Anna Forbes v. 2.0!

New and Improved Version.

We are pleased to announce the official addition of Anna Forbes to our shop. We say "official" because while Anna has worked with us for many years she has been continuing her education in the marketing and PR disciplines to take her career to the next level. Now that she has satisfied her most recent thirst for knowledge, she is more prepared than ever with the same level of commitment and passion she has brought to our agency for nearly four years.

In her newest role, Anna will serve as an account executive for such clients as Precision Tune Auto Care and Len the Plumber. She will also play a key role in the strategic process for many of our other accounts -- most importantly in the market research and account planning areas. “We're excited to improve upon our account planning within the agency. We feel Anna has a special skill for adapting and relating to a particular target audience and therefore allowing us to create ideas and media strategy that those audiences can relate to. Also, brand stewardship is very important in today's market and once we gain momentum with a brand, we intend to keep it topical, fresh and enticing to the consumer", says David Cyphers, President of The Cyphers Agency.

Happy Holidays from The Cyphers Agency!

Hi Everyone,

We are celebrating the holidays this year by giving our friends a chance to show their creativity. Creative people have the ability to take the ordinary and make it extraordinary.
We do this with brands every day. Here's your chance. Try your hand at putting a creative spin on a traditional holiday classic. Click here to create your own gingerbread man (or woman) to send to your friends. Send us your card, we'd love to see what you create!

I got elfed

Yesterday I got an email from my sister, the subject was "I got elfed." I thought, 'what did she send me now' because she is always sending me something a little off the wall but funny. I clicked on the link and two elfs pop up, one had my face on it and the other had her face on it. Then they started to dance to this big band type Christmas song...and it was too cute for words! After the dancing elfs disappeared my curiosity of where this came from led me to the OfficeMax website. Who knew OfficeMax could be so creative to create a viral campaign such as this?! Well, they sure did succeed because I've been emailing my buddies across the country 'my-elf-dancing-self' and they too had been elfed!! I even had a friend of a friend in Switzerland who got elfed!

I did some research to see who the clever ad agency was that created this elfamorphosis. And apparently this elf phenomenon started in 2006 and generated more than 11 million elves last year! This year, visitors have the option to either "Elf" themselves or expand the elf concept by "elfing" themselves along with three other friends -- creating a band of four elves. And for the scrooges out there, OfficeMax created a new character called -- ScroogeYourself.com.

This is a perfect example of a successful viral marketing campaign using an interactive video clip. Everyone loves to see pictures of themselves and post them online for all their friends and family to see. So when you put your face on a very cute animated elf, who doesn’t want to pass it along to their friends and then their friends and so on…resulting in millions of elves by the end of the holiday season. We have been following this viral marketing trend for quite some time now, check out our white paper at www.thecyphersagency.com and click on the “hmmmm” tab.

But here is the BEST part about this blog – watch us get “Elfed!” http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9625690954

Cyber Monday – Is your website ready?

As I ate my favorite Special K cereal today, I caught a short segment on the morning news about Cyber Monday – the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday. The National Retail Federation coined the term back in 2005 when they saw sales spike the Monday after Thanksgiving as people returned to work. The possibilities are endless when you think about alllllll of the stores you can visit anytime of the day or night without having to physically walk into any stores. Talk about competition, can IT get any tougher? The answer is YES. More than 70% of online retailers are planning special promotions for the five Cyber Monday’s this holiday season, compared to the 42.7% two years ago, according to a survey by Shop.org.

With this being said, is your website ready to compete with top online retailers this holiday season like Amazon.com, Overstock.com, or even Best Buy?

The key to cutting through the clutter and reaching these online shoppers is to optimize your website with special keywords and to purchase relevant Google AdWords. For example, this year I’m searching for the perfect organic blanket for my new little nephew. Although I might change my mind if the blanket is not soft and cuddly! But the point is if I’m searching for this ‘organic blanket’, the Google results are full of unheard of retailers across the world. What is stopping your shop from coming up in the #1 spot on Google for an ‘organic blanket’ or a ‘cashmere sweater?’ Well – we’d have to research the answer to that question. But marketing your website gets increasingly tougher each day because top search engines like Google, MSN, and Yahoo are constantly evolving and changing. Therefore, you have to stay on top of your website’s optimized keywords to ensure they are ranking you as the top player in your space.

If you haven’t already – start testing the ‘search engine optimization’ or ‘SEO’ waters. You’d be surprised how a little tweaking to your website and a few purchased Google AdWords can put you ahead of your online competition. Besides – think about how you found us? We like to call it the mysterious SEO phenomenon!

So this holiday season think about if your website is ready to handle the 68.5 million people who plan to do some holiday shopping online at work. I will continue my quest for the perfect organic blanket for my nephew and good luck to you in conquering your holiday shopping quests!

To read our white paper on Search Engine Marketing go to www.thecyphersagency.com.

Liz Gaither Joins the Cyphers Team

We are pleased to announce the addition of Liz Gaither to our account staff. Liz is now our Public Relations Account Executive.

Liz built her public relations career at RMR & Associates in Rockville, Maryland as a Senior Public Relations specialist. At RMR, Liz managed, planned and executed marketing and public relations campaigns for seven technology companies and cultivated new business. A graduate of East Carolina University with a BA in Communications, Liz has newly relocated to the Annapolis area with her husband.

In her new role, Liz will serve as an account executive and will provide public relations services for customers. Additionally, she will pursue new business opportunities. “We are excited to have Liz join our team – her public relations experience, especially in technology sectors is a perfect complement to our account staff”, explains David Cyphers, President of The Cyphers Agency.

An Interactive Twist on the Consumer Grapevine

In doing some research I stumbled across this very cool site I thought I’d share. It’s ExpoTV’s online platform www.expotv.com. They call it the ‘consumer grapevine’ and that’s exactly what it is. Thousands of video reviews, product ratings, and more in a consumer content driven environment. For consumers looking to get information about a product from someone more like themselves as opposed to ads or market research, this is the place.

Consumers sign up and then create these “Videopinions” as quick and simple reviews on a wide range of products from a new flavor of Doritos to vacation spots to cars. There is no shortage of reviews on any given product as consumers are actually paid to post their opinions, $2 or $10 for each review, depending on the product category of the reviewed item.

