A Social Media Primer for Organizations & 5 Valuable Guidelines

Craft & Hobby Association’s Consumer Tradeshow Hits Homerun with Participants and Delivers Value to Exhibitors!

Win $50 for Your Favorite Charity! Enter Our Photo Caption Contest!

Patterson/Bach Wins National Tourism Account

Sky Hotels & Resorts Selects Patterson/Bach as Agency of Record

Patterson/Bach Adds to Public Relations Team

Creative Director Ties One On, Shocks Entire Staff

Production Manager Scores

A Social Media Primer for Organizations & 5 Valuable Guidelines
Social Media, also known as User-Generated Content (UGC), allows organizations to connect with key publics in Web-based communities. These communities, which usually require registration from each user, allow for real-time interaction among organizations and their current and potential clients.

There are universal benefits to participating in social networks and increasing your brand’s online presence: it’s free and provides 24/7 access to your brand, real-time information dissemination, exposure to unlimited potential customers, and an ability to deliver prompt customer service to clients while managing relationship expectations.

Prior to charging forward with a social media campaign, an organization must first understand the minimum commitment necessary to deliver success. Like most efforts, you get out of it what you put into it, and it’s better to have no social media presence than a poor one.

It’s important to recognize and use social media tools for your specific organizations or risk losing profitable business opportunities. A crucial, initial step for any organization wanting positive ROI from social media is taking time to research and evaluate Internet-centric media applications against its mission, vision, core values, target audiences, goals, and product or service. It may be difficult to choose appropriate online networks and tools for conducting business and increasing brand awareness. A simple, effective way to begin your research is to survey your target audiences regarding which networks and tools they use.

Once your organization commits to actively participating in a social media community and has identified which tools to utilize, you must set guidelines for all employees who are participating in your social media effort.

Last, but certainly not least, it is critical to provide valuable, relevant information about your organization and industry on a consistent basis in any online network. Understand how to engage users and develop trust and credibility.

Patterson/Bach can help you determine your minimum commitment, research your audiences to identify the most appropriate and effective tools and applications, develop employee guidelines, and generate valuable, consistent content. If your organization needs help getting started or increasing your social media efforts, call Patterson/Bach today at (407) 645-1880.

CHA Craft SuperShow Hits Homerun with Participants and Delivers Value to Exhibitors!
Patterson/Bach helped the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) sew its way into the Central Florida market. CHA’s first-ever consumer show, the CHA Craft SuperShow, was held July 31–August 1, 2009 at the Orange County Convention Center and it was a knock-out success! The official numbers aren’t in yet, but it’s determined that we doubled our attendance goal. If you missed it, the CHA consumer show featured:

• Crafting demonstrations and exhibits
• Unique craft supplies and gift items to buy
• Crafting demonstrations and exhibitst
• Unique craft supplies and gift items to buy
• Family fun and entertainment
• Special activities for kids
• Promotions, prizes and giveaways
• Celebrity appearance by Mary Engelbreit
• And more!

Patterson/Bach wishes to extend our congratulations to CHA on an outstanding event for crafting consumers!

Win $50 for your Favorite Charity! Enter our Photo Caption Contest
Enter Patterson/Bach’s Photo Caption Contest by writing a clever or humorous caption for this photo. If your entry wins, we’ll send a $50 check in your name to your favorite charity. So get writing—and good luck!

Click to enter your caption.

Patterson/Bach Communications Wins National Tourism Account
Patterson/Bach has been selected to provide integrated marketing communication services to a national tourism account. The agency was chosen by the Top 10 Scenic Drives in the Northern Rockies to provide a combination of advertising, media, branding, marketing, and public relations services.

“This is significant, as the challenging economy is causing many organizations to cut their advertising, marketing, and public relations budgets,” said Tim Bach, president of Patterson/Bach. “We’re helping our clients market through the distractions and come out of this economy on top.”

Patterson/Bach was selected among a large group of national competitors to provide integrated marketing communications services for the Top 10 Scenic Drives in the Northern Rockies. The agency is tasked with developing and executing comprehensive advertising and public relations campaigns, a branding package, and Web site content. The public relations campaign launched on May 22, 2009 to the travel media, featuring a video from the Drives and a temporary Web site for travel media at www.drivethetop10.com. The complete Web site and full-service media room will launch in Fall 2009.

“Patterson/Bach was selected for their knowledge of the travel industry and their use of innovative strategies to reach target audiences,” said Lorraine Hingston Roach, president of The Hingston Roach Group, a strategic planning company coordinating the program.

Sky Hotels & Resorts Selects Patterson/Bach as Agency of Record
Patterson/Bach Communications Inc. has been selected as agency of record for Sky Hotels & Resorts and Sky Resort Management. The agency will provide comprehensive advertising, marketing, and public relations services to the companies, which own, manage, and/or operate condominium/hotel properties in Orlando and Daytona Beach, serving both the domestic and international tourism markets.

