A few days ago, I went to buy picture frames for a poster project I was working on for our new Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA) office. There was a young lady working in the frame department at the time which made me say to myself, “Great, she’ll know what I want and I’ll be out of  here in record time.” So, I explained I was in search of 10″ x 10″ white square frames. “Oh,” she says “they are over here. We have 8″ x 11″ and 11″ x 14″ squares.”  ”No,” says I, “I need squares.”  ”Those are our squares.” I actually left the store bummed. Is it possible she did not know the difference between a square and a rectangle? Isn’t that something you learn in preschool? 

Segue to who we are as a full-service advertising agency at Dynamic Digital and what we expect. First, in terms of excellence, it is always to try and surprise clients with the quality of the work we produce. For example, we routinely provide not one logo when a company comes to us for logo development, we provide ten or twelve truly unique ways our graphic designers feel represents that company, its product/service, and the message they want to convey from a logo. The project coordinators work closely with clients to make sure we are on the same page with every request they make, be it changes to a website or reprints for a brochure, we have a process that ensures the client’s voice is always heard.

To stay competitive today, we have to excel everyday. As we have grown, we have resisted the temptation to isolate ourselves from clients. We do not believe in voicemail. Calls are answered quickly, as are emails. We want our clients to know that working with us on all their advertising, promotional, and marketing needs  includes a personal touch. Organically, our culture at DDA has always given everyone permission to perform.  David and I encourage initiative on every level. We knew when we started DDA that everyone who signs on — be it a programmer or a writer, a videographer or an animation artist, a production support person — has to WANT to deliver excellence. It cannot be foisted on anyone, it has to be the individual’s  choice. We have a saying on our wall “NO AVERAGE PEOPLE WORK HERE.” I should add, no average employee stays. 

“The principle is competing against yourself. It is about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before.” Steve Young    

Since we work a four day, forty-hour week at Dynamic Digital Advertising, Fridays can prove very interesting. New clients express concern that their needs or questions will not be met or answered because they can’t reach a human. When they find out that not only are the project coordinators answering emails on Friday, there is someone at the office to field calls (usually David or I) and when necessary emergencies occur from (”my email can send but not receive” to” I’m getting an error screen” to something more drastic like “my site is down”), someone knowledgeable will contact them within the hour and resolve the issue.

Everyone who works here, writers developing content for a website, support staff doing build out for a website, animators doing Flash, programmers and their everlasting code design, strive to make the relationship between us and our clients a WIN-WIN. Not easy to do for a full-service advertising agency, because there are so many layers to our projects, and because everything we do is custom not borrowed or lifted from some other source. For example, our taglines in postcards and brochures are tailor made for the specific product, the architecture of all our website work is carefully thought out to be user friendly, technically sophisticated and Google minded. I could go on, but you get the point.  

And also on Friday, when I answer the phone, I often get a surprised response from an old client that I am physically in the office. At the same time, that person is delighted to know the request won’t be shuffled off to Monday. In other words, our regulars don’t call on Friday unless it is something that cannot wait. And to them, I say thank you for your thoughtfulness! On Fridays, I also often get a request to come work for DDA from a supplier or a telemarketer or a delivery person. Flattering really, but when time has become as precious as it is today, I know we are blessed to have three-day weekends. Let’s not ever take it for granted by doing our best to tie up loose ends before the close of business on Thursdays.

On the way to work early this morning, I was so tempted to stay home and putter in the yard, listen to the birds, watch the V formation of geese overhead, wave to the power walkers, and maybe even enjoy a cup of coffee while I walk around with my pruning shears. It is a fantasy I have every beautiful April day, and I WILL get to experience it, but not Monday through Thursday. Those are dedicated Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA) days, and I try to give full measure, as do all who work here.

I’m sure the whole crew yearns to be outdoors when the weather is perfect and bug free, and at DDA, we are in the process of improving the big back area of our new digs so we can install picnic benches and fire up the grill before long. Don’t tell anybody, but I’m even thinking hammocks between trees! Meanwhile, we do our collective best to produce.

There is talk of an economic slowdown, but thankfully we are busy with several video projects. Carrie, our lead graphic designer, is working on new print designs for several long-time clients, and yesterday Melissa, another designer, sent a new client two finished images for her trade show booth (a project incidentally with a very tight deadline). Last week, we launched a very sophisticated jewelry website and there is still much to tweak before we are satisfied.  

