With that directive, we got to work.  The resulting creative showcases the station frequency, big and bold, hard to miss at even a glance. The content is always to the right of the frequency and the images support it quite simply. To showcase the brand, we utilized the station’s tag line, “The Voice of Northwest Indiana”, as well as the logo for The Lakeshore itself.  Above the “o” in Lakeshore are 3 radio waves. Since the logo was already transmitting, it was decided that whatever our message or imagery was, it would be displayed directly over those waves.  Imagery was chosen for news, sports, traffic and weather and that category’s typeface was bolded when the image was used. The color palette was expanded upon for Purdue and IU billboards as well (below).

The print ads (inset) carried the look of the billboards as well, and ran in both the Post-Tribune and The Times.

Lakeshore was so pleased with the look of the initial campaign that they also retained us to created a media kit and a mini folding booklet to handout at events throughout the region to promote both the radio station and Lakeshore Public Television.

ABOUT 89.1 THE LAKESHORE
Covering 5 counties with a potential reach of 300,000+ listeners, 89.1 The Lakeshore is Northwest Indiana’s only talk radio station. While broadcasting NPR programming such as Car Talk, Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me and Talk of the Nation, they also produce Northwest Indiana-centric shows such as Lakeshore This Morning, Lakeshore Drive, Regionally Speaking, Your Mind on Money, Get to the Point as well as an abundance of sports programming including Lakeshore Game Night, Prep football Report Scoreboard, Purdue and IU Big Ten Football and Basketball to name a few.

The billboards in their natural habitat, taken by Geoff Hudson Photography (www.geoffreyhudson.com)

Discoveries Unlimited

V as in Victor is proud to announce that Discoveries Unlimited has been awarded our Project G as in Giving recipient for the fall of 2011. Discoveries Unlimited is currently working with the talented and left brained Matt Hanson to put together a marketing plan for 2012. Incorporated in the fall of 2008, Discoveries Unlimited’s mission is “Through the power of mentoring, Discoveries Unlimited will ignite and foster the passion for study of and employment in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) in our youth. By creating partnerships between K-12 students, institutions of higher education and STEM professionals, we will sustain student interest and stimulate economic development.”

We are proud to help them move forward. Discoveries Unlimited has a very focused goal. To hear them tell their story, you’d most likely hear something like this: “The idea for Discoveries Unlimited was inspired by one of our founders’ teenage daughters who had an interest in cyber-forensics. When a professional in that field took the time to guide her on how best to prepare herself for that career, the effectiveness of that personalized and practical guidance became apparent. Our hope is to provide other girls with interests in STEM the same sort of support and encouragement, and we believe mentoring is the best avenue to do so.

“Headquartered in Valparaiso, IN, our initial program serves girls in the Northwest Indiana area at this time. We hope to provide services in all of Indiana within a few years and nationally in the long term.”

Congratulations to Discoveries Unlimited!

About Project G as in Giving

Twice a year V as in Victor awards a gift to a non-profit based in Lake or Porter County. Previous recipients have been March of Dimes, the Porter County Museum of History, Northwest Indiana Excellence in Theatre Foundation and Hammond Academy of Performing Arts. The gift, valued at up to $5,000, is based on an organization’s needs, be it left or right brained, from marketing plans to full creative.

For more information on how we can help you align yourself with your target or to learn more about Project G as in Giving, we’ll make it super easy for you. You can give us a call at 219-801-1376, you can check out our website at vasinvictor.com or email us as hello@vasinvictor.com.

With any logo, the recognition the audience has with it and your brand is one of your most important marketing tools. Creating an evolution while maintaining the brand can be tricky. Hopefully this one is built to last. (Yup, really bad pun definitely intended that time.)

V as in Victor was tasked with creating a new logo for IN-POWER as well as the supporting materials. While discussing the logo, Eddie Melton, NIPSCO’s communications specialist and program creator, wanted a look that didn’t stray too far from the existing NIPSCO brand. IN-POWER is a pilot program and therefore keepign with the recognition of the NISPCO brand was at the forefront of the design process.  The poster for the kickoff event was also designed to fit within the brand guidelines put forth by the client. We are very proud to be a part of the new program and the mentoring efforts.

IN-POWER Logo

IN-POWER Poster

Eddie Melton, Communication Specialist, at the IN-POWER Press Conference (Photo courtesy of The Times)

How they work

First, you have to have a  QR scanning application for your smartphone (you can download them from your favorite app store, don’t worry, it’s free. RedLaser, Barcode Scanner, ScanLife and NeoReader are popular ones.). When you see a QR code on a poster or billboard, open the scanning app and use the phone’s camera to focus the code on your screen. The application will recognize the code and automatically open up the link, video or image in your phone’s browser through your phone’s internet.

What they’re used for

The QR code is a low cost way to promote yourself to potential customers on the go, in ways that allow you to get information to them virtually.  It also allows you to constantly update information without having to reprint your materials every time something needs updating. Just update the webpage your QR code links to and you’re all set.

The nice things about the QR code is that as long as the majority of the code is readable, you can use it in a multitude of ways, not just tucked into the corner of your ad. Mini Cooper used the QR code to promote their cars in magazine ads where the car was the focal point and the QR was secondary.

Are you a city or municipality and not sure that this applies to you?  Think again.  New York City launched a QR code campaign in Times Square that linked to Notify NYC, the city’s official source of emergency events and services.

