February 14. 2012 – Happy Valentine's Day to us! If you were tuned in to WCAX tonight then you saw one of the featured stories highlighting Brandthropology. As the current political season gains momentum, Vermont's WCAX turned to our in-house branding expert (and Chief Brandthropologist), Matt Dodds to explore the question, "Are campaign signs still effective?" He explained how this low cost form of advertising is integral to gaining awareness in communities, ultimately steering voters at the polls. But why read about it when you can just watch this video? Next post to come? -- Our Emmy nomination, naturally.
February 13. 2012 – The Brandthropology team is excited to announce our newest client, Superior Technical Ceramics (STC). The St. Albans based international company has been recognized as a leader in the ceramic materials field since its start in 1898. Over 100 highly skilled and knowledgeable employees produce products that have gained STC notoriety as a "legacy" company in the custom technical ceramics field. Brandthropology was chosen over 3 competing agencies, and we can't wait to bring STC's 100 year old legacy to heights higher than before.
October 24, 2011 – Brandthropology continues to grow with the addition of a new account manager, John Coburn. John comes to Brandthropology from J Village as a former project manager where he oversaw website development while managing a unique clientele. John brings with him not only his rescued dog Lily from Bernadette Peters (true story), but an impressive skillset sure to be an asset to the team. “John’s years of experience in account management and interactive marketing will help us embrace the expanding set of local, national and international clients,” noted Matt Dodds, Chief Brandthropologist at Brandthropology. John received his B.A. in History from the University of Vermont.
Oct. 19, 2011: Brandthropology sent its Interactive Wünderkin, Cooper Fellows, to the Conversion Conference in New York City. The conference brought together all the big thinkers in search engine optimization, social media integration and persuasive strategies. Cooper had high praise for the gathering saying "it is exciting to see where the web is heading in terms of reaching audiences in this dynamic economy".
Oct. 12, 2011: "What the Heck is Social Media Anyways?": it's just one of the questions that framed the event offered by Leadership Development Northwest (LDN). LDN asked Matt to moderate this important leg of any marketing strategy. Conversations touched on the pros and cons of the medium when implemented by both government and business professionals.
Oct. 6, 2011: Our very own Erika Hardy traveled to the magical land where secrets are not kept, Las Vegas. She represented Vermont in the WAKA (world adult kickball association) after winning the 2010 summer season in Vermont. They managed to win two out of four games (despite being 3 men down) all while seeing Cirque Du Soleil’s Ka and strolling down the classy strip. When we asked her to describe it in three words, “Intense, Crowded and Dry”… This year Erika gets chapstick for Christmas!
Sept. 13, 2011: We're always game for an "icky" assignment. Enter Champlain Professional Studies' desire to increase the level of interaction in their online forensic classes. Brandthropology produced a short video to aid online learners in understanding core concepts in crime scene investigation. Following Professor Hemond's step-by-step instructions, students can perform an in-home forensic investigation for a truly hands-on learning experience.
Sept. 1, 2011: Ten years. Sweet. Hard to believe it's been that long! We've had a blast working with awesome clients and creating interesting and impactful work. The only thing more exciting than celebrating this landmark is contemplating our prospects for the next decade. Watch this space!
July 25, 2011: Vermont Electric Coop (VEC) came to us when opponents of the Lowell Wind Project (a project conceived and funded by another Vermont utility, Green Mountain Power) became actively involved in defeating a transmission infrastructure upgrade VEC was recommending. We advised VEC in the face of well-funded and well-organized opposition. Our overall strategy was two-fold; don't allow the competition to set the narrative by responding to their materials, and maximize turnout across the overall VEC membership, as those most opposed were likely to be a small, but vocal minority geographically closest to the Lowell Wind Project. The results: the vote passed by a broad margin: 5,340 to 1,379.
