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‘Buying the Intern T-Shirt’, Digging Deeper

Posted by JStephens | Filed under Dana News, Updates

Hello again Internet,

As Jef I. Richards once said, “creativity is an advertising agency’s most valuable asset”. Having been here at Dana for another week, it is becoming clearer and clearer to me how this is true. To see it, all I have to do is direct my attention anywhere aside from the current status of my computer.

Recently, my creativity has been slowed to a halt. As we continue to gear up for our 30th anniversary, I have been assigned to the important, yet absolutely mind-numbing experience of data entry. Yesterday, I was briefed in the basics, before being sent out to tame the beast known as Salesforce. A customer relationship management application, Dana uses it to manage their past, present, and future accounts. There must be at least a-zillion. After 5 hours yesterday, I updated accounts A-C. If that pace continues I may be stuck here this weekend, and forced to forego my beach plans after what seemed like 40 days and nights of rain here in Jersey.

On a side note, I have also been doing some media filing for Dana, the person, not company. The media closet has a broken light that kind of flickers, so I usually work in the dark. Most days, she piles up a mass of magazines for me, minus the Spanish GQ. She keeps that for herself.

Take a look at all those mags!

Still, things are not all bad. This morning I was given a crash course on SEO advertising campaigns, everything from keywords to click-throughs. It seems interesting; definitely something worth exploring more if I am given the opportunity. After that I did some more basement filing, wherein if it were not for the expertly placed rubber padding, I would have smashed my head on some very low ductwork. The resulting fall backwards would have seen my way into a pile of boxes including an old ‘scanmaker 800’, an LCD screen, and a Gateway computer where I would probably still be. Luckily for me, that is not the case.

On the way to the archives...

This is an example of one of many archive shelfs

Major injury avoided, having reflected back on the later part of this week has taught me something. Even though what I am doing my not be overtly creative, it has to be done. Creativity may be an agency’s most valuable player, but it is still only a player on a team.

Until next time,

-Jake

First Impressions, Buying the Intern T-Shirt

Posted by JStephens | Filed under Dana News, Updates

Hello Internet.

My name is Jake Stephens, the summer intern here at Dana Communications. I’m so excited this day has come. Today I get to tell you, the millions, my story. It’s only been three weeks, but I feel that I’ve paid enough dues to gain access to posting on the acclaimed Dana blog. Either that, or I’m just filling space. Regardless, take the next few minutes to read my story. Chances are, you may even learn something new.

For instance, did you know that my desk came with a jar of Betta Bites fish food?

A welcoming gift from the good people here at Dana.

After feeding the imaginary fish every morning, I never know what to expect here at Dana. As an intern I do all sorts of things, granted, some are better than others, but there is no shortage of variety. Be it the complex assembly of ‘hello books’, the fun-filled fulfillment of a 200+ piece ‘high-end’ direct mailing, or ventures deep into the basement to file archives. If nothing else, this internship has character. I’ll take it one step further. Dana as a whole has character.

Only 60 more to go!

I made 209 pretty personalized boxes.

Set in the middle of downtown Hopewell, NJ in a former home of a historic bank, the Dana office has a certain quality unmatched in modern construction. The large round conference table is as inviting as the heavily reinforced triple locking steel vault where my co-workers tell me all the interns have to eat lunch. I just wish the light switch were on the inside.

Everybody said I eat here because they want me to stay safe.

It is fascinating to see the elaborate symphony that is advertising. Trust me, I have a front row seat twice weekly. From concept to completion, the advertising process is surely a team effort. Before publication or launch, you can bet that what you see has traveled back and forth, over and again to ensure what the client needs and wants is what the client gets.

I am eager to learn more about world of advertising. So far I think I’m off to a running start. Until next time internet,

-Jake

A ‘Worst-Case’ Case Study

Posted by Kathryn Stracquatanio | Filed under Advertising, Media

Google shows off their marketing tools by selling the “virtually unsellable”: a pet stick.

Dana’s DC Photo Shoot, a True Story

Posted by Charisse Gallagher | Filed under Advertising, Dana News, Travel

You know that old line “don’t work with kids or dogs”? Well, we did both recently—but with very happy results. It all happened in April, when Dana headed to DC on a photo shoot for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Our itinerary: three days, three Kimpton Hotels and 24 signature shots. Our goal: to create a collection of images that would capture the fun, style, warmth and sophistication of the Kimpton brand.