Technology is moving forward and the masses are catching on.  According to a February survey of U.S. smartphone users by MGH, a Baltimore social-media marketing company, 32% of respondents said they have scanned a QR code. Of those, 53% said they used the code to get a coupon or discount. And 72% said they were more likely to remember an advertisement with a QR code.

The analytics of it all.

QR codes can help companies measure how many people are using the code and at what time. By having easily traceable analytics, marketing firms can view results and know if their QR code campaign is successful.

There is a learning curve to the QR Code, as with any new technology, teaching consumers about QR codes and how they work. While some consumers know how to use their phone cameras to scan, many do not.  It’s always wise to place some text near the code allowing for some instruction such as, “Scan with any barcode scanner on your phone.”

We are already pushing our clients to use the codes whenever possible.  Most recently, Legacy Foundation used the code on the back of their info cards. The cards themselves are business card sized and can only hold a minute amount of information. The QR Code is printed on the back so the user can access all the information the Legacy website has to offer.

With tools like these, you really do have the world at your fingertips.

Both Matts Valuckis and Hanson have been involved with the March of Dimes since October of 2009 and have both served on the board in 2010.

“It’s an honor to be asked to help guide the March of Dimes,” Matt explains. “The March of Dimes has done wonderful things in its 70+ years. I really do believe we have an opportunity to make the organization relevant to the next generation.  March of Dimes stands for healthy babies, no matter what. How can you not get behind a cause like that? Victor Garcia has done great things for the organization in the short time he has been Division Director and I’m proud to stand by his side as we move forward.”

Victor added, “The March of Dimes has been fortunate to have had the support of V as in Victor and Matt Valuckis.  We’re very excited about Matt taking on this leadership position and we’re confident that his networking and communications skills will help us get to the next level in terms of mission deliverables, mission awareness and fundraising.”

Also elected is Elaine Merkel as Vice Chair and Secretary/Treasurer, Mary Brewer.

March of Dimes is an American health charity whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. It was founded by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1938 as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis poliomyelitis, commonly known as polio, which Roosevelt had contracted at the age of 39. to defeat the epidemic disease

Matt Valuckis in front of banners created for the Porter County Museum of History

The following article was published in The Times on Sunday, December 12, 2010

New business owners, often strapped for cash, try many ways to promote their new venture.

Matt Valuckis, owner of V as in Victor, has taken a different, win-win approach to gain new clients. Twice a year, he donates time to nonprofit organizations that need help with their fund-raising campaigns.

Through Project G as in Giving, the firm offers a full spectrum of integrated marketing services, including marketing and brand strategies, website and collateral design, advertising and e-marketing.

“This is a way to give back while promoting business,” Valuckis said. “I do the pro bono projects and it helps my business grow through word of mouth. It’s great to work with the nonprofits who do not always take a traditional approach to marketing and are more apt to take chances and try something different since the service is free.”

Valuckis was a victim of the economic downturn before venturing out on his own. After working in graphic design for more than 10 years, he was laid off in August 2008. He found there weren’t many full-time jobs available, yet his freelance business was flourishing. That’s when he decided to convert his freelance jobs into a full-time business. Over time, he gained new clients and has provided services to a variety of business ranging from U.S. Steel and Rollers Tobacco Gallery to the American Cancer Society and the Whiting Pierogi Festival.

“When the economy is down, marketing is often the first thing cut,” he said. “But when sales start to slump, it’s more important than ever to get people in the door. If a company’s sales are down, what they are doing isn’t working, so it’s time to try something new.”

While he does traditional graphic design with marketing logos and letterheads, V as in Victor also does exterior signage and special events. Valuckis writes marketing plans and analyzes them to gauge their effectiveness, looking at conversion rates and goals. V as in Victor’s services also focus on a website design and e-mail campaigns, but go a step farther and maintain mailing lists to ensure better open rates.

“When I started this business, I wasn’t sure what to expect,” he said. “But in the first six months of 2010, business has been great with sales topping what we made in all of last year. My services go way beyond print ads and the business has really grown through word of mouth.”

If you start a list alphabetically, please end alphabetically. Same for the numerical point system. I don’t care which you use, just be consistent. If you’re extending your logic and your thought process enough to make a bullet pointed argument, go one step further and use consistent point headers. If you can’t be consistent enough to stick with letters or numbers, how am I to believe you’ve sufficiently thought out the argument you’re presenting within those headers? Just sayin’.

While the idea of rolling your own cigarettes is not a new one, Rollers’ approach to the customer rolled cigarette is.  Until now, if a Northwest Indiana smoker wanted to roll their own cigarette, they would have to buy a tabletop machine that takes about 3 hours to roll a carton. Rollers has a machine that will do the same job in just under 20 minutes.  In addition to saving time, Rollers cigarettes also save the customer money, coming at about half the cost as a brand name carton. Rollers cigarettes also omit the Fire Safe Band found in most brand name smokes.  While the bands do put out the cigarette when the smoker gets to a certain point to add safety should they, say, fall asleep in bed the down side is that those bands use the same chemicals as carpet glue. And Rollers has no additives added to their tobacco.

Below are just a few of the designs for Northwest Indiana’s newest tobacco gallery.

Business Cards

Website

Exterior Signage

Door Decals

"Throwback" Poster for Store Interior

Billboard

And lastly, Rollers branded lighters