Not only is this a perfect place for consumers looking for unbiased product information, it’s an easy way for companies and marketers to see what consumers think of their products, and view a wealth of information on what consumers are enjoying, but more importantly – why. Many of the reviewers are explaining what they like and dislike but without realizing it, they are also revealing what they value, how they relate to products, how usage of these products makes them feel, what is irritating and what turns them off.

ExpoTV has partnered with numerous cable operators to create buying guides on demand. Crave is one of the newer series that features the top rated Videopinions from the Web site. These on demand programs can be found on Comcast, Timewarner Cable, VerizonFiosTV, Cox Communications and several other cable providers.

The online portion of ExpoTV and the on demand capabilities are extensions of the ExpoTV Network, which is the first of its kind as a consumer-information centered network to offer shoppers what amounts to a catalogue on TV. It showcases product demonstrations, ratings and reviews 24/7 with shows that cover specific product categories such as home electronics, the travel industry, and fitness and beauty. Marketers can take advantage of this type of TV Network too, using more long-form advertising. Especially with TiVo and DVR becoming so widely popular, consumers are quite used to fast forwarding through TV commercials. But with on demand services becoming more and more utilized for product research and shopping, it’s a crucial environment to be present in to reach consumers looking for information on a variety of products.

Check it out sometime; online, on demand, on the network, take your pick and let me know what you think.

A Blog About Blogging

Perhaps it’s a bit elementary to blog about blogging but for those of us in the advertising and marketing industry it has become such a powerful viral tool we simply cannot ignore the benefits of entering the blogosphere.

I was inspired by a recent Webinar I attended on this subject, presented by Second Wind. (www.secondwindonline.com). I’ve never had so many notes from a session like this, so here are some of my favorite highlights on blogging and interactive media, mixed in with some notions of my own.

With a constantly changing marketplace, consumers aren’t looking for slap-in-the-face advertising anymore- that has simply run its course and it’s not enough to truly capture audiences anymore. People don’t want obvious ads; they’re looking for more obscure marketing tactics that give them the power to choose to be associated with something. Interactive mediums, such as blogs, are our portal into the consumer generated content world and allow us to make valuable connections and establish irreplaceable relationships with consumers.

Blogs cater perfectly to the ever-changing desires of savvy consumers. They’re simple and easy to find via online searches, and if you use them properly they can be a powerful tool for you. Obviously blogs are a forum for truth and discussion, rather than sales pitches and ad messages, so if your motives are simply to jam your ad copy into another vehicle stick to the traditional stuff. Because it’s useless to be present in the blog scene if you’re not presenting relevant and worthwhile content. However, if you truly have something to add you can create valuable relationships with the people that matter most to your brand. Given the viral nature of blogs, those relationships often spread quickly, and then you’ve created a serious buzz factor simply by introducing your brand into the blog world.

For marketers, allowing consumers to see inside your company and identify with you creates transparency that forges a bond of trust with consumers, leading to brand engagement. And getting consumers to interact with the brand is ultimately what we’re after.

So if you’re only reading this and you don’t have a blog of your own, go start one!

But when it comes to interactive media, utilizing the power of blogging is only the beginning. There’s a lot out there beyond blogs. Podcasting, webcasting, streaming video, wikis, social networks to name a few, but the list goes on. The point is- if you’re not taking advantage of these interactive opportunities you’re not capturing your full marketing potential.

Advertisers go stealth

I live by my DVR. If it’s not recorded, I don’t watch it. I don’t have time. And who would with a full time job, a 3 year old and a cat with more health issues than my 99 year old grandmother? One gets used to zipping through the commercials at lightning speed. Sure I make them, but even I don’t want them interrupting my Thursday night Survivor hour. That’s the beauty of the DVR. TV commercials are a thing of the past – the tribe has spoken.

But seriously, did you think advertisers would give up that easily?! In what is called “stealth advertising” Jerry Seinfeld promotes his latest project “Bee Movie” through his guest appearance on 30 Rock. Then, in an effort to halt the DVR speed throughs of commercial breaks, they’ve placed short stand up skits of Seinfeld in the middle of the advertising blocks to get you stop and watch. Sneaky, but brilliant…not to mention all the free PR…

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN0243829420071003?sp=true

Joyce Miller joins Cyphers and more news

We are happy to note that Joyce Miller has joined our team as our new office manager. Joyce will use her skills to bring order to our office chaos. She is highly organized and will excel in keeping our office running smoothly.

On another note, I recently reached my ten year anniversary as an employee here. Everyone came to a nice lunch at Jalapenos Restaurant in Annapolis to celebrate. We had a great time! We have a group of long-termers including Darren Easton, Barbara Franke and Danielle Reigle who have been with Cyphers for quite some time.

-Christina Drews-Leonard

deep ad thoughts, part II

Hi,

Get ready for more posts soon as we transition and revise this blog a bit. We are sad to see our favorite author Garret leave. He will be taking on new challenges at his new position in Baltimore. We will do our best to continue posting news about Cyphers and advertising. Email me your ideas for posts!

-Christina

TCA Launches Web Site With New Rovion Technology

That's right - check it out: www.warmanhomecare.com. If you don't spot the new technology right away, you need to visit the eye doctor - you may be blind!

For those of you that aren't familiar, elderly care is a confusing process where family members are forced to make quick, but impactful decisions that affect their loved ones. Our objective with this Web site was to organize the vast content as intuitively as we possibly could. And to make it even easier for the consumer to understand how to move forward with Warman Home Care, we employed a technology from a company out of Maryland called Rovion. Rovion's technology helps bring a Web site to life, often highlighting a specific aspect of a company's product or service.

Very cool stuff! What do you think?

Garret

Annapolis Lighting Work

Hi all -

I just wanted to write about some of the recent work we've been doing for The Annapolis Lighting Company. They hired us recently to redevelop and reposition their brand as well as to develop a more effective media strategy that would provide results for them. As we do with many of our clients in a similar situation, we began by embarking on a thorough research phase. In this phase, we did four distinct segments of research:

Internal - Interviews with management, sales staff, etc. to find out more about their corporate culture, their sales methods, past advertising efforts, etc.

Industry - Secondary research to better understand the intricacies of today's lighting and fan industry. What are the current trends? A lot of this came from the trade association, since they already have a good deal of compiled research.

Competitive - In order to make Annapolis Lighting's marketing stand out, we need to know what their competitors are doing. How are they positioning themselves? What are their messages? We have to consider all of this because the last thing we want to do is to create marketing that blends in with what they are doing.