Did we mention the pace was frantic?

Lucky for us, the Kimpton teams were kind and welcoming as we commandeered spaces at the Hotel Monaco DC, the Hotel Palomar DC and the Hotel Palomar Arlington. The hotels were very photogenic (each in its own distinctive way), and the food was fresh and delicious. We were also fortunate to work with a talented photographer (Kingmond Young), great stylists, a group of high-energy models and, of course, our adorable canine star, Keli. (Please, can we adopt her?)

In keeping with Kimpton’s tagline, Stay true to you™, our shot list included lifestyle scenes of guests being themselves, having fun, feeling at home and enjoying the moment. We carefully selected our models to show the spirit of individuality that is so strong at Kimpton and made sure to include signature brand elements, like the hosted wine hour, pet-friendly policy, chef-run restaurants and goldfish bowl.

Here’s a sneak peek of the photos that you will soon see integrated into our work for Kimpton!

Download Your Travel Guide Before You Go

Posted by Isabelle Tourneau | Filed under Travel

Traveling to Rome, Paris, Venice or London? Check out Sound Guides (http://www.sound-guides.com/) for city tours you can download to your MP3 player. It’s a great way to save money on guided tours, plus you’ll get more in-depth info than typical tours about historic, architectural and cultural attractions, as well as off-the-tourist-path experiences you won’t want to miss.

Ready for some GOOD news? An Irresistible Offer + Intelligent e-Marketing = RESULTS

Posted by MHollman | Filed under Uncategorized

Even in the current economic climate, online travel bookings in 2009 are projected to grow 10.5% and reach $116.1 billion (eMarketer.com). Getting your share of this growth will depend on smart e-marketing that generates top-line revenues by enticing new and existing customers.

Here are a few examples of Dana campaigns that have delivered impressive ROI. A key to their success? A compelling offer that motivated the target audience to act immediately.

: Naples Bay Banner

: Starwood Pro

: Heldrich Valentine's Day Email

To create smart e-marketing, Dana’s copywriters make an offer they can’t refuse. Here are the secrets:

Offer them real value. The mood of the moment is about making every dollar count. Your customers must immediately perceive the value of what you’re offering, whether it’s a great rate, an extra night free or credit for hotel/resort amenities. Make sure your offer has genuine value and put it front and center in your promotion.

Show them the benefits. A romantic dinner, a spa treatment, a vacation getaway — all provide the emotional sustenance and mood-lifting experiences we crave in these uncertain times. Highlight these benefits to convince your customers to make this discretionary spend.

Give them a convincing reason to respond. Encourage your customer to make a decision now, not tomorrow. Create urgency by limiting availability or putting a cut-off date on your offer. Above all, create a compelling call to action. What phrase motivates you more: “Click for more information” or “Book your spot on the beach now”? We don’t know about you, but we’re heading for the sun.

Technorati Profile

Social Media: The New Frontier

Posted by Tracy Stottler | Filed under Advertising, Interactive, Media

“Five years ago, we thought of the Web as a new medium, not a new economy.” ~Clement Mok

I’ve been in advertising and marketing for over 20 years. In the early days, we outsourced typesetting and laid everything onto boards. We had wax machines in our studio to lay down the type. Email was just starting to be used and the commercial Internet we know today wasn’t even conceived of yet (thank you, Al Gore!).

We printed a whole lot of brochures back then. I remember in the mid-90s when we were working with clients on their marketing strategies, we started looking at adding a website to their communications plan. The response to that recommendation was consistently, “But how am I going to pay for THAT?”

Back then, having a company website was the new frontier. It was unfamiliar territory, but a necessity. No one really knew how to design an effective site or make it a revenue generating tool, but it was clear this would be a major addition to the marketing mix. We needed to take a fresh look at the budget and reallocate money from one category to make room for this new category. We had to print fewer brochures and ask for a little more funding at the same time.

As marketing experts, it is our job to support our clients needs, keep the door open to new developments, and deliver ideas on how to expand business and generate more revenue. One of the most recent and exciting opportunities is in the area of social marketing. But how does this fit into a company’s overall marketing strategy? How do you track its effectiveness and measure ROI? How do you pay for it?

