The search is over: announcing our newest addition

SLANT is pleased to announce that Davis Barnes has joined the firm as head of Marketing Intelligence.

With over 10 years of marketing and business development experience, Davis will be working with SLANT’s clients not only to maintain relationships but to guide them through each step of their project and make sure their marketing plans are well defined and executed.

Davis comes to SLANT after serving a sponsorship management role at Family Circle Cup, a premier international women’s tennis tournament. She worked with marketing leaders at Family Circle Cup’s parent company, Meredith Corporation, to incorporate advertisers at the company’s various media holdings (Family Circle, Better Homes and Gardens, Fitness, More, etc.) into the Family Circle Cup event platform.

Davis earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Virginia and fully intends to be counted among their notable alumni, right next to Katie Couric.  Despite our serious addiction to Clemson, we won’t give her too much of a hard time for being a wahoo.

“The role of Marketing Intelligence at SLANT has developed quite a reputation with our clients, and we’re happy that Davis has accepted the challenge of building on that tradition”, says Will Bullock, partner and head of Graphic Intelligence.

Founding partner and Creative Director Christopher Cecil said: “I just hope she doesn’t notice that’s a cardboard cutout of me in my office down there. I think I forgot to tell her I'm working out of our new Greenville office.”

Despite the unfortunate trend of California defections [exhibit A, exhibit B] we’ve encountered, Davis is an exceptional addition to the SLANT team. We hope you’ll like her as much as we do.  Come by and say hello or email her: dbarnes (at) slantmedia.net.

Christopher is a 2011 CRBJ Forty under 40 winner!

He's smart, he's successful and he opened SLANT six years ago when he was just 25. (We won't mention that brief stint in the slammer)

And if all that wasn't enough, we just heard that Christopher won a spot in the Charleston Regional Business Journal's "Forty under 40" class of 2011. This CRBJ distinction "recognizes 40 local business and professional leaders living and doing business in the Charleston region who are making their mark with professional and community involvement and are under 40 years of age." 

The Forty under 40 winners will be interviewed and photographed for the April 25th issue of the CRBJ, and they'll all be celebrated at Alhambra Hall on Tuesday, May 3. (Grab a ticket and come toast the man of the hour!)

Cheers and congrats, Christopher! Now don't use this accolade as an excuse to phone it in for the next 9 years. We still expect big things from you. What's that? You're busy opening a Greenville office? Well then... carry on.

Update on Monday, March 21, 2011 by Lauren

Official CRBJ Forty Under 40 winner list announced

The CRBJ made their official #FORTYU40 announcement on Friday - check out the list to see who will forever be known as the Class of 2011 alongside Christopher.

Congrats to all of the winners. We're looking forward to the party!

The 2011 i5k photoshoot, poster vote, and death-defying stunts

When SLANT branded the i5k (short for the Innovator's 5K Run/Walk/Shuffle) for the Charleston Digital Corridor five years ago, we also created a signature style for the i5k's brand photography so each annual event's shots would retain a consistent look.

This year we narrowed the dusk shots from our early November shoot to five and had the i5k twitter and facebook communities vote on their favorite for use on the i5k poster. The winning photo, shown below, made us glad because it has a good story. 

Click to read more ...

SLANT thinks big at ThinkTec

We may have mentioned that we're idea people (if you've ever sat around having a beer with us, you'd know that). And lucky us, there's an annual New Ideas SC business ideas contest every year, sponsored by SC Launch.

Perfect outlet for stuff you just think up, right?

SLANT submitted an idea for a radio frequency identification (RFID for short) child lock system. We were one of ten finalists in the Engineering category of ideas statewide. As a finalist, we were invited to attend ThinkTec 2010 right in our own backyard at good ol'... er, good new Memminger auditorium.

While we didn't pull in the win for our category, we did get to enjoy really compelling speakers, see some really impressive and innovative ideas from other businesses in South Carolina, and eat lots of really good food. Can't really beat that. So be sure to go to ThinkTec next year - you'll thank us.

