HRB Client, L.L. Pelling Wins National Website Award

February 1st, 2012 by HRB Advertising Agency Categories: News Tags: henry russell bruce, hrb, Website Design

Carrie Herrera of L.L. Pelling accepted the NAPA Outstanding Website Award

L.L. Pelling's homepage is designed to feature projects, services and news in the industry

Lanham, MD – The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) announced today that LL Pelling Co. Inc. of North Liberty, Iowa, is a winner of NAPA’s Outstanding Web Site Award for 2011 in the producer member category. The award recognizes Web site designs that promote the use of asphalt and the asphalt pavement industry.

LL Pelling Co. Inc., worked with Henry Russell Bruce, a Web development and marketing firm in Cedar Rapids, Iowa revamped its website (www.llpelling.com) in 2011 in order to provide more information to local businesses and to taxpayers about the benefits of asphalt paving.

The new site features quick links to the company’s location, projects and services as well as educational material about asphalt’s many advantages as a paving material. A revolving display of asphalt pavement images on the home page helps reinforce LL Pelling Co.’s key messages to its audiences.

Other goals of the company’s Web site redesign were to improve the channels of communication for visitors, making it easier for them to contact specific individuals via email, phone or fax.

The company’s success in this effort can be measured by the fact that it now receives weekly bid requests, general questions and sponsorship opportunities via its website. Visitor leaving feedback have expressed their appreciation for the amount of educational material that the site offers.

4843Post A Comment2012-02-01+14%3A41%3A47HRB+Advertising+Agency

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The New Year is Here!

January 6th, 2012 by HRB Advertising Agency Categories: News Tags: henry russell bruce, hrb

We want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! To kick off 2012, we want to share some of our favorite apps that we think you might like, too. You might even say that these are our favorite apps of 2011!

We’d love it if you’d let us know if we’re missing something that you think everyone, or at least those with similar interests, should be using that didn’t make it onto our list. It might have a chance at making the 2012 list!

View the full list of our favorite apps!

4737View Comments [5]The+New+Year+is+Here%212012-01-06+20%3A39%3A01HRB+Advertising+Agency

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New paradigm = New brand.

December 21st, 2011 by Steve Erickson Categories: Branding, Internet Marketing, Marketing, News, Public Relations, Social Media Marketing, Website Design Tags: Branding, henry russell bruce, hrb, steve erickson

It’s a well known yet seldom followed saying – “Practice what you preach.” But when we considered the prospect of rebranding HRB, we knew we had to follow ourselves the same advice we preach to our clients … that the most objective and ultimately most valuable branding efforts are done with the direction of an experienced outside advisor. You can’t read the label from inside the bottle, right?

After over 15 years with the same “label,” a logo we affectionately call “Herb” because its three letters also resemble a face, it felt like the time was right to go through our own rebranding effort. When Herb was first designed and put to work as the face of HRB, our company and the business of advertising was considerably different. Traditional media – TV, radio, print – was still king. The Internet was in its marketing infancy. The iPad, iPhone and Droid were only the distant dreams of Silicone Valley tech heads. Twitter and Facebook? Mark Zuckerberg was still playing video games in grade school.

It’s a vastly changed world now. Digitally-based, incredibly fast moving, with websites considered as the first point of brand contact instead of merely an afterthought … and handheld devices putting the power of brand engagement in the hands of millions of consumers.

To acknowledge those big changes in our industry, we decided to make a small but important change for ourselves. So we engaged the services of FUEL, a talented group of strategically-minded designers, to rethink and redesign our logo and visual brand. We vowed to be good clients and provide them with all the input they requested (which was a lengthy process), then ultimately, trust their thinking and their visual concept for our brand. Frankly, it was nice to be on the client side for once.

What you see here, the new logo, colors and look is a result of that collaboration. For us, it’s an important reminder of the new thinking we need to consider and then deliver every day. To our clients, it’s a reminder that brands aren’t static entities that can rest on their laurels. To Herb, it means a well-deserved retirement.

Wherever he is today, traveling the world or spending his pension at a casino in Branson, Herb can be confident our new logo stands for the same product we truly care about delivering … growing our clients’ brands to grow their business.

Steve Erickson
Partner/Creative Director
800-728-2656, ext. 126

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4588View Comments [8]New+paradigm+%3D+New+brand.2011-12-21+23%3A46%3A41Steve+Erickson

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Presidential Candidate Rick Perry Visits HRB Client D. C. Taylor Co.

