Buzzing About

December is a month for making lists and checking them twice. As 2016 comes to a close, JJPR has quite the portfolio of work that we’ve created this past year. Our tiny-but-mighty team worked together with the most amazing clients to create smart, resourceful campaigns that are yielding big dividends for their companies. And that warms our hearts.

So, as hard as it was to narrow the list to only 16, here are our top picks from 2016:

1. Innovation PortAL

The Mobile Area Chamber, in their usual forward-thinking, entrepreneurial and economic-development fashion, began efforts in late 2015 for a business accelerator and incubator for the area known as Innovation PortAL. What started as a simple business plan morphed into a full scale branding project and website for this new program. And what’s even more thrilling to JJPR, this program landed national recognition with a $2.9-million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to renovate a building on St. Louis Street in downtown Mobile to house Innovation PortAL. We couldn’t be more excited to be part of helping birth this new program for our area.

2. Haint Blue Brewing

We love front porches and even more than that, sharing a cold one with friends on those porches. So imagine how pumped we were when our friends at Mighty contacted us to help promote Haint Blue Brewing, a new brewing company in Mobile started by Keith Sherrill whose number one objective is to make good porch-drinking beer. Haint Blue Brewing launched a crowdfunding campaign to give investors an opportunity to own a piece of this new microbrewery and build a taproom for Mobile. We had a blast helping source the porches for the video to support the campaign as well as promote Haint Blue’s story in local media outlets in the region to secure investors for a very successful campaign. We can’t wait to see what’s on tap for Haint Blue in 2017.

3. Fuse Project

In the spring of 2016, we began working with Fuse Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children along Alabama’s Gulf Coast through its innovation, funding and projects. We couldn’t be more honored to work with this group of young professionals who give a whole new name to movers and shakers. With events like their annual Dragon Boat Festival and their new high-stakes poker tournament, Fuse Royale, they never cease to amaze us with their innovation in raising funds for our area’s youth. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on these events and much more, as well as helping brand the new Fuse Factory, Mobile’s new nonprofit co-working space.

4. Business Where You Beach

As a Baldwin County, Alabama-based business, we are passionate about being part of projects that help drive the local economy. So we were thrilled to have the opportunity to create a new campaign, Business Where You Beach, to help visitors think about Alabama’s beaches for more than just pleasure. We created an integrated marketing campaign including a new website, print and digital ads and social media, to help create awareness of Baldwin County not only as a premier beach-vacation destination, but as an even better place to live and work. As the nation’s eighth fastest growing MSA
(according to the U.S. Census Bureau), Baldwin County is the prime location for business, a qualified workforce and beautiful beaches to boot.

5. Publicizing the Port

The Alabama State Port Authority is one of our state’s greatest assets and one of JJPR’s as well. Each quarter, we produce the Alabama Seaport magazine, the longest continually published Port magazine in the country. From expansions to new partnerships, the Port is working for us all - whether it is with the quality jobs it brings or the economic impact it yields for our entire region. We’ve started work on a refresh of their ad campaign, so stay tuned in 2017 for more great things from the Port. 

6. Creating Chemistry with BASF

BASF is a 150-year-old company that creates chemistry for us to enjoy many products and solutions that improve our everyday life. This past year, we’ve enjoyed telling their story and the many great things they do in our community every day, from promoting their presence at Worlds of Opportunity, to assisting with production for their Town Hall meetings, to developing sponsored content stories about their work in the community, to providing educational grants for K-12 schools in our area to enhance science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning. This company does so much every day for our community.

7. A New Look for Safe Harbor

JJPR loves a good story, and the housing community in Bayou La Batre has just that. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, nearly 3,000 Bayou La Batre citizens thrived in this Gulf Coast city on the shores of Alabama, fishing its waters, building ships, and enjoying their hometown. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, the community was devastated, with many families left homeless or displaced. Safe Harbor was established in 2008 through a FEMA Affordable Housing Pilot Program (AHPP) grant intended to assist the Bayou La Batre community in the wake of Katrina. 

