The Moxie Grant Program is designed to empower non-profits through quality design, strategic marketing and communications plans, so they may reach their fullest potential while continuing their mission of helping those around them. Moxie has pledged to donate bi-annual $5,000 grants (one in the spring and one in the fall) each year to assist non-profits with their own community programs. The Moxie Grant Program is open to non-profits within South Central PA, specifically Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster and York counties.

Applications will be considered bi-annually for the calendar year. Submission will be scored by an independent review board and the winning organizations will be notified within 30 days of the deadline for submission. For more details and entry information, please visit: Moxie Grant Program.

To schedule a media interview with Julie Lando, president and owner of Moxie, about the Moxie Grant Program or other topics please contact Erin Perry Stine by emailing Erin@MoxieDM.com or calling 717-885-0014. Download the Moxie Grant Program application here.

About Moxie
Moxie (www.MoxieDM.com) is a full-service advertising and communications firm specializing in strategy, branding, creative, design, interactive marketing, media planning and public relations. Based in York, Pa., the firm works with a variety of business-to-business and business-to-consumer companies in the mid-Atlantic region, focusing on the apparel, automobile, building supply, consumer packaged goods, entertainment, government, healthcare, luxury, tourism and technology sectors. Moxie is a major contributor to community-based programs through its annual Moxie Grant Program. Moxie’s owner, Julie Lando, was named as one of the “25 Women of Influence” by the Central Penn Business Journal (Spring 2010) and the “Best 50 Women in Business in PA” (Spring 2009). Moxie was also named a finalist in the Central Penn Business Journal’s “Emerging Business of the Year,” winner of York’s Downtown Inc’s “Outstanding New Business,” four-time winner of the prestigious international Davey Award, three-time winner of the Communicator Award and winner of the Summit International Creative Award for outstanding creative.

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Almost three years ago, I wrote an article for the Central Penn Business Journal as a guest editor regarding Media Management in Challenging and Changing Times*.  At that time, our economy was truly in the throes of a recession and I was hearing many clients and other business owners say that they couldn’t afford to advertise their businesses.   They were under the false assumption that they would be ‘saving money’ by cutting advertising budgets.  Business owners were caught between the need to gain new business and eliminate expenses.

My answer to that age-old question, to advertise or not to advertise, has not changed.   How can a business afford NOT to advertise?   When the time comes that a consumer needs your product or services, they will begin thinking of the brands most familiar to them, something I like to refer to as ‘recency’.  Today’s consumer is busy and often has a short term memory.  If you aren’t advertising on a consistent basis, your business stands to lose market share.

Businesses that continue to advertise also convey a sense of stability and/or permanency.  People are more likely to shop or use a service with a business that appears solid and reliable. 

The trick during a recession, or any challenging economic period, is to make your advertising and marketing budgets work harder for you.  There are ways to measure the effective reach and frequencies of traditional media.  Whether your business has an internal marketing department or you have hired a media-buying professional, you need to ensure that you are getting the most advertising bang for your buck.

So, here we are in 2012.  Positive changes in the economy are being seen but consumers’ needs are changing and the consumer confidence indices fluctuate wildly.  Are the businesses that continued to advertise and market their brands during the recession reaping the rewards today?  It appears they are.

Think of the national brands like Ford, McDonald’s and even Walmart.  Ford, who did not take a government bailout, did reduce their spending drastically but maintained their branding efforts and focused on strategic marketing throughout the recession.  They have been seeing consistent increases in their sales, including a 7% increase in January, 2012, over last year’s sales, making this past January the best since 2008, the tip of the recession.  This is hardly a coincidence.

When making decisions to cut expenses, be sure to evaluate the long-term goals for your business and how strategic brand marketing and advertising, when done efficiently and effectively, can help your business continue to gain market share. 

Next week, look for tips about behavioral targeting and smart internet marketing.

*Central Penn Business Journal 5/22/09

Hanover Hospital tasked Moxie with developing their 2011 Annual Report with the following objectives:

• Emphasize and increase awareness for their 85th Anniversary.
• Create an annual report consistent with the mission and values of the hospital that not only focuses on the historical high point, but also shows how the hospital has grown to provide the most up-to-date services.

