Stevens 470 News Stay up to date on what Stevens 470 is doing and the latest projects we are involved in. http://www.stevens470.com/ en Fri, 28 May 2010 14:39:19 -0500 Contao Open Source CMS Steph's Wild Ride Steph's Wild Ride Brochure
Steph’s Wild Ride, a 501c3 non-profit organization, provides funds for daily living to young people undergoing cancer treatment through their grant program. It was founded by the family and friends of Stephanie Nichole Micka (3.30.1986 - 7.1.2007) to honor and celebrate her life.

The main fundraiser for Steph’s Wild Ride is their annual BBQ + Poker Run. This year’s event took place on June 5, 2010 and included a BBQ, live music, and raffle prizes.

Stevens 470 worked with Steph's Wild Ride to create an informational brochure about the organization and also promoted their annual event through press releases.

To learn more about Steph's Wild Ride including how to apply for a grant, or to make a donation, please visit their website at www.stephswildride.com.
]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/stephs-wild-ride.html Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:00:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/stephs-wild-ride.html New Website for Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce tl_files/content/news/2010/062310_gwcc.jpg
The Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce (GWCC) is a business association representing businesses of all sizes, industries and professions throughout the Greater Westfield area. The Chamber is an important business resource for advocacy, information and marketing exposure.

Stevens 470 worked with the GWCC to create new marketing materials and an entirely new website with improved content, navigation and interactive functions. The website now provides the appropriate brand image for this important organization. It features a members directory to easily search the member’s businesses, and an online events calendar.

The Chamber website is built on a powerful Content Management System (CMS) that allows the GWCC to update their website through an easy-to-use text editor. They can update pages, create content and manage both front-end and back-end users to their site. The site is written to meet XHTML standards set by the W3C (The World Wide Web Consortium), allowing it to be accessed by more people using a wide variety of systems.

Visit the new GWCC website at www.westfieldbiz.org
]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/new-website-for-greater-westfield-chamber-of-commerce.html Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:29:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/new-website-for-greater-westfield-chamber-of-commerce.html Westnet Event Success
Tina Stevens and Justin Friend did a quick unveiling and presentation of the new Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce website, designed and developed by the team here at Stevens 470. The new website has many new features, a member directory, and easy navigation. It was well received by the Chamber members in attendance.

You can visit it at www.westfieldbiz.org.
]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/westnet-event-success.html Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:25:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/westnet-event-success.html New Website for Holland & Bonzagni
Holland & Bonzagni are registered patent attorneys that deal exclusively with patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, computer law, cyber law, and related matters. The firm's primary goal is to help bring its clients' products and services to market and to prevent them from being stolen. Holland & Bonzagni employs both registered patent attorneys and paralegals to represent their clients' best interests in the most cost-effective manner.

Stevens 470 worked with Holland & Bonzagni to update their corporate identity. Projects included a new logo, marketing collateral, print ads, email campaigns, and a new website. The website is built on a powerful content management system (CMS). It features a fully integrated search engine and easy to use navigation, so you can quickly and easily find the information you need. There are also sections for Frequently Asked Questions in each of their intellectual property practice areas, an expanded Articles/News section and more.

Visit the Holland & Bonzagni website at www.hblaw.org >]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/new-website-for-holland-bonzagni.html Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:29:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/new-website-for-holland-bonzagni.html May Coffee Hour at the Studio
From the left and around the pictures: Justin Friend of Stevens 470, Marcia Kielb of Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce, Tina Stevens of Stevens 470, Carolyn Sowa of Hadley Printing, and Robert Burch of Stevens 470

Yesterday, we held our coffee hour on the benefits of using a Content Management System (CMS) to manage your website. Our guests received an overview of the CMS editing process and a hands-on review of the main features. We demonstrated how a CMS allows you to make changes instantly or schedule them to go live automatically at a later date, and how new content will be updated on all the web pages where it appears.

Coffee Hours will be on vacation for the summer and will resume in September. Enjoy your summer!

