A Goddess Insight: Vision, Value and Valor

Five years ago, Susan and I sat in my sunroom and formed a company on the foundation of a vision to create uncompromised marketing.  As visionaries, thinkers, doers, and hard-workers, we’ve cut through the challenges of new communication channels, market changes and the Great Recession to provide vision and value to our clients. 

Sarah Shaw, executive editor of The Entreprenette, recently interviewed me on the characteristics EOS’ looks for in sourcing great employee partners.  Check out an excerpt from this article here.

The Amazing Race

The weekend of February 25th,  my daughter Allie and I traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio to try out for the Amazing Race. Only 200 people are allowed to try-out and we secured our spot in line as number 199! We had a great time in Cincinnati and all and all it was a great experience. Stay tuned, because for all we know, you could be seeing Allie and I on the next season of the Amazing Race!!

New Perspectives. New People

As we continue to expand our public relations and social media practice, we are excited to announce our new public relations coordinator, Molly Davis!

Molly served as an intern in the fall of 2010 where her inquisitive nature, coupled with her positive attitude made her a great addition to the EOS team.  

As an irrepressible public relations enthusiast, and a social media user since high school, Molly implements campaigns and promotions for our clients as well as brings a fresh twist to today’s marketing dilemmas with her social media savvy and interactive media knowledge.

Welcome Molly!

EOS Marketing & Communications Chosen To Lead Snellville Town Center Branding Initiative

EOS has been selected as a part of team retained by the City of Snellville to create a brand and comprehensive communications plan for the city’s new town center.    Working in conjunction with Clark Patterson Lee and Duany Plater-Zyberk, EOS will create a brand strategy that resonates with the target audiences of Snellville’s Town Center district.  In addition, the firm has been tasked with developing a communications program that encourages two-way communication between the center and its constituents.

The three firms will serve Snellville by guiding the city in creating a well-crafted town center that promotes sustainable economic development, establishes a promotable image, and outlines physical enhancements necessary to bring the vision to reality.  Snellville City Council selected Clark Patterson Lee, a full-service planning and design firm located in Suwanee, based upon their service as the city’s engineer since 2004.  Clark Patterson Lee’s team will be joined by two key project partners:  Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ) and EOS Marketing, both located in Atlanta.  DPZ is internationally recognized as the co-founders of the Congress for New Urbanism, and leaders in the direction and practice of community master planning and traditional neighborhood development.  The collective team of architects, branding experts, development specialists, engineers, marketing analysts and strategists, urban designers, planners and public relations practitioners will address all of the issues and needs identified by the City of Snellville.

Using an interactive planning and design process that engages the community and its business owners, the project will include focus group meetings with key stakeholders, public information meetings and a multi-day design charrette offering the community at-large opportunities for hands-on design input. 

“We’re excited about partnering with EOS and the expertise they bring to our Town Center efforts,” said Eric G. Van Otteren – economic development manager, City of Snellville.  “They listen to the needs and wants of their clients and craft strong messages that resonate. In today’s busy world, we need both a brand and a communications strategy that will cut through the clutter and that we can be proud of.” 

Consumer-created commercials creating a stir in the ad industry

In the wake of the Super Bowl, it’s only natural that an ad agency sound off on the commercials. Give their two cents on what worked and what didn’t. But as I tell people all too often, the more time we spend criticizing, the less room we make for creating. So this year’s Super Bowl blog post is more of an open forum. A “leave you with something to think about” type deal.

In the last five years we’ve seen a trend emerge in Super Bowl advertising: that of the consumer-created TV spot. Between Doritos and Pepsi Max, PepsiCo had six consumer-created ads in the Super Bowl this year. SIX! That’s a whole lotta advertising dollars not going to the ad industry.

Now, as someone who makes a living off of being an ad creative, I must admit, when this trend first started, I was not happy about it. I won’t lie, I was mildly threatened and even a little offended that some Joe Shmoe thought he could do my job better than me. But as I’ve thought about it more and seen it evolve, I’ve discovered two things:

1.       The premise of the consumer-created ad is quite smart really. In fact, the concept was actually created by an advertising agency. If you think about it, it’s nothing more than using a focus group to create the commercial, baiting them with money (albeit small) and 15 minutes of fame. Of course these people will hit the spot when it comes to speaking to the target audience. They ARE the target audience.

2.       While they are mildly entertaining, there is one thing all of these ads have in common: they lack staying power. Think about all the Super bowl ads you remember. The really great ones. Were any of them the result of a contest?

