Top 20 Brand/PR Agency Celebrates 10 Years

Moving into month four of our 10-year anniversary, we are enjoying the challenge of identifying grassroots approaches to give back to the community. The Challenge: Visit 10 non-profits over 10 months on 10 unique holidays, donating 10 gifts in 10 creative ways.

Preventing Skin Cancer with Sun Screen

Did you know that there are more than 1 million cases of skin cancer diagnosed in the U.S. each year? To minimize your risk, apply and reapply your sun screen whenever you are outside — even on non-sunny days. This will protect your skin from the harmful effects of the sun! Don't forget the sunscreen. May 27 is National Sun Screen Day! To commemorate National Sun Screen Day, we couldn't touch 1 million people, but we could reach one of the highest at-risk groups — young lifeguards. Earlier this week, the Articulon team spent time with the staff and volunteers at Raleigh's Optimist Pool.We toured the facility and donated a boat load of sun screen. What's more, there are approximately 400 lifeguards working across Wake County to ensure your safety. Parks and Rec offers three year-round and six seasonal pools for citizens to enjoy. Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department encourages, provides, promotes and protects quality leisure, recreation and cultural opportunities, facilities and environments. Cindy, Mike, and Brian (back row) with lifeguards and staff at Optimist Pool

Locally, The News & Observer even made mention of it in their report on the weather. N.C. State students posted photos on The Wolf Web, and news blogs like examiner.com and Honest NC.

Even before the festival began, LGBT media like the Washington Blade were reporting on the importance of the event.

Now keep you eyes open for the LGBT Center of Raleigh, organizer of OutRaleigh, to receive more news coverage Tuesday. The center is holding an election night watch celebration that NBC 17 has already requested to cover and Articulon is receiving call from out-of-town publications such as the Charlotte Post for call-in reaction interviews.

WRAL

NBC17

ABC 11

News 14

 From the Winston-Salem Journal  to the Hickory Daily Record, smaller communities are incorporating news from larger media outlets in order to fill their website content.

The Articulon team was recently honored as a "Patriotic Employer" by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Employer Suppport of the Guard and Reserve. The award recognizes Articulon for supporting associates in America's National Guard and Reserve Forces. A Special thank you to Christopher Kimball, serviceman and former Articulon associate (seen below with team members Mike, Cindy, Brian and Lisa).

We'll Visit 10 non-profits during 10 months on 10 unique holidays, donating 10 gifts in 10 creative ways.

This year, we've celebrated National Tortilla Chip Day with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina in February; and in March we learned about critical programs for students at the Tammy Lynn Center honoring National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

What better way to kick off Friday the 13th than to celebrate one of America's favorite games—SCRABBLE!

Today, April 13, is National Scrabble Day.

Did you know that Scrabble is sold in 121 countries in 29 different languages? Not only is the game fun and educational, but it also helps players learn math and thinking skills.

To observe Scrabble Day, the Articulon team visited the Wake County Boys & Girls Clubs - Brentwood location. Kids, volunteers and the staff loved the new donation of assorted scrabble sets. We toured the arts & crafts room, the tech center, gym and games rooms, and, most of all, enjoyed the chance to play a few games of scrabble with the kids.

The Wake Boys & Girls Clubs provide a safe environment for young people to enjoy a range of fun and educational activities. Last year, the clubs had more than 4,000 members. The clubs offer five core programs: Character and Leadership Development, Education and Career Development, Health and Life Skills, The Arts, and Sports, Fitness and Recreation.

10 charities, over 10 months on 10 unique holidays receive 10 gifts in 10 creative ways.

Last month, we kicked off our celebration by supporting the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina on National Tortilla Chip Day - (Click here to check it out).

In honor of March as National Developmental Disabilities Awareness month, we wanted to gain some insight about the needs of this special group of people.

Did you know that more than 5 million Americans have a developmental disability, including 167,000 in North Carolina? We sure didn't! Providing care and love to these individuals and families in Wake County is Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities.