]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/may-coffee-hour-at-the-studio.html Thu, 20 May 2010 07:55:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/may-coffee-hour-at-the-studio.html Save Time and Money with a Website CMS: Using a Content Management System (CMS) to Control Your Website tl_files/content/news/2010/enews_050610.jpg

CMS Offers Built In Functionality

A content management system (CMS) is web-based software that accesses information through a database to dynamically display on a website. A CMS provides built-in functionality to your website which allows a new website to be built more efficiently. These built-in functions can include templates, navigation, search, data management and more.

The benefits of a database driven CMS system are extensive, but the ease of updating your website’s content is one of the strongest features.
A CMS will allow you to:
  • update your website with easy to use editing tools
  • streamline content creation and cut down on maintenance costs
  • immediately post up-to-date content on your website
  • create new pages or delete old pages with the push of a button
  • add or remove images
  • create and manage the roles for users updating your website

Provides An Easy To Use Editing System

A CMS will have an interface similar to a standard word processing program, which makes it easy to use. There is no need to understand the html language because every update can be made through a back-end administration section. You can make changes instantly or schedule them to go live automatically at a later date. A CMS allows you to make global changes on your website so that you do not have to remember every place your information appears and manually update all web pages containing that information. When you change the information in the database, the new content will be updated on all the web pages where it appears. A CMS uses a template style system that allows new web pages to be easily generated. When those new pages are published the website’s navigation is automatically updated which once again saves you time and effort.

Keep in mind that because a CMS is a software system residing on a server, upgrades to the system will be required, just as upgrades to any software are required. These upgrades keep the CMS up to date with current web browsers and maintains ever-changing security standards. These software upgrades are seldom costly and are normally made once or twice a year on average.

Allows You To Keep Your Website Fresh

While many important features are built into a CMS you still may need web professionals to build your website. Your website should be designed to reflect all of your brand attributes and provide an excellent introduction to your company. Building your CMS website will generally require a professional web developer that understands coding languages (PHP, MySQL, CSS and HTML). Once your website is built, managing the content of your website is simple and straightforward and can be done by you or someone at your company. When you choose to use a CMS you can allocate your budget to a custom designed and well developed website. You can then save time and money by doing your website changes internally while keeping your website up to date with fresh information and current news.
]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/save-time-and-money-with-a-website-cms.html Thu, 06 May 2010 01:47:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/save-time-and-money-with-a-website-cms.html Strategic Marketing Plan for One Write
One Write Company has been providing churches with innovative custom offering booklets and contribution tools for over 50 years. Today, they serve over 10,000 churches around the United States. Helping their customers fulfill their administrative and financial responsibilities has always been the core mission of One Write.

One Write asked Stevens 470 to develop a new strategic marketing plan. After visiting the facility in Ohio and conducting research on the company and their competitors, specific changes were recommended. Stevens 470 designed a new logo and updated One Write’s brand identity, applying the new look to the print catalog and website. The catalog and website were reorganized to clearly present each product and its features, and simplify the multi-option ordering process for customers.

Visit the One Write website at www.onewriteco.com >>]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/strategic-marketing-plan-for-one-write.html Wed, 28 Apr 2010 01:45:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/strategic-marketing-plan-for-one-write.html April Coffee Hour at the Studio
From the left and around the table: Francis Reifenstahl from Dr. Dean Reifenstahl's office, Marc Belanger of Historic Deerfield, Ruth Anne Lundeberg of Mama Nirvana's New Yoga and Tina Stevens of Stevens 470.

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From left to right: Mark Niederpruem and Lee Freniere from Shriners Hospital and Connie Bein and Francis Reifenstahl from Dr. Dean Reifenstahl's office.

For our April Coffee Hour, held yesterday, we invited attendees to pre-submit questions about social media and how it applies to their marketing strategies. We received great questions and enjoyed a very informative discussion based on them. We also reviewed the differences in social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Wordpress and how to best use each one. We talked about how to create a social media marketing plan based on your specific business goals and discussed the importance having something to offer consumers when creating a social media community.
]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/april-coffee-hour-at-the-studio.html Thu, 22 Apr 2010 10:26:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/april-coffee-hour-at-the-studio.html Social Media is Here to Stay
The shift towards online communities and customer-centric websites continues to move in the direction of dynamic and relevant content available through social media. The platforms for social media are changing rapidly and will continue to develop as the World Wide Web grows. Right now, the main online platforms include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and blogs. These will most likely evolve to include other online standards, but social media will remain a major communication channel.