August 18th, 2011 by Jim Thebeau Categories: News, Public Relations Tags: hrb, jim thebeau, Public Relations

We’re grateful for the iPhone and iPad app for Cover it Live. Texas Governor Rick Perry addresses the national media and some 60 D. C. Taylor Co. employees Tuesday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Maximizing a PR Opportunity

The HRB public relations team got a chance to flex its media relations muscles this week and to help a client capitalize on a rare event.

Just three days after announcing his candidacy for the U. S. presidency, Texas Governor Rick Perry visited our client D. C. Taylor Co. Tuesday morning in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, his only stop in the city. D. C. Taylor Co., one of the 20 largest commercial roofing companies in the nation, learned about the visit just last week. Out of thousands of companies in the city, Perry’s advance team chose this one to introduce the candidate in person in the intimate setting of a roofing warehouse. Perry’s wife and two daughters were there, too.

We met with our client late last week to discuss what we could do to promote the event to benefit the client. We decided that the client would want to capture this and create a video and media package and to provide live coverage of the entire event on Cover it Live. To house the Cover it Live feed, HRB had to create a landing page on their website. So there would be more relevant content for D. C. Taylor customers, HRB set out to repurpose educational materials and created an eBook, and designed a banner for the homepage to direct visitors to the see the coverage and comment. Additionally, we helped create an email notification to the company’s opt-in list to notify them over the live coverage. We developed a media brief to hand out and send out to the media and an updated news release is going out Tuesday afternoon recounting details of the events to customers and prospects and the trade media.

During the hour-long event, we feed photos and text to an HRB team member who posted the material in real time. A news release went out to the client’s trade publications and out to the rest o the world via PRWeb. Dozens of people signed on to the Cover it Live account to follow the event and comment on it.

Most exciting for our client was the list of media that showed up for the event, including:

Reuters
Associated Press
NBC National
CBS Evening News
The Gazette
ABC National
ABC Evening News
Des Moines Register
CBS Local
Republican Caucus
Dallas Morning News
New York Times
KCRG
World Magazine

Their website traffic has doubled due to our efforts. The client is happy with the event support we provided. And , just as importantly, we all had fun with it.

Are you maximizing your public relations opportunities at every turn?

Jim Thebeau
Partner/CEO
800-728-2656 ext. 121

Follow me on Twitter @JimThebeau

Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jimthebeau

3673View Comments [13]2011-08-18+18%3A28%3A43Jim+Thebeau

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A Tribute to A Friend and Father.

July 21st, 2011 by Jim Thebeau Categories: News Tags: henry russell bruce, jim thebeau

Golf Best Shot to Fund Scholarships.

Two and a half years ago, our friend and partner Brian Carr passed away while HRB was displaced by the flood and temporarily located in Hiawatha with our friends at Fastek International. It was a staggering loss for his family and friends, and for the HRB family. He was athletic, witty, bright – and as a CPA – great with numbers. He always kept the scores on the golf course. We think of him often.

To honor their father, Brian’s children have put together a memorial golf tournament to raise funds for the Brian Carr Memorial Scholarship Fund. The event date is September 30, 2011 at Ellis Golf Course, Cedar Rapids, with a shotgun start at noon, followed by a grilled dinner, awards and prizes. These kids have gone to a lot of effort to honor their father. And, we want to help them do that.

Brian attended both MidAmerican Nazarene University in Kansas City and Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids and had a positive impact on countless students through his roles as mentor and coach. He was a gifted accountant, father, husband and golfer. The Scholarship Fund benefits accounting students at MNU and MMU.

Brian was a good guy and a good friend. Feel free to pass this message along to anyone else who may have known Brian or just wants to play golf to support a good cause.

All of the information about the event, including registration and sponsorship opportunities, can be found at this link: http://www.wix.com/bcmemorialgolf/2011.

I hope to see you there. And so do Brian’s kids – Pete, Maggie, Hilary and Quinn – and his wife Linda.