The initiative was designed to combat homelessness by meeting residents’ immediate needs, as well as by providing the opportunity for permanent, affordable housing solutions. While initially compromised, Safe Harbor has rebuilt and transformed into a reprieve for this once-struggling community. Today, Safe Harbor’s 100 beach cottage-style modular homes provide residents with affordable, safe, and community-driven housing aimed at supporting and improving the lives of Bayou La Batre’s heart and soul – its people.

We were delighted to help rebrand this community program aimed at supporting and improving the lives of those in Bayou La Batre.

8. Perspective Eye Center

We were elated to help Dr. Stephen Gross and Dr. David Helton in their quest to create a new experience in optical care on the Eastern Shore with Perspective Eye Center. JJPR was excited to help develop the new brand for their business with a new logo, website, advertisements and establishing their social media presence. Check them out and see how their innovative care approach can help keep your life in focus.

9. PDQ

Two words: chicken tenders. Whether they are fried or grilled, on a sandwich or by themselves, the team at PDQ creates a fresh take on fast food. PDQ stands for People Dedicated to Quality and we were ecstatic to help promote the only Alabama location of PDQ, located by the South Alabama campus in Mobile. Fresh tours of the restaurant’s kitchen, followed by a tasting, were a huge hit for local media. Our mouths water just thinking about their delicious menu and we always look forward to our next visit.

10. City of Daphne Library The Porch

JJPR was also honored to develop a new branding and promotional campaign for the Daphne Public Library. With nearly 400 public programs and a variety of services utilized by 275,000 visitors annually, the big idea behind the More Than Books campaign is that the library is alive with so much more than just books. And because of the abundance of programs and traffic, the library needs community support to build a new multipurpose meeting space, The Porch. (Visit their GoFundMe page to get in on the action.)

11. Baldwin County Education Coalition

In January, we began working with the Baldwin County Education Coalition, an independent nonprofit organization striving to create a compelling vision for the future of our schools and communities. With a revamped website, betterbaldwin.com, monthly e-newsletters, and promotion for Coalition events throughout the year, JJPR has been honored to help elevate branding and awareness for this organization that is ensuring the future of education in Baldwin County.

12. YMCA

As a nationally recognized organization, we have been honored to promote the YMCA of South Alabama to the community it benefits. From managing social media to promoting and planning events, we’ve gained a new love for the family-first philosophy that supports children and adults in our area. One highlight from this year was helping the wonderful fundraising committee with the second annual Gridiron Gala. Not only was the event a huge success, but we thoroughly enjoyed working as a team with the selfless staff and volunteers at the Y. Rubbing elbows with Eli Gold, Jake Coker and Phil Savage was an added bonus.

13. Infirmary Health

We couldn’t have been more excited when Infirmary Health approached JJPR this year to help rebrand a legacy program of Mobile United. The team worked to rebrand and expand the program as Live Better Together to encompass additional counties in Southwest Alabama. With all-new branding and a revamped website, we’ve worked to help create a brand for this program that aims to positively impact the health and well-being of our region by partnering with community leaders and organizations in efforts to achieve a healthy weight and better access to care in our communities.

14. JJ Eyes

What woman (or man) doesn’t love great eyewear? Whether sunglasses or eyeglasses, the ladies at JJPR love every minute of the research and development that goes into managing the social media for JJ Eyes each month. So if you are in Fairhope or Homewood, stop in at one of their stores to ooh and aah over their eyewear – they bring new meaning to eye candy.

15. Eventful Year for Children’s

Once again our work with Children’s of Alabama tops the list as one of our favorites. Helping promote and support events that benefit young patients and their families who have to travel from the Gulf Coast to Birmingham for medical treatment of serious illnesses makes this work most rewarding. From Tee Off Fore a Cure to Boots & BBQ Barn Bash and Children’s Cup Regatta to the Reel Hope Classic Fishing Tournament, we are thankful for another year and another opportunity to work with Children’s.

