Although location shooting has been on hiatus for obvious reasons, Shark has been moving full steam ahead writing, designing, editing, and producing multiple digital, pre-roll, and full broadcast TV spots for Boston-based, Brookline Bank. Utilizing frames from the new TV spots we’ve been fortunate to enhance some of the stock footage for use in large format print advertising including billboards and transit posters around the city of Boston.
Streamlined and new - small business web design and quick branding by Shark.
Founder, owner, shipper and Holbein paint expert John Bates has a new, crisp look for his company Vermont Art Supply. Perfect for these times of ‘shelter-in-place” … some new art supplies!
To your health: The Quarantini by Shark.
Working remotely is nothing new to Shark. With partners, staff, and clients in a variety locales, we’ve always been more akin to a nimble, Digital Syndicate rather than the traditional, analog ad shop. But for all who must weather the current viral storm at home, we offer the simple, yet elegant, Quarantini for your next evening Aperitif.
Recipe: Swirl dry vermouth in shaker with ice. Pour out vermouth and replace with2 ounces gin. Add a hint of powdered Vitamin C for immunity (and color). Garnish with twist of lemon, or small amount of toilet paper in celebration of the times. Bottoms-up, cheers, and a’ votre santé!
File it under best bank advertising or just really good bank marketing.
A new bank marketing campaign for Bank Rhode Island is taking shape for 2020. With initial 30 sec. TV storyboards in creative development and client review, an-over-the-weekend media opportunity forced us to spin out a print ad that builds on the brand campaign’s essential idea of “turning change into opportunity.” We honestly can’t take all of the credit as BankRI’s Senior Vice President and Director or Retail Banking Steve Parente pushed a roughed out version of the idea over lunch in 2019, which of course, got spiffed up by Shark! Below is just one iteration of the ad which may actually launch with a different image.
Branding the law firm: New attorney web design and law firm digital marketing for Brady / Donahue.
All brands deserve attention. Whether it’s a result of a new sales strategy, adjusting a company’s positioning in their marketplace, or perhaps, to simply remain fresh and relevant to consumers, updating the design and messaging can be key to longterm success.
For a successful and well-regarded Personal Injury law firm such as Brady / Donahue, an overhaul of their marketing by Shark was the result of a mix of all three. With a new twist to their sales strategy based around the idea of a personal visit which helps to define their market positioning, and the commitment to be current and connected to people in the area, we simply refined their law firm’s logo, developed new branding and design, and launched a new, personal injury-focused law firm website.
The new law firm brand messaging “ Personal Injury Victims Deserve A Personal Visit” provides a powerful and clear law firm value proposition. With the new Vermont law firm website and attorney marketing, Shark is integrating a new law firm digital marketing program for Brady / Donahue in 2020. It’s a law firm digital marketing strategy that includes a mix of solid law firm SEO services, search engine marketing with text and display, and A.I technology.
As a law firm digital marketing agency, we partnered with a leading vendor to build a curated video content library from top websites such as CNN, ABC, USA Today to then place geo-targeted law firm video ads based on what content users are watching. It’s another way to reach potential law firm clients who may be doing their homework on a possible personal injury or workers' compensation claim.
Nat and Arnie shoot for Shark.
The Woodstock Town Hall and Theater proved to be a great set for a recent client shoot.
Delray Beach Social Media Marketing.
Our Delray Beach Social Media marketing people are continuing to add more support for Shark clients and various social media initiatives.
SKOLSTREJK FOR KLIMATET: We salute Greta Thunberg.
On the process of branding: An overview.
It was well back in 2004, when Shark first developed the branding for an innovative new startup based in Montreal, Canada. Under the leadership of Marc Poirier, Acquisio grew into a global search and digital technology services powerhouse, and a decade later, Shark was requested to revisit the company's branding and marketing. What follows is a quick recap and some insight into a branding agency's strategic process which might serve as a template to approach and manage your company's branding and marketing challenges.
BRANDING GOALS - When clients initiate new branding, normally by detailing their business goals and vision, we like to simplify the discussion with some ground rules and goals for successful branding.