Target Audience - This is where we did our most thorough research. All of this research was primary research, where we directly engaged the target. Within this segment, we did a combination of intercept interviews and online surveys. Our aim here was to get a peek into customer perception of the brand as it stands now for both current customers and people not as familiar with the brand, better understand buying habits as it pertains to this segment and gauge overall brand awareness.

Once the research was compiled, we moved forward with developing the brand based on our findings. In the end, our positioning statement essentially said that The Annapolis Lighting Company is the lighting store that carries a higher caliber of product than your normal lighting store (their major competitors are Home Depot, Loews, etc). Based on that, we developed the following brand development concepts (click to enlarge):




You'll see that we refreshed the logo a bit, but still kept it similar to preserve the brand equity that did exist. We think our creative does a great job of communicating Annapolis Lighting's distinction. I'd love to know how you feel about it.

We also did quite a lot of work on their media strategy. Although not as easy to blog about as the creative, I'm very proud of what we did for this client. Where they were spending quite a lot on traditional media like print, we have adjusted their media mix to include more in-store, interactive, outdoor, direct marketing, etc. We feel confident that the media plan we have devised for them, combined with our monthly support, will provide massive ROI.

Let me know what you think!

Garret

What's Going on at TCA?

Hi everyone,

I was just looking backand I realized that I hadn't done a blog post lately talking about some of the cool stuff we've got cookin' at TCA lately. And there's a lot of really good stuff. Actually, come to think of it, that's probably why I haven't posted a ton - because I've been slammed. I'm lovin it, though!!

I'm working on two awesome prospects right now, and crossing my fingers bigtime that we get the nod on each one. The first one, which shall remain nameless for now, is a National automotive Web site that helps consumers locate a car to purchase from a reputable dealer. They're looking to an agency to reposition and strengthen their brand and to for the first time ever, reach out to consumers with brand awareness advertising. We spent a lot of time and energy (not to mention money!) on the pitch over the past few weeks, and even developed some spec creative work. I was really excited about what we put together, and more importantly, I think they were as well. We are putting together a couple more things for them over the next few days, and should know within a week! I'll keep you posted.

The other prospect that I've been working on, which shall also remain nameless for now, is a homeland and public security company based here in Maryland. This public company has for years made its mark by protecting prisons and embassies from attacks, but also does a lot of work in the corporate world. They are looking for an agency that can help them begin to reach out to educational institutions - namely the top 25 educational institutions in the United States, ranked by enrollment. They have all of the products and services that an educational institution would need to protect itself from attack and crime. As you know, more funds will be available for institutions like this, partially as a result of the Virginia Tech massacre. We hope to be the ones to help them promote their company to these prospects.

So, keep your fingers crossed with me. We would be PUMPED if they both came through. Can't wait.

Garret Ohm
The Cyphers Agency
www.thecyphersagency.com

TCA Client in Today's Capital

Hi all - I just wanted to spread the good word about a client of ours who just received some positive editorial coverage in today's Capital Gazette Newspaper, in the business section. Titan Cigar's Dave Williams was quoted several times about the smoking ban, and actually got a pretty good bit of editorial about his store and future plans in the county.

Here's the full article. Congrats, Dave!

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/05_13-41/BUS

And for those that haven't been to his place, you HAVE to check it out. They have some great stuff and it's a super cool atmosphere. It's definitely the coolest cigar shoppe & lounge that I've ever been to.

Garret

PR as a Megaphone or Filter?

Many people like to think of public relations as a megaphone, but actually its most important role is that of filter.

That’s right, sometimes your best PR tactic is silence.

Just ask Don Imus, or Alec Baldwin, or Sen. Joe Biden. Damage control after saying or doing something stupid is so much costlier than taking a few extra moments to consider the consequences. Of course, an unfortunate slip of the tongue is a disaster no PR person could prevent, but even well-run organizations are known to hastily announce so-called good news without proper strategy and planning.

PR is not just about getting media coverage. In its most sophisticated applications it’s about reputation management. Every PR person feels pressure to obtain placements. But the best have the courage to resist that pressure for a larger purpose.

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama made headlines recently when he criticized Don Imus for making racist and sexist remarks about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. Soon, however, Obama was being called a hypocrite for taking campaign contributions from hip-hop artist Ludacris, whose lyrics are similarly misogynistic. In this instance, it might have been better for the senator to stay out of the Imus debate.

A good PR counselor evaluates opportunities to promote an organization, and if the timing, or the venue, or the message is not right, it might be advisable to wait for a better opportunity. A PR person should consider how the news will be perceived by all possible audiences and do a thorough risk-benefit analysis. Often, even marginal risks will trump significant benefits, because harm to an established brand can be very difficult to overcome.

Chris Stutz
Director of Public Relations
Manager, Client Services
The Cyphers Agency, Inc

Great Meeting Today

Dave, Sarah and I had a great meeting today with a new prospect that shall go nameless until we win it (fingers crossed). We certainly felt as if there was great chemistry, and that we have what it takes to really get them back on the right track with marketing - which will in turn give a shot in the arm to the sliding sales they're currently experiencing.

We're really hopeful that we win it for a couple of reasons. For one, they seem like really great people. Apparently it's a family owned business (2nd generation) and the current management is really looking to take the business in the right direction. They were very receptive to our initial ideas and strategy, and seemed to really respect us, which is so important. As Dave said in the meeting, "we know marketing well, but we'll never know your business as well as you do." It's so true, and it goes in both directions.

We also see a ton of potential with them. Right now they're suffering from the lack of agency love - that is, the agency they were working with wasn't really giving them the attention they needed. They were getting canned, basic work and nothing was being done strategically or pro-actively.

It was a sad situation for them, but a great opportunity for us. We're already confident that we can get in there and make some things happen for them. We talked lots about how difficult it is to get your message heard in the sea of over-saturated media, and discussed some of the ideas we had in that direction. I can't wait to put this proposal and final pitch together.

I'll keep everyone posted, for sure! We'll be presenting a proposal to them in a couple of weeks.

Garret Ohm

The Cyphers Agency Mourns for V.Tech Victims

We here at The Cyphers Agency have been watching the news closely over the past two days as the details emerge about the most gruesome shooting in the history of The United States. Our hearts are heavy thinking about the 31 families who lost someone and the numerous other students and faculty who suffered injuries.

