http://www.thestrategygroupllc.com Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:59:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I’ve thought a lot over the past 24 hours about what drives an agency and the people who work within its walls. We were asked to spend two hours with a group of students from Northeast Magnet High School in Wichita. Jeffrey asked Scott Light and Jo Tomson, art directors ... http://www.thestrategygroupllc.com/2010/01/22/value-lesson/ I was doing some client billing the other day and stumbled across an email conversation between a client and Alan, one of our account executives. In short, the email volley pertained to the possibility of conflicting logos on a small brochure we were designing. The client told us to just ... http://www.thestrategygroupllc.com/2009/12/11/sorry-tiger-but-it%e2%80%99s-my-job/ I’m tired. This is a business, but we live with it like it’s a family member. When our clients feel anxious, we feel anxious. Many of our clients have ridden a rollercoaster of anxiety this year—longer sales cycles, lost sales, no sales. Squeezed margins. Fewer profits. We watch clients swallow ... http://www.thestrategygroupllc.com/2009/12/10/fight-series%e2%80%94entry-1/ I just finished reading the memoir of David Foster, music producer extraordinaire. Laurie picked up the book because we’ve really enjoyed watching/listening to his PBS concert special (now in our disc library) “David Foster and Friends.” Even if you don’t recognize his name, you would most certainly recognize his music. ... http://www.thestrategygroupllc.com/2009/12/01/oprah-bill-and-toni/ I sat in on a sales presentation earlier this week with one of our long-time clients. The presentation started very quickly (and to my thinking, very poorly) with an assault on the use of traditional advertising mediums…everyone DVRs all TV programs, everyone listens to satellite radio in their cars, all ... http://www.thestrategygroupllc.com/2009/10/29/in-god-we-trust%e2%80%a6all-others-bring-data/ A client introduces himself at a social event. He’s among doctors, lawyers and other respected professionals. He states his profession and can literally feel the other guests physically withdraw and look away—he’s been dismissed. There’s absolutely nothing objectionable about this man’s occupation; he owns a business in a critical financial ... http://www.thestrategygroupllc.com/2009/08/21/going-up/ Recently, SG was tasked with creating a fresh new identity for an established Wichita church. The client required a new logo that would support the new, unified direction in which the church was heading. Before coming to us, the church struggled with numerous, disconnected subministry identities and a logo that ... http://www.thestrategygroupllc.com/2007/12/04/of-sticky-logos-and-octopi/ Silver Bullet From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: The metaphor of the silver bullet applies to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears with an expectation that some new technology or practice will easily cure a major prevailing problem. Read. Read. Read. Read everything. But as you begin planning ... http://www.thestrategygroupllc.com/2007/10/23/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-gun/ We just returned from delivering our daughter to a college in South Carolina and celebrating our son’s 16th birthday at TPC Sawgrass in Jacksonville. Tasked with booking hotels for the eight nights we were away I prescribed a nice balance of mid-priced hotels with a few affordable luxury nights to ... http://www.thestrategygroupllc.com/2007/09/21/there%e2%80%99s-something-terribly-wrong-with-the-heavenly-bed/ We recently participated in the creation of a new “boutique” brand with a client and a team of branding folks. For whatever reason, the facilitator made frequent snide references to one individual on the team’s apparent affinity for the Tommy Bahama brand. It bugged the heck out of me. So ... http://www.thestrategygroupllc.com/2007/08/23/a-little-respect-for-tommy/