For me, the most memorable ones have been The Budweiser frogs, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird’s Nothing but Net for McDonalds, Bud’s Wasssssup campaign, and more recently, Old Spice’s Smell Like a Man. All of which were created and produced by advertising agencies.

So after giving the consumer-created commercial trend some thought, you know what I say? The more, the merrier, guys. Because you may be able to speak to your fellow target audience and get your 15 minutes, but when it comes to selling something you know nothing about, that’s where the ad agency shines.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

Back in the day, I worked for a telecommunications company called BellSouth. I had the privilege of being on the team who introduced Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) to the southeastern United States. Encouraging loyal landline phone customers to become interested in this new communications product, engage to evaluate it, and ultimately be motivated to buy DSL required a whirlwind of late nights and midnight oil. The fearless leader, a phenomenal gentleman named David Scobey, often quoted Abe Lincoln’s line, “Measure twice, Cut once”. This wisdom resonated, and I’ve carried it with me.

In business today, Abe’s line equates to plan, plan, plan…then execute. At EOS, Abe’s thinking comes into play every day, where we work to get at the heart of our client’s business objectives. Once we understand the essence, and the intuition of the target audience’s behaviors, we create plans that deliver. Funny thing – Abe delivered too, and wrapped up his speech on measurement with the quote, “If I had eight hours to cut down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe.” Chew on this the next time you face an opportunity, or reach out to EOS for help!

Taking the Leap in 2011

The New Year is a natural event to help us reflect, change and set new goals. At EOS, we have been reflecting and incorporating those new changes into our goals for 2011. Last November marked the 5th year anniversary for EOS. Five years is a crucial turning point for small businesses and the goddesses are excited to take EOS to the next level in 2011.

As I sat in a brainstorming session with the team, excited by all of the talk of change and growth we wanted to achieve in 2011, I thought back to a book I read in college, Good to Great by Jim Collins.  An extremely beneficial book for any young professional to read, I want to share what I learned.

Jim Collins and his research team compare and contrast 28 companies in a five year research experiment. The team identified the companies that took the leap from good to great, and compared them to companies that either failed to make the leap, or failed to sustain it. The comparisons of the success and failures of the different companies make it relatively easy to understand the importance of a company’s management structure.

Collins describes a successful buildup as getting the right people, in the right positions and then deciding on a plan of action. He acknowledges that although people are an important asset to the company, the Right People are the Crucial Factors in becoming great. Margaret and Susan have used their experience and knowledge to compile a management team with multiple competencies who work together to bring success to their clients as well as to EOS. Working in an integrated agency, we give our perspectives on projects that help create well-rounded campaigns that show results for our clients. By flattening the hierarchy but not completely disregarding it, the goddesses are able to effectively combine related tasks and get rid of irrelevant ones.

After reading Good to Great, I have a better understanding of the importance of a company’s management structure and how each system can work differently for individual companies. As a young goddess, it is important that I understand EOS inside and out. Good to Great stresses the important relationship between effective management strategies and good public relations practices. EOS embraces this relationship and I have seen first-hand just how successful it can be.

Our team at EOS is full of passionate and independent women, all with different experiences that offer insights into one another’s lives. This momentum keeps us engaged–we are constantly learning from each other in every aspect.  Jim Collins says that “For, in the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work.” I agree—it’s great to have meaning and to make a difference for the clients we have the opportunity to serve.

Congratulations Lauren!

Lauren was recently recognized as the Member Volunteer of the Month for AMA Atlanta! Becoming active with AMA Atlanta in 2007, Lauren continues to stay involved as a member of the Collegiate Committee where she helps  students with their transition into the “real world.” 

A goddess by definition, Lauren is just as knowledgeable as she is approachable and is truly inspiring to be around.

Congratulations Lauren!!

Facebook Friend or Foe?

Earlier this morning the blog post “Unfriend, write or die” by Peter Shankman was circulating around our office and I found it particularly interesting, especially since I would have to say I definitely agree.  If you aren’t going to interact and use your social network—what’s the point?

With the popularity of Facebook and Linkedin, my personal and professional networks continue to grow, but I try to only have “friends” on Facebook that I actually stay in contact with. It may seem like a lot of work to “interact” with all of my Facebook friends,  but I swear it is way easier than you think.

 Wishing my friends a happy birthday, liking their status or commenting on their photos, are ways that I stay in touch and  avoid “ignoring” them.

Read Shankman’s article and who knows you may reconnect with someone or even “defriend” them, but either way you will be making the most of your social network.

We’ve Made Santa’s Nice List

EOS will spend time with family and friends from Thursday, December 23rd- Friday, December 31st and open Monday, January 3rd with new perspectives for 2011.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!