You have to start somewhere.

You have to start somewhere.

by | May 4, 2016 | Case Studies, Free Lunch Blog

The Science Museum of Minnesota

Almost 30 years ago to the day, I started my advertising and marketing career with an internship at the Science Museum of Minnesota.  Under the tutelage of Art Director Mark Odegard, I learned how to design, how to think in terms of visitor engagement and how to produce work that a team of people could rally behind.  The first major work that I was involved with was for a show called, Dinosaurs!

Complete with animatronic dinos, fossils, complete skeletons and an array of interactive exhibits, the show became the largest the museum had ever put on.  We even sailed the Apatosaurus down the Mississippi on a barge! Talk about some PR value!  Artwork that I created found it’s way on to t-shirts, shopping bags, outdoor billboards and more.  To this day, it is one of my fondest memories.  No wonder I took to my work and have kept at it for all these years!

Today’s Science Museum of Minnesota has a new brand, built in with the equity of so many patrons, visitors and employees who made it all happen.  The visit is well worth it.

Re-branding an 80-year old company

Re-branding an 80-year old company

by | Apr 6, 2016 | Case Studies, Free Lunch Blog

Velvac

JSH&P works with entrepreneurs of all kinds.  That’s not just garage-style start-ups or Inc. 500 wanna-bees — sometimes that’s with strongly established companies that still have growth on their minds.  Velvac is one of those firms.  With over $70,000,000 in sales, few would call Velvac a small business, but their concerns and desires to anticipate changes within their marketplace are crucial to their success.

“Velvac called me to provide CMO leadership for their upcoming marketing plans.  A new e-commerce website and complete catalog overhaul were just the beginning of a great relationship.”

The brand’s image had grown a bit stale, but new product initiatives called for a more world-class look and feel, without losing the equity already established over the past 80 years of business.  That takes a deft touch and is just the sort of business relationship that’s a win-win.

JSH&P is providing strategic consultation, design, advertising creative, social media and web support throughout the entire Velvac corporate structure. 

You need a Brandbook

You need a Brandbook

by | Mar 2, 2016 | Case Studies, Free Lunch Blog

The Brandbook

Getting a handle on your brand is pretty much what we do at JSH&P.  Either forming the brand from scratch, or, working to coalesce your existing brand into a stronger, more consistent voice for the best of what your business has to offer.

“Far too many small businesses are working against their own brands by not defining who they are, what they look like and what voice they speak with,” says founder Mike Farley.

Building a brandbook — a simplified version of everything you are — is a great place to get consensus on what makes you – you.  From color choices, fonts and logo forms, to advertising, web and promo items.  What’s more, it pulls together the thinking behind the sales process as well as offering a pathway to future success.

The biggest secret behind it?  Putting a Powerline together is a great start.  Ask us more about it.

The image above is a portion of an actual brandbook for JSH&P client Skills Pipeline.  Get in touch with Mike Farley to find out how you can benefit from your own and start saving marketing dollars as well as improving the trajectory of your business. 

Branding for fish…

Branding for fish…

by | Feb 2, 2016 | Case Studies, Free Lunch Blog

Ozaukee County Fish Passage Program

Many of us aren’t that keen on “the government”, but occasionally, you find a program that runs both a tight ship and does a boat load of good for the community.  The Ozaukee Fish Passage Program seeks to re-establish migratory fish passage between 11,149 wetland acres and 215 stream miles of the Milwaukee River Watershed, the Milwaukee Estuary and the Lake Michigan Basin. It’s a program that’s really making an impact and is a model for other county and state programs.

We recently completed an extensive video program for the the FPP in which they’ll utilize this video to generate interest and usage of their program for home owners and businesses, as introduce school age kids to the long term benefits of the program.

JSH&P provided filming, film editing, titling and general oversight of this video, along with the brand identity and logo design for the Ozaukee County Fish Passage Program. 

Claim Your No.1 Spot (even if your 14th)

Claim Your No.1 Spot (even if your 14th)

by | Jan 5, 2016 | Case Studies, Free Lunch Blog

O’Neil Cannon

Not many agencies get the “green light” with a new client by “dissing” the two principals at the firm… but that’s what happened with O’Neil Cannon Hollman DeJong & Laing.  At the time, the firm was O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman & DeJong.

“I told them that they should change the name to O’Neil Cannon because that’s all anyone would remember.  Too bad Mr. Hollman, Mr. DeJong  and Mr. Laing were the remaining partners in the firm!  I suspect they appreciated the honesty… it certainly wasn’t my good looks that won them over.”