The rapid growth of social media has been fueled by people’s personal interests and their desire to share their enthusiasm with other like-minded individuals. The internet has proved to be the perfect place to reach out and find new friends that have a common interest. We have seen social media go from this purely social content to being influenced by the forces of marketing as businesses found their customers were online participating in these communities.

A New Way to Communicate

Our traditional marketing channels, such as brand marketing and direct marketing, are one-way communications that we push out to the consumer with the intention of interrupting them so they will take notice of our message. Social media allows your business to send out messaging but now the consumer can decide if and when they will take notice. The consumer can also talk back to your company and even more importantly, consumers can talk to each other about your company. That puts a lot of power in the hands of the consumer.

What Can You Expect

Many businesses are wondering what they can expect as a return on this investment of time and expertise. It can be hard to evaluate and document the results of your social media activities. You should start by having clarified your desired outcomes so you can monitor results based upon those expectations.

Positive social media results can include:
  • increased website activity
  • establishing your brand personality
  • generation of more leads
  • increased sales
  • reaching new audiences
  • better understanding of your customers and their needs
  • greater customer loyalty
  • improved products
  • showing the "human side" of your business
  • creating communities of like minded people 

As you see there are many benefits to social media, but you need to keep your commitment to participate regularly. Consumers will only stay involved with your messaging if it is current and relevant.

Getting Started

Start by visiting these social networking platforms to get a feel for the type of communities they host. You can then begin to participate in those communities by joining groups and responding to their posts. Once you have a feel for these conversations you can create a plan for your own sites. Start with who you would like to reach and what they are interested in. Brainstorm the types of relevant information you could provide to them, remembering that social media is all about the consumer and not about your company. Determine what assets you have that can be used for social media including staff with appropriate skill sets, existing content that can be repurposed, and time available each week for managing social media. Then define what your goals will be using these new channels. Work on the messages you plan to send out and what channels will work best for those topics. Be sure to make your communications two-way, always inviting the consumer to respond back to you.

Social media marketing may require some time to take hold and produce results. The challenge is to allocate enough time and resources to effectively test these new channels and how they are working in conjunction with your larger marketing plan.

]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/social-media-is-here-to-stay.html Tue, 13 Apr 2010 01:36:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/social-media-is-here-to-stay.html American Benefits Group is Blogging!

News and Views for the Employee Benefits Community

American Benefits Group (ABG) is a leading national third party administrator of pre-tax consumer reimbursement benefits. As a way to keep customers and clients up to date, especially during our current healthcare changes, ABG asked Stevens 470 to design and build a blog so they could post about the latest industry news, information, changing laws and regulations. They have currently posted articles on COBRA, Flexible Spending Accounts, and Health Care Reform.

Stevens 470 designed the blog to correspond with ABG’s website which Stevens 470 developed previously. The blog was built with easy to use backend administration which allows ABG to post new articles, as well as respond to comments and questions they receive on their posts.

Visit American Benefits Group website at amben.com>>
Visit their blog at mybenefitsblog.com>>]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/american-benefits-group-is-blogging.html Thu, 01 Apr 2010 09:32:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/american-benefits-group-is-blogging.html March Coffee Hour at the Studio
From the left and around the table: Katie Doe of Stevens 470,  Rob and Pam Lohr of Connecticut Valley Biological, Amanda Walker of The 401k Coach, Kathy Witalisz of Witalisz Realty, Sandra M. Sorel representing the Westfield Chamber, Debbie Finkel of Kosher Keepers, Erik Kaiser of Clear Channel Radio, Ted Cassell of Park Square Realty, and Tina Stevens of Stevens 470.

