July 29th, 2010
When Nebraska was added to the Big Ten and people were talking about changing the name, our first thought was: “What about the brand?” Big Ten is much, much more than just a name. It is part of a 100-year-old brand, a tradition, a tone and (in this part of the country) a way of life. To change the name now, in our opinion, would be a mistake.
Here are four reasons why:
(1) Brand equity. The Big Ten Conference is the oldest Division I college athletic conference in the United States. It was founded in 1895, was first nicknamed the Big Ten in 1917 and has used that name consistently since 1949. The Big Ten excels in every aspect of brand equity: awareness, loyalty and perceived quality and the innumerable memories and other associations that generations of Big Ten alumni and fans (football or not) hold precious.
(2) Brand confusion. The Big Ten now has 12 schools, the Big 12 has 10 and the Pac-10 has 12. Nebraska is leaving the Big 12 to join the Big Ten, and the Cornhuskers are not pushing for a name change. Imagine the confusion that would result if the conferences changed their name to reflect the number of teams.
(3) Precedent. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney told Stu Durando of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he assumed the Big Ten would change its name in 1990 when the addition of Penn State brought the number of teams to 11. “I was going on that presumption and found out quickly the Big Ten was a name that carried a lot of meaning to a lot of people,” Delaney said. The fact that the conference has had 11 teams for the past decade is proof that the essence of the Big Ten brand has transcended the number of schools involved.
(4) Better options. The Big Ten opted in 1990 to refresh its brand image but not replace it. Al Grivetti, who was a graduate student at Northern Illinois, incorporated the No. 11 into the logo design. It would be quite easy to refresh the logo again with the numeral 12.
Delaney can be commended for a willingness to hear all sides on the issue, but he will ultimately be swayed by what he already knows to be true: the Big Ten Conference is the most powerful brand in collegiate sports, and there would be far more to lose than gain by changing the name.
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July 29th, 2010
Paul Werth Associates is bringing its senior-level consulting and integrated marketing communications services to the “Second City” — Chicago.
Senior Vice President and Chicago insider David O’Dowd heads up the new office, located in the world’s largest commercial building and Chicago landmark, 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza.
“We are very excited about our continued growth and the addition of our Chicago office,” says Sandra Harbrecht, President and CEO. “We are seeing strong demand for our results-oriented communications in this vibrant market and plan to build on our strong ties and relationships within the business community to further expand our services and client roster.” Harbrecht plans to make monthly visits to the new office to meet with clients and prospects.
In Chicago as in Columbus, Werth provides a full range of communications services to drive client success:
- Public relations, including strategic planning, thought leadership, crisis communications, reputation management, change management, media relations, social media programs, blogger outreach, spokesperson training, message development, trade show support and community relations.
- Public Affairs, including government relations, lobbying, grassroots communications and engagement, ballot issue campaign management and research.
- Advertising, including creative strategy, brand strategy, corporate identity, advertising campaigns, video production, marketing collateral, direct marketing and word of mouth and viral marketing.
- Interactive Marketing, including analytics-based digital strategy, website/intranet development, microsites, e-commerce solutions, e-mail marketing, SEO, SEM, social media integration, online reputation audits, viral marketing, digital content creation and usability studies.
- Research, including needs assessments, strategy development, creative custom research design, communications audits, market potential/opportunity studies, brand positioning/image studies, advertising and communications testing, customer satisfaction studies, executive interviews and public opinion polling.
We welcome visitors to our new office! Call or e-mail David O’Dowd at dodowd@paulwerth.com or 312-297-1416 or Sandy Harbrecht swh@paulwerth.com or 614-224-8114.
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July 29th, 2010
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a great logo can be worth thousands … or even millions … of dollars as the visual embodiment and “face” of a brand. Classic examples are the Nike swooshes, the swirling red font of Coca-Cola and the stalwart blue initials of IBM.
Werth’s logos not only help clients stand out in a cluttered communications landscape, but they’ve also been recognized for industry excellence. Three logos Werth designed will be published in the LogoLounge Master Library Series, Volume 3, Shapes & Symbols, which features exemplary logo design work from around the world.
This volume of the LogoLounge Master Library won’t be available until 2011, but we’re happy to give you a sneak peek, along with our analysis of why these logos stand out.
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Infosaic
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Best Light Video
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Capital City Radio
An elegant logo design may appear deceptively simple. However, effective design requires a multi-layered discovery and development process involving several prototype designs and refinements. At every stage, logos are evaluated for their ability to meet several goals:
1. Clearly identify the company and express its vision
2. Appeal to the target market
3. Differentiate the company from competitors
4. Be aesthetically appealing
5. Be memorable and stand the test of time
These three logos were developed for Columbus-based technology companies that needed new identities to help them stand out from their competitors. These are all combination marks with icons and type treatments that are clean and scalable for the Web. The icons are interesting shapes that can stand alone, while the integrated text is clean and contemporary.
