Brandon - Willow driver

The fifth annual Soapbox Derby was held on June 27, 2009. Brandon was our racer from the Boys & Girls Club of Cincinnati this year. Willow has sponsored the Boys & Girls Club for the last three years and this year donated the car for future racers to use.

Willow Creative Group invites you to celebrate Arbor Day and promote growth in our Cincinnati community. Stop by Fountain Square on Friday, April 24 between 11:30 and 1:30 to pick up your free Willow or Norway Spruce tree. To learn more about happenings on Fountain Square, visit http://myfountainsquare.com/

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This article suggests that there is a new metric for target audiences. The digital age has made our audience global citizens. How do you target them?

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As part of Junior Achievement’s national Job Shadow Day on February 6, 2,400 students in Greater Cincinnati went out into the community to experience real businesses first-hand. Students from Taylor High School’s business management class visited Willow Creative Group, a full-service marketing agency in Over-the-Rhine.

At the agency, students heard from employees about their roles, participated in a tour of the office space and took part in a brainstorming session. During the interactive session, students were asked to come up with a name for a tennis shoe for seniors.

“NikecAir” called out one student.

“SilverSneaks or maybe GoldenToes,” his classmate chimed in.

“These could be the marketers of the next generation,” said Debbie Dent, president of Willow Creative Group. “Whatever their future career might be, we loved having the students with us for the day. We’ve hosted students for job shadow day for the past four years, and their energy is always contagious!”

“After four years of participating in the event, this was by far the most engaging and interactive job shadow experience my students have had the benefit of being part of,” said Aaron Bradley, business management instructor at Taylor High School.

JA Worldwide is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs such as Job Shadow Day.

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, “the most relible source of information about a company is now ‘a person like me,’ which has risen dramatically to surpass doctors and academic experts for the first time.” In 2003, 20% of people trusted in “a person like me”; today that number is 68%! So, I believe that more than ever, third party endorsement is key when communicating a message to your target audience. More specifically, endorsement from “a person like them.”

We had a great time hosting the Junior Achievement Day with the students from Taylor High School!

Thanks for coming by, we really enjoyed it!

What’s Baking in Northside?

These days, Take the Cake owners Melissa Mileto and Doug Faulkner are into much more than cakes. They have a new brand, new Web site, and a new café.

The café, located at 4035 Hamilton Ave., opened on Saturday. It offers sandwiches, soups, salads, pastas and savory tarts made from natural, locally-produced ingredients. Guests can enjoy the eatery’s casual environment, seasonal fare and free Wi-Fi at open, community tables. And, don’t forget those distinctive treats – all of which will still be available from their on-site, full-service bakery.

Above the café, they will have an open studio space for local artists.

“We’re one-of-a-kind. I’m confident that customers will appreciate this quality in our café as much as they do in our bakery,” said Melissa Mileto, co-owner of Take the Cake.

Last spring, as they prepared for this business expansion, Take the Cake took a key step to partner with Willow Creative Group to re-brand their business. Their new visual identity reflects their fun, eclectic approach to savories and treats. They also developed a new Take the Cake Web site that is as unique and unexpected as the owners themselves (www.takethecakecincinnati.com).

Target why are you diluting your positioning by taking the price route? I’m so upset. I understand times are tough, but I’ve always thought “way to go” Target…you rock by differentiating yourself from all the tacky price break competitors. You built your brand on NOT taking that route and now, sadly, you’ve given in. Although I must say, the creative is still good, but not as great and captivating as previous spots. Target, your spots were in the very few that made me stop and take notice - and fostered in me continued brand loyalty. All said though, I still love you Target.

Starbucks’ volunteer-oriented promotion, dubbed “I’m In,” is a cool effort to get customers involved with their brand, beyond their products. The coffee chain is managing an online system in which people pledge to perform five hours of community service, with the promised reward of a free coffee. http://tiny.cc/kQU62