Pursuing an ambitious expansion plan, P/B client CenterState Bank has grown to 55 branches, including entries into many new markets in the Central Florida region. CenterState Bank asked us for ideas to quickly establish the bank in its new markets and create heavy foot traffic in both new and existing branches.

We had just the solution: a brand new 2012 Mustang Convertible, the coveted prize in the “Life’s A Breeze” Contest we created for CenterState Bank. Through print, radio, online, social media and in-branch advertising we spread the word, inviting qualified persons to drop by their nearest CenterState Bank branch and enter the contest.

We also hosted on-site events at each branch where the Mustang convertible was on display, along with food, refreshments and other enticements. To help convert contest entrants into customers, we offered a “Three Free” package including free checking, free debit card and a free gift to people who opened new accounts at CenterState Bank.

The contest took off like a Mustang on the open road—the four-month promotional campaign drove more than 15,000 entrants to CenterState Bank branches, one of whom whisked off with the beautiful Mustang convertible. CenterState Bank management was so pleased with the results of the “Life’s A Breeze” Contest that they have us busy planning another customer acquisition promotion.

Kudos to CenterState Bank for the huge success of the “Life’s A Breeze” Contest!

Interested in running a sweepstakes, contest or marketing campaign for your company? Email tim@pat-bach.com to learn more!

There’s no law that says a government website has to be dull and stodgy—especially when that site is for sunny, beautiful Sarasota County. Sarasota County Government (SCG), a new P/B client, recently asked us to redesign its website, and in doing so:

• Create a more effective way to communicate with multiple audiences (residents, visitors, business, government).

• Maximize the site’s integration into the County’s Intranet site.

• Allow for seamless use on multiple devices.

• Improve the ease of navigation.

• Maintain a strong graphic link to the Sarasota brand.

• Establish a visually appealing graphic “look” that departs from the traditional “plain vanilla” look of a government agency website.

We began our assignment at the beginning, with a thorough review of County research conducted online and in focus groups. This information gave us a good picture of what we needed to do to meet SCG’s objectives—along with the expectations of visitors to the site.

To make the SCG website as warm and inviting as Sarasota County, we featured iconic Sarasota photography as rotating-GIF images on the homepage. We also added a current weather and beach-cam link as a friendly reminder of Sarasota’s coastal climate and charm. Other improvements included a navigation bar that allowed users to find information in three simple steps, a dynamic search bar at the top of the screen, and tabs that led users to the areas of greatest interest as determined by our research.

But enough talk—for the results of our web redesign click here.

The folks at SCG are thrilled about their new site. And we’re thrilled to work for a client that challenged us to rethink the look, feel and user appeal of a government website.

Kudos to you, Sarasota County Government.

Want to spruce up your company’s website? Email tim@pat-bach.com to learn more!

Chat speak, message board shorthand that distills comprehensible words and phrases into bits of alphabet soup (LOL, BTW, FWIW, etc., etc.), is, broadly speaking, either acceptable—or abominable. Which view you take depends on a host of factors, the most telling of which, alas, may be your age. Me personally, I find chat speak abominable … except when I use it.

I imagine I’m not the only person born before 1990 (okay, 1970) who is conflicted in this matter. As a writer, I love the English language and believe it should be used wisely and thoughtfully, treating it with the same care a musician would bestow on an exquisite violin or guitar. Chat speak, it seems to me, sucks the vitality out of our language, replacing the expressive, descriptive power of words with a lifeless Morse code of letters. That’s okay for ship-to-shore chatter or the blabber and banter of much of today’s electronic communication, but it’s entirely inadequate for more substantial expressions of thought, which can only be conveyed by the power of the written or spoken word.

On the other hand, the English language (as it’s spoken here in the U.S.) is perhaps the most flexible, adaptable language on the planet—as you’d expect from a nation whose fundamental principles include freedom of speech. Our language is a thing in perpetual transition, changing with the times to reflect the times we live in. Chat speak is, for better or worse, an example of the adaptability of our language and our ability to shape it to our times and needs. Heck, even the erudite Oxford English Dictionary has initialisms such as OMG, LOL and BFF in its latest edition.