July 18, 2011: Champlain College is well established here in Vermont, but Brandthropology was tasked with growing the college's recognition as a top provider of online learning to a larger audience. Through a multi-faceted campaign which included social media targeting, traditional & internet based display ads, out-of-house signage as well as broadcast advertsing, out-of-state applications rose by 217%! The Admissions Department at Champlain College is anticipating a banner year during a time when most traditional universities are experiencing declines.
July 7, 2011: Sniff sniff. We bade farewell to Jonathan Wilson, who, prior to working at Brandthropology was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar. No, wait. We were having a momentary Human League flashback. The reality is much worse. He was working in finance in Los Angeles. Really. So we took him in, gave him a whole bunch of wonderful skills in online marketing, and now he's left us to make bank with Dealer.com. Even so, we will miss his smiling face, great skills and cleverly disguised mischievousness. Just make sure we can eat for free at the Dealer.com café, dammit! See this clip from our slip n' slide adventures.
May 26, 2011: Brandthropology went out on a limb, guessing that giant turkey legs would be a hit at the 2011 Vermont Business Expo. Our belief was confirmed by this year's attendees, as we were honored to receive the 2011 Best Giveaway award! After overcoming a grueling series of branding puzzles, booth visitors were rewarded with a 1.5 lb turkey leg courtesy of Big Fatty's BBQ. Thanks to all who visited Booth 81 and to all those who voted for us!
May 20, 2011: So it's not like we haven't won Lamplighters (awards given by the New England Society for Health Care Communications) before. As you'll recall, we've won awards including Best Print Campaign, Recruitment, and Photography. In fact this is our fifth Lamplighter award in three years. But this latest is especially meaningful because it was for doing a great job on a very limited budget. As our client, Jonathan Billings, Chief Planning Officer & Director of Community Relations at Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, Vermont, said "It's a particularly satisfying win, as the award is for doing a great job with modest means. Keep in mind that we're competing with hospitals in larger metropolitan areas such as Boston, Providence and Hartford who have much larger budgets. It really was such a team effort to help the Walk-In Clinic establish itself and grow so quickly in such a short period of time."
May 20, 2011: Ok, so it's not like you get an invite to the White House every day. And yes, it doesn't hurt when you've got a high powered senior senatorial delegation in your home state. But give all credit to our latest client, Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) for having implemented one of the very first fully operational smart grid systems in the country. The kind of grid that allows consumers to go onto a website and monitor their power usuage in 15 minute intervals throughout the day. The kind of grid that informs you in real time when and where power outages are in the area. The kind of grid that will totally change the efficiency of how consumers will use energy in the future. Our humble role in this story was in bringing the VEC story to life via a video. A video that happened to go viral in the halls of the Senate...ultimately ending up with the Chief Hopemeister himself. See the video at SmartGridVideo.com.
April 17, 2011: The 2011 Maple Festival may have been a little chilly this weekend but The Blimp Crew and their helium blimp arrived in style. The only thing better than seeing the giant white/blue blimp was receiving the matching blue ribbon awarded to the NMC team. Way to go guys!
April 5, 2011: The age old battles. Good vs Evil. Light vs Dark. Canadians vs Bruins. Check out this awesome video featuring the evolution of this storied rivalry and the banners that the teams fly when the drums of war sound.
April 2, 2011: Now live at www.emphase.com you can find the completely redesigned Emphase website. We would like to congratulate the Emphase team on their continued success at supplying industrial and military-grade flash solutions for embedded systems.
April 1, 2011: Brandthropologists, never particularly known for the healthy eating habits, are evolving yet again. Our diet is likely to become a lot healthier now that Onion River Coop and City Market have retained us to help them with their branding strategies. We could tell you more, but then we'd have to kill you.
March 31, 2011: Perhaps it’s only an affirmation of how small the Vermont market is, or maybe it’s that we’ve been growing so fast...but either way, we’ve been honored with the designation of being one of Vermont’s largest media entities. Whereupon we get three spam emails asking if we want the trophy. Should we bite? Hmmmm...
