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!

As 2015 comes to a close, reflecting on the portfolio of work that has been created by the JJPR team is, well, humbling. Our small but mighty team works collaboratively with some amazing clients to create smart, resourceful campaigns that ultimately help their bottom line. And that makes us smile.

So, while it was hard to narrow the list, here are our top 15 picks from 2015:

Advancing Southwest Alabama

 The future of manufacturing in the Southwest Alabama region is bright and people are taking notice. After the Southwest Alabama region received a national designation by the U.S. Department of Commerce as one of the first 12 “Manufacturing Communities in the U.S.” through the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnerships (IMCP), JJPR was honored to name and brand this designation for our region, (IMCP didn’t quite roll off the tongue). After lots of research and development, the committee selected Advancing Southwest Alabama as the name of Southwest Alabama’s manufacturing community initiative and chose this logo to brand themselves. We also had the opportunity to develop a website to promote manufacturing successes in our region.

Publicizing the Port

We would be remiss if we didn’t include the Alabama State Port Authority on our list. Each quarter, we enjoy producing the Alabama Seaport magazine, the longest continually published Port magazine in the country, as well as producing their advertising and placing media. From expansions to new partnerships, being part of this vital economic driver for our local, regional and national economy is pretty sweet, kind of like our iced tea.

Creating Chemistry with BASF

 In mid-2015, we began working with the world’s leading chemical company, BASF, and their McIntosh, Alabama, operations. This 150-year-old company creates chemistry that enables us to enjoy many products and solutions that contribute to improving our quality of life. And we’re enjoying telling their story and the many great things they do in our community every day, from sponsoring the BASF Kids Lab at the Gulf Coast Exploreum to providing educational grants for K-12 schools in our area to enhance science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning.

Power it Up

This year we had the opportunity to work with Baldwin EMC, the largest electric cooperative in the state of Alabama and one of the fastest-growing electric cooperatives in the nation, on a couple of fun, creative projects that were also aimed at helping our community. We teamed up with their awesome internal marketing team to build two creative campaigns to convey the Power of Giving.

Land in Baldwin

As a Baldwin County, Alabama-based business, we are passionate about being part of projects that help drive the local economy. So we got a little giddy when we had the opportunity to create new branding and a website for the South Alabama MegaSite, a 3009-acre Certified MegaSite and Advantage Site strategically located on the I-10 aerospace and automotive corridor with easy access to the Port of Mobile, air, and rail. We know people are going to find that Baldwin County is shovel ready.

The Camellia Company

What woman in the South doesn’t swoon over beautiful heirloom children’s clothing? Well, the ladies at JJPR can easily say we loved every minute of the research and development that went into branding this new children’s clothing line that is being developed right here in the Port City by two savvy female entrepreneurs. Let’s just say if you are a fan of bonnets, monograms, and signature polos, you will go crazy over this new line.

Eventful Year for Children’s

We have a soft spot for children - that’s why our work with Children’s of Alabama is naturally 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 Barn Bash and Children’s Cup Regatta to the first-ever Reel Hope Classic Fishing Tournament, we were honored to be part of these events for Children’s which exceeded expectations for support and attendance.

Celebrating Milestones

2015 marks the 20^th anniversary for Hargrove Engineers + Constructors. If there has ever been an entrepreneurial success story, this is it and we love having the opportunity to tell this story. From its humble beginnings in 1995 with two people and a big idea based out of a home office in Mobile, Alabama, Hargrove has grown to more than 1,150 team members in 11 locations throughout the U.S. Hargrove provides unparalleled service in engineering, procurement, construction management, and technical services in the industrial, commercial, and government sectors, and its mantra of “the Right People, in the Right Place, at the Right Time” results in collaborative partnerships with amazing results.

Bean-Counting Branding

Accounting definitely doesn’t have to be boring, at least that is what we decided when we had the opportunity to work on this new brand for Hieronymus CPAs, a Mobile-based accounting firm led by father and son accountants Mark and Brooks Hieronymus. Hieronymus CPAs has built their business on the same values as JJPR – a focus on providing quality customer service to local companies, small and large, with the expertise of supersize firms, all while keeping family priority.

Branding the Eastern Shore

Representing the voice of all business on the Eastern Shore, the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce engaged us to help develop a new brand identity for the Chamber. After conducting primary and secondary research, we’ve developed a new brand for the organization as well as for their new investment program to communicate the Chamber’s identity as a service organization providing beneficial services to their members to promote business development. Additionally, the brand will help convey them as a flexible, dynamic organization promoting business, building community relationships, advocating on behalf of business, and advancing tourism and workforce development for our area. We can’t wait until they throw back the veil in early 2016 on the new brand.

Fairhope Educational Enrichment Foundation

We love a meaty research project, and we were honored when the Fairhope Educational Enrichment Foundation approached us to help gain insight through primary, quantitative research to set priorities for the Foundation’s programming and best create messaging that resonates with its audiences for strategic planning and marketing efforts.

Innovation PortAL

Our team worked with a group of visionary leaders to help develop the business plan for Innovation PortAL, a new business incubator and accelerator for the South Alabama region. We are currently working on the brand identity, so stay tuned for the reveal in 2016. In the meantime, you can learn a little more at this landing page we created at www.innovation-portal.com.

DISC for Daphne

We love when a big idea comes together, so we were pumped when the Daphne City Council approved the new Daphne Innovation and Science Complex (DISC), a 30-acre technology park that will offer high-end office space on the Eastern Shore ultimately drawing businesses that will bring thousands of high-paying jobs right here to our community. Helping build a brand identity and collateral materials to market DISC, we were excited to be part of what is anticipated to be a major catalyst for economic development in our area.

No Bodies Please

When two super-smart female entrepreneurs with healthcare credentials using every letter of the alphabet walk into your office to brand their new company, the first word that comes to mind might be intimidating. So we had to ask all the right questions and make sure we pinpointed exactly what they were looking for in their brand. Our favorite part of the kick off meeting was when they said “no bodies please” - we knew we were going to adore this client. We must have nailed it because this project for Specialized Therapy Services goes down in the books as the quickest decision ever on a branding project. These ladies know exactly what they want and we can’t wait to watch their business flourish.

Put a Tent On It

Having called on our friends John and Brad and their amazing team over at Port City Rentals countless times for client events, the tables (and tents) were turned 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 die for this new look we’re putting on this 40-year-old company, and we think you will too.

We have been tremendously blessed to work with every single client and every single project this past year, not just these 15. Each one is a collaboration and for that we are grateful to be part of sharing their products and services with the world. And we can’t wait to continue those collaborations in 2016. Happy New Year!