jones huyett Partners

More than 335 people completed the Visit Topeka, Inc. logo survey last week, and it’s unanimous, Visit Topeka is the winner!

We used our social media networks to recruit participants through our blog, Facebook Fan Page and Twitter accounts. Visit Topeka also distributed an email blast. Eighty-nine percent of the participants were between the ages of 18 and 64. Just over two-thirds were women, and over 80 percent lived in or nearby Topeka.

The most popular logo received 42 percent of the votes. Here’s how the various logos fared:

For the full results, check out this page.

Congratulations to Taylor Clauson, winner of the hotel package giveaway drawing. Enjoy your night’s stay in the great city of Topeka!

Filed by the Partners at 1:50 pm under Creative, Social Media, Topeka, Twitter, online marketing
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In the first week of Marketing 101 we learned the four P’s of the marketing mix: Price, Product, Place and Promotion. But as time went on, we discovered there are many MORE P’s to consider for successful marketing. So which ones are important? All of them!

Briefly, let’s take a look at two more P’s we should keep in mind.

People:

How many times has a company’s employee swayed your opinion of a product or service? Maybe your opinion improved – maybe it got worse! That’s why recruiting and training the best team to represent your business is so critical. As far as the customer is concerned, your people ARE your company.

So make sure you hire people who are well-suited to their positions. And give them good training so they can enjoy doing great work for you. Are your people well positioned for success?

Process:

For several years I worked for McDonald’s. That might be your last career choice – but I loved it. Their focus on process made work fun and easy. McDonald’s processes are time-tested for efficiency and quality control, which makes your meal experience consistent whether you visit McDonald’s in Topeka or Beijing. Fast-food fan or not, you always KNOW what to expect at McDonald’s. And that’s why they’re the category leader.

What processes do you have in place? Are they regularly re–evaluated from an outside perspective? How can improved processes make your customers’ experiences more reliable?

Next time, we’ll look at Physical Evidence and Packaging.

 

Filed by Brie at 9:44 am under General Marketing
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Earlier we told you how jhP was in consideration for an American Advertising Federation National ADDY Award for the illustration “Paper Dali,” created to promote the Mulvane Art Museum’s Mountain/Plains Art Fair. At last Saturday night’s National Conference ADDY Show, Dan Billen and Gary Jones received a Silver ADDY on behalf of jones huyett Partners -– the highest honor awarded in the category! This was the first jhP piece to win national recognition from the AAF. Here’s what Dan and Gary had to say:

Dan Billen, in an email from the hotel after the ADDY show Saturday night:

I’m sitting in the hotel room with Gary trying to come down from a pretty big night. We won a Silver ADDY for Illustration, and – because the awards are based on a point system, not by rank – there wasn’t a Gold ADDY given in that category. That puts us at the top of the nation!

There were about 50 tables and several hundred people at the award show. It was a packed house! I did my best to represent jhP with a bright orange tie and orange Converse shoes to match (that was a real crowd pleaser). We dined on huge steaks and watched as people were called up on stage to accept their awards. Pretty soon it was jones huyett Partners’ turn, and Gary and I went up in front of what seemed like an ocean of people to get our award. I felt like a rock star (again!).

Gary Jones, on the ADDY Award-winning project, after returning to the office Monday morning:

The Mulvane Art Museum, which is part of Washburn University, was our client on this project. I serve on the Friends of the Mulvane Art Museum Board of Directors, and jhP works on the advertising for the Mountain Plains Art Fair, one of the big fundraising projects for the museum. Each year I work with our creative staff to come up with a fresh, new look for the fundraiser.

This year’s goal was to select an artist who personified creativity. I suggested Salvador Dali, remembered for his flamboyant mustache and wild eyebrows. Dali was highly imaginative and looked at things in a surreal and grandiose manner. His work was just as striking and bizarre. Our mission was to create an illustration that captured Dali’s energy in a fresh, exciting way. Dan’s personal collage work made me think he could collage a portrait of Dali. With little direction, Dan created the image and it was clearly a winner. We used the illustration on everything (billboards, banners, posters, flyers, postcards, tickets, T-shirts and TV) and the response was fantastic! Some people knew immediately who he was, and others just liked him because he looked so outrageuos and fun.

