Thumbelina for Grand Dog!

One of the O2 office dogs, Thumbelina, is running for Grand Dog!

That’s right. Philip and Eric’s Boston Terrier-pug mix (a “bugg”) is campaigning to be Grand Dog of Grand County Pet Pals.

What’s Grand County Pet Pals? Well, it’s a non-profit here in Grand County that advocates for responsible pet ownership. The organization helps the Grand County animal shelter with its neutering and spaying program, and works to raise funds and help in other various ways.

The Grand Dog contest is one such fundraiser, which helps to support Grand County Pet Pals as well as Advocates for a Violence-Free Community. Dogs (or other pets) may campaign to win the title of Grand Dog, with one dollar equaling one vote.

That’s where Thumb comes in: she wants to be Grand Dog, and she wants your vote! Click here to go vote for Thumbelina on the Grand County Pet Pals website!

Thumbelina even has her own Facebook page to help her campaign for Grand Dog. Click here to go like Thumbelina For Grand Dog on Facebook!

The campaign is actually a lot of fun, and it’s generating support for a great cause. And besides, how can you say no to Thumb’s cute little face?

To meet Thumbelina, or her pug siblings Wylie and Sophie, stop by the O2 Creative office some time!

For more questions about the Grand Dog contest, or Thumb, or anything else O2, contact us today!

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

Vote for Thumb!

Click here for our last blog: print brokering from O2!

O2 Helps to Save the Fraser River

O2 is pleased to report we’re teaming up with the Colorado River Headwaters chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU) to create a campaign to raise awareness about the Fraser River. If you’ve ever seen those blue oval “Save The Fraser River” bumper stickers, then you already have an idea of what we’re talking about.

In case everyone didn’t already know, we at O2 take pride in serving our community. We love Colorado’s Favorite Playground, and we ESPECIALLY love the Fraser. We can often be found riding our bikes, cruising on our longboards, or walking our dogs along the Fraser River Trail.

We’re also often found on the river with wading boots and a fly rod, trying our luck at catching the river’s trophy trout (don’t worry, the fishing still sucks here).

Unfortunately, the Fraser is one of the most threatened rivers in the nation. Over 60% of its flows are diverted to Front Range communities for water use, and now Denver Water is trying to divert even more of the water. That’s where the efforts of TU come into play.

Basically, TU has worked hard for years to get a “Mitigation and Enhancement” agreement written into the water diversion project. This agreement articulates that if Denver Water wants to divert water from the Fraser, they must also pay close attention to the river’s vital signs as part of the project. If the diversions compromise the health of the Fraser, then Denver Water must also work to mitigate the harm done, and also enhance the natural environment of the river so that it remains healthy.

In other words, this agreement will take the fate of the Fraser out of the hands of politicians, and put it into the hands of scientists. These scientists can monitor the Fraser and adapt management policies that protect and preserve the natural river ecosystem for future generations, while still serving the water use needs of Colorado’s growing population.

The health of the Fraser is extremely important to us at O2. It’s important to Colorado’s Favorite Playground, and to Grand County; and to the entire state of Colorado. We hope it’s important to you too.

So what can we all do to help? Well, we encourage you to go like “Save The Fraser River” on Facebook (click here). This page will provide ongoing information, news, events, facts, photos, and just cool content in general about our beloved river.

We also encourage you to write letters advocating for the protection of the Fraser (and to do it quick – the public comment period only lasts thru the end of May!) This is the most tangible way to voice our support for the health of the Fraser to those who will decide whether to implement the agreement (and ultimately, to decide the fate of the Fraser). Check out http://www.coheadwaters.org/Home/WhattodoTODAY.aspx to learn more. Save the Fraser River!

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

Click here for our last blog: O2 in the Press!

O2 expanding to Summit County

Big news from O2!

As you know, our office is located in Grand County, as are many of our clients. In addition to Grand County, we’ve always been happy to provide our top-quality graphic design, web design, and marketing services to businesses near and far. That’s why we’re pleased to announce our plans to expand to Summit County, Colorado!

That’s right. We’d like to formally offer our services to Summit County businesses (though we’ll still be working hard for Grand County and all our other clients either way!)

With our years of experience in resort and tourism marketing and design, we’re already the perfect fit for many businesses in Summit County. We’re happy to come meet in Summit, or if you’re ever in our neck of the woods, you’re always welcome to stop by our Fraser office.

