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agency or in house marketing

Hiring a marketing agency vs. marketing in-house

Hiring a marketing agency vs. marketing in-house – which is better for your business? We at O2 believe that hiring a professional marketing agency can benefit your business in a number of ways. Here are just a few:

Time: Ah, precious time. This can be a premium for many businesses. Marketing takes time too, from devising strategies to coordinating campaigns to creating ads and promotions to…you get the idea. Hiring an agency means the agency will worry about marketing for you, which saves your business precious time.

Expenses. Hiring an in-house marketer can expend a lot of money (salary, benefits) and expend time too (recruiting, interviewing, hiring, training). Hiring an agency can often be less expensive than marketing in-house, especially when you consider that O2 specializes in working with small businesses – we’re a small business too! We can create marketing packages that will fit your needs as well as your budget.

Experience. At O2, we have over 30 combined years of marketing experience, and we’re undertaking new marketing endeavors every day. We can provide you with expert direction if you aren’t sure how to market your business. Our experience also contributes to our next point…

Efficiency. Since we’re extensively experienced, we can quickly and efficiently identify the best marketing initiatives for you. We do this stuff every day! We’ll help you create the right message for the right business at the right time.

Perspective. Small business owners must often keep a narrow focus on their business. While this can be necessary for the sake of the business, it can also make it difficult to step back and think about your business in the big picture of marketing. Hiring an agency can provide a much broader perspective on marketing and other matters. Let us handle your marketing so you can focus on the operations of your business.

Resources. We’re a comprehensive professional agency with a large variety of services to offer. In addition to marketing and advertising services, we can also provide graphic design, web design, promotional products, printing services, and more.

Fun. Okay, why does this matter? Well, we really think you’ll enjoy working with us at O2. In addition to being experienced professionals, we’re actually friendly fun folks too. For instance, even though we’re in the office working hard on Halloween, we still took the time to have a little holiday fun. To prove it, here’s Brad dressed up like Joe Dirt, and Sophie dressed up like a ladybug:

HalloweenO2

Happy Halloween!

To contact us at O2 Creative, call 970-726-8021 or email [email protected]

Click here for our last blog: Dolls for Daughters

O2’s ode to summer

This week marked the first snow accumulation here in the Fraser Valley. We at O2 really enjoyed seeing the changing seasons on the surrounding mountainsides. We also enjoyed the spectacular snowy fall photos that have been trending on social media. So cool to see fall and winter in the same pic!

EarlySeasonSnow

The first snows also signaled that summer is officially over. Like, for real this time. We took a moment to reflect on what was a great summer for all of us, and reminisce about some of our favorite moments from the warmer months.

Eric and Philip both enjoyed their first summer of camping in their new RV camper. They took the camper to some of the most colorful corners of Colorado’s Favorite Playground and beyond, enjoying the glamorous style of camping (“glamping”) that the RV affords them. The whole family enjoyed camping, including their son Jacob…

JacobCamping

…and the pugs too…

PugsByCamper

…well, maybe not so much for Sophie.

SophieUnderChair

Jaryd looked back on some cool camping trips of his own, including a hike-and-camp on the 4th of July. The Fraser Valley’s fireworks looked incredible from up on the Continental Divide!

FraserFireworks

Brad, of course, enjoyed yet another summer season of fly-fishing. He also got a cool camera capable of underwater photography, which allowed him to capture some stunning images of trout. It’s also apparently proof that, yes, sometimes he actually does catch fish. Sometimes.

UnderwaterBrookTrout

With that said, we’ve accepted that summer has passed, and we’re ready for the snowy season. The snowfall also got us excited for all the wonderful winter activities in Colorado’s Favorite Playground. Time to get ready for some skiing and snowboarding!

PowAddictEric

As an agency, we also realize the winter months are among the busiest of the year for local businesses, and we’ve already been preparing for it. (Remember to get your winter marketing planned today!)

O2WinterMarketingPostcard

So what was your favorite memory from the summer? Are you excited for another snowy winter? Which season do you like more??

To contact O2 Creative, call 970-726-8021 or email [email protected].

A year in the new O2 office

It’s officially been a year in the new O2 office. (A whole year? Where does the time go?!)

If you recall, a year ago we moved from the little cabin office on the one end of Eisenhower…

O2's old cabin office
The old cabin office, pictured here with our old logo on the building (the new logo sign is actually in the window)

…to the bigger corner office on the other end.

O2OfficePano
Inside the new O2 office

So far, the new office has been everything we hoped for. It’s bigger, which gives us more space for creative projects and meetings with clients. It’s more comfortable, with our large meeting table and lounge area complete with couch. The corner location has also yielded us more walk-in traffic. The office’s interior is more colorful too, with our office walls painted the standard-issue O2 green.

The office has served us well over the seasons. We made it through the Rocky Mountain winter, though not without plenty of icicles.

O2IcicleSign

Summer has been a different story. To stay cool, we’ve kept our door and windows open during the warmer months. However, whenever a breeze blows through the office, the ceiling tiles and light panels will move and shift with the wind. It’s quite a strange occurrence…especially when one of the lights fell!

The office was prone to getting toasty, especially during June and July. At one point Philip and Eric brought in a small air conditioning unit, which kept things a little cooler. Brad nicknamed the air conditioner R2D2, though we’re not sure why.

AirConditioner
These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.

The office even endured a lightning strike recently. While quietly working one day we were interrupted by a deafening BOOM, which instantaneously took out the power in the office, and also took out the office printer. No worries though – we were back up and running by the next business day.