I thought I'd repost an article that appeared in AdAge, that details several media outlets' attempts to capitalize on the events and ensure that they are the media outlet of choice for curious Web-surfers. Here's the article:

http://adage.com/outofsite/post?article_id=116144

I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this, but something just doesn't feel right. What are your thoughts? I'm interested in hearing.

TCA Creative in Baltimore Examiner

Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend, even though the weather here in Maryland was awful for the most part.

Chris Stutz, our director of public relations, had been working with The Baltimore Examiner last week because they wanted to feature the creative from one of our clients in their Monday edition in the business section. I went to www.baltimoreexaminer.com this morning and saw the article, so I wanted to pass it along.

Click HERE to read the article from The Examiner.

Busy Week: Marketing the Georgetown MBA

Hi all -

Darren Easton, Kimberly Putnam and I had a busy week last week getting ready for our Georgetown University pitch for the McDonough School of Business. They are the #22 MBA program in the entire United States (ranked most recently by Business Week, but most people don't know it. Locally, schools like American University and especially University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of business enjoy a much better reputation, largely due to the fact that they spend quite a lot on marketing.

Ray Cooper, the Associate Dean at McDonough, was brought on board in September to help bolster the school's reputation and marketing to their target audiences. In doing so, they are going to work on rebranding McDonough after their market research is complete (which, incidentally, I hope we will be helping them with). But first, Ray wanted to launch a brand awareness campaign in the local DC Metro market, which is why they called The Cyphers Agency.

So, we swung into a high gear to get ready for this pitch. We had a week to put together a creative plan and a media plan. It was stressful, but we did it, and I'm really proud of what we did. I can't share it with you just yet because it hasn't been approved by the client; however, I think it's really great work from the Creative Department and cuts right to the core of what we want to communicate to local business leaders and influences and potential students: Georgetown's McDonough School of Business is a top 25 MBA program.

Garret

TCA Takes Home a TRASHY!

You heard it here first. Recently, The Cyphers Agency took home top honors at the Advertising Association of Baltimore's annual "Never Saw The Light of Day Awards!!" These awards, also called the "Fake Addys," honor the area's top creative that never appeared in print or online.

To me, these awards were huge. You might ask yourself, "why is it so important to win a contest that judges rejected work?" But to us, it stands for so much more. Let me explain. We are always telling our clients and prospects that you have to be able to be gutsy with your marketing to make sure it stands out from the clutter.

Unfortunately, many clients and prospects are unable to do so, and when we come up with a rocking concept that we know will cut through the clutter, they undoubtely become squeamish about putting that out in the public eye. Doesn't make much sense does it? I guess they don't usually see it that way when it's their business...It's a shame.

This was our first time entering these awards, so we were really set on making a big splash. And make a splash, we did! I won't tell you which creative actually won the contest (I wouldn't want to rub it in their face that we won with their rejected creative), but I will show you a sweet picture of the trophy. It's not an Addy - it's a TRASHY
More Cyphers Agency news later on. Be cool!

Best,

Garret Ohm

Old Glory Harley Doing Well Thanks To TCA!

Hi all -

You might remember THIS blog post that I did a couple of months back about us winning the Old Glory Harley Davidson media and creative account. If not, give it a look. Well, we're well underway now, and the dealership is officially open for business. Things are going well so far, and I'd like to think our agency had a lot to do with that.

I'll do my best to post some creative bit later! Let me know what you think, and by all means, visit America's newest Harley Davidson Dealership in Laurel, Maryland, right outside of DC!

Best,

Garret

Cyphers Creative For Resilient Corporation Appears in Forbes Magazine

Hi all -

Now that the March Fortune Magazine will be hitting the stands any day now, I wanted to show everyone some creative we recently did for Resilient Corporation, a company that works with companies that need to ensure that they are resilient. For those that don't know, business resilience is defined as: an organization's capability to maintain its functions and structure in the face of internal and external change and to respond positively when it can or degrade when it must.

In doing the ad for Fortune Magazine, we were placing this relatively new company against a number of other competitors such as Deloitte & Touche. So we had to take a look at what their target audience would perceive as an attractive benefit that would make them hire Resilient over the competition. Long story short, after researching this further, it turns out that Resilient Corporation is the only company that actually measures,scores and benchmarks a company's resilience, unlike other companies that simply analyze resilience and provide a gigantic written report along with consulting. Resilient actually quantifies it.

Look for it starting March 12 on newsstands!

Best,

Garret Ohm

TCA Welcomes Sarah and CJ

Hi folks -

I just wanted to take a quick minute to announce two recent hires here at The Cyphers Agency. Sarah Thomas (Binet) has joined TCA as account executive, and CJ Isaac has joined our creative department as graphic designer. Both are great additions to the team. Here's a little more about both of them:

Sarah Thomas came to us from Arnold Worldwide, where she worked for five years on the McDonalds account. She specifically focused on the Eastern Shore Co-op and the Central PA Co-op, helping them create and execute overall marketing plans. The bulk of her experience is in TV, Radio, Outdoor and Print, but she has taken a special interest in interactive work as well. Her favorite parts of the ad industry are research, creative production and messing with a consumer's mind (not in any particular order).

On a personal level, she is married for 3 years to Valere, and has a 2-year-old daughter named Jacqueline. She is a national/international level gymnastics coach and judge in her her spare time. I can vouch for this, as I have seen her do a number of flips and tumbles in the office (just kidding).

CJ Isaac is our resident Tennessean. She is fairly new to the area, having moved from her home state of Tennessee by way of Knoxville. She's a UT - Knoxville grad. Before working with The Cyphers Agency, CJ worked with The Modern Hostess in Knoxville. She's an all around killer designer, and she's also a great Web designer - an area where we are really growing - so we're really excited to have her on board.

CJ lives in Baltimore's Canton neighborhood, on Patterson Park with her shepherd terrier, Lucy. Her hobbies are traveling, venturing around Baltimore and Annapolis, volunteering with various charities, going to AIGA events, and participating in the Maryland Outdoor Club.

Stay tuned for more pictures - we're doing some headshots, but Sarah is on travel today. I'll upload them when I get them!

Thanks,

Garret

TCA Partnership with Corridor Inc.

Hi all -

Recently, The Cyphers Agency has struck a partnership with Corridor Inc., the business and political news magazine for the Baltimore-Washington corridor. We're going to be helping them with a few key priorities - a Corridor Jobs section, some branding challenges and promoting Corridor Inc. heavier in the Washington, DC. market.

