Growing a Greener World features the latest in gardening trends, sustainability, and eco-friendly living. This episode will feature a behind the scenes look at how sustainable, commercially-produced compost is made, how to know the quality of what you’re buying, and how it’s best used. It will also feature a close up of delivery and installation methods for Do-It-Yourselfers with bulk delivery for ultimate cost-savings, super sacks for spot placement, and even state-of-the-art blower truck tech (What would take a 3-man crew a whole day to spread, can be achieved in just one hour).

Get an insider’s view of how it’s all made and all the wonderful benefits so you can be sure that you’re making the right choice for your lawn and garden.

The episode is scheduled to air in mid-July.

See Nature’s GREEN-RELEAF products at Atlantic Mulch.

The new offices are located at 115 S. St. Mary’s Street, 50 feet from the birthplace of Raleigh.  @ 115 South, we can now offer comprehensive marketing services in house, from consulting to copywriting or graphic design to full video production.  Better still, we have addressed the number one complaint from clients at our old location – we now have free parking!

We look forward to introducing you to our new space and our expanded team.  Please come visit soon!

As I mentioned during my time at the mic, SkyBound Marketing – along with several other DRA members – is helping to sponsor a truly unique and worthwhile cause – Monday Night Knockout.  For our neighbors in and around Raleigh, I wanted to provide ready links to the event (which will be November 7, 5:30-8:30pm, @ Natty Greene’s) in case you didn’t get a card and would like to participate.  I would love to speak with you about this event (919.807.1581).

Links

1. For individual tickets, please visit the Haven House Services website. ($20 per person, includes drinks and hors d’ oeuvres, prizes, and more), or
2. To consider a very reasonably priced sponsorship, please download the MNKO Sponsorship Packet.

Haven House Services is hosting the second annual Monday Night Knockout to support their Second Round Boxing program.

Second Round Boxing targets youthful offenders and gang‐involved young men and women between 11 and 18 years old, and uses boxing, weight training, and other forms of exercise to teach teamwork, self‐discipline, time management, leadership, healthy living, and other  pro‐socialization skills. Monday Night Knockout will be full of fun and excitement including a silent auction and TKO instant winner prizes.

—

Many thanks for supporting our community & Haven House Services.

Please let me know if I can answer any questions.

Regards,

Kyle Held, Board Member
Haven House Services

The evening provided a great opportunity for current Park Scholars to get to know and
ask questions of alumni who have had experience as or with entrepreneurs.  Thanks to all those who participated.

The conversation was open and free flowing and covered topics like:
• Rationale for entering field of business/entrepreneurship
• Career paths
• Advice on education beyond undergraduate degree

This brief guide covers common logo filetypes, and when to use which.

Vector-based

Vector-based images are scalable, editable images which provide graphic designers with unparalleled freedom in illustration and design. The most common vector file formats are EPS, AI, CDR and SWF.

A vector image is broken down into a series of geometric shapes that consist of framework outlines that curve and join at X Y coordinates, or points. The outlines of these coordinates are stored as mathematical equations. Vector-based image files can be enlarged without sacrificing any loss to image quality or resolution.

Imagine vector shapes as strings wrapped around pins pushed into a flat surface. Move one pin or “vector point”, and the shape will change.

Pixel-based images

Pixel based images, also know as raster based images or bit-mapped images are comprised of pixels in a grid. These images store image data as a map of individual pixels. These images have a fixed resolution and can not be enlarged without sacrificing image quality.

Vector vs. Pixel-based

Once you have your finalized logo design, you will be looking to use it in a variety of applications and sizes. Vector-based images allow for scalability as they are based on mathematical equations. Vector file formats by default output at the highest resolution of the device being used to print.

Pixel-based images, due to the fact that they are created using clusters of pixels, each pixel consisting of a solid color, must be in the resolution of the output or display device that you are utilizing.

The Web use only requires 72 dpi (dots per inch), whereas print requires a minimum of 266 dpi (we typically use at least 300 dpi).  Pixel-based images cannot simply be enlarged or expanded at will, as the pixels will quickly become visible .

Most logo images begin life as vector-based files, but electronic reproduction requires pixel-based rendering. Vector-based versions of your file can be resized as desired, then converted to pixel-based formats for rendering electronically.

Standard Logo Formats

AI: Adobe Illustrator: Vector based, editable, native file (Mac: Illustrator, Freehand etc. PC: Illustrator, Corel Draw, etc.). Your vendors (printers, web designers, silk screen printers, etc.) will use this file.