So, then … is chat speak acceptable in the language of advertising? My answer: absolutely maybe. There’s no reason not to use it in advertising directed to Gen Chat Speak, and little reason to employ it in advertising directed to non-chat speakers. Advertisers love to portray themselves as truly understanding their markets, and appropriate language is one way to communicate this sympatico persona. Chat speak, then, like every other device at the marketer’s disposal, is permissible when it is appropriate and makes senses. EIC* as they say.

*EIC—Everything In Context. That’s my humble contribution to the lexicon of chat speak.

As an ad guy and the father of a teenage daughter, I read a recent Adweek article entitled “The Demise Of the Doofus Dad” with interest. The gist of the article (http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/demise-doofus-dad-ads-141018) is that the stereotypical bumbling Dad of the advertising universe—the guy who can’t cook, wash clothes or change diapers and is generally more comfortable at a football game with his pals than at home with his family—is giving way to Sensitive, Attentive, Competent Caregiver Dad. What’s more, this new ad dad owes his existence in part to the protests of dads (real ones) who find the old stereotype offensive. As an example, the article offers a campaign for Huggies diapers, featuring doofus dads bungling diaper changes, that led to a storm of fatherly protests on the diaper maker’s Facebook page and even protests to stop running the commercials. The times they are a-changing!

Should I be waving a pair of clean Huggies in the air in celebration of Ad Dad Lib? Maybe. I suppose I don’t like being stereotyped any more than the next person. And today’s world, with more stay-at-home dads and more working moms expecting help from their SO’s on the domestic front, probably calls for a re-evaluation of the doofus dad model in Ad Land. Just the same, I hope we don’t starch the humanity out of ad dads. Speaking as a dad, it’s nice to know my contributions on the family front are acknowledged by advertisers. But in the end we’re all merely mortal, and like most people, I get an occasional chuckle out of our all-too-human follies and flops—including my own.

Ad creatives interviewed in “The Demise Of the Doofus Dad” believe there’s a new awareness of and sensitivity to how dads are portrayed in advertising. So look for some real deft diaper changing dads in future Huggies spots. But let’s not lose the ability to poke fun at ourselves out of fear of offending. That’s no fun. And let’s not get so PC here that we end up moralizing and editorializing as we sell diapers and soap and toothpaste. That’s not advertising. That’s preaching.

Give “The Demise Of the Doofus Dad” a read. Then email us with your thoughts about the current state of Dadvertising. We’d like to know.

Who would you look to for up-to-the-moment insights about social media—an experienced ad agency Creative Director whose company is totally immersed in social media? Or a pair of 14-year-old, middle school students?

The answer is obvious. So, now I share with you a recent conversation I had with my daughter Camille and her friend, Esly, as they discussed social media: when they use it, how they use it, and why they use it.

Q: What do you primarily use social media for?
A: Mostly to socialize and to plan outings with friends. Sharing photos is another cool thing. With Facebook, it’s like having all of your best friends together in one place. We couldn’t fit all our friends in a single room, but with social media, they’re all right there on the computer screen.

Q: How often do you engage with social media?
A: A couple times a week.*

Q: Do you learn about or recommend products through social media?
A: Sometimes. Facebook is a good place to share thoughts on books, movies, and TV shows, but we pay less attention to other products like clothes and electronics—those things get more attention through word-of-mouth recommendations from friends, along with the product maker’s website. We’re Facebook fans of different products, but our interest level is still pretty casual.

Q: What are some of the products and services you follow through social media?
A: Harry Potter, How I Met Your Mother, Pirates of the Caribbean, Twilight, Nike, and Claire’s Jewelry.

Q: How many of your friends are on Facebook?
A: 99%. However, a few of them have dropped it because they don’t like “Facebook drama.”

Q: “Facebook drama”? What’s that?
A: Arguments, put downs, and people thinking they’re funny and clever when they’re not. That sort of stuff.