So if you know of any businesses looking for marketing or design work in Frisco, Dillon, Breckenridge, Keystone, Silverthorne, or anywhere else in Summit County, let us know! We’re happy to provide websites, mobile websites, graphic designs, marketing, advertising, promotional items, logos and branding, social media, and any of our other services to our Summit County neighbors.

So contact us at O2 for more info or for a free consultation. Your mountain business deserves to work with a mountain agency!

Give us a call at 970-726-8021 or email [email protected].

Click here for our last blog: small business marketing checklist

Credit Wikipedia for the map image

Small business marketing checklist

Starting or growing your small business can be a lot of work. In order to establish the market presence your business will need, there are a lot of bases you’ll need to cover. That’s where we at O2 can help. We’re an agency that works with new and growing businesses every day. Here are just a few things your business will need to be successful:

Your business will need a brand; a logo; an identity – something by which your market can recognize you. We can help develop your brand, and create a professional logo that’ll do more than just get your business recognized – it’ll make your business stand out.

Your business will also need marketing. Advertising campaigns, promotions, a marketing plan, signage, media, execution – all that stuff takes time and creativity. We can do all your marketing dirty work for you, from designing ads and media, to coordinating a campaign, to even researching and creating a marketing plan. We’ll help you figure out the most effective marketing strategies that will make your business really shine in your market.

Your business should also have a professional online presence. Customers these days expect businesses to have a website, and your business deserves a website that serves your needs: online booking systems, blogging features, e-commerce, photo galleries, and whatever other custom features your business can use to achieve success. Your online presence shouldn’t be limited just to desktop computers either – now that so many folks have smart phones, mobile websites are more important than ever.

And more and more, customers want businesses they can interact with online. They want to know what a business is up to; want to communicate; want timely updates and announcements. This can be achieved through blogging and social media. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other platforms allow you to showcase your business, interact with your markets. (Oh, and social media campaigns are a GREAT way to attract new customers as well!) We can help you set up blogging and social media pages, and even manage blogs and pages for you, so you can focus on the day-to-day operations of your business.

The point is, we at O2 can help with all the daunting details of marketing. We’ll help your business create the best campaigns, the best designs, and the best websites, and more. Contact us today to discuss all the ways our agency can help your business!

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

Click here for our last blog – O2 addicted to powder!

Reasons to hire a marketing agency

Folks often ask us, “Why should our business hire a marketing and design agency?”

Well, LOTS of reasons, actually. Between the time, money, energy, and experience it takes to effectively market your business, there are plenty of reasons why your business can really benefit from hiring an agency. Here are just a few:

Experience and expertise: We at O2 have over 30 combined years of experience in marketing and design. We do this stuff every day! If you aren’t sure how to market your business just yet, we can quickly and efficiently help you identify the marketing strategies that will work best for you.

We stay on top of all the latest marketing trends as well, so we can identify marketing ideas much more quickly than someone who doesn’t necessarily think about marketing every day.

Time: Small businesses usually don’t have much free time, and unfortunately, marketing takes time. Devising a strategy, coordinating ads, creating promotional items, writing content, managing a campaign – all that stuff takes precious time. That’s where an agency can help. Let us do your marketing work for you, so you can keep your time focused on operating your business.

Speaking of time – agencies can also complete marketing work much faster than trying to do it in-house.

It’s not as expensive as you might think: sure, hiring the biggest marketing agency in New York City can get pricey, but we’re a small business that specializes in working with other small businesses. We can create marketing packages that fit your needs as well as your budget.

Besides, hiring a marketer in-house can be expensive too. Recruiting, interviewing, training, salary, benefits – all that stuff takes lots of money and time. By hiring an agency to do your business’ marketing, you can contract for exactly the work you need without having to hire a whole new employee.

Objectivism: You know the old adage – “can’t see the forest for the trees.” If you’re busy with the day-to-day details of your business, it may be difficult to think about how to market your business in the big picture. A business can really benefit from the objective outside perspective that an agency can provide, especially when it comes to matters of marketing or design.

Resources: as an agency, we can help with your marketing, but why stop there? We can help you execute every element of a marketing strategy – designing a brand and logos, producing and coordinating advertising, updating blogs and social media campaigns, designing and maintaining websites, and more.

The point we’re trying to make is, there are are lots of ways our agency can help your business. Contact us today to see what we can do for you!