Perceiving a difference - Good branding begins with a focus on developing a distinct image in a marketplace. Separating oneself (or company) from the competition - both visually and conceptually - is how consumers can distinguish and hold onto a brand image.
Perceiving Value - While good branding means people can clearly differentiate a name, product or service, great branding is about infusing a sense of perceived value into a brand. With great branding, people perceive a difference and they perceive value which can create brand loyalty, shift products from commodities to premiums and so forth. But before any of the rebranding process could begin for Acquisio, some pressing "11th hour" cleanup of the company's looming Summit provided a preview of things to come and underscores marketing that imparts a sense of value.
Before: After:
BRAND STRATEGY - Good branding agencies generally try to install a singular and objective core strategy to drive the branding process. With Acquisio, it was clear that the company’s marketing typically listed numerous advantages and benefits but was rarely tied to any consistent idea about Acqusio itself. In that list, however, we did uncover one attribute that seems to have more immediate value: Acquisio offered "The Fastest Optimization Algorithm on the Market.” The idea of speed in search and digital obviously had potential as a positioning strategy. We then circulated an article to Acquisio management from Fast Company which noted, "Speed Will Triumph ... The best soccer teams in the world emphasize pace of play over perfection. They recognize that keeping the ball moving quickly is better than waiting and trying to make the ideal pass."
Logo - With speed in mind, the logo was first up for review. Originally designed in 2004 by Peter Jacobs, Shark's Creative Director, the Acquisio logo was composed of three simple bars stacked one over each other. It was an elegant and simple signature that actually pre-dated the same universal “hamburger” logo utilized by responsive websites worldwide. With a design strategy based on “evolution” rather than “revolution,” we preserved much of the Acquisio logo’s original form but modified it into a new, and "faster" look.
DESIGN SYSTEM - A design system is kind of like a brand manager’s tool set. In it you will find a logo, a limited number of fonts, a color palette, specs for layout, the use of images, and pretty much everything that goes in to ensuring a consistent and well integrated brand image. The new Acquisio design system driven by the "speed" strategy was developed simultaneously in brand ads, websites, digital ads and more.
BRAND ARCHITECTURE -To further the strength and consistency of the brand across current and future products and services, Shark developed the brand architecture for naming and branding various sub-brands and service categories. By isolating ACQ in the Acquisio name, we designed an elegant method for connecting Acquisio’s five primary Service Marks: ACQOptimze, ACQReporting, ACQSearch, ACQLocal, ACQPromote.
BRAND STANDARDS - By defining the parameters for typography, color palette, layout, image use, and more, a brand manual provides companies with an organized set of operating instructions for managing the brand in a variety of applications. We created Aquisio's Brand Guidelines to convey the new, integrated vision for the brand, and formatted it in an easy-to-use booklet detailing approved use of typography, color palette, layout, image use, etc. - Acquisio's Design System.
In the end, we sometimes say "it's all about the T." T-shirts are a wonderful test of all things branding - logos, attitude, color, typography, and more. When people willingly wear the symbols or statements of a company they are in effect, validating the merits of the brand. For Acquisio’s first T-shirt, we integrated multiple branding elements into a cool and contemporary expression of the Acquisio’s brand, personality, and positioning.
Next-Gen Sharkie.
At two years old, Delray Beach resident Stella is really a third generation Sharkie. But she’s already got the Shark part down.
New & Cool - A builder's website and branding.
A Beautiful Squarespace site complete with flowers, gardens and more.
A gorgeous new website for Woodstock, Vermont-based gardener, author, personality and designer, Lucinda Rooney. We’ll explain more later …
Aidan Villani-Holland shoots leading Vermont Attorney, Brendan Donahue.
Just a quick video and photography capture for web, print, some digital TV and more!
Sophisticated new broadcast TV for Bank Rhode Island.