Want to hear more about our RFID idea - or just want us to think up new and creative stuff for you? Then inquire within. And by within, we mean via email at projects (at) slantmedia (dot) net or call us at (843) 722-2221.

SLANT wins Charleston AMA Spark Award for SEO/SEM marketing campaign (note keyword-dense headline)

AMA Spark awards are pretty hot (at least that's what their names imply)The SLANT team headed to lunch Thursday (at the pretty gorgeous Marriott on Lockwood) for the Charleston American Marketing Association's Annual SPARK and Marketer of the Year Awards Luncheon, emceed by Marcus Amaker, editor of Charleston Scene. 

(hold on while we catch our breath)

We're happy to announce that SLANT took home the Firecracker Award for Excellence in Interactive Media (including websites, email marketing, banner ads, search engine marketing). No, it wasn't for a website. It was for a SEM/SEO campaign.

Over the spring and summer, SLANT executed a rather smashing search engine optimization and search engine marketing campaign for our client, Dolphin Architects & Builders. We researched and prioritized 16 keyword phrases, updated, tagged, linked, tested, monitored, tweaked and tweaked and tweaked over four months.

The results:

• #1 organic search ranking for five of our priority terms
• top five search ranking for six additional priority terms  
• position improvement in all other phrases

Plus, the SEM campaign helped drive an additional 24% in web traffic. And we added more points of contact to increase lead capture opportunities exponentially. The best part is the SEM conversion tracking that lets us tie our paid search campaign to leads generated each month. Glory be, how much do we love metrics. Thank you, Charleston AMA for recognizing our work, as visually unappealing as SEO and SEM is.

SLANT + Obviouslee SPARK award swapThe AMA also recognized our very own Will Bullock as one of the five Marketer of the Year finalists. The award went to Kay Hyman of the Charleston Animal Society - well deserved and brava, Kay!

Our afternoon switched into movie plot mode when we inadvertently swapped awards with Lee Deas of Obviouslee Marketing (who won a Dynamite Award for their work with Charleston Moves' Battery2Beach initiative). A high-speed chase and a strategic meetup ensued. Here's a pic of how that went down. 

So for those of you wanting more proof, this overly wordy and linky and tagged blog post (did you see? did you hover???) is another example of how SEO skillz... we has them. 

VOTE Will, The Designer's Marketer!

Will Bullock makes marketing look good. You know him as an awesome graphic designer, photographer, and even mayor of a few local establishments. 

Today, add Charleston AMA Marketer of the Year nominee to Will's list of accomplishments. 

Here's what Will's nominator said of him (and no, it wasn't us): 

Will Bullock | Partner, Graphic Intelligence at Slant Media
Will’s experience and training as an architect continues to influence how he approaches graphic design for Slant Media’s clients. Slant’s client list ranges from retail-based to service-based businesses. In everything he does, his ultimate goal is to bring clarity to their client’s designs through thoughtful simplicity. Though he can appreciate a design that is visually appealing (what I used to refer to as having “cool factor”), I am much more intrigued by designs steeped in process, meaning, and theory. He has also previously served an Adjunct Professor at The American College of the Building Arts.

We couldn't agree more. 

In fact, we'll let you in on a few other reasons why Will rocks:

He not only creates beautiful things, but he takes the time to understand and consider the business side of the equation. (Let's be honest, you can't really say that about most designers).

He also racks up points for giving back to the Charleston community - lending his time to coach and critique design students at the Art Institute of Charleston, starting up the local chapter of AIGA, and coaching his daughter's soccer team.

Form and function, style and substance - Will has the head of a marketer and the heart of a designer. We're lucky to have him. Congrats, buddy!

So, fans of design, fans of marketing, fans of Will, let's vote him to the finals! Voting closes August 4th. 

And if you need fantastic design and marketing help, you know who to call. (cough, SLANT, cough).

