IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: local

  • A Thai and Vietnamese Creation

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    Although it’s only in Wilmington, NC, once you step through the doors of Indochine Restaurant you are transformed into a Vietnamese wonderland.  Guarding the front entrance, a 6-foot golden statue of Buddha welcomes the guests that come to dine.  Statues, paintings, and nicknacks line the walls of the interior of the restaurant, all collected by the restaurants owners during their many travels throughout Asia.

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    The true enchantment begins when you pass through the back doors into the garden. With just over an acre, the Bartsch family has created a Vietnamese-inspired garden that will leave you speechless.  From koi ponds to individual tiki-huts for guests to dine in, the garden is a true transformation to a new “far east” destination.

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    After opening its doors in 2001, Indochine quickly became one of Wilmington’s most popular attractions.  Voted Encore’s Best Restaurant Overall for over 15 years, each visit to Indochine is a handcrafted experience.  On top of a beautiful atmosphere, the cuisine only enhances the experience.  Staying local and true to Thai culture, each dish is freshly prepared based on family recipes.

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    Indochine has built a brand based on every factor of the dining experience.  Atmosphere, service, and cuisine are just a few examples of where the Indochine staff focuses their attention to ensure every guest is experiencing a true taste of Vietnam.  Staying true to culture is very important to the owners and doing so has allowed them to build a strong brand awareness in the Wilmington community.

    Based solely on word of mouth marketing, Indochine relies heavily on their reputation.  Through their success it is clear that staying true to culture and providing the very best experience to the customer is vital in surviving in the restaurant business.  Although the owners choose not to advertise in the community, Indochine is a name we all recognize and has become a staple in Wilmington culture.

  • Hot, Fast, Cheap, and Local

    Otherwise known as a flaming success, the Flaming Amy’s brand has made quite the name for itself in Wilmington. The Amy’s family enterprise offers two diverse dining experiences under one brand. The Flaming Amy’s Burrito Barn is housed in an actual barn shaped building offering an eclectic and funky vibe with its sticker covered windows and doors and mismatched frames  lining the walls. But if Tex-Mex isn’t your thing, no worries! You can head on over to the Burrito Barn’s sister and enjoy a taste of non-traditional Mongolian stir fry at Flaming Amy’s Bowl.

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    The Bowl and Barn share more than just their laid back and liberal atmospheres. Since they opened their doors in 2000 the two restaurants have garnered fans and local awards, with the Burrito Barn even making it as one of 64 contenders in FiveThirtyEight’s “Search for America’s Best Burrito.” Self-proclaimed as “hot, fast, cheap and easy,” the family behind the Amy’s enterprise has successfully marketed their brand to the local community.The Wilmington community in turn has responded by becoming an active part of their IMC strategy. Locals are quick to send any visitors or newcomers in town in the direction of either Flaming Amy’s restaurant,  implementing word of mouth marketing to  increase the already well known brand.

    Diners enjoy lunch at Flaming Amy's Bowl in Wilmington, NC on Sunday, July 13, 2014. Copyright 2014 Jason Barnette Flaming Amy's Bowl is locally-owned by Amy and Jay Muxworthy. It is an Asian stir fry restaurant with an emphasis on friendly staff, great cooks, and a comfortable atmosphere.

    And in the word of the Flaming Amy brand itself:

    “Always remember and never forget… EAT AT FLAMING AMY’S!”

    Word of mouth marketing (WOMM) is a type of marketing that is the most ethical and one of the most valuable ways a company can market. WOMM allows customers to have a voice which in turn will give the company an opportunity to listen to customer’s needs and realize that a happy customer is their greatest endorsement. Conversation creation is a marketing tactic that companies use to gain people’s attention, this can be done through interesting or fun advertisements, catchphrases or emails.  Flaming Amy’s utilizes conversation creation through their FAB and Eat at Flaming Amy’s stickers. These stickers can be seen throughout the Wilmington community; on cars, laptops, notebooks and other items you would put a sticker. Conversation creation marketing targets a small group of people which will then influence a large group of people. This type of marketing is an inexpensive way that can produce big results.

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    The Flaming Amy’s Brand has successfully created a loyal audience and customer base with it’s marketing communication efforts. We have all seen the stickers all over town, and it’s always exciting.

    By Aki Suzuki, Carrie Poniewaz, Carey Shetterley, Lexie Trimnal, June Wilkinson

  • Wilmington Appreciates Advertising: Local Marketing

    In the Wilmington community, local advertising agencies offer their services to all of the town’s local businesses. Our small beach town is filled with local companies that are in need of advertising agencies that are familiar with the area and the target audience. Fortunately Wilmington is the home to several advertising agencies that are willing to go the extra mile to provide effective services for our small businesses in the area.

    Colonial Marketing Group is one of Wilmington’s own award-winning advertising agencies. Colonial Marketing provides TV, print and radio advertising for 72 local businesses in Wilmington. Founded and based in our town of Wilmington, this firm aims to develop the relationship between the brand and the consumer for each of their clients. The strategy of their agency can be explained in three words: consult, create and connect. They will first form a close bond with their client so that they will gain a good understanding of the business. Then they will dive into the creative process to convey the company’s brand effectively to the target audience. Colonial Marketing will finish of their process by combining their marketing knowledge and qualitative data to ensure effective advertisements will be executed to reach the target audience. Before a company chooses to work with Colonial Marketing, they have the opportunity to see the firm’s previous work for other businesses. The agency is especially eager to help businesses that like themselves, are Wilmington based.

