We often move so quickly from one project to the next that we don’t get the opportunity to review the results of our branding efforts. That’s why a note this week from our client at Carl Zeiss Vision was so welcome.

We had helped develop a solid brand campaign for their newest progressive lens.  In her post-launch synopsis, Bernadette Hiskey said the Zeiss Individual campaign was a huge success, and shared these highlights:

• It was a strong year for customized lenses, despite the poor economy.  We ended the year approx 15% above an aggressive plan.
• In December we were awarded the OLA “Best in Lens Design” 2009 Award of Excellence voted on by the independent laboratories across the US.  The marketing campaign played no small part in the win.
• We just finished clinical trials with UC Berkeley are pleased to say we have strong results demonstrating patient preference, so are moving on to peer clinical publications now.
• Our first ZEISS TV spots for Zeiss Individual are now on air in 4 regional markets.

It’s great, of course, for a client to take the time to keep us informed and share this great news.  It’s also a reminder for all of us that while our work may wrap up with the launch of a brand campaign, for our clients much of the heavy lifting is just beginning.  We need to keep in mind that our designs and our messaging are meant to connect powerfully with an audience and achieve very real marketing and sales objectives.

As Bernadette shared her praise and appreciation not only for us but also for the lab operations teams and sales people — “You’ve all scored a knockout!” — we were reminded that our efforts truly are part of a team effort whose success depends on the collaboration of many many people.

Following up with our clients and measuring campaign results give us the opportunity to really recognize the value of our branding efforts.

Part of our strategy was to convey that the true heroes are not the frames -- but the Zeiss lenses. Our solution was to photograph our talent both with and without the frames, and then accurately create the lens shape for each individual face. Architectural measurement lines were added to the graphics to emphasize the Zeiss brand attributes of precision, accuracy and performance.

Just back from 9-days of travel; Boston and Houston. We were on the road to art direct the photography of two of the latest additions to the House of Blues venues, owned by Live Nation.

In today’s competitively fierce marketplace, gaining all advantages you can is extremely important. Our job is to capture captivating imagery of the “spaces” within the House of Blues venues – so their in-house marketing people can use those images to sell their environments to businesses interested in hosting business meetings or celebrations.  As well, some of the images need to sell the vibe of House of Blues to the public at large, interested in a unique dining or live entertainment experience.

Working with talented professionals who specialize in nighttime architectural photography is key.  Paul Jonason is our favorite for this type of imagery. For each room, dining area or concert hall, we need to look for the best possible angles, stage the furnishings and add lighting that truly captures what you would experience when going to these venues.

As an aside, the Boston House of Blues is located directly across from Fenway Park.  And yes, the Red Sox had a game going while we were in town. Fenway Park, originally built in 1912, is America’s old ball park and really a place that you should experience. We got a backstage tour from the park manager – and then enjoyed a post game beer in The Bleacher Bar.  This is a tiny little pub located under the bleacher stands – yet has a roll-up garage door that looks right out on to the outfield. Yes! You can watch a Red Sox game from within the pub, at player level in the outfield. That was over the top!

So while we were away, we received this note from our client, Niemann Capital Management:

Apparently, kudos are once again in order:

http://www.ncm.net: Website Structure and Navigation—Award of Excellence (their gold)

www.ncm.net : Website, Financial Services—Award of Distinction (their silver)

Niemann Capital Management: Print (Sales Brochure): The Niemann Advantage—Award of Distinction (their silver)

Niemann Capital Management: Print (Business Cards): The Niemann Advantage—Award of Distinction (their silver)

My congratulations and thanks to everyone on the team. I consider this just the latest proof statement/commentary on the talent and excellence of the entire team. Current scorecard: Three competitions. Fourteen entries. Thirteen awards. For the math fans in the crowd, that’s a batting average of .929—sans any HGH!

Best to all,
Jim Dunnigan | Director of Marketing

Our client, Niemann Capital Management, has just notified us that we have won another design award for design and copy of their newly launched website.

The Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of marketing and communication programs and print, visual and audio materials.

You are undoubtedly the finest brand/marketing team I’ve ever had the privilege and honor to work with. Interestingly, speaking for all of us, I could say, “Give us the time and we’ll prove the process.”

Congrats. Very, very well done.

Jim Dunnigan | Director of Marketing

NIEMANN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT’S NEW BRANDING INITIATIVE TAKES MULTIPLE HONORS IN SERVICE INDUSTRY ADVERTISING AWARDS COMPETITION
— Three Gold, Two Silver Awards Recognize Investment Management Firm’s Innovative Brochure, Website, Calendar, Logo, Collateral Materials in National Advertising Competition —

Scotts Valley, CA – February 4, 2009 – Niemann Capital Management (NCM)’s sweeping brand initiative has been recognized with top honors at the Service Industry Advertising Awards (SIAA) competition last week, taking home three Gold and two Silver awards. SIAA honored NCM’s creativity and effective communications with Gold awards for the firm’s flagship brochure, The Niemann Advantage; its Brand Launch campaign, and the Niemann 2009 Brand Calendar. SIAA further recognized NCM’s creative excellence with Silver awards for the firm’s totally re-engineered website, ncm.net, and its newly redesigned logo/letterhead. The sixth annual 2008 SIAA competition encompassed more than 1,200 entries nationwide.

Niemann’s Director of Marketing, Jim Dunnigan, said the awards were particularly meaningful because they acknowledged the company’s major rebranding project of 2008, to more effectively communicate its distinction as an “active” or tactical asset management firm. Joining NCM in December 2007, Dunnigan immediately recognized that the boutique money management firm had a compelling story to tell both financial advisors and investors, but one that needed to be refined and packaged to best advantage.

“Once I heard the Niemann story and reviewed the firm’s track record over the last decade, I was impressed,” Dunnigan stated. “Despite having a great story to tell, Niemann simply had not had the benefit of a professional, fully integrated marketing and branding effort. Telling one story with one voice, across every medium, became the genesis of our effort to rebrand the corporate identity.”

As a first step, he assembled a team of award-winning marketers, web developers and branding professionals in December 2007. The challenge was to completely rebrand Niemann Capital Management, re-engineer its website, and recreate its entire suite of sales support materials—all within a 12-month timeframe. The multi-faceted project began in mid-January 2008 and achieved its successful conclusion with the coordinated debut of the new brand, new sales material and launch of the new website on November 13, 2008.

Niemann’s team of brand professionals included Ron Leland, of Real Life Branding, Dana Point, CA, who served as Brand Architect; Robert Hyndman, of VerbMedia, Laguna Beach, CA, who served as Brand Strategist; Sue Arellano, Managing Partner of Centric – Agency of Change, North Hollywood, CA , who oversaw the Centric website development team; Carolyn Smith, Brand Consultant and President of Magnus, Inc., Pasadena, CA; Craig Parsons of Parsons Communications, Los Angeles, CA; and Stephanie Lema and Jackie Donegan of the NCM Marketing Team.

“The end result evolved along three fronts,” Dunnigan explained, “our new brand, a completely rebuilt corporate website and the significantly refined Niemann story injected into a new generation of sales support material.

“While the entire team is quite flattered and pleased with the announcement of these Service Industry Advertising Awards, our ultimate goal has always been to strengthen Niemann’s branding and marketing efforts to stimulate sales. If we achieve that goal over the long term, all our efforts will be rewarded by the tangible growth of the company.”