Dubbed THE sporting event of the year, Sunday night’s Super Bowl game lived up to the hype. With the New England Patriots defeating defending champs, the Seattle Seahawks, and Katy Perry lighting up the halftime show, it produced some pretty memorable moments. But some of the most anticipated moments of the night were…you guessed it, the commercials!
With some of the heavy hitters like Budweiser, Coca-Cola and Chevy shelling out a record high of 4.5 million dollars to secure a 30 second advertisement spot for this year’s Super bowl, one in particular took the cake. It seems that serious was the theme of the night.
Super Bowl commercials are typically silly, humorous and exciting, but it seems advertisers may have missed the memo this year. Some were serious and borderline strange (I’m looking at you, Nationwide) while some tugged at our heartstrings of (two thumbs up for Mickey Dee’s sharing the love).
There are a few things we caught early on with 2015’s Super Bowl Commercials:
But hands down the best commercial (according to social media) was the sweet, adorably cute Budweiser #BestBuds commercial. Budweiser reinforced their brand image by sticking with the classic Clydesdales, but updated the concept with last year’s popular puppy.
Whether you plan on losing your voice cheering on your team or ranking your top ten commercials, The Gaslight has everything to satisfy your appetite on Super Bowl Sunday (February 1st)! Football fanatics will have the option of picking up party platters to-go, or enjoying the game on one of the restaurant’s six LED flat screen televisions.
Avoid Super Bowl party clean up and hang out at The Gaslight! They encourage loud cheering, jersey-wearing, wing-eating fans of all ages. The popular 3×5 Happy Hour food and drink specials will be available for the duration of the game. Executive Chef Jason Cichonski’s famous chicken wings, at $12 per pound, will also be served.
For those of you who will be celebrating America’s favorite Sunday from your couch, Chef Cichonski has put together an extensive to-go menu. Each of these items are offered in half trays (serving ten people and ranging from $35-$85) or full trays (serving 20 people and ranging from $75-$125). Take your pick from
Looking for a little bit of everything? Choose The Spread for 10 ($230) or The Spread for 20 ($420). Each spread features: crudité, truffled mac n’ cheese, wings, roast pork sandwiches and pretzels, with chicken nuggets added to the spread for 20.
The Gaslight will offer their normal Sunday Brunch from 11:00am to 3:00pm, but encourages reservations for game time, especially for larger groups. For orders please call The Gaslight at 215-925-7691 before 10:00am on Friday, January 30th. Each to-go item will come with heating instructions and can be picked up between 10:00am-5:00pm on Super Bowl Sunday.
Living in the internet age has its perks: we are always connected, we can find things we are looking for, we can scout out reviews for things we want and get that second (or third, or fourth) opinion. While living in the internet age can be rewarding by giving us information super quickly, it can also be a little negative.
Whether you are a restaurant owner, photographer or a service provider, more likely than not, you have some online reviews that aren’t so favorable. While we can wish all we want for those reviews to delete themselves, it’s just not going to happen. Knowing that consumers are influenced about what they read online, those negative reviews could hurt your bottom line – or worse.
Not paying attention to those negative reviews can put you behind even more in terms of reputation. Your online reputation is extremely important and can impact your business immensely. Taking charge of what content you want users to see about your business is important and managing that information can be achieved through a few easy steps. First, use Google to see what things pop up from a search of your company’s name. If you see things that are unfavorable, you have the potential of pushing them ‘down’ the ranking through a few tactics.
Typically, you can use branding services from marketing agencies that can guide you to the way of pushing bad things down. Take for instance social profiles: establishing social media profiles can help bump down the negative aspects you don’t like seeing on the search results. Another tactic to improve negative things about your company is to directly address them. For example, if your restaurant receives a negative customer review, respond to the unhappy customer through sites like Yelp. Although the negative review will still appear, your positive reply will be noticed publicly.
While there are many other strategies in keeping your online reputation positive, it’s best to leave the management of your online brand to the professionals.
When it comes to advertising, you want to take advantage of every single advertising medium you have so you can increase the exposure of your brand. It doesn’t matter what industry your business is in, advertising is a great way to generate traffic to your company, and using different forms of advertising can reach many different consumers. In order to implement a successful advertising campaign, you must strategize each medium, and make sure they complement each other. With that being said, check out these ways TV, radio, print and online formats work for you when it comes to advertising.
