Washington Business Journal

In Anthony’s most recent WBJ column, “Branding - the Bottom Line,” he reminds readers that naming your business is your first step, but you aren’t done until your URL has been secured for your brand to live online. This can be a challenge in the .COM domain where many of the “good” names are taken - but with the new .CO domain just being released to the world in July, the availability of Internet real estate just got bigger. He encourages readers to consider .CO for their new business, product, or blog “to promote a catchy, short name without paying an arm and a leg”.

Download the PDF to read the full column here: Smaller .CO domain offers comfy real estate

The new .CO domain extension launched at 2 pm today. Within 25 minutes, more than 100,000 domain names had already been registered. Congratulations, .CO!

Our press release on PRWeb:

Pappas Group Marketing Campaign for .CO Domain Extension Celebrates a New Era of the Internet

.CO Internet opens registration to the worldwide public

July 20, 2010 - Pappas Group, a digital marketing and branding agency in the Washington D.C. area, is pleased to help usher in the final General Availability phase for .CO, or “dot-co,” a new domain extension for business owners, organizations, entrepreneurs and individuals seeking new opportunities in the online space. CO is the new dot-com alternative and has already attracted more than half of the top 500 global brands, including Twitter, Facebook and Overstock.com. The domain extension is not only globally recognizable, but is also associated internationally with words like “company,” “commerce,” and “corporation,” adding to its credibility and adoption by a diverse and growing collection of registrants.

Since November of 2009, Pappas Group has been working with .CO to develop the integrated marketing strategy and long-term plan to launch the .CO domain globally. The multi-phased launch rollout began in January 2010 and sought to educate and create awareness for .CO among small businesses, brand owners, web professionals and domain investors. The integrated campaign from Pappas Group and .CO, driven by the idea of ‘anything is possible in the .CO era’ consisted of international print and online advertising, online video, email, direct mail, tradeshow and events, websites and collateral.

“From the moment we came up with the idea that ‘anything is possible in the .CO era,’ we have understood the potential of this new global domain space and are excited to be part of this launch,” says Anthony Pappas, President and Founder of Pappas Group. “As a small business owner, I know from experience how hard it is to get the domain you truly want. .CO makes it possible, and provides entrepreneurs with new opportunities.”

As part of the campaign, Pappas Group created several websites, including the launch campaign minisite atwww.opportunity.co, which seeks to define the possibilities of the .CO domain space by exploring the many innovative brands that are already using .CO in unique ways. Another site, Pitch.co, housed a contest site that encouraged individuals to submit their big ideas for a business, blog or anything else to build on their ideal .CO domain name. The contest solicited almost 300 ideas, had more than 200,000 page views and attracted over 15,000 unique voters before awarding the winner a grand prize of $50,000 to help buid their big idea on .CO.

“Working with Pappas Group has been a rewarding experience, and they have been with us every step of the way, providing strategic vision and creative ideas,” says Juan Diego Calle, CEO of .CO Internet S.A.S, the company behind the .CO registry. “The agency worked with us when .CO was still a concept, and helped us develop and execute and plan to grow the brand into something that really has a lot of momentum in and beyond the industry.”

Top domain registrars and resellers, including GoDaddy and Network Solutions, have partnered up to become Accredited Registrars, and almost 70% of renowned global brands have already applied for the new online space. Before General Availability, .CO had more than 39,000 applications. Domains that have not been reserved or slotted for premium auctions are now available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

Washington Business Journal

In Anthony’s most recent WBJ column, “Branding - the Bottom Line,” he encourages readers to conduct research on their brands to understand the overall perception, level of awareness, and consumer experiences associated with them. Investing in this kind of research provides business owners with the knowledge they need to build appropriate strategies, with confidence. When armed with insight about how customers experience the brand, immediate responses can be made based on the feedback. Overall, Anthony urges business owners to not “go from the gut… Invest in research.”

Full column here: Probe market research, not gut, to build business brand

We have finally settled in to our new digs in Arlington, VA and could not be more excited! Over Memorial Day weekend, we moved everything from our old office in McLean to our new and bigger space, which is within walking distance to the Ballston metro stop, the Washington Capitals IcePlex and the Ballston Common Mall. This new office remains an open, collaborative environment with red walls and wide windows. Our new address is: 671 N. Glebe Road, Suite 700 Arlington, VA 22203. Come visit; we would be happy to give you a tour.

In addition to a new office, we’ve got another new space, online. We just launched our new blog, pappas.co! Pappas team members will collaborate on this new online soapbox for sharing our insights about anything from what inspires us to what we think about trends in the industry. We encourage everyone to join in on our conversation and hope to hear others’ opinions too.

