1. Always display your logo in the intended format. Unless your logo was specifically designed to be broken up into individual elements and displayed separately, don’t do it. Although it is tempting to only use your icon, or switch to a condensed font or find some other way to get your logo or name bigger on a display or sign, do not want to allow your brand image to be altered in any way.  Just because the sign company can get the logo larger on the sign if they stretch the letters… doesn’t mean it is a good idea. Having a version of your logo in both horizontal and vertical formats makes it easy to maintain a consistent brand representation across all media.

Correct use of logo

Incorrect use of logo

2. Use your tagline. The words of your tagline have, in most cases, been tooled and re-tooled to express the essence of your company for a reason – to elevate your brand. This should be displayed consistently.  If your tagline is a valuable asset on your business card and letterhead, surely it would add value to your brochure or website. Don’t under-estimate the value of repetition… repetition… repetition.

3. Color is at the heart of brand recognition. You see the familiar brown and gold truck parked in front of your house and know that you are getting a UPS delivery. The colors gave it away. That recognition comes from consistent display of the brand colors. The colors of your brand have been specifically chose to reflect your image. By using these colors in your marketing you instantly have a cohesive look. The addition of alternate colors should be well thought out. By using these colors throughout your marketing you can create a cohesive look. The addition of alternate colors should be just as well thought out.

4. Update your corporate identity. First take an inventory and then update your supply of corporate identity items – letterhead, envelopes, business cards, note cards folders etc.  Have them professionally printed and use them consistently. Although it is tempting to keep using the old letterhead, it does not send the right message about your brand.  Ggather all the extra, outdated supply and donate them to a school or not for profit organization. Many of these institutions would gladly accept your donation. Roll out all branding items at once and create a unified look for your company, as well as some excitement over the new branding.

5. Care about your brand. Create a culture within your business where everyone feels responsible and takes pride in the faithful representation of the company image. Start by creating a set of brand standards that everyone must adhere to, publish them, and assign a brand steward.

Abbey Mecca picked up two ADDY awards recently.  This time, the firm took home two Silver ADDYs during the 2010 Buffalo Advertising Club’s Annual event.

The agency received a silver ADDY for the “Are YOU Ready” campaign – a series of 30-second TV spots created for the Canisius College Department of Athletics. The entire campaign can be viewed on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5nLk030eEQ. The second Silver ADDY was awarded for a 2009 Annual Report created for Christ the King Seminary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.

The local ad competition was organized by the Ad Club of Buffalo, which is an affiliated club of the American Advertising Federation. The AAF, a not-for-profit industry association conducts the ADDY^® Awards through its 200 member advertising clubs and 15 districts. It is the only creative awards program administered by the advertising industry for the industry. The AAF is the oldest national advertising trade association, representing 40,000 professionals in the advertising industry.

With these latest ADDYs, the agency has received a total of 14 industry awards for creative excellence in the past 14 months. Founded in 1969 by C. Robert Abbey and Nicholas D. Mecca, Abbey Mecca & Company is a branding, marketing and communication firm located in Buffalo New York.  Earlier this year, the firm earned four Bronze Telly Awards and two international Davey Awards for Creative Excellence. The agency creates and executes targeted brand marketing campaigns for local and national clients across a variety of industries.

The US advertising market posted a double-digit contraction in revenues last year, as major players like Procter & Gamble and Verizon Communications reined in their expenditure.

According to Kantar Media, the research firm, adspend levels fell by 12.3% on an annual basis in 2009, to $125.3 billion (€91.6bn; £82.0bn), although this decline slowed to just 6% in the final quarter.

Read the full article at here.

Abbey Mecca and Catholic Charities’ communications and public relations department collaborated on creative development, production, and media planning for a campaign that will raise awareness for the annual Appeal and encourage people across Western New York to make donations to the Appeal.

The campaign, designed to “educate and motivate” the market, uses performance statistics in advertising headlines to draw attention to the impact Catholic Charities has in the community. Catholic Charities and the agency selected four key service groups – families in need, children, seniors and domestic violence victims to demonstrate some of the most vital services Catholic Charities provides.

In all ads, the theme “One Donation at a Time” is used as way to encourage people to give to the Appeal. The advertising campaign launched the first week of February and will continue through mid-March. The campaign runs across multiple media including television, radio, outdoor, newspaper and online. In addition to advertising, the theme is carried through all supportive marketing materials and in direct mail efforts.

