Two Sisters wins Best of Reston Award?

What a nice surprise to wake up to an e-mail that Two Sisters Creative has won the 2009 Best of Reston Award for Commercial Art and Graphic Design. We have, the announcement said, won this because of our outstanding work and community service.

It's so nice to be recognized for our hard work. It's to bad that the Better Business Bureau has deemed this particular award, issued by the U.S. Commerce Association, a "vanity award" and cautions winners not to get hoodwinked into buying all the trophies. It apparently serves no real purpose other than to generate income for the association.

I supposed that makes sense since I didn't even know nominations for this thing were out, let alone that we were nominated. And I can't figure out how one is selected...to my knowledge, they didn't see any samples of our work.

Still, it was a nice thing on a Monday morning to be called a winner.

Save Brown's Chapel

We love Reston. One of the things we love are the parks and paths that provide opportunity for outdoor recreation. But now there is a proposal underway to destroy one of the best parks in Reston ~ Brown's Chapel ~ and build a huge sports complex in it's place. We want to stop this!

Our friends at Brainwave agree, and developed this video for it. Brainwave is another Reston-based ad agency (that does beautiful work, by the way). Enjoy the video...it says it all.

Happy Birthday Strunk and White

For all you editors and writers out there, today is a day to celebrate...it's the 50th anniversary of "Strunk and White's The Elements of Style." What's amazing is this reference is still aplicable today (mostly anyway).

To learn more, visit Suite101, a literary blog.

Great Resource: Target Marketing

I get tons of e-newsletters, most of which I didn't ever ask for. I regularly read one of them: TM Tipline for Target Marketing Magazine. I always find something in it that I can use for my clients. It's a great little read.

Great Resource: Words that Sell

Clients often ask me how I figure out what to say. The answer is, I brainstorm. And to brainstorm, I go to my resource library. My favorite for brainstorming copy is Words That Sell : The Thesaurus to Help You Promote Your Products, Services, and Ideas by Richard Bayan. It is simple to use and always helps me get in the copywriting groove.

Clear Communications Tip: Write in English

Here’s a fact: Technical experts tend to think that what they do is too complicated to explain in sixth-grade level English.

Here’s another fact: If you can’t explain what your product or service does in plain English, then you don’t actually know what it does.

I probably made some people mad with that statement, but I stand behind it. I’ve been a writer and editor for more than twenty years, with of much of that time spent working on technical information. Without exception, when the technical people I work with really understand how their product will meet their audience’s needs, they are able to explain it in non-technical terms.

So pull out that 6th grade grammar book and see if you can explain your product or service. It’s a great exercise.

IAEE DC Chapter Show Buzz Newsletter

If you've ever spent time with anyone in the expositions and events industry, then you know that they are seriously fun people. They take their work seriously, but the take their fun seriously too.

So, when the DC chapter of International Association of Expositions and Events (IAEE DC) asked us to redesign their bi-monthly chapter newsletter and take over production, we jumped at the chance to work with this crowd.

We started with the newsletter template. The chapter had two goals: they wanted it to look professional, and they wanted a structure that was flexible enough to allow for their varied content. Some issues are full of deep content, while other issues are mostly photos of events.

We created a 4-color template that reflects the sense of fun, but that is also polished and clean. We also provide editorial support, which includes managing the editorial calendar, writing articles, and interviewing members. This new newsletter has been well received, and the National organization has used it as an example of great member outreach.

Make Your Communications Clear

ABC’s GADGET is an agentless monitoring solution designed to ensure the availability and performance of distributed Web and VoIP IT infrastructures. This proactive, Web-based infrastructure monitoring solution is lightweight, highly customizable, and doesn't require high overhead agents on your production systems.

XYZ is a leading, full-service provider of information technology solutions based on the rapidly growing Linux computer operating system. Linux is the leading alternative operating system produced by “open source” computer technology and is widely recognized for its reliability, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, especially in the areas of high-performance, internet and e-business solutions.

What?

Those two paragraphs are real examples from real companies explaining their product and value proposition (the names have been changed to protect the guilty).

Do you honestly have any clue what these companies do and what problems their products will help you solve? Where is a statement about you: what kind of problems you face, and how what they provide can help?

Poor marketing copy is epidemic. We are so accustomed to seeing it we barely register how bad it is. What can you do to make sure your copy is good?

1. Know what matters to your clients and focus on that. Your copy should be about them and their needs, not you.
2. Tell the audience what they need to know to make the decision to get more information from you.
3. Be consistent in your message.
4. Give your audience credit for being smart.
5. Hire an experienced marketing copy writer to develop your content.

Xpertcolor Direct Mail

We've been working with Xpertcolor for many, many years. They are simply one of the best printers in the DC area. They're a small shop that does extremely high-calibur work. They're customer service is exceptional, and they proactively make sure the work is done right every time. The only problem is, nobody knows about them.

Xpertcolor came to us to help fix this. We helped them develop a direct mail campaign targeted to graphic designers who are looking for high-quality print, good prices, and great service. This series of 12 postcards plays on the fact that people don't know where they are..."X marks the spot." Each piece includes a postcard of a place in the DC area (some obvious, some obscure) with a bit of trivia about it. Of course, we also talk about the quality Xpert delivers.

They launched the campaign in July of 2008, and have had a terrific response. The purpose was to open the door to an target group that is hard to reach, and the piece has done that. In just the first few months, the campaign paid for itself. And, Xpertcolor is beginning to get the notice they deserve.

Greater Reston Arts Center

One of the challenges many of our clients face is figuring out how to convey the feel of their organization and explain everything they do in a very limited space (such as a 4-pg brochure). That was the challenge facing the Great Reston Arts Center when they asked us to develop a brochure for them.

They needed the brochure to do several things: it needed to convey the quality of the programs GRACE offers, it needed to show prospective members the variety of programs (that GRACE is a center for arts education as well as a place to showcase fine arts), and it needed to have the usual information about membership. This was a tall order for a small brochure!

We came up with an Accordion fold brochure that is actually as series of five postcards, each with one word that describes the mission of GRACE. The back has information about the center. The best part, according to the client, was that the brochure fits in a shirt pocket. Prospects liked it too...it gave them a feel for GRACE and what their membership would mean.

GWU Graduate School of Political Management

How do you get a Gen Y person to choose your graduate program over any other? Wait...the first question is really how do you capture they're attention? Those are questions many graduate schools are facing. Competition is tight, and the school needs to capture the potential students fancy immediately in order to even be considered. For many universities, that means completely changing how they reach out to students.

The George Washington University School of Political Management (GSPM) came to us to redesign their recruitment materials. Together, we help them rethink what students need to know to make a decision to imply. We conducted focus groups with current and potential students, interviewed faculty, and researched competitive programs. The result was a the development of a new tagline: Politics from a New Perspective. We then developed an 8 page brochure that captured the energy of the students and the expertise of the faculty, using photos of actual GSPM students. We created separate brochures for each program, which are inserted in a pocket folder. A die cut window on the overview brochure allows the folder to "change" depending on which program brochure is included.

The result is a versatile piece that prospects can identify with. A bonus is a tremendous savings on mail costs (since the brochure drives prospects to the web site for complete course descriptions and degree requirements).

Feedback from the GSPM Marketing Director: “Two Sisters Creative really partnered with us from start to finish on each concept and project. They have taken the time to understand our audience and create materials that reflect our organization and speak to our audience. They have shown infinite patience and true professionalism through all the ups and downs of developing an identity and implementing creative solutions.”