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.

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.”

The informal meeting, where attendees will be armed with locally designed “Get Out the Vote” posters and charged with hanging them throughout the community to encourage residents to vote, is a part of AIGA’s Design for Democracy initiative.

Established in 2000, the initiative enables designers to get involved in the public arena by contributing to a coordinated national voter mobilization campaign. This year’s poster campaign builds on efforts undertaken in 2004, when participants created more than 50,000 AIGA posters and displayed them in communities across the nation.

AIGA is committed to demonstrating the value of design to the public. By motivating eligible citizens to vote on election day through the use of locally designed posters with a clear and critical call to action, “Get Out the Vote” helps to do just that.

For more information on the national AIGA “Get Out the Vote” campaign, click here. To learn more about the SC Chapter of AIGA, visit southcarolina.aiga.org.

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).

Question. Who is The Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism (MACST)?
Answer. MACST is the parent organization of the Columbia Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, and the Columbia Regional Sports Council.

The Columbia Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau mission is to strengthen the area’s economy by marketing and selling Columbia, its accommodations, restaurants, facilities and attractions as a destination for meetings, conventions, tradeshows, special events and leisure travel.

The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center mission is to provide a first-class venue offering superior operations management and state-of-the-science amenities for the successful coordination of meetings, conventions, tradeshows, entertainment and other special events utilizing the facility.

The Columbia Regional Sports Council mission is to strengthen the area’s economy by marketing and selling Columbia as a premier destination for sporting events and partnering with local sports organizations to grow and develop existing events.

Q. What is the purpose of the new Columbia marketing campaign?
A. The new campaign’s purpose is to attract more conventions and meetings, sporting events and leisure visitors to our area.

Q. Isn’t it bad to say that Columbia’s hot?
A. Columbia’s heat is legendary and the “Famously Hot” campaign takes that heat and puts a powerful twist on it.  In this campaign, the “hotness” of Columbia refers to our happening nightlife, sizzling cuisine, fiery music and arts scene, and our sultry spirit.  Additionally, our climate is a plus as we are a year-round destination.  Hot also speaks to our progress; we’re moving forward.

Q. How did you develop the new marketing campaign?
A. The Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism partnered with industry and community leaders, individuals who market the area and ADCO, a local strategic, creative and interactive agency to work through a brand identity process.  More than 40 individuals each donated time to this team effort.  Over the course of several meetings, the team examined Columbia’s strengths and weaknesses; determined what sets us apart from the competition; and selected the words that best describe our city.  Working through that process, the team came to consensus on the essence of Columbia’s identity—The New Southern Hot Spot.

Q. How was “Famously Hot” chosen for the new marketing campaign?
A. The team defined Columbia as the new southern hot spot. “Columbia, SC. Famously Hot” rose to the surface as being unique, differentiating and attention grabbing. Competition among destinations for conventions and meetings, sports events and leisure travel is intensely competitive.  To be successful a campaign must cut through the clutter of advertisements.  The goal was to design ads that were cutting-edge and unique. “Columbia, SC. Famously Hot” grabs the reader’s attention, as does the photography that is different from the generic photos that other destinations use in their ads.

Q. Why does the campaign slogan just cite Columbia and not the Midlands region?
A. According to destination branding experts and research conducted by the Destination Marketing Association International, visitors do not distinguish between the city and its suburbs. As Eric La Brecque, a brand expert based in San Francisco, stated, “Political boundaries are irrelevant to tourists.”

Q. Was it a smart investment to spend $75,000 for this campaign?
A. MACST invested in more than a campaign.  “Famously Hot” is the foundation for this campaign that also includes a strategic marketing plan for customer service delivery.  Tourism is a $1 billion industry for the Columbia region and supports 12,000 area jobs that provide services, products and amenities for visitors. Tax paying households save $675 a year due to the economic impact of tourism in the state.  This is an intensely competitive marketplace and for Columbia to be a player, we must break through the clutter with a comprehensive campaign, which will be carried to our target audience through advertising, Web development and direct marketing.

Q. Where does this funding come from?
A. The Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism is a private, not-for-profit corporation funded primarily by revenue generated by visitors through the accommodations tax.

Q. What is behind the design of the “Famously Hot” logo?
A. The goal of the marketing campaign is to create awareness for Columbia, SC as a destination for conventions and meetings, sports events and tourism.  We made the words Columbia, SC prominent in the ad for that reason.  The flames are not just a literal representation of heat, they are also symbolic of the spirit and energy of our community and a metaphor for all we have achieved and are yet to accomplish—a shining beacon for all to see.  The three flames are symbolic of the three components of The Authority (Conventions & Visitors Bureau, Convention Center and Sports Authority) as well as our three rivers.  The colors in the flames move from hot to cool which correspond to the word play used in the campaign—Famously Hot; Surprisingly Cool.

This campaign theme–Famously Hot–will be incorporated into all of the MACST’s marketing efforts, which will target regional and national convention planners, sports event planners and leisure travelers. The campaign theme was selected because it’s unique, differentiating and attention grabbing. It takes Columbia’s legendary heat and puts a powerful twist on it, referring to our happening nightlife, sizzling cuisine, fiery music and arts scene, and our sultry spirit.

All of us at ADCO are so excited to launch this new campaign with MACST, but we want to know what you think! Please comment on this blog entry to give us your thoughts. Also, be sure to check out the exclusive article by The State newspaper.

Mathieu asserts, “Here’s the new reality: Consumers deal with the media onslaught in one of two ways. One, they’re simply tuning out the message–because it’s not the right message, sent at the right time, in the right way. Or two, they’re taking the message and posting it to the social network du jour because it was sent at the right time, in the right way and in a manner that was appropriate to them.”

Translation: Consumers are bombarded with all forms of advertising so they’ve stopped paying attention any time we bombard them with material that is not useful. So rather than trying to dazzle consumers with the next flashy thing, we should be focusing on sending them a useful message that hits them at the right place and time.

What’s Mathieu telling us? We need strategy. Great creative can’t get the job done on it’s own; it needs the guiding hand of strategy to dictate audience, key message, and medium.

In the world of advertising agencies, this is what separates the men from the boys, so to speak. A lot of people can create work that looks good, smells great, and feels wonderful–but doesn’t increase your revenue. Only the best create work that speaks to your audience in a meaningful way–and accomplishes goals.

The next time you’re looking for an agency, don’t just glance at the pretty pictures in the portfolio. Ask for the success stories. Demand to see results from clients who have trusted the agency to combine great creative with well-rounded strategy. Only then can you be sure you’re getting a partner that knows how to communicate with the right people at the right time and place.