As a trade, we're going to be (FINALLY) placing some advertisements for our services. I'm really pumped about what we're putting in the magazine. I think it'll grab some eyeballs! Nice work, D.

Garret K. Ohm
The Cyphers Agency

TCA Tapped by Plastic Surgery Specialists

We just received word from them that after pitching them for several weeks, Plastic Surgery Specialists, based here in Annapolis, signed on to work with The Cyphers Agency.

Plastic Surgery Specialists is one of the area's leading cosmetic surgery group, with five locations including skin care services and a medi-spa in the Annapolis headquarters location. We're very excited to work with them to refresh and strengthen their 20+ year old brand, and better spend their 2007 marketing budget.

And the best part of it - they're cool people. You just can't complain about people who are easy to work with!

Garret

PR Coverage in the Baltmore Examiner

Hi All -

I just wanted to pass along a little PR blurb that we had in the DC Communicator today announcing two of our newest employees, Kimberly Putnam and Melissa Young. Here's the link to it:

Click To Read DC Communicator

Garret Ohm

TCA Coverage in the BBJ

Hi guys - Happy New Year!

Yours truly just had a short article published in last week's Baltimore Business Journal. Let me know what you think!

Click Here To See the BBJ Article

Later!

Garret

Cyphers Launches New Site for Titan Cigar

Hi all -

I just wanted to let you know that The Cyphers Agency recently launched a brand new Web site for the Titan Cigar concept. The store should be opening next week, and not a minute too soon.

Check out the Web site when you can, and be sure to sign up for their email list. And if you're thinking about a Christmas gift for your favorite cigar lover, consider purchasing them a membership in the Titan Robusto Club. You can find all the details you need on the site:

www.titancigar.com

Cheers,

Garret

Old Glory Harley @ TCA

You heard it - I'll update you more later with the details, but I am PUMPED about this win. I can't wait to work with these guys. They seem really awesome.

Garret

Lessons From The Downfall of a Baltimore Ad Giant...

The recent collapse of Baltimore advertising giant Eisner has given advertising executives plenty of reason to take stock of their own business practices. Anyone who has watched a few episodes of “Bewitched” knows how mercurial the advertising industry is, how capricious the clients can be. Agencies grow by going after the bigger accounts, but if they’re not careful they make themselves even more vulnerable to the vagaries of the marketplace. A $20 million account is great to have – until you lose it.

How an agency handles the inevitable downturns in business is a reflection on many things, and often it comes down to whether the decision-makers are able to see reality and heed the counsel of those who can be a little more objective, or whether they allow stubbornness and pride to cloud their vision. The Eisners have admitted that in hindsight, they should have downsized more drastically after losing a huge airline account last year. They bought services, such as advertising space, for which they were not certain they could pay. Recent published reports tell of deliberate attempts to misstate revenues and otherwise mislead partners and customers.

And last week, with bankruptcy and lawsuits looming, they shut the doors and left their clients, vendors and over 50 employees holding the bag. We know what message this action sends the rest of the advertising community, now flooded with resumes from dozens of folks suddenly without a paycheck for holiday spending. But what should the business community at large take away from this scenario?

Eisner’s clients and vendors were treated poorly, and ultimately dishonestly. Understandably, these companies might be hesitant about continuing to work with ad agencies. There were red flags, however, with Eisner, and knowing what they are could help clients and vendors avoid similar predicaments in the future. The loss of the $20 million US Airways account, which was widely publicized, would be a crushing blow for an agency of any size, and in a smaller market like Baltimore difficult to quickly replace. A steady series of senior management defections in recent years was another strong clue to disarray within the organization. One simultaneous group defection to open a competing agency was another clear signal. And finally, the collapse of the potential merger with rival GKV put the message in bold-face caps.

Eisner’s extremely high overhead -- $100,000 per month for office space alone, not to mention a bloated payroll – should have given any client pause. Is this where your want your retainer money going?

We believe it’s entirely appropriate to hold your ad agency’s feet to the fire a little about its financial stability, its client base and the longevity of those relationships; to listen for rumblings on the street about the company’s reputation, and, perhaps most important, to trust your gut about how responsible, honest and fiscally prudent management is. If they spend lavishly on themselves and their workspace, how conscientious are they being with your money?

Chris Stutz
Director of Public Relations
chris@thecyphersagency.com

Finally a Meeting with OGHD

Hi Cyphers Fans,

Just a quick update for those interested. We FINALLY (it took me almost 2 years) secured a meeting with Old Glory Harley Davidson, the new Harley Davidson Dealership that is going to be located on Rt. 197 in Laurel, Maryland. I've been salivating over the opportunity to talk to these guys since I read that they were coming up from North Carolina to open the dealership.

They are extremely nice guys and seem to really have their stuff together. Above all, they're passionate for the brand and are excited about the opportunity to connect with the local riding community. I think we're going to have a great partnership - let's hope.

I'm committed to learning all about their business and their target consumer. For Harley, that consumer ranges wildly - from the 20 year old 'kid' dreaming about buying a bike in a couple years, to the 35 year old CEO of a bank, to a 50 year old woman. But the one thing that ties all of these people together is the passion for the brand. Harley owners are some of the most loyal and proud there are. We're looking forward to helping Old Glory Harley Davidson better connect with their target audience through brand building, advertising, public relations and event planning and management.

On a side note, here is a rather funny picture from today's pitch. Harley T-Shirts aren't probably the best idea with dress slacks and dress shoes - but it sure was fun!

Garret Ohm
www.thecyphersagency.com

Cherry Cove Meeting

Hi all -

Another quick status update. We had a very good meeting with Ray Wernecke, the COO of Cherry Cove Land Development. Ray was interested in talking with marketing and advertising agencies nearby to find a partner that could help his company with marketing and brand strategy for his company and the subsidiary companies that fall underneath that corporate brand.

They're a company that has been around for a long time, and has had a leader that was very well known and very philanthropic in the surrounding communities. He WAS their brand - he lived and breathed it. Unfortunately, he's 84 now, and may not be able to be as active in spreading the word for the company. And as it usually does for companies like this, marketing needs more attention than it used to in order for the company to sustain its success.

We're hopeful that our expertise in all of the areas that this company operates (hospitality, builders, developers, property management, manufactured homes) will really come into play to ensure that we deliver success for this company. I'll be putting my proposal together over the next couple of weeks - I'll keep everyone posted on whether or not we get the account. I'm crossing my fingers for good news.