Receiving a National ADDY award for the piece solidified our confidence that the ‘Paper Dali’ illustration is world-class work. We are thrilled to bring national exposure to Washburn University and the Mulvane Art Museum. jhP has always appreciated the value of supporting the arts, and we’re proud to help children learn through Mulvane Art Museum programs. Topeka is a great place to live and learn about the arts.

Congratulations Dan and Gary! Everyone at jhP is very proud of you for being recognized as among the best in the country and bringing honor to the excellent work our creative team produces every day!

Filed by the Partners at 9:06 pm under Awards, Creative, Life at jhP
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Please help us re-brand Visit Topeka, Inc and be entered into our giveaway drawing!

The short survey will take about five minutes. Upon completion, you will automatically be entered into a drawing for a free hotel package including: a one night stay at Senate Luxury Suites, a lavender sachet, two Ghost Tour tickets, $10 off at Brick Oven Courtyard Grille, two tickets to Great Overland Station and scratch-off tickets to Jersey Mike’s.

The winner will be drawn Monday, June 15. The winner will be contacted directly by phone and email, and will be announced via Twitter and the jhP Facebook Fan Page.

Click here to get started.

Thank you for your time!

Filed by the Partners at 9:09 am under Branding, Creative, Topeka
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With temperatures rising so are the number of activities in our day planners. The idea of lazy summer days sounds great but with so much going on we ALL have bigger and better plans than a little R&R. Here’s how the jhP team plans to enjoy the next few months of extra daylight.

I have theatre tickets for the summer – so I plan to spend my time enjoying fabulous show-choir tunes under a gorgeous blue sky while I dream of the cool temperatures October will bring! – Brie Engelken

My family has softball and/or baseball games through the middle of July.  We’ll be eating a lot of baseball dust during the summer.  Although I’m pretty sure we had plenty this past weekend.  I don’t wash my vehicle until the season is over. – Theresa Knapp

This summer I will be enjoying the fact that we took our pool out last year! No more expensive chems, no teenagers sneaking late night swims and no high water bills! We will just enjoy our green grass, gardens and the AC when we need to cool off! – Linda Bull

Softball games and tournaments for my daughter and preparing to send my son off to college, so paperwork, dorm shopping and spending a bit of extra time as a family. – Michelle Stubblefield

I’m leaving Thursday for Bike Across Kansas. 545 miles across our beautiful state with 800 of my friends. Fun, food, Kansas scenery, great communities and bicycling. Can’t get much better than that. – Jake Huyett

Summer is a time to enjoy family. I’m looking forward to bike rides and swimming with the kids. And what would summer be without my annual rash. (just kidding about that last part) – Dan Billen

Other than the usual yard work, lounging in the pool and entertaining I am most looking forward to the family vacation on Fire Island in August with our kids and grandkids. – Leslie Palace

I’m going to spend as much time as possible with my family – going on walks, grilling out and taking Leo swimming for the first time. – Alissa Sheley

My family is going to a reunion in Ruidoso, New Mexico in July. I’m especially looking forward to leading an expedition to the summit of Sierra Blanca, a 12,000-foot extinct volcano that’s nearby. From the online photos, it looks like it’ll be a beautifully scenic trek. – Kurt Eskilson

My family is going on a family vacation with friends in July to Disney World. Other then that you will find us at in the yard or on the lake. – Linda Eisenhut

I’ve got a long “to-do list” but I’ll probably spend most of my summer jogging or trying to find my lost golf balls. When I’m out of the sun, I’m going to try learning Japanese (again) or maybe some 3D software. – Dustin Dean

