Creative Noggin, VMFoundry and Fredericksburg Convention and Visitor Bureau Launch New Website

10 08 2011

Fredericksburg Convention and Visitor BureauWe’ve joked about handing out cigars after this project! Few projects require the stamina and scope to make you feel like a proud mom when it’s all done.  After an amazing team effort by VMFoundry in Austin, the Fredericksburg Convention and Visitor Bureau and Creative Noggin, we are proud to announce the launch of the Fredericksburg CVB’s new website, a project we knew was coming the moment we landed the business two years ago.

For a year, we were chomping at the bit to get it started since we’d anticipated what an opportunity it would be for them to build their visitor base and expand their social media reach. And now, they have the most comprehensive, current and informative content on Fredericksburg, Texas than any other site on the Internet.

The really great thing about the Fredericksburg CVB site is that because they are funded by hotel/motel tax, they serve EVERYONE. Which means, they don’t just feature B&B’s, restaurants or retail shops that PAY to be on there. They list EVERY lodging property, restaurant, retail store and attraction. And because they rely on visitors coming here, their information is current-updated daily by a staff of “in-the-know” Fredericksburg professionals! They truly are THE official resource for Fredericksburg info.

The website includes these great features:

1. Lodging  — Find the perfect accommodation for you. You can search using a myriad of parameters like “jacuzzi tub”, “pet friendly” “price range” and others. And every listing will take you directly to the site where you can book it!

2. Restaurants — See EVERY restaurant available. (And let me tell you, as a resident of Fredericksburg, there’s some really great food here.) Again, you can search by type, price range, etc. Lots of options.

3. Shopping — If you’ve ever been to Fredericksburg, you know shopping is one of the favorite pastimes. Go to the shopping section and you can browse through the list of retail stores (Did I say EVERY retail store?) Yes, and you can even search for certain categories such as “clothing”, “home decor” and others. Sweet!

4. Attractions — This is really where you begin to see that  you just CAN’T do Fredericksburg in a day trip anymore. (Yeah, I know, they’re funded by hotel/motel tax so they want you to spend the night, but just go check out the attractions and tell me if you can do it in a day.)

5. Plan your trip — there’s even a section that lays it all out for you….3, 5 and 7 day itineraries. Along with maps and listings of all the city services you’d possibly need.

6. History— One of my favorite sections. See how Fredericksburg came to be.

7. Music and Entertainment calendars!!!! This is awesome and something even alot of the locals will end up book marking. There is so much  going on in Fredericksburg now. Music, live theater, festivals, art exhibits. And it’s all on a calendar that you can select to JUST show the categories you’re interested in.

8. Wine app — Wine is BIG here. And if it’s big for you, right on the homepage you’ll want to check out the FBG wine app.

So check it out and let us know what you think. Better yet, get yourself out to Fredericksburg and experience some of its German Heritage and Texan Hospitality!

www.VisitFredericksburgTX.com

PS —Mobile site coming soon!

By Trish Rawls


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Uncategorized

San Antonio Ad Agency Explains Mystery of PMS—Colors that is.

26 08 2009

Sorry all of you out there who are seeking relief from monthly irritability. This post is about the printing industry standard color palatte, otherwise known as PMS.

First things first, PMS stands for Pantone Matching System. (But that’s a mouthful, so hence the acronym.)

I’m sure there isn’t anyone out there that hasn’t at one point stood in front of the magnificent wall of color chips in the paint department of Home Depot or Lowe’s. So pretty, so mesmerizing. Who needs to wait for a post rainstorm rainbow when you can just go to the home improvement paint department?  PMS is kind of like that, except it’s for printing presses, not walls.

When designers create their artwork, they typically select their colors using small, hand-held chip books that fan out with that beautiful rainbow. Each color has a corresponding number. And each color has a CMYK process match (see my earlier post about CMYK.) so designers can have the option of printing it in 4 color process if needed.

When a job is sent to a printer it is either going to print CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black …if this confuses you, see that same earlier post) or PMS colors. The difference is that CMYK printing uses those same 4 colors to create any desired color by combining them. But PMS uses pre-mixed colors – like the ones you get at the hardware store.