Articulon visited Tammy Lynn Center this week to spend time with the students, staff and teachers. We experienced the interactive adaptive playground, joined the classroom and donated 10 craft kits filled with art supplies and bubbles.

Programs and services at the center include:

• Early Intervention
• Day Services
• Therapy Services
• Respite Care Program
• Residential Services

Mike, Sarah and Cindy with TLC students

The Articulon team has supported the mission of the center for many years. Cindy Stranad is a former board member and event chair, and Brian Van Norman is the 2012 publicity chair for the organization's signature fundraiser, A Toast to the Triangle™.

Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities offers educational, residential and family support services to children and adults with special needs. Founded in 1969, the center is committed to providing the individuals it serves with the opportunity to maximize their abilities and potential in a loving, nurturing environment.

There are many ways you can support Tammy Lynn Center.
Click here to learn more about the organization and how you can help.

I’m Sarah Wood, a senior from N.C. State (That's me to the right). I joined Articulon in January as a public relations intern and am excited to report that I have now reached the halfway mark. It’s gone by so fast, but I’m learning so much.

Working at an agency is definitely different from working for one organization. Instead of working with one client, you’re working with multiple clients daily on different projects. The projects vary, which is great because it provides more opportunities to learn and utilize your creativity. With one client we could be working on rebranding a new identity to target a broader audience, and another client we could be working on revamping their website to be up-to-date.

Most assuredly, a lot of things can go on during a day at a public relations/branding agency. Now that I’m halfway toward the end, I’m definitely excited to see what will come my way when I get back from spring break.

And speaking of spring break, I will be going down to Louisiana with an organization from N.C. State, Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service (CSLEPS), on an alternative spring break trip to work with Habitat for Humanity on a site near the Gulf Coast, one of the disaster areas from Hurricane Katrina. I know my group and I are eager to go down there and help the communities in need and learn a little about that Louisiana culture that we don’t see up here!

While I’m gone I’ll take pictures and bring them back to share so people can see what we did and what we learned. When I get back I know the other half of the final semester of my college days and the other half of my internship will be waiting on me. I will be excited to come back and learn, but for now this intern is headed south and might end up on the bayou!

Be back soon!

- Sarah

Articulon's 10th anniversary is more than just a milestone; it’s a chance to understand our clients and agency better. We nurture our traditions while we appreciate both the growth and change that have propelled the agency forward.

We couldn't have made it without our clients, friends and partners. Thank you for 10 great years! 

We're using the power of 10 to make a difference in the lives of Triangle residents. For the next 10 months, we will multiply our creativity by the power of 10 in support of local non-profit organizations.

That means 10 charities, over 10 months on 10 unique holidays will receive 10 gifts in 10 creative ways. 

Today, we kick-off our giving celebration on National Tortilla Chip Day! The Articulon team visited the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, with 85 pounds of tortilla chips, complete with salsa. This donation will create 72 meals for area individuals in need.

The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina provides more than 150,000 pounds of food every day to 800 community-based emergency feeding programs that serve more than 500,000 individuals at risk of hunger. The organization has six locations that serve 34 eastern North Carolina counties.

Click here to learn how you can support FBCENC and make a difference in someone's life today.

(Mike, Sarah, Brian and Cindy make a food donation in honor of National Tortilla Chip Day at FBCENC.)

Nearly half of us (45%) usually make a New Year’s resolution, but less than 10% are successful in achieving that goal

As we head in to February, how many of you are still working toward your goals? How many have been sidetracked already? Here are four tips that can keep you on track – personally and professionally.

1. Conquer the fear: whether it’s losing weight or raising brand awareness through social media, the first step you need to take is move beyond negative thoughts. Brush away fears like: “My investment won’t pay off.” or “I don’t have the time for this.”
   
   
2. Commit your time: Any project that feeds positive results is going to take dedicated time and effort. Losing weight can’t happen overnight, neither can building a successful social media strategy. In today’s world, we are all super busy with a laundry list of tasks. If you want the reward, make time each day and prioritize two things that you can do that will move you toward your goal.
   