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

Click here for our last blog: O2 on the Wipe Out!

The Popularity of Pinterest

Popularity of Pinterest

Pinterest is among the fastest growing social media platforms these days, and marketers have taken notice. We at O2 Creative have been learning more and more about this cool site every day – we even have our own Pinterest page!

So what is Pinterest, anyway?

Pinterest is primarily an image-based content site, in the sense that it focuses mainly on users sharing images. Users can post, or “pin,” images that have been uploaded or linked from a website. A user’s main Pinterest page is a “pin feed” that chronologically displays the activities from other “boards” a user follows. The pins include links back to the original page or website, which is a great way to drive traffic to your website. Users even have the option of notifying Facebook or Twitter friends when they post new content to their Pinterest page.

Users have “boards” where their pins are located. Users can have multiple boards for various topics or themes. Users can browse, like, and comment on each other’s boards and pins, and “re-pin” each other’s content.

Users can search for various topics as well. For example, a user could search for “potatoes” in pins and find photos of potatoes, links about potatoes, potato recipes, potato growing, or potato articles, all from other Pinterest users. Or, users can search boards for potatoes and see and find boards that other users have made about potatoes.

As Pinterest grows, the opportunities for businesses to market themselves on Pinterest do as well. Businesses can create business pages on Pinterest, and the image-driven content is great for showcasing your products or services. You can include other useful info as well, such as prices, promotions, and other advertisements and business news. Many businesses, especially retailers, have enjoyed success on Pinterest. Businesses can even launch products and influence trends with an optimally managed account.

So what can a Pinterest page do for YOUR business? A lot of that depends on what sort of products or services you offer, your market and industry, and other factors. But odds are, a Pinterest page can be an innovative new way to market your business. So if Pinterest interests you, contact us today! We’d love to sit down and discuss how to get the most out of marketing for you on Pinterest – and other social media, too!

Give us a call at 970-726-8021 or email at [email protected].

Now if you’ll please excuse us, we’re going to go try this new recipe for potato soup we just found…

Click here for our last post – looking for a sign?

A blog about blogs: how blogs help businesses

We know what you may be thinking – (wait, wait, wait…you’re trying to write a blog about blogs? Isn’t that, like, trying to make a doughnut-flavored doughnut or something?) But bear with us here for the next 300-500 words…we just want to write this blog post about how blog posts can help to build your business…

Now, maybe you’re thinking, why should I use a blog for my business? Actually, blogging is great for business. It’s a good way to communicate with customers and other businesses. It’s great for developing an identity for your business. And it’s good for boosting your overall web presence, which in turn boosts your overall market presence.

Blogs connect you to your market, allowing you to show your customers and business partners what you’ve been up to. You can share relevant information about your business and also allow for comments and conversations between you and your audience. Not only can you share your own ideas with your market, but you’ll also get ideas in return when customers and partners comment on your posts. Blogs also allow for better discussion and communication of topics that may be a little too in-depth to cover with a simple advertisement or Facebook post.

Stories, photos, and other content in blogs all help to illustrate who you are as a business. With blogs, your business is given a voice, a personality, a human element. When you can communicate with a blog you can use your own personal voice to express professional topics. This allows your customers to better relate to you, which will subsequently help you better understand your customers.

Besides, even with professional blogs, not every single post has to be professional. Sometimes it’s good just to post on topics that showcase the personality of your business – just look at some of our fun culture posts, like the one on fishing. Or camping. Or even puppies! (Yup, that’s totally a pug sticking her tongue out at you.)

Blogs also do a lot to bolster your online presence. Good blog posts are quality online content that helps to generate traffic and hits for your site. They’re also great for search engine optimization – all that relevant content helps search engines find you online, in turn helping new and potential customers find you when they search for information in your area of business.

Blog posts are always there for your customers to read and share, which can increase your market reach. In these ways and more, blogs help increase your overall market presence. And, best of all, blogs can actually be enjoyable! They’re a fun way for a business to express itself to a market.

Of course, effective blogging can be time-consuming, which is why we offer blogging services and consulting to clients. We can help you develop your online voice, and help you use blogging as a marketing tool to build your business. Contact us today for more info on how blogs help businesses!

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

Click here to read our previous blog The rap on vehicle wraps

Photo credit/for additional reading: check out this article at socialmediatoday.com.