Bo Speaks! The DFW AMA Listens! (and asks questions)

Bo Bothe recently spoke to the DFW AMA Non-Profit Special Interest Group on the topic of “Branding and Website Best Practices”. Bo shared BrandExtract’s philosophy on branding with the audience, and talked about some of the most important things a Non-Profit organization can do to improve their website.

There was a great turnout and a lively discussion throughout the presentation, including several questions about the chaos of social media marketing and the impact it can have on a business or organization.

Thanks to Bo for making the trip to Dallas to speak to the group!

BrandExtract Makes Top 10 Ads of 2009 List

BrandExtract was awarded a spot in Drilling Contractor magazine’s Top Ten Best Ads of 2009 list for one in a series of ads we developed for our client Total Safety, the world's leading global provider of integrated safety strategies and products to industrial clients.

Drilling Contractor is the official magazine of the International Association of Drilling Contractors, and has covered the global drilling and completion industry since 1944. Its readership is made up of over 30,000 industry professionals at drilling contractor companies, and companies specializing in exploration and production.

The full-page, four-color ad for Total Safety that ran in the July/August issue of the publication, was part of the “We’re Everywhere You Need Us” campaign, which focuses on Total Safety’s dedication to providing its customers with the services they need to stay safe, wherever they are in the world, onshore or offshore.

Total Safety was in distinguished company, with names like Chevron and Baker Hughes, Inc. also making the list. The top 10 ads were determined by the results of a SIGNET AdStudy® that measured the recall and readership of ads that appeared in Drilling Contractor .

Congratulations to the BrandExtract team who designed and wrote the ad, and a big thanks to Total Safety for its collaboration and inspiration. We look forward to creating more award-winning ads in 2010!

Book Published for Dentists

In December we celebrated the first run of the book, "The Affluent Dentist," published by our client, PPC LOAN, one of the country's few commercial loan originators focused on Allstate insurance agents, veterinarians and dentists. The book is a comprehensive guide for dental practitioners ultimately preparing for retirement from a career in dentistry.

A collaborative effort with K.M. "Mac" Winston, PPC LOAN President and Chief Lending Officer, and members (dental brokers) of American Dental Sales (ADS), the book was several years in the making. BrandExtract became involved with the project in May 2009 by providing recommendations for PPC LOAN on marketing and distributing the book when published. We researched titles, designed the cover and internal pages, proofed and edited, and handled the printing and binding of the book.

We also worked with PPC LOAN to design, proof, edit and print a binder/study guide version of the book for dental schools and for seminars PPC LOAN gives at regional meetings and national conferences.

Roll out of an integrated marketing plan began with copies of the book going to ADS members and offering the book for sale on ppcloan.com in January, and will continue throughout 2010.

We've Given Abbey A 'Big Head'!

This quarter’s Big Head award for employee excellence was awarded to Abbey Mora, one of our highly creative and talented graphic designers.

Abbey’s project leadership skills have really blossomed this quarter and she’s taken the design lead on some multifaceted client campaigns with confidence, dedication and contagious enthusiasm. She has worked long hours and even some weekends to ensure that everything stays on track and meets our quality standards.

Those of us who work alongside Abbey appreciate her good humor, her quiet steadiness and the creative ideas she bring to the table. We depend on her — and so do our clients.

Reliable, organized, inspired and self-reliant…these are just a few of the many qualities we admire in Abbey.

Congratulations, Abbey, on being chosen as our quarterly BrandExtract Big Head winner.

AMA Marketer of the Year Finalist!

BrandExtract is a finalist for this year’s local Marketer of the Year and we’re joined by a number of our clients — we couldn’t be prouder!

AMA Houston’s Marketer of the Year program recognizes exceptional marketing by Houston area companies, organizations and institutions. Nominations are in 41 industry categories, and a firm is selected as Best of Category in each, based on a vote of chapter members and a panel of top marketing and industry/business leaders. The overall Marketer of the Year is selected from the Best of Category winners by a panel of marketing professionals.

Last year, 180 outstanding Houston-based companies, organizations and institutions were nominated by their industry peers, marketing leaders and chapter members for their innovative and effective marketing programs, and 33 were selected as Best of Category winners by a vote of members.

This year, 10 of our clients made the finals.

On March 15, 2010, AMA Houston will honor 41 Best of Category winners and announce the 2009 Marketer of the Year. We wish our clients the best of luck!

If you’re an AMA Houston member you can vote for your top picks. We encourage you to read the profiles and learn about the creative methods that got them there, then please cast your vote for:

• Boyar Miller
• Branch School
• BrandExtract
• Chemstations
• Cristo Rey Jesuit High School
• Houston Technology Center
• Literacy Advance
• Marathon Oil
• PPC Loan
• Rice Alliance for Technology & Entrepreneurship
• Tellepsen
• Total Safety

2009 BMA Lantern Awards

I am happy to say that a week ago our firm and our clients were honored with nine awards at the Lanterns. We are especially excited about this show as it rewards both creativity and results. The judges felt that our programs were highly effective, four of which they chose as the best in their category. The programs we have developed for our clients provided them with great results in 2009 and should deliver even greater value in the future.

Thanks to the hard work of both our clients and our people the BMA recognized us for the following work:

Lantern Awards (Best in Category)

• Graham-Pelton Web Site
• Chemstations Brand Program
• Chemstations Brochure
• Total Safety Sales Package

Awards of Excellence

• Chemstations Web Site
• Total Safety Newsletter
• Chemstations Rebrand
• Graham-Pelton Identity Package
• Tellepsen Web Site

We're proud to have been among the winners and congratulations to all this year's award winners, especially our friends from ParkerHayden who won rookie of the year honors (rookies) and tied us with the most lanterns (4) at this year's show.

Award of good deeds...

Friday we were honored to receive a bronze medal at the 54th Annual Art Directors Club of Houston Award Show for our work on the Cristo Rey Jesuit logo. The format of the show does not provide time for acceptance speeches. However, if it did, we would thank Father T.J. Martinez, Susan Martin and all of the amazing staff, faculty and board members involved for trusting us with such an important project. Opportunities such as these are what drive us to do “the Magis.”

Thank you.