Jim Thebeau
Partner/CEO
800-728-2656 ext. 121

Follow me on Twitter @JimThebeau

Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jimthebeau

3669View Comments [11]A+Tribute+to+A+Friend+and+Father.2011-07-21+22%3A22%3A24Jim+Thebeau

Went to Chicago for the National Restaurant Association Trade Show

May 24th, 2011 by Jim Thebeau Categories: Branding, Marketing, News, Public Relations Tags: advertising agency, brand, henry russell bruce, hrb, jim thebeau, Marketing, Public Relations

The first thing I noticed upon entering McCormick Place on Sunday was the overpowering, but very pleasant, aroma of food. Enticing smells of pork, beef, fish, teas and spices filled the air. It’s all part of the fun at the National Restaurant Association’s annual convention and exhibition. I spent part of the weekend in Chicago in support of a new client who was exhibiting at the show.

Over the years I’ve attended many trade shows, most of them related to supply chain, bar codes, RFID, electronics, IT, aviation and aerospace and even rental products. But I’ve never before been greeted at the registration desk with such an attention-getting gastronomic assault on the senses. Foods and beverages of all types were being prepared throughout the enormous North and South exhibition halls. Each dish or drink was presented in an attractive and inspiring setting. Free food was everywhere and freely distributed to anyone who happened by. That was a new experience for me.

There is a sense of irony here because our client is in the technology business, one of our specialties. Numerous technology providers were at the show demonstrating their wares. What struck me most was the amount of automation software available to restaurants to support loyalty programs, geolocation couponing, online ordering and a lot of integration with Facebook and Twitter to drive store traffic and grow the database.

Generating and managing data was a major theme for those providers, a key message they were trying to get across to the restaurants.

At the end of the day, the trip made me think about you and your business.

Are you managing your data? Are you making offers and creating calls to action that generate leads for your database – leads that you can use for your email marketing campaigns? Are your lead generation efforts integrated with your CRM and email marketing platforms? Have you been able to bring some automation to these efforts? We’ve been able to integrate and automate our online marketing efforts. And, it has paid off by generating more leads through our website.

How important is lead generation and data tracking to your operations? Please post a comment and let us know what’s working – or not – for you.

Jim Thebeau
Partner/CEO
800-728-2656 ext. 121

Follow me on Twitter @JimThebeau

Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jimthebeau

3588View Comments [16]2011-05-24+17%3A12%3A39Jim+Thebeau

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Word Gets Around

May 20th, 2011 by Shelby Kraus Categories: News, Public Relations Tags: Public Relations, shelby kraus, social media, Social Media Marketing

I recently read an article about how the social media and PR universe are much like a small town and it resonated with me. IF you are not from a small town, defined as less than 10,000, then perhaps you will not see the connection I do. The social media universe is very much like a small town in that what everyone is trying to do is build a community. Small towns have so many wonderful traits, but they also have some that can be a bit unnerving at times.

I am from Lost Nation, Ia. In its heyday it topped out at 900. I was in the last graduating class as we only had 23 students in my senior class. Believe me, you know everyone and they know you. Some of the similarities that I see between a small town and social community are:

Growing up in a small town, you know almost everyone. They also know everything about you. This transparency is good in many ways, but you are reminded that “word gets around” and the community can quickly learn the bad things someone says or does. Likewise, a company partaking in social media needs to be prepared for customers seeing its dirty laundry along with the good.

In a small town, everyone looks after one another, even if you don’t care that much for each other. There is a bond with communities. I think it is kinda like having a brother or sister. I am an only child and it has always amazed me how my two sons could be picking at each other one minute, but when someone says something or does something against the other they stand together the next minute. Social communities are very similar in this way. The political community is a prime example.

In either a literal or virtual community, you are welcome to join, because we are curious about you. The cost of admission is cheap, especially if you help another member. You are gradually accepted. No matter if you’re considered a “newbie” (even after belonging somewhere for 10 years), you’re still a part of the gang.

However, the thing with gangs is that betrayal is costly. Same with a small town or a virtual community. Betray the group and know that forgiveness comes slowly. Trust is imperative. Companies and organizations need to heed this warning. If a mistake is made, at least own up right away and correct it so everyone can move on.

Ultimately, I think what we are all searching for is a sense of belonging. To belong, one knows your name, your first name. You are not a “Dear Card Holder” or a Sir or Ma’am. Anyone in business, social organizations or school, you need to remember that. We are not faceless beings. We have names. My name is Shelby, I am still from a small town, working in a small city, with two teenage boys and even though my demographics might be interesting to you, my psychographics might be even more so – pay attention.

