Grafx Design of Tampa

Grafx Hires Richard “Skip” Hillgruber II as Creative Director

Rob Stainback — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:44:08 +0000

Skip’s 16 years of advertising experience prior to joining Grafx Design of Tampa includes developing award-winning creative for clients such as AT&T, Lowry Park Zoo, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Budweiser, DeBartolo Holdings, Lifestyle Family Fitness, The Tampa Museum of Art and Publix Super Markets. He has provided creative solutions to various local agencies including Walker Brands, FKQ Advertising, Schifino Lee and French West Vaughan among others. Skip holds a Bachelor of Science degree in advertising from the University of Florida.

New Client Announcement: Noble Vision Group and EyeSupply®

Rob Stainback — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:11:46 +0000

Grafx is proud to announce our newest clients Noble Vision Group and EyeSupply^®. Noble Vision and EyeSupply have teamed with Grafx to create cutting edge marketing materials that highlight the impressive array of products and services offered by both companies.

Noble Vision Group: The team of professionals at Noble Vision Group provide unparalleled support to its strategic partners in optimizing their marketing activities before, during, and after a product launch.

EyeSupplyUSA.com is your complete guide to all your ophthalmic supply needs. We offer a wide range of products such as pharmaceuticals, medical and surgical supplies, medical office products, bulbs, batteries as well as photographic products and services at the best prices. We pride ourselves on providing the lowest prices without compromising the outstanding service you and your practice deserve.

Charleys Grilled Subs

Rob Stainback — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:28:52 +0000

The Challenge:

Charley’s Grilled Subs®, is a national client whose unique selling proposition is serving deliciously crafted…yup you guessed it… grilled subs. Charley’s chose Grafx to produce high quality video presentations, custom designed Power Point Presentations, and logos for awards to be distributed to franchisees. The challenge for Grafx was to create a captivating, yet informative presentation to build the excitement level for everyone who planned to attend the 3-day event in Orlando, FL.

The Solution:

Grafx provided the client with several services including videography, strategy, copywriting, and graphic design. Our team was able to provide the client with all deliverables on time and within budget. The event, “Mission to Serve”, was produced for an audience of over 600 franchisees. The team worked closely with Charley’s to captivate the vision of the company’s message while engaging and educating the audience.

The [x-factor]:

The Grafx team took the initial concept from the branding standards established by the company and applied them to interactive video pieces and other convention collateral. In addition, the same concepts were applied to create an engaging and customized Power Point presentation, which was the informative focal point of the convention.

The Results:

The principles and leaders of Charley’s were ecstatic to present a fresh concept of message delivery to their franchisees. This interactive and integrated approach to corporate communications set the tone for the future of the restaurant chain as innovative, fun and informative. “Mission to Serve 2012” held in Orlando, was the first year Charley’s (along side Grafx) rolled out a campaign to franchisees using dynamic imagery. Our performance exceeded their goals; bringing us a new challenge for next year’s convention.

Franchising…Engage your audience!

Chris Nesci — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:39:33 +0000

Recently, our team completed a series of dynamic video presentations aimed at engaging franchise owners and managers of national restaurants (Checker’s/Rally’s Restaurants and Charley’s Grilled Subs). Their conventions, hosting up to 600 attendees each have now taken a creative approach to relay their messages; giving us the lead on these interactive projects. The goal of these videos was to captivate and excite the owners and managers of these restaurants, and we did just that! Our goal was to inform and engage the audience with compelling content and visuals keeping them focused and excited throughout the convention.

The project scope included high impact videos for opening and closing sessions, bumper videos for all breakout sessions, collateral material and on site signage. With this creative and strategic mindset behind our teams we can create any piece you need to make your franchise convention one to remember. Grafx strategy will work for any firm or organization across multiple industries. As Grafx Design continues to grow and develop our integrated approach, these projects serve as perfect examples of our interactive capabilities. For more information on these services, call 813.254.8800. Also, check out our synopsis on this new innovative marketing approach.

If You’re Not Pinterest-ed, You May Want To Think Twice

Rob Stainback — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:14:30 +0000

Pinterest, one of the fastest growing social media sites, is starting to gain interest among businesses. And rightly so. It can be a valuable marketing tool to businesses with retail products looking to gain an edge with online consumers.

Launched in 2010, Pinterest is already experiencing wild growth. The site registered over 7 million unique visitors in December of 2011, up from 1.6 million in September. Pinterest is driving more traffic to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined, according to a recent Shareaholic report.

So what does this mean for your business? If your product is visual in nature, it could mean a lot. Let’s first see what Pinterest is, and then you’ll understand how you can make good use of this image-based social delight.

So what is Pinterest?

Pinterest allows you to organize images into boards for specific categories. When you “pin” something new, your followers will see it. They can like, comment or re-pin it to their boards. Just as with Facebook content, your Pinterest pins can go viral and spread like wildfire if they are interesting.

How Pinterest is Used

The most powerful application for your business is the ability to post images of your company’s products on your Pinterest board and then link them back to your website. Then it works kind of like a virtual catalog. You can do the same thing with designs, photographs, or screen captures and make a portfolio of sorts.

But remember: this is social media. If you just display your own stuff and don’t share or re-pin other people’s content, then you will find that you won’t get much traffic. In this way, it’s very similar to Facebook and Twitter. You must continuously remain involved and engaged with content. Savvy social media users already know not to get too promotional.

What can you, as a business, do with Pinterest?

