Paradigm Marketing and Creative

Renderings of new Airport improvements help Memphis fly high

nthused2001@gmail.com (Allen) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 23:05:00 +0000

Paradigm Marketing and Creative developed the renderings used to help Airport officials and contractors share their vision for improvements coming to the airport.

Read the Commercial Appeal article here.

- Allen

Outsourcing: The Upside of the Out-House

nthused2001@gmail.com (Allen) — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:04:00 +0000

Times, as you know, are tight. It seems as though everybody, with the exception of the federal government, is tightening belts almost the point of busting our collective gut. So what options do we have to reduce costs at work? One of the most obvious: Outsource what we can to save money while keeping our level of service intact. Let’s look at a big negative and a couple of positives.

One of the major downsides, if not THE downside of outsourcing is a perception of loss of control. This perception, or reality, is usually due to lack of face to face communication. This can be overcome, but does take more effort than having employees you can always call for a quick meeting. The beauty here is that the tools available for communication over the Internet are vast and powerful. From Apple’s iChat (http://apple.com), that allows very easy audio-video conferences and screen-sharing, to Skype (http://skype.com/) that allows you to talk PC-PC (or Mac) anywhere in the world. Another tool: Gotomeeting (http://gotomeeting.com) is designed for online meetings. Gotomeeting costs are affordable and tools for collaboration are outstanding. If you don't need Microsoft Office live collaboration, a free tool, veyw (http://vyew.com/site/index2) is great for meetings. These tools (and many more) are free or very inexpensive and should (must) be utilized to both audibly and visually communicate with your team. In short, we have no excuse for poor communication, whether our team members are at our conference table or 3,000 miles away …on a beach …enjoying a tropical breeze (we really hate those guys...)

When using these tools, plan for time differences and work backward from your project deadline to establish set times for communicating with your team. Schedule this time and create a calendar event using Outlook, Google Calendar (http://calendar.google.com) or other software everyone on your team can access and utilize. To ensure your team members are on the same page, create an agenda for your meetings and share it with the team at least a day before. An agenda will go a long way in making your communication succinct, accurate, and cause a minimum of confusion. Include an action plan on the agenda with names and tasks assigned. This action plan can change during the meeting based on the discussion, but it’s great to have a starting point, an expectation of what you see coming out of the meeting. (Lisa B. Marshall gives some very good tips for effective meetings in Episode 40 of her Podcast here: The Public Speakers Quick and Dirty Tips website)

The BIG upside of outsourcing is an immediate reduction of personnel cost. Savings come from the reduction of monthly salaries and benefits, the indirect costs of office space, parking, electricity, computers, etc... In contrast, companies who contract with you bring their own tools to the playing field, work from their own offices, own or lease their computers, pay for their phones and internet, and buy their own health insurance. Heck! These guys even train themselves! And they do this so that they can serve you, their client, in the best way possible.

Budget control is another benefit of outsourcing. Working closely with a company with which you contract allows you to establish scope of work and the costs for that work. Those costs are static until you change the scope, up or down. Setup a quarterly review process with the company or companies to monitor next quarter's needs, quality of work, and to see if the company can provide other services to you. Based on these meetings, adjust your scope accordingly. Remember, as in any relationship, communication is vital.

This mercury-like market we’re in creates a need to ramp up and then down very quickly, sometimes overnight. Some weeks are incredibly busy with deadlines that threaten our sanity, and then some are so slow as to be almost hypnotic in their boredom. Create a list of companies and individuals you trust to work with you on your projects. Then keep that list updated and always be on the look-out for partnerships that will give you and your company the winning edge over your competition. Start now.

Allen

Advantages of Using Virtual Product Shots

nthused2001@gmail.com (Allen) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:22:00 +0000

Whether you are watching TV, reading a magazine, or driving by a billboard on the Highway, marketing advertisements are everywhere. Recently, Jason Lee and I have been creating 3D product shots to add to Paradigms portfolio and have noticed numerous reasons why utilizing 3D has a competitive advantage.

Most of the ads we see on a day to day basis have some form of 3D integrated into them. For instance, ads in magazines are full of product shots that were created on the computer and printed for the end user to view. For example, a recent mock ad Jason produced dealt with a cologne bottle emerged underwater and bubbles rising to the surface. Imagine how difficult, if possible, it would have been to generate this in a real world setup.