Newly released issue of “Branding - the Bottom Line” hit news stands today.  This time, Anthony discusses how to bounce back from a blow to your brand’s image, reasoning that “a brand crisis can become a great brand building opportunity.”  Read on for his take on how big brands - from JetBlue Airways to Tiger Woods - held up in the heat of crisis. >> How to fix a brand after letting customers down

Maybe it’s because the 2010 ADDY Awards were presented on St. Patrick’s Day, but we definitely lucked out at the awards gala hosted yesterday evening by the DC Ad Club at the Carnegie Institute in DC.  Pappas Group won two Silver ADDYs, for our VW Credit Holiday Card and the PayItGreen “Power of You” video for NACHA.  The complete list is on the DC Ad Club’s website, where you can find our work in the “Online, Emails/E-cards” section of the Interactive category, as well as the “Broadcast/Electronic, Interactive” section of the Public Service category.

The VW Holiday Card digressed from a standard Hallmark greeting card and instead mimicked the video game, Rockband, through an online interactive drive through a winter wonderland.  And to make it even better? The more presents you hit while driving through the snow, the more points you score.  It was an addictive game that we couldn’t stop playing in the office - looks like the ADDY judges enjoyed it too.

The “Power of You” animated video encourages consumers to practice environmental responsibility and realize their power to influence change.  The video supports NACHA’s Pay It Green campaign, convincing the public to stop using paper and make the switch to electronic methods.  NACHA represents banks, utilities, and financial institutions that mail out bills, statements and other notices in paper form, at the expense of the environment and its natural resources.  To learn more about the Pay It Green campaign, click here.

Over 740 entries were received from 90 agencies, clients, individuals and students.  A panel of eight judges - general market and interactive - was convened to review and score the entries based on creativity, originality and creative strategy.  The ADDY Awards Competition is conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), its chapters, and districts.  With 60,000 entries nationwide, the ADDY Awards Competition is the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition for creative excellence.  Since 1918, the DC Ad Club has served as the premier industry organization for area advertising professionals.  As a chapter of the AAF, the Ad Club promotes integrity and excellence in advertising through professional development seminars, recognizes industry leaders and outstanding work, and serves as the leading networking venue for the industry.  The DC Ad Club membership represents all segments of the industry - clients, agencies, production companies and the media.

Georgetown Metro Ad

Despite the busy rush of our office, we have reason to celebrate here at Pappas Group this week.  Our Georgetown University creative team produced award-winning work on behalf of the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies, sweeping up award medals from the University of Continuing Education Association’s (UCEA) awards program.  We were recognized for the following work:

Bachelor of Liberal Studies View Book - GOLD

Direct Mailers for Prospective Students - SILVER

School of Continuing Studies Overall Ad - BRONZE

School of Continuing Studies Metro Ad - BRONZE

The UCEA Marketing and Publications Awards is an annual program recognizing the best marketing practices and promotional pieces in the field of continuing education.  Submissions are reviewed by a team of expert judges, and categories include print publications, interactive marketing, promotion/publicity, print advertising, broadcast advertising, visual identification (logos), campaigns and miscellaneous pieces like bookmarks, calendars and collateral material.  Award winners will be recognized and celebrated at the UCEA’s 2010 Annual Conference in San Francisco in April at a luncheon sponsored by their Marketing and Publications Community of Practice.

Congratulations, Georgetown!

We have been honored with two ADDY awards this year.  For those of you who don’t know, the ADDY awards is a program run by the Advertising Club of Metropolitan Washington competition (DC Ad Club). The ADDY awards recognize the best in creative excellence in advertising in the D.C. area.  We’re excited for the awards gala a few weeks from now, where we’ll find out exactly what we won.  But we do have reason to celebrate early, since we were notified we have earned either a Gold ADDY or Silver ADDY for our work on both the “Power of You” video for NACHA’s PayItGreen program and for an interactive holiday card produced for Volkswagen Credit.

To see everything we entered this year, go to the PADDYs (The People’s ADDYs), where you can vote for your favorite in each category.  Voting is open until the day of the gala - Wednesday, March 17th - in which winners will be announced for each category.

The 42nd annual ADDY Awards competition is the nation’s largest advertising competition and is the first level in a three-tiered competition sponsored by the American Advertising Federation (AAF). For this year’s competition, the DC Ad Club received 843 entries from 98 agencies, design studios, media outlets, clients, and students from across the region.  Pappas Group also received three ADDY awards last year.

Our team was recently recognized for our rebranding work for the following clients:

• Network Solutions
• Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies
• Harvard Business Publishing

The Rebrand winners were reviewed by an international panel of industry experts, who considered “before” and “after” photos of our work.  But it’s not just about the visual makeover. We also provided the judges with a summary of our rebrand challenge, strategy, execution and results.

Congratulations to our award-winning team and, of course, our amazing clients who made this all possible.  And, if you get a chance or would like some inspiration, take a look at the overall “Best of” category and other impressive branding projects featured in the showcase…

REBRAND Winners Showcase

Anthony’s latest column in the Washington Business Journal, “Super Bowl ad not needed to make a big impression,” advises readers why a 30-spot during the biggest game of the year isn’t worth all the hype. So while you’re stocking up on beer and snacks for the game, make sure you pick up the latest issue - or just read it here: Branding - The Bottom Line