   
3. Develop a plan: To achieve success in any aspect of your life, it is critical to develop a game plan before taking action. Don’t start out empty handed and without the right tools to help you succeed. Take a little time to research and learn about what you are facing. Set small achievable goals that you can reach and celebrate as you move toward your ultimate goal. Doing so will keep you motivated and focused on the end strategy.
   
   
4. Stay engaged: If you are trying to lose 30 pounds, reach out to your friends and use them as accountability partners. This will help keep your drive alive as you achieve each milestone. The same holds true in business. In developing a social media presence, look to colleagues for feedback on your plan. Pick their minds on what is working and what needs improvement. Be flexible and willing to adjust your strategy as you move along. Remember it’s called social media for a reason. Keep it social. Stay engaged throughout the process and you’ll see the difference in the end.

Whether it’s a personal or professional goal you are seeking to reach, remember to cut yourself some slack along the way. The process may be difficult and you may have a setback along the way, but don’t beat yourself up. Keep moving toward the goal and good things will come. If you’d like more great social media information, check out the Fresh Ideas blog by BurrellesLuce.

Much like public relations, word of mouth and reputation building must be purposeful, deliberate and strategic. So how do individuals and companies begin to better manage, control and craft positive word of mouth advertising?

First, start with the end in mind. The goal is to influence a decision and ultimately to help sell a product/service. This means building productive relationships among many audiences. It’s about understanding how to create genuine customer enthusiasm and how to share it with future fans. It’s about caring as much about people reputation as product reputation. Remember, given today’s highly competitive market, reputation is crucial to building and maintaining success and, moreover, it’s vulnerable to even the slightest misstep or service mishap.

Here are five quick tips any business can consider as a framework to planning a strategy to create a positive public relations:

1. Are you proactive about delivering messages to your targets? 
2. Do you have an ongoing media strategy and a proactive approach to influencing your publics? If you don’t have the expertise, consider the benefit of hiring a professional.
3. Have you determined which messages are resonating with reporters?
4. Have you created accountability by setting standards and metrics?
5. Have you created a brand differentiation?

If you need additional proof as to the importance of delivering your brand message, keep in mind these findings from Reputations Corporation:

* 72 percent of consumers say reputation influences their buying decisions.
* 80 percent of employees will accept less pay to work with a company with an excellent reputation.
* 89 percent say reputation is a tiebreaker between equal products.

Above all, do what you say and say what you’ll do. Your community, customers, employees, vendors and media want to know what they are getting and what to expect.Make your reputation deliberate. Don’t keep us guessing.

There’s no time for it.

Although I have not been victimized, I do know someone who is going through the painful process of fixing their credit after someone used their identity unscrupulously. The interesting thing I found when talking to her about this, is that, unlike many common beliefs that ID theft happens with your bank account or credit cards, her pain has been caused by someone setting up phone and cable service using her name.

So what can we do to reduce the risk of identity theft? Thanks to our friends at the Better Business Bureau serving Eastern North Carolina, here are 10 everyday steps you can take to protect yourself:

1. Secure your personal documents at home.
   Securing your personal documents at home is always a good idea, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help or are having work done in your house.
2. Shred any mail that you don’t want to keep.
   This includes credit card applications, insurance forms, financial statements, health forms and billing statements. Also cut up expired credit and debit cards.
3. Monitor your bank and credit card transactions thoroughly.
   Criminals with your account number generally start with small transactions to see if you’ll notice.
4. Protect your Social Security number, all account numbers and passwords.
   Don’t carry these numbers in your wallet. Also, minimize the personal information you print on checks. You don’t need to include your Social Security number, phone number or driver’s license number.
5. Never respond to emails requesting to “verify” your personal information and identifiers.
   Your bank, credit card company, online payment system, the IRS—none of these organizations will call or email asking for your confidential information. They already have it.
6. Don’t create obvious passwords.
   Mix in some numbers with capital and lowercase letters.
7. Never use e-mail to communicate sensitive personal information.
   Examples of such personal information are your user name, passwords, Social Security number or credit card number.
8. Don’t use your PDA or cell phone to store bank information.
   Consumers should never store bank information such as credit card numbers or other financial information on their cellular devices.
9. Keep your computer system and browser software up to date and set the highest security level you can tolerate.
   Back up your data regularly on a separate storage device and never store passwords or financial information on your hard drive.
10. Check your credit report at least once per year.
    There is only one source authorized to give you ONE FREE annual credit file disclosure per year from each of the three consumer reporting companies. Call 877.322.8228 or visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Call every four months to receive a report from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Doing so will help you keep an even closer eye on your rating. 

