Covington Travel: marketing efforts get an upgrade.
Covington Travel has always prided itself on delivering a superior customer experience. And with the help of O’Keefe Brands, it now has a brand position that reflects that truth: “Upgrade.”
93 Octane took the new positioning and made it actionable by designing a series of communications designed to reinforce their competitive positioning and drive customer response. The work started with a series of print ads that will run in program guides for local events, including the Richmond Forum, Richmond Symphony, and Barksdale Theater.
The work continued with a new trade show display, refreshed corporate identity materials and branded presentation templates. A redesigned website is scheduled to launch in 2011.
The result is a campaign that reinforces why you use a travel agent in the first place — to eliminate hassles and experience the joy of traveling. Now that’s an upgrade.
Clutter Cleaner: new headline generates $10,000 in business in two weeks.
A good marketer knows how to balance the needs of both the brand manager and the sales manager, as this recent ad for Clutter Cleaner demonstrates. The print ad, which was targeting seniors who were looking downsize, originally ran with the headline “Clutter has met it’s match.” While the headline fit well with the brand, it didn’t clearly communicate the benefit of the services seniors were looking for. Our revised ad replaced the word “clutter” with “moving headaches.” This seemingly small change made a major difference to the client’s bottom line, turning the ad from a strike-out to a home run.
Quickleen USA: a dirty job goes green
Developed in Australia, Quickleen powdered cleaner makes easy work of cleaning stainless steel, copper, aluminum, brass and more. But what makes it a remarkable product is the fact that it does that without harsh chemicals that harm the environment.
When it came time to introduce the brand to US audiences, the distributor knew there would be a lot of work to do. 93 Octane began by creating a website that showcased the product’s remarkable cleaning power with demonstration videos, before and after photos, and testimonials that not only made the case for the product, but made finding it through search engines easy and their Google AdWord campaign affordable. The campaign continued with print ads that contrasted the power and gentleness of the product and revised packaging that featured a unique foil stock.
YWAM Virginia: passion meets functionality
Five years after we created our first campaign for Youth With A Mission VA, it was time for an overhaul. With the help of a YWAM student intern (and Brazilian native), we developed a new logo, ad, and stationary that captured the spirit of the YWAM experience. Leveraging that theme, a revamped website followed, while exponentially expanding the site’s content and functionality. A new gallery, videos, and blog were added. Calendar functions, directions and donation processes were upgraded and automated. But the most impressive feature? The new site now allows YWAM VA to update all of it themselves – whenever they like.
Clutter Cleaner: website brings empowerment and clarity to a complex business
Clutter Cleaner founder Matt Paxton has become famous for taking on extreme cleaning projects, like those is crew perform on the hit A&E show “Hoarders.” But while those projects have a high profile, he needed his website to make it clear that they take on projects of all shapes and sizes. To accomplish this, 93 Octane created a site architecture organized around their full range of services. The homepage visually demonstrates the collaborative process, with roll-overs that explain their unique take on organization. What’s more, the page positions them as more than just a cleaning or moving service, but a trustworthy partner that will work with you to evaluate and organize your possessions, and then sell or donate the excess.
The Novak Consulting Group: refreshed brand positioned for action
When Public Management Partners came to 93 Octane, they had big changes in store. The management consultants were changing ownership and becoming a woman-owned company. The problem was, the new owner was coming from an organization with a strikingly similar name: Management Partners.
93 Octane had the rare opportunity to build a new brand from the ground up, starting with a name that reflected the new principal’s involvement, The Novak Consulting Group. From there, we created a new logo and set of complementary corporate identity tools that give them a modern, cohesive look.
The corporate identity work was followed-up with a new WordPress hosted website and sales support materials that articulated how they helped “bring solutions into focus.”
“I love how you have presented us to the world,” said new owner Julia Novak. “We’re getting lots of great feedback on our website.”
The Diggity Dudes: a fresh face for a family band
93 Octane just completed a new logo for local band The Diggity Dudes. The trio’s whimsical songs bring a hip attitude to topics like brushing your teeth and minding your manners. Yes, you guessed it, they’re a children’s band, and their off-beat music has been featured on CBS 6’s “Virginia This Morning”.
The group was looking to polish their image ahead of their new album release, scheduled for release June 5, 2010. The logo ended up being a combination of two of the options presented to the band. The band felt the “type-faces” helped capture the personality of the group, but they couldn’t let go of the distinctive “double D” logo mark either. The combined logo let’s them use the elements together or separately, giving them the ultimate flexibility.
The project was in collaboration with Denise Bird of Bird Marketing, who is helping the band with publicity. “YOU GUYS ROCK!”, said Denise, after reviewing a first round draft of the presentation. Client “Diggity Donny” Atkins agreed. “These look awesome.”
Remembering Raymond
by John Lindner
Raymond once called me the “Chairman of Hugs” because of my notoriously soft touch when it comes to dealing with the human side of business. But the truth is, behind closed doors, he was much more of a softie than me.
Like many businesses, we faced difficult circumstances in the past year. And while a lesser man would have approached decisions primarily from a business perspective, his first thoughts were always for his staff. Every decision was made with their welfare as the primary objective. They came first, even if it meant he came last.
Raymond was generous. He never passed a panhandler without rolling down his window and handing them a $5 bill. And if he had no money, he’d borrow it from one of us. He supported innumerable charitable causes, and helped fuel our corporate food and toy drives at the holidays. And over the years, he championed multiple charitable projects for clients such as Tennis4life, Collegiate Schools, and Metro Richmond CASA, to name a few. Raymond had a soft spot for anyone in need.
Raymond was wise. He was the kind of person you would go to when you needed perspective. He had the uncanny ability to see past emotions to the larger picture. There were numerous times I came to question, rail, or complain. Raymond was famous for saying “Fair is a weather condition.” He was not interested in finding a fair solution, so much as the right solution, even if that meant accepting the short end of the stick.
Raymond was funny. You couldn’t write about Raymond without mentioning his famous, wry humor. He had the ability to see the humor in situations that no one else could. And whenever we got too serious, he was always there to remind us that “it’s only junk mail.”
There are many people who profess values to which they fall short. Raymond was not one of them. He didn’t like to talk about his values, so much as he lived them out. And what he left us is an example for all of us to follow.
Fiercely loyal, savagely funny, incredibly generous, Raymond passed away in his sleep on March 6th. His absence is a great loss for not just his family and friends, but for his family here at 93 Octane. We miss him dearly.
Memorial donations in Raymond’s honor may be made to the Richmond SPCA or the Daily Planet.
Looking to engage your audience? This 3D mailer is a slam dunk.
When Snagajob came to 93 Octane to develop a spring promotion, one idea was a slam dunk. The mini basketball backboard and ball set not only gave prospects an excuse to shoot some hoops, but gave them a daily reminder of snagajob’s benefits. Dimensional mailings can be an extremely effective way of engaging customers and prospects, while warming them up for follow-up telemarketing. Contact 93 Octane today to see how dimensional mailers can help accelerate your business.
AMF: Making a stand for holiday fun.
When we began concepting AMF’s holiday campaign, we knew it would be important to address America’s recent cost cutting trends. Our solution? A campaign that featured a “Charlie Brown” tree, with a reminder to parents families not to trim the holiday fun. The integrated campaign included direct mail, point of sale displays, bounce-back scratcher game pieces, in-center screen advertising, and online components.
The direct mail featured two ornament-shaped coupons, each good for a free game for up to 10 players, with staggered expiration dates. The savvy campaign generated nearly 50,000 redemptions, with over five players per coupon, for a total of 250,000 games, driving critical year-end traffic at a time that bowling centers typically see a break from league play.
