Asheville, N.C. – Professional development, networking, and collaboration are assets each public
relations, advertising, and marketing professional offers employers in Western North Carolina. Now, thanks to the Public Relations Association of Western North Carolina, or PRAWNC, employers have an opportunity to return the favor.

Communications professionals will be delighted to find a special gift membership to PRAWNC under the office Christmas tree or holiday display, says Sherri McLendon, membership committee member.

As one-time special incentive, $50 memberships given as gifts to incoming public relations “stars” begin in January 2010, for a 25% increase in membership value. Currently, annual membership begins in March. University student memberships are also available at $25.

“To place creative communicators in like company only adds value to the entire corporation, the entire community,” says McLendon. “This gift is truly one which lends support to key public relations and marketing professionals now, and creates connections that may last a lifetime.”

Due to the promise of economic turnaround in 2010, PRAWNC also plans to extend the special offer to members whose dues are in arrears, bringing their membership current and welcoming them back into the organization.

“We’re all in this together,” says Betancourt. “We want each practitioner in Western North Carolina to be able to build a strong network ensuring individual as well as collective success. PRAWNC is committed to making exciting, meaningful connections possible for each of its members.”

New members receive a holiday card with notice of the gift and the giver. A personal letter of welcome from the president and a Certificate of Membership suitable for framing will arrive in January 2010. The limited offer becomes void after January 31, 2010.

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We want to build an emotional connection to your organization, your product, your service. And, today’s inbound marketing and internet, we cannot rely only on traditional advertising and public relations components.  How your customers are talking about you, how they are relating to you,  that is what builds a brand.

In the new world of Marketing and PR, there are now many different tactics which we can use that didn’t even exist 10 years ago. Just as the Saturday Evening Post gave way to radio, which in turn gave way to television, television and traditional media is giving way to the internet, social marketing, Facebook and Twitter. But – at least for now – we still have print, radio and television in addition to the new media. And the fact remains these are all just arrows in the quiver.
I also believe that the best way to approach your potential customer is by building a marketing program that positions your product or service as the one your customers choose, not the one they are manipulated into wanting.

Through over 25 years experience in building creative advertising and public relations campaigns for clients who have included the Smithsonian Institution, FlavorX, Sweet n’ Low, Arvida Corporation, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, in the categories of health, real estate, nutraceuticals, arts, financial, tech, travel, tourism and hospitality industries, it all comes down to one thing:

If people find your story compelling they will want to do business with you.

And, now, with “inbound marketing” taking charge, we add:
Your message now must reach your audience in a way that enlightens, builds trust, distinguishes you. Traditional methods will no longer work.

Your brand strategy, how we interpret your story, and what components we choose will build an audience, define your market, increase your sales.  We may do that with a mix of social media, SEO, traditional marketing elements such as radio or print, build on a new business launch with news releases and YouTube(r) mixed with a publicity event. Perhaps you can utilize a billboard. Or, a coordinated full-blow integrated campaign with all these component. Maybe you already have a strategy and just need elements of marketing communications.

But, whatever your business, telling your story is my business.

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Situation: Their research had shown that a very lucrative market was the pet industry and the difficulty in getting “pets to take their medicine.” They wanted to market this flavoring kit via veterinary product representatives to vets worldwide.

Creative Solutions: Giving the vets a sample seemed an obvious way to get the product into the hands of the vets – the flavors would be purchasable through representatives that dropped off the samples. The kit would include POP display posters as well as the flavorings. We developed a ‘sampler leaflet’ that provided a small vial of one of the flavors, like a perfume sample card. (Shown here).

20 of the sampler leaflets would then be placed in a Flavorx branded box to provide the veterinary reps with a supply to hand out to their veterinary customers. A branded calculator was included in each box as a gift for the veterinary reps. The promotion proved extremely popular with both the veterinary reps and the vets.

Using the visual approach and marketing messages from the sampler, a trade show display, an advertising campaign to appear in veterinary magazines and a poster campaign for veterinarian waiting rooms to increase product awareness among pet owners was developed.

Flavorx, which had been sending their vets a small monthly newsletter took our direction and created a full-fledged four-color quarterly news magazine featuring success stories, follow ups, “how-tos” from other vets and “letters to the editor.” This quarterly newsletter became their number one sales tool.

Results: Sales skyrocketed;  the popular “Flavorx” is now available at vets throughout the country.

(Gary James/Patrick Ind, creative/ art directors; Gary James, lead copywriter (ads), Patrick Ind, POP/newsmagazine; Jamie Stockie, graphic design)
Tim Kenny Marketing, Bethesda, MD; ICBM, Washington DC

POP | Branded promotional items | Trade show display | Newsmagazine | Posters | Print advertising |

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I’ve been involved in marketing and communications since 1982. And the one thing I’ve learned is there isn’t one magic marketing bullet. Today’s newest new thing is “social media.” And, yes, it should be an integrated component of your brand awareness. But, it doesn’t take the place of everything.

And, I don’t feel that public relations is just a component of an advertising plan. Often I’ll hear someone define PR as media relations, coordinating events, news releases. Yes, these are components of public relations. But, in fact, I believe it’s completely the other way around. It’s ALL Public Relations - from your signage, to brochures, to website design and how your employees dress, act or speak about where they work – and the tangible things are tactics that build how the public perceives you.

My story is I’ve worked in marketing communications - advertising, public relations, internet marketing – for years. Starting in a theatrical press agency I learned something about events, promotions and publicity; In radio, I was a Continuity Director, which means if it was spoken (and read), I wrote it. From there, I became a copywriter, but we were a small agency, so I also learned media buying, negotiation and account management.