We’re planning on going out to see my son-in-law perform for Pilobolus in New York City. – Gary Jones

We’ll spend as many weekends as possible camping. Otherwise, you’ll find us at home trying to get rid of the junk we seem to accumulate. My daughter’s answer to this was, “buy a bigger house.” Instead, we’ll be busy making the house we already have seem bigger. – Sherri Wilson

I have a dozen books to read and one to write, design, and draw. Summer will have to wait til’ September or so. – Brian Wells

My son turns 16 in November, so this summer I will be riding shotgun in the car with him, white-knuckled, forcing myself not to scream and cover my eyes. – Tracey Stratton

The Armstrong’s will be busy doing housework!  Finish building our fence, finish landscaping, finish unpacking, and enjoy our new home! – Mindy Armstrong

The Weichert clan will be playing baseball just about every night until the end of June and then we plan on kicking back, barbequing and just enjoying the kids. – Lyn Weichert

Filed by the Partners at 4:40 pm under Topeka, jhP Family
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One of our great joys is the daily chance to create unique, effective advertising and marketing messages for our clients. Sometimes those messages are so distinctive that they are honored in competitions, such as the local ADDY Awards hosted by the American Advertising Federation – Topeka.

As listed previously, jhP won several Gold ADDY Awards in this year’s local competition. One winner was “Paper Dali” an illustration created by Dan Billen and the jhP art team for the Mulvane Art Museum’s 2008 Mulvane Mountain/Plains Art Fair. Along with the rest of the Gold ADDY winners, “Paper Dali” advanced to contend at the AAF – Ninth District ADDYs. Competition included local winners from across our four-state region: Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa.

In District competition, typically dominated by the “big guys” from Kansas City and St. Louis, “Paper Dali” brought home another Gold ADDY! As a District-level Gold winner, “Paper Dali” advances to the National ADDY Competition to compete against award-winning illustrations nationwide.

Next weekend, Dan Billen & Gary Jones will travel to Arlington, Virginia to attend the National ADDY Awards Show. With a little luck, they might find themselves walking across the biggest stage in advertising – collecting another big ADDY for “Paper Dali.”

Filed by the Partners at 10:24 am under Awards
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So you joined Twitter – now what? That ran through my mind, too, the first couple of months I was on Twitter. But I stuck with it and just spent some time watching. After a while I found people whose Tweets were useful to me, and I started following them. Slowly I learned how to make Twitter more valuable. Here are some suggestions to help you get more benefit from your Twitter account.

1. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality.

Some people use Twitter to stroke their ego by seeing how many people they can get to follow them. While a big audience might benefit them, it doesn’t guarantee any value for you as a follower.

2. When you get a message that someone new is following you, thoroughly check out their profile before following them back.

Read their bio, check out their URL and scan the messages they are sending. Ideally they’ll have a nice mix of original messages, Re-Tweets and @replies. If they don’t, it’s a red flag. This  helps you quickly skim off the spammers and ego-maniacs.

3. Use Twitter Search. 

Search key phrases you’re interested in, and when you read an update that’s good, follow that person. This helps you sample new Tweets to learn whether the person’s topics, attitudes and ideas are worth your time.

4. Use an application like TweetDeck to help you be organized.

Create groups with the people you’re following so they make sense to you. For example, I have a group for local Tweets, a group for @replies and a group for DMs, on top of the Twitter stream that contains all my followers. This helps me keep conversations going by making them easier to follow.

5. Use TwitterLocal to see what local Twitter users are saying and connect with them.

It’s a great way to learn what’s new going on around you, and meet cool people you’ve never met before. I highly recommend attending at least one TweetUp. They are great fun if you enjoy networking and meeting new people!

Hopefully this will help you out. I promise, I really didn’t get Twitter at first, but it WILL get better.

