PeakBiety branding+advertising announced today that Central Florida’s leading state of the art cement facility, American Cement Company, has chosen it to create an innovative corporate sustainability campaign that will highlight American Cement’s commitment to operating a sustainable manufacturing facility in difficult times and beyond. PeakBiety will build an advertising campaign that will run in industry publications.

American Cement recognizes sustainable practices as essential for the future of the company’s operations, as well as the quality of life of its people and the communities in which they live. This is why the company implemented the following five environmental initiatives:

1.  Employee and contractor respect for environmental responsibilities,
2.  Proactive solutions to climate change,
3.  The optimization of energy and resource use through efficiency gains and recycling,
4.   The promotion of environmentally-friendly innovations, and
5.  Helping foster a healthy environment for the communities in which it functions.

Glen Peak, President of PeakBiety branding+advertising, said, “We are excited to work with American Cement because like us, they recognize that sustainability practices are a fundamental investment in their operational future. It’s an important story to communicate.”

Last April, American Cement celebrated the Grand Opening of its new, state-of-the-art plant in Sumterville, Florida.

PeakBiety branding+advertising services local, regional and national clients in a variety of business sectors. The agency focuses on adding value for its clients by improving customer perceptions. This commitment is summed up in the agency’s promise, “the power of perception®.”

PeakBiety is one of the few advertising agencies in the Tampa Bay Area to meet strict requirements for membership in the prestigious American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As), as well as official recognition as a Google AdWords Certified Partner.

Take a break and let’s decorate the tree!

click on the ornaments to begin.

What do you need to consider when searching for integrated marketing?

Click to Open

By Amy Phillips, Creative Director

There’s never a dull moment in ad agency world when it comes to technology and new media applications. So one might ask, “what’s up with all the hubbub about QR codes?”

Short for Quick Response, QR codes were originally created in 1994 by a subsidiary of Toyota for tracking vehicle-manufacturing parts. Today, QR codes are quickly becoming more popular than traditional (vertical line) barcodes. Why? Because QR codes can hold up to 7,089 characters, whereas the traditional codes only hold a maximum of 20 digits. With their horizontal and vertical designs, QR codes not only hold more data than a traditional barcode, they can take up about one-tenth the space. Small QR codes are called Micro QR codes. Another big advantage to QR codes is that they can be scanned from any angle, which makes for much faster reading.

How do they work? Any smartphone equipped with a digital camera, along with decoding software can transform the data into meaningful content. The most common uses are to connect to a web address, dial a phone number, start an email with an address in place, and download an MP3. These actions happen at lightning speed.

Where do they work? Any medium where a QR code can appear or be printed. So, beyond the obvious, like magazines, newspapers and business cards, QR codes may appear on buses, signage, t-shirts, bar coasters, even tattoos.

So how can they work in branding and advertising? “QR Codes can definitely be used to enhance your marketing. These codes are useful for connecting with customers, capturing data, sharing exclusive content and increasing engagement. However, when the thought process of how and why consumers will use or be motivated to use QR Codes is not considered – then we’ve lost our way.” — Nathan Smoyer

An example of poor usage is placing a QR code in a television commercial. The idea that anyone is going to watch TV and wait to capture/scan a QR code is ludicrous. Rather, give the audience a simple URL and direct them to web content. This makes a lot more sense.

The medium is the message, right? So, placing a QR code in an outdoor environment like on a bus, subway, or poster where the target audience has time to see and scan the code could work well. But you have to make sure the audience riding those buses matches the target and has smartphones. More importantly, still, make sure that you are directing the audience to a user-friendly (mobile) site. And make sure it’s worth their while. This audience can tweet a negative remark about a company in a few seconds.

Interestingly, misuse of QR codes in marketing has triggered some negative sentiment toward the technology. Commenting on the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this year, BBDO top creative and juror Dan Fietsam described work for Samsonite by JWT Shanghai as “beautiful creative” that was “contextually right” and didn’t have a “freaking QR code on it.”

About QR Codes

QR Codes Are Stupid

Comment About Cannes Grand Prix Awards

Dan Holden, a recent graduate from the International Academy of Design and Technology is a creative individual with a passion for illustration, print, and plain old good design.

Originally from Massachusetts, Dan grew up with a paintbrush in his hand and was constantly drawing and painting. He has won multiple art awards over the years and has the attitude and motivation to be successful at whatever he puts his mind to. Whether he is out for a night on the town or at the golf course he is always admiring and critiquing other design, trying to inspire new ideas or see where it can be improved. Freshly equipped with his BFA in Graphic Design and experience ranging from 3D modeling to package design and photo manipulation, Dan will be a great fit with us here at PeakBiety.

