Crowley Webb Blog

Best Thing I Found On A Monday.

by Liz Maimone

www.fedexpeptalk.com

Going old school.

Superstar. Hero. Legend. All words used to describe Mr. Thurman Thomas. Well, at Crowley Webb, we’ve added “super nice guy” to that list after we had the opportunity to work with him this summer.

Thurman’s carrying the ball for M&T Bank’s Banking Built for Buffalo campaign. The goal is to promote the new Bills Check Card (which we had the pleasure of designing) in conjunction with the Bills 50th season. So enlisting one of the Bills most beloved players of all time to help just made sense.

In July, the Hall of Famer donned his jersey and an All Pro smile for the camera at KC Kratt’s studio in downtown Buffalo. Shortly thereafter, we even got a little acting out of Thurman as he recorded a few lines for radio spots at Chameleon.

Fortunately, our fun didn’t end with Thurman. Teaming with the running back for the shoot and record was fellow Hall of Famer and Electric Company cornerstone, Joe DeLamielleure. And you better believe the guy is as affable as he is big.

So as fans all over Western New York gear up to celebrate their favorite Buffalo Bills memories this fall, we’re considering ourselves pretty lucky to have made some of our own these last couple months. Go Bills!

Having fun with furniture.

A few years ago, we had the bright idea to give our office a facelift. Since interior design isn’t quite in our repertoire, we called on the experts at Prentice Office Environments. And if you’ve been to the fourth floor of 268 Main, you know they did a fantastic job. So when Prentice wanted to renovate its brand, we thought, “Hey, now that’s more up our alley.”

We started with a logo redesign for the Officeworks family of companies. This included Prentice, as well as BGI Millwork, a custom woodworking shop, and Office Furniture Center, the largest office furniture showroom in WNY.

Next up? Websites. The goal was to reflect the nature of each individual company, all while creating greater synergy between the other Officeworks brands. For instance, say you’re remodeling your office. You can check out Prentice for the design, BGI for one-of-a-kind cabinets, and OFC for an awesome new desk chair – all in one fell swoop.

We’re thrilled with how the websites came out. In fact, the only way the project could have been more of a success is if we got a free La-Z-Boy for the office. Now, that’s what we’d call a comfortable working environment.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

What do juice, muscles, and lots of green grass have in common? Well, we’ll be learning a whole lot more about each due to our recent new business wins. Crowley Webb has added three new clients to our roster – Cliffstar Corporation, Sports PT, Olmsted Parks Conservancy.

Cliffstar, a leading private label beverage manufacturer, has called upon us to help with company-wide rebranding efforts – including a new logo and tagline. Sports PT, which offers rehabilitative services to athletes across the state, has charged us with increasing the overall effectiveness of their marketing communications. Hey, we’re always up for a good challenge.

And Olmsted is no stranger to Crowley Webb. We’ve actually been working together for years, but it wasn’t until recently that we were asked to help develop a strategic marketing plan.

Sun or no sun, summer’s been good to us.

I’m feeling extraordinary.

Here at Crowley Webb, we’re really into digital. So as part of our continual training and ongoing initiatives, two members of our media team – Jessica Carroll and Erin Haskell – joined the ranks of digital advertising experts. That’s right, both of these fine young women became Google Adwords Certified Individuals. You bet that’s as impressive as it sounds. 

In order to obtain this prestigious status, Jessica and Erin were required to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of creating, maintaining, and optimizing paid search advertising campaigns on Google. And then they had to pass an official Google certification test. So the next time you’re Googling a movie or a restaurant (or yourself), take a second to consider just how far more search-engine savvy these two women are than the rest of us. Kudos, ladies.

Best Thing I Found On A Monday.

by Liz Maimone

For this special MNF edition of BTIFOAM, the only thing I’m going to share with you is my new pet peeve. Well, actually, it’s not new at all, but for the purpose of this sounding newsworthy, we’re just going to roll with it.

So here it is: I’m sick of guys getting all the cool sports apparel. While fellows get racks and racks of sweet vintage throwback hoodies to choose from, I’m left to pick between red or gold rhinestones on a pink jersey. Seriously? Guess what Reebok/NFL, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say there’s a good chance that any girl who actually likes football enough to purchase a $60+ jersey probably doesn’t even like pink. I know I don’t. And for the sake of this argument, that’s all that really matters.

