SANFORD, N.C. – February 21, 2012 – Kelly MarCom, a strategic marketing consultancy, was recognized by the Raleigh Durham Chapter of the American Advertising Federation with a Silver ADDY Award for its self-promotional holiday mailer.

Kelly MarCom wanted to reinvent the holiday mailer and did so with a design reminiscent of old horror films. The agency knows the holiday season is a frantic time, so the piece kicked it up a notch. The design reflects horror movies of different eras, from silent films to modern cliché, with all original titles and design. It included mini movie posters and small gifts to help clients and friends through the harrowing time. The kit was packaged in a metal lunchbox, similar to a lunch pale from the eras our posters evoke.

“Google “holiday survival kit” and you’ll see there’s no shortage of having fun with holiday clichés. But our creatives challenged themselves to do something unexpected,” said Dean Logan, Kelly MarCom creative director. “The Horror Flick motif is irreverent but oddly appropriate at the same time. Simple, fun and makes the point but in a very different way. We strive to bring this to all our work – client as well as in-house. Plus, you just don’t see the name “Paw-paw” in promotional materials enough these days.”

About Kelly MarCom
Kelly MarCom is a strategic marketing consultancy that simplifies how companies connect with people. Since 1996, the firm has specialized in the development of strong brands through high-impact marketing and design consultation. Located just outside Raleigh and the renowned Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, Kelly MarCom works with impressive national and global companies. Solid commitment to customers’ objectives, award-winning creative and a firm insistence on measurable results built a distinguished reputation and client roster.

Learn more at kellymarcom.com.

]]> http://www.kellymarcom.com/press-releases/kelly-marcom-wins-silver-addy-award-for-holiday-horror-mailer/feed/ 0 http://www.kellymarcom.com/blogs/kelly-marcom-adds-cayce-dunn-as-project-coordinator/ http://www.kellymarcom.com/blogs/kelly-marcom-adds-cayce-dunn-as-project-coordinator/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:28:51 +0000 Marc Lewis http://www.kellymarcom.com/?p=1727 SANFORD, N.C. – January 23, 2012 – Kelly MarCom has… Read More

Kelly MarCom integrated Sensus’ strategic direction into the tradeshow display highlighting Sensus’ brand standards and utilizing key differentiators of the new AquaSense intelligent water measurement platform. The display was composed of four-sided columns, including flat-screen televisions broadcasting videos the agency wrote and produced, a clean white look with blue and green accents, and bold photography of AquaSense’s potential implementation points. The photography and the simple design sought focus on how the technology reaches the home and the consumer, rather than simply focusing on the technology. The tradeshow display was awarded a Gold MarCom Award.

“The AWWA show is a cornerstone of our marketing efforts each year so it was important that our presence stood out against our competitors,” said Susan Forsgard, manager of marketing communications for Sensus. “Kelly MarCom helped us develop initial AquaSense messaging so their involvement in creating the system’s physical presence was a must.”

Prior to the show, Kelly MarCom designed a number of promotional pieces. Invitations were sent to a list of potential customers and a select list of high-level contacts received the Strategic Customer Mailer. The self-contained package held a book on the future of water conservation, an invitation to the booth, and a link to download a presentation on water sustainability. The author signed each book and the PowerPoint presentation was available for individuals to customize for educational programs within their organization. The Strategic Customer Campaign was named a MarCom Award Honorable Mention.

“The success of the projects represents a creative and strategic partnership between the agency and Sensus,” said Dean Logan, Kelly MarCom’s creative director. “The tradeshow display and supporting materials are a visual representation of Sensus’ commitment to green, sustainable solutions.”

She doesn’t leave home without a camera, usually a vintage Polaroid model, because the world presents itself to Toni Chester in bright and shifting images. As a graphic designer, she takes these shapes and colors, these collages that form in her head or on the horizon, and makes them tell a story. She develops brands, designs ads, manages online projects and supports the account service teams in strategic brainstorming, but inevitably she helps tell a story.

“Toni brings us a fresh perspective, a designer with contemporary style,” said Dean Logan, Kelly MarCom creative director. “In her recent past, she has proven she can take a concept, a thought, and make it a reality. That being the true mark of a graphic designer.”

Toni graduated from the NC State University’s College of Design where she worked as a designer for the school’s literary and visual publication, Windhover. She has contributed environmental designs and assisted in curating an exhibition for Hip Hop Haven, a Raleigh based non-profit. Post-degree she worked as a freelance graphic designer and continued adding young, creative spice to projects within different industries. This spice now flavors Kelly MarCom.

“An environment like Kelly MarCom allows you to explore impactful ideas,” said Toni. “This is a chance to apply my eye for aesthetics to solve business issues.”

Toni comes to Kelly MarCom from a small town where pictures are composed of spruce and pine covered hills, and mountains in the distance. At school, the photos of her setting were then colored brick and cityscape. Now, she’s making images and ideas work for her in a new setting. In the picturesque studio of Kelly MarCom’s historic Coke building, she’s creating a backdrop for businesses and products. Today, Toni is directing the scenes. She is composing the images.

Toni Chester is taking her shot.

Though she writes a blog about her unconventional family and its collection of constantly moving pieces, Andrea Flickinger has it together. Her talent for organizing the many moving pieces at Kelly MarCom, from client work to internal social media campaigns, has made her a reliable force in the office and a contradiction to the craziness that is Andrea’s family stretching from Sanford to Ohio to Venezuela.