In a repeat performance of public service and community involvement, PeakBiety branding + advertising designed the official show t-shirts and commemorative posters for the 41^st Annual Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts. The show took place on March 5 & 6, 2011, at the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in downtown Tampa. Hundreds of artists from 13 diverse disciplines participated, and the festival gave out $74,500 in award money to artists.

For the past two years, the Board of Directors has followed brand guidance from PeakBiety in the selection of just one piece of artwork to represent the show. “We know from our experience in effective branding, that one consistent image chosen to represent an event like the annual Gasparilla Festival, reinforces awareness and keeps the identity of the show fresh, year after year. Deciding on which piece, however, was not an easy task,” comments Amy Phillips, Creative Director. “We literally looked at more than 600 pieces of artwork and considered originality, variety compared to work chosen in previous years, and what would symbolically represent the year. Leading a selection committee made up of mostly Board members, we gravitated toward a multi-media painting by Louisiana artist, Rebecca Rebouché, titled Apple Button. From a distance, the color, contrasts and forms get attention and make a bold statement. On closer inspection, fascinating little details in the collaged background reveal scraps of old children’s books, dictionaries and bits of sheet music hidden within. We saw in the piece an unusual combination of nostalgia, strength and sensitivity.”

The artist explains, “The apple is this bold symbol, paired with the button as a small and tedious symbol of care. The duality is presented on top of these life lessons like sharing, playing and doing chores. There is a chord in there that is specific enough to be real, and yet, common to all of us. It represents an emotion that unites us—tension and tenderness. That is what I like to express in my work.”

Held annually during the first weekend in March in downtown Tampa, Florida, the Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is one of the country’s premier outdoor shows. Featured art includes ceramic, digital, drawing, fiber, glass, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, watercolor and wood.

Festival staff is made up entirely of volunteers who work throughout the year to continually improve the show, year after year. To watch a recap of the festival, check out this video.

This post is part of  an ongoing series that explores the fundamental principles of branding. Please feel free to join the conversation.

What types of people buy a particular product or service? This is one of the most fundamental questions to ask when it comes to establishing a brand. The more narrowly and accurately a brand’s target market is defined, the more likely its marketing and advertising efforts will be successful.

Target markets can be defined in several different ways. The most common ones are geographic (where they are located), demographic (age, income, etc), psychographic (attitudes, values and lifestyles) and behavioral (occasions, hobbies).

While geographic and demographic categorizations may seem more obvious, psychographic and behavioral considerations are often more relevant. And it’s never a good idea to make assumptions about who a brand’s users are. For example, many people would picture the average Harley-Davidson customer to be a rough, rugged, and wildly adventurous man. Yet in reality many c-suite executives and a rapidly increasing number of women have also bought into the Harley values of freedom, self-reliance, and individualism.

It’s important to put a name and a face to the target audience. Will the brand resonate with Trendsetting Tom or Andrew the Accountant?  How about Lazy Lucy? Where do these people work? What do they do for fun? What do they eat? Where do they shop? Do they take risks and experiment or play it safe?

A good target market description might read:

“Lower middle class males between the ages of 20-28 who are socially active but not in a serious relationship. They are working and have an expendable income for the first time. Some of their frequent recreational activities include going clubbing and to the movies. They smoke a pack a day and drink Starbucks quadruple shots. More often than not, their refrigerators are stocked with a six pack of beer and a slice of pizza.”

A specific, clearly defined target market description makes it easy to envision the people within and the brands and values that are important to them.

This post is part of  an ongoing series that explores the fundamental principles of branding. Please feel free to join the conversation.

A brand category is a group of brands that sit in a similar place within a person’s mind. While each person’s list will be slightly different, the industry leaders are typically at the top. For example, when most people think of the soda category, Coca-Cola and Pepsi will typically come to mind first.

It’s long been recognized that the best way to thrive in a category is to create a new one and own it from the beginning. Joe Calloway refers to this creation of a new, niche category a “category of one.” He coined the term in his well-received book, Becoming a Category of One: How Extraordinary Companies Transcend Commodity and Defy Comparison.

The benefit of being an establishing brand in a category of one is that instead of fighting for the consumer’s attention with the myriad of other brands in a category, the category of one brand is the only option. By the time competitors reach the market, the category of one brand has successfully staked its claim in the consumers mind. Brands such as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s were first in their respective categories and they remain far ahead of their competition in terms profit and brand awareness.

