Do Design Awards Matter?

Well of course they do, but not how you might think.

They don’t often get you new accounts, but they certainly matter to your design staff who need and deserve the praise for a job well done. There was a survey going around a couple of years ago that asked people if they had the choice between winning an Oscar or an award for a scientific discovery, which would they choose? Surprisingly most chose the Oscar. It seems being in the limelight and dressed up in front of your peers at a gala event means a lot.

So why do clients care? People in marketing responsible for choosing a firm to work with are always under a lot of pressure. How better to validate their decision to their bosses when the firm they chose wins awards on their behalf. Now please don’t misconstrue this. Awards never replace who the ultimate winners are. They are announced later when you do or don’t get a call for the next assignment after your client evaluates the success of the strategy on their bottom line!
















So with that being said, I want to say kudos to my amazing and talented staff and to our very smart clients for choosing us. The Byne Group Took Home 10 Big W Awards this June including several honors for its work on Nyack Hospital’s Get to Know the Doctors Who Trust Nyack Hospital Image Campaign. Amy Massimo, Nyack Hospital's Director of Public Affairs, said it best: “The Byne Group worked extensively for us to develop cohesive, effective and targeted marketing campaigns and they all proved to be widely successful.” Amy let us know that we succeeded at our most important job by helping Nyack Hospital's bottom line!

The firm also earned Big W's for work for The Hollows at Blue Hill, Dominican College, Catholic Charities and United Hospice of Rockland.

How many of you have lived through the college admissions process?

-By Ann Byne

I recently followed my nephew’s search with great interest. It’s been quite awhile since I went through it with my own kids and I was curious how things had changed since the Internet and new media. Not to mention that as a strategic design agency it was research that we could share with our own higher education clients.

Researching the college marketplace through CASE, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The New York Times to name a few, the funniest or saddest quote I read (depending on your perspective) was from an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “What Admissions Officials Think,” by Eric Hoover.

“My success,” wrote a male admissions official at a public institution, “is determined by the decision-making prowess of 17 year-olds.”

Yikes, not a great position to be in.

Wanting to dig deeper, we conducted our own tri-state survey on line contacting a few high school seniors we knew going through the process. Through “viral marketing” efforts (you know, the internet’s version of “word of mouth!) they forwarded our survey on to their friends who forwarded it on to their friends and so on and so on. Their comments confirmed some things we all know; yet some were quite enlightening. Who'd ever think that a teenager in 2008 would hate getting emails?

"Who’d ever think that a teenager in 2008 would hate getting emails?"

Well, it’s not hating getting one email, but try 200 on any given day from colleges they’ve approached for basic info. and may not even want to attend!! They still like holding brochures in their hands but when they receive it in the process became crucial. The first few received at College night or mail had a positive impact, but towards the end of their search they were crying Uncle and dumping materials into the garbage left and right. Not great for the colleges or the environment.

Students today are spending a lot of time visiting sites not affiliated with any particular college. Favored were campusdirt.com and collegeconfidential.com. Lots of great info can be found but some quotes on these sites can be brutal. Example: “Dorms are crowded, old, and in need of renovation. Dorm students are forced to pay for a large meal plan, even if they do not use it. Many hidden costs.” A disaster if you were the college mentioned!

One school we’ve been in contact with has stopped producing and mailing any view books. They direct all inquiries to their web and send e-mails. Have they gone too far?

Have we come to the point that the overabundance of e-technology communications turns off this generation?

So what’s an admissions officer to do?

We heard that kids want real stories, from real students about real life at college, not generic pretty pictures and definitely not in the same old formats. Here’s just a few quotes from our survey.

1. “Too many mass emails. I have gotten at least 200 and it’s quite annoying.”
2. You contacted me by mail “wayyy too much”
3. …”Everything seemed to be the same.”
4. “After the first few months I threw out almost all the pamphlets without even reading them.”
5. “I got the most mail from the schools I cared the least about.”
6. “Sometimes the brochures would be very dry and un-interesting, which turned me off from some colleges that I had been previously interested in.”
7. I want more “personal experience stories.”
8. “Most of them (pictures) look way too posed.”

