An Inside Look at Apple’s Design Obsession

Last Tuesday, iOnApple blogger Yoni Heisler shared an peek at a new book, Inside Apple by Adam Lashinsky. He highlighted Apple’s fabled focus on design in all things with a look at how much thought goes into the tiniest details, down to placing directional tabs for opening the iPod packaging. Funnier still is a video showing what the beautiful, minimalist iPod box would look like if designed by Microsoft. Enjoy!

Clients are interested in mobile marketing, but most haven’t even tested text messaging, let alone apps and mobile display for the growing audience of smartphone users. Jay Friedman, COO of Goodway Group , is here to break down what you need to know about mobile media and in-app marketing. Join us Tuesday, January 24, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time for the webinar, Mobile Display: A World Apart From Other Digital Media, and learn everything you need to know about mobile web and in-app mobile display to advise your clients as experts. Webinars are free to Second Wind members. Learn more or register now.

Adobe CS6 Change Is Sweeter After User Uprising

We wrote a few weeks ago about Adobe’s plans to change pricing and upgrade policies for its popular and widely used design software packages. (See our Home Page archives.) Many industry groups raised a ruckus on learning that failure to upgrade now (and expensively) would mean being forced to purchase all new software products or packages at full price in 2012. This week, Adobe announced a much more appealing transition plan. Read more about the new upgrade policies here.

“11 Rounds/11Hours on 11/11/11” Brandon PR Idea Builds Buzz

There are PR stunts, and then there are crazy ideas that actually work. Long-time Second Wind member The Brandon Agency, Myrtle Beach, SC, asked the “crazy” question, “What if we had a US veteran play 11 golf rounds in 11 hours on 11/11/11 (also Veteran’s Day) to promote Golf Academy of America and raise funds for Veterans?” They made the most of the once-in-a-century date, gained $180,000 in PR value for their client, nearly 120 million impressions, coverage from The Golf Channel… and raised funds for the Wounded Warrior Project. The Myrtle Beach event was mirrored with all-day golf events at the GAA’s other four campuses across the USA.

Peppershock Hosts Boise Media/Marketing Event

Agencies host informative events for clients all the time, but Peppershock Media of Boise, ID, is going public. The meeting and events specialists are hosting the Fresh Marketing and Event Management Workshop, January 11, 2012, at the NAMPA Civic Center. Events are a great way to network, find new business leads, or cement client relationships. Peppershock was recently named agency of record for the NBA development team, the Idaho Stampede, and was recognized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals with the 2011 Outstanding Media/Marketing award.

Second Wind will be closed for the New Year's weekend as of 5:00 p.m. Thursday, December 29. We will reopen on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. As always, if you need us, email and voicemail are always on. We thank all of our members, subscribers and readers for another fine year. incidentally, in the Chinese calendar, 2012 will be the Year of the Dragon, an auspicious sign for success and creativity. We look forward to assisting you throughout your "dragon year." Party responsibly and check Designated Driver Services if you need a ride. Happy New Year!

Briggs Campaign Featured in Inc. Magazine

Updating an historic New England ice cream brand was no easy task for Second Wind member Briggs Advertising of Bath, Maine. The firm undertook the logo, package design and marketing project for Gifford’s, a Maine-based ice creamery, with the goal of positioning the brand to go national. The packaging excited notice by Inc. Magazine, where you can see the before and after designs and vote on which you like, plus read comments by design and brand professionals. What do you think of the redesign? Briggs has received a number of design awards this year, with a selection of their work included in the AIGA/Maine Annual Exhibit in Portland.

Goodway Group Suggests Digital Talent Solution

Our friend Jay Friedman at Marketplace Partner Goodway Group recently blogged about the dearth of digital talent suffered by the advertising and marketing industry, a topic written about recently in The New York Times. Jay suggests that, in the era of the Small+Smart operational model, digital talent is not hard to find… providing you recognize that talent may work for you while living and learning in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other urban, digitally-focused locales. Read Jay’s thoughts here.