Catholic Charities is the most comprehensive direct human service provider serving all eight counties of Western New York, with 70 programs and 61 locations. Founded in 1923, Catholic Charities also provides, without regard to religious affiliation, comprehensive counseling services for children and families, anti-domestic violence programming and emergency services, among other social and mental health services.

Founded in 1969 by C. Robert Abbey and Nicholas D. Mecca, Abbey Mecca & Company is a branding, marketing and communication firm located in Buffalo, New York. The agency creates targeted brand marketing campaigns for local and national clients across a variety of industries.

Why do some ad campaigns endure while others fall down?

There’s no simple answer – there’s just too many variables. But there is one thing for sure, creative for creative sake is pretty much like throwing a dart with your eyes closed and hoping you’ll hit a bull’s-eye. Consumers today have much higher expectations for advertising. If a consumer is going to give an ad their attention, we are obligated to offer some entertainment value in exchange. If a consumer is to remember an ad, then we are obligated to offer something unique. And if a consumer is to understand a brand, then we are obligated to make sure the creative is aligned with the brand strategy.

A solid brand strategy should be the basis for any and all marketing communications. Too many advertisers attempt to execute their marketing communications without a clearly defined brand position as its foundation and then wonder why the “ads aren’t working”.

Whether you are concepting a new campaign or evaluating current ads, look for two basic elements – Differentiation and Relevance. Both of these foundational characteristics need to be present in a brand strategy and infused into the advertising. At Abbey Mecca, our brand building model requires investing most of the development time in establishing or confirming D&R for our brands. Without it, creative development is basically on a trip without a roadmap (or GARMIN).

Differentiating a brand from the competition aligns the expectations behind the brand promise and positions the brand as special and unique. The key to differentiating a brand is to bring about a unique selling proposition that builds value for your target audience.

The brand strategy must also create a high degree of relevance with the target audience. This requires developing creative messages that forge an emotional connection between brand and user, and reinforce that connection at every point of contact. The last thing you want to do is create a disconnect between a brand and its users.

There are many techniques and steps on the way to nailing down D&R for a brand, and it takes time, budgets and careful thought. What you invest during this part of the process pays dividends in the form of effective ads that build awareness, understanding, equity and a long-term competitive advantage for your brand.

If you have questions or want to share your thoughts, please email me at ignite@abbeymecca.com

~ Scott

For the ten mediums honored by the Davey Awards, Abbey Mecca & Company brought home two silver awards in the TV Commercial category and one silver award in the Design/Print category. Within the TV Commercial category Abbey Mecca received an award for the “Are You Ready” campaign promoting Canisius College Men’s Ice Hockey, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball, as well as, an award for the 2009 Appeal for Catholic Charities campaign. Additionally, in the Design/Print category, Abbey Mecca notched an award for the design and production of the 2008 annual report for Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, NY.

“We’re very pleased with the recognition.” Commented Dan Mecca, president of Abbey Mecca & Company. “Great work is only possible with great clients. We share this recognition with Canisius College , Catholic Charities and Christ the King Seminary who embraced our ideas and passion for their brands and these projects.” The three Davey Awards are the latest in a string of 12 major awards Abbey Mecca has received in as many months.

The Davey Awards is judged and overseen by the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA), a 200+ member organization of leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media. Current IAVA memberships represent a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, advertising and marketing firms including: Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Yahoo!, Estee Lauder, Wired, Insight Interactive, The Webby Awards, Passaic Parc, Gershoni, Theory, Polo Ralph Lauren, ADWEEK, BRANDWEEK, Alloy, Coach, iNDELIBLE, MTV, Victoria’s Secret, HBO, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Myspace.com, and many others.

Founded in 1969 by C. Robert Abbey and Nicholas D. Mecca, Abbey Mecca & Company is a branding, marketing and communication firm located in Buffalo New York. The agency creates targeted brand marketing campaigns for local and national clients across a variety of industries.

In the arts, minimalism can be defined as “reducing the concept or idea to its simplest form.” Minimalism strips away our concerns for the superfluous and let’s us focus on what’s important. It also let’s us imagine the possibilities by giving us the environmental freedom to feel in control and comfortable – a psychological state that makes it easy to explore and to create. Minimalism in design allows patterns to emerge because audiences are more comfortable with the experience.