Some jobs use both. In these jobs, the printing press has more than 4 ink wells. Ones for the cyan, magenta, yellow and black. And then 2 to 4 more for  PMS inks (or varnishes, but we’ll address that in another blog post.)

Simple, right?

Well, just in case, I’ll let you in on a few important tips to help you have a more cohesive relationship with your PMS color books.

1. What kind of paper you are printing on? This is hugely important because some PMS colors look VERY different on uncoated papers vs coated papers. Your agency’s creative representative should be able to provide you color chips that will show you the difference.

2. Don’t trust the comp or the computer screen for color. Always ask your art director or designer for a color chip to verify it’s what you want. Unfortunately, the color on individual monitors can vary with the way people have it calibrated and the environment it is in. And all office printers are different and will interpret colors differently.

3. Check the process match. If this is a corporate color you are determining — something that will inevitably be printing at some point in time in CMYK, then PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE check the process match of that color to make sure you like it. There’s nothing worse gloating over a new, beautiful, PMS printed business card only to discover the same color looks like baby poop when converted to CMYK on your company brochure.

4. Don’t sweat the suffixes. Those letters at the end of the PMS numbers are just on-screen simulations of what the color will print like. It is, in fact, the same color. But  just in case you’re curious…

U = uncoated paper
C = coated paper
M = matte paper
CV = computer video (electronic simulation)
CVU = computer video – uncoated
CVC = computer video – coated

You might be wondering “So when should I use PMS and when should I use CMYK?” Well, not to avoid the question, but it really depends on the project. If it’s a business card that has two distinct colors in the design, then PMS is the way to go. But I have also seen some very complicated brochures printing in PMS colors. Large solid blocks of color often look better when printed as a solid PMS than when printed as a CMYK mix. But discuss the pros and cons with your designer or agency. They should be able to explain how they are recommending your project be printed and why.

I hope this helps. After all, I don’t belive using PMS needs to leave anyone irritable.

by Trish McCabe Rawls


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Uncategorized

Do you truly understand your market?

24 06 2009

I know what you’re thinking.  Know your market?  Duh!  Of course I need to know my market!  I wasn’t born yesterday.

But I’m telling you, I am surprised every day at how many marketers out there know only the bare bones about who they are hoping will buy their services or products.  How can you hope to talk with these people if you don’t understand who they are?

Problem number two…companies who say their market is “everyone.”  There’s no such thing as having a market who is “everyone.”  Your market may be huge, but you still need to understand them and why they buy, or should buy, from  you.

Whenever an ad agency starts a creative project, a document called a creative brief is prepared by the account executive.  The purpose of the brief is to distill down all of the critical, project-specific information and weed through all of the superfluous data so that the creative team can execute a strategic piece that will help the client meet the goal they are trying to accomplish with said project. 

Each brief has a section dedicated to the market that this project is trying to reach.  I’ve seen hundreds of these briefs over the years and know that this is one of the key areas that really differentiates a strategic agency account executive from the typical order taking account executive.  Unfortunately, the order taker tends to be the norm at most agencies. 

The typical market section on a creative brief will have three basic areas filled out.  Here’s an example of what you might see:

Gender: 60% female; 40% male

Age: 35-65

Household income: $50,000-$75,000

Now what does this arm the creative team with about this market?  Basically, squat.

Our job as business owners, marketers and/or account executives is to really, TRULY understand our market and put together a killer brief before moving forward on a project.  As an agency, this is one of the services that we, of course, provide for our clients.  But most of our really adept clients already know this information when we first engage with them.  After all, how can you make certain that your product or service is meeting your client or customer’s needs if you don’t know who they are and what makes them tick.