16. Port City Rentals

We are in love with the new look we helped develop for this 40-year-old company. Having called on the amazing team at Port City Rentals countless times for client events, we were honored when they called on us to develop an all-new brand for Mobile's largest and oldest full-service tent and event rental company. 

We have been tremendously blessed to work with every single client and every single project this past year, not just these 16. Each one is a collaboration and we are grateful to be part of promoting their companies in Alabama and beyond. Cheers to a joyous 2016 and a Happy New Year in 2017!

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, it’s only fitting we take a moment to recognize all we are thankful for here at JJPR—namely, our wonderful clients who keep us busy all year round. And over the past couple of months, we’ve had the opportunity to partner with them on a variety of noteworthy projects, raising funds and awareness for everything from local children’s health care and nonprofit support to new brews in Mobile. Check out what we’ve been buzzing about lately.

Events

Event planning can be hard work, but it’s all worth it in the end—especially when it’s for a good cause. Three of our clients recently held fun events benefiting local children and we were honored to be involved.

Known for its “wow” events (like the annual Dragon Boat Festival), Fuse Project held its inaugural high-stakes poker tournament, Fuse Royale, on October 6 and pulled out all the stops! The exclusive tournament brought together some of the region’s most influential business leaders, raising funds for children across the Gulf Coast over a friendly game of poker. The event raised over $50,000—a portion of which has already gone to benefit local schools. Sarah had fun channeling her inner James Bond to design these cool invitations, and we even tried our hand at wax seals putting it all together!

Children’s of Alabama then held its third annual Boots & BBQ Barn Bash at Camp Grace on October 13. Proceeds from the annual event provide funding for a pediatric rheumatologist to hold clinic in Mobile, allowing easier access to care for children along the Gulf Coast suffering from autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis. Through social media, some creative media relations tactics and day-of support, we were pleased to see Children’s have another successful Barn Bash. One of our favorite parts was assembling these fun media kits (though we’re still finding hay around the office)!

Less than two weeks later, on October 25, we joined the YMCA of South Alabama for its second annual Gridiron Gala, benefiting children and families across the Gulf Coast. Securing media and event attendance was a breeze given the Y’s impressive lineup of speakers this year, including sportscaster Eli Gold, Senior Bowl Executive Director Phil Savage and keynote motivational speaker Dr. Kevin Elko. We had a great night supporting the Y’s wonderful mission—and rubbing elbows with Eli Gold was definitely a perk!

To learn more about how we put events like these together (and for some exclusive tricks of the trade), download our free Event Planning Workbook or get in touch!

Campaigns

In addition to events, some of our clients have taken to social media recently to enlist community support.

For example, we’ve been hard at work branding and promoting the Daphne Public Library’s new More Than Books campaign. The idea behind the campaign is twofold: first, that the library is alive with so much more than just books (in fact, it’s home to nearly 400 public programs and a variety of services utilized by 275,000 visitors annually); and second, that because of this traffic, the library needs community support to build its new multipurpose meeting space, The Porch. Check out some of creative wizard Sarah’s designs for the campaign here.

To learn more, follow the library on Facebook or visit the campaign’s GoFundMe page.

Fuse Project has also been active in the community and on social media lately with the grand opening of its new nonprofit co-working space Fuse Factory, its Order of Fuse Fall Gala, and its new Fuel the Fuse campaign. Coinciding with Giving Tuesday, Fuel the Fuse is all about giving back and recognizing the great work Fuse Project does for the community’s most valuable resource—our children. Through large fundraising events like the annual Dragon Boat Festival and through partnering with other local nonprofits, Fuse supports children across the Gulf Coast. Learn more by following Fuse on social media and checking out their fundraising page.

