The voted ended. Then, suddenly, another round of voting? Why, some of us asked?

In the meantime, a Letter to the Editor pops up telling people to continue to vote. So, I did a little research and discovered this info:

Don’t be fooled by fake websites voting for Google Fiber | citizen-times.com | Asheville Citizen-Times.

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As a copywriter, creative director, public relations director. As an employee or consultant.

Interactive/Web/Agency
- Synergy Point Interactive, Asheville, NC
- Tim Kenney Marketing, Bethesda, MD

Financial, Business and Management/B2B
- NACHA (Direct Deposit/Direct Payment), Washington, DC
- WatershedAssociates.com
- investEd®
- FlavorX
- Simon and Simon Resources
- Rieger Imaging, Clarksburg, MD
- Sharemedia, Rockville, MD
- Clary Hood

Arts and Museums
- Smithsonian Institution Freer and Sackler Galleries of Art, DC
- Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History, DC
- Smithsonian Institution, DC
- Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington
- Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA
- Charles Darwin Foundation/Galapagos.org
- A Kiss From Alexander
- License to Bash satirical revue
- Folgers Shakespeare Library

Automotive
- National Automobile Auction Association, Frederick, MD
- Sunset Chevrolet, Sarasota, FL

Health, Food and Neutraceuticals
- Manatee Glens Corporation, Bradenton, FL
- Clozaril^®
- Sarasota Memorial Hospital
- Butter Buds^®
- Sweet n’Low^®
- Chromium Information Bureau

Real Estate
- Preserve at Misty Creek, Sarasota, FL
- Cedars Tennis Resort of Longboat Key, FL
- Arvida Corporation, Longboat Key, FL
- Harbor Oaks, Longboat Key, FL
- Arvida Real Estate Commercial, Sarasota, FL
- Buyerside® Real Estate Services, Sarasota, FL

Travel and Hospitality
-  Horsefeathers Restaurant, Sarasota, FL
-  Manatee Civic Center, Bradenton, FL
-  Buyerside® Real Estate Services, Sarasota, FL
-  Hyatt Sarasota

Consumer
- Stephan’s Furniture, Sarasota, FL
- Beall’s^® Florida Bradenton, FL
- Sarasota Main Plaza
- Sarasota Square Mall
- Helmsman Marine, Sarasota FL

Pro Bono/Not-For-Profit/Fundraising

- AAF-Asheville
- PRAWNC
- Youth OutRight
- Manatee Council on Aging
- South Florida Museum
- Sarasota AIDS Support
- Alexander’s Ford at the Nature Preserve
- Asheville Humane Society (through AAF Asheville)

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Everyone’s being more careful about how they spend their money these days and travel is no exception. Even those with higher discretionary incomes are feeling the pinch.  Here are some tips from Synergy Point, an award-winning travel and tourism web design firm, to make it easier for visitors to find you and to keep them coming back:

1)   Lodging, Dining and Events. First, the obvious: Visitors to your site will want to see what lodgings are available, the restaurants and attractions in your area. But, you also need to first get them to your website and that’s where keywords and a description are important. For example, to promote Chimney Rock Park, their description includes “a 1000-acre scenic attraction,” and “North Carolina,” “mountains,“ “hiking” with keywords such as “Western North Carolina,” “Chimney Rock,” and even “Rhododendrons,” which are particularly colorful in the spring. Both description and keywords are a must for site rankings.

2)   E-Newsletter – You want to keep visitors abreast of what’s going on and that includes specials and promotions. Remember, even if they choose a different destination this go ‘round, you’re reminding them of all the wonderful reasons you should be on their list for next time.

3)   E-Commerce – If you’re a hotel, a real estate/vacation rental agency or a chamber recommending “places to stay,” it’s a good idea to have a way visitors can make reservations or purchases, or check out package details, without leaving the site. At the very least, use a pop-up window so navigating back to the original site or home page is simple.

4)   A good content management system – Managing all the content, especially if you are working with a large chamber or group, can be daunting. Melinda Massey Young, Director at Polk County, NC Tourism, uses the Synergy Point SiteManager™, a turbocharged content management system built specifically for tourism and travel.  The Polk County website, “First Peak of the Blue Ridge,” recently won Synergy Point its 6^th award in a row from a regional public relations association.

Reasons Young sited for using the system, to keep visitors coming back and the content fresh, is the systems “ease of use.” Synergy Point SiteManager™ is miles ahead of CMS, providing seamless integration of news, events, images, video and points of interest and maps. It even helps with e-marketing and leads. Plus, the system offers advanced database-driven technology and custom-class components at off-the-shelf prices, all made friendly with WYSIYG.  And finally:

5)   Maps. There was a time when you could stop at the gas station, and while a guy came out and filled your tank and cleaned the windshield, you could go in and get yourself a free map with great, helpful information in it. Well, that era may be gone, but now there are simple solutions for getting interactive maps into your website. Make it easy for your visitors to find all your area has to offer and they’ll keep coming back to your destination – and your website – for more.

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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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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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Click on image to view website

The agency had built a strong print and point-of-purchase portfolio but was also moving into the 21st century with more website design. In addition, I had been hired to help craft an “integrated marketing” division. To achieve this, we needed to build a website that immediately reflected this new position.

In creating the positioning statement, “Be Seen. Be Heard. Be Noticed.  Be Remembered,” and crafting the message, “Strategic Creativity in a Marketing Driven World” the visitor immediately learned that there was more to the company than graphic design and print.

The talented graphic and web design team, led by Jamie Stockie and Michael Caron, built the visual marketing campaign around that copy with icons representing those marketing goals, and refreshed the agency’s color theme with the bold use of yellow and grey.

Working closely with them, writing the content to reflect each of the featured items as well as the biographical information, history and other essential elements.

Though some of the copy has changed in the past 8 years, the essence of the site has remained unchanged. Including the positioning and the rebranding.

Rebranding | Positioning | Post card mailing | Web content

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