On The Mark Blog for Robertson & Markowitz Advertising & Public Relations and Robmark Interactive http://blog.robmark.com/ On The Mark http://blog.robmark.com/ http://blog.robmark.com/rss_icon.gif 150 132 Blog for Robertson & Markowitz Advertising & Public Relations and Robmark Interactive February 22, 2012 - Ad Spotlight: Target's "Color Changes Everything" Target "wows" audiences again with its latest ad campaign touting its colorful spring fashions appropriately titled "Color Changes Everything", which premiered during the Grammys last week. Using a very playful version of everyone's favorite childhood song, Alouette, the whimsical 60-second spot brought the screen to life with bright colors, back flips and the famous Target logo on the top of a giant hot air balloon. If you weren't already excited for spring, this will definitely get you out of the winter doldrums! Enjoy!

]]> http://blog.robmark.com/article/294/ February 20, 2012 - Past and Future Famous Brand Logos Our graphic designer, Chaz, found this article and we thought it was worth sharing. It seems these days that when companies go to "rebrand" themselves, the first thing they will change is their logo. Starbucks, Gap and JC Penney are recent examples. Some of the most famous brands have had several logo evolutions in recent years, and it appears the trend is leaning towards simplicity. With that in mind, this website has attempted to predict what the future logos of these famous brands will look like. The result is pretty entertaining. Click here for the full article.

]]> http://blog.robmark.com/article/293/ February 17, 2012 - Fruit Inspired Photography, by Cristina Oteroc We came across this link yesterday and had to share. A very talented 16-year photographer from Spain created a series of self-portraits using fruit as her inspiration. Cristina Oteroc produced this amazing series from start to finish, and it's really something you have to see to believe. Below is one of the several stunning photos in the series. Click on the link to look at the others.

]]> http://blog.robmark.com/article/292/ February 16, 2012 - Second Annual A-Town Get Down February 25 You may remember an event we helped publicize last year called the A-Town Get Down. The music festival honored the life of SCAD student, Alex Townsend, a junior at Savannah College of Art and Design who passed away in a car accident on Valentine’s Day 2010. In memory of his life, his family began the A-Town Get Down Music Festival last year, and it was an instant success. We are happy to be working with Alex’s family to help get the word out about this worthwhile event again this year. This year’s A-Town Get Down will be held Saturday, February 25 at the Charles H. Morris Center located at 10 East Broad Street in downtown Savannah.

To give you some more information, the A-Town Get Down is a public music festival that features local, regional and national touring bands. In his name, Alex’s friends and family use the A-Town Get Down to celebrate his love of Savannah, music and the arts for hundreds of people each year. All net proceeds from the event will go to Savannah-based non-profit organizations.

This year’s event will feature Devon Allman, son of Southern rock legend and Richmond Hill resident Gregg Allman, national touring reggae-jam band Passafire, ever-popular local hip-hop group, Word of Mouth, renown stencil artist Peat Wollaeger, and DJ, composer and performer Sean “Unda” Carter as MC.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online or at the door! We would love to see a big crowd so please considering supporting this great event.

]]> http://blog.robmark.com/article/291/ February 13, 2012 - A Tribute to Whitney We were very saddened to hear of the passing of Whitney Houston over the weekend. She was a once-in-a-generation talent, and her family is in our thoughts. Luckily, thanks to sites like YouTube, we are able to relive some of her best performances. By far, our favorite has to be the National Anthem from Super Bowl XXV in 1991. This is as close to perfection as you can get, and it's quite possible that no one will ever top it. RIP Whitney.

]]> http://blog.robmark.com/article/290/ February 10, 2012 - Social Media Trends for 2012 The social media world is ever-changing, and the challenge isn't just keeping up. It's staying ahead of the game. That means knowing what the upcoming trends will be before they are trends. Luckily for us, several articles have already been released, including this one, that highlight what to expect in 2012 for social media. It's a great read. Here are a few things that stuck out to us:

1. Social commerce - For a society that is so seemingly consumed with privacy, it's almost scary to think that you will be able to enter your credit card information to purchase merchandise...through social media channels.

2. ROI - It's probably the most challenging aspect of social media marketing. What is the return on investment from a Facebook post? It appears that this will be an extreme focus in 2012.

3. Rewarding social interaction - At Robmark Interactive, it is our belief that you need to give your customers a reason to follow you on social media platforms. Whether it's discounts, coupons, contests with prizes, etc., it needs to be something that they can't get anywhere else. 2012 looks to be the year where retailers really tie-in social and face-to-face interaction within their stores to reward buying behaviors.

 

]]> http://blog.robmark.com/article/288/ February 9, 2012 - Elements Every Business Website Should Have Mashable posted this article today about the 10 most important features your business website should contain. Many, if not all of these items seem like no-brainers, but you’d be surprised how many businesses’ websites are lacking the basics. To summarize Mashable:

1.    Your website should be user-friendly and very easy to navigate. A clear navigation bar with logical names for your website’s various pages will help with this.