The tasks of maintenance through search engine optimization and inbound linking continues uninterrupted daily, the conference rooms are booked for long distance meetings–and so the day goes. If you walk around our new offices, it is hard not to notice all the strategically placed clocks, the silent reminder to use time wisely. Like I pointed out in an earlier blog, time is not elastic. Furthermore, we all have the same number of hours allotted to get things done. How we use the 38 hours helps decide if DDA will have a good day, a better week, and then a profitable month. 

Ponder this, “We say we waste time but that is impossible. We waste ourselves.”  ~ Alice Bloch

How’s this for scary statistics; one hundred million trees are ground up each year to create junk mail. It is a waste of everyone’s time and money. In America, we use three billion batteries annually, and since too many of us throw batteries in the trash we collectively add 179,000 tons to the landfills.  So, today at Dynamic Digital Advertising, we are going to change to chargeable batteries. Not as convenient, more expensive to initiate use for our videographers and photographers, but oh so worth it,  if we want to do one more real thing to help our earth. 

Here’s another important statistic; it takes 2,500 gallons of water to bring a pound of hamburger to market. You do the math. If each of us would give up one burger a week…exponentially…I’m bad at math, but you get the picture. At Dynamic Digital Advertising, we know we are all above average in one way or another. Writers with flexibility to switch from creating content to shepherding projects to conclusion, a Print Estimator in Crystal who also wears a Pay-Per-Click management hat and does production coordination to boot, graphic designers who can work on multiple projects simultaneously. All this taking place in an environment that fosters productive output daily. Let’s take our DDA culture and apply it, each in our own way, to consciously care for our earth every day. 

“Motivation is what gets you started, Habit is what keeps you going.”  Jim Ryan

I have a confession to make; green is on my mind heavily these days. In my personal life, I would be classified as an average recycler. You know, turn off lights, don’t let the water run while brushing your teeth, always fill the bins correctly–paper in one, glass in the other, plastic washed and clean in the last bin, don’t use pesticides on the grass. Meaningful, but very small measures in the global scheme.

The statistics on how much it costs to produce plastic bottles, bags, etc. for American use is staggering. It turns out paper products like grocery bags cost even more. Our streams and rivers are more polluted with discarded prescription medicines and antibiotics.  So, at DDA, I am trying to make us truly aware of what a careless society we have become. The first suggestion on how all of us can be more avid as a group came from Laurence, our Director of Motion Arts. “Why don’t we bring our own cups, dishes and utensils?” Great idea. In a couple of weeks, anyone from writers to programmers to designers will have a spot in the kitchen only for their stuff–just like camping. And we are donating clothes, shoes, toys, dishes, pots and pans, and small electrics to American Cancer Research for their fundraising efforts.

Any time we can extend the life of an item by not discarding it, we help the environment. The full impact of less trash is visible when you consider the landfill and the numerous trucks carting waste into Pennsylvania from New York. So less waste has only positive impact on our economic and personal lives. Next, I would like all of us at DDA to repurpose paper. As a creative house, we go through a lot of paper. Let’s reuse.  Take it home for the kids to draw on (Jessie has been doing this for years), use the second side for notes at your desk. Think before you print an article–can you just read it on line. To all staffers, thank you for trying. 

“Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children.” Ancient Proverb  

There is an old bromide that states: You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. While I basically agree with that observation, I think you can alter the original impression so it becomes better or worse. This is especially true in a work environment. Often the first impression from a new employee or new client or new vendor is okay to good. Or it can start by being over-the-top positive depending on agendas. However, the BEST impressions are those that verify your original gut instinct reactions.

The crucial reality is that great working relationships begin and end with trust and mutual respect.  Let us discuss DDA specifically. We all come in Monday and it is hard to buckle down,  boot up, and get in the zone. Some of us are better than others. Deadlines seem especially scary on Monday if you have a frantic call that the file you sent for a trade show project did not download. Now, head to the Video Department and feel the hum. I admire Laurence and the rest of the guys when it comes to what has to be done. From blog writing on,  almost to a man, and almost daily, their blogs are written and posted before the 10:00 am deadline and their daily tasks lists are posted.

The Video Production Department is also very aware of relevant topics, and their blogs are informative of process, tools they use, and how and what excites them about their work. Emails about projects show up even before they go in to get breakfast. So I would like to congratulate Laurence, Vinnie, Rob, Jake, and Andrew for their dedication to excellence. They help set the standard for the rest of us! 

Americans are a very pampered people. We take so much for granted, beginning with our alarm clocks summoning us to start our day. We expect a hot shower, we expect the morning news on TV as usual, we know our cars will start,  and that no unnecessary lines of traffic will slow our drive to work.  If we stop for a breakfast sandwich and it takes more than three minutes (REALLY) at the takeout window, we frown.