Here’s what you should know about your market:

  1. Who are they?  This is the gender, age range and household income part.  Drill down as far as you can so that you don’t have just broad, meaningless ranges.  If you have a large range of ages, for instance, they may have different reasons for purchasing so you may want to break this market down further and segment them out. 
  2. Who are they, part two?  This is where you really dive into what really drives your market.  Why do they get out of bed each day?  What is their top of mind concern?  Describe your typical consumer?  Describe your ideal consumer?  You need to understand both and figure out who truly is your ideal target.  You can define multiple markets, but identify your primary, then secondary and tertiary markets.
  3. Why should they use your product?  What is the benefit to them?  What problem does it solve?
  4. What differentiates your product from other products?
  5. What appeals to them as a whole?  Are they primarily business owners looking to promote their business?  Are they moms of young children looking to keep their kids safe? 
  6. Where are they?  Is there a geographic nature to them?  Do they hang out at the mall?  Do they spend a large % of their work week in airports?
  7. When should you reach them?  If you understand the cycles that they go through on a daily basis, is there a point at which you can really capture their attention? 
  8. How should you reach them?  What is your ideal medium?
  9. And what voice should you use?  Professional?  Casual?  Empathetic mom?  You want your market to know that you really get them so it’s a good idea to use a voice that mirrors their own thoughts.

Okay, I know that’s a lot.  But if you keep these things in mind when you’re doing an exploration of your market you’ll end up with a much better executed and successful end result, I promise you. 

How do you find these things out?  Talk with your market!  Also, the Internet is a great tool.  Social media, such as blogs and Twitter, can offer invaluable insight into markets.  This ah-hah likely won’t come overnight and will take time.  Plus, things can change with your market so make certain you continue to stay abreast of market trends and updates.  You want to keep your finger on the pulse of what is top of mind.

Last, go ahead and ask your agency if you can approve their creative brief on your next project.  If all it has under target market is age, gender and HHI, then you may have your answer on why their marketing isn’t driving more sales.

by Tracy Marlowe


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Uncategorized

Seth Godin knows it’s all about trust

19 06 2009

I was just reading Seth Godin’s current blog post about “Two ways to build trust.”    As I read it, I kept saying to myself, “Uh huh!  Yes!  Yeah!  Oh, that’s so true!” 

He hit home on a very simple concept that seems fairly common sense, yet there are still so many companies out there who just don’t get the point.

Let me give you the gist. 

As consumers, we are more likely to do business with companies we trust, right? 

Of course, you say.  That’s an easy answer.

Well then why is it that there are still so many companies out there who aren’t up front with the core information that consumers are looking for?  Whose websites make you jump through hoops to find out price, to fill out forms to gather basic information that should be right up front, who try to use bells and whistles, with gimmicky marketing to try and get your business. 

What does that do?  It puts you on the defense.  It makes you feel cautious.  And from my experience, less likely to engage.

As consumers we just want the basic information that we are looking for on products and services given in a forthright, upfront and informative manner.  It should be easy to find.  Easy to read.  Easy to share.  And easy to get back to. 

Divulge a little.  You don’t have to give away the farm!  But it should be enough to show your consumer the nature of your company, your products and services, and that you truly care about their business and aren’t going to put them through the old fashioned used car salesman selling cycle when they finally decide to engage with you.

And guess what.  If you make it easy and develop a trust with your customer…they’ll tell all their friends about it and help your business tenfold.

It’s not enough to have great products and smart business practices.  If you put your customers on the defense right from the start and don’t seem human and like you care, they’re going to go someplace else.

It’s as simple as that.

by Tracy Marlowe


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Uncategorized

Blogging for Business 101: San Antonio AMA Marketing Mastery Series

4 06 2009

Here are my slides from today’s talk on “Blogging for Business 101″ with the San Antonio chapter of the American Marketing Association, as part of their Marketing Mastery Series.

Hope you enjoyed it!    Blogging for Business 101

A quick update to this post (at 11:20am on Thursday, June 4th).  If you’re having any trouble downloading these slides, please feel free to email me at tracy@creativenoggin.com and I’ll be happy to email you a version of the presentation that may be more compatible with your computer (the one posted is from Microsoft Office ’97-’03 since I thought that would work with most systems, but I can also email you an Office/Power Point ’07 version if that works better).  Thanks!

PS.  If you were at the presentation, please feel free to leave your comments here.  I’d love your feedback!  And again, thanks for attending!


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Uncategorized

TweetCampSA is right around the corner!