Client Gifts Still a Holiday Tradition, Poll Indicates

In our latest Quick Poll, we asked site visitors what client gifting they’ll be doing this holiday season. Fifteen percent plan to make a “donation in their name”; corporate gifting regulations may drive the growing popularity of this strategy. Twelve percent will give clients a small promotional item, and 10 percent will deliver larger, more expensive items. Thirty-two percent will do some combination of all three. But 30 percent are planning not to gift clients this year. Does your agency thank clients for their business at the holidays… or all year round? Tell us how you’re feeling about 2012 in our new Quick Poll at right.

Door Number | 3 Cowboys Stadium Work Wins Acclaim

When the Dallas Cowboys knock on the agency door, you jump at opportunity. So when that knock came at Austin’s Door Number | 3, the Second Wind member agency embraced the challenge. Their assignment: promote the Cowboys Stadium Tours program, including tours aimed at VIPs, groups, self-guided aficionados, and even art lovers. The campaign launched with print and radio targeted at the Dallas/Fort Worth market, and will expand into online/interactive tactics. Dn3’s behavior-changing creative has been applied to clients including The Alamo, Habitat for Humanity, the University of Wyoming, and the Texas.gov. Their Cowboys Stadium work was featured on the Communication Arts website.

Happy Thanksgiving and Good Shopping!

Are You Aware of Planned Adobe Price/Upgrade Changes?

If your agency has a substantial investment in Adobe software, be aware of approaching changes to Adobe software upgrade policies and coming price increases, as reported at Cnet.com. Scott Kelby, president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) just posted an Open Letter to Adobe Systems that all Second Wind member agencies should read. Essentially, Adobe plans to cease offering upgrades for older versions of Adobe software, forcing users who have not upgraded to the latest version of CS5 to pay full price for the all-new CS6 version. Users will also be compelled to upgrade every time an incremental version is released to avoid having to "buy new" in future. Adobe's goal is to move more users to their Adobe Creative Cloud subscription model, still in beta. We’re inquiring whether AIGA, GAG and other design organizations are offering similar responses to Adobe. Watch for more on this issue…

dgs Hosts 25th Anniversary Event, Pays It Forward

In today’s business environment, any agency celebrating its 25th anniversary deserves a salute. So here’s our hat tip to long-time Second Wind member Marc Diebold and his staff at dgs Marketing Engineers. The Indiana firm focuses on B2B tech product marketing, so to mark their anniversary, the firm will “pay it forward” with Connect With Manufacturing on November 17. The unique recruiting event gives 25 Indiana students interested in manufacturing careers a chance to network with industry professionals, tour local manufacturing plants, and learn about how technology is changing manufacturing processes. There will, of course, be an “after-party” at dgs. The agency was listed as a B2B magazine top business-to-business small agency for the past two years, and has steadily added clients throughout the recession. Congrats!

Crowdsourcing Poll Raises Questions

In our most recent Quick Poll, we asked if agencies have used crowdsourcing for any client projects. Twenty-two percent of agencies said “yes,” and another 35 percent said “no.” But 43 percent checked “What is crowdsourcing?” Crowdsourcing refers to either employing “the crowd” (consumers) as contributors in or to marketing campaigns; or, more recently, to creative bid sites where projects are posted by marketers and agencies as well as individual freelancers (and non-professionals) bid to do the work, or worse, submit ideas on spec. As one of the great challenges for smaller to midsized advertising and design firms, agencies should investigate crowdsourcing as a competitive threat—or a tactical opportunity. Read more about crowdsourcing. And please respond to our new Quick Poll at right.

Bookmark This! McKinsey’s “What Matters” Blog

For anyone who likes to stay on top of emerging marketing trends and practices—or just up-to-date on “the new"--here is a great new resource from the thought leaders at McKinsey. The What Matters blog asks big questions and shares answers from a Who’s Who of global contributors in a multitude of fields, including Marketing, the Internet and Growth and Productivity, just three of 16 current focus areas. Add it to your reading list.

