We've recently had an increase in questions and concerns from our clients about SEO. For those of you who aren't familiar, SEO is Search Engine Optimization. SEO, in simple terms, is the process of influencing search engines to find your website. Why would you want this? To drive interest and potentially sales.

For example, if you own an Ice Cream shop in Alaska (& I can only assume this is a very competitive business in Alaska) you want to be at or near the top when someone Googles Ice Cream Shop in Alaska... Correct? Of course you do!

Achieving high rankings in search engine results is as desirable a goal as say, having your company featured on the cover of a popular magazine (20 years ago). In fact, there's an entire market for companies to offer services which focus on nothing but increasing your rankings through SEO.

Depending on the services offered, this method can be perfectly valid for your business. But know this: Google (and other search engines) can (and DO) change their algorithms FREQUENTLY. They do this to prevent search engine manipulation. They do this for YOU, the end-user, to give you the best, most relevant and valid content on the internet.

Working on the rebranding and new website for Halifax County Tourism (currently under development) has reminded me of what a nice place this is to visit or live in. I know I'm biased, but the truth is that we have a wider variety of things to do and places to eat than most places with a much higher population.

Currently the Tourism website is really mostly a directory of businesses. The organization has never had the manpower or budget to develop content, so the site didn't do the area justice. In addressing that issue through this redevelopment, I'm continually discovering things about my home county that I had either forgotten or never knew about.

Just goes to show that "Discover Halifax" is the perfect name for the Tourism Deparment's marketing initiatives, because there's always something new to discover! Keep an eye out for upcoming social media campaigns that center around discovering Halifax; I'm hoping you'll open my eyes to even more unique things about the area.

Look for the new site and brand to be unveiled in a couple of weeks, along with two new features being added to the Visitors Center.

Here are just a few photos of things to do around the county. How many have you done? Did you know you can even take cheese making classes?

A couple of months back several clients asked for a joint brochure and digital presentation to be created, one that they could take to the Farnborough International Airshow, the world's largest aerospace event. The event is held every other year at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, England. Our clients Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative Communities, Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, and Virginia's Growth Alliance were attending the show as a team, displaying in the Virginia Economic Development Partnership booth.

The clients wanted a 4-panel brochure that didn't open accordian-like, and requested a die-cut design. Printer Dogwood Graphics in South Hill, VA, advised that die-cut would add a substantial amount to the cost, so we worked with them to devise a concept for the illusion of a die-cut. Dogwood chose a hefty cardstock for printing, and the brochure turned out great!

At right are photos of notes & sketches from our initial meeting with the clients, a proof printed on plain ink jet paper to test the concept, and a proof printed by Dogwood Graphics (we'll post pix of the entire brochure later). Below are photos from the Farnborough Airshow. Click any photo to enlarge.

Well, we at Glerin showed our crazy side at this year's Virginia Cantaloupe Festival by wearing t's sporting a design that started out as a joke in the office last year.

My cousin was down from Des Moines to attend for the first time in over 20 years, and my aunt (her Mom) was a good sport in tolerating our boisterousness. She's almost 80 and I guess has given up on any thought that we'll be demure :)

The t's were so popular and requested by so many at the festival that we'll probably end up selling a batch. This is one of those things that will fall into "when we have time to think about it," which is totally unpredictable. Will let you know when we do!

Friday, June 13 will bring the 34th annual Virginia Cantaloupe Festival, and Glerin developed the theme for marketing this year's event. One of our passions is helping clients look like they're in the big leagues, and the illustrations for this year's poster and t-shirt are on par with any you'll see at larger festivals.

The theme we developed for 2014 is "You've Got Friends in Lope Places." We created a character named Lope to carry through the marketing campaign, and our designs and campaigns were created to reflect the fun summer atmosphere that will abound at Berry Hill Resort for the festival.

Designs created included:

• official commemorative 24x36" poster
• flyer version of the poster
• an inventory of newspaper ads
• t-shirt design
• social media images

Lope made his way throughout the community, attending meetings at the Tourism and Chamber offices, as well as shopping for flowers and groceries. He also hung out at Benchmark Community Bank, one of the festival sponsors.

Click the images in this post to view larger versions of some of the work on this campaign.

We also designed the poster for the 2013 Cantaloupe Festival and adapted it into the 2013 t-shirt design. As with this year, we created fully custom illustrations.