A major reason for creating ads in 3D is to have control. Having the control to design an ad and to be able to change that ad if needed in a timely manner is key. Not only can it be done quickly but also saves money in the long run. A product photography shoot can be very expensive to plan, direct, and manage whereas you can obtain a photo real result straight from the computer and there is not a loss of control over the outcome you expect.

The accuracy that comes out of virtual product shots can be managed more effectively. A product can be created, designed, and modified in 3D space whereas once you have the video footage; that is all you have to work with. What if you need to add a shot or need a different background? What if the look of the product did not turn out how you imagined? Many obstacles are taken out the way when going the virtual route.

You can bring an object to life or stylize a product to match how it is portrayed to the audience. This is easily obtained in 3D rather than with real world environments. Utilizing virtual lighting, animations, and modeling helps create an edge over other ads and can aid in selling an idea faster. Remember, anything is possible in a virtual world!

Jana

Paradigm March Madness

nthused2001@gmail.com (Allen) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:03:00 +0000

It is that time of year again when we fill out our brackets to see who will win the Men’s 2009 NCAA Championship. Paradigm has a “bracket wall” (no, not a bunch of brackets to hold something) in our office and we follow the games each week to see who will come out on top and claim bragging rights. Every year Jason thinks he will be triumphant but tends to be all talk and no follow through...ouch!

This year the office is split between North Carolina and our hometown Memphis Tigers to win it all - and one who thinks Louisville will take home the trophy (whatever!). The first two rounds have been played as we enter the Sweet 16 with a three way tie in points. The standings show Mike, Laurabeth, and Jana are on top with 52 points and are closely being trailed by Brian “The Awesome” Yonker with 50 points. Last year Ted "I don't like college football" was the winner by one point and hopes to make it a repeat.

A lot of trash talking has been occurring this week around the office and it is still anyone’s game as the Sweet 16 starts up on Thursday March 26. Stay tuned to the standings as more teams are weeded out and see who will end up the 2009 Paradigm March Madness Champion.

Jana

ADDY Awards - the aftermath

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:45:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of judging the ADDY Awards in Destin, Fl this past weekend - I love an excuse to eat seafood!

The award judging process took all day on Saturday, but it was so well organized that it was easy on us. Will Maberry, director of marketing, at Destin Properties had everything ready to go and was a very helpful host. Jessica Maraman of Vivid Publicity & Marketing was responsible for asking me to judge.

The process revealed several interesting things that I had suspected before. First of all, it was clear that many companies do not enter their work. Paradigm has worked for several years in Florida and many of the ads, brochures, etc. that I have seen in the area were clearly absent. Secondly, it confirmed my belief that this really ends up being a “beauty show” more than dicerning the most effective piece.

Because there are so many entries and no context is provided for the work, the judges will tend to score entries higher that stand apart visually from the others. Unfortunately, a higher score doesn’t mean the submittal is the most effective collateral pieces to the particular end user or client. Never-the-less it does also remind one that being unique does capture attention.

So at the end of the day I concluded that ideally the award process would allow the judge to not only visually respond to the submital, but to also understand the target audience and success - I would like to see a case study with each.

Lastly - there are way too many categories. It is confusing for the submitter and just plain silly at times. Note to national ADDYs - delete redundant categories - and/or create clear definitions.

I hope I have the chance to do this again soon and it would be so much better if some tweaks were made.

New Name, Same Paradigm

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:19:00 +0000

Just as they have continued to morph and change over the last 17 years, Paradigm Productions has changed its name to Paradigm Marketing & Creative. Founder, Charles Gaushell, frequently reminds employees that Paradigm has been built on the willingness and desire to change. Always striving to improve client services and relations, Paradigm has expanded services well beyond its original focus in 1992 on 3D illustrations and animations. A large and diverse client base across the United States and a handful of international clients has proven that this ongoing ability to adapt and serve has indeed paid off.

Workouts and Turnarounds - A Marketing Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:19:00 +0000

We all well know the current economic climate - especially those of us with strong business ties to the real estate industry. There will be many opportunities for workouts and turnarounds for distressed and underperforming projects this year.

Typically these workouts and turnarounds have focused all efforts on the financial side and put little emphasis on the marketing aspects. Though the crisis is financial, sales still occur to the end user (home owners, businesses, etc – not large scale investors). And it is still necessary to have a clear marketing message – especially in a depressed market.

