed the photo concept, and Photographer Brad Stookey and Art Director Bronie Massey pulled off the shoot seamlessly.

As our clients know, everyone at BroadBased is an integral part of our team. When brainstorming for our photo, we wanted to illustrate what a “winning team” looks like. And, yes, that REALLY was ice water and it REALLY was dumped on Jan’s head. Yea team!

Also, read Jan’s take on business blogging in an Ask The Pros column in the Jacksonville Business Journal here.

June 2008

BroadBased Launches Three New Web Sites

Manson Construction

This world-class marine construction company, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, wanted an online portfolio to showcase its extensive line of services.

The LBA Group

North Florida’s largest CPA firm allowed us to unleash our creativity, and the SEO (search engine optimization) strategy was already paying off on Google within days of launch.

Jax Say Hello

Jacksonville’s only free mobile search directory service, providing free 411, mobile coupons, weather reports, horoscopes and more.