New Work

When not campaigning for children and literacy, we’ve also been at work supporting one of the coolest new businesses in Mobile—Haint Blue Brewing Company. Fearless leader and Army veteran Keith Sherrill founded Haint Blue last year and is now poised to establish Mobile’s first microbrewery since prohibition. The company has secured the historic 1927 Crystal Ice House as its production space and aims to open doors by Mardi Gras 2017. You may have already seen Keith sitting down with neighbors and sharing a brew, and we hope you’ll join us in toasting the success of Haint Blue! The company is currently seeking investors to fund the project, and has already raised more than $200,000! Learn more about how you can get involved and help build Mobile’s taproom here.

Haint Blue | Taproom Project from John Avent on Vimeo.

We’ve also been thankful to work with another new up-and-coming business in the Mobile-Baldwin region, Perspective Eye Center. Run by Doctors Stephen Gross and David Helton, Perspective aims to provide top quality vision care to patients of all ages, and is opening doors in Spanish Fort soon. We’ve had some fun with branding, logo and website design and just finished the company’s landing page—stay tuned for the full site!

Staff

In addition to the exciting work and wonderful clients, I’m also grateful for the lovely ladies who make it all happen. In recognition of all their hard work, we’ve had some exciting news in the office lately. We recently named Leigh our first-ever managing director. She will now serve as the operational lead for the agency, helping to align business development and client relationships with the overall success of the agency. At the same time, we brought on Taylor full-time as an account coordinator. Having interned with us since spring, Taylor has proven to be an invaluable addition to the team with her hardworking, always ready to lend-a-hand nature, as well as her marketing and social media talents. I can’t say how thankful I am for each one of our special JJPR team members.

Enjoy the holiday and we’ll see you in the next All the Buzz!

With multiple client events taking place simultaneously and lots of new projects coming in, we’ve sure been busy lately. And while some of the girls have been off gallivanting across the country for client meetings, I’ve been here plugging away at developing some exciting new brands and campaigns.

The theme lately has been event planning and what makes a good event. Part of my job as creative director is making sure all the parts of the projects we work on stay true to the brand and work in a cohesive and complementary way.

But, keeping event branding cohesive can be difficult. Once everything starts to flow, the workload can get chaotic and it’s easy to lose focus of the brand’s identity. There are so many pieces to an event that some things can get lost in the shuffle and lose the feel of the overall design. Staying consistent within all pieces of an event helps make your brand recognizable. When you see the red and white Chick-fil A-logo you know you’ll get some good chicken, salty waffle fries and a warm welcome by super cheerful employees. The Chick-fil-A brand is an integral part of every aspect of their business, from the smiling faces of the employees to the illiterate, mischievous cows on their billboards.

Recently, we worked on Fuse Project’s Dragon Boat Festival, which also has a very specific brand. The colors and imagery all needed to be consistent so people knew what they were looking at before they even read the poster or ad copy.

We started with the poster and newspaper ads, posting around town and getting the word out. Then, we translated our designs to digital. Having a strong social media presence in particular was important to our branding strategy for this event. We created social media graphics with the colors and dragon scales that would eventually become synonymous with the Dragon Boat Festival. As the day of the event drew closer, more and more signs and print pieces needed to be created—about 40 different pieces! (Seemed like 500 at the time). Parking passes, ‘do not use’ signs, tent banners, maps and handouts—you name it. The list grew, but we stayed consistent with the branding and the event became a cohesive and unique experience for those involved in the day’s event.

A brand supports, promotes and helps populate an event. Therefore, the branding for any event should be a priority. The more consistently you communicate your brand to the public, the more it will be recognized. With recognition comes more opportunities to reach people you might not have been able to reach before, setting the tone and creating an event people will remember. And having a memorable event (for the good reasons) is always what we’re working toward.

Now that you know how to craft and convey a successful brand for your next event, take a look at our Event Planning Workbook for even more event planning strategies.

Happy planning!