There are many projects on the market that had the philosophy – “if we build it, they will come”. At the height of the market, that worked. But as the market started to fall, it became more evident that many projects were either ill-conceived or lacked a cohesive and compelling story to help drive sales.

A careful analysis is necessary that not only reviews the financial health, but also gives serious review to how to transform, tweak or reinvent a project. Without a doubt, many projects have “immovable” challenges, which mean now more than ever, that a clear story which deals with these issues is in place.

Analysis helps set the tone for all marketing and presentation materials. For instance:

Envisioning
Target Market Analysis
Competitor Analysis
Key Messages
Site/Architecture Review
Signage, Parking, Lighting, Pedestrian
Amenities
Construction
Interrelations
Community
Sales

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 18:17:00 +0000

Project Highlight: M!Power Memphis

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:28:00 +0000

Paradigm Productions worked with the Memphis Chamber of Commerce to develop a series of animated 3D logo elements based on an original concept by Running Pony Productions.

According to Brooke Twiddell of the Chamber, “They are similar to Google’s logo, the ‘M’ is a dynamic mark. Through photorealism, we can show all of the things we want to communicate about our community.”

These logos will be used in printed and video materials moving forward. Additionally, Paradigm developed a video motion graphics piece to showcase the Aerotropolis concept - road, rails, runways and river - a major transportation hub.

Football and Marketing Campaigns

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:52:00 +0000

I’m at a football game with my daughter while writing this and it occurred to me that campaigns, whether they be for politics, war, or marketing, sales and fund raising, should be run like a football team.

Each play should be well designed, then studied and tested. The play then must be presented to the players and then practiced, practiced and practiced until perfected.

At game time execute the planned plays with extreme, but controlled, power. It’s easy, in this stage, to become swayed as the focus is easily switched to playing and not winning. Manage the game and always remain focused on the long-term goal.

Is your plan thorough? Well designed? Are the team members (your materials) of your plan all working together to achieve the same goals? Continue to evaluate and adapt to changing markets and situations and then plan to meet those head-on.

Plan, practice, perfect, and then prosecute with persistence.

Project Hightlight: MayTown Center

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:09:00 +0000

Paradigm has created a new video for MayTown Center, a proposed development in Nashville, Tennessee. The piece highlights the positive economic impact to the City the project will bring and the environmental sensitivity of the proposed design.

LEED guidelines and a design that uses less than half of the property for development are two outstanding elements of the project. It’s very exciting to see a design that is preserving the land for wildlife and our children and grandchildren.

Paradigm’s turn-around time? Less than a month. MayTown Center highlights our ability to take a project from script to a finished animation that’s ready to use not only for marketing but to communicate a vision to elected officials and concerned citizens.

Project Highlight: Eagle Beer

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:05:00 +0000

All of our projects are enjoyable to work on, but some have better rewards than others. The Eagle Beer Distributorship video was not only enjoyable to work on, but proved to have a very unexpected but welcome reward when completed. Our client sent us two coolers full of Anheuser Busch products for a job well done. A very refreshing surprise.

Project Highlight: Dunas Beach Resort

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:05:00 +0000

Paradigm Productions was hired by a firm in England to create a virtual tour of Dunas Beach Resort, a project on an island off the west coast of Africa. The luxury mixed use community includes a 5 star hotel, single family bungalos, apartments, and many amenities. A sunny, beautiful place.

Memorial Day

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:04:00 +0000

Last Monday in the U.S. we celebrated Memorial Day. The day was originally called “Decoration Day” - set aside after the Civil War to decorate fallen warriors graves. Now most of us sit at home and grill - though some, such as the Boy Scouts, lay flowers at each grave in Veteran’s Cemeteries across the nation. While at the dinner table the night before last I talked with my children about the opportunities given us by these men who’d given so much in the defense of our freedoms. How we, as a tribute to them, should not squander those liberties.

One of the best ways to honor our troops is to use the freedoms we enjoy to better ourselves in everything we do. Excel in your education, your work, your recreation, your fitness, your worship. One of the reasons I enjoy working with the people here at Paradigm is that work ethic - that striving to better oneself. Not out of fear of losing one’s job - but out of the love of the work. And of course it’s great that we have monthly Lunch and Learns where the company sponsors further education over a good meal.