BBB is also hosting its semi-annual “Secure Your ID” day local shredding event on Saturday, April 16. The organization encourages you to bring up to three bags or boxes of documents (no binders please) and they will shred them for you on the spot for free. The event is rain or shine and takes place from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Coastal Federal Credit Union on St. Albans Drive in Raleigh. More information is available at www.easternnc.bbb.org/secure-your-id. It’s a great way to clean out your files, especially right as the deadline for filing your taxes approaches. We’ll be there and you should too, so come out and see us.

Americans have always been quick to lend a hand to the world, and this situation is no different. President Obama has pledged support and many organizations have set up relief efforts to those affected. People across the nation are donating money, clothing and time. The Huffington Post has a great article listing many ways we can help make a difference. If we all pitch in just a little the end result will be huge.

Seeing this reminds me of all the needs in our local community. It shouldn’t take a natural disaster for us to get involved. There are opportunities for us to give everyday. Articulon is passionate about supporting area nonprofits in the pursuit of their missions. We’ve been blessed to meet and work with some amazing people along the way. People from organizations including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities, the National Kidney Foundation, the Spastic Paraplegia Foundation, the North Carolina Children’s Hospital, Hopeful Parents and Special Olympics North Carolina.

A key lesson that I’ve taken from working with so many great organizations is that people are giving every day. I’ve seen this first-hand, and we can all be a part of this. There is so much we can do, even in little increments, that can make a huge difference to a person battling a disease or who is less fortunate. It only takes a few minutes or a few dollars to help improve the life of someone else. Doing so not only help others, but it leaves you with the feeling that you’ve made a difference.

This is what we mean by Never Stop Giving.

I did a quick review of the taglines associated with community banks in North Carolina, and found innumerable versions of the same thing:

“Smaller bank, bigger service” – Community Bank of Rowan

“Big Enough to Serve You, Small Enough to Know You” – First Carolina State Bank

“Small enough to know you, large enough to serve you” – Surrey Bank and Trust

“Small enough to care” – Southern Community Bank and Trust

“Hometown service. Big bank services.” – Home Savings Bank

It seems to me that what these banks are touting as a differentiator is actually what makes them all the same. Brand is not created on what makes your company or product the SAME as your competition, but what makes your company impossible to replicate.

One of my favorite definitions of brand – and what breeds brand loyalty – comes from Dr. Jay Barney of Ohio State University. According to his VRIO model, a brand has to possess the following attributes:

 • Valuable – Solves a problem or fills a legitimate need for your customer

• Rare – Something that your competition doesn’t have

• Costly to imitate – Almost impossible for your competition to replicate

• Organizationally leveraged – Your company compliments and communicates the brand value on all levels

I’d like to ask those CEO’s the same question again, but in the VRIO context: “What makes your bank different?”

I imagine I would hear more about HOW they service their customers, how their organization is structured that makes them able to do so, what innovative products they have created to better serve their communities, how their business strategy is stronger, and ultimately, why they have STAYING POWER over their competition.

I’ll give a couple of examples of NC community banks that have established brands with staying power, in my opinion.

Live Oak Bank, based in Wilmington, NC, has positioned itself as a resource for Dentists, Veterinarians and Pharmacists. “Lending more than Capital”.

Square 1 Bank touts the “Power of the Entrepreneur”, and promises to provide creative and focused financial services and advice for start-ups and innovators. They go beyond traditional banking to providing consultation on business plan, executive searches and connections to the venture community through their Square Roots program.

Now THAT provides value, is rare, costly to imitate and permeates the entire organization.