2 06 2009

We’re getting really excited about TweetCampSA, which is right around the corner on July 18th.  Creative Noggin has sponsored this great educational business camp because we are fired up about microblogging and how it can help people and businesses to develop their brand. 

Although microblogging has been around for a while, it has recently captured quite a bit of media attention and, thus, created a large stir in the business community so more and more companies and business folks are jumping on the bandwagon.  That just translates into a much more robust microblogging community for us all!

TweetCampSA is going to offer San Antonio individuals and business people the chance to learn the tricks of the trade from experienced microbloggers.

Interested?  Check out their site!  And be sure to register quickly because seats are limited and are filling up quickly.

Hope to see you there!


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Uncategorized

Blogging for Business 101: from the San Antonio AMA

28 05 2009

I’m giving a talk next week, June 4th at 8:00 am, on blogging for your business, sponsored by the San Antonio chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA).  It’s free to members and only $25 for non-members. 

Here’s the skinny on what I’ll be talking about…

Even in a floundering economy, internet marketing is experiencing tremendous growth.  After years of hesitancy by some, it is finally being embraced by mainstream marketers as an extremely high-value, low-cost channel for engaging our target markets. 

One facet of internet marketing that any business, large or small, can easily employ is blogging.  There are many ways that blogging can benefit your business:

  • Establish Credibility.  It positions you as the expert in your industry or on a specific topic relevant to your market.
  • Increase your SEO.  Search Engine marketing provides a phenomenal opportunity to get in front of potential customers who are actually out searching for you!  (Much different from traditional advertising.)  Strategic blogging can help you capture more of that traffic.
  • Build a Community.  A blog gives your company the chance to share your knowledge and perspectives with a large audience and to captivate individuals who share the same viewpoints.
  • Know your Market.  Reading and writing blogs, and engaging in the blog community, gives you a better opportunity to understand your customer and what it is that really makes them tick so that you can better address them with your products and/or services.
  • Low Cost.  Many blogging platforms are free and all it costs you to maintain a blog is time.  Compared to traditional advertising methods this is an extremely low cost with the potential for a much higher return on your investment.

In this one-hour class, we will learn:

  • How to get started.  We’ll explore blog services and what you’ll need to know to easily launch your blog.
  • Who should write your posts.  We’ll talk about who the best person is to write your posts, what “voice” they should use and how to develop a following.
  • What to write about.  Now that the blog is launched, what do you write about?  We’ll talk about how to come up with post ideas and keep the ideas flowing.
  • How to get traffic to your blog.  There are many tricks-of-the-trade that we’ll share on how to promote your blog and boost your traffic.

If you’re interested, you can RSVP by emailing rsvp@sa-ama.org by Monday, June 1st by 5 pm.  Hope to see you there!

by Tracy Marlowe


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Uncategorized

A huge YES to Internet Marketing. Even if you don’t need it.

27 05 2009

We have a client who had a long-time website that had, like most website, stood out there on the web as basically a brochure for the company.  Who was going to the site?  Mostly people who had heard about the company and were seeking additional information.  Most of their traffic came from email blasts and search engine searches of the company name. 

Enter our company.  We gave them a proposal which included a website update, social marketing and SEO in additional to several other marketing components, including collateral, etc..  They asked what the priorities were in our plan and we quickly responded, “The website.”

They were puzzled.  “But more than 95% of our business comes from referrals.  And we didn’t get a single client through our website last year.  That doesn’t make sense.”

We explained that, since their primary market was aged 26-32 and would be in an information gathering state of mind when they came to them, the Internet was a logical medium for engaging this market.  Especially since they were spread across the country. 

They were a great client, because even though it was outside of their comfort zone, they decided to trust us, as the experts, and invest in some updates. 

So four months and a website update, SEO, blog and Facebook page later…they are now proud believers in the power of the Internet.  The very first month that we implemented some simple SEO practices, they received 19 new applicants through their website.  They were excited and amazed.  And we’re happy to say that their success has continued to blossom.

The moral of all of this?  Two things.  First, just because you’re using a medium or marketing tactic and it hasn’t worked for you doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.  You may not be strategically using it to it’s best potential.

