TV Spot Helps 89-year-old Realize His Dream

While we normally rely on research to ensure that our campaigns for clients are effective, sometimes we get to witness it first-hand. Charlie Ball, an 89-year-old World War II veteran, will graduate from Arkansas Tech University this weekend, all because he saw a television commercial for the Arkansas Tech University Accelerated Degree program. 

Ball first arrived in Russellville in the fall of 1941, but his studies were soon interrupted and  replaced with pilot lessons from the U.S. Armed Services. Seven decades later, he is now receiving his Bachelor of Professional studies degree in public relations.  Hey, with that degree maybe Mr. Ball wants to come help us out at the agency? He certainly proves that it is never too late to achieve a goal in life.

To learn more about Charlie Ball’s story, read this news story from KARK. 

Optimizing Headlines in the Age of Google

Ever wonder why some websites and search results are rated so much higher than others?  They may have great content and witty headlines, but more importantly, they have excellent search engine optimization. It is something that has to be taken into consideration when crafting headlines and copy for our clients. But how can companies write intriguing headlines when Google doesn't appreciate their wit or humor?

Check out this article from Jonathan Rick with some tactics for optimizing SEO without sacrificing your writing style.

Pixel Perfect Goes Social

Pixel Perfect is the creative partner of the Sells Agency- helping us with all things digital and helping our clients make sense of digital marketing. They have recently extended their reach to social media so be sure to check out their Facebook page and Twitter, and visit their website to learn more about everything they do. 

Fayetteville Photo Shoot

Jon and Kati spent a majority of last week in Fayetteville doing a photo shoot for the upcoming 2012 Fayetteville Guide. While we are still a few weeks away from having a completed guide, we thought we would give you a behind-the-scenes look into the shoot. Here are some photos from the shoot, and we will be sure to share the final pictures when we have those. 


Also, a belated happy Administrative Professionals day to all of you! Or as we call it around here, Amberfest. We definitely couldn't get anything done around here without Amber, so we are celebrating her all week! 

Arvest Ranks Highest in J.D. Power Study

J.D. Power and Associates just released the 2012 Retail Banking Satisfaction Study. For the fourth consecutive year, Arvest Bank has received regional awards, ranking highest in both the South Central and Southwest regions – the only bank in the study to receive the award in two regions. The 2012 study was conducted with more than 51,000 banking customers throughout eleven regions across the U.S.

Arvest Bank received scores significantly higher than regional  averages in five factors analyzed by the study – account activities, account information, facility, fees, and product offerings. The South Central Region is comprised of five states: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. The Southwest Region is comprised of six states: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma and Utah.

There are many factors that contribute to Arvest’s highest ranking in the study.  Arvest Bank has some of the lowest fees in the nation, a highly rated in-branch experience and offers 12-hour weekday banking, along with Saturday hours at many of its more than 230 locations.  Arvest also provides a wide variety of desirable checking and loan products as well as many customer conveniences including online banking, mobile banking, deposit image ATMs and other electronic services.

To view more information and ratings overview for the J. D. Power and Associates 2012 Retail Banking Satisfaction Study^SM, visit http://www.jdpower.com.

TaMolly's In-store Signage

Your favorite department store. The corner pharmacy. Even your bank.

Many businesses target customers and encourage sales using in-store point of purchase materials. It's a growing part of a multi-channel marketing approach and for good reason. It provides enormous opportunities to offer your customers additional incentives to make purchases, creates powerful impressions that will help build your brand, drives customer loyalty and generates buzz about your business.

As we continue to implement a new marketing plan for TaMolly's Mexican restaurants, we recently refreshed their in-store materials. We started by producing large signs that promoted their weekly specials and new gluten-free menu.

We created table tents and napkins promoting appetizers and desserts. Then we made a special label for their gallon-sized jugs of brewed tea.

We even made special signs for the bathroom mirrors!

And a little something fun- stickers for the kids!

Got a few minutes? Become a better writer!

Have a few extra minutes today? Become a better writer now! Don't worry, the agency is not producing infomercials now, but we are always looking for ways to improve our writing. We like to stay on our toes since solid writing is the basis for most of our client work.

Finding time to focus on ourselves is hard to do, so we thought this quick exercise from PR Daily was worthy of our attention. Check out their tips for improving your writing here.