My dad got a new (gently used) car and for once didn’t haggle at all. What’s wrong with him? He was apparently so excited about the trade-in values for the Mustang that he didn’t bother haggling. It was the highest trade-in offer we’d ever got on the Mustang in the two years we’ve been trying to trade it in. My dad was never quite sold on the Mustang since it had horrible gas mileage, was bad in snow since it had rear wheel drive, and didn’t have much cargo space at all. He’s been trying to get rid of it and finally got an offer that he liked after a long time.

Now he’s got something that he picked out that he likes with great gas mileage, front wheel drive, plenty of space, and four doors. It’s a 2010 too so it’s got a bunch of the nice little frills that current technology has to offer. For goodness sakes though, why didn’t he go the extra step and haggle a little bit! Not haggling to me seems like the equivalent of not getting a good trade-in value. I assume that all car dealers have a little extra padding in the price expecting to need to haggle. Then they can drop the price and let the customer think they won, while still getting the sale price they are happy with for their own profit. Not haggling just pads the car salesman’s pockets extra. My dad’s been a known haggler so I was really surprised to hear that he didn’t do anything. Oh well. At least he likes the car he got now.

There’s no haggling or trade-ins with DDA. We quote, we work, and we charge a set hourly rate for the work we did with documented expended time for it all. So no matter if we are working on 3D animation, custom web design, advanced programming, video editing, or something else. You will know what you are getting and we’ll detail what we did and how long it took. So give us a call or visit and see what we can do for you.

The weatherman did not predict it, but last night’s torrential downpour was truly welcome. Bucks County’s gardens have been parched. I know it is time to bid adieu to hostas and other summer plants, but the see-saw from Fall and back to summer temperatures has the plant world confused.

Kind of what’s happening in the economic world. There was a very big announcement that the recession has ended. However, the jobless claims rose unexpectedly this week, so tell that to families caught in that downward spiral. Companies are still laying off workers and ALL companies (big and small) want more assurance going forward about how health care and taxes are going to impact the bottom line.

At DDA, we have our belts on tight, and we continue to work hard to fill our pipeline with new projects. We are blessed with great work for our video experts who are making progress on a very sophisticated provider portal application. Our animators are working with blood platelets for an interactive website/video project for another important client ( still in the hush-hush phase). And our graphic designers have too much to do. Those of us who support their efforts through production work, business development and administrative details push to keep our well-oiled marketing and advertising machine humming.

Yes, there is hope.

Like American writer Sarah Breathnach wrote, “Expect hope to be rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last.”

This morning’s cold chill was a slap in the face when I walked out the door, but I opted to remain coatless for my trip to work. I marched on toward my car while fallen leaves crunched under my footsteps and then opened the door. Inside the car I saw that a morning moisture had covered my windows. That hasn’t happened in a while now and luckily it wasn’t frosted over so a quick windshield wiping cleared it all away. Obviously the seasonal shift is in full swing. I sat in my car and started my journey and kept noting that I was cold. Not freezing, but cold enough to be uncomfortable and a little shivery. So for the first time in a while I actually turned on the car heat again. Boy did that heat feel nice. I didn’t have to run it the whole way, but enough to keep things comfortable. Then it crossed my mind. It was the realization that I might need to start wearing a coat again. Oh boy, that’s a little bit of a sad thought. The bulky winter coat wearing is the nail in the coffin and makes me officially declare for myself that Fall is here and Winter is on the way.

At DDA the arrival of Fall is seen as a good thing. We don’t factor in the weather since we work indoors, but we do factor in the amount of projects we get. Fall has been declared to be the busy season. Fall is the time when everyone is done their vacations and may start or resume projects.  Fall is also the time when businesses are gearing up their advertising campaigns or websites for the fast approaching holiday season so that they can have their own successful busy season. Those products aren’t going to sell themselves if nobody knows about them. That’s why advertising is so crucial. It can give you brand recognition and let consumers know that your product exists. That way they can either shop specifically for it or choose it over another brand due to their familiarity with it.

DDA offers all the services you need. We do digital photography, Internet video, 3D animation, graphic design, copywriting, advanced programming, and more. So no matter what type of advertising campaign or sales tactic you want to employ, DDA can help you set it up to generate the sales you need. Give us a call or visit and see what we can do for you.