11-2-07mill

Greetings!

It’s an interesting time of the year to pick a topic for my article. I’ve done so many on Thanksgiving that you’re probably tired of knowing about Pilgrims and roast venison.

I’m also not going to do a recap on the baseball season since it was just full of collapses—and that’s just depressing! Mets, Yankees, Cubs, Rockies, Indians. (Probably not going to have a “Hail to the Bears” article come January either...)

The Pepper Group is always going through change—so that’s what I’m going to be thankful for this year. What? That’s right—thankful for the opportunity to change on a regular basis. I’m embracing change, and that’s not going to change. People are usually uncomfortable with change. But that’s life and those who are flexible with change will survive (remember a guy named Darwin?).

So, what’s changing over at Pepper?

There are new systems that we’ve implemented in order to be more consistent in how we create and how we service our clients. Not that creativity should ever be constrained by regimentation, but it can be a controlled process that if followed, achieves consistently better results. Systems that keep a project on time and on budget are also critical components for success.

We have new methods of adding great Peppers to our staff. This will better ensure that top talent is attracted, hired and retained. This is no easy task with all of the quirks of each generation. We are determined to change in this respect because hiring well is the key to our quality of services and hence the success of our clients and Pepper Group. And once they’re hired, are we prepared to challenge them? They better be ready for change!

Finally, we have added to, and enhanced, existing offerings. For example, we are soon going to release a combination of hardware and creative services that everyone can take advantage of, allowing professional promotion of their company from their own lobby to every visitor. We can now also offer our clients the opportunity to break into the Latino market with the addition of two new Peppers who are not only fluent in Spanish but have solid experience marketing to that growing segment of the population. And lastly, our public relations services are expanding and being called upon by more clients every day (remember when we just did logos and brochures?).

Is change easy? Rarely. But is it usually worth it? Uh-huh. Embrace.

Tim Padgett
tim@peppergroup.com

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.’”
—Andy Warhol

“Turbulence is life force. It is opportunity. Let's love turbulence and use it for change.”
—Ramsay Clark

Pepper Spotlight: Graphic Design USA 2007 Awards

As Elvis would say, "Hot Damn Tamale, Baby!" And that's what we said when we recently received notice that we had won a few awards again this year—eight to be exact.

But then we calmed down, or sobered up for some, and we remembered what's paying the bills. You see, here at Pepper Group, we're a little more interested in results for our clients rather than winning awards. That's not humbleness talking—that's understanding what puts food on the table.

At Pepper Group, we excel at crafting a variety of great communications and sales tools that work within integrated systems. The fact that they are sometimes award winners is icing on the cake.

Check out their spicy selections:

	Client: Reilly International Project: Rebranding Award: Logo By “Making it Easier” for their clients, Reilly International grew from a small startup into a major international logistics provider. Their old identity, however, was no longer suitable for the brand they had built. After creating a solid strategic marketing plan, Pepper Group developed a new logo and graphic identity that rightly supported their success. The launch inspired both employees and customers, and Reilly International’s growth has not only continued, it has accelerated.
	Client: Illuma, LLC Project: Rebrand of New Business Startup Award: Graphic Identity Illuma, formerly PeopleFind, approached Pepper Group with the need for a complete makeover. As they became leaders in the Enterprise Recruitment Management field, everything from their name to their marketing materials needed an overhaul. After completing a thorough strategic planning phase, Pepper Group identified a memorable and elegant name, a descriptive tagline, and a brand new image that has helped them continue to succeed.
	Client: Illuma, LLC Project: New Business Startup—Website Award: www.illumallc.com As a thought leader in the field of Enterprise Recruitment Management, Illuma needed a website that properly reflected their capabilities, depth of knowledge, and their advanced approach to recruitment challenges. As part of a comprehensive campaign, Pepper Group created this graceful and functional website that was perfectly suited to their needs.
	Client: Huron Consulting Group Project: Brand Image Campaign Award: Huron’s Helping Hands Brochure Since its inception, Huron Consulting Group has committed itself to encouraging and supporting the volunteer efforts of its people. In order to share this commitment with the world, Pepper Group created this highly attractive brochure containing personal messages from Huron’s leaders and listing all the various charities supported by Huron associates.
	Client: Sonoscan Project: Lead Generation Campaign Award: Come Back to SonoLab Mug Mailer Who needs another regular, boring promotional item? Not us. But a unique coffee mug that not only magically changes with the addition of hot coffee, but also perfectly communicates key benefits, translated into a powerful and effective dimensional mailer. To meet the challenge of reconnecting with past customers, and stimulating additional business, Pepper Group developed this highly creative solution for Sonoscan which resulted in a far above-average response rate and positive ROI.
	Client: The Herbal Garden Project: Consumer Branding Award: Herb Packaging Design The Herbal Garden's wonderful culinary herbs can be found in grocery stores from Minnesota to Florida and are always fresh and delicious. In the retail environment, packaging is critical, and Pepper Group’s striking new labels have helped The Herbal Garden continue to grow their customer base at a remarkable rate. And, if you’re interested in cooking with fresh herbs, be sure to check out what’s sure to be another award winner next year—their freshly completed website.
	Client: Algorithm, Inc. Project: Identity Update Award: Logo Algorithm, Inc., a 20-year-old small and mid-market software dealer and business process consultant, needed a new identity to better represent their contemporary approach. Previously they had a stylized gear as their logo. Though they still work primarily with manufacturers and wholesale distributors, they recognize that in the bigger picture they add to the overall success of their clients by using technology advances to improve processes. The new logo has boosted their recognition in the marketplace and internally as well.
	Client: Pepper Group Project: Hot Sauce Award: “Fire of Creativity” What better way to get a message across than to use the real thing! Our tagline, Spicy Marketing by Seasoned Professionals, comes through loud and clear when our clients and prospects receive one of our own customized hot sauce bottles.