Infosaic Technologies is a full-scale Windows Web hosting and applications development company. Initially developed in a single dimension, the logo evolved into a three-dimensional design that delivers greater impact. The type and color choices push the contemporary feeling.
Best Light Video is a video production house that helps brands develop their online video presence. This more abstract mark takes its influence from the visible light spectrum. From Web to print to video, this logo needed to be adaptable to multiple platforms and has been translated into several variations.
Capital City Radio is an online radio station streaming out an eclectic mix of news, music and original programming. Through the discovery process, we learned the station wanted to focus heavily its Ohio location. As a result, we developed a representational mark, playfully using sound equalization levels to create the state of Ohio. The accompanying text is concise and provides supplemental clarity.
Contact Chief Creative Officer Ken Waldron at 614-224-8114 or kwaldron@paulwerth.com for a consultation about effective logo design for your organization.
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July 29th, 2010
But you’ll leave your friends behind.
This month the National Safe Boating Council kicked off a unique campaign to promote life jacket awareness. The ‘80’s hit song “Safety Dance” was used in a video featuring a young man and woman who appear to be dancing. This “dance” is a metaphor for what they would look like if they were under water without a life jacket struggling to survive. In the end our subjects don a safety jacket and float safely to the surface and off the screen.
The campaign was just recognized by the United States Coast Guard and the United States Department of Homeland Security for outstanding work in the area of Marine Safety.
 The promotion, conceived by the Werth Creative team, uses the popular Facebook Connect application. Once you log in and allow access to your Facebook photos, they will fade up behind our subjects as a reminder of the friends you’d leave behind if you choose not to wear a safety jacket this boating season.
In the end, you are encouraged to forward “The Life Jacket Safety Dance” link to friends for a chance to win a Flip MinoHD™ camcorder, with the ultimate goal of spreading the word to as many people as possible about the benefits of wearing a life jacket.
The contest caps off Werth’s second successful year of managing the National Safe Boating Week, Inflatable Life Jacket World Record Day and “Wear It!”campaigns for the National Safe Boating Council.
Werth began national media outreach in February, targeting local media that reach active boaters. To date, the campaign has placed 455 articles and online media hits, reaching a potential audience of more than 106 million. Highlights include:
- AOL DailyFinance
- Forbes.com
- Sacramento Bee
- Atlanta Business Chronicle
- Dallas Business Journal
- Houston Chronicle
- CBS 11 (Dallas, TX)
- WTVF-TV CBS-5 (Nashville, TN)
- WBBH-TV NBC-2 (Fort Myers, FL)
- WFLX FOX-29 (West Palm Beach, FL)
- KFVE MyNetworkTV-5 (Honolulu, HI)
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June 4th, 2010
What are the latest industry insights into search engine optimization (SEO) and social media optimization (SMO)? Should businesses emphasize SEO, SMO or both?
Werth’s Chief Interactive Officer Bryan Huber and Lightbulb Interactive partner Dave Culbertson dish on how to make the best strategic optimization, based upon your unique business needs. Online pub “E-Commerce Times” just posted an article featuring our own dynamic duo in all things digital — and it’s the top story on their site.
Click here to read more →
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May 18th, 2010
 Werth creative team with Silver Tellys. From left: Pete Potenzini, Ken Waldron and Lena Alidib Like most people, we love being recognized for doing great work, mostly by our clients, but it’s also nice to win awards in our respective practice areas as well. We enter all sorts of award competitions – PRism, Silver Anvil, ADDYs, Stevies, American Marketing Association just to name a few – some national, some local.
Most recently, we captured 2010 Telly Awards for clients SafeAuto Insurance and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, while our huber+co. interactive team won two 2010 Ohio Interactive Awards!
• SafeAuto took home two Silver and three Bronze Tellys for Werth’s Justin Case and Michael Redd advertising campaigns.
• The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption won a Silver Telly for Werth’s “Waiting for One Day” public service announcement.
The 31st annual Telly Awards received more than 13,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents. The awards honor the best local, regional and cable television commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions and work created for the Web.
 huber + co. team accepts Ohio Interactive Award. From left: Presenter Will Burris of 247 Interactive, Nathan Demick and Bryan Huber of huber + co., Host Johnny DiLoretto from WSYX ABC6 The huber+co. interactive team won 2010 Ohio Interactive Awards for work completed before the firm’s acquisition by Werth. Awards included:
• Best Social/Web Twitter campaign for the TweetMyTime race-marketing engine, which debuted at the Nationwide Better Health Columbus Marathon.
• Best Retail/Ecommerce/Online Marketplace for The Celebration Shoppe website.
The Ohio Interactive Awards were created to bring attention to the outstanding digital and interactive work being done in the state of Ohio. huber + co. interactive was a founding sponsor, and Paul Werth an event sponsor, for the inaugural awards. A panel of marketing industry leaders chose winners based on strategy, execution and results from dozens of entries from across the state.