A stint as a Director of Public Relations for a Behavioral Health Hospital helped me understand how large corporations work, and with the support and engagement of an excellent supervisor and mentor (Mary Ruiz, now CEO of the organization) we rebranded the 50-year-old organization, increased employee involvement, community awareness and, most importantly, access to services.

Having been a creative director or public relations professional , either as an independent consultant or on staff with an agency, for the better part of two decades, it is the last one that has seen the most explosive changes in marketing. Anyone over 30 remembers the first time they used a fax machine. Anyone under 30, can turn on a computer by the age of 5.

At the agency in Bethesda, MD, we were creating internet websites completely from scratch, including shopping carts, complete infrastructure, even simple rollovers.  Here’s where I learned about home pages, daughter pages, rollovers, navs, flash and all those other “must-haves,” at the  turn of the last century. Now, I’m communicating with WordPress and I don’t even think about the html. Because, as we all know, content is king.

If there is any constant in this business, and this is going to be a hackneyed, roll-your-eyes statement, it is “change.”

Adapting to this new environment is a challenge. However, having a knowledge and understanding of tactics and strategies that have worked in the past, doesn’t hurt either.

Whether it’s to work with your internal department, create teams for a complete marketing campaign, or simply needing some outside creative, copywriting support, I will create the emotional arch that will target your audience – your stakeholders, employees, customers or advocates – in order they make a decision to buy from you, support you, or promote your organization or business.

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Original creative

These are the ads that were pitched to NACHA – The National Automated ClearingHouse Association, who are responsible for marketing and positioning Direct Payment and Direct Deposit.

From this original idea, our agency landed the account and I directed a creative and marketing campaign that was tested in three cities: Raleigh, NC, Hartford, CT and Baltimore, MD, then national buys in print were purchased in Parade Magazine, People, the New York Times Magazine and others.

(Creative Director: Gary James; Graphic Designer: Jamie Stockie
Tim Kenny Marketing, Bethesda, MD)

The completed national campaign ads:

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My  goal is to link you to appropriate venues, develop media contacts and suggest Internet strategies to cross-promote you and your organization.

I can boost your name recognition, increase awareness of you as an “expert source,” help with promotional events and  coordinate personal appearances.

With traditional branding and advertising experience, and through the local professional trade organizations – AAF –Asheville and PRAWNC – I have the contacts, and the experience, to create, coordinate, manage and execute practically any type of advertising or public relations campaign. Whether it’s a website, web content, graphic design, media relations or social internet marketing, we can build the team right for any project.

Virtually. It’s all so 21st century.

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Situation:

Back story:
Teresa Marrone, an avid back country outdoorswoman and proponent and user of the product – Butter Buds®, an all natural, butter-flavored granular product designed as a substitute for butter – had just written a book, “Back Country Kitchen,” using the product in about 150 recipes in the book. Contacting Teresa we found she had on-camera experience and was interested the cross-promotion idea: We would send her on a media junket where she could promote her book; in turn, she’d prepare a dish using Butter Buds® which we would get featured in the segment.

Using 52-week syndicated IRI data, top markets for an “outdoor cooking segment” were identified. Teresa’s hometown location, Minneapolis, was identified as a Top 50 market in Butter Buds sales, so that meant we might have our first location. We came up with angles such as, to offering a “camp breakfast” that would feature children (who could help prepare it!) and perhaps an “Elegance on the Trail” romantic concept (even though it was camping, it certainly wasn’t “roughing it.”)

Implementation:
“Roughing it in Style” The press kit was an oven mitt stuffed with a copy of the book, Butter Buds FAQs, samples of the product, a photo of Teresa, a news release, and the pitch, “We’re fishing for some media coverage. Can we count on you to bite?”

Outcome:
Teresa appeared on:
- Minnesota Bound KARE TV, CBS) – 30 minute syndicated outdoor show.
- Call of the Wild – Outdoor Channel (cable)
- The Peggy Denny Show (WGGS TV) – Greenville/Spartanburg, SC (the entire 30min show preparing a number of dishes)
- Fox 21 Kids’ Club – Greenville, SC (which ran ten times over a 2 week period, featuring children from “Camp Greenville” a
- Good Day Atlanta
- Good Morning Phoenix

Estimated potential audience reach: 2.1million viewers

Budget: Under $50,000 (incl. airfare, accommodations, kits, out of pocket)

From concept to broadcast coverage: 14 weeks

(as Director of Client Services, Gail Becker Associates of Florida, Sarasota, FL)

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HarbourOaksGolftoDay

Backstory: Client was Arvida Corporation and I was copywriter/creative director for a number of the developments which included Sunset Beach, Fairway Bay, Harbour Oaks and weekly classified advertsiing.

Situation: Task was to create value propositions for competing properties all offered under the same brand, ARVIDA.

Creative Solution: Harbour Oaks was sited with the on the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay. On a Golf Course. Campaign included radio and television spots supporting the print ads.

Winner: Silver ADDY (for Campaign), AAF 4th District
Creative Director/Copywriter: Gary James (Collateral Inc. Sarasota, FL)

Print | Television

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Initially, the advertisement was created to target music educators. I originally wrote copy for this group; however, when the Internal Association of Jazz Exhibitors can aboard as a partner, the copy was changed to reflect how exhibitors can promote JAM. NPR placed the advertisement in their program books throughout the country, and the middle paragraph changed again to reflect “what jazz fans can do.”

Quite simply, by creating an elegant design which featured a positioning statement and similar elements, the body copy can be changed to focus on target audiences while keeping the strong, positioning message.

This ad was then used as the basis for collateral materials which were first used at the Music Educators Annual meeting in Los Angeles, January 2002. The slogan is still in use today, in a number of countries throughout the world. The design elements were used in the design of press kits, a brochure and a trade show exhibit stand

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