Consistency
When you place advertisements throughout different mediums, you want to keep your messages consistent so your audience can trust your brand. Creating consistency allows you to develop greater credibility which can help reinforce each advertising format you are utilizing. Be sure to keep everything streamlined across the different channels because it will allow your audience to identify your brand more easily.
Timing Is Key
When it comes to each medium, some have a more powerful reach based on timing, but understanding when to place an advertisement is key. Some advertisements can depend on the time of day while others could be more effective during a certain time of year. Take for instance a retail store – strong advertisements placed within the holiday shopping season would be more effective than advertisements in the dead of summer. While this does not necessarily mean don’t advertise in the summer, it means a strong advertising strategy during the holiday season could be more beneficial.
Breaking down each format to formulate a winning combination of advertisements can help you get a better rate of return on your investment. When placing radio ads, think of the audience you are trying to reach – is it the 9 to 5 working class? If so, it would be beneficial to time out radio ads during drive-time like before someone leaves for work, during their lunch hour and then again on their drive home. This plays a little bit into television ads because you can strategically place ads during prime-time television spots and in between news segments.
Advertising in print is a little different than the above because there is not necessarily a certain time of day to place an ad, however it’s more what day you ideally want to run the ad? Daily newspapers with high circulation numbers have a far greater chance of reaching your target audience than a weekly edition paper. Keep in mind your geographical area and figure out which papers reach more readers to effectively capitalize on print advertisements. Additionally, magazines can generate good ad space but know that most magazines are monthly, so a vibrant, well-crafted advertisement may work better than a small message.
Online Ads
Placing advertisements online can be both effective and economical allowing you to reach a large chunk of your target audience through various online mediums like social media profiles, websites, emails and more. All offline ads should be worked into the message that is used on the web, and all offline ads should connect to the web. This means your TV, radio and print ads should incorporate your website information and make their way to an online format – YouTube, streaming music ads, etc.
Just be sure to remember to keep everything consistent so your brand isn’t compromised with identity confusion. Take it from one of the best advertising agencies in Philadelphia, Neff knows!
The Neff Associates team is pleased to announce a terrific and exciting year for 2014 with new developments to follow us into 2015. From new hires to new clients, we are pleased to share this great news with you! Throughout this busy year, Neff Associates has received prestigious awards that truly embrace our mission as a top marketing firm in Philadelphia.
Awards include:
While we are proud to boast these awards, we are humbled our clients choose to hire the best advertising agency in Philadelphia! With this being said, we have acquired some great additions to our client list including:
In addition to working with our new clients, we were thrilled to support Old City District in branding and promoting their first annual Old City Fest! We designed and promoted creative pieces for the first annual Old City Fest that was held in October 2014. As a sponsor, we were proud to play a key role in attracting about 15,000 attendees to the inaugural festival and are excited to see continued growth for 2015!
In-House Expansion
Neff Associates continuously aims to increase our strength and capabilities, which is why we have added extra forces to our already talented team. Across all departments, we have increased our staff by 40%, which includes doubling the size of our Public Relations and Social Media departments.
The new additions to the Neff team include:
Graphic Designer: Lauren Hayes
UX/UI Designer: Daeun Song
Senior PR Account Executive: Alison Kessler
PR + Social Media Account Executive: Kelly Devine
PR + Social Media Account Executive: Lauren Alwine
Media Coordinator in Media Buying: Hilary Lassoff
Account Management: Alexandra Kerke
Interactive Developer: Demetrius Durgess
The new, experienced additions have been warmly welcomed, and Neff Associates is excited to continue growing through the New Year. As our team grows and we add new clients, we remain committed to delivering the best marketing services around!
Satisfactory user experience is the driving force behind today’s most profitable e-commerce sites. When users can’t quickly find the product they’re looking for online, or struggle to navigate a website in general, businesses can expect to experience high bounce rates, decreasing traffic and an overall slump in sales. On the contrary, when an e-commerce website offers visitors a heightened level of navigability, businesses can expect to witness increases in revenue and profit. But what specifically makes for an e-commerce site that’s truly user-friendly?