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May 18th, 2010
 Click for SNL Weekend Update feature Anyone can sell a candle that smells like rose petals, but try selling one that smells like hamburgers. That’s exactly what White Castle set out to do, and with a national media blitz not only did they sell them, they sold out of them in less than a week. The idea was so unique, it even caught the attention of Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update with Seth Meyers.
To celebrate National Hamburger Month, Paul Werth Associates created a sizzling public relations campaign about White Castle’s hot new hamburger-scented candles, with proceeds benefiting Autism Speaks.
Werth’s media strategy helped the story spread like wildfire in just a week, generating 300 million impressions and $2.3 million in advertising equivalency through:
• More than 500 stories in The New York Times, New York Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times, Entertainment Weekly, ABC, CNN, MSNBC and other elite media across the U.S. and internationally.
• Features on Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
• Online buzz from The Village Voice, Burger Beast, Slashfood and other foodies and culture mavens.
• Viral momentum through thousands of Tweets, Facebook “Likes” and social bookmarks.
The $10 candles sold out online in less than 48 hours and began to dwindle in restaurants within a week. Hundreds have signed up on a waiting list.
Other campaign elements included a video by Werth Creative telling the story of “America’s Most Distinctive Hamburger” and celebrity “Sealed With a Crave Kits” featuring White Castle swag.
And, if you’d like to talk about how Werth’s public relations team can put some sizzle into your next promotion or product launch, please call 614-224-8114 or e-mail swh@paulwerth.com.
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May 18th, 2010
In January, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that corporations have the same rights as individuals to political free speech.
While still being analyzed, this ruling opens the door for corporations to play a more visible role in supporting candidates through paid advertising and other forms of advocacy.
Werth can create cost-effective and efficient ways for you to take advantage of this new free speech ruling through a combination of creative advertising, public affairs, national and social media relations, interactive marketing and more.
To discuss the many options available to you, please contact Karl R. Gebhardt, Sr. Vice President at 614-224-8114 or kgebhardt@paulwerth.com.
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May 18th, 2010
Talk about buzz words! Today, the biggest buzz word is SOCIAL MEDIA (or is that two words?). Without it, your business cannot survive … right?
Well, that’s a little extreme, but if you want your business to thrive, Social Media can really make an M-Pact, as Werth Chief Interactive Officer Bryan Huber and Vice President Kim Ratcliff recently demonstrated.
On April 30, the pair gave a presentation on “Making Sense of Social Media” at M-PACT, the convenience store and petroleum marketers’ four-state regional conference. Nearly 200 attendees squeezed into the standing-room-only presentation.
The key takeaway? Marketers from every industry should first consider strategy, then determine whether social media are good channels for reaching the target audience.
Many audiences, even those not traditionally considered, are active social media users — making social media an effective way to engage customers. Savvy marketers set strategy first, then communicate through social media and other channels to drive home brand messaging and nurture online relationships.
Slides from the presentation are available here.
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March 25th, 2010
Congratulations to White Castle, Huntington, Corporate Research International (CRI) and Sister Schubert’s Homemade Rolls! Over the past few weeks, they have been featured in elite national print and broadcast media such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times and CNN – helping to boost awareness of their goals, enhance corporate reputation and drive sales.
Beginning in January, Werth’s media outreach for White Castle’s special Valentine’s Day reservations promotion and wedding contests generated more than 530 stories, 78 million impressions and $1.9 million in advertising equivalency through coverage by NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” CNN, “The CBS Evening News,” “The Early Show,” The New York Times, “ABC World News Now,” comedienne Chelsea Lately, The Chicago Sun-Times, Advertising Age, The Los Angeles Times, Newsday and print and broadcast media in every White Castle market. The earned media hits drove record reservations for the family-owned fast-food hamburger chain. Many of the 356 participating restaurants were fully booked, including a White Castle in Westerville, where 16 Werth team members and guests celebrated on Valentine’s Day.
Also in January, the results of Huntington Bank’s small business survey were featured in the snapshot section on the front page of USA Today. And Huntington’s announcement of a new $4 billion commitment to new small business lending generated more than 60 stories, resulting in 14 million impressions through placements in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes online and BusinessWeek online in addition to print and broadcast media in local markets across the regional bank’s seven-state footprint.
In February, mystery shopping research company CRI made the front page of USA Today with a graphic snapshot of airline customer service satisfaction drawn from its survey of 1,500 airline panelists.
And on Monday, March 22, Sister Schubert’s Homemade Rolls appeared on the “Feel-Good Foods” episode of “Unwrapped,” one of the Food Network’s oldest and most popular programs.
To talk about placing your company and your brand in the national spotlight, please contact Karen Twinem, executive vice president, at (614) 224-8114 or ktwinem@paulwerth.com.
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