The Red Team Presents

The Red Team's big moment together before the big pitch! We met at the Arid Club to practice one last time before the real deal. We had Nancy our server snap a shot. It's an awesome collaborative effort between 3 companies coming together for the common best interest of our potential client, the Idaho Lottery. We will be notified May 19th or shortly thereafter if we "win" the lottery... account.

We are thrilled to continue to work with such a talented group of professionals and are very grateful our team was chosen to present. There were 21 letters of intent, from those, 6 were selected to present orals last week for either one or more of the three categories of the RFP: 1. Account Services, 2. Creative Services and 3. Media Buying Services.

Use all types of media to meet your customers' needs

http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/744366.html

Advertise for your Long Term Success

Businesses that maintained their advertising during a downturn or recession grew 256% after downturn.*

Businesses that reduced their advertising during the same period grew only 19% after downturn.*

*Source: McGraw-Hill Study

The Happy Marriage of Public Relations and Advertising

A lot has been made out of establishing the differences between public relations and advertising, but where do the two meet? For starters, if they aren’t meeting for you at all, you’re not making the most out of the potential relationship you could be enjoying. And when they do meet, like the old axiom goes: opposites attract. The happy marriage of the seemingly separate public relations and advertising services is the beginning of a beautiful business relationship.
While it’s important to make the most out of your advertising dollars, great public relations should pick up where advertising leaves off. Maximize your potential R.O.I (Return on Investment) by increasing the number of impressions you make on your customer, increasing the number of messaging vehicles at your disposal, and increasing your expected response rate. These are all gains that can be procured through harmonious advertising and public relations partnerships.
Where advertising space is purchased and delivered, public relations provides you with free coverage and additional promotions after your advertisements have made a splash in the community. Activate your target audiences interest and motivation with a creative ad campaign, and then give them the facts in a helpful, friendly, and courteous manner with the help of the local media coverage through a PR press release or press kit.
Like every good marriage, the relationship between public relations and advertising is a give and take relationship. Public relations and advertising both have weaknesses that are covered and supported by each other. When suspicious customers shy away from your advertisements, a great public relations endeavor can win them over through documented success stories and substantiated statistics. But, as Rick Segal, CEO of marketing communications firm HSR Business-to-Business says, “One thing PR can’t always do is be everywhere at once in the way that advertising can do.” You must address your audience in the creative methods that attract them, but secure their attention through the media vehicles they know and trust. Make the sort of impression on your community that makes everyone sit-up and take notice. The attention of awards committees and local news venues shouldn’t be a happy accident or a stroke-of-luck; it should be a goal of your over-all marketing campaign.
Not unlike actual marriage, the wellbeing of the happy, functional PR / advertising relationship is deeply rooted in financial stability. In the course of staying viable in the shaky market, many companies have helped assuage their shrinking marketing budgets by getting more mileage from their public relations promotions. As said by Nick Ludlum, VP of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, “In a recession, people who take a meek approach to marketing, they’re not going to inherit the earth. They are going to be buried six feet underground.”
But above all, the most envied of all the happiest advertising / public relations marriages are those that are the most graceful. A winning combination of advertising and public relations should dance well within the overlapping boarders of self-advertisement and self-promotion. It should know when and how to execute the high-impact advertising that will have your target audience reeling, and when to style and profile for the camera, letting your audience bask in the glow of your charismatic public relations messaging.
Taking advantage of an innovative marketing and creative services firm that is well-networked with public relations companies, like Peppershock, gives you the best possible from both worlds. For more reference information, or to book a date to come a-courtin’, please contact us here at Peppershock Media Productions.

Gratitude

Although thanking a customer for using your services seems like an obvious way to show appreciation for their business, how you do it shouldn’t be so obvious. Be creative with your "Thank You" notes and keep your business at the top of their mind, as well as at the top of their list.
If your customer does business with many companies, and receives a "Thank You" card from each one, how is your business going to stand out? Here are some ideas.

Make your gratitude stand on its own. Peppershock can help you create a card with pop-up features. This 3D aspect will literally pop out at your client.

Give a token of your appreciation. Include a useful trinket that is representative of your business. Be it a magnet, or a keychain, or maybe something more innovative. Giving your client something to remember you by is always a good idea.

Include a discount. To insure that your client will return, include a discount for their next purchase.

Ask for a referral. The best complement your customer can give you is a referral to someone else who could use your services.

Like a Blueprint

Custom home building is no different than building a custom marketing message. You wouldn't go directly to a builder and say"...build me a house. I think I want this, this and that. Here's a check...have at it." You've got to start with a very well defined plan, a well constructed message that will resonate with your target audience that must be identified, and create a way to track results.

When creating marketing and communication deliverables (ie. print ads, web banners, TV commercials, promotional videos) it's a common misconception to think it's as easy as picking up the camera, shooting some footage, bringing it into the computer and hitting the "Make Magic" button. Or, "I have Photoshop and a ton of special effects...I can create a print ad with the touch of a few buttons." And it's easy to think that way. A 30 second ad goes by quick...it's just a series of shots with music and some graphics at the end...shouldn't be that hard to create, right? What is not always considered is all the preproduction, planning, the research, the orchestration, scheduling, coordination, content generation, word smithing, location(s) scouting, talent scouting, even wardrobe selections... the "blueprint" creation that went into that fleeting :30 seconds or :60 seconds for radio or a well designed and implemented print piece.