March 27-29 - Orlando, FL: Chief Brandthropologist Matthew Dodds and client Jonathan Billings, Director of Planning & Community Services at Northwestern Medical Center, have been asked by the Forum for Healthcare Strategists to speak at the 16th National Healthcare Marketing Strategies Summit taking place March 27-29 in Orlando, FL. Matt and Jonathan will share key insights they have learned in a presentation titled "Being Small and Standing Tall: Lessons for Small Hospitals."
February 1, 2011: OK, so we've found that brandthropologists and car problems go hand in hand. What with oil drips, flat tires, fender benders and even explosions, we felt it was time to get a grip on the situation. Jonathan Wilson, pictured at left, was the latest victim. So we bit the bullet and got everyone memberships with the American Automobile Association. Woo Hoo... one less thing to worry about.
January 20, 2011: Matt Ferrante (aka Matteo) started with us last summer as a coding intern. During his internship, we asked him to create a physician directory for Northwestern Medical Center, no small task! His abilities exceeded our expectations, so we asked him to bring his Latinesque charms to Brandthropology when he graduated from UVM last December.
January 7, 2011: We've completed our new logo for Emphase, an international manufacturer of flash solutions for the embedded computer market.The design provides a more progressive, contemporary and energetic feel, while incorporating references to the circuitry found within their drives. We're in the midst of our rebranding effort that will ultimately include a new website, product labels and data-sheets. The client recently tweeted their satisfaction, saying "Shout out to Brandthropology for some awesome marketing. Things are really coming together and we couldn't be happier." Check out the new site here.
December 15, 2010: Brandthropologists Jonathan Wilson and Brie Hoblin have passed their Google Analytics Individual Qualification Certifications(GAIQ)! They are now certified for the next eighteen months and are very happy about meeting Google's strict standards for certification.
November 30, 2010: We've been working real hard on a new website for Northwestern. It's the last piece of the puzzle, bringing all marketing elements into the branded format. The new site serves as a launching pad into a new era of online marketing, with social networking features, e-mail marketing data collection, online payment processing, interactive directories and sophisticated search engine optimization features.
» read moreThe site will also play a critical role in the hospital's recruitment efforts, and includes a sophisticated applicant tracking system that streamlines and brings the recruitment process from paper based to online. Its robust features include, HR vetting of applicants as they come in, the ability to send qualified applicants to the appropriate managers within the hospital, and allows both HR and managers to collaboratively participate in the applicant review process. We've also tweaked the system to allow for improved interactions with external job listing sites such as, indeed.com, careerbuilder.com, jobsinvt.com and monster.com.
November 23, 2010: Our app is now in the iTunes Store! "Brand Master" is a free touch-based game where users drag a set of logos into their proper order as they evolved over time -- with the earliest on the left, and the latest on the right. The faster you order the logo set correctly, the more points you'll earn. We've also worked to integrate OpenFeint's leaderboard tracking system so you can see how you perform versus your friends.
November 19, 2010: Interactive Brandthropologist Jonathan Wilson was asked to give a guest lecture at Champlain College on internet marketing. By using relevant case studies, Wilson showed the importance of testing, data and analysis to optimize marketing efforts spanning multiple platforms including online banner ads, paid search, mobile advertising, social media, and landing page optimization.
November 3, 2010: Chief Brandthropologist Matthew Dodds, was asked by the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce to give a talk on new media, attracting over 20 people from various professional backgrounds. Some words attendees used to describe the seminar were "incredibly insightful" and "fantastic." If you'd like a copy of the New Media presentation contact corey@brandthropology.com.
November 2, 2010: Remember this summer when a legislator suggested banning hospitals from advertising? Well, this just in: an ad we produced for Northwestern Medical Center's Walk-in Clinic in Georgia has helped save a man's life! Here are the details: a truck driver headed south on I-89 passing through Swanton towards Burlington began experiencing tingling & numbness in his elbow. He happened to have his radio on, which is how he heard our radio spot.