But what upsets me more than the fact that stuff like this even exists, is that people actually buy it. A lot of it. Just go in the women’s bathroom on a Sunday and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. This is possibly a contradiction to my above theory on pink, but I kind of don’t care. Hey girly-shirt-wearer, I don’t like you. And I like what you’re wearing even less. Teams have colors for a reason, and you don’t get to change them because you’re living in some Barbie fantasyland. C’mon, hunnie.

I’m certainly not going to jeopardize my fanhood with some pseudo, bedazzled piece of crap. I mean everybody already assumes girls only pretend to like sports because their boyfriends do. Okay, I did that once. But seriously, you want me to show up on game day with this? Yeah, right after I get “loser” tattooed across my forehead. In pink, of course.

I’m sure I just offended someone. Good, now go buy something in navy like a real fan.

Oh, and go Bills!

Save money. Laugh at other people.

by Chris Muldoon

Walmart is such a wonderful, magical place. It provides the masses with everyday low prices (where else can you dive head-first into a bin of $5 DVDs you’ve never heard of?). It offers smaller businesses a little friendly competition. But its greatest gift to society is undoubtedly the opportunity to people-watch. Next time you’re feeling blue, just head over to the hunting department of your local Walmart. Dollars to donuts, you’ll immediately feel better about yourself. And if you need a quick fix – or just want to avoid the parking lot mayhem – check out www.peopleofwalmart.com.

Meet Matt Bush.

by matt low

So as it turns out, this fine young thespian’s ability isn’t limited to arguing with his mother about rollover minutes and sharing exasperated looks with her. Oh, no. This rising star’s repertoire also includes shots to the groin, flipping the bird, urinating on windows, and shouting expletives that I’ll refrain from repeating here. Seriously, if you haven’t seen Adventureland, Mr. Matt Bush’s performance is worth whatever Blockbuster is charging for a rental these days. It’s actually the lone bright spot in a mostly forgettable film that I’ve already forgotten too much about to properly recap. Happy Labor Day. 

Best thing I found this summer.

by matt low

What’s awesome and just steps from the Crowley Webb office? No, it’s not the Main Place Mall. Coca-Cola Field, the home of your Buffalo Bisons, is right outside our door. And I have to say, attending a game is one of the most enjoyable experiences one could ask for.

First of all, it’s insanely affordable. You can walk up and purchase a ticket the day of a game for $10. Seriously, $10. And if you get your ticket the day prior, you can most likely sit in the front row. Concession prices aren’t so bad either. I mean, $3.50 for a popcorn and $4 for a pop is still ridiculous, but have you been to the movies lately?

While it did seem lonely at times, the crowds picked up near the end of the season. But not to the point of obnoxiousness. Who wants to be in a crowd of 80,000 anyway? I’d much prefer the intimacy of a Bisons game. Most important, there’s almost zero chance of someone vomiting on your back.

Oh yeah, and then there’s the game. It’s not just baseball – pure, simple, wonderful baseball – it’s Minor League ball. These guys, while they may not possess the talent of their counterparts in the Majors, just want to play ball. They don’t have the giant contracts or the egos. All they have is a love of the game. So, in some ways, it’s even more enjoyable to watch. (And then from time to time, you get to catch an MLB player on a rehab assignment and it’s really cool.)

So check them out if you have the opportunity next year. It’s a great time if you love watching baseball or mascots making fools of themselves. And as long as they keep the ticket prices at $10 and under, I’ll be there too.

Oh, Kwikset.

by matt low

So I was watching SportsCenter while eating breakfast and checking email (so clearly, I was totally engaged) and this commercial catches my eye and ear. It features simple animation to illustrate a simple point. I dug it. Or so I thought.

Here, let’s get on the same page. 

I want to like it, but ultimately, it leaves me confused. First, I’m unsure which side of the screen I’m supposed to be watching. I want to watch the typical numbskull male change his light bulb, but the thought of re-keying a lock simply and easily intrigues me (Even though I’ve NEVER lost a house key. That’s one benefit of minor OCD.) So I can’t take my eyes off the key demo.

But wait. What is going on? What just happened? Is that a tool? Are these special locks? Maybe I should have watched the amusing spoof on the right.

Hang on. The process is apparently so simple, Kwikset feels the need to show it again. In a similar confusing fashion. What is that red thing?

 Maybe I’ll just read the sports section tomorrow morning.