ClearEcho Communications

Clear and Simple Communications

 

ClearEcho provides corporate communications services for companies and agencies large and small. 

• copywriting for print or web
• corporate video production
• strategic communications planning
• quick and accurate proofing services

We refine or rebuild your communications plans, enhance your brand and pull your customers and prospects closer to you.
Contact us at clearecho@tampabay.rr.com or call 727-644-5791. 

In the can...

Congratulations to the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) on the completion of the 2008-09 edition of "Build Your Future", a video featuring construction projects and careers all over the country.  This video, under 'construction' for the past four months, will be used in classrooms and at career fairs all over the country to build interest and enthusiasm for the proud tradition of construction excellence as a great career choice.  ClearEcho was thrilled to work with DreamKeepers Media to bring this video to life.  Shot in hi-def and featuring graphics and styling similar to extreme sports programming, this piece shows the excitement, variety and opportunity available in a construction career.  Check out 'Experience Construction' online. Great job, NCCER!

Congratulations our pro bono client!

Holy Family Parish in St. Petersburg, Fl, has launched a major capital campaign and is looking forward to great success over the next several months.  Mindful of the economy as well as the needs of their campus, they are forging ahead with a positive effort which is gaining support each day.

We are pleased and proud of the work ClearEcho and team has accomplished in support of this effort, including a campaign theme and identity and a full suite of materials. 

To see the campaign brochure, click on Download OurFaithOurFamilyBROCHUREweb.pdf.

Looking for Proof?

Maybe it's old school, but we love to read the paper in the morning.  Reading news on the web is great and timely, but the morning news on a broadsheet is a great way to start the day.  Unfortunately for the paper, we rarely read the ads unless there is something unusual about the layout or headline that grabs attention and that brings us to the value of proof.

About a week ago, we saw a very elegant ad for a luxury car.  It was over half the page in height, had great placement on the right-hand page, an image of the car and about 4 or 5 sparse lines of copy.  Very nice and eye-catchy, so we read the copy, too. 

Apparently, the dealer/manufacturer/ad agency responsible for placing this ad did everything right except have the ad proofed.  These few lines of copy contained one typo and two grammatical errors.  And just like that, the smart quality of the ad (and everyone associated with it) was gone.

In hard economic times like these, the decision to spend thousands of dollars to create and place advertising should always be well thought out and executed to the highest quality.  Spend a couple of dollars.  Hire a proofer to look over everything you're sending out there.  It's a smart move.

September is Shameless Promotion Month!

Yes, we mentioned this in our June post and Shameless Promotion month is just a great time to talk about some of the very cool things that we have done at ClearEcho recently.  Of note, we are very proud to announce that the 'Protect! Don't Infect!' animation/live action video, created in concert with Omni Productions, has earned a Telly Award.  Scroll down to the last post for more info on that fun and effective project.  

Also, ClearEcho Communications has completed a pro-bono project for Holy Family Parish in St. Petersburg to lead the communications team in the creation of a full suite of capital campaign, including a theme and logo.  We're very pleased with the work and will upload a few samples to our work page.

We're working on a few big projects today and will post results in a few weeks.  We hope your September is going well and give us a call if you need help with your next promotion - shameless or not!

Who knew germs could be this much fun?

Back in March we posted a note about 'Germ Wars', an animated and live action video designed to teach kids basic hygiene techniques.   The campaign, Protect! Don't Infect!, has been wildly successful in Orange County and has fans well beyond the county lines.  As a matter of fact, it was recently included in Health Advisor, a department of health newsletter for the state of Florida.

 

Creating a piece like this is a really interesting process, so it was documented by Omni Productions and the completed behind-the-scenes video, "Germination of an Idea: The Making of Germ Wars," is now available online.  This new video features: 

* Behind the scenes footage
* Interviews with the writers, artists and health department officials 
* Bloopers and out takes.   

Check out this fun look behind the curtain and let us know what you think. 

 

Creating a behind-the-scenes video is a great way to document a project, thank volunteers and contributors or give your customers a unique view of your business.  How could you give prospective customers a different view of what you do?

What are you doing this month? 4 Quick Tips

June is a great month, and we at ClearEcho are always interested in what is 'official' each month - silly or not. June is Accordion Awareness Month, Candy Month (YES!) and also Turkey Lovers' Month.  We would have expected that in November, but there it is.

More importantly, June is Effective Communications Month AND Entrepreneurs "Do It Yourself" Marketing Month, two of our favorites and hence our question:  What are you doing this month?

Here are 4 quick things you can do to celebrate June in your business:

1. Have someone outside your company or organization read through your brochures, printed materials and/or website. Ask this person: do you understand what our business priority is? What would be the top three things you would want to know? Their answers could let you know if your messages are outdated and if you are communicating effectively. If not, time to update materials.
2. Watch your own promotional videos. Are they dated or lacking new information? Is it time to update them or, if they are still fresh, add them to your website?  Don't have any? 
3. For the do-it-yourselfers, try some guerilla tactics in June. Leave your promotional videos in odd places where your potential customers are likely to find them. Host an event at your store/office/location. Invite new clients and those you haven't seen in a while.
4. Don't have a public relations department? Spend a little time on the phone calling business reporters in your area. Ask them how best to share industry news with them and ask what kinds of things they would be interested in knowing about.  Then, when you have an announcement, you'll know how best to share it and they'll know who you are.  (Tip: Do not ask them to promote your business.)

Don't procrastinate about your business communications and call in the pros when you need help.  Remember, September is right around the corner and you'll want to celebrate Shameless Promotion Month in style!  

Need writing?  ClearEcho can help.

In the can... and online just in time for flu season!

The Orange County Health Department has launched a brand new campaign to teach youngsters basic hygiene skills to prevent the spread of disease.  The "Protect! Don't Infect" campaign features a cartoon video, "Germ Wars," radio and television spots and a website where kids, parents and teachers can watch the video, download posters and even get their own PDI Agent badge as seen in the video.   ClearEcho joined Omni Productions to concept and create the video and elements of the campaign. 

It was great fun and we hope kids in the Orange County School District and beyond will all become enthusiastic PDI agents.  Check it out at www.protectdontinfect.com.

Fresh on the web!

Congratulations to Associated Marine Institutes (AMI) on the launch of their brand new web site.  ClearEcho is pleased to handle content development and ongoing writing support as they build their brand.  AMI provides guidance, education and direction for teens who have gone before a judge and need to turn their lives around.  Thier fantastic work and important mission are truly inspirational.   Check it out at  www.amikids.org

Non-profits looking for support? How much do you say?

When organizations are creating new brochures, websites or videos to get support, oftentimes we have found that they want to say everything in one piece. They are investing in production, want to share all of their specialized knowledge and every part of their work is important.  True!  The problem, however, is that busting out everything all at once is not usually what the prospective customer, donor or end user is looking for.  This is akin to shouting at people on the street corner.  How do individuals respond to that?  Usually, they avert their eyes and walk by.   

Your organization’s information is good and goals are noble, but this approach is so overwhelming as to leave the audience thinking that the problem is too big and they can’t solve it so will avoid it altogether.

A better approach
Make them care.  Draw your audience in with a compelling story and then give them just enough information that they would be interested in getting more. Then STOP. 

Want to know how?  We can help.

In the can...

Congratulations to our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Dunedin, Fl, completed their first promotional video and launched it this week for Catholic Schools Week.  We enjoyed working with them very much and wish them great success in their marketing and awareness campaigns.  You can see the piece on our 'Video Samples' page.