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The secret to turning a negative into a marketing sensation

Social Media

ithaca screenshot

All of us have negatives to overcome, but how would you like to be the city of Ithaca, New York, trying to lure tourists during this winter of record snowfall?

Well, rather than trying to put lipstick on a pig, the Ithaca Visitors Bureau replaced their home page with one promoting visiting Key West instead!

Their home page is headed with the following message, followed by an entire page promoting Key West:

"That's it. We surrender. Go to Key West instead.

Due to this ridiculously stupid winter, Ithaca invites you to visit The Keys this week," the welcoming message says. "Please come back when things thaw out. Really, it's for the birds here now. (Still want to come to Ithaca? Are you sure? Ok, click here.)
P.S. Send us a postcard."

Ithaca New York tweet about Key West campaignClicking on the "Ok, click here" link takes you to Ithaca's regular tourism site.

The result? With this tongue-in-cheek gesture, Ithaca has received more publicity than money can buy. A feature article in USA Today, viral exposure on social media, and enough site traffic to crash their server.

CNN's Brian Carberry tweeted about it, and the comment in the image at right is typical of the positive response. @J_Leis said, "That's how you win social media. Awesome."

So what's the secret?

Take a lesson from Ithaca: stop overthinking, start having fun, and start being authentic. You may just find yourself going viral!

 

 

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Sample Project Visuals

11-11
Websites
11-11
Web design & development for 11/11 Veteran Project. Our CEO is their Director of Strategy & uses their national platform and extensive network to help clients reach strategic business goals while supporting organizations that provide access to resources for veterans and their families.
print
Print Design
print
This 20-page 5-year Progress Report for a Tourism Department is printed on high quality gloss paper of magazine quality. Presenting details of progress made in an easy-to-digest manner helps Tourism stay accountable to funding sources.
edgewood website
websites
edgewood website
Web design and development for Edgewood Townhomes and Villas, a unique luxury townhome community in Southern Virginia. They needed a modern, mobile friendly site to help display the vast array of options available to homeowners, as well as highlight available properties.
Mother Cluckers
websites
Mother Cluckers
Mother Cluckers is a unique home decor and interior design shop located in an historic downtown. They sell home luxuries, unique apparel, and gifts in their brick & mortar as well as online via Square. We developed the website, set up their ecommerce system on Square, and integrated it with their website.
lisa
websites
lisa
Web development for author, business strategist, speaker, and podcaster Lisa Kipps-Brown, our CEO.
Colin
Websites
Colin
Website design and marketing automation services for NASCAR driver Colin Garrett.
illustration
Illustration and Animation
illustration
A tourism office wished for some type of animation that would let visitors "drive" around the county to discover things to do. Using animation that requires no special browser plugins, illustrator Erin Kipps Brown came up with a concept to treat the project like a theme park map.
VGA
websites
VGA
Economic development website design for Virginia's Growth Alliance, a region that covers 10 counties.
south hill
rebranding & website
south hill
Town of South Hill, Virginia, rebranding and web design.
Westfield brand
Branding
Westfield brand
New branding identity for The Downtown Westfield Corporation, the management entity of the Special Improvement District of Westfield, NJ. Main Street New Jersey awarded DWC a grant to work with Glerin on the rebranding and marketing strategy for Downtown Westfield.
social
Social Media
social
When we were invited by Virginia's Department of Housing and Community Development to speak about marketing to Virginia Main Street Community directors from across the state, we needed something helpful to give them to take back to the office. Our Quicky Guide to Social Media ended up being quite a hit! This poster is different from anything we've ever seen: It has dry erase blocks to let the user jot notes for planning their social media. The poster is 11"x17" - large enough to accommodate the dry erase blocks but small enough to not take up too much of the user's office wall.
vineland website
websites
vineland website
Web design and development for Vineland Downtown Improvement District / Main Street Vineland, NJ. Part of a project awarded to VDID through a Branding & Digital Design Grant from Main Street New Jersey.
Branding
Branding
Branding
New branding identity for Stand Up For Salem (New Jersey), a nonprofit that stimulates business opportunity, historic preservation and community growth through grassroots community development.
print
Print Design
print
This magazine won an Award of Merit for Communication from the Southern Economic Development Council. Virginia's Growth Alliance is geographically the largest economic development region in Virginia. They provide a printed quarterly quality of life magazine to prospects; the magazine is printed on glossy paper that is of the quality you would find on a magazine rack. A low-res version is also available for download on their website and for distribution on usb's.
fact sheets
Fact Sheets
fact sheets
As a part of the Halifax County IDA rebranding project, the organization needed a one-sheet data flyer for prospects. The piece is designed to present a good bit of data in a condensed format that provides a quick overview of the county, and integrated design elements extend the new branding identity.
vineland branding
Branding
vineland branding
New branding identity for Main Street Vineland, NJ / Downtown Vineland Improvement District, a group that promotes, enhances and revitalizes historic Landis Avenue as a thriving commercial district and community-gathering place for shoppers, residents and visitors. Part of a project awarded to VDID through a Branding & Digital Design Grant from Main Street New Jersey.

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