Keely Saye is a talented inbound marketing specialist and we’re happy to have her as a strategic partner. We developed a fresh, distinctive graphic identity that reflects her personality and her style of doing business. We designed a custom logotype and graphic elements: a custom pattern, vertical mark, monogram, color palette and graphic standards. Although 95% of her work is in the digital space (look for her new website soon), we felt that it was important for her to have a business card that would create a lasting impression. We turned to Copper Dog Press that printed each card by hand on a ca. 1900 Chandler & Price platen letterpress. All of this care and attention to detail is evident in the finished product(s) and is reflective of Keely’s work as well. We’re excited to help her launch this new look!

In early 2010, businesses and consumers across the country were (understandably) wary of banking relationships. Riggs Partners and First Community Bank took that opportunity to expand the bank’s customer base.

From its founding 15 years ago, First Community Bank has stayed true to its mission of serving businesses and families in the Midlands of South Carolina. That commitment was steadfast during the recession, when banks all around them sought higher levels of fee income. “A time of financial uncertainty for our customers is not the time for us to raise banking fees,” said CEO Mike Crapps. That promise became the basis for a marketing strategy that significantly grew the bank’s customer base and its core deposits.

Our Strategy:

1. Share the “This is not the time to raise our fees” promise.
2. Offer potential customers a free fee comparison.
3. Make it easy to switch to First Community Bank.

NXT fusion

Just ask our friends at NXT, a non-profit research collaborative dedicated to advancing innovation in the delivery of patient care. We’re working with them to develop a brand  and audience engagement strategy that will allow them to facilitate some of the most exciting research initiatives we’ve come across in a long time.

For example, NXT has already successfully led two research projects sponsored by the Department of Defense: an architectural study in collaboration with the Clemson University Architecture + Healthcare program on the Patient Room of the Future, as well as an Electronic Medical Record interoperability program. Today, they’re working with MIT scientists on the development of health management tools within the hospital room that make it easier to manage multiple physician specialists, communicate with off-site family members, and access all medical records. At the same time, they’re working with Clemson architecture students on the Provider Room on the Future, exploring new layouts in room design, materials, workflow and communications within the exam room setting.

While these in-hospital communications tools and facility design projects are integral to health care today, people like Tom Jennings and Salley Whitman will tell you that real health care innovation will ultimately happen within the home: in designing tools that will directly link patients to their healthcare providers in real-time. They’re on a mission to bring together other health care planners, product development experts, facility designers, nurses, IT professionals and behavioral scientists from all over the world to make sure this kind of out-there thinking happens right here. Right now.

Let me say: I’ve never been a fan of “rules” in marketing (other than to give us a really good baseline from which we can divert). I mean, when every brand in the category is doing it one way, isn’t it our job to find another vastly more interesting alternative?

Well, of course. Just ask one of my style icons Andy Spade, who always does things in a most unexpected and delicious way.

But still I promised the post. So here it is.

Navigating the social media landscape: It's wild out there.

Rule #1  Accept that it is the Wild West out there.

We get requests every day for case studies to validate the recommendations we are making to our clients/prospective clients. I’m a big fan of the case study; there’s usually a really interesting story arc and beautiful creative presentation. But in this crazy new world of social media, the only way to have a real impact is to do something that is so custom, so true to the heart of your brand, it has never been done before. You have to blaze a new trail.

Rule #2   Think cross-platform.

Someone told me years ago:  You know you’ve learned a foreign language when you catch yourself thinking in that language. That’s just what you have to do with all the emerging communication channels out there. Don’t start with a traditional media campaign and then try to figure a way to tack some Facebooking and Twittering on to the end of it. Instead, start with a big idea. Then find interesting ways to deploy it seamlessly across traditional and nontraditional media.

Rule #3  Develop the strategy first.

Seriously. Start the old-fashioned way, by determining not only what you are going to do, but why you are doing it, and with whom. Get clear on your objectives.

Rule #4   Be interesting.

Ever been to a cocktail party and gotten cornered by a “talker”?  (Thank you, Tim Burke.) It’s painful, and all you want is escape. That’s how prospects feel when the only topic of conversation you have with them is YOU. Instead, initiate conversations on topics they find interesting and engaging.