I just read an online article from Business Week called “Debunking Six Social Media Myths”, by B.L. Ochman. It’s a valuable read on the subject when you’re ready to add social media to your marketing mix.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2009/tc20090218_335887.htm

It says, “For companies, resistance to social media is futile. Millions of people are creating content for the social Web. Your competitors are already there. Your customers have been there for a long time. If your business isn’t putting itself out there, it ought to be.

Customers are itching to interact with brands and talk to people like them about their products/services. Companies must continually adapt, engage with customers and innovate to stay competitive.”

One of the issues addressed in the article is that “many of the tools that can be employed in social media marketing are free to use, however, integrating these tools into a corporate marketing program requires skill, time, and money.”

The article goes on to explain that “a budget for an effective social media marketing campaign begins at $50,000 for two to three months. Some companies have spent less and some have spent more … but building a site that incorporates interactivity, allows user-generated content, and perhaps also includes e-commerce doesn’t come cheap from anyone who knows what they are doing… It takes skill, experience, and money.”

Additional budget guidelines are given and although some of the costs quoted may sound a bit daunting, particularly in this economic climate, the point is to start somewhere. Find a way to begin incorporating social media into your plan at a level you can afford. Dana has identified some simple ways to ease into this new medium, enabling its clients to see what social media can do for them.

Measuring the value of social media is a bit trickier, but “you can use a variety of methods, including mentions on blogs and in media; comments on the content; real-time blog advertising results, and click-throughs to your company Web site. You can get very precise statistics from a variety of sites, including Google Trends, Twitter search, Google Analytics, BackType, and Compete.”

Think about websites 10-15 years ago. No one knew how they would make us any money and only seemed to cost us a lot. But over time, they became more cost-effective revenue generating tools that we now can’t live without. Social media is the new frontier. Even before recent months, when many resources have been cut, it’s an important reminder that we still need to make room for social media in any marketing strategy and understand what an investment in social media actually means.

As the newest medium available in your marketing arsenal, social media will demand a fresh look at your budget so you can reallocate money from one category to make room for this new category.

.: Dana Gets Accepted into Columbia University :.

Posted by Eric Welsh | Filed under Advertising, Dana News, Hospitality News, Interactive, Media, Updates

Columbia University selected Dana Communications to create a campaign for Faculty House, a historic meetings and events facility located on the Ivy League school’s New York City campus.

Currently undergoing its first full-scale restoration since its construction in 1923, Faculty House is a social and intellectual hub for the Columbia community and a meetings and events venue for patrons outside of the university. When it reopens in September, the modernized campus treasure will become a premier Upper West Side setting for an array of functions, featuring multi-use, year-round dining, catering and conference facilities. Faculty House will present exceptional global cuisine and thoughtful service at a world-class level.

Dana is providing advertising and promotional strategies as well as consultative services covering all of the Faculty House’s offerings, for the pre-launch and post-opening phases and for internal and external markets.

The agency will perform competitive research and analysis, recommend positioning, develop brand identity to be used across all marketing, execute new creative concepts and provide media management. The campaign will comprise website design, search engine optimization, social networking and online advertising, in addition to more traditional advertising such as print ads and collateral.

5 days and 4 nights. Oahu at its best.

Posted by Lynn Hartley | Filed under Travel

Recently I took my first trip to Hawaii and the island of Oahu. Aside from being in 80 degree weather versus the 50 degrees at home, I was really excited to see everything the island had to offer.

I am a planner so I already had everything planned for my trip. Monday was my first day and everything was pretty much flying. I left at about 6:00 am Eastern Time and arrived in Oahu around 3pm their time. I couldn’t wait to get my feet in the sand and myself in the water so off I went!

On Tuesday I had the opportunity to take an hour-long helicopter tour of the island. The helicopter fits 6 people plus the pilot. When I checked in they told me I was too small to ride by the windows because of the weight balance required in the chopper. At first I was disappointed but little did I know, I was going to be sitting right beside the pilot in the front of the plane!

We started out flying over Waikiki Beach towards Diamond Head. Sailors originally thought there were diamonds in this crater because of the glitters you see when the sunlight hits it, hence the name.