Create Hierarchical Site Architecture
One of the easiest ways to design a more user-friendly e-commerce site is to establish hierarchical site architecture. Whether your business prefers a flat or deep style of architecture, the key is to ensure that products are easily discoverable. This entails organizing pages by parent and subcategories to save users the hassle of searching through numerous web pages to find the product they’re looking for. To start, organize all product listings within specific parent categories. For example, the subcategory “Women’s Leather Boots” should be found within a “Women’s Shoes” parent category, rather than within a more general “Shoes” category. A drop-down menu feature is ideal for achieving this streamlined search process.
When applicable, businesses should also distribute a subcategory among multiple parent categories. Why? It’s important to remain cognizant of all of the ways in which your visitors might attempt to locate a product. While a “Scarves” subcategory is an appropriate fit within a “Women’s Clothing” parent category, it also makes sense to list this subcategory under something like “Accessories,” too. According to smashingmagazine.com, it’s further important that every parent category be linked to a landing page that features a variety of subcategory products, as many shoppers may be uncertain of exactly which type of product they’re interested in at first. Requiring a shopper to decide which brand of laser printer they want to explore from the outset could be the factor that deters them from spending more time on the site altogether.
Offer Product Suggestions
Product suggestion pages and features are effective ways of directing customers to explore additional product options while increasing conversion rates. When a customer visits a product listing that doesn’t fully meet his or her criteria, a product suggestion for a similar item can encourage a customer to continue shopping. Even creating “Most Popular” or “Just In” web pages can serve as beneficial tools for customers, while still driving sales for businesses.
Engage in Heat Mapping
Heat mapping is an innovative tool that allows businesses to track the behavior of its site visitors. A heat mapping program can offer real-time analytics about which web pages users visit the most, how long users stay on certain web pages, and the number of times each link within a website is clicked. These statistics will appear as a heat map to site administrators, with hotter colors appearing on sections of a website that experience high traffic, and cooler colors appearing near sections with low traffic. Businesses can leverage heat mapping to their advantage by making changes according to the analytics provided. Perhaps heat mapping reveals that links that feature calls to action receive more traffic than those that don’t, or maybe a business discovers certain product links receive hardly any traffic at all. With this information at hand, businesses can swiftly make appropriate adjustments to provide visitors with a better user experience.
Consider Auto-Complete Searches
To help users find specific products, a good e-commerce site will feature a search bar at the top each e-commerce web page; however, a great e-commerce site will implement a search bar with auto-complete. How does auto-complete work? The instant a letter is entered into a search bar, matching product listings will appear in a drop down box, complete with images, prices and links to product pages. This can eliminate the need for a visitor to search through various parent categories. Auto-complete searches also benefit the customer that knows the specific product name he or she is ready to purchase.
Organize by Icons and Colors
Another way to improve user experience on an e-commerce site is to list subcategories with accompanying icons. For example, a drop-down box with subcategories that feature different types of living room furniture could be described with both text and a simplistic icon that allows visitors to more quickly identify the type of furniture they’re looking for. The same can be said for color; for the company that offers numerous products in varying colors (especially for sites selling clothing or shoes), organizing products by color might be a more efficient way for customers to find their desired product.
Designing an optimally-navigable e-commerce site is no easy feat, and can require the upkeep of a variety of site components. To make managing a profitable e-commerce site easier, many businesses turn to web design companies with expertise in e-commerce design.
The Black Nora Jumpsuit is a wardrobe staple for the chicest woman in your life. She will love the ease and versatility of this timeless piece. ($200)
Safian & Rudolph Jewelers
Buy her something sparkly this season – all diamond earrings are 35% off through Christmas! Give and give back with rose gold and pink jewels. 10% of proceeds on blush-hued pieces, like their trendy rose gold stackable rings ($175, $475 for a set of three), will be donated to Breastcancer.org.
VK Nagrani’s new line of cowboy socks ($40) are available at the showroom in three colors and make a great stocking stuffer.
However, if you really want to treat the guy in your life, set him up with an appointment to get a custom suit! Henry A. Davidsen is offering great specials through the holidays. Get your man a voucher for a custom Black Label suit, custom shirt and ready-to-wear tie for just $699 (retail value of $1,443).
