Dear colleague,

I am thrilled to share some exciting news with you. As a huge proponent of life-long learning – as well as part of my everlasting quest to find ways smith&jones can offer our clients the most relevant ideas and cutting-edge executions – I have embarked on an intensive educational program to become a Certified Brand Strategist.™

So, what does this designation mean? Under the guidance of the Brand Establishment, a California-based strategic think tank that perfected the first contemporary brand development process specifically for small- to mid-sized advertisers, I will undergo extensive graduate-level training. Upon certification in August, I will become the only Certified Brand Strategist in New England, joining an elite group of professionals recognized as the new generation of thought leaders in brand development.

While smith&jones has long distinguished itself for its solid branding expertise, this certification will further expand the services that our agency can provide to our clients, and enhance our own proprietary PURPLE process, bringing the latest and greatest techniques and thought processes to our work.

As many of smith&jones’ clients have already heard us say, brand development is all about uncovering your unique personality, standing up and standing out from the competition, and being able to deliver a consistent experience at every touchpoint. This strategic process requires C-level attention and can be used to launch, rejuvenate, and/or validate an existing brand.

I’m passionately committed to helping you uncover your greatness so that you can effectively reach your business goals. If you have any questions or would like to talk further about this exciting news and capabilities development, please give me a call or drop an email.

Christine Tieri
president, creative director

sturbridge, ma (October 30, 2012)… smith&jones has been honored with three Silver Davey Awards by The International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA). A Silver was awarded, for Workers’ Credit Union’s Big Bank Breakup integrated campaign, with a second award for the campaign’s radio spots. The third Silver was for outstanding achievement in creating the zoots.com website. Please visit www.daveyawards.com for a complete list of the Davey Award winners.

The Davey Awards is a leading international awards competition, recognizing fresh ideas and exceptional execution from smaller agencies worldwide. The Davey Awards honor the “Davids” of commercial creativity; where strength comes from ideas, not a “Giant” bankroll. The competition is judged by acclaimed leaders — a who’s who of the visual arts, advertising, marketing, and interactive media world.

Christine Tieri, President and Creative Strategist at smith&jones remarks, “It is very validating to our agency and clients when our ideas are recognized out of thousands of entries from across the country. Our staff works alongside our clients to create ideas that are both meaningful and memorable. This is proof that our ideas get noticed.”

smith&jones is an idea agency singularly focused on creating brand experiences that connect clients and brands with their audiences wherever they are through ingenious ideation, colorful collaboration, and a purple personality. Details about smith&jones’ PURPLE process and Linkage MarketingTM, a customized approach that employs digital and traditional media to reach goals and objectives, can be found at www.smithnjones.com.

sturbridge, ma (October 15, 2012)…smith&jones idea agency president, Christine Tieri, is one of the featured speakers at the Central Mass Business Expo held at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA on November 1, 2012.

Tieri’s presentation, “6 ways to get your brand noticed,” covers the marketing musts needed to ensure your brand messaging stands up, stands out, and gets results. In her engaging, fun, and informative style, Tieri will cover six topics that will help your brand stand out from the crowd:

• taking a close look in the mirror
• knowing your audience
• moving the needle with analytics

• using technology to get ahead
• being where your audience is
• getting social with social media

Attendees will walk away with helpful hints and to-dos for each topic. The presentation is geared towards marketing directors, entrepreneurs, and in-house marketing departments that are interested in creating memorable brands.

About Christine Tieri and smith&jones idea agency
Founder of smith&jones idea agency, Christine Tieri is expert at combining true-blue strategic insights with red-hot imaginative ideas to generate marketing of a different color for smith&jones clients. With expertise in financial, educational, health care and consumer goods, smith&jones is known throughout central New England for creating brand experiences that connect the right messaging with the right audiences in all the right places. smithnjones.com

About the new Central Mass Business Expo, formerly New England Business Expo
Organized by the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Central Mass Business Expo is an action-packed event with activities including seminars, networking, and exhibitors from a variety of industries. The event is designed to inspire imagination, focus your efforts, and provide new informaiton you can use to grow your business. www.worcesterchamber.org/cmbe

When: Thursday, November 1, 2012 (Christine’s presentation will be held at 2pm)
Where: DCU Center, Worcester, MA
Christine Tieri can be reached at christ@smithnjones.com.

smith&jones won a silver award in the self-promotion category for their website, www.smithnjones.com that was created when they rebranded the agency to smith&jones idea agency. “This website was a team effort and a labor of love,” says Christine Tieri, agency President and Creative Director. “An agency website must be able to both showcase digital capabilities as well as bring the brand to life in a memorable way. So we are thrilled to be recognized as a winner in this prestigious award show alongside some incredible digital agencies.” Other silver winners include Sony Music Entertainment, Overdrive Interactive, Big Spaceship, Conde Nast, and Hearst Digital Media.

The smith&jones website is built using the WordPress platform. Instead of relying heavily on plugins, most of the site’s extended functionality is hand-crafted into a highly customized theme that revolves around ideas and the people behind the ideas. According to smith&jones’ Digital Strategist, Brian Harris, “I believe we won this award not just because the web design, code, and navigation is clean and user-friendly, but because of the strategy behind the site and our ability to tell a story differently than other agencies through digital media.” The site also includes a specialized portfolio application, contact forms, and social bookmarking tools to help increase visitor conversion and viral propagation. Several Google Analytics events are encoded into the various engagement activities available on the site, enabling better tracking of visitor behavior and campaign performance.