Continuing on we flew over Hanauma Bay, which is a huge snorkeling and recreational Swimming Park. The Bay was also the location for Elvis Presley’s film Blue Hawaii. As we cut north on the right side of the island, I saw the color of the land. Flushed green hills, deep blue waters shining in the sun. And hidden deep into the lands is Ali Sacred Falls. All I can say to describe this is pure beauty. Ironically the first thing I thought of when I saw this was it would be nice to hike but there must be a lot of snakes there. Interestingly enough, our guide told us there are no snakes in Hawaii! So the hike would have been possible had they not closed the park it’s located in to the public.

Heading further up the right side we went over the North Shore. The easiest way to describe this is relaxation. It’s home of my favorite, the Banzai Pipeline, where surfers from all around the world come to ride the waves. The waves are huge and as they crash across the reefs underneath they form curls that surfers can ride the barrel across. I must say, while we were there, there was nothing better than watching a man surf on a serving tray. True talent!

Apparently Oahu’s soil has so much volcanic ash and red iron that it turns the soil that color and makes it very fertile for the Pineapples - which explains why Dole has their headquarters here. When we flew down the left side of the towards the Dole Plantation and I got a great aerial view of the famous “Pineapple Garden Maze” which is one of the world’s largest. While I only saw it from the air, I have no doubt I would have been lost in the bushes all day if I were on foot. You can also see Kings Highway in the background. I think it should have been named Queen’s highway but that’s just my opinion!

The end of our tour went over Pearl Harbour but since I was going there again towards the end of my trip, I didn’t take many pictures from the air. After we landed, I went back to relaxing, swimming and surfing the rest of the day.

On Wednesday morning my husband Jeff and I headed over to Sea Life Park. I have always loved dolphins so the 20-minute ride seemed longer than it actually was. Once we got there I suited up and climbed in the pool. Our instructor told us because of the way these dolphins were trained we had to keep our hands above water until we were ready to signal them for something. Well apparently Jeff didn’t listen and one came up in his face and smacking himself against the water as if he were trying to talk to him. Once we got back on track, we got to swim around with the dolphins. I knew they were extremely smart but they are also very friendly. After about 20 minutes of swimming it was finally time to try a belly ride! I swam to the left side of the pool and crossed my arms in front of me. The dolphin swam around and stayed on the ride side. As soon as I was ready, I formed a T with my left hand on my right shoulder and my right arm straight out. I am not kidding when I say this, as soon as my right hand shot out that dolphin swam towards me faster than I could imagine. He slowed down as he came behind and flipped over on his belly. I grabbed both of his fins and off I went. Even though I am already a kid at heart, it was SO much fun. Then it was time to kiss him so I cupped my right hand on top of my left and tapped the water three times. He came right up to me and waited for me to pull him close and kiss him. No matter how many times I look at it, I still think the picture is too cute so it stays on my wall at home.

When I got out of my suit, we walked around the park to learn about the other animals. One of the shows I watched was, of course, the dolphin show. I love seeing them flip in air and do their tricks. This show was especially cool because they had both the Pacific dolphins which are large and the Atlantic dolphins which are more of a baby size. It even had something I had never heard of: a Wholphin! She was a mix of a whale and a dolphin that were in the park, and the only one of it’s kind known in the world.

There are so many other things to do at the park. They even have this huge tank you can suite up and dive inside of so you can walk around with the sea life. It’s basically snorkeling but in a controlled environment. You walk past everything from blowfish to stingrays and even sharks! Definitely a worthwhile experience.

After finishing up our tour of the park, we headed back to do some Waikiki shopping to kill some time. There is such a variety of stores it actually makes shopping fun. They have everything from high end stores like Chanel and Gucci to kiosks in the International marketplace. And the street performers are fantastic! As the late afternoon approached, we headed up the island to the board the Navatek dinner cruise. We made friends with a couple sitting beside us and further into the evening the four of us decided to try Sake for the first time. Sake is definitely for the strong willed! When the sun was setting, we heard everyone on deck laughing so we walked outside and saw two whales flipping around. The waters were so rough that we got wet a few times but I still managed to keep my camera dry to get some pictures. Unfortunately the whales were not cooperating because every time I snapped a picture they were back in the water.

