ADDY Awards - the aftermath

I had the pleasure of judging the ADDY Awards in Destin, Fl this past weekend - I love an excuse to eat seafood!

The award judging process took all day on Saturday, but it was so well organized that it was easy on us. Will Maberry, director of marketing, at Destin Properties had everything ready to go and was a very helpful host. Jessica Maraman of Vivid Publicity & Marketing was responsible for asking me to judge.

The process revealed several interesting things that I had suspected before. First of all, it was clear that many companies do not enter their work. Paradigm has worked for several years in Florida and many of the ads, brochures, etc. that I have seen in the area were clearly absent. Secondly, it confirmed my belief that this really ends up being a “beauty show” more than dicerning the most effective piece.

Because there are so many entries and no context is provided for the work, the judges will tend to score entries higher that stand apart visually from the others. Unfortunately, a higher score doesn’t mean the submittal is the most effective collateral pieces to the particular end user or client. Never-the-less it does also remind one that being unique does capture attention.

So at the end of the day I concluded that ideally the award process would allow the judge to not only visually respond to the submital, but to also understand the target audience and success - I would like to see a case study with each.

Lastly - there are way too many categories. It is confusing for the submitter and just plain silly at times. Note to national ADDYs - delete redundant categories - and/or create clear definitions.

I hope I have the chance to do this again soon and it would be so much better if some tweaks were made.

New Name, Same Paradigm

Just as they have continued to morph and change over the last 17 years, Paradigm Productions has changed its name to Paradigm Marketing & Creative. Founder, Charles Gaushell, frequently reminds employees that Paradigm has been built on the willingness and desire to change. Always striving to improve client services and relations, Paradigm has expanded services well beyond its original focus in 1992 on 3D illustrations and animations. A large and diverse client base across the United States and a handful of international clients has proven that this ongoing ability to adapt and serve has indeed paid off.

Workouts and Turnarounds - A Marketing Perspective

We all well know the current economic climate - especially those of us with strong business ties to the real estate industry. There will be many opportunities for workouts and turnarounds for distressed and underperforming projects this year.

Typically these workouts and turnarounds have focused all efforts on the financial side and put little emphasis on the marketing aspects. Though the crisis is financial, sales still occur to the end user (home owners, businesses, etc – not large scale investors). And it is still necessary to have a clear marketing message – especially in a depressed market.

There are many projects on the market that had the philosophy – “if we build it, they will come”. At the height of the market, that worked. But as the market started to fall, it became more evident that many projects were either ill-conceived or lacked a cohesive and compelling story to help drive sales.

A careful analysis is necessary that not only reviews the financial health, but also gives serious review to how to transform, tweak or reinvent a project. Without a doubt, many projects have “immovable” challenges, which mean now more than ever, that a clear story which deals with these issues is in place.

Analysis helps set the tone for all marketing and presentation materials. For instance:

• Envisioning
• Target Market Analysis
• Competitor Analysis
• Key Messages
• Site/Architecture Review
• Signage, Parking, Lighting, Pedestrian
• Amenities
• Construction
• Interrelations
• Community
• Sales