Push yourself everyday to be better than you were the day before, to leave something for the next generation to be proud of.

Project Highlights…

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:59:00 +0000

I apologize for not posting in the last few weeks. Work has kept us busy around here. Recently we’ve been working with architects on a variety of Military Base improvements. Although not as “glamorous” as many of our recent projects, we really love to opportunity to create these presentation videos and stills for our men and women in uniform, as they’re part of the process of making their lives a little better.

St. Patrick’s Day: Market your Green

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:35:00 +0000

St. Patrick’s Day will soon be here. You know the rules: If you’re not proudly wearing your Irish green on the 17th of March you should, and deserve to, come home with a lot of bruising. Speaking of green…yeah, I know, it’s a stretch…We’re seeing a positive trend of more projects coming to us that are in the LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design review process.

Sweetwater, a mixed-used community in Hailey, ID, LINK is in the LEED for Neighborhood Development Pilot program. The exciting aspect of the Neighborhood Development (ND) program is that it looks at responsible design in a more comprehensive fashion. Instead of designing for one building, one site, the LEED-ND is designed to certify an entire neighborhood.

Our marketing program for Sweetwater uses this information to educate our potential customers about the benefits this brings to them, the Sweetwater neighborhood, the town of Hailey, and to the surrounding environs.

If you’ve created a Smart Design that goes above and beyond the minimums be sure that fact is communicated effectively.

Oh…and don’t forget to wear your green on the 17th.

Tell Your Story

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:55:00 +0000

I love a good story. Doesn’t everyone? Research has proven time and time again that stories are what drive us….and they drive good marketing.

Just think about the really great commercials:

Coca Cola - Mean Joe Greene giving his jersey to a kid
Budweiser - almost any of theirs, especially with the Clydesdales
Apple - throwing the sledgehammer into Big Brother

The common denominator is that they gave us a story; more than just images of the product or just beautiful people (or animals) using them. Way too often ads and videos focus on “stuff” and do not connect with us.

Even when creating videos or commercials for real estate, a church, a school or medical facility, it is important to connect with the viewer. Bricks and mortar can only say so much to us - we need to connect through some emotion.

A script with or without narration needs to be developed to drive the story. Everything from lighting to camera moves to color guides the viewer. So next time you watch a commercial or video production watch to see if it is “stuff” or a story.

Project Highlight: May Town Center

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:10:00 +0000

Kermit the Frog’s “It Ain’t Easy Being Green” certainly doesn’t apply to Bell’s Landing Partners, the visionary developers behind May Town Center in Nashville, Tennessee. RTKL’s office in Dallas, Texas designed a community that creates “…a town center, within a park, within the city of Nashville…” preserving over 60 percent of the land in parks, trails and natural habitat.

Mr. Giarratana of Bell’s Landing Partners brought Paradigm Productions on board so that he could communicate the dream to the public in a dynamic way that only animation can achieve. Modeling from the RTKL drawings, and sketches, and working closely with our clients, the production took less than one week to create.

Link

K.I.S.S. it!

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:47:00 +0000

It’s Valentines Day!

OK, instead of using the old guilt and obligation approach to remind you to buy your someone special…something special, we’ll get right to today’s topic.

Keep your marketing materials, from banner ads to billboards, simple and targeted to your demographic. To understand what we’re talking about, open any magazine or newspaper and start thumbing through the pages. How much time did you spend reading the content (text) on the ads? It’s likely that you spent less than 10 seconds on each ad (and probably less than 5).

Your advertisement should grab the emotions, hold them for a moment, and direct your potential customer to a web site, or store where they can invest their time getting more information in a more controlled environment. It’s VERY unlikely that your ad, no matter how much information you place within it, is going to sell your product. To think so is just not realistic (for the vast majority of products and services).

Remember: “Keep-It-Simple-Stupid”. Easy to remember and very effective.

Leadership

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 03:12:00 +0000

President’s Day is Monday February 18th. Serving on submarines in the U.S. Navy taught me about the traits good leaders like Presidents share. One of those traits is being a self-starter.

We’re blessed at Paradigm to have Jana Yarbrough as a part of our team. Jana recently published an article for HDRI 3D, a major 3D trade magazine. Her article, “No Lines for the Restroom”, is focused on what it means to be a woman working in a 3D world - an industry currently dominated by males. Jana didn’t need direction to write that article. No one here at Paradigm gave her notes, or helped her in making contacts around the world. She saw a need, and took it upon herself to fill that need.