» read moreThe ad states that the Clinic is conveniently located just off exit 18, so, realizing that the exit was coming up, he decided to pull off the interstate and have himself checked out, just to be on the safe side. Good thing: once there, the ever-attentive Clinic staff determined he was experiencing a full blown heart attack. They don't treat heart attacks at the walk-in, but their diagnosis and quick action got him on his way to the care he needed in a matter of minutes -- efforts that were attributed to saving his life!
October 25, 2010: After a four agency pitch, Champlain College's Division of Professional Studies has chosen to get highly evolved with Brandthropology. We've been tasked with revamping their existing marketing efforts, which includes weaving together print, direct mail, video and interactive elements into a coordinated system to drive student enrollment. We couldn't be more pleased, as many of our most cherished brandthropologists claim Champlain as their alma mater!
October 20, 2010: This past weekend, Brandthropology was one of 65 exhibitors that participated in the Vermont 3.0 Tech Jam. The Tech Jam was held at Main Street Landing in Burlington and attracted over 1,200 people. Brandthropologist Jonathan Wilson was interviewed by Seven Days representitive Eva Sollberger and was featured in her video blog series "Stuck in Vermont." Check out Jonathan by clicking on the image!
September 30, 2010: Brandthropology has been selected to be part of Google's Favorite Places program, putting us in the company of less than 250,000 other businesses so distinguished—or less than 1% of all U.S. businesses. The Favorite Places selection represents our popularity on Google's listings, and comes with a QR code that may be scanned by anyone visiting our office.
September 24, 2010: Brandthropology has expanded its list of tech clients by teaming up with Vermont based engineering firm Emphase, a division of Logic Supply Co. We've been retained to revamp the Emphase brand, including a logo redesign and a new website with e-commerce functionality. Emphase's innovative product line focuses on solid state storage, a growing segment of the industrial storage market that saves time, money, and energy. We're very excited about teaming up with this like-minded, cutting edge group!
August 24, 2010: Brandthropologist Corey Grenier recently participated in a panel on "Leveraging Social Media from the Perspectives of Employers and Candidates" during the VHRA- "Leveraging Social Media to Maximize Success in HR, Recruitment, and Career Development" workshops at Champlain College. HR departments from all over the state came to Champlain College to learn and participate in various social media workshops.
August 20, 2010: The Vermont Software Developers' Alliance (VtSDA) recently added a slate of new board members to usher in several new projects. Chief Brandthropologist, Matthew Dodds, was one of these new members. The new members bring expertise in technology, law, and marketing to VtSDA's work. Upcoming this year, VtSDA features 12 high tech companies in Vermont through its latest project "Tapping Tech." The Vermont Software Developers' Alliance is a trade association dedicated to fostering a healthy software industry in the state of Vermont, with a focus on common business interests and promoting a thriving software community.
August 4, 2010: Champlain College asked us to help them with their end of summer push for their fall online classes. As part of that effort we produced an informational video for their Department of Continuing Professional Studies. After interviewing and filming current students, we created the testimonial-style online video and a high-definition 30 second television commercial to communicate the advantages of taking classes at Champlain. We also created custom newspaper inserts directing traffic to a re-designed home page which featured video embeds and more prominent calls to action. For each deliverable, we created custom vanity URLs to ensure easy segmentation, tracking, and accountability for each medium.
July 17, 2010: We increase our arc of business from New Mexico (Holy Cross Hospital) to New England as we add Littleton Regional Hospital to our list of clients. We will be helping with branding & marketing communications and as ever helping the hospital embrace new technologies as it embraces new marketing strategies. The inclusion of LRH also expands our growing list of medical centers and hospitals that we've helped with everything from branding to recruitment.
July 15, 2010: Marketing to teens is tricky business. In this NECN video, Brandthropologist Jonathan Wilson expounds on some of online marketing's nuances using Facebook and Youtube to spread "haul" videos. "The Haul Video is like having a savvy shopper best friend," Wilson said, when asked about J.C.Penny's new marketing technique of providing a space for teens to share videos of themselves wearing their latest finds. Kudos for Jonathan for providing just the expert voice needed to round out this story!