EPS: Vector based, importable file for most desktop publishing software (will work with Mac and PC). This file can be “placed” or “imported” into most desktop publishing software (Microsoft Word, QuarkExpress, PageMaker, etc.). Your vendors (printers, web designers, silk screen printers, etc.) will use this file.

GIF: 72 dpi web-ready file (will work with Mac and PC). This file is for Web use only. You can use this file on your Web site and view it with any browser.

JPG: 72 dpi web-ready file (will work with Mac and PC). This file is for Web use only. You can use this file on your Web site and view it with any browser.

TIF and/or BMP: 300 dpi, raster-based file (will work with Mac and PC). This file can be opened by some Mac and PC illustration and image software (Illustrator, FreeHand, PhotoShop, ImageReady, etc.), and can be “placed” or “imported” into most desktop-publishing software.

As part of First Friday, the 2nd annual “PBaRt” show at Designbox features a PBR-inspired exhibit packed with custom local artist work! Our “back yard” (parking lot) will turn into a beer garden for the night and host local bands, fire dancing, acrobats, a hoop jam, food trucks and, of course, Pabst Blue Ribbon!

Summary: PBaRt  //  Friday, May 6  //  6-10pm  //  @ Designbox, 323 W. Martin St.

This is an open event, so please forward the invite to anyone who might be interested.  Hope to see you there!

curated by Kaci Torres and Paul Friedrich

We create strong brands by shaping that opinion through engaging, entertaining/ informing, interacting and involving the right people. We take an analytical approach that’s measurable, actionable and achieves defined targets.

Below I’ve outlined some of the key tenants of brand building we follow here at SkyBound. In the coming weeks, I’ll take and expound on these topics on at a time.

Identifying audiences

Messages fail if they aren’t delivered to the right people and it takes truly understanding each audience to create effective messages. Identifying and understanding your different audiences is the first and most crucial step.

Identifying channels

How to reach the right audience? When, where and how do they seek/ expect their information and how can it be delivered? For example, given the previous pie chart, 33% of searches lead to major information portals – a clear opportunity to use existing popular platforms for cost-effective distribution of USCC content.

Building awareness

This is more crucial in the earlier stages than the message. Engage then raise awareness/ inform/ educate/ promote…

Encouraging Interaction

Actively engage people and get them involved. Interaction and conversations lead to greater awareness, longer-term results, and – when done properly – advocacy.

Being Responsive

Social media, public attention, trends, and opinion are fast-changing. Successful interaction requires timely conversations to take advantage of opportunities for reaching new people, shaping opinion, and defending your reputation. Being responsive is crucial to successful interaction.

Building Advocacy

Engaged people (advocates) who feel involved (responsive interaction) will spread messages and build awareness far wider and more effectively than any other method.

How to build advocacy? Exclusivity (membership) and feeling valued… creates advocates. Listen and converse, don’t talk at people – be active not passive. What’s in it for me (WIIFM)? Give people a reason to advocate. An example in the corporate world is Apple, which builds consumer advocates better than anyone.

Being Part of the Community

Engaging communities is quicker, more effective and longer-lasting than engaging with just individuals. Make the industry part of the community – break down the ‘them v us’ barrier to involve, engage, facilitate interaction, connect and build trust – involve all stakeholders.

Creating Flexible Brands

Connecting with diverse audiences requires the right brand identity, persona, and voice tuned to each audience while remaining true to your guiding principles and overall brand. Be honest, personable and communicate beliefs and values.

What this means

When it comes to positioning with consumer-facing efforts, especially in this digital age where people control where, when, and how they consume messages, positioning must be flexible and targeted to key demographics/ channels.

In a quest to evolve our own presentations we recently discovered and started using Prezi. Prezi helps us create zooming presentations that better convey visual information within a broader context. Just as a designer considers design of an object or element within its next larger context – a chair within a room, a room within a building, a building within a neighborhood, a neighborhood within a city, etc. – Prezi lets us present information in a way that better illustrates relative importance and context.

Below is an example Prezi we converted to video.  Our friend Eric Stroud at 70B3 narrated.

Click and zoom through yourself without the narration…

So while PowerPoint is anything but dead…maybe it should be.

Also, we’d like to extend a special thanks to SkyBound alum Albert Blackmon who again contributed greatly to the Krispy Kreme platform despite being back at NC State full time pursuing a masters in quantitative analytics.

From left to right are committee co-chairs and current NC State students Sudeep Sunthankar, Rachel Turner, and John Yanik, Kyle Held of SkyBound Marketing, Chancellor Randy Woodson of NC State, and Dr. William Adamson, Chief of Pediatric Surgery at North Carolina Children’s Hospital.