@alissasheley

Filed by Alissa at 11:47 am under Social Media, Trends, Twitter, online marketing
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Eliminating racism. Empowering women. Those are the core missions of the Topeka YWCA. We at jhP agree so heartily with those goals that we were especially pleased to receive honors at the YWCA’s recent 21st Annual Leadership Luncheon.

jhP team member Leslie Palace was honored as a Woman of Excellence for her initiative, commitment and involvement in our community. Her devotion to the Boys and Girls Club of Topeka, her service to our industry through the Advertising Federation, and her leadership at our firm are just a few examples of her community contributions.

At the same luncheon, jones huyett Partners was honored as an Employer of Excellence for providing an atmosphere where diversity is valued and women are empowered to grow and succeed. From flexible scheduling for parents, to company-funded education and instructional opportunities, and open paths to leadership, jhP strives for everyone to enjoy the full meaning of “the power of partnership.”

Check out our photos from the luncheon!

Filed by the Partners at 6:33 pm under Awards
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On those Extreme Makeover shows, it’s fun when the family says, “Wow! You look so terrific, we almost wouldn’t recognize you!” But what if the makeover was SO extreme that the baffled husband said, “… who are you?” And the kids cried, “Where’s our mommy?” That’s exactly what happened to PepsiCo’s Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice products.

After a major package redesign, Tropicana sales dropped a whopping 20% between January 1 and February 22, 2009, according to AdAge.com. To stop the bleeding, PepsiCo, the parent company of Tropicana, trashed the new look and rushed back to the old design. So what went wrong?

1.) PepsiCo underestimated the value of package recognition.

Consumers knew Tropicana by its look. But when the re–branded packaging was put next to other orange juice brands (Minute Maid, Dole, etc.) nothing said to the consumer, “Hey! It’s me, your old friend Tropicana!” The key design elements that made Tropicana packaging iconic to loyal customers were either muted or missing. Consumers no longer recognized their favorite drink. They assumed it was gone and simply grabbed another brand.

2.) The redesign was too much too fast!

It’s often best to ease into a new logo or package design gradually. But Tropicana dove head first. The packaging changed so suddenly and radically that loyal customers looked right past it.

3.) The packaging was too generic.

Although the new packaging was attractive on the design board, it looked so bland on the shelf that it simply blended into the background. Loyal customers couldn’t distinguish between their favorite brand and generic orange juice brands.

4.) The new packaging made it hard to distinguish between varieties.

Whether you were looking for Tropicana’s No Pulp or Calcium variety, all the new packaging looked the same! Tropicana’s previous packaging had used different colors to successfully differentiate each variety. Even customers who figured out what Tropicana looked like now couldn’t find the taste they wanted.

On February 23, after losing millions of dollars in sales, PepsiCo announced they were ditching their new look and reverting to the previous package design. Clearly, they learned a valuable lesson or two. What would you have done differently if you were PepsiCo?

Filed by Kurt at 10:42 am under Branding, Creative, General Marketing, Trends, package design
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When times are tough you return to the basics. With the economy in an uproar, people think twice before spending their hard-earned money. While it’s clear that marketers who maintain their advertising investments in a recession fare better both now and after the recovery, it’s still nerve-wracking in the short term. So what’s the basic solution? Talking.

Remember when marketers actually spoke to their customers? Remember those days when you walked into a store, someone greeted you and asked how they could help you or how your day was going? Now, with e–commerce, automated phone systems and a business world spinning a million miles a second it is uncommonly refreshing to receive direct and personal customer service. So today, when times are hard for everyone, remember to take a deep breath, get out there and talk to your customers and clients.

At jhP we’re committed to “the power of partnership.” We know relationships are the core of business success. When money’s tight you prefer to spend with those who offer proven service, who make your life a little easier, who ensure you have one less worry later, and who just plain help you feel better. It’s wise to be progressive in your advertising and marketing – but don’t forget the basics. Take a little time out of each day to talk to people. Maybe you’ll earn a lifelong customer from it – and/or a friend!

Filed by the Partners at 9:01 am under General Marketing, jhP Family
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