Remember to connect with folks and create the community you want. We might not all be right for yours, but I bet there are many who are perfect.

Shelby Kraus
Vice President, Public Relations
Account Manager
800-728-2656, ext. 125

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HRB Nominated for The Chamber’s 2011 Small Business of the Year Award

April 26th, 2011 by HRB Advertising Agency Categories: News

HRB is delighted to be nominated for The Chamber of Greater Cedar Rapids’ 2011 Small Business of the Year award. The winner of this award will be unveiled at The Gala, A Royal Masquerade at Theatre Cedar Rapids on Friday, April 29th, 2011.

In order to be nominated, a business must:

Have 1-25 employees
Have defined business strategies and goals
Show significant sales growth
Demonstrate community involvement
Have a commitment to training, motivating and professional development of staff
Differentiate its product/service and quality in customer care
Be a Cedar Rapids Chamber Member

The event celebrates the outstanding contributions of business and business professionals and the impact they have made to the community.

Awards will be presented in the following categories:

Howard Hall Excellence in Business:

Rockwell Collins

Small Business of the Year

Health Solutions LLC
Henry Russell Bruce, Inc.
Pioneer Workspace Solutions

Entrepreneur of the Year

Eric Engelmann, Geonetric
Bruce Lehrman, Involta LLC
Shawn Price, Braise

Chamber Volunteer of the Year

Carl Yost
Katie Coates
Doug Schumacher

The Gala is an elegant affair celebrating excellence in Business in four separate categories. This year’s theme allows guests to relish in a majestic masquerade while dressed in elegant attire.

Henry Russell Bruce is a full-service advertising agency, Web design/Internet marketing and strategic growth planning firm that builds brands to produce measureable marketing results. HRB, founded in 1973, has offices in Cedar Rapids and Davenport, Iowa. For more information, contact HRB at 319.298.0242 or 563.322.0577, or visit www.hrb-ideas.com.

3543View Comments [9]2011-04-26+20%3A18%3A41HRB+Advertising+Agency

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HRB Wins 10 Addy Awards at AdFed Event

March 3rd, 2011 by HRB Advertising Agency Categories: News

Henry Russell Bruce (HRB) took home 10 ADDY awards at the annual American Advertising Federation dinner on Feb. 18.

HRB won a Best of Category Gold ADDY for the capital campaign sales materials produced for the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library. HRB developed the theme and the materials for the Museum’s major fundraising campaign to physically move its building to a new location.

The agency won two ADDYs for its Web and interactive projects, including the interactive online annual report produced for Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids, which received a Gold ADDY. HRB took another ADDY for the Priority One “My Tern Now” (www.myternnow.com) website, designed as a portal for employers and students looking for internships to connect.

HRB also won ADDYs for the following clients:

Panchero’s
MVP Video Production
Metal Design Systems
LimoLink
The Chamber of Greater Cedar Rapids
Shive-Hattery
SourceMedia Group

3524View Comments [15]HRB+Wins+10+Addy+Awards+at+AdFed+Event2011-03-03+18%3A10%3A21HRB+Advertising+Agency

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Cute Romeo Without His Juliette

January 7th, 2011 by Jim Thebeau Categories: News

This Romeo, an eight week old Mastiff, right, is too young to seek his Juliette. For now Romeo’s owner, our friend Jeff Zahrt, left, co-owner of MVP Video Production, is providing all the love and affection.

Jeff Zahrt (MVP Video Production) and Romeo

Jeff dropped by HRB today to discuss the details of a new TV spot his company is shooting for us for one of our clients. And, he brought along Romeo to introduce him to our team. That visit coincided with the arrival of three huge boxes of chicken- and beef-covered nachos that served as lunch for the entire gang here today.

Romeo was hungry but could not have human food. Jeff is trying to establish Romeo as a “no begging” dog at his home and has threatened his children with a week-long grounding if he catches them slipping Romeo some tasty morsels from their plates.

Romeo should be pretty much full grown one year from now, weighing in at close to 150 pounds. Perhaps he’ll be ready to search for his Juliette then. In the meantime, he’s an adorable little guy who wants nothing more than some food, some lap time and plenty of things to chew on. I don’t think he knows how good a gig he has.

Jim Thebeau
Partner/CEO
800-728-2656 ext. 121

Follow me on Twitter @JimThebeau

Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jimthebeau

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