Rule #5  Understand the difference between interruption and engagement.

Way back in October of 2009, Alex Bogusky wrote a post I’m getting out of this business again. The entire post is worth a read, but I’ve pulled the section that spoke so loudly to me:

“The market forces created by the rapid demise of mass media and traditional media models have made the real business we’re in clearer than ever. We’re in the business of . . .creating new ideas . . . so compelling and entertaining that the consumer searches them out. . . . Brilliance will be more powerful than ever, and yet everything from above average on down will become invisible. Produce ordinary ideas and nobody will ever see them.”

It’s daunting. It’s also true. And I guess that makes it the most important *rule* of all.

The professors I’m referring to are those from the University of South Carolina. But if I had attended Virginia Commonwealth University (and if I had been a design student) I would be speaking of Peyton Rowe.

I’ve only met Peyton once, but once is all it takes. She has a huge, friendly, enthusiastic personality. There’s no other word for it – she is beloved by her students. Not only is she open and fun-loving, but she also took Riggs Partners’ CreateAthon and adapted it into a student event called CreateAthon onCampus. She provided a way for her students to do real work for real clients. And trust me – to a student, that is a huge deal. (I’m not even a student anymore, and I still feel like a celebrity when I see something in public that I created.)

This summer, Peyton is switching roles. She is going to be the student, attending a summer intensive hosted by the School of Visual Arts in New York City. The course is called IMPACT: Design for Social Change, so Peyton will be learning new ideas and methods to implement with CreateAthon onCampus. On the downside, the total cost of her adventure will be roughly $10,000.

Students, this is your opportunity to say “thanks.”

Here at Riggs Partners, we’ve started a fundraiser to help Peyton pay tuition and living expenses. We have created a Facebook page called “Send Peyton Away,” a place for her students to gather and show support. On the page, we ask for a $10 donation (although some donors have generously given more). I know how tough it is being a poor college student; it wasn’t that long ago for me. But I think everyone has $10 to spare, especially for that one person who helps you reach your goals and chase your dreams.

What has Peyton done for you? Let her know how much it meant: http://facebook.com/sendpeytonaway.

Moe’s corporate branding efforts had been very successful in positioning the restaurant as a family friendly, fun dining destination. But we knew it would take more to bring people into the restaurant at a time when most were running home to their pots and pans.

Our Strategy:

1. Mass Media

People were cutting budgets and pulling out of television like crazy in the first and second quarter of 2009. Our Moe’s franchisees did the same to test the waters. Sales went down correspondingly.

When we brought television back as the lead mass media tactic and kept it there, the needle started moving again. Proof that there are still many things that television does better than any other medium.

New Morning Foundation came to us with an interesting conundrum. How do you find the 80 percent of voters in South Carolina who believe in age appropriate, medically accurate sex education, and how do you engage them in your legislative advocacy efforts?

Our Strategy

1. Reposition the brand

The foundation had an established e-advocacy group called Tell Them that targeted a young demographic with an activist-themed brand identity and message platform. We shifted the target to a more mature audience: South Carolina women “with a caring gene” and a sensitivity for social causes, particularly teen pregnancy prevention and other reproductive health issues. We repackaged the brand to reflect the style and sophistication of this more mainstream audience.

Those who find rescue in the Good Samaritan Clinic are escaping an overwhelming set of circumstances – a need for medical attention, a lack of means and a language barrier. The Good Samaritan Clinic helps by acting as a liaison between the Spanish-speaking community and Columbia medical resources. The clinic offers interpretation and health education services, referrals to other medical centers and community emergency assistance. The clinic also keeps a public phone line open, allowing people to ask questions and receive answers in their own language.

There is much need in Columbia. Unfortunately, as a result of physicians’ busy schedules, volunteers are few. The Good Samaritan Clinic’s biggest challenge is to bring in more working physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners. Riggs Partners addressed this issue, develolping for the Good Samaritan Clinic a strategic marketing plan and several recruitment materials.