This is The Marion Group’s Newsletter to business people such as you who are looking for ways to grow your business. We hope to share with you, new ideas and marketing opportunities to achieve your business goals quickly and economically, in print and multimedia, and on the web.

“Click-to-play” video ads bring Google one step closer to accessing blue-chip advertisers who allot a significant portion of their advertising dollars to TV. This creates an opportunity for advertisers to provide enhanced communication over the internet in ad formats that are non-intrusive.

The video ads will use the AdWords bidding model and can be targeted to specific sites or contextually. All the advertisers have to do is upload a video file that is up to two minutes long and Google does the rest. The low cost of entry and geographic targeting capabilities will also give smaller advertisers the opportunity to use rich media.

Marion can help your company develop video ads and be one of the first in your industry to use this media.

Click to see an example video ad.

Seeking an agency that could meet their strict deadlines, Aggreko contacted Marion who proved to be up to the task.Marion recently completed a 20-page, full color newsletter for Aggreko’s 20th Anniversary on August 1st.The newsletter was very time intensive with the collection of images from past to present, organizing articles submitted from people throughout the U.S. and fitting the abundance of information into the 20-page limit.

Aggreko was very pleased with the results and has scheduled other projects with Marion.

Aggreko provides rental power generators, temperature control equipment and compressed air systems to companies around the world.

The Ghostwriter and the Muse, written by Houstonian, Madeline Westbrook (previously mentioned in Marion’s February newsletter) has made its mark by placing as a semifinalist winner in the Inspirational/Spiritual category at the 2006 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY). The IPPY Awards are designed to recognize self-published authors for their courage and innovation. Marion made the publication of this book a reality and helped market the book within the Houston area. To read the news release announcing Madeline’s award, click here. 

To order your own copy of Madeline's book, click here.

MySpace looks very attractive to any potential business suitor. It is the #1 social networking site out there, with 100 million members and growing at an incredible 230,000 new members per day in early August. It is second only to Yahoo! in page views.

An unprecedented cultural phenomenon, MySpace is the online equivalent of your high school cafeteria, your college quad, your favorite watering hole. Except, it doesn't sell much of anything, at least not until now.

Google has made an agreement with New’s Corp. (the owner of MySpace) to install its search boxes and keyword-word driven ads on MySpace for an estimated $900 million in advertising revenue. Analysts estimate the deal can bring Google net revenue of anywhere from $50 million to $200 million.

Google has in effect locked up the most eligible property on the web and becomes a partner instead of a competitor.

Source: NewsWeek, August 29, 2006

Trans Atlantic Granites, a Houston-based granite installation company, requested Marion's expertise to create an integrated package, including a brochure and new website that would serve as marketing tools for new customers. The website was designed to be informative as well as demonstrate the excellent craftsmanship of Trans Atlantic Granites.

The website features rotating images of their finished projects on the home page as well as an interactive project gallery slide show that really shows off the beauty of their work.

Who better to tackle a 250 hour project than the Marion Group? Everyone felt a sense of accomplishment when the projects Nightforce Radiology had on their agenda were completed.

So what constitutes 250 hours?

• Marketing script outlining company philosophies and the marketing message
• Two brochures developed from the marketing script 
• Large brochure - 9 x 12, 4 pages + cover with a pocket 
• Small tri-fold brochure for tradeshow purposes 
• Designed and programmed a website within one week 
• Two tradeshow booths – one 10-ft pop up and one 10’ x 20’ booth
• Animated flash presentation on the company

A recent study has shown that roughly three out of four adult Americans are getting online (Pew Internet and American Life Project). Since January 2005 the percentage of adults using the Internet has risen from 66 percent to 73 percent and the percentage of broadband users has increased about 13% since January 2005. As more and more people are utilizing the internet, the reality is that a well-optimized company website is a must.

Marion has the resources and experience to get your website ranking high on search engines such as Google and Yahoo.

The Winner’s Circle

The following awards were received by the Marion Group for the Albert & Margaret Alkek Foundation Pocket Folder – “Continuing the Legacy”

Graphic Excellence Award 2006 - Best of Show, 3rd Runner-up from Printing Industries of the Gulf Coast
Graphic Excellence Award 2006 - Best of Category from Printing Industries of the Gulf Coast
Graphic Excellence Award 2006 – Division 3, Bronze Award from Printing Industries of the Gulf Coast

    More Information on...

• Marketing Plan
• Corporate Identity
• Logo Design
• Brochure Design
• Custom Web Design
• Search Engine Optimization
• Internet Marketing
• Video Production
• 3D Graphic Design
• 3D Animation
• View Past Newsletters

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