“Maybe I’m organized because I grew up in a household with four younger brothers,” Andrea said. “My organization is like my little escape. Life is fun and scattered outside the office so here I have a little clean sanctuary in my office.”

Andrea’s commitment to her clients has resulted in a promotion and she is now an account executive at Kelly MarCom. She works daily with a contract research organization to execute intricate digital campaigns; she organized and managed the production of various collateral pieces for an 82-branch bank network; and she keeps tabs on the new office cat, Ocey. Her ability to juggle deadlines and maintain workflows is her strength, a strength not overlooked in an office where artist’s minds are focusing on visual expression, rather than schedules.

“She is everything you want in an account executive,” said Shelley Kelly, Kelly MarCom president and CEO. “She delivers what we promise our clients, excellent creative work with sound strategic direction and she keeps us together internally. This is a fast moving business and Andrea keeps the parts in line.”

Dean brings this passion for visual expression, this ability to create, to Kelly MarCom as the agency’s new creative director.

“I begin my sculptures with no ideas in mind as to where they are headed. I just start building,” said Dean. “In many ways, this is how you approach a brand or a project for a client. You find the best pieces, the strongest foundation, and you decide how best to present it to the public. You want to build an honest representation of the brand’s attributes and make them appealing.”

Like his sculptures, each project leverages pieces and while a company may come to Kelly MarCom a scattered collection of value statements, it is a creative director’s job to bring these together and achieve a cohesive identity.

Having worked on premier brands from the start of his career—brands including BB&T, Honda and The American Red Cross—he has experience across the advertising and design spectrum. His attention to data driven campaigns and the ever-changing digital space empower him to lead Kelly MarCom forward, torch in hand.

But unlike making a physical sculpture, creative direction is not always about completing a task; it is about the ‘getting there,’ the trip. Great creative direction brings out the talents of everyone in the office. It pushes thought and challenges standards. One cannot interact with someone as creatively driven as Dean without finding some art within. An artist brings self-discovery to an office and this discovery is akin to staring into Dean’s sculptures and seeing something that is completely one’s own.

“Dean is going to challenge our designers, writers and account staff to think differently,” said Shelley Kelly, Kelly MarCom president and CEO. “Every project here is grounded in strategic planning and Dean’s experience will allow us to further explore how we reach our audiences.”

Dean lives in Wake Forest, NC with his wife Jacqui and three children, Henry, and twins, Jack and Sophie.

“They’re what it’s about in the end,” Dean said. “Kelly MarCom is the place where I can drive great creative and come in at 9 on days when I need to see the twins off to the bus stop. It’s the right fit.”

Dean Logan is building something at Kelly MarCom.

We conceived the site to give you an inside look at how our philosophy and personality drive insightful and unexpected ideas for our clients. We believe in the powerful results of listening, research and continually evaluating and evolving your brand based on what you learn. Our new website is a place for these stories to unfold daily.

The positive energy within our hundred-year-old walls and embodied in our team is quite unique. It’s a vibration that has been building here for 15 years and only gets stronger year after year. As one client put it, “I knew this would be a great fit the moment I walked through the door. I could just feel it.” Our employees attribute their fulfillment in part to our culture and milieu. We hope you feel it too as you explore and return to our website.

The site demonstrates our resolute ambition to simplify our clients’ role in a marketing climate that is more complex than ever and to advance their companies towards their greatest potential. The site showcases our award-winning work, up front and center, because we’re proud of it and believe it speaks for itself. Our answers to clients’ marketing challenges are never what they expect— and they love that! Instead, we offer clients a surprising twist on what they may have envisioned.

Clearly, we are excited to share our new website with you, but more importantly, this site is an expression of our charge to see our clients successful. This website is for you. No matter what your business challenge, you will find examples of ideas that reach beyond what you may have seen in the past to how businesses will simply connect with people in the future.

Cheers!

I haven’t nor do I really care, just never been much of a car guy. However, I did inadvertently walk into a car show on a recent Saturday afternoon and came out of it hungry to talk design. Designers/artists are always looking for forms, colors and shapes that inspire. What interested me about the car show is also what piques my interest about vintage magazines and photography, how the time period influenced the graphic treatments.

Most people I presume could look at these shots and tell that they are from classic model cars, but it is interesting to go beyond the product terminology when jumping to that conclusion. What can we derive from looking at the following vehicles from the 60s? Listed below are a few conclusions I drew up from my own snapshots.

To me, the forms surrounding these rear lights signify adventure, exploration and excitement. Perhaps these forms were inspired by the space race going on at the same time, referencing shuttle launches.

Confidence/swagger, a feeling of togetherness and putting the customer first is communicated to me in the tight and purposefully human script of the decal. Camaro means ‘friend’ in French, and the decal communicates this feeling visually.

At first glance a tire, but maybe a representation of an infinite pursuit of purity and perfection. After all, the ever-present Fleur De Lis in the Corvette flag is a symbol of ‘peace and purity’.

These are themes that resonate as themes of the era, a visual history of culture, consumerism and strategy. A large element of design is reinforcing subtle concepts through visuals, communicating to the subconscious if you will. You can find examples with just about anything you see, hear or touch, but what’s most interesting is when you catch yourself reacting without consciousness.

That is good design.