Brands that find themselves in crowded categories will benefit the most from reframing themselves in such a way that creates a new category. One of the best examples of this is Red Bull. Rather than facing Coca-Cola head on in the highly competitive soda category, they invented a new one: the energy drink category.

A solid understanding of the category in which a brand falls is essential to any good marketing plan. Who are the competitors? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the brand, as well the opportunities and threats to it? Does the brand offer a distinct benefit around which a new category could be formed?

This is the first in an ongoing series that explores the fundamental principles of branding. Please feel free to join the conversation.

The idea of “branding” in the marketing sense likely stemmed from the agricultural practice of branding. Farmers have branded their livestock to indicate ownership since the times of ancient Egypt. Today, the meaning of the word “brand” has evolved to encompass much more, especially with regard to marketing.

In its most basic sense, a brand begins with a trademark: a name and a logo used to identify a company and its products and services. But fully developed brands are more than just a set of words, colors, fonts and designs. Brands carry various qualities that appeal to specific types of people. Through the relationship between company and consumer, brands can transcend their physical limitations and develop unique personalities of their own.

But how does a brand get to this point? There are three basic premises upon which a brand can be based: attributes, benefits and values. The difference between them is a fundamentally important.

Attributes are the physical properties that a product has, the stuff that it does. Specifications and features. The most important attributes are those that can translate into actual benefits, which can actually make a person’s life better. Values, on the other hand, are the ideas that a brand stands for.

So between attributes, benefits and values, which of the three is best suited as a basis of a brand? While attributes are important to a product’s overall success and identity, by themselves they often lack relevance to the target audience. Benefits make for stronger brands since they are based on what the audience will gain from using the product or service.

Values, however, are the most powerful pillars of branding. Sure, values will polarize your audience but they will also resonate vigorously with the right types of people. When a brand is able to encompass the thoughts and mindsets of a group, its users will quickly turn into ambassadors who embrace the brand as part of who they are and what they stand for.

Regardless of the brand premise, its essence should be summed up in what we like to refer to as a brand promise. This is what the brand will do for you; this is what the brand will always believe in. In order to establish credibility, it’s important that every part of the audience’s experience—from the employees to the advertising to the actual product or service—consistently communicates this message. 

Posted by Brad VanAuken, The Blake Project
From the Brand Strategy Insider

Choosing a brand consultant can be tricky. First, you must determine what you are seeking in a brand consultant. Do you want to know how your brand stacks up against competitive alternatives? Are you concerned about an emergent competitor? Has your brand lost its competitive edge? Do you need to reposition your brand? Has your brand’s architecture gotten too complicated? Are you seeking an updated identity? Does your brand need a new tagline? Do you want to create a new marketing campaign? Are you trying to rally employees in support of the brand? Are you trying to create an improved brand building culture within your organization? Do you need to understand your brand’s customers better? Are you looking for ongoing education for your marketers? Be specific and clear about what you are seeking in a brand consultant.

Next, find out what the consultant’s skill sets are. Marketing research? Brand equity measurement? Brand valuation? Marketing strategy formulation? Brand (re)positioning? Brand identity development? Brand plan development? Advertising campaign development? Brand extension? Ask not only for a client list, but also for case studies on the services in which you are most interested. What type of person is the organization mostly comprised of? Brand strategists? Marketing researchers? Graphic artists? Copywriters? Account executives?
And, know this, if the consultant’s tool is primarily a hammer (or copywriting or marketing research) every one of your problems will seem like a nail (or a copy writing exercise or a research exercise) to him or her. People and organizations mostly use the tools with which they are most familiar.

While a list of big name clients can be impressive, ask what project or projects the consultant did for specific clients. Many of the biggest brands have used multiple consultants over time and even in a given year depending on the division or specific need. Sometimes a consultant’s best work may be for a smaller, lesser known client for which there is a greater chance for enterprise-wide impact.

We often are asked if we have extensive experience in category XYZ. Sometimes the same people also want us not to have worked with one of their competitors recently. Other than the pharmaceutical industry, I have found that brand work does not vary much across branded entities, from consumer packaged goods, B2B, healthcare and professional services companies to universities, museums, municipalities and start-ups. While there are some differences, deep knowledge of a specific industry or product category is generally far less important than specific brand consulting knowledge and experience.

A good consultant is good at listening. Have the consultants you are considering feed your situation and issues back to you. The one who has the deepest understanding and insight is the one most likely to do the best job for you. That is probably also the one who asked the most probing questions before crafting a proposal. Watch out for the consultants whose approach is “cookie cutter” – replace the last client’s name with your brand’s name and the proposal is “good to go.”