Garret Ohm
The Cyphers Agency
www.thecyphersagency.com

Progress with our Newest Retail Account

I just wanted to let everyone know that we've been making some really good progress with our newest retail account, Titan Cigar. The store is set to open on November 24, and the marketing and advertising program is rolling along.

To see the branding that we created for the store, check out the temporary Web site holding page we created at www.titancigar.com. The branding elements are definitely all there. I think it's looking great, and should be a great representation of the upscale cigar shop and lounge.

I stopped by the store after my morning meeting today and checked out the construction. It's moving along very nicely - I can't wait to see the finished product. If you're into cigars or the associated lifestyle, you're going to love the store.

I'll write later when we get close to the store's opening, but feel free to email us at info@titancigar.com if you're interested in getting on the email list.

Thanks,

Garret Ohm
The Cyphers Agency
www.thecyphersagency.com

New Creative Uploaded at www.thecyphersagency.com

Hi all -

For those interested, check out the new creative that we've uploaded at www.thecyphersagency.com, otherwise known as www.bestadagencyever.com. ; )

There's some good stuff there. Some ads from Lawry's The Prime Rib, Zachary's Jewelers, The Institute of World Politics, and even a new concept by Marriott - Stone's Throw Restaurant.

Let me know what you think!

Garret Ohm
The Cyphers Agency
garret@thecyphersagency.com

Cyphers Wins The Brick Companies Classic

Hi Y'all -

Well, I'm all rested up after having a day off to play some golf. We participated in The Brick Companies Classic, put on by The Brick Companies and Atlantic Golf to benefit the Children's National Medical Center.

A great tournament for a great cause, and we WON! We shot 16 under par 55 on the Lakes Course at Queenstown. On my team was Tim Keagy from Mosaic, a printer we work with, Tony Caruso from Caruso Designs and Chuck Mann from Comcast. A fun time was had by all.

I'll see if I can get some pictures put up from the tournament.

Garret Ohm
The Cyphers Agency
www.thecyphersagency.com

TCA in the Baltimore Examiner

Hi all -

The Cyphers Agency was recently profiled by The Baltimore Examiner. Try to check out the print edition, but here's an online version:

http://www.examiner.com/a-322088~Cyphers_Agency_puts_listening_first.html

Pretty sweet, huh? : )

Garret Ohm
www.thecyphersagency.com

Congrats Anna and Christina

I just wanted to take a second to congratulate two members of The Cyphers Agency's staff, Anna Forbes and Christina Drews-Leonard. Anna Forbes is an account coordinator for TCA, and she's been with us for two years. Christina Drews-Leonard is a senior art director with TCA and she has been here an astounding 9 years. NICE! I don't know what we'd do without both of these lovely ladies. Congratulations, and here's to many more years!

Oh, and if we're counting, my 4 year anniversary with TCA was on September 9. ; ) Time flies....

Garret Ohm
garret @ thecyphersagency.com

Phillips Corporation Gives TCA the Go-Ahead

That's right folks, The Cyphers Agency was just given the go-ahead by The Phillips Corporation out of Columbia, Maryland, which makes us officially their agency of record. We're very excited about getting started with Phillips - they have a lot of brand heirarchy issues that really need to be worked out.

And for those of you who are wondering - no, this is not Phillips Electronics. This is a company that manufactures and distributes machinery for the manufacturing industry. Not quite as sexy as electronics and flat screen TVs, but this is a company that has been around a long time and has a great reputation in their space. And they're not small - the parent corporation actually owns 5 or 6 smaller companies with annual sales over over $135,000,000. Nice!

I'll update you when we make some progress with them - the first phase of our work is a LOT of research. 180-200 hours worth, as we estimated it.

Garret Ohm
The Cyphers Agency

Waugh Chapel Fall Festival

The Cyphers Agency recently planned and executed an event for one of our clients, Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corporation. Pictures from the (rainy as hell) day at the Village at Waugh Chapel are forthcoming. Despite the rain, Gambrills, Maryland was a hoppin' place on September 16th!

TCA Client Rams Head in the News

Hi all,

Just a quick update - I read a story in the Capital Gazette, one of our Annapolis-area news outlets about one of our clients, Rams Head Tavern. They are expanding once again, with a new location, just over the Bay Bridge in Kent Island, Md.

Here's the story:
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2006/09_10-43/BUS

The good news for us, you say? We're going to be doing a new Web site for the Rams Head Shore House. It should be good fun, and will be our third Web Site design for them.

Wanna see our first? Here ya go: www.ramsheadlive.com.

Later, y'all.

Garret Ohm
The Cyphers Agency
www.thecyphersagency.com

Masteringdisasters.com Launch

Hi all -

We just launched a new site at www.masteringdisasters.com. It's for a client, Melesh Construction, that has a niche in insurance restoration, of all things.

Not only did we do this site, but we did the entire online course, as well as all of the marketing and promotion for the online course. We're pretty proud of how it turned out. Check it out when you get a chance.

Garret Ohm

SEO Pays Off - Massive ROI

Hi all -

I just wanted to tell everyone about a pretty sweet scenario that just happened to us the other day. I received a call from a prospect looking for marketing and advertising support from an advertising agency in the Washington DC area. I was glad to hear from them, and even more delighted when I got to my normal question of, "so how did you find us?"

The prospect, Mission Residential, called us after finding us on www.Google.com. As it turns out, one of the things that they were looking for was some help with search engine marketing. So when they typed in Washington DC Ad Agency and we came up as the first agency in the list, they knew we must know our stuff.

Luckily for us, I had just the week before worked with one of our Web designers, Christina, to improve our search engine ranking for the DC market. We're looking for more business in that geographic area, so she performed her magic with our site and tweaked it so that we would show up strong there.

I was very glad to see that her hard work really paid off. I'm sure that as I keep writing this blog and we keep refining our SEM program, we'll get even better at it. I hope so, because more and more people are using the power of search engines to find EVERYTHING.

Just out of curiosity - when was the last time you actually used a phone book? Post your replies, I'll be interested to hear them.

Garret Ohm
The Cyphers Agency
garret@thecyphersagency.com

TCA Scores Big With NJAR Account Win

Hi all -

Just wanted to drop a quick note to let everyone know that after a gruelling pitch, we have been notified that we won the New Jersey Association of REALTORS (R) marketing account. So now, not only are we in charge of publishing and ad sales for their magazine, we will be rebranding the association and handling all of their marketing needs.