The W3 Awards is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms. Please visit www.iavisarts.org for a full member list and additional information.

smith&jones is an idea agency singularly focused on creating brand experiences that connect clients and brands with their audiences wherever they are through ingenious ideation, colorful collaboration, and a purple personality. Details about smith&jones’ PURPLE process and Linkage MarketingTM, a customized approach that employs digital and traditional media to reach goals and objectives, can be found at www.smithnjones.com.

Contact Vivian Brooks at 774-452-4270 for editorial support.

Synopsis by Polly Currier
Lindstrom conducted several scientific experiments using MRI and SST technologies to determine actual brain patterns and how they relate to certain brands to determine why we make the purchasing choices we do. Lindstrom refers to this as “neuromarketing.”

Lindstrom was able to determine that most decisions to buy or “buy-in” to a product were at the emotional level and based on years of personal experiences and associations. A famous logo does not register in the brain as much as images, colors, scents or sounds associated with the particular brand. For example, enjoying a cold cola on a summer day. Or hearing the distinct crackle of a can of soda or beer open.

What people see on surveys and in focus groups does not reliably affect how they behave. For example, heeding the cigarette warning labels and/or avoiding certain behaviors based on superstitions. The Pepsi Choice campaign demonstrated that people chose Pepsi over other colas hands down, but when those same people went to the store they ended up buying Coke because they bought emotionally based on their past life experiences with the product.

How we will use this information to create marketing of a different color
In an age of visual overload we are becoming desensitized to visual media. Buy-ology reinforces what PURPLE is all about, scientifically. The visual aspects of a campaign often detract from the product. Therefore, it is important to create brands that people want to be a part of emotionally.

At least four people at the agency have read Linchpin, and in fact, it is the #1 agency recommended book.

Synopsis by Jen Perry and Anne Renaud-Jones
Linchpin stresses the importance of asking questions. The work industry has changed, and it is important to ask the right questions. Too many people in the corporate world don’t go above and beyond to make people happy. If you’re waiting for the job to respect you, then you’ll never go anywhere. Everyone should feel that good isn’t good enough. The world has changed so drastically, and the competition has become so fierce in the workplace. Those who trhive are those who make themselves indispensable. If your attitude at work shifts from just doing your job to being passionate about what you do, your strengths will show. A company will be successful if the structure of CEO > Manager > Worker is eliminated. Everyone should think of him or herself as a manager and not worry about asking so many questions. It is important to make your work an art and to make it a presentation of your true self. “The lizard brain is the source of resistance.” The lizard brain causes you to procrastinate ans waste time instead of finding your creative niche and delivering. Our society lacks the instinct to produce. The lizard brain is why deadlines are not met; it forces us to re-evaluate our work until we think it is perfect. It would be more rewarding in the long run, however, if we submitted work to meet the deadlines, even though we know it isn’t finished. At some point, we will submit something perfect and on time and truly deliver.

How we will use this information to create marketing of a different color
If we act as linchpins at smith&jones, we are all empowered and therefore, create better work for out clients. Acting as linchpins, the shine will come our and lift everyone up, our creative minds will thrive, an everyone will continue to grow and share ideas.

After much deliberation, 10 national finalists have been chosen — three located here in New England! Voting has been opened up to the public via Facebook to choose 6 winners to receive a pro-bono brand makeover from smith&jones or one of 5 other participating agencies during their own annual CreateAthon.

The 10 finalists for the CreateAthon Brand Makeover contest are:

Voting takes place from August 1st to August 15th on CreateAthon’s Facebook page. You can vote once each day, so get to clickin’!

Winners will be eligible for a CreateAthon Brand Makeover package from smith&jones or other participating agency that could include:

• brand strategy
• brand identity
• brand handbook
• digital project
• print project

Check out smith&jones’ work from previous years in our CreateAthon projectfolio.

Title:

Synopsis by Dave Peterson:
BrandSimple is all about brand identity. The emphasis of the book is on the importance of understanding your strengths instead of fixing the things that you don’t do so well. It teaches how to create and differentiate your brand through utilizing the transmission of the product. It’s important that people understand the product and that it is relevant in the market. If there is no need for the product, then it won’t succeed.

How we will use this information to create marketing of a different color:
It is important to find a niche in the marketplace. Companies are most successful when they fill the void in the market and provide something to people that they don’t already have. At the same time, it is also important not to stray from the company’s core values. Don’t do something just to fill the void in the market that contradicts the company’s mission. Through the smith&jones’ PURPLE process, we help our clients uncover their true brand essence and to craft a message that is true to their core values while standing out from the competition.

Synopsis by Derek Beahn:
The book focuses on team building, and working well as a team. Young insists that there be no distractions, no bad apples. It’s imperative that employees want to be at work. If the roles are defined and rewarded within a company, then everyone can work more efficiently as a team toward the goal of the company. There is a shared sense of purpose when everyone is on board. Managers have to live and breathe their jobs so that employees do too. Their jobs are to encourage, not to put people in their place. Everyone works better as a team. With complementing strengths, the team is stronger than just an individual alone.

How we will use this information to create marketing of a different color:
We tell clients that internal communications are just as important as external. And we live by that here at smith&jones as well. The brand experience starts from the inside. Culturetopia confirms our idea that by building a strong internal team, the overall brand wil become authentic and much stronger as well.