Simple layouts and color schemes, along with less clutter and increased functionality are creating designs that are timeless and intuitive. Minimalism allows an audience to find the information they need quickly.

However, minimalism is not just about simplicity. Many of the effects of minimalism are transparent occurring behind the scenes during development. It allows designers an opportunity to say more with less and increases the clarity of the piece when used. It gives strength to the content and places the focus on the vital features and essential elements of the layout.

Without the added clutter and fancy fillers, there is less to distract the reader from the purpose of the layout and the now clearly focused content can present a stylish appeal for the reader. Minimalism can provide an enjoyable experience that presents value for the viewer.

One of the keys to minimalism in design is effective use of white space and a distinct lack of clutter. Of course white space doesn’t have to be white, it simply refers to open space in the design, whatever color that may be. Clutter can have several negative impacts on layouts readability. Most importantly, general audiences have a hard time focusing on the most important parts of a layout if it is cluttered. White space makes the contents of the page easier to digest.

Many of the best minimalism designs compensate for using less photos and graphics by making better use of typography. Excellent typography is capable of replacing many of the visual benefits that are lost by not using a lot of images. For this reason, typography is even more critical in a minimalism design than it is for other styles of design.

Effective minimalism designs rely on making a strong impact with the few images and graphics that are used, rather than making an impact by using a lot of them. It’s quality vs. quantity in a way. By using fewer images, those that are used are able to be more effective by inviting the attention from a reader.

Color can be a very powerful method for helping particular content stand out. The simplicity of a minimalism design allows color choices to have more of an impact. Earlier I mentioned the importance of typography and how it can help to replace the need for images. Effectively combining color and typography can have significant results.

One of the biggest reasons for using a simple layout is that it’s easier for a person to quickly see the purpose of a layout or a particular page, rather than being overwhelmed by excessive items placed on a page. With this approach you’ll have better control over the message that is being communicated to your audience.

Many designs have so much going on that it’s difficult for visitors to know what the focal point of the site is, or what is important. Simple layouts have a simple advantage; they can more effectively communicate the message of the layout and direct the person’s attention to the most important content on the page.

A good designer will use a minimalist approach to their designs in order to provide a person with the type of experience they have come to expect. Layouts are all about providing value and much can be said about the value of minimalism and simplicity. Understanding minimalism in design will give any designer or client an advantage clearly appreciated by most audiences.

If you have questions or want to share your thoughts, please email me at ignite@abbeymecca.com

~ Jeff

The winning entry was submitted in the medium-size school grouping and was a TV ad campaign entitled “Are Your Ready?” which featured “Petey,” the Canisius College Golden Griffin mascot. The commercial aired in the Buffalo-Niagara market during the third and fourth quarters of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009.
The NACMA Awards program honors outstanding achievement in marketing and promotions. Awards are presented in 13 categories, with each category divided into three groups based upon institution size and conference affiliations to promote fairness. More than 700 entries were received for the 2008-2009 year. This marks the first time that Canisius College Athletics has been recognized with a NACMA award.

Abbey Mecca has been recognized with nine awards for creativity in branding & marketing in the past 12 months. The firm won two awards for their creative work in the 2008 International Davey Awards Competition, which honors the finest creative work from the best small firms, agencies and companies worldwide. In addition, Abbey Mecca received five 2009 international Telly Awards, which honors the best creative work for local, regional and national commercials and programs. The firm also won a bronze award from the Buffalo-Niagara chapter of the PRSA for a 2008 annual report for Catholic Charities of Buffalo.

Founded in 1969 by C. Robert Abbey and Nicholas D. Mecca, Abbey Mecca & Company is a branding, marketing and communication firm located in Buffalo New York. The agency creates and executes targeted brand marketing campaigns for local and national clients across a variety of industries.

I think it’s time to turn over a new leaf when it comes to responsibility in marketing. I’m talking about taking an earth-friendly and responsible approach to every marketing project. You wouldn’t think of marketing as having a big environmental impact, but consider this. Paper is one of the most widely used tools of the trade in marketing and advertising. With roughly 85 million tons of paper and paper being used in the United States alone each year, there is a gross need for businesses to step up and curb usage. Project briefs, purchase orders, meeting agenda outlines, project proposals, sketch pads, mock-ups and of course… the final printed piece – Brochures, Annual Reports, Catalogs etc. all figure into this equation. It is important as an industry (agencies and clients together) to lead the charge in becoming more eco-friendly and find ways to lower our impact on the environment, use of natural resources and carbon emissions.