Some other notable research reports I would recommend:

1. From HS to the Future: Potholes on the Road to College, March 2008
Although this is research done by the Consortium on Chicago schools it has great research on first generation college students many from latino immigrant families.

2. 2008 Moody’s Public Finance, 2008, U.S. Higher Education Outlook
which talks about the dramatic changes expected in enrollment.

And by the way if you were wondering, my nephew will begin at The College of NJ in the fall.

Rockland and Beyond- The Byne Group Staying on Top of the Issues Effecting our Clients

The Byne Group continues to stay on top of local issues and opportunities effecting our clients, particularly those in the higher education, healthcare and financial arenas. Constant vigilance on hot topics concerning our customers keep us on top of our game with ready access to the information and research areas available that can help our clients make useful and financially key decisions.

In line with this thought, Mary Ellen Hoffman, our strategy/business development director, recently attended the 3rd Annual Hudson Valley Regional Economic Summit held at neighboring Rockland Community College. The Summit is a seven-county effort designed to explore local, national and global economic issues. It focuses on the current state of the region’s infrastructure and identifies strategies to address the challenges. The intent is that the strategies will be adopted as priorities by lawmakers and other public policy officials and by leaders in the business and education communities.

Much of the dialogue of the day was how transportation and economic health go hand in hand and how to retain more of the 200,000 Hudson Valley commuters going to NYC, NJ and CT on a daily basis on roads and bridges over 50 years old. What was striking about the consortium of speakers was how they all must work in such minute detail to get anything done, i.e. – the traffic light on College Road entering Rockland Community College campus – a state road, a county road, a town road…finding out who was in charge took quite a while for President of RCC, Dr. Cliff Woods, but ultimately resulted in the needed traffic light. Pattern for Progress President & CEO, Jonathan Drapkin, opened the seminar with 15 Transportation Priorities needed in the Hudson Valley. Pattern is a regional planning organization that has for more than four decades shaped public policy initiatives to improve life in the Hudson Valley.

We applaud RCC for hosting this event and urge our colleagues, clients and friends to visit Pattern’s website at www.pattern-for-progress.org to learn more.

2008 Healthcare Reform Summit

At The Byne Group, it is important for us to stay on top of the trends, issues, threats and opportunities that effect the industries of our clients. With several healthcare clients, ranging from large hospitals to regional visiting nurses associations and hospice groups, we pride ourselves in staying on top of the news and bringing an understanding of current events into the work we produce.

As members of the Healthcare Professionals Public Relations and Marketing Society, we consistently attend symposiums and educational forums to maintain our status as knowledgeable marketers who also collaborate with strategic communications partners to bring the best possible end product to our customers.

Our principal, Ann Byne, recently attended the 2008 Healthcare Reform Summit in New York, hosted by an organization called the Executive Council. "The Executive Council is a dynamic, innovative forum for senior executives, their advisors and capital markets professionals to network in a highly collaborative and stimulating environment,"Ann said.

She continued, "The event was designed to provide healthcare leaders with insights into why and how healthcare reform is critical to our country and our businesses. The event focused on whether we can rely on our marketplace forces to address healthcare reform and the overall impact of reform on our academic health centers and medical schools, the Life Sciences community, small businesses and Wall Street.

It was a cutting edge session with powerful business and policy leaders from some of the world's most innovative healthcare institutions. Some of the speakers included Pamela Brier, President and CEO, Maimonides Medical Center, Dr. Ronald M. Davis, President of the American Medical Association and Mark Wagar, CEO & President, Empire BlueCross BlueShield.

Cathy Schoen, SVP, The Commonwealth Fund opened the conference with a fascinating discussion on "Bending the Curve: Options for Achieving Savings and Improving Value in US Health Spending." In this report prepared for The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System, the authors examine 15 federal policy options that have the potential to lower health spending relataive to projected trends. The full report is available at www.commonwealthfund.org.

The interactive sessions covered topics high on the list of issues facing our US candidates. Everyone would agree that the current healthcare system is unsustainable. What is the best way to change the system? Full market-based? Governmental-run? Speakers touched on Universal Coverage, Rising Health Care Costs, Gaps in Quality Care as well as the roles played by state and federal government."