If you'd like a little help with some part of your marketing, or are ready for the whole enchilada, give us a call. We'll bring the hot sauce and, who knows; one of your projects might be a great entry for next year’s competition!

George's Going to Market: Widgets, the Next Phase (or Craze) of the Web

Have you heard about widgets, or gadgets as they are sometimes called? They are interactive tools created by an individual programmer, a smart marketer, or even Google. Widgets can do just about anything, from showing the current traffic, to providing a platform for friends to talk about movies, to running the latest updates from any website, to displaying rich media advertising.

Widgets leverage RSS feeds, which just means that they are automatically updated the moment any new content is created. What makes them really special is that people can very easily add them their own websites, blogs, or social networking pages (i.e. Facebook). And, they are viral. If you see a widget you like, you can grab it and put it on your own page. You can also invite others to add your favorite widget to their pages.

First there was Netscape, which way back in 1994 gave people a way to “surf the net”. The next phase was search. Now, distributed and interactive content, via widgets, is promising to be the next phase of Internet evolution. It’s still a bit “geeky”, but keep your eyes open. As marketers, widgets could present a great opportunity for us to reach and interact with our audiences.

Want more comfort that this isn’t just a fad, like, it could be argued, Podcasting? Well, Google has said that lately they are dedicating the same amount of brainpower to widgets as to their search engine! And, in September 2007, Google announced Gadget Ads. This new offering allows marketers to have their Gadgets distributed throughout Google’s huge content network, paying on a cost per click and cost per impression basis. In typical Google fashion, Gadgets will also provide incredibly detailed metrics to advertisers, including whether people moused over part of the Gadget, how they interacted with it, and even if they turned up the sound!

Here’s the bottom line. Widgets represent a whole new world of opportunity for marketers. Like most things on the web, it will be young consumers who will be the first on board. In fact, they’re already on board. But, with Google now launching Gadget Ads, widgets are going more mainstream. They’ll be valuable plays for both B2C and B2B marketers. For Pepper Group, widgets are just one more tool in our deep toolbox of solutions. If a widget can help you reach your marketing objectives, we’re on it!

If you want to read more about widgets, here’s a good story from Business Week

For more information on Google Gadgets launch, here’s another article.

How about an example? Here’s one for a movie…

See more examples, or just ask a high school student.

George Couris
george@peppergroup.com

Mindbender

The t-shirt created by Chicago Bears' Tommie Harris has already been plagiarized by street vendors.
Which would you wear?

Copy Corner: “That”

“That” introduces a dependent clause, but only when it sounds right, which means, scarily, it’s a matter of how it sounds to you. There are no set rules, which means you’re totally on your own when it comes to “that.”

That said, here are some things to consider:

Don’t use “that” when a dependent clause immediately follows a form of the verb “to say,” as in “Wilhelmina said she was going to run Mode magazine.”
Do use “that” when a time element follows the verb, as in “Wilhelmina said Thursday that she was going to run Mode magazine.” (“Thursday” is the time element. Without “that” the sentence could mean either that on Thursday Wilhelmina said she was going to run Mode, or on Thursday she would start to run Mode—an important difference that “that” clears up.)
Do use “that” after verbs like advocate, assert, point out, and declare, as in “Henry asserted that his love for Betty was real."
Do use “that” when the point of the sentence is at the end. “Justin found out the watch he bought on 57th Street and Madison Avenue wasn’t a real Rolex Cosmograph Daytona.” Is the point of the sentence that he bought a watch or that the watch he bought wasn’t a real Rolex Cosmograph Daytona? Hard to tell. Add “that,” though, and you know: “Justin found out that the watch he bought on 57th Street and Madison Avenue wasn’t a real Rolex Cosmograph Daytona.” Now you don’t have to plod through the whole sentence to learn that the watch not being a genuine Rolex Cosmograph Daytona was the point, not that he bought a watch in the first place.
AP Style says, “When in doubt, include ‘that.’ Omission can hurt. Inclusion never does.” Sounds like good advice.

Vanessa Medina
vanessa@peppergroup.com

	Spicy Marketing by Seasoned Professionals