When we arrive at work,  those of us who work at DDA expect breakfast on Mondays and beer on Thursday night, BUT we also expect to have some hectic moments while we solve problems that range from “Why isn’t my email working” to “I need this ASAP” to “What can we do…” (you fill in the blanks). And we diligently work behind the scenes to keep things moving as seamlessly as possible.

I often see furrowed brows on our programmers as they try to decipher problems a client’s IT person messed up. I see the hustle that takes place when we rush to get proofs to a company because of tight deadlines. I listen as our print estimator, Crystal explaining what we humanly can and cannot do in a given timeframe. I hear the back and forth between writers as they write and edit and proof content for a medical project.

There is a hum, an energy that resonates throughout the building as we work to fulfill clients expectations. And if you look at the testimonial pages of our corporate and medical portfolios, you will see that clients appreciate our efforts! And so it goes.

We have some clients who have a very limited understanding of what a website with an ecommerce component does. They think that a well-designed site with relevant content, and search engine optimization services will soon turn them into millionaires. This mentality is what we refer to as the ”if you build it, they will come” syndrome.

These clients totally miss the way Google works. True, DDA designed the site well; true, it has relevant content; true, our search engine marketing specialists do a good job of optimizing the site,  but how does it compare to the competition? If company X has 100 great pages, and the competition includes sites with a 2,000 great pages (all things being equal), the heftier sites win out when a customer Googles. 

DDA absolutely can accomplish first-page rankings on major search engines, but website development must be based on our keyword research, competitive intelligence, content planning, and optimization. We understand what needs to be done, and when given the resources, anything is possible. Clients need to fully understand the process and realities.

What many clients fail to realize is their placement in the spectrum of their particular product. If  company X sells a product that competes with similar product in the big box stores, guess where the customer ends up buying. There are some caveats to this simplified statement, the most important being selling to the local customers, but using the website as a sales tool and catalog not for actual online sales.

Concentrating on a specific trading area is a very wise strategy for many businesses. The really savvy clients get this, and work accordingly. Paying attention to their site daily, keeping it up to date, coming to us for changes and maintenance on a regular basis. Just like everything alive — a website needs to be nourished or it will wither.

The great poet, T.S. Eliot, declared “April is the cruelest month” and I am adding but in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, April is  breathtakingly beautiful. Anyone who enjoys the outdoors relishes the rich yellows and pinks and snow white blooms from daffodils, tulips, azaleas bushes, crabapple and dogwood trees, and the way sunlight plays with grass in the late afternoon. So as stewards, we should also be cognizant of our responsibility to protect our earth.

At Dynamic Digital Advertising (DDA), we have a good start. We work a four-day week, so we use less gas and less electricity. We recycle glass and plastic, and when it is time for lunch, we try to have one person order for others or at least drive together to pick up. Those who bring lunch and snacks carry their food in reusable containers.  We have the copiers set to draft to use less toner. We save boxes and reuse them to ship.  We turn off unnecessary lights. Good start but we can do more.

With Earth Day right around the corner, I hope each of us will look for one more thing we can do to walk lightly on our earth. Being socially conscious should be a habit. As a forward thinking and very creative group of writers, graphic designers, videographers, programmers and search engine optimization (SEO) specialists, being green should be DDA’s watchword.      

If you were to ask ten clients what Dynamic Digital Advertising does for them, you would probably get six or seven different answers. Some clients utilize only our print design and print production services, but these clients come to us for bread and butter business cards, brochures, postcards, and sometimes even a few exotic print projects that include die cuts, special folds, etc. Some clients think of us as their web developer. We build the website, work closely with them to assure their message is clear in word and image, and the site is first rate, and as part of our web services, do their search engine optimization and maintenance work.

I have even heard a client call us “their photographer” because that is all we do for that company. Then there are the clients who work with us because we can take care of all their needs. Maybe this month it is preparing for trade shows and we are tasked with everything from concept to creation of booth graphics to dealing with the trucking companies who deliver the booths and the special furniture and counters, and the extra large TV screens for viewing the videos we created of the client’s product.

So we are a different vendor to different clients. The crucial reality is that as a full-service advertising agency we can and do work diligently to always create custom designs, for each company that chooses to work with us. And we do so with a team that includes graphic designers, videographers, animators, illustrators and some of the best copywriters who also juggle other duties like project coordination. 

If I sound like I am proud of us, it is because I am. I often tell new clients who marvel at the depth of our services, that we are a well kept secret in this business!