ACS Creative, Inc.

Aaaaah … summertime, the season of sun, fun and easy livin’! A three-month breather from business-as-usual before you ramp up to full steam again in the fall, right...

And here it goes...my first blog! This should be interesting. I honestly have no idea what to write about. I'm not a writer, I'm a graphic designer...

To many businesses, the term integrated marketing simply means ensuring that all marketing messages and creative elements are consistent across every marketing channel—online and offline—that the business utilizes...

These days, with all the buzz about devising conversational marketing strategies for social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, you might wonder whether you need to divert online marketing dollars from more traditional programs to concentrate on these new platforms. Can’t decide...

continued from part 1....So I left the last post stating that the tools that marketing and sales need to be effective is where professional graphic design comes in...

As one of our Creative Director's here a ACS Creative, I get to talk to clients a lot about marketing, sales, graphic design, and how they all fit together. More specifically sometimes, the important role graphic design plays in their marketing and sales efforts...

If you’ve ever wondered how effective your Web site is as a marketing vehicle for your business, there’s a useful tool to help you measure just that: Website Grader...

...continued from Part 1How Your Company BenefitsBesides simply spreading out the writing workload, team blogging provides several other benefits to your company:High-quality/low-stress posts: Writers have more time—and less pressure—to deliver a steady supply of fresh perspectives and in-depth...

You might have noticed that several of my colleagues contributed posts to the ACS Creative blog over the past several weeks, and maybe that gave you an idea: “Hey, we could do that and really spread the blogging workload around!”While that’s certainly one benefit of team blogging, it only...

You’ve got a nifty new Website with plenty of content that’s optimized for organic search, you’ve started utilizing pay-per-click advertising and you always run great offline marketing campaigns...

Since this is my first blog ever, it took me a while to figure out what to write about. After I got past the thought of "Who would ever care what I have to say?", I figured I would just write about my passion when it comes to graphic design...

The #1 goal of our design firm is to make our clients look brilliant while also helping them keep their project costs under control, and I do mean that sincerely...

How does a graphic designer with 30 plus years of experience compete in the web-based, oh so young world of the 21st century?    Being a graphic designer is tough at any age. In your 20s it is tough to get people to take a chance on you unless you have experience...

Next up from Team ACS is Jill Artman Boehm, Art Director/Graphic Designer and an awesome Catalog Queen. From brochures to catalog production to logos and identity, Jill brings compelling designs to the table and always delivers high quality work that exceeds expectations.1...

As promised, my first interview from Team ACS will be Cynthia Sheppard, Graphic Designer/Web Designer. Cynthia, thank you for taking the time to participate in this interview. Can you begin by telling us about your background? How did you get your start in art and design...

Since we are on the subject of "getting to know our team", I think conducting an interview is the most common way to gather information and give insight on a particular subject/person or even use it as a way to promote campaigns and businesses.Today’s employment market is demanding that if you...

I don't think success is quantitative— it's an art form to keep yourself satisfied with your own work, and it's less about money, fame, or winning than it is about balance and perspective.    Outside the office, I've entered illustrations into two art annuals this year and both books rejected...

When you sign on to do a project with ACS Creative and I become your designer, I try to make your "ACS Creative Experience" go as smoothly as possible. When you're happy, it makes me happy. Not to mention it puts my creative director Ed in a good mood, and then everybody wins. But wait...

Writing this introductory blog entry, I'm experiencing a rush of panic. I feel like I just got handed the keys to someone's shiny new Camaro. I'm no stranger to driving cars, but with a history of flat tires and bad brakes, this is totally different. The training wheels are off...

Okay, so I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it, but I'm sure I'm not the only one......NO, I don't know my fellow team-members as well as I should! Okay, now I feel better...

Often times in a company's excitement to get up and running, they rush through the identity creation process. Such luxuries as hiring a graphic design firm may take a back seat to the little things, like paying the rent or making payroll...

Part 2 of 2:Let’s Get SpecificBut enough background. Here are the factors Google identifies that most impact a keyword’s Quality Score and what that means to you:The historical click-through rate (CTR) of the keyword and the matched ad on Google...

If you’ve spent any time at all reading up on pay-per-click (PPC) advertising through Google AdWords, you’ve probably come to realize that to conduct an effective campaign you need to pay attention to something called Quality Score...

"Let us make a special effort to stop communicating with each other, so we can have some conversation." —Mark Twain Several months ago, we wrote about the importance of embracing social media and joining online conversations that are going on—whether you like it or not—about your company,...

Web sites and colleagues’ word-of-mouth recommendations are the top two influencers for B2B buyers making purchasing decisions, according to a study that research and search-marketing vendor Enquiro Search Solutions conducted in 2007.But what are buyers really looking for when they visit a...

Almost five months ago, we presented a Gartner Hype Cycle indicating that corporate blogging will reach mainstream business use and acceptance by 2010...

As the importance of Internet marketing grows and companies increasingly shift marketing dollars to support a variety of online channels, you might think that traditional offline marketing programs are no longer effective or necessary...

Search engine marketing (SEM) can be a remarkably effective channel for connecting with potential customers...

Too many businesses approach conversational marketing through the social media channels their employees are familiar with or those they’ve heard or read about in the press...

With the arrival of Google Analytics, even the most hands-off Web site owner can readily track how visitors interact with the site—where they come from, what search terms they most favor, where they navigate to within the site, what they click on and so forth.But, how do you figure out what...

Search engine marketing (SEM) can be a remarkably effective channel for connecting with potential customers...

With the arrival of Google Analytics, even the most hands-off Web site owner can readily track how visitors interact with the site—where they come from, what search terms they most favor, where they navigate to within the site, what they click on and so forth.But, how do you figure out what...

Once you make the decision to start a corporate blog, you might wonder what tactics are best for discovering and monitoring existing blogs within your niche—and what’s best for helping your target audience find your blog posts once you’ve written and published them.How do you root out...

Starting a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising program can be intimidating, especially if the concept is new to you...

“What are you doing?” asks social-messaging/micro-blogging service Twitter. And you have 140 characters (max!) in which to answer and send a real-time update (called a tweet) to your followers and the Twitter community at large.“What...

Search engine optimization (SEO) can go a long way in helping you drive a herd of newcomers to the well of information that is your Web site, but their experience once they get there determines whether they turn tail and run or stick around for a long, satisfying drink.Too often, businesses focus...