Overall, the first year in our new office has been great for us. Everyone has enjoyed the space, particularly the pugs, who especially like lounging on the couch.

PugNapOnCouch

Here’s to many more years to come!

To contact O2 Creative, call 970-726-8021 or email [email protected].

Click here for our last blog: writing tips from O2

D&M’s promotional products mix

O2 recently had the pleasure of working with Grand County’s own D&M Roofing Company on some design work. Specifically, we created a comprehensive collection of promotional products for D&M – shirts, hats, water bottles, magnets, even a big banner. To ensure consistency in branding, we kept the logo design consistent across D&M’s promotional products mix – same font, same blue letters, same recognizable red roofing hammer.

Once the designs were determined, it was time to get creative with the promotional products themselves. First up were the hats: we selected a high-quality New Era trucker-style cap, custom embroidered with D&M’s logo. Here’s Sophie the O2 office pug proudly modeling a D&M roofing hat for us:

DMHatSophie
Livin’ the pug life.

Next up, shirts. We created cool V-neck t-shirts complete with D&M’s logo on both the front and the back. The shirts, as well as the hats, can be used as uniforms for D&M’s employees or as promotional items for their clients.

DandMShirts
Get branded shirts, hats, and other promotional products from O2 Creative!

We also created branded water bottles for D&M Roofing. Promotional products such as water bottles are great items to give to potential leads. These branded items help your leads remember your business, which can ultimately turn leads into customers.

DMWaterBottles
Branded Water Bottles for D&M Roofing in Grand County, Colorado

Branded magnets were also in the mix. We created white oval magnets complete with D&M’s logo (a logo that you probably recognize by now – see, all this promotional products marketing really is working!). The magnets also feature D&M’s contact information, including their phone number and website. Here’s the O2 office refrigerator with D&M’s magnets on display:

Promotional magnets from O2 Creative
Promotional magnets from O2 Creative

Finally, a banner. We created a durable outdoor vinyl banner for D&M to display, again with the same familiar logo; again communicating the company’s contact information. Here’s O2’s Jaryd displaying the D&M banner while pensively gazing off into the distance:

DMBannerJaryd
Promotional banners and media from O2

The shirts, hats, magnets, banner, and bottles are all part of a consistent mix of promotional products we created for D&M Roofing. From retaining existing customers; to converting new ones; to increasing brand awareness at job sites, trade shows, and even around town; these promotional products are tangible items that D&M can now use to make the most of their marketing efforts.

Promotional products can work as marketing tools for just about any sort of business as well. To discuss the benefits of promotional products for your business, or to learn about all the different kinds of promotional products we can create for you, contact us at O2 or visit www.o2promo.com today!

To contact O2 Creative, call 970-726-8021 or email [email protected].

Click here for our last blog: the O2 dogs!

The O2 dogs

Anyone who knows O2 knows we’re dog lovers. We’re always enjoying time with our pups, whether we’re in the office, hiking about somewhere in Colorado’s Favorite Playground, or just out for a walk around Fraser. The O2 dogs are just as much a part of the operation as Philip, Eric, Jaryd, Brad, and our newest member Cynthia too.

Wylie, Sophie, and Thumbelina are Philip and Eric’s pugs (and “bugg,” a Boston terrier-pug mix), and are also the resident O2 dogs. These lovable little pups hang out in the office, faithfully putting in the long hours with the rest of us. While team O2 is working hard, the pugs are…well, hardly working.

PugNapOnCouch
Nap time in the O2 office

Thumbelina is actually a burgeoning local politician. Grand County Pet Pals has an annual campaign to elect the Grand Dog of Grand County, and Thumb is a leading candidate in this year’s election. The Grand Dog campaign is actually a fundraiser to benefit Grand County Pet Pals and Advocates for a Violence-Free Community, so Thumbelina’s campaign efforts are going toward a great cause. Click here to vote for Thumb!

ThumbToy
Vote for Thumbelina!

In addition to the pugs and buggs, there are even more cool canine friends on the O2 team. Jaryd has a dog of his own, a handsome lab-bulldog mix named Roscoe.

Roscoe Dog
Roscoe Dog

Jaryd and Roscoe are often out and about, hiking on the many trails throughout the Fraser Valley and Grand County.

Roscoe out for a hike
Roscoe out for a hike

Roscoe also loves to swim, and is never nervous about jumping into a Rocky Mountain stream or lake, no matter how cold the water might be.

Loch Ness Roscoe
Loch Ness Roscoe

Brad has even had a dog of his own around lately. This week he’s been dogsitting Kali while his friends are out of town. Kali is a basenji mix. A basenji an energetic African breed, which means Kali pretty much thinks she’s a lion.

KaliLion
Kali the lion dog

Kali and Roscoe quickly became best buddies too, and are always excited for a puppy play date. Of course the only photo we can find of the two playing together is this one, with Roscoe is grinning like a goofball and Kali looking like she just did something bad.

Kali and Roscoe
Bad dog Kali and goofball Roscoe

The newest member of the O2 Team, Cynthia, is a dog lover too. Though she does not yet have a dog of her own, she hopes to get one some time in the near future. Until then, maybe Philip and Eric will let her take the pugs for a walk. Just keep an eye on Wylie!

Where'd Wylie go??
Where’d Wylie go??

To meet the O2 pugs – or the O2 humans, for that matter – stop by our office some time in downtown Fraser, Colorado. To contact us, give us a call at 970-726-8021 or email [email protected]. Until then, we at O2 hope you’re enjoying the dog days of summer!

Click here for our last blog on professional web design