Businesses are already seeing an increase of traffic when involving themselves with Pinterest. Pinterest is not built for businesses by any means, but it does offer another intriguing way to get your products out there. The only way to determine if you’ll get positive results is to try it. It’s not like it will cost you an arm and a leg to set it up. It’s free.

So go ahead. Give it a try. You’ve got nothing to lose and it could be a great way to market your business or products.

Your CRM Tool IS your BFF

Chris Nesci — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:55:40 +0000

Many of you, who run your marketing departments, may already realize the importance of your CRM tools. Understanding how they work and how to manage the data is another. One of the biggest challenges today is finding time. Like any program, a CRM Tool requires a little understanding and depending on what you’re using the learning curve can be quite extensive. However, even just exporting data into a report you understand and can decipher is the most important trick in the book. You need to learn who your customers are and their spending habits versus your product or service.

With that said, keep in mind that each customer record you store has a value of approximately $35. Each customer record (active or not) has value to your business and is a valuable asset you can use for your marketing initiatives. Not only is this going to help you manage social media, create your marketing plan, and develop a strategy, but it will help your outside agency as well. The information you gather and share can be the difference between a stagnant campaign and one with a high ROI/conversion ratio.

Keep a tight relationship with your CRM Tool and your customers information, It may seem like a daunting task but it will help you and your organization shine. Grafx Design is ready to help you begin the creative process and create a compelling campaign that utilizes your valuable data.

“Take the Integrated Approach…. DO IT!”

Chris Nesci — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:17:59 +0000

Living in the “digital age” has certainly kept most of us on our toes, trying to keep up with the latest technology. At Grafx Design, we understand the need and importance of multimedia projects and keeping up with the latest trends is part of our daily routine. With that said, we’ve added a few members to the team to lead our integrated marketing initiatives for clients across all industries. From research to production we know what it takes to increase brand awareness and drive traffic to a website targeting both new clients and retaining those clients after they convert. Integrated campaigns do more than “kill 2 birds with one stone”. You’re essentially covering all your bases online at a much lower cost than advertising. You’re paying for the creative and intellectual property of marketing experts who can make you shine. Something you may be able to maintain on your own, but not give it the kick-start it needs to outshine your competition. Even with advertising, an integrated campaign can work as a supplement to instill that messaging you are publishing across multiple platforms and convert a prospect into a loyal customer.

So, what do we mean by “integrated marketing”? We mean social media, the web, and your advertising working together as one branded piece. We mean video production, a fully functioning Facebook Fan page that looks and functions like your website, a Twitter and YouTube page that look like your site or your latest campaign, and kicking it off with a strategy to drive traffic to those sources. It’s what’s necessary to gain an edge on your competition and grow your business. The greatest thing is that going viral is one of the main keys to integrated marketing and we’re the experts. Wit, humor, and just simply being the expert in your field are what people want. Entertainment and knowledge. Show them you have the solutions to their problems, and that you are where they are on the web.

Visit and become a fan of Grafx Design on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/GrafxDesign

The time has come for “Creative SEO”

Chris Nesci — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:14:42 +0000

When we build websites, develop content, manage social media or contract an SEO strategy we realize that today’s search engines aren’t only concerned with “keywords”, but user personalities and relationships. Is it true? Has Google transformed into a reference tool with feelings and creativity? Yes. Absolutely. In 2010, the game changed for many businesses who never considered these strategies prior. Google’s ever changing algorhythm accounts for social signals and patterns in the way people think. We saw this when Google + was released and their attempt to take over the realm of social media. We know they couldn’t overcome the power of Facebook, but the strategy was there and it was effective. Facebook still reports content to Google and every status update is accounted for in a creative way, so use it.

Why write about this? Because it’s creative strategy, and Grafx Design is known for just that…being creative. The SEO strategies Grafx provides gives businesses the opportunity for more expression and conversation with prospects. Even this blog posts is as laid back as regular conversation and can be used to increase traffic to our website. SEO was voted as the preference in online marketing last year over PPC. Even though SEO requires an initial expense that outweighs is counterpart, it is perceived and the proven method of effective online/integrated marketing. So when you think of SEO as keywords, dig deeper…think of how and what your customers are thinking and feeling when they are looking for your company online.

Grafx Design wins 2012 American Package Design Awards

Chris Nesci — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:39:45 +0000

The Tampa Bay Brewing Company hired Grafx Design to design and brand the label for their “Elephant Foot IPA Can Design”. Grafx did more than just create the design via creative strategy… they also won an American Package Design Award by Graphic Design USA in NY, NY.

“It’s funny, we never know what kind of project is going to come through the door. When we got this project, we knew it was going to be creative and our enthusiasm shined in the final product. We’re very grateful,” says Chris Nesci, VP of Marketing Services for Grafx.

With over 1,600 entries from across the country, Grafx proved to be one of the highly selected candidates in winning this award of excellence. Our creative agency continues to push the envelope and encompass the entire spectrum of the industry.

Grafx Hires a New Director of Marketing Services

Rob Stainback — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:14:00 +0000

Grafx Hires Natalie Rockefeller Lane as Director of Marketing Services.

Natalie brings over 10 years of experience in creative advertising and marketing as a creative problem solver and strategic thinker. She has spent the majority of her career implementing creative strategies using various mediums, while leading and directing teams of nationally recognized agencies. Natalie’s recipe for success is a combination of ambition, positivity, and a relentless drive for excellence.