Q: Gotcha. So besides Facebook, what other sites do you use?
A: Tumblr, Pinterest, and Twitter. You can participate on them without the drama you get on Facebook.

Q: What do you see as the future of social media?
A: It will get bigger and better—more sites, more choices, and more ways to interact. But social media will always be first and foremost a place to socialize. When you want to learn about products, Google and company websites are as important as Facebook.

So there you have it, the present and future of social media as seen by Camille and Esly. As you can see, it’s a tough audience out there and reaching them takes skill and creativity. If you’re wondering how to use social media strategically in your marketing mix, here’s a suggestion – give Patterson/Bach a call at 407.645.1880.

*I actually believe “a couple times a day” would be a more accurate answer.

Normally, when an advertising agency presents a client with several new advertising campaigns, the hope is the client will love at least one of them enough to say, “Let’s run with it.” Recently, however, we had the pleasure of hearing one of our clients say, “We love’ em all—let’s run ‘em all!”

That client is Kissimmee Gateway Airport, which plans to run each of the three campaigns we presented to them recently. Having run a previous P/B campaign for several years, the Airport felt it was time for new messaging and new advertising, especially with the National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA) annual meeting coming to Orlando in October. Our newly created campaigns (with one ad from each campaign pictured here) range from business-like to fun-and-clever in their approaches, but each touts the Airport’s primary selling points to corporate pilots, schedulers and dispatchers, and private plane owners:
• The Airport’s close proximity to Orlando’s attractions, the Orange County Convention Center, and other top Central Florida destinations.
• Exceptional service and amenities the Airport offers through its four fixed-base operators.
• A historic Warbird Museum, adventure flights in WWII-vintage aircraft, and an 18-hole golf course adjacent to the Airport.

“With three great campaigns to choose from, we figured we may as well run them all,” says Director of Aviation Terry Lloyd. The plan is to run each campaign for a year, giving the Airport a nice stockpile of fresh marketing materials. “The different graphic approaches of each campaign will hold the attention of readers, while the consistent messaging will drive home our sales points without seeming old or stale,” says Lloyd.

Naturally, we’re pleased and proud to get such an enthusiastic reaction to our work. And we look forward to helping our client land (pun alert!) more business as the airport “Closest to the Magic of Orlando.”

Call Patterson/Bach for creative, effective solutions to your advertising needs at (407) 645-1880.

With a shaky economy and rising fuel prices, the past few years have been a bumpy ride for the general aviation industry. Happily, things are looking up in 2012, and one company is seeking to capitalize on a reinvigorated market.

Sanford-based StarPort, a provider of aircraft maintenance, avionics maintenance, exterior painting, interior refurbishment, NDT services and FBO services for private and corporate aircraft, is coming out strong this year with an aggressive ad campaign created by Patterson/Bach.

The ads will run in Aviation International News and Professional Pilot magazines and highlight StarPort’s full-service capabilities, unsurpassed quality of work, and convenience and amenities at its Sanford FBO (fixed-base operator). The ads combine soaring photos of jets in flight with bold, confident headlines, to catch readers’ eyes and draw them into the ad copy. Complimenting the text are inset photos showing the full range of StarPort’s services. The ads are scheduled to run throughout 2012, giving StarPort maximum coverage in two of the general aviation industry’s most widely read magazines.

“Patterson/Bach really captured the essence of our company in these ads,” says StarPort Director of Marketing Bruce S. Van Allen. “They make a very strong case for choosing StarPort to maintain or refurbish an aircraft. I believe our advertising will bring lots of attention to our company this year and help drive new business our way.”

At Patterson/Bach, we can take your marketing to a whole new level. To learn
how, call (407) 645-1880.

Last fall, when some big banks began charging debit card fees, CenterState Bank saw an opportunity to pick up disgruntled customers. But it had to act quickly. So the Bank asked Patterson/Bach to create a quick-turnaround debit card promotion campaign.

Less than one week after getting the go-ahead, P/B had a campaign running in CenterState Bank’s five Central Florida markets. Supported by the Bank’s “We Believe In You” tag line P/B created for CenterState, print ads carrying the headline “We Believe In A Debit Card That Pays You” touted an attractive debit card offer while emphasizing the Bank’s more customer-friendly approach to banking.