Moxie presented two concepts with the chosen winner featuring a “Celebration/Cupcake” theme. To see the digital version of the Annual Report, please click here.

•    What do I want my customer to “do” on my site?
Think carefully about the actions you want your customer to take when they arrive at your site. If you want them to buy product, make sure the placement of your purchase links are visible. If you want them to become a member, ensure you provide them with a button or easy to find link to do so. Take a step back and think about the basic goals of your site and begin planning from there.

•    What information will my customer be looking for?
It’s important to carefully plan your navigation to be intuitive to the way your target audience will be looking for information. If you’re not sure you know, grab a few customers from your inner circle and ask them to share their feedback. If you’ve got a site already and you’re making an upgrade, check out the analytics. Look for the top pages and where people are exiting your current site to identify the content priorities.

•    How do I connect with the crawlers?
When developing a website, your first priority is your customer and the second is the elusive search engine crawler. You want to make sure your site is optimized for the search engines to ensure your content is regularly indexed and that you’re identified for the words and phrases that are important to your business. Keyword rich content, page titles and overall structure all play a role in the search engine algorithms and how they’ll “read” your site.

•    Is it sticky?
You can do everything right to get people to come to your site, but are you giving them a reason to come back or to click through to the subpages? Consider ways to offer “sticky” content (whitepapers, blogs, interactive features, embedded videos on timely topics, etc.) to help identify your site as a resource worth visiting again (for your visitors and the search engines). This can work for all types of companies, whether business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C).

•    What do I want to be able to update?
As you plan your site, think about the sections you’ll want to be able to update and make sure you examine opportunities for content management systems that meet your needs (and your comfort level with technology). Making regular updates and keeping content fresh will not only give your customers a reason to return, it will give the search engines more incentive to keep crawling your content.

These are just a few of the questions you’ll want to explore as you start building your online world. Careful planning up front will help your website grow with you and with technology and make sure your customers can find you and get what they need.

Moxie Design & Marketing is seeking a creative and talented senior graphic designer to join our team. The candidate for this position should have print and interactive experience as well as the ability to design and create content for use in all areas of graphic design including a wide range of print material  (brochures, postcards, posters, sell sheets),  web graphics (banners, banner ads, landing pages), online ad campaigns, emails, image/photo editing, corporate identity standards, etc.

• Solid understanding and experience with Adobe CS 5 Suite including InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator.
• Excellent communication and organizational skills; ability to clearly express ideas graphically and in writing
• A creative mind, an eye for detail, and the ability to make creative decisions and solve problems
• Ability to work in a team environment with a strong emphasis on collaboration
• Understanding of branding and company identity; experience developing, following and enforcing Style Guides
• Experience in creating corporate identities and brands
• Ability to conceptualize, sketch and create professional mockups
• Ability to accept constructive feedback and changes
• Ability to communicate effectively with all levels of the organization
• Highly motivated with good organizational and project management skills
• Able to multitask, working on several campaigns at once, sometimes under pressure and often with tight deadlines
• Expected to understand and keep up with the latest trends/technologies/software

Please submit your resume, portfolio and salary history to hello@moxiedm.com. No phone calls please.

Mosaics by Moxie, York’s newest event management company has officially launched at Marketview Arts’ Gallery Hall in downtown York, PA. Mosaics was formed by Julie Lando—an award-winning marketing communications expert and president and owner of Moxie.

Mosaics will provide event management services at Gallery Hall, a new event venue located on the third floor of downtown York’s Marketview Arts building (former home of the Fraternal Order of Eagles) at 37 West Philadelphia Street. Mosaics will oversee event management services at Gallery Hall for a variety of events, including corporate, private, weddings and receptions, luncheons, concerts, reunions as well as art shows. Mosaics will host a grand opening benefit celebration at Gallery Hall on Friday, October 5, 2012 (details to be announced at a later date).