Client references and testimonials are also very helpful. Don’t hesitate to ask the references detailed questions about their branding projects and the value that the brand consultant added to those projects.

Be wary of large consulting companies that send in their business development “A” team to make the pitch. They will knock your socks off (because that is what they are supposed to do), but you will likely never see those people again. Someone else will be assigned to your project. Make sure you have met the people who will be assigned to your project and especially the day-to-day team leader. That is the person on whose shoulders your project’s success will rest.
I wish you great success in selecting the brand consultant who is right for your brand’s specific needs.

Sponsored By: The Brand Positioning Workshop

by Megan Plaksiy

A recent intern at PeakBiety branding+advertising, Megan Plaksiy, wrote her thesis at the Art Institute of Tampa on sustainable packaging. We found the information interesting and valuable and wanted to share it. Here’s an excerpt.

BACKGROUND

Packaging in the modern world has changed the way companies focus on sustainability in an effort to minimize their overall carbon footprint. Companies are following the demands of stakeholders and investors, looking to “be green” and “do green,” by decreasing pollutants, lowering their carbon footprints, producing eco-friendly goods, reducing energy use, exploring alternative energy sources, and creating processes that augur for a long-term sustainable enterprise. The term “sustainability” has spilled over to the consumer world, leading to a global movement in reducing carbon emissions and preserving the planet. When searching for a potential company to do business with, consumers will often research the company’s green efforts, selecting the “greener” brand. This is the leading reason why corporations have begun to choose their materials wisely, constantly making sure that their products are as environmentally positive as possible. Eventually, every aspect of modern packaging ends up being impacted by one of the many sustainability precepts. Designers often collaborate on defining the best way to create an environmentally sustainable package.

Traditionally, packaging designers contemplated technical performance, expenses, presentation and regulatory compliance with national and international law when designing a package. Modern designers must now also consider what type of packaging the product will use right down to the materials and their ingredients. What sounds like a simple choice is not an easy task. Just because the designer thinks a certain material would be ideal for a particular product, it does not mean that when the development phase rolls in, the manufacturer will have the necessary resources to purchase such a material or if its attainability is even possible and sustainable at all. To distinguish the significance of design-phase decision-making, packaging professionals measure the environmental effect of their package designs against other common uses and agree thereafter on the best possible solution. Creating a completely and perfectly sustainable product can be very challenging. Every single phase must be considered right from initial idea to final distribution. The challenge of sustainability is that there are so many pieces to the puzzle of what makes a product or material sustainable.

PROBLEM

Communication and informational flow play a great role in packaging. Not only does the consumer need to be informed, so do the warehouse and the distribution chain. However, due to the lack of information known about sustainable packaging by designers and businesses, many misconceptions exist. Packaging is considered to be a part of the product through the whole entirety of the supply chain, meaning the design of the packaging influences the information, features, functions, and cost aspect of a product. With this, packaging is an essential part of the product-selling process and is responsible for bearing information to consumers. There is an overload of recycle/sustainable symbols in the industry that are specific to either one particular subject or material. There needs to be a simple approach for designers, businesses, and consumers to differentiate a package’s sustainable metric between countless packages on the shelf today.

SOLUTION

Purpose: To educate and inform designers, companies and consumers about the materials and frameworks which are currently in the industry for sustainable packaging, so that designers, companies and consumers are able to clearly distinguish sustainable metric for packaging.

Solution: Produce a manual informing designers, companies and consumers about the sustainable options that are currently available within the industry to educate them about the options available. Include the top sustainable and traditional materials to allow designers to be informed of selection available to them before the implementation stage is encountered. Present case studies about current sustainable packaging solutions that are being developed and implemented in the industry today, to show designers possibilities available to them. A framework for sustainable practice would allow the designer and consumer to quickly acknowledge the sustainable metric when comparing packaging. Showcase sustainable packaging through various advertising platforms such as iAd, will allow information to expand to an increasingly diverse body of users.

Although so much in media changes quickly, after watching this feature we were reminded that third-party borrowed interest techniques (i.e. imaginary characters) still work. Geico’s gecko offers one of the best examples of a more recent popular and memorable icon. The “return” of Mr. Peanut speaks volumes for effectiveness. Often, these icons derive from anthropomorphized versions of real creatures as in the case of the Tony The Tiger, Geico’s gecko and the Trix silly rabbit. Many win us over with a cute and lovable demeanor as in the case of the Pillsbury Dough Boy. What’s not to enjoy?