Duke & Winston
The Kings of casual have a great selection of holiday packages for they guy who values comfort but refuses to compromise style. Their “Modern Gents” box is comprised of an In Duke We Trust navy hat, a white Casual Gentlemen Tee, their classic Embroidery Hoodie in navy and a Horween Leather Wallet – this comes packaged and ready to gift for $154 (an $182 value).
Have the experts help you build a custom basket of Italian specialty items to impress even the most hardcore epicurean you know.
For the food aficionado who prefers to dine out, treat them to a unique dining experience at one of Philadelphia’s great restaurants, such as: Rex 1516, The Gaslight, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House, Cafe Ynez, Joe’s Steaks + Soda Shop, The Kitchen Consigliere Cafe, Sullivan’s Steakhouse, Zavino or Jet Wine Bar.
Since 1947, Maglio Sausage Co. has been Philadelphia’s favorite family-owned sausage purveyor. Tonight, Maglio’s will be opening their first Italian-specialty foods market that will offer a larger array of Maglio products, including prepared foods (sausage and peppers), a sandwich bar, meats and cheeses, locally grown fresh produce and high quality Italian products.
“The Maglio family is pleased to expand our 67-year legacy while bringing jobs and foot traffic back to South Philly,” says President of Maglio Sausage Co., Anthony Maglio Jr. “We are thrilled to offer top quality and affordable Italian products to the city of Philadelphia.”
The grand opening celebration begins at 4:30pm with a ribbon cutting, introductions from the Maglio family, dignitaries and city officials. The public is invited to experience the 1,500-square-foot market as well as sampling a variety of Maglio sausages, cured meats, fresh breads and artisanal cheeses. The Market at Maglio’s will offer an assortment of delicious products such as fresh prepared meats ranging from sausage and peppers, chicken and eggplant parmigiana, hot and sweet Italian sausage as well as breakfast sausage, meatballs and strombolis.
Furthermore, there will be a full deli counter of Dietz & Watson products, an extensive olive bar, a range of Centro Fine Italian Foods, Citterio Italian specialty meats, fresh baked bread from Cacia’s Bakery, seasonal items for the holidays and a variety of classic Italian desserts such as cakes, cannoli and cookies.
The Market at Maglio’s will offer all the sides, including potato salad, coleslaw and sparkling Italian sodas. Looking to order party trays? Guests are more than welcome to call ahead to order specific trays for tailgating or large groups. Anthony Maglio Jr. will be curating a collection of high-end cheeses from around the world for those customers who are more discerning.
The Market at Maglio’s is in the heart of South Philly, right down the street from the stadiums. Come stop by and grocery shop for the family or to accompany your tailgating needs. The market will be open Monday-Friday 8am-6pm, Saturday 8am-5pm, and Sunday 9am-3pm with early hours for home Eagles games. Visit www.magliofoods.com or call 215-4MAGLIO for more information! Follow Maglio’s on Twitter, Facebook Instagram and Pinterest!
We are proud to announce that Neff Associates has made some exciting strides in the last few months. 2014 began with awards from the Ragan and PR Daily’s ACE Award for Communication Excellence in Branding, a Bulldog Award (the only industry awards chosen by journalists and bloggers) for Excellence in Media Relations and Publicity and 7 Graphic Design USA awards. We simultaneously kicked off the New Year by adding several impressive clients to our company roster.
Zavino Restaurant Group, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Marcus Smith II, The Artisan’s Cellar, HC Pody, Traction Tire and The Gaslight are a just a few additions to Neff’s diverse list of clients. We were also excited and privileged to work with Old City District on promoting and designing creative pieces for the first annual Old City Fest. As a proud sponsor of the fall festival, Neff Associates played a key role in drawing the estimated 15,000 attendees to the Old City streets. Following a successful year, Neff is excited for continued growth in 2015.
In addition to these distinctions and new clients, Neff has added an abundance of impressive new hires to the already well-rounded team. Across all disciplines, the agency has expanded our staff overall by nearly 100 percent. The addition of Graphic Designer Lauren Hayes and UX/UI Designer Daeun Song to the creative and interactive departments will allow Neff to take on even more amazing branding and website projects. Hayes is a 2013 graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University. After graduating with her BFA, Hayes worked at Playworkgroup NYC and Philadelphia branding agency 160over90. Song joins Neff Associates with a Masters of Industrial Design from The University of the Arts and a BA in Industrial Design from Mokwon University in Daejeon, Korea. She has the rare ability to work with different cultures and perspectives in brand identities and visual interfaces.