Gallery Hall is a newly-renovated 2,600 square-foot event venue with space to accommodate up to 168 people. The first event to be held in Gallery Hall will be a reception prior to the honorable Mayor C. Kim Bracey’s State of the City address on Thursday, April 12, 2012.

“An event is a mosaic of ideas cultivated to create an experience. Whether it’s a wedding, art show, private event, business luncheon or corporate event, the intention is to create a memorable and artistic flair to any occasion. With an intimate downtown setting and central location across from York’s Central Market, Gallery Hall is the perfect venue for events within the city,” said Julie Lando, founder and president of Mosaics and president of Moxie.

Erin Stauffer, Director of Events at Mosaics, will manage and facilitate events and day-of-coordination at Gallery Hall. Stauffer brings over 15-years of creating experiential private and corporate events. She previously coordinated special events for The Bon-Ton, Members 1^st, Pinnacle Health, Turkey Hill, Holy Spirit Hospital, Children’s Miracle Network and Capital City Mall. Stauffer was also named a finalist for a Marketing Award for eXcellence Innovation (MAXI) from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).

In addition to her extensive marketing background, Julie Lando brings previous corporate and private event experience garnered from marketing roles during her career in the high-end jewelry industry in South Florida. It was during this period that she gained once-in-a-lifetime experiences managing a slew of events for high-profile celebrities including Dan Marino and raising millions of dollars for the Dan Marino Foundation.

For more information about Mosaics or about Gallery Hall as a venue opportunity, please contact Erin Stauffer, Director of Events, at 717-885-0014 or EStauffer@MoxieDM.com.

About Mosaics

Mosaics by Moxie is an event management company and sister company of Moxie Design & Marketing, LLC. Mosaics was formed in March 2012 to provide event management services for Gallery Hall in Marketview Arts, located at 37 West Philadelphia Street in downtown York, Pennsylvania. Mosaics is dedicated to hosting the perfect event in an intimate downtown setting. Gallery Hall is approximately 2,600 square feet, and can accommodate 168 people for private and corporate events. For more information about  Mosaics, visit Mosaics by Moxie; follow Mosaics on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/MosaicsByMoxie or on Twitter at @MosaicsbyMoxie.

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Here are just a few common buzzwords that will have you sounding like a slick ad guy (or chick) straight out of Mad Men. Well, there are more than a few – so here are A-L!

Bad Break – refers to widows or orphans in text copy or any line breaks that cause awkward spacing or reading.

Bleed – when a design element (i.e. photo or color bar) continues beyond the final edge of the piece. The printer can then trim without a white edge showing. No bleed means the elements are with in a safe distance from the trim line of the piece. 

Click/Clickthrough – A click is when a user interacts with an online advertisement and is directed toward the advertiser’s destination. Although often used interchangeably, clickthroughs imply that the user actually landed on the advertiser’s page.                                                      

CMYK – stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black ink. Also known as 4-color process printing. In print design, colors are defined by percentages of each ink. For example, the CMYK build for black is 0/0/0/100. 

Comp – (comprehensive) Comps are initial designs created to show concepts and layouts before all the elements are finalized. Some or all elements are not final – the copy may be greek and/or images may be low resolution. 

Creative – refers to the designs or artwork created by an agency.  

DPI/PPI – Dots per inch/pixels per inch. The higher number of dots or pixels per inch, the more detail and better quality the image will appear. DPI is used for printed material and PPI for digital media. 

Dummy – also known as “mock up.” A dummy is when a brochure or multipage design is printed, trimmed and folded to show the end result prior to professional printing. 

EPS – Encapsulated PostScript is a digital file format that retains vector properties, which makes it editable and able to be enlarged without loss of quality. 

Fold – “Above the fold” is a term that began with print media but now refers to all elements of a website that appear immediately as the page loads without scrolling down. 

Greek – In graphic design, greek text or “greeking” refers to placeholder or filler text. It’s often used to represent the look of the text element before the copywriter has written the copy. 

Kerning – adjusting the horizontal spacing between letters. 

Leading – the vertical spacing between lines of text.  

