Here’s some news we were happy to pass around the office — and share with you:

Hey all,

Just to let everyone know, ADCO, just like last year, has been approved by the City of Columbia Green Business Program as one of Columbia’s Green Business Members for 2010! We have a seal outside our front door…. Basically, Columbia “Green Businesses” “implement environmentally friendly practices in the work place to help improve the environment and the quality of life in the Midlands.” I’ll post our “green goals” from last year, as well as our new goals for this year, on the bulletin board in the kitchen. So next time you’re in the kitchen grabbing some coffee or a snack, take a look to see how many of the goals you already do, or those you could improve.

Thanks everyone and good work

Janie

Some of our green goals:

-Turn off lights when you leave a room;
-Unplug items when not in use (chargers, lamps, etc.)
-Continue to recycle paper!
-Carpool to work/work events when possible.

That’s just a piece of the script from the newest TV spot ADCO helped create for the Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports, &Tourism.

The spot, which is running in Charlotte and Asheville, North Carolina, showcases everything there is to do in Columbia. For those seeking family fun, culture, history, or outdoor adventures–Columbia has a lot to offer.

And this summer, we’re offering it for less with deals from local hotels and attractions.

Check out the TV spot below, and if you’re looking for a good time in Columbia, check out the deals at www.experiencecolumbia.com.

The historic Fox Theater which is becoming the new Nickelodeon Theatre

The Nick is the state’s only non-profit movie theater, showing independent, foreign and documentary films, and it is currently renovating the historic Fox Theater to create a new-and-improved Nickelodeon. According to the Nick’s Website, “The new facility will signal a dramatic transformation for the Nickelodeon both in size and scope. The non-profit theater will be adding a second screen, tripling its seating capacity, adding a significantly larger lobby and expanding its concessions offerings. The renovated space will also house Columbia’s first Media Education Center, a new venture being undertaken by the Nickelodeon which will offer classes in media production and literacy to students and adults from across the Midlands.”

This project is incredibly exciting! Our beloved Nick will get a new, awesome space in which to expand its offerings. The community will have the opportunity to see even more great films. A historic building will be renovated and revived (and it will retain some of its Art Deco flair). And, last but certainly not least for those of us who live in and love the Capital City, the Main Street Downtown Area will be brought to life again after five o’clock as the coming of the Nick will usher in other businesses that will help revitalize the entire area.

We are all thrilled to have been given a tour and a glimpse into the future of the Nick! To learn more about the capital campaign behind the project and about the history of the Fox Theater, click here.

In the end, Columbia didn’t really see snow, but those of us at ADCO saw something else–the way social media has become interwoven into our lives. Here are just a few examples of people using social media to communicate with one another about our impending inclement weather:

One of our popular local news stations hosted a live “chat blog” on their home page. Viewers could submit questions and updates on whether they were seeing snow, and both anchors and meteorologists answered questions and chatted with viewers.

Facebook and Twitter were alive with personal speculations on whether or not we’d have snow. Friends living outside of the Midlands who did receive a good bit of snow were all posting photos of their snow-covered backyards and the snowmen they had built.

Local online message boards were filled with people betting on school closings and commenting on what some saw as the silliness of our residents as we prepared for a big snow storm.

Bloggers from around the Midlands were excitedly blogging about their plans for the snow and their secret hopes that their offices might close for the day.

What’s the moral of this story? If you’ve ever thought that no one in Columbia uses social media, think again. Look around. The snow brought out all the online media enthusiasts, bloggers, and social networkers!

How many of you utilized a social media outlet to learn about the weather? How many of you communicated your thoughts on the possibility of snow to your favorite social network or blog? We certainly did. Did you?

Jessica, our Director of Internet Marketing, has written “An Introduction to Social Networking,” and our good friends at MidlandsBiz.com, having noticed the ever-increasing interest in social networking around town, published that article.

To read the article, click here.

This article is the first of a five article series on social networks. Upcoming articles will examine each of the most popular networks in turn (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter), and the final article will provide readers with tips and tricks for using social networks. These articles are scheduled to run on MidlandsBiz.com over the next month, and we hope you’ll check them out.

We encourage everyone to sign-up to receive MidlandsBiz’s email newsletter. It’s an excellent weekly update on what’s going on in business around Columbia. To sign up, click here.

To begin the creative process, our team got together for some good ole fashioned brainstorming. As we were throwing out ideas, we realized the opportunity that was before us. We could create a vanity tag that would blow all other vanity tags out of the water. I mean, let’s face it. Most tags are not very imaginative. They’re simple, which isn’t necessarily bad (as designers, we know that sometimes simple is best), but they aren’t a good simple. Most plates utilize one, often very basic, design element to the left with numbers to the right–and nothing else. No background and little use of creative typography. Not very exciting.

In that moment, we decided that we would try to create a plate that was different, that stood out from the rest. Of course, we had lots of impossible ideas–like plates made out of recycled wood or cardboard or plastic bottles–that we loved but had to let go of since plates are aluminum and would stay that way. But even though the plate had to be made of aluminum, it didn’t have to look aluminum. It could look like recycled material (even if it wasn’t actually recycled material).

So we asked ourselves: what’s the most common material that’s recycled and reused? Newspaper. We don’t just throw it in the recycling bin (which many of us do); we reuse it on our own. We use it as packing material; we lay it down to protect against spills; we line litter boxes with it; we paper train the puppy with it; and more.

It was decided. We would design a plate that looked like newspaper so that, on first glance, you’d know the plate was about recycling. You wouldn’t have to decipher some strange, complex graphic to the left of the numbers. You’d just know the minute you saw it.

Speaking of seeing it, do you want to? Okay, drum role, please–bongos will do nicely.

Here’s the creative rationale:

• Design demonstrates recyclable items.
• Design reinforces the three “Rs.”
• Design communicates the message of recycling, even if “reduce reuse and recycle” was not written on the plate.
• Design could be strengthened by creating a fictitious newspaper to include articles and charts that relate to the three “Rs,” such as “South Carolina Believes in Recycling” or “Tips on the Three Rs.”

Progressive Physical Therapy has been a client for many years, and we are thrilled to have partnered with them on the design and development of their website. We worked through the process with them from start to finish, making sure their new website better accomplished their goals.

The design and content of the new site showcases the multitude of services they provide at their many locations across the state, and the back-end content management system we built the site on gives them the power to update their site with just a few clicks!

Check the site out here, and let us know what you think by leaving a comment!

You know you’ve arrived when your work is the subject of an editorial cartoon.  We love The State’s award winning cartoonist, Robert Ariail and encourage him to discover the many hot spots in our great city (in case he really thinks the only thing hot about Columbia is the temperature).