Congratulations, Jana.

Project Highlight: The Dakota Mountain Lodge & Spa

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:42:00 +0000

This month we’re looking at the most recent virtual tour produced by Paradigm Productions, The Dakota Mountain Lodge and Spa. The story behind the story was a very short deadline due to our client’s need to show the piece during the Sundance Film Festival.

The keys to meeting the tight deadline? Story, Planning, and Management.

One: Develop the story, create a storyboard, and then make minor adjustments as you go.
Two: Plan the shots needed in detail. Assemble the materials required in each scene, build only what is going to be seen. Spend time on what will be in the camera - not in items that’ll never be viewed.
Three: Check, test and tweak each shot and how they flow together to enhance the emotional impact.
Four: Manage the team to stay focused on the story within the time given.

From storyboard to delivery of the animation was five weeks (and in the midst of the Christmas holidays). What does that mean to you? Just because time is short doesn’t mean the quality of your marketing material needs to suffer.

Building your database

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:44:00 +0000

Remarkably, computer databases have been in use since the 1960’s, but never have they been more powerful than they are today. This is especially true in the Real Estate market. Studies indicate that more residential sales start on-line than any other medium. Furthermore, the main form of communication between Realtor and buyer has quickly become the internet and email.

Having said this, we often find clients that have not been taking advantage of the opportunity their website and a properly designed database offers. The database can be one of the most powerful and cost effective tools available - when used correctly.

Getting the data is as simple as setting up a contact form on your website and then driving sufficient traffic to your site. What you do with the information is the important part.

What you don’t want to do is flood your registrants’ in-box with useless sales pitches. Most likely you’ll end up on the Spam list and that’s no way to start a relationship with your potential buyers. What you do want to do is keep them opening and reading the emails. Offering quality information and value in the emails is key.

Once you start using your database correctly you will find that it can be a truly unbelievable marketing and communication tool. Oh… and don’t forget to track your campaigns. Check back for future Blog entries on the specifics of setting up, utilizing and tracking your database.

The Best Small Hot Business:

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:40:00 +0000

2007 has been an exciting year for Paradigm Productions. We have been honored with the following recognition:

2007 Finalist - Best Places to Work - Memphis Business Journal
2007 Finalist - Small Business Award - Memphis Business Journal
2007 BusinessTN Hot 100 Companies

Likewise, we received Davey, Addy and CSI awards. The passion and dedication of the great staff at Paradigm Productions makes the difference.

Investigating New 3D Software

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:39:00 +0000

We have been using LightWave3D since 1993 as our primary 3D illustration and animation program. It has served us well over the years, but we are now reviewing an exciting option called Modo made by Luxology.

Modo is actually developed by the original programmers of LightWave3D. The beauty for us is that it plays well with LightWave3D and it provides features that we are looking forward to for many years. If anyone is interested in our thoughts, please drop an email to us via our website “Contact Us” page.

Physical Model or a Digital Model?

noreply@blogger.com (Paradigm Marketing & Creative) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 23:22:00 +0000

When talking about physical models, there are really two types related to marketing (well three, if you count models that we hire for photos and video) :

Table top models - traditional scale models that are placed on a table, box, etc.
Full size unit models - building out an actual condo unit.

So why not use table top or full size units? Let me start by saying that we think table top models look cool, but lack in the real usability as they aren’t easily transported and have a very limited usage outside of a sales center. Full size units on the other hand do allow a buyer to touch finishes and walk through the space. The problem besides cost, is that you are still only giving the user one model to tour.

We therefore recommend a hybrid approach. Build a partial unit model that consists of a bathroom and kitchen. Both of these should be typical and should focus more on finishes and materials as opposed to the exact layout. Actually by not setting up an exact model, the buyer will understand the meaning and avoid confusion.

To really sell the project lifestyle you need a digital model. This means a virtual representation created inside a computer program that can than be output to print, website, video, etc. This offers the greatest flexibility and can save marketing dollars by foregoing the table top model and/or the majority of the physical unit model.

It also gives you a more dynamic way to tell the story; allows for multiple versions of finish packages; various unit tours; interactive sales tools (both online and in the sales center); and provides the best return on your marketing investment.