Yesterday was our monthly Coffee Hour at Stevens470. We discussed branding and reviewed "12 Rules of a Great Brand". It was a pleasure to have a full house and the opportunity to share information and ideas. Points that we discussed in depth included getting our company personality into our brand as a way to differentiate your company, how to manage our brand throughout social media, using a marketing plan to keep our brand on track, and how to become the preferred brand and stay there. We also gave out a worksheet to help develop your brand positioning and the support points for that position. We hope that everyone uses them as a guide to fine tune their marketing messages.

At our next Coffee Hour we will discuss "Social Media", held on April 21, 2010. Please join us for an interesting discussion and a light breakfast. Feel free to invite other professionals interested in our monthly topics.
]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/march-coffee-hour-at-the-studio.html Thu, 25 Mar 2010 03:05:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/march-coffee-hour-at-the-studio.html Stevens 470 Coffee Hour, March 24 - Brand Standards: 12 Rules of a Great Brand
Join us as we review the 12 Rules of a Great Brand. We will discuss how to develop your initial brand personality and then use that information to create the visual presentation. We will also cover managing your brand in a multichannel environment. Your brand is what your customers perceive it to be based upon their experiences with your company!]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/stevens-470-coffee-hour-march-24-brand-standards-12-rules-of-a-great-brand.html Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:31:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/stevens-470-coffee-hour-march-24-brand-standards-12-rules-of-a-great-brand.html Your brand has a life of its own.
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As our choices and purchases become more online driven, social networking and online communities are giving consumers the power to shape your brand. By sharing their experiences with your products and services they have more influence over your potential customers than you do. Consumers are turning to each other for information they can trust. It is important that your brand is authentic and encourages consumer engagement.

We all know that consumers are spending less. They are looking for greater meaning from their relationships – their work and business relationships, the non-profits they support, their neighborhoods and their communities. If they are going to "spend" their time, their attention, their emotional and physical energy, they want to be sure they will receive a return (tangible, spiritual or experiential) on their investment. Note that in today's internet-based world, some of those important relationships and communities may be online.

When it comes to marketing your products and services, you need to be listening and looking for how this shift in values is changing the needs and wants of your customers. At the same time, your customers are receiving information about your brand from sources outside your company. Now is the time evaluate your brand and determine if it is evolving to meet your customer's needs. It is your customers and their conversations that are defining your brand.
]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/your-brand-has-a-life-of-its-own.html Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:34:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/your-brand-has-a-life-of-its-own.html New Packaging for Peerless® Handcuff Company
Peerless® Handcuff Company was established in 1914 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Over ninety years later, the classic swing through design of the original Peerless handcuff continues to be the industry standard. Recent additions to their product line include new color-plated restraints. The different color finishes prevent equipment loss by allowing individuals, agencies or departments to more easily identify and track property. 
 
Stevens 470 worked with Peerless to design new retail packaging for the release of these award-winning handcuffs, as well as update the existing packaging to match the new standard. The goal was to create a simple, bold impression that would stand out on the shelf and stress American manufacturing. Windows were added to the packages to showcase the most important feature - the different colors and models of the handcuffs. 

see more in our portfolio>> 
]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/new-packaging-for-peerless-handcuff-company.html Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:28:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/new-packaging-for-peerless-handcuff-company.html February Coffee Hour at the Studio
From the left and around the table: Bob Burch of Stevens 470, Ted Cassell of Park Square Realty, Michael Akey and Sandy Sorel of Berkshire Bank, Marcia Kielb of The Greater Westfield Chamber, Sean Hogan of Hogan Communications (not shown), Herb Mayer (not shown) and Ian Michael of American Benefits Group, and Tina Stevens of Stevens 470.

We hosted our monthly Coffee Hour on Thursday this week due to our local snow delays. Our discussion on Business Blogging brought in a full house of professionals. We covered both the marketing and the technical aspects of blogging for your business. Our guests asked great questions and shared their ideas and experiences with blogging.

Thank you to everyone for attending and sharing your insights. We look forward to seeing your new blogs!
]]> http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/feb-coffee-hour-at-the-studio.html Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:13:00 -0500 http://www.stevens470.com/news-full/items/feb-coffee-hour-at-the-studio.html