July 12 - 14, 2010: The U.S. Hickory Open got some big play this year with a story running on both ESPN and in Sports Illustrated, both featuring our illustrious Chief Brandthropologist, Matt Dodds. The U.S. Hickory Open took place (in the blistering heat) July 12 – 14 at Mimosa Hills Golf and Country Club in Morganton, NC. Team Brandthropology managed to get along without its chief for a week, so Matt could represent at the Open.
June 19, 2010: As the lead sponsor of the Vermont Hickory Open, Brandthropology was featured in several stories recently, when local media covered the three-day event. A photo of our own Chief Brandthropologist, Matt Dodds, ran front page, above the fold in the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus. Vermont's largest newspaper, The Burlington Free Press also ran a full-page story with great pics.
June 20, 2010: We recently unveiled our new iPhone app at the 2010 Business Expo. The app allows users to test how savvy they are at identifying the history of some famous brands. We got some great feedback. The app will be free and playable on iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads. The top three scores from the Business Expo were Dave Schmidt from LPA Design, INC. with our top score of 3490.5, Michael Bradshaw of 7 Days with a score of 3293, and Collen Montague of the VT Agency of Transportation, with a score of 3314. Check out the browser version of the game on the Brandthropology site.
June 17, 2010: Chief Brandthropologist Matt Dodds gave a televised lecture for CCTV’s “Media Maven” series. For his discussion, Dodds used his extensive branding experience to show area non-profits how to develop their “zag” and leverage marketing to achieve their organization's goals. The presentation centered on “Brand Basics” and can be seen here.
June 6, 2010: The Addison County Prevention Partnership chose Brandthropology to develop a responsible drinking campaign for young adults aged 18-25. After initial research, we decided our approach would be to position responsible drinkers as heroes, rather than the cliched, patronizing approach of demonizing excessive drinkers. During focus group testings of our ads, we found our strategy was well received, with student's describing them as "relevant," "witty" and "smart." To increase visibility throughout the county, we segmented our message for two age brackets and distributed them in print ads, coaster production, online advertisements, and the vanity URL, boozeclues.org.
June 2, 2010: Brandthropology is pleased to announce our newest client, Champlain College. We will be working with the Division of Continuing Professional Studies to increase awareness and drive student enrollment. We're excited to be working with Champlain College’s Continuing Professional Studies and look forward to building a strong, productive relationship.
May 25, 2010: Working with our client, Northwestern Medical Center, Brandthropology received four Lamplighter Awards from the New England Society of Healthcare Communicators on May 25. In the photography division, we received a Silver Award and an Award of Excellence. We gained two additional silver awards for our online human resources campaigns and Room Service menus. We’re proud of our successes and even more proud that Northwestern Medical Center received another opportunity to shine.
May 20, 2010: The Alpine Shop, a Burlington-based outdoor goods retailer, contracted with Brandthropology last year to give their site, AlpineSportingGoods.com, an SEO overhaul to increase site traffic. We did considerable up-front research into the most competitive, relevant terms and then populated them throughout the site’s front and back end. The result: a 40.34% increase in traffic over the pre-SEO baseline! To read the full case study, click here.
May 14, 2010: We are very excited to announce the addition of Corey Grenier to the Brandthropology team. Corey started out as a marketing intern and upon graduating summa cum laude from Champlain College, we decided we couldn't let her go. She will now take on an account management role here at Brandthropology, working with clients to ensure their needs are met in a timely, professional manner. Welcome Corey!
April 28, 2010: We keep picking up PR steam for the Audubon Guides. In one week, the app has gotten media coverage from the New York Times' print and web Personal Tech section, the New York Times Gadgetwise blog, and the Digits blog over at the Wall Street Journal. Our strategy of creating custom press releases and online landing pages has allowed us to get our message to reporters easily and effectively--and get those articles published in prime publications.