Pearl Harbour was scheduled for Thursday. I was told that the line is enormous so you have to get there early. We did have to stand in line for about an hour but it moved very quickly. I am a huge history buff so once we were inside we went to watch a documentary on the Harbour’s background and the attack itself. After that was over we boarded a boat and sailed across the port to the Arizona Memorial. I have always seen this on TV but words cannot describe the place once you are physically there. The memorial itself strays across the middle of the sunken ship. The back of the first room with flags from all military divisions and the back room has a memorial wall with inscriptions of those lost. The middle room is the largest and contains an opening where you can peek down the floor opening into the waters and the ship. This room contains 21 windows to represent the 21-gun salute for the fallen sailors. On the outside of the right windows you can also see an opening of the ship where oil has been seeping out. This oil is also known as the “black tears” and the story behind it says that once the oil stops seeping and the waters clear, all the souls have passed.

While we were at Pearl Harbour we also were able to tour the USS Bowfin Submarine. I could not imagine having to stay on this ship for more than an hour. It is definitely too claustrophobic for me! Heading back to Waikiki Beach we got ready for our first “official” luau that night. I had the best authentic food possible and a great show to boot. The best part of the show was the man who danced with fire. Even though I know he was oiled up for protection, the thought of putting a stick of fire on your arms and in your mouth is still wild.

Our last day, Friday was spent heading to the airport and flying home. With the time change, we left Friday and arrived back home in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Just before we went to sleep, we flew over the other islands and I got some great shots. Overall it was an ideal trip that I would recommend to anyone looking for a great adventure.

The rise and fall of today’s economy

Posted by Lynn Hartley | Filed under Advertising, Interactive, Media

In these tough economic times I see and hear more and more frustration around me about what’s yet to come. From the car dealerships on TV who are concerned about their sales to the cashiers at businesses like Linens and Things who are working out their final days before closing. It’s a really sad situation that I have been fortunate to have only seen once in my lifetime.

As I continue to monitor everything, I’ve noticed how advertising is slowly decreasing everywhere. From an agency standpoint, one would assume this is to compensate for losses and cover additional layoffs that may have been needed. But it makes me wonder – Is this really the best approach for the consumer?

While cutting some things here and there are important to the continued success and “catch-up” of a business, it’s also important to keep certain sectors such as print and interactive intact to make the most of not only your presence but also your brand. Your brand identity is so important to the growth of your business. It provides such a strong distinction between you and others that it can help give the best advertising (and not just because it’s free)…word of mouth. Your brand also provides reassurance to those loyal customers that, while they continuously come to your property because its second nature to them, will be the first to raise a flag if they stop seeing your presence in the market.

As a consumer, whenever I see less advertising by great brands the first thing I think of is the economic status. The second is weakness. If I wanted to take a vacation to get some rest and relaxation, I would be truly scared to make my purchase at a place that appeared to be dropping off. I would assume they were unstable and may take my hard earned money into bankruptcy with them.

If I wanted to go to a luxury destination or “my tropical paradise”, the world today naturally pulls me to log onto the Internet. Once I’m there, I’m most likely going to google destinations that I am interested in. If I had a particular place I loved to go then I would be loyal, choose them and that would be that. But if I am randomly choosing as a potential customer would, than I would start my research with the properties at the top of my search listing.

In destination purchases the consumer can be so finicky. Myself included. I am more apt to ignore the places that list every detail without the jazz, than those that give me a soothing sense of worth that my money will provide. So even if I love to take Caribbean vacations and always stay at a Sandals Beach Resort, if I stop seeing them in the market, I will easily become intrigued with the next feel good place.

With that said, if someone cut their search advertising I probably won’t interact with their website during my selection process. On the other hand, if someone kept their search but cut all their print, I may see them in my top results but I may not recognize them. Those properties that let both work hand in hand are the ones that I will see, recognize and click through to find more information on. It almost makes me think of the old situation where you have two people running for class president. I always focused on the candidate who stayed in front of me to get his message across but the one who seemed to bounce in and out quickly faded out of my memory.

« Older Entries

‘Buying the Intern T-Shirt’, Digging Deeper

First Impressions, Buying the Intern T-Shirt

A ‘Worst-Case’ Case Study

Dana’s DC Photo Shoot, a True Story

Download Your Travel Guide Before You Go

Ready for some GOOD news? An Irresistible Offer + Intelligent e-Marketing = RESULTS

Social Media: The New Frontier

.: Dana Gets Accepted into Columbia University :.

5 days and 4 nights. Oahu at its best.

The rise and fall of today’s economy

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