Articles about advertising, public relations and design

What is Hundredth Monkey? It’s the King’s English blog, but the name derives from the “hundredth monkey effect” that suggests that an idea or behavior will spread from one group to another, once a critical number of members in the first group adopts the behavior.

“Nobody ran your press release, but here’s our bill…”

“Nobody ran your press release, but here’s our bill…”

Let's take a different approach to public relations PR people cover their butts by saying, “We can’t guarantee placement.” Okay. Maybe that’s true, but your agency should guarantee value. Here’s how we do it. A while back a local company engaged us to put out a...

Good ol’ testimonial ads – they still work

Good ol’ testimonial ads – they still work

For our new subscriber campaign for the 2022-2023 Bryan Series, we made it about supporting a Greensboro legacy. After all, the series is the longest running speakers program in the area. Good ol' testimonial ads still work. So we lined up three long-time subscribers...

How a content forward website increases the traffic you want

How a content forward website increases the traffic you want

Above: Executive Development Group places its blog posts on the home page in a slider, displaying current topics that resonate with training and development prospects.Up-to-date, effective writing that resonnates with your clients is one of the most important factors...

Pitching, placing and coaching an article

Pitching, placing and coaching an article

Randy White is a client who's published a lot of articles, as well as authoring some books. He's a psychologist, executive coach and co-heads the leadership program at one of the world's leading business schools, HEC Paris. He's got a lot to say. This makes our job as...

DLM Builders campaign speaks to the sequestered homeowner

DLM Builders campaign speaks to the sequestered homeowner

Home for the quarantine—and we hope you and your family are safe—you're looking at your home in a whole new way by now, aren't you? If you've been working from home or just spent time on an unplanned furlough, you might be considering how functional your environment...

Drape Expectations keeps it simple and efficient for clients

Drape Expectations keeps it simple and efficient for clients

Cynthia Tucker is a former ad agency vice president who turned her back on that rat race to sew professionally. Always on her terms. Her first foray was kid's clothes. This evolved into drapery, blinds, valances and cushions with her company, with a Dickensian nod:...

Branding a city as Tournament Town

Branding a city as Tournament Town

We think it’s about the fans. We’ve got ’em. They like coming here. We feed them in bars and restaurants where the games are always on. In Greensboro, Tournament Town, we say Fans First!

Earned media yields results

Earned media yields results

Business Journal reporter John Joyce interviews Stephanie Lischke over coffee at Cheesecakes by Alex in downtown Greensboro. etting into to the news for positive reasons can have great results for your business, especially when the medium’s...

“Nobody ran your press release, but here’s our bill…”

We help businesses tell their best stories

Sometimes our clients have great stories. Sometimes their clients have great stories. And sometimes we get them both on the front page. For Jamesson Solutions, local visibility is as important as national press. The company sells assessments and simulations for...

The point of difference in your ads doesn’t have to be price

The point of difference in your ads doesn’t have to be price

David and Leslie are their own best point of difference.When you're remodeling a home and you get three bids from good companies, the estimates will probably be close. So when homeowners have to decide how do they choose? Especially when the costs are more or less...

Earned media is a powerful third-party endorsement

Earned media is a powerful third-party endorsement

Earned media is a primary objective of most public relations programs. It refers to features and news placed with strategic media through editorial channels rather than advertising. You "earn" it by having a story that's worthy of publishing. Here's a nice example for...

A crafty approach to tourism marketing

A crafty approach to tourism marketing

Rockingham County is mostly rural. Open spaces, rivers, quaint towns and agriculture (including wine!) make for fun family day trips. The Rockingham County Quilt Trail is a tasty slice of country pie that will take you over the rambling hills and and bridges on a...

How do you get butts in seats?

How do you get butts in seats?

You might be surprised to learn that touring Broadway–when you add all the venues–actually drives a little more revenue than Broadway in New York. So it's an important component to show producers, even out here in the flyover states. And the audience for Broadway is...

Tight marketing budget? Give creatives free rein.

Tight marketing budget? Give creatives free rein.

Every marketing budget is tight! But this doesn't mean you can't do effective work. The Triad Business Journal tasked us with developing cover concepts for its monthly special sections. Its "Fast 50" growing businesses feature and "Book of Lists" of the largest of...

Treat yourself and your brand to professional photography

Treat yourself and your brand to professional photography

Websites and social media have made marketing more visual than ever. A strong hero image can make a small company's simple one-page website look better than more complex corporate sites. Your professional LinkedIn page makes a more powerful impression if you have an...

Does your brand need a sense of place?

Does your brand need a sense of place?

Sense of place is key to a lot of brands. Especially when the brand IS a place, like Greensboro, North Carolina. Greensboro is a middling sized city grappling with challenges like most middling American urban centers. Marketing cities is a process of identifying...

Here’s one way to get press for a charity event

Here’s one way to get press for a charity event

Hirsch Wellness Network is an arts-based non-clinical cancer support organization that provides professional arts lessons and wellness classes for cancer patients, survivors and their families. It's major fundraiser is the Art Lives Here Silent Auction, featuring the...

How do you turn photographic images into vector art?

How do you turn photographic images into vector art?

Say you want to use a photograph of an object that defines your brand. That can be a strong idea for a logo, but photos don't lend themselves to logos as photos. The photo needs to be converted into an illustration so it can be easily sized up or down without...

Can a logo live on type alone?

Can a logo live on type alone?

The Nike swoosh, the Apple apple and the Target bullseye each stimulate an emotional and intellectual connection based on the viewer's experience and associations with each icon. Each can stand alone without any proper nouns spelled out in type. The Weatherspoon Art...

If you got an invitation from a ghost, would you go?

If you got an invitation from a ghost, would you go?

Weymouth Center enlisted two dead writers to solicit membership. Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities in Southern Pines, NC, is an historic home. The writer James Boyd (Drums) lived here in the early to mid-twentieth century. The Boyd home, named Weymouth,...

Market like you’re the only Mayodan in the world

Market like you’re the only Mayodan in the world

There really is only one Mayodan. It's a North Carolina town northeast of Greensboro, situated on the Mayo River near its confluence with the Dan River. Thus, Mayodan. And it's the only town in the world—last time we checked—named Mayodan. (If you find another, send...

Branding with a poster designed to be swiped

Branding with a poster designed to be swiped

The South Elm Farmers Market was a pop-up concept to stimulate activity in a section of Downtown Greensboro comprised, at the time, of antique shops, bars, restaurants and a vintage clothing dealer. Merchants in the surrounding blocks supported the concept as a means...

The dead poet who brought a library initiative to life

The dead poet who brought a library initiative to life

Poet Randall Jarrell—a notable figure among the "World War II poets"—finished his distinguished life here in Greensboro. He's buried in the cemetery of the New Garden Friends Meeting in Guilford College. When the Greensboro Public Library commissioned King's English...

A vintage approach to break through the clutter

A vintage approach to break through the clutter

One of our favorite ads of the last year, with an old-school nod to David Ogilvy, was this full-page placement for Pine Hall Brick StormPave™ water permeable clay pavers. Ogilvy was a proponent of engaging and descriptive copywriting. For this ad, the location of the...

When do you put yourself in your ad?

When do you put yourself in your ad?

As little as possible. We’ve all groaned at television spots featuring cloying business owners distracting you away from what you really want to know about their goods and services. But sometimes it makes sense and can be effective in presenting a key value of your...