“We picked up a lot of new business through this campaign,” says Cindy Robbins, CenterState Bank’s chief retail banking officer. “We gave Patterson/Bach a big task—and very little time to accomplish it. P/B did an outstanding job in every respect.”

Thanks for the kudos, Cindy. And, kudos to CenterState Bank for turning a marketing opportunity into a big success.

You can bank on Patterson/Bach for creative, effective solutions to your
marketing needs. Give us a call at (407) 645-1880.

They say the partnership between an art director and a copywriter is like a marriage. If so, congratulations to P/B creative director/LSU fan Dan McDonald and senior art director/Alabama fan Greg Trippe, whose (professional) marriage survived the recent BCS championship game between LSU and Alabama.

In the weeks prior to the game, Dan and Greg exchanged friendly banter that led to only a small number of 911 calls and emergency room visits (happily, Greg’s broken arm hasn’t interfered with his drawing and Dan’s broken wrist is on his non-writing hand). And after Alabama’s 21-0 win, Dan graciously complimented the Crimson Tide, saying, “Those lucky, cheating $!@%$! can &$!!@$#&$&@! for all I care!”

Now that 2011’s college football season is over, marital bliss reigns again in the P/B creative department—and Dan and Greg have a full seven months to nurse their gridiron grudges prior to the 2012 season.

We all love surprises (provided of course they’re pleasant ones!). When we get a nice surprise, we get a nice feeling about its source, whether it’s a person, a place or even a thing. A thing like—well, like an advertisement.

An advertisement can’t be effective unless it’s watched, read or listened to. If it doesn’t grab attention, it won’t make the cash register ring. There are many ways to make an ad attention-getting, but one of my favorites—a device that never ever fails to draw me in—is surprise: that is, something in the ad that’s entirely unexpected or even counterintuitive to the typical advertising sales pitch.

For starters I’ll cite the classic Volkswagen ad from the early 1960’s in which a VW Beetle is shown with the simple headline, “Lemon.” Obviously, the surprise here was an advertiser labeling its own product a lemon, a clunker. Reading this one word, you’re irresistibly drawn into the ad, which describes a microscopic defect in the glove compartment—a defect that would never keep an ordinary car off the lot—but was sufficient to bring this VW back to the manufacturing plant, a testament to Volkswagen’s obsession with quality.

Here’s another gem (pun intended as you’ll see) from my career. Years ago I wrote an ad for a jewelry store announcing a special weekend viewing and sale of high-priced diamonds and jewelry. The least expensive piece was a $20,000 diamond. That got me to thinking, so I wrote an ad headlined, “Our special weekend sale. Diamonds as low as $20,000.” Not too hard to spot the surprise here—“diamonds as low as $20,000? These rocks I gotta see!” And in fact, the jeweler called me the following Monday to tell me my little ad brought in a customer who purchased a $50,000 diamond. I should’ve asked for a percentage.

Recently one of our clients needed a flyer to promote a contest featuring model bridges built by teams of engineering students. If you were asked to imagine such an event, your mind’s eye would probably conjure something along the lines of a chess match in a large, muted room, with groups of brainy kids quietly, nervously huddled around their models. Playing off this stereotype, we created the flyer you see here, with the headline, “Join us for a nice little CUTTHROAT game of bridge.” The copy is almost military in style, describing the competition as “a brute test of engineering strength,” where “The action will be fast and furious.” The copy ends with: “Warning: this event promises to be ferociously competitive. It is not for the faint of heart!”
Obviously we had a little fun here, but I think you’d agree the tone and style of our flyer, given the subject matter, is unorthodox, unusual—surprising. And of course, that’s our intention, to capture the reader’s attention by describing the event in a most unexpected and unusual way. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that our little flyer helped draw a crowd to the event.

For more examples of (pleasantly) surprising advertising, visit pat-bach.com. See how our clients have used the element of surprise to capture attention, and sales as well.