~Mary Ellen Hoffman
strategy/business development, The Byne Group

The Mistrusted “B” Word

In my work I am asked to help non-profits strategically analyze and improve their marketing across all mediums. After being hired, it’s inevitable that people within the organization will ask why they have to spend money and time on branding when let’s face it, they have so little of either.

Some staff will find the term alien, even off-putting, so make sure that all staff understands that a brand is not just a logo or a tagline or a mission statement. It is the overall impressions, good or bad that your organization leaves behind, from the materials you send out, to your website being current to the person who answers the phone.

So what are some ways to make everyone on the boat row in the same direction? In my opinion the key is in involving all levels of the staff. It may be a focus group, a task force or asking for input on current perceptions. We all want to be listened too, taken seriously and have our opinions valued. Hiring an outside firm can help create a non-judgmental atmosphere and a promise of no repercussions from upper management. The best cheerleading begins from within an organization and then naturally emanates to the people in the stands.

Now if only we can find a better word than branding, any suggestions out there?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

NY Times Small Business Interview

NY Times, Small Business—Interview
The Byne Group
-November 30, 2007

The award-winning Byne Group is a full service strategic design, branding, web and advertising design firm. Founded by Ann Mendelsohn Byne in 1990 and incorporated in 1998, it is headquartered in the historic Montebello mansion in Rockland County. Since its inception The Byne Group has become a cutting edge marketing and design firm, with a diverse client base, encompassing health, technology, consumer products and services, higher education and B2B. The Byne Group’s goal is to create comprehensive marketing programs that meet the specific objectives of each and every client, regardless of size and budget. This personalized approach has helped The Byne Group attract and more importantly, retain its clients.

Q: Design is a black art for a lot of people, plus there is the issue of taste... "chacun a son gout." But sometimes-small businesses need to upgrade their look. How do they know it's time to make that project a priority?

A: The right “look” or “brand” should be a priority for any size firm and it doesn’t have to break the bank! I tell my clients to start small, you don’t have to build a mansion, just start off with a small home with a strong foundation and lots of room to add. Assess the materials you use, are they consistent in look, do they still reflect who you and your target markets are, if not its time to update their “look or “brand”.

I don’t know if most small businesses truly understand what a brand is. It tends to be the marketing buzzword of the hour. A “brand” encompasses a company name, logo, tagline, business cards, etc. But in essence it is much more… a brand is a piece of real estate your business occupies in a persons mind, and the related impressions, good or bad that it leaves behind. Wouldn’t we all want to control that? When you meet someone for the first time we are judged on so many levels; how we speak, our demeanor, dress, color of our hair, even how we shake their hand. Think of each trait as parts of your brand, and the whole package is the overall “brand” impression you leave behind.

Q: Running a small business for the first time means lots of new challenges. What part of entrepreneurship have you worked hardest on?

A: For me it has always been learning to take a “leap of faith”. I was the middle child, and honestly I don’t believe there were ever any high expectations for me other than getting married and raising a family. I am just not a risk taker and when I read books about entrepreneurs that’s always one the top personality traits. So how I approach growth throughout my 20 years of business is probably a bit different from the norm….. I look at where I am at any given time in my business and my personal life and ask myself one simple question, would I still feel good about my business and myself if 5 in years I was in the same place? When you make yourself accountable in that way it can really motivate you to make changes fast.

I will probably always struggle with taking chances, but I feel good about where I am today and look forward to achieving my goals for my next “leap of faith”.


Q: What would you do if you weren't in business for yourself?

A: In my generation all little girls wanted to be just like the character Nurse Nancy from the golden book series, the books had band-aids and cool stuff for playing make-believe, even then, cross-marketing existed! Unfortunately as a teenager I realized I couldn’t walk into a hospital without feeling horribly sad and sorry for everyone so my first dream was abandoned.

When I went to Pratt I had a dual major of art education and graphic design. I still teach classes on marketing and branding occasionally and love the interaction with the audience. Fortunately I have the opportunity as creative director of my own firm to mentor and teach my own amazing staff. I think if I wasn’t running my own business I would like to be a full time college professor trying to inspire the next generation of designers.