Neff has doubled the size of our Public Relations and Social Media department with the additions of Senior Account Executive Alison Kessler and Account Executives Kelly Devine and Lauren Alwine. Kessler brings a wealth of public relations experience to Neff Associates following her time at New York and Philadelphia agencies. She received her BA in Communications from Boston University and her Masters of Journalism & Integrated Marketing from Northwestern University. Devine is a 2012 graduate of St. Joseph’s University, where she majored in Food Marketing. Devine is a world-ranked Irish Dancer and represents the city of Philadelphia as The Mary from Dungloe. She was named runner-up in the international competition over in Dungloe county Donegal, Ireland. Alwine recently graduated with her Masters in Media Studies from Pennsylvania State University after finishing her BA in Sociology from the University of Virginia. She is a two-sport Division 1 collegiate athlete, competing in Soccer and Field Hockey. Both Devine and Alwine bring a variety of internship experience to the Public Relations and Social Media department.
New hires in other departments include Media Coordinator Hilary Lassoff in Media Buying and Alexandra Kerke in Account Management. Lassoff is a 2013 graduate of the Florida Institute of Technology where she earned a BS in Business and Marketing and was a member of the Varsity Golf Team. She has experience in sales promotion, marketing and advertising, and started her own golf apparel company, LOAG Inc. Kerke joined Neff following her time at The Christopher Radko Company as a Product Marketing Manager, where she led the development and long-term strategy with nationwide clients such as Saks, Bloomingdales and the Chicago Cubs. She graduated from Drexel University with a Design and Merchandising degree.
“My colleagues and I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into our work day-in and day-out,” says President and Founder David Neff, “and it’s very gratifying to see the agency’s continued growth.”
You’ve probably noticed the onslaught of recent stories about millennials’ banking trends and “fear” of credit cards – a new poll shows that 63% of Generation Y doesn’t own a credit card. Whether they’re already bogged down by school loans or don’t know the best credit plan for them, millennials are avoiding the traditional path to building credit and financial independence. Luckily, East River Bank, Philly’s most advanced neighborhood bank, is here to guide millennials through the process of building credit.
With that in mind, President and CEO Christopher McGill developed a number of tips and tricks for millennials. Christopher sees the difficulties his clients face on a day-to-day basis. McGill has developed the bank’s outreach to 18-to-29 year olds with an emphasis on an engaging social media presence, community initiatives to establish a face-to-face connection, and regular blog posts on issues effecting millennials across the city.
He has developed four principals for millennials to keep in mind for improving financial health.
1. Make savings a priority
Being in your 20’s is difficult to find balance between living in the moment and planning for the future. It is very important to save, save and save – the same rule that you were taught when you were a child. It can be difficult to save, especially when you’re establishing your career, paying off debt and planning for major purchases such as a house or a car. The best trick is to set aside that savings into your budget before you get accustomed to spending it every month.
2. Get one credit card and use it wisely
The right way to use a credit card is for small and regular bills that you can pay off each month. By doing this, this will help build your credit score while avoiding the temptation to use your credit card for everyday expenses. Put yourself on a budget and avoid charging if you find yourself charging up high balances or using your card on a regular basis.
3. Ditch the debt
Many 20 year olds graduate college with a degree and have debt from student loans and credit cards. While it’s a good advantage to pay off all forms of debt, credit cards should be at the top of the list so that you can avoid high-interest debt. Millennials primary focus should be paying off their credit cards and then use all the money they’ve freed up to ditch student loans and car payments. Altogether, it is important to avoid credit card debt, but make sure you keep some money in your wallet for times you might need it for an emergency.
4. Track your credit score
Just because you graduated from school that doesn’t mean you are no longer being graded. The most important grade you will get outside of school is your credit score. These three numbers play a huge role in your financial life because they represent how responsible you are as a borrower. The main factors that go into your score include how long you’ve had credit, your payment history and your credit-to-debt ratio. Some basic rules to maintain good credit scores include: keep your oldest credit card open, pay your bills on time and avoid maxing out cards. Check annualcreditreport.com each year to receive a free copy of your credit report.
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