Greetings, friends,

During this time, we always try to reflect upon our previous accomplishments throughout the year. It’s amazing to look back at everything we have completed, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to help our clients achieve their business goals through traditional and new media campaigns. Below, you will find what some members of our team are most proud of, and what they look forward to accomplishing next year.

• Tim, president: I’m most thankful for having a great list of clients who are moving forward in this difficult economy with a sense of boldness and are not letting the economic downturn dictate their businesses’ future. I’m proud of my team members, who have made significant changes and adjustments in their work to meet our clients’ expectations! This too shall pass.

• Linda, chief financial officer: It has been a pleasure and an honor to work with a very capable, talented and determined team at Patterson/Bach in a very challenging year.  This year I have successfully incorporated more efficient methods to increase productivity by providing upgraded computer applications, technical computer troubleshooting and summary analyses on client accounts.  I would like to continue in 2010 to ensure that the interface with our team, clients and vendors is a personable and effective experience.

• Brian, marketing director: With every challenge comes an opportunity. My hat goes off to our clients who saw the opportunity to market themselves during these difficult times. I look forward to more “challenges” in the New Year.

• Greg, senior art director: I am constantly learning from the people I work with. Creatively, there is nothing better. And there’s always more to learn!

• Dan, creative director: I’m proud of some of the successes we’ve been able to help our clients achieve in a particularly rough year for businesses. Two specific examples come to mind: helping the Craft & Hobby Association exceed their attendance goals for their first-ever consumer show, and re-crafting Montverde Academy’s marketing vehicles to communicate with its all-important international market. In 2010, I look forward to new opportunities to help our clients achieve the results they hire us to deliver. Providing measurable results to our clients’ success is why we’re in business. It is also deeply gratifying on a personal level to know that one’s efforts are making a difference to the businesses we serve.

• Erin, director of public relations: I am appreciative of the diverse group of clients with whom I have had the pleasure to work in 2009, and I look forward to an upcoming year of opportunities to partner with and help organizations realize the many benefits of public relations beyond media publicity.  I hope the new year will bring a fresh perspective to organizations to make employee communications and community relations top priorities.

• Ashley, public relations account executive: I’m thankful for having the opportunity to work with great clients and team members this past year. I’ve been able to assist with the development and implementation of social media campaigns, as well as help clients achieve their traditional campaign goals. I’m looking forward to expanding our social media program in 2010.

We hope that you will take time from your busy schedule to recognize your own accomplishments.

Best Wishes from the team at Patterson/Bach Communications.

Tim Bach presenting to an audience with the assistance of a translator in Russia.

Mr. Bach was invited to be a keynote speaker at the Summit Tour and Travel Conference. He had the opportunity to travel to Russia for the conference, which took place the last week of October. He spent time in the regions of Southern Russia, experiencing the culture, people and historic sites.

For two days of the trip, he presented several lectures on marketing topics, including, “Elements of a Great Advertising Campaign,” “The Power of the Internet,” and “Internet Marketing, How to Drive Traffic to Your Web Site.” He spoke to small and large audiences with the assistance of a translator. Audience members were unfamiliar with the Internet, due to lack of access to technological advancements. Tim’s presentations served as an introduction to this communication channel.

“I enjoyed speaking to audiences that were interested in learning about the Internet and its capabilities,” said Tim. “The feedback I received was wonderful, and I look forward to returning to The Summit Tour and Travel Conference in the future.”

Back to enewsletter…

What I’ve learned over 20 years is that salary is a small contributor to the overall health and well-being of a creative department and the level of quality and creativity of the projects they produce. Salary is used to bring a person on board more than anything else, but it’s the organization’s environment, coupled with an account base a creative team feels proud to work on, that makes or breaks their tenure.

It is a real tightrope trying to manage a group of people who, stereotypically, don’t like structure or conformity and are truly free-spirited. The goal is to push a team to develop great creative on time and within budget. This can be difficult. For instance, how long does it take to come up with the taglines, “Closest To The Magic of Central Florida,” or “What Can We Do For You Today?” and how much research time should be allocated to determine a client’s real issues, and are these perceived issues relevant to the target audience or just what the client thinks?

What I have learned is that creatives actually thrive when their basic environment is structured to the last detail – not so much the brainstorming approaches or the introspective thinking that is required to develop new and unique creative concepts that position the truth in the best possible light – but the everyday ebb and flow of the assignments that go through the creative department. Oh, and by the way, that’s what I think we really do, “Position the truth in the best possible light.” The best thing that you can do for your creative department is, with great detail, structure their work environment and precisely manage the information that is given to them, so they can concentrate solely on the marketing and communication challenge at hand. The account people can sometimes become frustrated with this part of the process and feel as if they are “babying” the creative department. What they are really doing is giving the creatives more time to focus strictly on the communication hurdle and find that one simple idea that cuts through all the clutter and smacks the target audience right between the eyes.

Some other things to consider – once you have found creative individuals, they need to know that you trust them. They’ll come to the account managers with all kinds of crazy questions. Don’t argue with them; just get them the information. They need to have a really solid comfort level with the account and the industry.

They also need to know that they can trust you. They need to absolutely know that you, the owner, and/or the account manager will actually fight for good creative. Go the extra mile when presenting their ideas to the client and help with the continual process of keeping the client on message along with everything and everyone else.

As far as dividing up the assignments, I think it’s important to mix things up. Yes, it’s helpful when certain individuals become familiar with an account, but when it’s time to develop new creative, give other people an opportunity to participate. Great creative is not produced in a vacuum. I truly believe that it’s the collaborative process that develops the best, most insightful, and successful creative.

Awards and accolades from peers also help drive creative thinking, even from people in our office who don’t think of themselves as “creatives.” For example, we open up the development of our holiday gift project to the entire company – from the CFO to the intern, etc. Some really outstanding creative ideas are generated from this annual tradition, and they’re not incited by money. It’s amazing what a great environment and a little competition among peers can do!

Give some thought to your corporate culture and how you can motivate, engage, and encourage your employees in the upcoming year to think creatively and give your company an edge on the competition. Our best to you and yours in 2009!

Respectfully yours,

Tim Bach
President