O’Neil was the 14th largest law firm in Milwaukee, but their track record of success was as good, if not better, than any other law firm in town — and the firms larger than they seemed to be preoccupied with becoming the strongest firm in the region — abdicating their claim on the city.  By presenting O’Neil as the premier law firm in town, it didn’t matter that the number of lawyers they had was much smaller, they simply needed to appear as strong as their larger counterparts to win their own backyard.

You see, if no one else will stake a claim in an area of your expertise, even if you are much smaller in size, your stature needn’t be.  Go ahead and claim it… BUT, you better be prepared to back it up, and for the level of your brand to be on par, if not greater, than any other in the marketplace.  That’s where JSH&P can deliver results.

JSH&P provided consultive services to the firm of O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing, along with full agency services including print advertising, brand development, web design/production and collateral and promotional design.

The Big Idea Launch

The Big Idea Launch

by | Nov 25, 2015 | Case Studies, Free Lunch Blog

Kids Cope Now

Bill Mulcahy is an excellent child therapist who had a big idea that could help a lot of kids who are scared to go to the hospital.

“It’s scary enough for grown-ups, much more so for kids  who don’t have anything to relate to this kind of experience.”

So Bill wrote a book, found an illustrator and publisher and he was off.  But he soon found that the idea wasn’t enough.  He needed help getting, not only his book, but his program, into the hands of administrators at children’s hospitals nationwide.

“Bill created a wonderfully brave character in Zoey… so we had a nice head-start when we began the process of building a brand based launch out of his book.  We wanted to make sure that the whole kit had that ‘let me see that’ quality.”

Intrigued to bring Bill’s vision to your hospital?  Contact him today at Kids Cope Now.

New Branding that Soars

New Branding that Soars

by | Nov 17, 2015 | Case Studies, Free Lunch Blog

Aerofab NDT

Aerofab NDT came to JacksonSpencer because they knew that their existing site was out-of-date.  What they didn’t realize, was that they were about to re-evaluate their entire brand.  Fran Sterns, Aerofab NDT CFO, was approached by JSH&P about not only making their website a better experience for customers and prospects, but improving their branding to better match the high caliber of work their produce.

In an industry that sees imperfection as a horror story, you’ve got one shot to “get it right.”  Thing is, like so many other small businesses, it’s hard to describe the look and feel you want when your days are consumed with meticulous detail.  “That’s where Mike Farley really works his magic,” stated Stearns.

“Sometimes the brand simply needs a few tweaks, along with a more stringent set of rules for managing your brand.” says Farley.  “Far too many businesses get lazy with the scope of their brand.  What happens over time is that you get multiple looks and messages that confuse your customers.  Left unchecked, you spend a lot more money to make the same impact had you stayed consistent throughout.”

The complete process of re-branding had JSH&P designing a new logo, mobile-responsive website, catalog cover and full stationery package for Aerofab NDT.

Do More for Your Clients

Do More for Your Clients

by | Oct 22, 2015 | Case Studies, Free Lunch Blog

Do More Truck Equipment

 

A great business partner of ours, Smart Interactive Media, came to us to help design an entirely new brand for one of their clients, based off of an existing singular product called Debo Step.  With new capital invested, the company was interested to get a smart branding launch in an entirely new product category — truck steps.

” When you’re starting from scratch, you’ve got such great potential…” states JSH&P President Mike Farley, “but you’ve also got all of the risk to get it right.”

One of the ways that minimizes the risk, is to use design thinking that allows the client to be an active part of the logic behind the design choices.  Some design firms shy away from client input, but all any client really wants to achieve is a world-class look that’s perfect for their business marketplace.  JSH&P helps make tangible those elements that start out as a blank piece of paper.

“JacksonSpencer always gives us great work and our clients love it.  Keeps me on budget, on time and makes me look like a star.” — Mike Stevens, SIM President

Doing the world some good…

Doing the world some good…

by | Oct 15, 2015 | Free Lunch Blog

Guatemala Medical Resources Partnership

The Guatemala Medical Relief Partnership began in 2003 with the vision of a Rotarian from Wisconsin to provide basic medical care to people who couldn’t otherwise receive care. It’s a trip that local dentist, Michael Kim has taken for the past decade.  Traveling to Oliveros, Santa Rosa, Guatemala, Dr. Kim and a team of 40 individuals made the journey to offer a free clinic with General Medical, Vision and Dental care to anyone who came.

As you might imagine, in this underserved part of the world, the turn-out was immense.  My own son, Jackson, went on this trip to document these doctors, nurses and volunteers in the good work they are doing — without any fanfare — simply for the love of humanity.

JSH&P provided filming, film editing, titling and general oversight of this video pro bono for recruitment by the Mequon-Theinsville Rotary Club.  Interested to be a part of it?  Careful, it may just change your life.