And that is what we mean when we say, Never Stop Differentiating.

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cbp/20110102/#/8

This is what we mean when we say Never Stop the Presses.

In the past 100 years, consumers have taken control. The most successful advertising and marketing campaigns are no longer about what a business has to sell but rather, what the consumer wants to buy. A testament to this theory, Groupon reports $800 million in revenues and more than 50 million users worldwide at end of its second year in business.

Last year, the PBS Frontline special report on The Merchant of Cool: Teens, Culture and MTV valued teen buying power at $150 billion and predicted it to surpass $200 billion by 2011. In June of 2009, Entrepreneur magazine reported, “there are 75 million mothers, all of whom influence 85 percent of their household purchases. That's about $2.1 trillion per year in spending, according to the Marketing to Moms Coalition.”

Not a consumer focused company? Ah, but we all are. We may be a step or two removed from the consumer, but consumer driven businesses are either our clients or our clients’ clients. This means consumer behaviors affect our companies as well.

So What is Qwiki and Why does it Matter?

Qwiki is the latest information system on the internet. Using videos, slideshows and voice-over storytelling, information searches become a multi-sensory experience. I would call the Qwiki the next generation web encyclopedia. My prediction is: Qwiki will become the first place K-12 students will go for school research in less than 2 years.

As we all know, where kids go moms follow. With the spenders of more than $2.3 trillion (teen and moms) accessing Qwiki information, this is going to be the next marketing hotspot. Currently, there is no advertising on Qwiki. That will probably change. Even if Doug Imbruce and Louis Monier, co-founders of Qwiki, can create a sustainable business model absent of advertising revenue, not having a company Qwiki entry will become the equivalent of not having a webpage.

Qwikis in the Office

We are about three years away from Qwiki content showing up in boardrooms and marketing presentations. The frontline information gatherers in most companies are the 25 and under crowd. That means high school juniors this year are our college students/office interns in 2014. These are the people who will be assigned to gather information about company or client X. If they use Qwiki in school as I predict they will, they will use Qwiki at work. Just look at our interns today as they tweet, text and facebook their way through the day. Like the ever-growing pull on non-consumer companies to have a presence on Facebook and in other social media, the Qwiki usage of the twenty somethings will draw us all into a Qwiki web.

The twenty somethings pull is strong. Peter Shankman, marketing pundit for several national and international news channels including Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, recently blogged about AARP going Web 2.0 social. We already have buds of Web 4.0, and 3.0 was in full force during the last presidential election. Marcus Cake, technology investment banker and software entrepreneur, explains the socio-economic side of Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 in an October 2008 post.

Why Get Ready for Qwiki Now?

Google is only 12 years old, and it brings in close to $28 billion in revenues. Facebook is 7 years old and collects $1.86 billion in ad sales. Mentioned earlier, Groupon in 2 years has $800 million in revenues. The viral incubation period is getting shorter and the dollar amounts at stake are getting larger. Being a day late these days will cost you more than a dollar. Millions to billions of dollars are at stake.

At the core of the need to be Qwiki ready is that the nature of computing and web usage are changing. Cloud computing, the new web code standard of HTML5, and the ever-expanding variety of devices are changing the world of websites, SEO and social media. We need to plan our electronic media strategies today to be included in tomorrow’s viral wave. This is what the Articulon team means when we say Never Stop Moving Forward.

Sadly, though, less than 10% of people making a resolution are successful in a given year. I’ve personally made many resolutions only to break them a couple of weeks in. It can be a crazy cycle of resolving to change and then failing to follow through with it. So how do we break through the cycle of failure? Here are five ingredients to create a recipe for success:

1. Take a realistic approach – Set goals that you can actually achieve. If you reach for something unattainable like losing 50 pounds in two months you’re setting yourself up for failure right from the start. Take small steps toward success and you will feel the powerful rewards of reaching your goals.
2. Write out your goals – Putting your goals on paper gives them a concrete voice. Follow through by setting incremental goals and achieving them. Having a physical document will help hold you accountable for your actions, and referring to it when you are lacking energy to move forward can serve as a motivating factor.
3. Share your ambition – Let your friends and family know of your goals rather than keeping them a secret. In doing so, you’ll find that they will serve as extra motivation and support for your commitment to change for the better. Who knows, you may even inspire someone else to make a similar change.
4.  Keep track of your progress – Going hand in hand with writing out your goals, tracking your progress can be energizing. Write down each accomplishment along your journey. Seeing the small steps you are taking toward a larger goal will keep you motivated and moving forward.
5. Stick to your plan, but don’t get discouraged if you slip – It takes about 21 days for an activity to become a habit. We’re three weeks into 2011; how are you doing with your resolution so far? If your plan veers off course, don’t fret or beat yourself up.  Get back on track and keep striving toward your goal.  

A key to remember when working toward any goal is that your journey is a marathon not a sprint. Remember the tortoise and hare fable? Have a little faith in yourself and you can meet that resolution this year. This is what we mean by Never Stop Trying!

I don’t define myself by my zodiac sign, but it has definitely become a part of who I am. Over the years, I’ve come to realize that I actually possess the traits of a Pisces: imaginative, sensitive, compassionate, unworldly, intuitive and sympathetic. 

Now, just because some guy is telling me that Ophiuchus is in the house and I’ve been bumped onto the Aquarius team, I’m not going to become independent, intellectual, unemotional and detached. Or will I?

Can changing a label change characteristics and behaviors? Does the fact that Belk has a “new brand” (hip and Southern) mean that it will actually become hip? As far as I can tell, Belk is still the place that my grandmother goes to find her knit suits.

Brand goes a long way beyond changing a logo and airing ‘cool’ TV ads. Brand begins from within – from the logo, to the merchandise in the store, to the attitude of each employee. You can’t slap a new label on something and change its soul.

I’ll quote Shakespeare, who was apparently the brand expert of the 1500’s: 

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

Who are you?

A year ago, theholidayspot.com. called it  a “year earmarked for war, disagreement and disasters of all kind”.  So THAT explains all the natural and man-made disasters! 

Thank goodness that the Year of the Rabbit starts on February 3! 

“Good taste and refinement will shine on everything and people will acknowledge that persuasion is better than force. A congenial time in which diplomacy, international relations and politics will be given a front seat again,” says theholidayspot.com one year later.  Inasmuch as their prediction for 2010 was so accurate, it seems prudent to look toward  2011 from this viewpoint, right?

There are some signs of a congenially Rabbit-y year:

  Image of rabbit by Genese Hamby

Pantone has selected a cheerful Honeysuckle as its color of the year,

Ad Age says that ad spending is on the rise and ad industry employment is increasing,

The Wall Street Journal points to a brighter future for small businesses in 2011,

While the Weekly World News reports that the All-Donut Diet is the best way to shed pounds in 2011. 

We at Articulon are particularly pleased about this news because one of our favorite clients is the Krispy Kreme Challenge, which is coming up on February 5, just two days into the new year.  

You start at the NCSU Bell Tower, run two miles to the Krispy Kreme store, eat a dozen doughnuts and run the two miles back (while keeping the doughnuts down!).  It’s a great way to support a great cause, the NC Children’s Hospital.

And that's what we mean by never stop making a running start

to the Year of the Rabbit! 

Adam is a sales engineer at Brady, a company that provides energy systems and  building solutions for commercial facilities across the Tar Heel state. Brady associates in seven offices came together this holiday season for a charity food drive. When the Raleigh office challenged the Greensboro office to see which office could garner the most support, the Food Fight was on. In the end, Raleigh won donating more that 3,200 non-perishables. Adam maximized the donation by connecting with a college friend who owns Carroll’s IGA in Steadman, N.C. On December 30, the donations were delivered to local food banks across the state. In all, Brady associates collected more than 4,800 cans of food, the equivalent of feeding a family of four for an entire year.

This commitment to giving back to the community by Brady associates became headline news when the Food Fight winners were announced today. This is what we mean when we say Never Stop Making News. To view all the TV news coverage segments, click here.