SWEET.

That's all,

Garret K. Ohm
The Cyphers Agency
www.thecyphersagency.com

Sign Up For Our Newsletter, Dang It

Hi all -

If you haven't already, just a reminder to put yourself on our list to receive our HTML email newsletter. Here's a shortcut:

https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:Join/signupId:7750

Garret Ohm
The Cyphers Agency
"Listen, Observe and Open Your Mind"

TCA Client List - Regional, Local and National

The other day we met with a company that was asking about some of the clients on the Web site. When they realized that we no longer work with some of the companies, they commented, "you should update your Web site. It's out of date." No, pal. It's not out of date. Whether or not we still work for any of these companies, we're all very proud of the work we've done for them, so we'd like to show it off. ::Napoleon Dynamite voice:: Idiot! ::/Napoleon Dynamite voice::

Anyways, just for your information, here's a current list of our clients:

Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corporation
National Chicken Council
Federal Resources, Inc.
Zachary's Jewelers
National Symphony Orchestra
Rams Head Taverns
Nighttime Pediatrics
Annapolis Sailing School
Institute of World Politics
Mid Atlantic Funding Corporation (MAFC Residential)
Hospice Cup
Community Foundation of the Chesapeake
Annapolis Business Association
Eastern Veterinary Blood Bank
Vassar Decorators Show House
Association for International Practical Training
Lawry's The Prime Rib
Zoysia Farms Nursery
Reniassance Harborplace Hotel
Kay Apartments
Maryland Association of REALTORS
New Jersey Association of REALTORS
American Discovery Trail Society
Allied Trailers
Attman Properties
Fedder Management
O'Callaghan Hotels
Tides Restaurant
Carapace Corporation
The Village at Waugh Chapel
Hunt Valley Towne Centre
JumpBunch
Mackenzie/Cushman & Wakefield
Human Resources, Inc.
The Chesapeake Innovation Center
Wardman Park Marriott
Peart Hannon Consulting

Whew - that's about it. But just so you know, we are a Maryland based advertising agency doing business with companies in and around the Washington, D.C, Maryland and Virginia area. We are happy to travel to visit our clients, so if you know anyone in need of an advertising agency, please feel free to give us a call.

Thanks,

Garret Ohm
The Cyphers Agency
www.thecyphersagency.com

Cyphers Cafe Press Updates

Hi all -

I know you've been waiting for it, just like I have. Well, you can relax, because we have just released several new items at our Cafe Press Store!

Yes, now you can outfit your office with new Cyphers light switch covers and a set of mugs, and you can slap a sweet new bumper sticker on your car.

Go here to make your purchases: http://www.cafepress.com/cyphers

Garret Ohm
The Cyphers Agency
A full-service marketing and advertising agency

What's Going On At Cyphers? Glad You Asked...

Hi all -

It's been a while since I've done one of these here Cyphers Agency updates. Things are going very well here. Our new AE, Kimberly, is working out very well. She's very sharp and very organized. She's keeping lots of balls rolling here!

Here are some other highlights:

1. Allied Trailers (www.alliedtrailers.com) is doing very well. We've completed our research and based on that research, we have put together our initial creative brief to drive the brand development process. We're just waiting for the CEO of Allied to get back from his trip to Africa, so that we can get the brief approved. Once that goes through, we can go forward with the creative process. That should be good fun! (No, seriously, I'm really excited).

2. We were notified by The Center for Advanced Dentistry (www.smileannapolis.com) that they would like to move forward with us. We're going to be doing some brand development for them as well as communications planning and various other marketing tasks. This is not a huge account for us, but Dr. Djawdan and his wife, Renee are super people, and they're right here in our own backyard. There's something to be said about working with great people and not having to commute!

3. Megasoft (www.megasoft.com) is going well. We did their 2 minute presentation video in a record one-week turnaround and I think it turned out really well. Maybe we'll get it up on www.thecyphersagency.com pretty soon! Now we're moving forward with branding for Megasoft Consultants, one of their subsidiaries. The more I think about it, we're doing a LOT of branding jobs lately. It's nice to see companies finally seeing the value of going through this process. I think it's one of the best bang for the buck marketing expenditures you can make.

4. We had a great meeting with the folks at Caldwell & Gregory (www.caldwellandgregory.com) last week. The drive to Richmond Virginia was pretty brutal, especially with the rain, but I think we'll really be able to help them. They really haven't done much with respect to marketing in a while, but they could certainly use it. I usually don't criticize our clients' and prospects' work, but their Web site is atrocious (I only say this because they know it's true!!!). We're going to hook them up and make them seem as big as they really are.

5. To add to our list of successful first meetings, we had one late in the week with The Phillips Corporation. Not Philips (the TV maker). They are a holding company for manufacturers and distributors of high end manufacturing equipment. I would give you the link to their Web site, but they don't have one!!! Imagine that, a $135,000,000 company without a Web site. We'll fix that. I'm really excited about this one too.

6. We did finally submit our proposal to the New Jersey Association of REALTORS for marketing services. As you know, we already work with these folks on their monthly magazine to approximately 45,000 REALTORS. This would be outside the scope of that work. Keep your fingers crossed.

I think that's it. Did I miss anything? If I did, can someone let me know!??!

Garret Ohm
The Cyphers Agency
An Annapolis based advertising agency
www.cyphersagency.com

#14 in Baltimore

I'm happy to report that the Baltimore Business Journal published its list of the largest advertising agencies in Baltimore this past week. If you haven't seen it, check it out.

The Cyphers Agency made the list at #14. Not bad - up 3 spots from last year. Also, (shameless plug) I was featured in the survey section to the left of the list - headshot and all. I'm big time now ; )

Check it out!

Garret Ohm
Director of Marketing

"Listen, Observe and Open Your Mind"

I'm Ready - How Do We Get Started?

I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Business has been so difficult to win lately between marketing directors that shop agencies based on price, clients who just aren't spending that much money, and tons of local competition. When I heard this come out of the mouth of a prospect toward the end of my pitch yesterday, I was floored.

We met with Dave Sherman at Allied Trailers yesterday (Myself, Dave Cyphers and Kimberly Putnam, our new AE). He's such a cool guy. But aside from being cool, you can tell that he truly respects marketing and advertising and what it can do for his business. It's a great feeling when you tell a client what you're going to do for them and how you're going to augment their marketing program, and they put 150% trust in you.