PRESS RELEASE;
BURLINGTON, VT- Shark Communications, an award-winning brand, web, and digital marketing agency has launched a new TV spot for Bank Rhode Island. The 30-second ad highlights Bank Rhode Island's Commercial Banking services and its partnership in a variety of initiatives and projects around the state of Rhode Island. To address BankRI's management concerns that its name was largely invisible to the public while at the same time providing the key banking and financing solutions for many large scale commercial projects, Shark developed the theme "We don't make things. We make things happen." Edited in a sophisticated, quick-moving style, the television ad's evolving array of images depict both private and public initiatives in which Bank Rhode Island's Commercial Banking services play an important role. The "We Make It Happen," 30-second television ad, can be viewed at https://sharkcomm.com/bankri-tv
As Shark Creative Director and designer of the spot notes, " We Make Things Happen" is a theme that defines the energy and commitment of Bank Rhode Island's Commercial Banking team, and with the beautifully edited series of images and soundtrack, it sets an engaging and overall powerful tone for the bank. It's a strong positioning statement that Shark will also implement as an integrated marketing campaign across print, digital, web, and outdoor. "
Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, BankRI provides an array of personal, business, commercial and investment services. As a commercial bank, Bank Rhode Island delivers financial strength, Commercial Banking expertise, and a range of solutions to help corporate customers reach new goals.
Shark Communications is a Burlington, Vermont-based, branding, web, SEO, and digital marketing agency founded by award-winning Creative Director, Peter Jacobs. Shark serves clients in a wide variety of industries with a strategically-planned mix of creative and digital marketing solutions. From award-winning work for the 1998 US Winter Olympic Trials to numerous creative, design and marketing awards for clients large and small, Shark’s has received consistent creative recognition. More about Shark Communications can be viewed on the agency's website at sharkcomm.com.
W.W.Norton & Company author, Dale Cockrell's new website.
Dale Cockrell is a specialist in American popular music and Professor Emeritus of Musicology at Vanderbilt University and a Research Associate of the University of the Free State (South Africa). He is the author of fourteen books and editions in addition to many articles and reviews. His latest book published by NYC-based W.W. Norton & Company Everybody’s Doin’ It: Sex, Music, and Dance in New York, 1840-1917 will soon be available. Visit his website at: www.dalecockrell.com
A quick bit of Real Estate Marketing.
… including a shift in positioning and tagline from ‘Full Service. Flexible Rates” to the more understandable “Full Service For Less.,” a refreshed logo with improved graphic elements and layout, and some exploratory design.
Bank branding: Ads with a community focus.
New for 2019, Shark designed a series of print ads for Bank Rhode Island’s community-based initiatives. A subtle variation on last year’s BIG theme, these print ads reinforce the text overlay design concept first introduced by the digital billboard design and broadcast TV commercial produced by Shark last summer. The ads feature a series of elegant images of the arts, environment, community and more along with inspiring large-scale headlines that include words such as "Roots" for the environment, "Create" for the arts, and "Honor" for the bank's support for military families.
Jobs: Creative Project Manager
Shark seeks a creative generalist to help with a variety of creative, web, digital, social media and more for accounts in Boston, New York, nationally, and of course in Vermont. It could be an entry level position. Contact pete@sharkcomm.com
Just a new little Shark outpost in LA.
OTT: What it is and what it means for marketers and TV.
OTT, or "over-the-top," is a term that describes the delivery of television and other content over the Internet instead of using traditional channels. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Youtube – we've all used them before, and these along with other OTT providers are becoming the standard for media consumption in the 21st century. In the old days of advertising, you used to go down to the local TV station and order a flight of 30-second slots on whichever show or program that you felt would align with your target audience demographic. Traditional TV networks used a best-guess coverage, or viewer "ratings" system to estimate how many eyeballs viewed your spot, and that was it.
Fast forward to today, where the number of people paying for cable TV is declining year over year, and advertisers are following the customer online. OTT, social media, and streaming services are commanding more and more of people's time, and they offer rich customer data and precise targeting for advertisers. Advertising with OTT TV providers like Hulu offers a new level of tracking and accountability, with guaranteed impressions and non-skippable ads, that traditional TV models can't match.
As an award-winning multi-media agency, Shark Communications produces broadcast and OTT commercials. With the rise of smart TVs, 5G networks, and more, we see TV viewership shifting rapidly to OTT and digital platforms. See below, a sneak peek of some concept storyboards slated for a 2019 launch.
:15s video storyboard for a client to be named later (CTBNL)