E-zines, Blogs Generate Leads for Agencies, Reports RSW

According to a recent study by new business development firm RSW/US, agencies are not finding social media outreach particularly effective for lead generation. While 95 percent of surveyed agencies use social media as a new business tactic, only 10 percent attribute new business revenue to social media. Agencies said blogs were more effective at creating lead opportunities (27%), as were weekly/monthly e-zines (23%). But 79 percent of client-side marketers prefer ezines as an entrée to agency communications; just 41 percent said they follow agency blogs. And only 2 percent prefer to receive agency communications through Facebook or LinkedIn, with 79 percent citing agencies’ propensity for “talking about themselves” in these venues. Agencies should strive to adjust social media strategies to make more relevant connections and gain qualified leads from social efforts.

Forté Comic-ly Touts Security Service ION247

Second Wind member Forté Marketing Group of Birmingham, AL, recently created an unusual e-promo for Ion247 Managed Security Services’ trade show presentations. The firm designed a superhero comic book adventure called “Mayhem at Magnolia Manor,” demonstrating key elements of the client’s security services, including SafeRise® facial recognition systems and video monitoring. The agency also created “The Future of Security Is Here,” a video showcasing Ion247’s superheroes in their “day jobs.” (We found this oddly reminiscent of the intro to CBS’ “Person of Interest”—maybe the showrunner saw this video?).

Circumerro Part of TEDxJacksonHole

Second Wind members Circumerro Media a web design/publishing/branding firm in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, recently helped plan and promote TEDxJacksonHole, held October 2 at Jackson Lake lodge in Grand Teton National Park. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading, is the renowned innovation conference which now fosters smaller, local, self-organized TED events under the TEDx banner. The Jackson Hole conference focused “on the zone where nature and science converge with creativity and inspiration,” through performance, exhibition, TEDxTalk presentations and personal experience. Circ’s president Latham Jenkins served on the Core Committee Production Team, and Circ supported TEDxJacksonHole with web design and development, program guide design and social media marketing.

Two New Downloadable Premium Learning Events!

Steve Jobs: 1955-2011

He was called a visionary, an innovator and even a genius. But we’ll remember him as an amazing communicator with a gift for making the complex seem so clear, we wondered why we didn’t think of it ourselves. He spoke from the heart when he gave this Stanford commencement address in 2005. We’ll miss him.

Hourly Rates Stable, but Other Strategies Are Emerging

We were interested in how the Recession might be affecting agency hourly rates, so our latest Quick Poll asked readers to share their rates strategies. Forty-four percent of respondents said their hourly rates have not changed since the Recession began. A surprising 13 percent actually raised their rates; just 7 percent have reduced hourly rates. Two interesting strategies are: shifting to a blended agency rate (11%); and billing by project instead of depending on hourly billing (a solid 21%). Learn more about blended rates, milestone billing, and other pricing strategies. And respond to our new Quick Poll at right.

Brunet-Garcia Helps Focus Awareness on Homeless

Second Wind member Brunet-García Advertising and Public Relations partnered with non-profit Family Promise of Jacksonville to create a large sculpture of the word H-O-M-E to help raise awareness about Family Promises' efforts to combat homelessness in Jacksonville. The first staging of the sculpture took place Wednesday at the Jacksonville Landing. The sculpture, constructed by Artistic Contractors, will also be seen at Burrito Gallery on September 28 and at the October 5 Art Walk in front of the Jacksonville Public Library. Or see it on Brunet Garcia’s Facebook photos.

It’s CreateAThon Week 2011

Second Wind member Riggs Partners, a marketing and communications firm in West Columbia, SC, held their first CreateAthon in 1988, producing work for area nonprofits and pro bono partners in a single, 24-hour creative blitz. Founders Cathy Monetti and Teresa Coles are about to begin the 2011 CreateAThon, starting at 8:00 a.m. September 15 and working round the clock until 8:00 a.m. Friday. Nationally, 22 partner agencies are holding their own creative marathons this week. A national event since 2002, CreateAthons have been held across the US, in Canada and Puerto Rico, with 73 agencies participating, and more than 1,100 nonprofit organizations benefiting from 2,500 projects valued at more than $11 million. Join the CreateAThon network this year. Follow the action on the R-blog