March 19, 2010: Chief Brandthropologist Matt Dodds was interviewed by local television station, WCAX, about his views on a proposed legislation that would ban health care advertising in Vermont. Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDdwqnxe7-0
March 11, 2010: We’re really proud to see the Audubon Guides iPhone app getting so much press. It seems our PR efforts by Cassandra Brush and Justin Campfield have really been paying off. Our latest PR hit is with Businessweek.com, MacWorld.com, and PCWorld.com.
March 5, 2010: The Audubon Guides series of iPhone apps have been covered in the Oman Tribune, a news publication based in the Eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The international coverage was a result of our own Justin Campfield's tech-saavy PR efforts. Check out the article here.
February 25, 2010: The Addison County Prevention Coalition recently chose Brandthropology to conduct a marketing campaign integrating social media, augmented reality applications and traditional advertising to promote safe and responsible drinking habits to young adults in Addison County. Brandthropology is excited to work with this new client and look forward to embarking on this campaign.
January 19, 2010: The resident Brandthropologists took a little break from our Excel spreadsheets and Photoshop files to throw some stones at a local bowling alley. Beer was imbibed, temporary tattoos were applied, and strikes were thrown...mostly by Anne. Special thanks to Spare Lanes in Colchester for keeping the drinks flowing and the crew in high spirits.
January 16, 2010: The Audubon iPhone Guides Birds app became the topic of discussion on NPR’s weekly two-hour radio program about science, technology and environment issues. Bill Schmoker, a Nikon birding pro staff member who writes a column for the American Birding Association, described the app as a superior "virtual bookshelf" that's "geared for birding." Check out the whole interview here.
January 8, 2010: Taos First Steps, a program developed by Holy Cross Hospital in Taos, New Mexico received the prestigious national NOVA award. The NOVA award, presented by the American Hospital Association honors effective, collaborative programs focused on improving community health status.The program aids families in building strong foundational parenting skills, including nutrition, preventative health care and preschool readiness. Brandthropology is proud to work with Holy Cross Hospital and commends them for the win!
December 30, 2009: With the aid of our implemented PR and marketing strategies, the Audubon Society’s iPhone Guides Apps have been featured in hundreds of national publications. While the LA Times raves about the speed of the app and brilliance of the audio features, the Chicago Tribune focuses on the convenience of accessing information and using the technology.
November 16, 2009: Audubon Guides Wildflowers and Audubon Guides Birds apps are the top two highest grossing reference apps in the iTunes store, according to AppShoper.Com. We've helped the apps gain notoriety through highly targeted online and offline marketing efforts. By employing traditional PR efforts and highly targeted iPhone mobile advertising, and everything in between, we've developed a fiscally responsible, segmented marketing strategy that is literally "paying off."
September 28, 2009: Brandthropology just completed our rebranding work for ReSOURCE, formerly ReCycle North. The brand has expanded significantly since their inception in 1991, and we provided them a complete marketing overhaul, including a new name, logo, website - resourcevt.org - with email marketing integration, video, truck appliques, exterior signage, cross-platform media coverage, print marketing collateral, and we even got some early morning sign waving to promote the launch. We are excited to debut the fruits of our pro bono labor and wish ReSOURCE the best of luck during their continued growth throughout Vermont. Take a look at the ReSOURCE unveiling photos!
September 1, 2009: We built www.pizzaentitlement.com with our tongues planted firmly in cheek. Our client, Leonardo’s pizza, wanted a microsite that provided a younger, collegiate audience with an engaging way to interact with their brand. The site was part of a larger multichannel marketing effort, including custom pizza box stamps, guerilla poster dissemination, and a social media strategy. Check the site and get entitled!
September 1, 2009: We recently debuted www.Volklsale.com, a vertical e-commerce site for our client, The Alpine Shop. The new content management system and user interface design was optimized to make the site easier for the client to manage and the customer to navigate. Our efforts with the site have been paying off; the client has been briskly selling skis during the summer, normally a slow period for winter sports retailers.