November 2006

Top 10 reasons to advertise with PlattForm:

Submitted by webdesign on Fri, 2006-11-03 09:40

1. We have a candy cart that goes around giving candy to everyone on Tuesdays. Candy = sugar = creativity.

2. We have 17 years of experience in the college advertising industry, which means we rule.

3. We’re a full-service ad agency with experience in making all of the elements work together in harmony. We’ve integrated e-mail marketing into our direct mail campaigns, for instance, to increase their effectiveness.

4. We have a whole department who researches the best places to advertise for schools, which means you don’t have to. This also means that we rule.

Making the most of your direct mail campaign

Submitted by webdesign on Mon, 2006-11-06 16:26

Need an advertising avenue that allows you to cater to a specific demographic? Not having any luck targeting your specific audience through television, radio or newspaper? Maybe it’s time to turn your attention – and dollars – to Direct Mail.

Let’s say you’re trying to reach single, Hispanic females who are interested in a career in medical assisting. Chances are, you’re going to have better luck finding these individuals buying a specific list instead of throwing thousands of dollars into television and newspaper ads that might not reach anyone who fits that profile.

Potential students are just a phone call away

Submitted by webdesign on Mon, 2006-11-13 12:46

Unlike a field of dreams, college students don’t simply come to your school once you’ve built it. With hundreds of schools to choose from, all offering similar programs for relatively the same cost, students have to make a personal connection with your school if they’re going to enroll. To make these connections you’ve got to do something to get them in the door – something to give them a chance to see, experience and react to what you have to offer.

Tick ... tick ... tick ...

Submitted by webdesign on Wed, 2006-11-15 15:38

Lots to do? Feel like there’s not enough time to get it done?

Yeah, me too. But not in a stressed-out, buried-under-a-pile-of-papers way. What’s on the to-do list? A Thanksgiving potluck that started as just something for Print and then bubbled over into three or four departments and counting. (I’m bringing sausage-apricot stuffing.)

Oh yeah – I’ve got to finish that blog entry!

Ode to Dre

Submitted by webdesign on Fri, 2006-11-17 11:41

Last week I had a RIVETING assignment in Sacramento … riveting only because I got the chance to hang out with my best friend Deirdre, a TV anchorwoman who lives in Sac Town.

Now, I know a lot of people. Most I merely tolerate. But only a handful do I actually call “friends.” And only one or two do I call BEST friends. You know the kind I’m talking about … Deirdre is my kindred spirit. Deirdre is the only one I call on in simultaneous moments of panic, delusion, sheer joy, bad hair and/or constipation.

Colleges should be thankful for slow news days

Submitted by webdesign on Mon, 2006-11-20 15:54

As a former newspaper editor, I loved and hated the weeks before and after the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years holidays. Employees at government offices and corporations headed out of town for the holidays and with them went our news stories. Instead of the flood of people wanting coverage for their events, we were left with more of a leaky faucet that barely drip-drip-dripped onto our editorial calendar.

Giving at the office

Submitted by webdesign on Wed, 2006-11-22 11:52

At the entryways of department stores and other retailers, the charitable groups are out. They are braving the dropping temperatures to ring bells and watch buckets fill with change and the occasional folded bill.

Most people consider the holiday season the time to give, but it’s that way around our office regardless of the season. And it’s a good kind of giving that comes through no obligation or pressure – with no incentive except the way it makes you feel. Our staff has a sincerity behind their giving, which makes us different from other corporations.

Early to bed, early to rise

Submitted by webdesign on Mon, 2006-11-27 16:35

I knew this guy named Mike “The Hammer” who, as the story goes, didn’t earn his nickname because of his carpentry skills. The Hammer was a regular at the driving range I worked at as a teenager. The driving range was on First Avenue in Forest Park, Illinois.

How to make a web site that stinks

Submitted by webdesign on Thu, 2006-11-30 09:30

I was just commissioned to make a bad site. No, it’s not that we have a client with no taste—this one is intentionally bad. Our Video department is making a promotional video to show how our web development teams can improve web sites. To tell the truth, though, I’m actually a little happy about this project. My time in web design has taught me quite a bit about what makes a bad web page, and I finally get a chance to show the public how bad these bad things can be. (Admittedly, not everyone will be as riled up about these things as I am. I don’t care.