2.    Your company’s contact information should be VERY visible on your website. Often, this is the first thing your customers are searching for, and they shouldn’t have to look hard to find it.

3.    Your business’ purpose, or the products/services you sell, should be stated clearly on your homepage. Web users should be able to decide within seconds of reading your homepage content whether to stay or go based on if your business is useful to their needs.

4.    In the age of cyber theft and stolen identities, web security should be of the utmost importance, especially if you have an e-commerce site. This means owning an SSL certificate to encrypt the personal data that your clients input.

5.    Mobile devices are now the norm, and it is imperative that your business has a mobile-ready version of your website. This is normally a condensed, text-heavy site that is easily read by smartphones and tablets.

6.    Frequently Asked Questions, or FAQs, serve as a two-fold benefit. First, they give your customers useful information that may not otherwise be located on your website. Secondly, they reduce the time and energy that your employees spend answering the same questions. Everyone wins!

7.    If you’re not using social media for your business, well, you’re missing out on some valuable marketing tools. If you ARE, whatever social media platforms you use should be linked on your website so your customers will know how social media-savvy you are. 


If you’re looking at this list and know that your website needs some work, or even if you have no idea what any of the above means, Robmark Interactive is here to help. And we’ll break it down into terms you can understand. So call us, or stop by, and see how we can take your business’ website to new heights.

]]> http://blog.robmark.com/article/287/ February 6, 2012 - The Votes Are In: Super Bowl Ads 2012 Another Super Bowl has come and gone. Super Bowl Sunday is like Christmas in the advertising world, and in keeping with tradition, we are offering our thoughts on the best ads. We have to admit that there was not a clear homerun this year like there have been in years past. Betty White and “The Force” come to mind. However, there were a few ads that the office was able to come to a consensus on. They are:

Volkswagen’s “The Dog Strikes Back”

Dogs in advertising are a pretty easy sell, but an overweight dog on his journey to lose weight plus the continuation of the Star Wars theme from last year’s killer ad made this one an easy choice. The ad was clever, not too confusing, and you remember which product is being advertised, which is really the true point of spending all that money. It may not have been as overwhelmingly popular as last year’s “The Force”, which now has over 50 million hits on YouTube, but it was pretty darn close.



M&M’s “Sexy and I Know It”

One might wonder why M&M’s would even need to keep advertising in the Super Bowl. Hasn’t the brand recognition already been established? That’s what made their 2012 Super Bowl ad so memorable. We have to give a lot of credit to M&M’s creative team for continuing to find ways to refresh this timeless campaign and keep it updated with current pop culture. This time, they introduced a new character, Ms. Brown, and took cues and music from LMFAO’s hit song “Sexy and I Know It”. Very fun and hilarious ad.


What were your favorites?

 

 

]]> http://blog.robmark.com/article/286/ February 3, 2012 - Critz Holds Groundbreaking for New BMW Building Yesterday afternoon, Critz BMW held a groundbreaking for Phase Two of The Critz Project at BMW's new permanent location on Stephenson Avenue at White Bluff Road. The project incorporates the construction of a new BMW Sales and Service Center that will encompass 25,000 square feet of new development. Dale Critz, Jr., Dale Critz, Sr. as well as representatives from JT Turner Construction, Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung were present, and several Savannah officials were present.

The future BMW dealership encompasses BMW’s belief that architecture is critical to a client’s experience. The new facility features multiple interactive displays, a central café and open architecture for three-point contact between Sales, Service & Parts and Accessories.

Check out a photo from the groundbreaking below!

Dale Critz, Jr., Dale Critz, Sr., representatives from JT Turner Construction, Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung and Savannah officials break ground on the new BMW building.

 

]]> http://blog.robmark.com/article/285/ February 1, 2012 - Savannah Philharmonic Presents "Spring Awakening" Concert Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra presents their “Spring Awakening” concert that will welcome spring with three romantic selections from Beethoven, Bruch and Schumann. The concert is Saturday, February 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the lovely and historic Lucas Theatre for the Arts. Following Beethoven’s King Stephen Overture, audiences will have the chance to see soloist Ulf Hoelscher, a true German violin maestro, performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto. Hoelscher is a world renowned musician who has been a soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, BBC and Philadelphia Orchestra, to name but a few. The concert will conclude with Schumann’s Symphony No. 1, the “Spring” symphony. Ticket holders will also have the opportunity to attend the educational pre-concert talk facilitated by the Savannah Friends of Music commencing at 6:30 p.m. Concert tickets are available for purchase at www.savannahphilharmonic.org or by calling the box office at (912) 525-5050.

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