Recycling paper accounts for more than a third of recyclables collected in the US with a recycling rate over fifty percent. This is a great start, however – what if we also made a conscious effort to use less?

You’ve most likely seen the FSC logo on many printed pieces. FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) was established in 1993 as an independent, non-governmental and non-profit organization (www.fsc.org) with a mission to promote conscious management of the world’s forests. FSC certification is widely regarded as one of the most important initiatives of the last decade to promote responsible forest management worldwide. The FSC provides standard setting, trademark assurance and accreditation services for companies and organizations interested in responsible management of forestry with the end result of protecting our eco-system.

As an agency within an industry that utilizes a lot of paper on a daily basis, it was important for us to be on the front-end of this FSC initiative. Drastic changes have been made within our agency to consciously recycle and more importantly reduce our daily consumption of paper. In the past two years, we have not only reduced the amount of paper we have used by half, but we have quadrupled the amount of recycling initiatives done internally. We’ve taking this a step further by developing an ECO-FRIENDLY project process for our clients that minimizes the environmental impact of their project.

We have identified five key directives for every project in our first generation of “Green projects”:

1) Paperless project management that utilizes 100% electronic, forms, records and files.
2) Minimal “hard copy” deliverables including comps and proofs. Use of PDF and other digital review of creative.
3) Limited travel, delivery and courier services to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used during the project.
4) FSC certified production
5) Recycling of all project materials and digital archive.

At the heart of the effort is the selection of FSC certified papers and printers for final production. At Abbey Mecca, we utilize a management system that enables us to maintain an electronic “paper trail” from project start to finish. By utilizing electronic tracking and communication we can still effectively manage our projects internally, as well as communicate and track information externally, to our clients and vendors without any environmental impact.

Not only has our “Green” initiative resulted in a lowered environmental impact, but it has improved operational efficiency. Here are 5 easy steps you can take to make any marketing project more earth-friendly.

1. Mandate all your print pieces be FSC certified
2. Reduce paper use and increase electronic communication
3. Decrease hardcopy deliverables
4. Reduce travel, delivery and courier services whenever possible
5. Create mandatory recycling programs in your department and company

If you have questions or would like more information on “green” projects, please email me at ignite@abbeymecca.com

~ Melissa

Whenever the economy tanks, the first thing most execs look at is cutting the advertising budget. Short-term, this seems like a logical move to help the bottom line, but in the end, it’s the brand that suffers. Ultimately, the decrease in share of voice and resulting brand awareness and understanding will hit the top line and bottom line. With the proper positioning, the strong brands not only survive, but thrive in tough times.

What some people may not realize is that during an economic slowdown, when other brands are reducing their advertising budgets, savvy brand managers are able to make their advertising work much harder for them. Any media buyer will tell you the law of supply and demand is only exaggerated in the media business when times are tough. Here are a few key reasons.

1) A soft ad market means that media reps making commission are going to be hungry and willing to fight for a piece of business.
2) The media is inclined to provide more value added exposure rather than a reduction in advertiser dollars. They may provide incentives to maintain spending, year-over-year, rather than look at increases in spending.
3) The clock is ticking. Whether the media is selling time or space, unsold inventory has a very short shelf life.

Some of the most powerful brands have been built or had significant impact during past recessions. Wal-Mart launched their campaign for “Every Day Low Prices” in 2000 and 2001. Now Wal-Mart is one of the strongest brands for bargain shopping. At Abbey Mecca, we were able to increase GRPs by 17% for a TV client with the same ad budget as 2008.
Here are three things you can do to make the most of your advertising spending in a slow economy state:

1. Never accept the first rate. In fact, you should plan on at least three rounds of negotiation.
2. Do your homework. Research the cost for the media you are considering. Look for historic CPM (cost per thousand) so you have a benchmark of the media value and discount.
3. Look for “remnant” opportunities. If your timing is flexible for your campaign, you may be able to pay pennies on the dollar for ad time and space with distressed or unsold inventory.
4. Keep an open mind – look for new opportunities and new media. What may not have been feasible last year might be reasonable now at the right rate.

If you have questions or want to share your thoughts, please email me at ignite@abbeymecca.com.

~ Diane