The first thing we're going to work on for Allied Trailers (www.alliedtrailers.com) is brand development. They're in dire need of it. They have been all over the map in terms of their brand and positioning. In some situations, they promote (and even have a logo for) ATS. On all of their trailers and storage containers, ATS is nowhere. There is just "Allied Trailers."

They also have a ton of collateral - all looking completely different. We're going to greatly simplify the collateral offerings they have into two main presentations. One large and one small, which will serve as the basic overview of their products and services.

Included in our proposal was a pretty intensive direct mail campaign as well. He has a list of about 10,000 to 15,000 prospects that he USED to mail to frequently, but he admits he hasn't kept up with this. We're hopeful that we can come up with a really solid campaign and help him implement it every 1 to 2 months.

One of the biggest projects in terms of size and scope that we'll work on for Allied Trailers is a complete redesign of his current Web site at www.alliedtrailers.com. He admits that its time has come and gone and that we should redesign it based on the newly redesigned brand. I'm pumped about this, because I think this is going to be a great sales tool for him and his sales staff. Plus, Web design and Interactive work is just plain fun.

That's about it for now. Stay tuned for more as we make progress with this account.

Talk with you later,

Garret Ohm
The Cyphers Agency
www.thecyphersagency.com

This Week at Cyphers

Hey y'all -

I just wanted to write a quick note to catch you up on some of the stuff that has gone down this week at The Cyphers Agency. All in all it was a pretty good week, I think.

Hopefully soon, we'll have this blog linked to our Web site, so you'll be able to go right to www.thecyphersagency.com and click on the blog link. But, ithout further ado, here's a recap:

1) Still waiting to hear from KC Company (www.kc-pella.com: Pella window and door distributors for Maryland, DC, Northern Virginia and Delaware). I'm really excited about that prospect, because the size of their company is right about in line with our target prospects. Also, the ladies in the marketing department seem REALLY awesome to work with, and I really think we can help them. The main thing we'd be doing is taking their entire budget and working to deliver a more integrated and efficient media mix. Right now, they're doing a pretty good job with HTML email communications with potential customers, but they are wasting a lot of money on very expensive print media. They probably should be doing more direct mail as well, but we'll see as we get into the planning stage and start to research it a little bit further. I'm keeping our fingers crossed that we will hear from them shortly....

2) Dave Cyphers and I went to pitch the Marriott creative on Wednesday. In case you don't know, Marriott Wardman Park (one of the biggest hotels in Washington D.C.) is one of our clients. We are working with them right now to rebrand the restaurant that they are pouring $2,000,000 into for renovations. The creative pitch went well. I 'think' we've settled upon a pretty cool name: Stone's Throw. This name combines the positioning (unique for being inside the hotel) and the Earthy/Stone elements that diners will find when they walk through the door. We meet with them next week to share some of the logos we've come up with.

3) Dave and I also had a very cool first meeting with a new prospect called Allied Trailers. They are one of the big suppliers of storage containers, mobile offices, mobile classrooms, etc on the East Coast. Despite being a pretty sizeable company, they are still family owned. David Sherman, the president of Allied Trailers seemed like a great guy, and his office was INSANE. He had a big glass table that had a semi-truck engine as the base, and his walls were covered from floor to ceiling with diamond plate. He also had a custom Triumph motorcycle IN his office. He says he doesn't ride it much, but he does get out on it sometimes! We're putting together a proposal for Allied that is going to outline our approach to helping him, which is going to commence with developing his brand. It's much needed at this point. I'm certainly excited about that.

4) The AE search is still in full swing at The Cyphers Agency. We think we're definitely on to someone, though. Kimberly Putnam is her name, and she seems really cool so far. She's going to have a decision for us by Monday morning. Again, my fingers are crossed. As much as I love our clients, I do enjoy doing business development, and not as much doing AE work...I'd love to get back to that full time if possible, but can't do it without help.

5) The Lawry's creative pitch to the folks out in California went very well. The owner, Richard Frank, is apparently a pretty tough cookie, with a keep eye for design. Usually that spells disaster for an ad agency, because these people tend to only really like their own vision and be critical of others' designs. But in this case, even though he had some pointed art direction, we have some solid feedback that we can build on.

Well, that's about it for now. Check out our Web site soon for some upcoming site edits!

Garret K. Ohm
Business Development
The Cyphers Agency
www.thecyphersagency.com

Home & Company Marketing & Other Updates

Hi all -

The week coming up is going to be a busy one, no doubt. Other than the Preston pitch, which happens on Wednesday, I'll be focusing my attention on preparing a pitch for two other prospective clients: KC Company and Home & Company.

While I think KC Company is a much bigger company and probably has a much much bigger budget, I do believe Home & Company gets me more excited than any other prospect that I've pitched in recent memory. Why? Because I LOVE the store. The first time I stepped in the brand new store in Annapolis, I fell in love. I'm a contemporary kind of guy when it comes to home furnishings including art and furniture. And home theater and game rooms make my heart race. So to visit a store that so clearly has such a contemporary flare for BOTH, is a dream come true. It's a guy's paradise, but one of their selling points is that it's all so stylish that the women aren't forced to use the feared "veto vote."

One of the coolest things I saw when I went in there wasn't the lifesize wooden models of the Blue's Brothers, the $150,000 home theater room mock-up, or the entertainment center with the magical disappearing plasma TV...it was actually the Harley Davidson pool table. It was a full size pool table, that looked like the boys from American Chopper got ahold of it. It was custom, from the ground up. It had chromed accent pieces, Harley Davidson logos, rich woods, and the signature HD color schemes. It was "cherry!" Now I'm not a big biker, but I CAN appreciate art in any form - so I was in awe of this thing. All of a sudden, I had flashes of us working for them and getting a discount on it - and PUTTING IT IN OUR OFFICE. Can't you see it? Working hard all morning only to take a much needed brainstorming break over a game of pool? SWEET.

Ok, well, I'll stop rambling. My point is, I really hope we get to work with them. It's always easiest (and probably most effective) to work with companies that you really believe in. I've bitten on this concept hook line and sinker - so hopefully I'll be able to report back in a couple of weeks that we've gotten underway with them.

If you want to take a look at their Web site, feel free. www.home-and-company.com. Keep in mind that their Web site, in my opinion doesn't represent the company the way it should, but hopefully we'll get the opportunity to FIX THAT.

Garret Ohm
garret@thecyphersagency.com