Lorem ipsum – typically the first two words in a sample of greek (placeholder) text. Although, commonly referred to as greeking, it’s actually Latin based.

Check back in a few weeks for more!

The first-of-its-kind in the region, the Moxie Grant Program provides $10,000 of in-kind agency services each year to help regional non-profit organizations in the South Central Pennsylvania region promote their efforts in making a positive difference in their communities. Past Moxie Grant recipients include: Historic York, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Central PA, Leg Up Farm, York County Community Foundation, YCAL and Crispus Attucks.

The Moxie Grant Program is designed to empower non-profits through quality design, strategic marketing and communications plans, so they may reach their fullest potential while continuing their mission of helping those around them. Moxie has pledged to donate bi-annual $5,000 grants (one in the spring and one in the fall) each year to assist non-profits with their own community programs. The Moxie Grant Program is open to non-profits within South Central PA, specifically Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster and York counties.

Applications are currently being accepted for the Fall 2012 Moxie Grant program until June 15, 2012. Applications will be considered bi-annually for the calendar year. Submission will be scored by an independent review board and the winning organizations will be notified within 30-days of the deadline for submission. For more details and entry information, please visit: www.MoxieGrantProgram.com.

To schedule a media interview with Julie Lando, president and owner of Moxie, about the Moxie Grant Program or other topics please contact Erin Perry Stine by emailing Erin@MoxieDM.com or calling 717-885-0014. Download the Moxie Grant Program application here or visit www.MoxieGrantProgram.com to apply online.

When reviewing your website, consider these questions:

• Do you know what your website looks like on a mobile device?
• Is the content on your site easy to read?
• Are you able to see all of your images?
• Can you easily click and navigate to the information for which you are looking?
• Can customers easily make purchases?
• Is the design consistent with your overall branding?
• Is your contact information visible?
• Or do you have to scroll, pinch or zoom to make your site fit within the screen?

According to a recent study by Gartner, by 2013, more people will get online with their mobile devices than with a PC. And if your website isn’t mobile friendly, your customers may go elsewhere to look for the information, product or service they need.

As you begin to optimize your website for the mobile world, keep in mind that mobile-device users have a different expectation of the online experience. They want pages to load quickly, to look professional, to be easy to read and navigate. If your mobile site is not hitting these points, chances are good your customer is moving on.

The best advice is to keep it simple. Your mobile site should be easy to search, read and explore on a compact screen. Remember, mobile users are not using a traditional method such as a mouse to click through your site but rather are navigating with their fingers. Links should be easy to click without having to zoom to enlarge or scroll left or right. It is important to evaluate your navigation, content and look to ensure users have a good experience and ultimately stay on your site.

So what are you waiting for? Pick up a smartphone and take a serious look at your company’s mobile experience today.  Let us know what you find.

But is it? If you have the “build it and they will come mentality,” the app will most likely fail (similar to when building a website).  The marketing strategy behind the app is just as important as how the app will work, along with what unique selling point it offers.

While a well-done app can engage the audience, competition is fierce for a place on an individual’s smartphone.  Before going down the path of creating an app, consider the following:

• Do you need a mobile app or a mobile website? If enhancing your mobile site is more cost-effective (and removes elements like Flash that are not readable on iPhones/iPads), we recommend you consider this path first.
• How am I going to engage the end user with an app? What can I offer that is different and unique to the market that makes sense for my product that individuals can’t find someplace else? What feature will make that individual’s life better? If you don’t have an answer to these questions, a mobile app may not be the right vehicle for you.
• How does this app fit into my overall strategy and do I have the time to support one more outlet with fresh content? Do you know that you may need to create separate apps for the iPhone and android platforms depending on your needs,  increasing your costs significantly?
• If you are thinking of creating an app that is basically an advertisement for your company, think again. The Apple Store will flag it and not include it in their app store. The need for the app must be compelling and relevant to the user’s experience to get them engaged in what you are doing.

Although a mobile app can be a tremendous tool for your business, it’s important to go into the process with your eyes open.  Talk to a company that specializes in creating apps (i.e. a local company like LiveWire) or ask us and we can point you in the right direction.