    One advertising agency that has been a huge local success is Ford Design Group. This agency has developed into being one of the most utilized ad agencies in Wilmington, North Carolina and their work can be found all throughout the city. Ford Design is a multi-faceted advertising agency that offers a wide range of branding, marketing services, print media, logo design, SEO services, and website design. Ford Design Groups goal is to always exceed their clients’ expectations. Their philosophy proudly states, “We’re only as good as our last project.

    “BRAND. MARKET. IMPACT!”.

    “Isn’t it interesting how definitions of words have evolved over the years? Each of these words can either be a noun or a verb, and stand on their own totally unrelated to one another. But, for our team at Ford Design Group, they are all equally important to perform best used in conjunction with one another”. -Greg Ford

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    Greg Ford, founder of Ford Design Group, began running this agency from his own bedroom as a one-man business in 1992. He graduated with a Communication Studies degree from East Carolina University in 1987. Over the past twenty-two years, Greg Ford has turned his one man firm into a talented team of expert programmers, designers, copywriters, photographers and many more to add to the success of this local business. Ford Design Group has customers throughout the southeast and across the country! Their clientele are very diverse, from small business owners to large corporations.

    In the city of Wilmington, Ford Design Group has worked with clients from The Blockade Runner, Hibachi Bistro, Wilmington Development Group, YoSake Downtown Sushi Lounge, to K38 Baja Grill. They have designed logos, print ads, and websites for all of these companies and many more.

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    A company that focuses on quality keeps clients happy, and Ford Design Group has done just that. Below are some testimonials from some of Ford Design Groups satisfied clients.

    “Greg and his group have been very creative in supplying the designs we need. From web site design to t-shirts, they can do it all.”

    -Blockade Runner Resort

    “Greg Ford and his team coached us through the whole process including developing a new logo for our 50-year-old company. They were technically excellent, creative and very customer focused. They listened to what we told them about our industry and developed a customized approach; no “cookie cutter” components. I would use them again!”

    -John S. Clark Co.,LLC

    “Eyecare Center’s corporate identity dated back to the late 1970’s and it looked it.  Ford Design Group took our company into the new millennium with an entire new identity makeover.  Their professionalism, talent and attention to detail were a perfect fit for our company.”

    -Eyecare Center

    With a plethora of local advertising firms in the port city, small businesses in Wilmington have the chance to work directly with companies that are concerned with their success. Not only do they have the chance to meet in person to be able to communicate their wants/expectations effectively, they also have the benefit of assisting fellow local businesses. These advertising firms depend on the support from local businesses, just as the small companies depend on Wilmington’s firms to market their content. What other benefits do you think small, local advertising firms experience? Do you think the recent economic recession affected their business?

    –Hannah Turner, Emily Foulke, Briana McWhirter

  • How to Pitch to the Who’s Who of Wilmington Media

    So maybe you aren’t an advertising or public relations expert, but you do need to get your local business’s name and message out to the media. Pitching to the media isn’t as easy as submitting a release and expecting it to show up in publications. Despite being aimed at mass audiences, media outlets still have targeted content. It’s important to keep in mind a variety of factors when deciding which outlets you want to pitch to and how to execute those pitches.

    The first and most important factor is understanding the audience. If you know your audience this will “help you choose the media that will deliver your sales message most effectively”.

    In “How to Pitch 6 Things You Must Know” Jeff Haden explains that understanding the media’s readership and demographics ensure that your advertisement and business match. Outlets often provide a page that covers information such as the demographics and psychographics of their readers or subscribers – average age, most predominant gender, and what their interests are. Below is an example from Wilma Magazine’s website.

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    Once you have decided on the outlet you want to make sure your pitch has the seven values of newsworthiness such as, timeliness, impact and proximity. You can read more about these here.

    The hardest step in a pitch is actually finding the right person to pitch to. So below are some tips from Carrie Morgan and some suggested Wilmington area outlets to pitch to.

    Local Broadcast: WECT 6 Wilmington, WWAY 3 ABC, CBS 10 Wilm, News 14 Carolina, The Cape Fear CW 3.2.

    • Start with emailing the news desk.
    • Look for an online staff directory.
    • Call and ask questions.
    • Pitch the producer for that specific show.
    • Watch the news.

    Local Newspapers: Star News, Lumina News

    • Look for specific beat reporters.
    • Don’t pitch to the editor in chief.
    • Get familiar with the staff directory.
    • Read their job descriptions.

    Local Magazines: Encore, Salt, Men, Ink., Wrightsville Beach Magazine, Wilmington Magazine, Focus on the Coast, The Greater Wilmington Business Journal, Wilma.

    • Always pitch to the editor.
    • Obtain a staff directory.
    • Don’t reach out to the publisher.
    • Identify regular columnists.

    Local Radio: Coast 97.3, Z 107.5, Sunny 104.5, WWQQ 101.3, 94.5 Hawk, 93.7 & 106.3 The Dude

    Noticing a theme? Be familiar with who the writers are and what they write about. Don’t auto generate your pitch; personalize according to readership, reporter, and relevance. Furthermore, make it easy for those you are pitching to. Don’t add extra fluff, make sure the who, what, when, where, and why of the pitch are all clearly identifiable.

    Knowing how to pitch your business or brand is a valuable asset. Do you have any tips on pitching to the media? Share them with us in a comment below!

    –Caroline Robinson, Elizabeth Harrington, Savannah Valade