There are many elements that go into developing a marketing deliverable (ie. logo creation, print ad, :30 second TV commercial, etc.) just as there are many building materials and ways of installing those materials into a new home. "Oh, you want the custom bamboo hardwood as opposed to roll out laminate flooring. No problem...just let me adjust the scope of the project, including budget and completion date." Now we need to order the new materials, define what process will change and determine who is best suited to install bamboo hardwood.

When you sit down with an architect to draw up blueprints, you're beginning to build your home...on paper. You're designing, planning, adjusting...getting everything to match your needs and desires to build your dream home...within a budget, of course. You don't want to begin building a foundation that will only support a single story, 1800 sq. foot home if what you really intended to build is a two story, 2500 sq. foot home. Print design, web design and video production are no different. You need to start with a plan...on paper; a blueprint! A strong, solid concept that will carry your message in a creative and meaningful way. You need to conceptualize, design, develop...have a plan in place before you ever begin taking anything to screen or print. In video production those documents are called treatments, scripts, storyboards. Print design will usually have many, hand drawn at times, concepts and drafts to start with and narrow down to the best one.

And along the way...once the builder has come in and started building your home, using the blueprint as their instruction manual, if there is a change to that plan (again, referring back to the bamboo hardwood as opposed to the laminate) the builder can accommodate according to the architect's plans. He will most likely give you a bid letting you know the price difference and the new expected completion date. Because you've changed your mind, mid process, the builder is more than happy to accommodate, but needs you, the client, to understand and agree to, a change in cost and delivery date and completion date that now suddenly effects everything else in the process. The scope of the work has changed. Same with marketing and advertising. We will gladly adjust and deter from the blueprints...as long as you, the client, understand that there will be a change order, a revised estimate and a new expected delivery date.

The planning in the creative process can be painful at times, and not always the most flattering part of the process, but extremely crucial for the success of your campaign. A blueprint is the most critical component when creating your dream home. That's where Peppershock comes in. We're the architects, the builder, the producers. We help you create your marketing and communication blueprints from the pre-production stage, through production, post-production and ultimately distribution and tracking the results.

Idaho Media Professionals puts on a "must attend event" Copyright & Web 2.0 Issues for Media Professionals

BOISE, IDAHO

On July 10, 2008 at 5:30 pm, Idaho Media Professionals (http://idahomediapro.org/) will host a seminar called "Copyright and Web 2.0 Issues for Media Professionals " at The Cabin Literary Center (www.thecabinidaho.org), 801 S Capitol Blvd
Boise, ID 83702. The speaker, Brad R. Frazer, J.D., M.B.A. of Hawley Troxell Ennis & Hawley LLP, is an expert on intellectual property and copyright law. If you are a media professional of any kind--artist, photographer, writer, graphics artist, web developer, broadcast professional, video/film professional, media professional or cartoonist, you will benefit from the tips that Brad Frazer will share about copyright and trademarks. Admission for Idaho Media Professionals members is free, admission for non-members is $20 or join Idaho Media Professionals for $35 and get into this event and other events hosted by IMP in 2008 free.

Media professionals routinely use the Internet as a means of both gathering and disseminating information about themselves and their clients. A whole new body of laws and issues has arisen in the last ten years that may expose you and your clients to legal liability for copyright infringement, trademark infringement, breach of contract and others. Learn how to proactively manage these risks on July 10, when Internet and Copyright Law expert Brad Frazer conducts a lively and interactive discussion of copyright law basics (like fair use and copyrighting your work) and web-specific copyright issues like linking, framing, licensing, right-clicking, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Bio of Brad R. Frazer:

Brad Frazer is Of Counsel to Hawley Troxell Ennis & Hawley, LLP, Idaho’s largest law firm, where his practice areas include Internet law, e-commerce, technology and software licensing, patent counseling, trademarks and domain names, copyright, media law, computer law, trade secrets, non-disclosure agreements, and related transactional work and litigation. Brad is a 1985 cum laude graduate of Brigham Young University (Provo) and a 1988 graduate of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he earned a position on the College’s law review. After law school, he received his Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Utah. He blogs at http://www.internetlawyer.blogspot.com/, and is a frequent speaker and writer on intellectual property and Internet topics.



Idaho Media Professionals is a state-wide organization committed to growing the film, television and new media industry throughout Idaho, developing a professional workforce through education and job opportunities, and advocating for legislative measures that will grow the industry in Idaho.

Idaho Media Professionals (IMP) produces a variety of events annually to foster a networked community of professionals involved in the film, television and interactive industries in Idaho. Designed to be fun yet dynamic, the screenings, mixers and other events generate serious discussions on issues of interest and value to industry professionals. Full members guide the development of the organization and elect the Board of Directors.

Idaho Media Professionals is a non-profit, 501(c6), organization, eligible for grant funds on state and federal levels, as well as from private foundations. Membership dues, sponsorships and other contributions to a 501(c6) are not tax-deductible donations, but are legitimate business expenses.

For more information contact:

Pamela Thompson, PamRecruit@q.com, 208-898-1451