“Patterson/Bach was highly recommended to our company for their experience in the hospitality and travel/tourism industries, in addition to their long history and excellent reputation in Orlando,” said John Gordon, president and CEO of Sky. “They spent time to understand our specific needs and have a keen knowledge of integrated marketing communications.”

“Sky has an enviable business model, as well as a unique value proposition to both guests and owners,” said Tim Bach, owner and president of Patterson/Bach. “We look forward to using our agency’s travel/tourism experience, as well as strategies that are unique to the current economic climate, in order to increase awareness of and visitation to Sky Hotels & Resorts.”

Sky Hotels & Resorts, based in Orlando, offers all-suite resorts, providing one to four bedrooms and many of the conveniences of home, including full kitchens and laundry facilities, coupled with outstanding guest service, resort amenities, and meeting facilities. Its portfolio of resorts features Hawthorn Suites Universal, The Enclave Hotel & Suite, Lake Buena Vista Resort Village & Spa, Hawthorn Suites Lake Buena Vista, Baymont Inn & Suites, Palisades Resort, and Coral Cay Resort.

Sky Resort Management, the property management division of Sky Hotels & Resorts, expertly oversees each resort. Sky specializes in complete hotel, resort, and condominium-hotel administration, providing superior facilities management and customer service proven to optimize repeat business and referrals. Sky offers expertise in operational services, as well as sales and marketing. For more information on the company, please visit www.skyresortmanagement.com. To learn more about the resorts, visit www.staysky.com.

Patterson/Bach Communications Adds to Public Relations Team
Patterson/Bach Communications has hired Ashley Krauser as public relations account executive, as the agency focuses on growing its public relations division. She will be responsible for implementing tactical execution of all public relations initiatives for the agency’s diverse client list.

Ashley is a talented, young professional who will be an excellent resource for our clients,” said Tim Bach, president of Patterson/Bach. “Our agency strongly supports growing the public relations offering to our clients in multiple industries.”

Krauser previously served Patterson/Bach Communications as a full-time public relations intern in the summer of 2008. Her responsibilities included assistance with public relations research, writing, media relations, and event management. Krauser also interned with Children’s Miracle Network in Gainesville, Fla., coordinating fundraising efforts and conducting lifestyle activities in Shands Children’s Hospital. She is a graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor of science in public relations.

Creative Director Ties One On, Shocks Entire Staff
One of the perks of an ad agency is that its Creative Director (CD) has the flexibility to dress casually for work (“casually” being defined as anything besides pajamas). The typical agency CD comes to the office looking like a motorcycle hood, a lead singer for a Goth band, or on a good day, a vegan hippie tree hugger. This is generally written off as a by-product of the CD’s “creative, artistic genius” (which are code words for “emotionally adolescent personality”).

Imagine then the lightning bolt shock Patterson/Bach experienced recently when Creative Director Dan McDonald showed up for work wearing a collared shirt and tie. “

"Seeing Dan dressed in business attire was pretty weird,” said Patterson/Bach CFO Linda Williams. “I was about to call security before I recognized him.”

Ad agencies are notorious gossip mills, and rumors quickly spread. According to one, McDonald had dressed up for a job interview, while a bleaker rumor asserted that his attire was a sure sign of the end of times. Happily, neither rumor proved true.

“The truth is, I wore the shirt and tie, because I had a client meeting that day,” said McDonald, “and since my Guns ‘n Roses T-shirt was dirty, and my leather dog collar was missing a stud, I had to improvise and wear something different.” McDonald’s client meeting went smoothly—and things quickly returned to normal at Patterson/Bach.

“Yep, the next morning Dan came to work dressed as usual,” said Linda. “T-shirt, blue jeans, sneakers—the grunge guitarist/maintenance worker look.”

Production Manager Scores
Chances are, you wouldn’t peg Patterson/Bach Production Manager (a.k.a Production Goddess) Mindy Bender as a football expert. Her tastes run more to fashion and art than blocking and tackling, and when she watches a game, it’s more for the physiques than the formations. But when it comes to betting on games, don’t bet against Mindy: last season, she won the Mulligan’s Bar & Grill football pool with a winning pick percentage of 58.2.

So, how does a woman who thinks shoulder pads are a fashion accessory from the 80s become an all-star football forecaster? What’s Mindy’s secret for success? The answer is obvious: art.

“When two teams are playing, I pick the one with the best art community,” said Mindy. “I figure the city with the better art scene also has the better football team. It’s all related.” Art communities—did you get that, Swami?

With her winnings, Mindy actually went out and bought a football (okay, it was a football purse, but it looks pretty cool just the same). Now, she’s looking forward to the 2009 season and the opportunity to defend her title as Mulligan’s top football prognosticator. “The guys at Mulligan’s know football,” Mindy acknowledges, “but their idea of art is the Sports Illustrated swimsuit calendar. I think I’m going to do pretty well this season.”