And second.  Basically, history is not always the best predictor of future failures or successes.  The world is changing and different markets and generations act differently than the ones preceding them.  Keep your mind open, continue to learn and trust people who are experts.

I know I could fly fish all day in one spot and never get a single bite.  But with an experienced guide who can help me better understand timing, tell me what rock or tree branch to cast under, what flies to use, and even how to reel a bite in once I’ve gotten a nibble, I could catch a boat load in the same exact spot. 

by Tracy Marlowe


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Uncategorized

The #SAMPRB Tweetup was a success!

1 05 2009

I attended yesterday’s #SAMPRB (for those who don’t know, that stands for San Antonio Media, PR and Business) Tweetup at Paloma Blanca.  I’d say that, overall, it was a huge success. 

Representatives from each faction stood up to talk a little bit about personal branding and how you can use social media, especially microblogging, to improve yours.  There was:

  • @joeruiz to represent journalists
  • @andinavarez to represent the PR folks out there
  • and @nanpalmero to represent all of us using microblogging to help us in business

All three had fairly brief talks, just in hopes of giving a brief overview and sparking coversation by the crowd (over 50 were expected–quite a turnout!). 

Although the speaking overall might have been slightly confusing for someone who was completely new to microblogging and hoping to learn some of the basics.  And the accoustics a little bit difficult–packed restaurant combined with waterfall noise and packed room (okay, I’m just getting old, senile and hard of hearing!)  Overall, it was great, especially the follow up conversation later, for learning a few more tricks of the trade from others with different experiences and perspectives. 

For instance, I’m a twhirl user.  I’ve been using it for a while now and have found that there are aspects about it that make me a bit crazy.  But I didn’t know what else to use since it’s the only application that seems to work for those using multiple Twitter accounts.  But yesterday I found out that Seesmic Desktop is a great alternative for those using multiple accounts.  Can’t wait to try it!

For any newbies who came to yesterday’s Tweetup hoping to learn the basics, please consider attending TweetCampSA which should be chock full of information and extremely helpful for both rookie microbloggers along with seasoned veterans.

Also, Social Media Breakfasts, held each month, are also very informative.  I’ve learned SO much at those as well as meeting some great folks.

Overall, I think the best thing about the #SAMPRB Tweetup yesterday was the chance to meet so many people whose tweets I’ve been reading for so long.  That’s the true purpose of Tweetups, anyway.  Just taking the social aspect to the next level by making it personal!  Not to mention meeting even more folks that I wasn’t yet following but now am. 

I will also add that I liked the organization of this Tweetup.  I think that that added quite a bit to it’s success.  I know that traditionally, the Tweetup has been a more spur-of-the-moment type event with folks calling a happy hour in the afternoon to meet and chat over cocktails.

That might have worked for me about ten years ago.  But now, as a business owner with a hectic schedule, not to mention being a toddler mom with another one on the way, the whole happy hour thing doesn’t work as well for me as it used to.  Although I can arrange the after work event, with some notice, planning and coordination with my husband.  I much prefer something planned with plenty of time to schedule around meetings.  Especially an event that happens during the work day.  That’s why this was great!  I also liked knowing what the topic was up front.  Sorry!  I’m just a major planner.  What can I say?!  I’m sure I’m not the only one out there!

So kudos to Andi, Donna and Joe for an awesome Tweetup.  Keep up the good work!  I’ll look forward to the next one!

by Tracy Marlowe


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Uncategorized

Who should we “be” when we participate in social media?

21 04 2009

Another great post from well known social media strategist Chris Brogan today on who we should “be” as companies when we are working to develop a social media presence and connect with our audience (or potential audience).  I found it very thought provoking. 

At Creative Noggin, we’re pretty much of the mindset that it definitely depends on your business.  What are your needs, issues and goals?  And most importantly, what does your consumer need from you?  There is research and digging to be done first to answer this question before determining who you should “be” as well as what your key message and where you should position yourself.

Click here to check out Chris’ post.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : Uncategorized

« Previous Entries


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.