Update on Tuesday, August 10, 2010 by Lauren

Thanks to all SLANT friends and fans!

You helped voted Will into top five for the Charleston AMA Marketer of The Year Award. 

Will thanks Lee Deas of Obviouslee Marketing for nominating him, and all of you for your support - there were over 3,000 votes cast and he commanded enough of them to be a finalist!

 

Will is now preparing his final entry to impress the panel of judges from the AMA chapter in Reno-Tahoe. The 2010 Marketer of the Year will be announced at the Charleston AMA Awards Luncheon at noon Thursday, October 7, 2010.

We'll keep you posted. 

SLANT rebrands J. Henry Stuhr, est. 1865

 

J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. has been serving the Charleston lowcountry for almost 150 years. But despite their history, they were struggling to leverage their long-standing legacy of personal service as a differentiator from their many competitors. After conducting an in-depth analysis of their existing brand and marketing efforts, as well as their competitors and industry in general, SLANT Media undertook a brand redesign, now visible throughout its business collateral and the new www.jhenrystuhr.com

Old LogoNew design strengthens "crest" and incorporates founder's signature.“We felt strongly about drawing inspiration from Stuhr’s roots, while also conveying their modern approach in providing services beyond those of a traditional funeral home.” said Christopher Cecil, SLANT’s Creative Director. 

The new logo updates the crest that has long been a part of Stuhr’s identity. And instead of putting the company name in script font, SLANT utilized an original J. Henry Stuhr signature that was found during research. “This combination of logo elements conveys the century-old identity of the company and illustrates their personal touch,” said SLANT’s Will Bullock, the branding project design lead. “Then, from a design standpoint, we use these traditional elements in more modern ways - for example, extending beyond the edge of a business card, on a surreal peaceful backdrop on their website.”

Business Card - FrontBusiness Card - BackIn addition to providing information about burials, cremation, aftercare and advance planning, the website also has an obituary section with personalized pages so family and friends can access information about the deceased, the services and convey condolences to the family via an online guestbook. 

“We feel fortunate our business’s heritage has had a place within the history of Charleston. And while being extremely proud of our history, as a business we need to convey our leadership as a forward-looking provider of funeral services,” says Catherine Stuhr, Vice President of J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. “We are thrilled with our updated identity and the additional services and information we can provide on our new website.”

News Alert: SLANT employee is Mayor of Starbucks (239 King St.) and proves Foursquare IS valuable!

So get this. The SLANT team all got a hankerin' for some coffee around 3:30, so we took a break, braved the heat and headed down to Starbucks. The one on King Street. No, not that one - the other one.

While standing in line behind other caffeine-deprived patrons, SLANT Art Director, Will Bullock, pulled out his iPhone and checked in on Foursquare - as he is known to do. Then he was all, "Hey guys, I'm Mayor!"

Will Bullock, 239 King Street Starbucks Mayor (06.16.10)I know. Big deal - right? I mean, my Mayorships have dwindled to four (I keep telling myself quality over quantity, Al Di La is more important than the gas station up the street) but I do get a kick out of getting that message.

It gets better. Wait for it...

This Starbucks has a MAYOR OFFER.

It kinda brings a tear to the eye that a big corporation rewards a $500/month coffee habit with a $1 off coupon, one person at a time. 

So what if the baristas were slightly confused as Will displayed his mobile coupon and proof of mayorship. They pulled through and Mayor Bullock got his discount. And then bought the rest of us drinks to celebrate, which kinda defeats the purpose of a discount... but who am I to say no to free coffee?

Seriously, thanks Foursquare and Starbucks. You made at least one Mayor genuinely happy. People, look for a Foursquare Mayor Offer near you. 

Congrats Will - long live the Mayor!

Update on Thursday, June 17, 2010 by Lauren

Ooh, Sports Authority is bringin' it:

Mayors of Sports Authority Get $10 Cash Cards on Foursquare