AWC hired Prime Advertising & Design to streamline their marketing, making it more effective, which included an updated logo, website redesign, blog, e-mail marketing and creating new print ads for the Official Community Resource & Residents’ Guides and City Newsletters.

Prime started with the logo redesign, once that was complete, Prime’s attention turned to their website. AWC offer a wealth of educational information and their previous website navigation was difficult to follow and did not reflect their unique facility that sets Animal Wellness Center apart from other pet hospitals.

Creating a beautiful design and building the website on the Element Z Content  Management System was essential, allowing for easy updates to the website, blog and their email marketing program. AWC needed the ability to keep their clients informed on events, news topics and specials that change regularly. Prime also streamlined AWC’s client communication by programming the blog to feed directly into their website and Facebook page, allowing for one update to reach people in multiple ways!

By making the process of client communication significantly easier and more streamlined, AWC can focus their attention on what they do best, offering advanced veterinary care with a personal touch!

Galaxy Auto and Tire Centers is an auto service and tire dealer in the northwest metro of Minneapolis, MN.  They offer 3 convenient locations including Brooklyn Park, Columbia Heights and Spring Lake Park.
Galaxy Tire & Auto Centers has been in business for 38 years and they have had a handful of logos during those years. Galaxy came to Prime to discuss hiring us to streamline their marketing and to make it more effective.

One of the first things Prime did for Galaxy was to freshen up the logo without losing the familiarity that Galaxy’s clients have come to know, Prime designed a clean and updated logo, while using the blue and yellow that Galaxy has branded itself with over the years.

Once their logo was complete, Prime’s attention turned to Galaxy’s website. They were unable to update their old site and the content did not function as they wished it would. Their new site uses Web 2.0 technology and Prime Advertising’s state-of-the-art content management system. This gives Galaxy the ability to change and update their own content on the fly.  We were also able to update their online service information pages with diagrams and the discount pages with social media links. Prime also interlinked Galaxy’s web pages, helping to create the highest level of search engine optimization.

Time is important to all of us. Galaxy has always emphasized safety, but wanted to let people know that they are also convenient. “Savings Your Way” and “Peace of Mind, On Your Time” became their new slogans. The new slogans are followed by icons that give you the choice to sign up for their blog feed, like them on facebook, follow them on twitter, join their email club or text message for special offers.

There are so many different ways to find what one is looking for and Galaxy wanted to make doing business with them easy.  By being so accessible online, Galaxy has increased their search engine optimization, while also emphasizing convenience. Best of all, Prime has created auto-feeds so that Galaxy’s blog posts feed into facebook status updates.

Their latest project completed was for the MERSC event that was held in April. Keeping up with the new brand and client-centric focus, Galaxy updated their special event booth. We stuck to the basics, updating a table throw that included Galaxy’s new logo, a vinyl pull-up banner, 2-sided 22” X 28” sign, flyers and personalized Galaxy USB drives as a promotional handout.

If you’re in the need of auto service or tires, please visit Galaxy Auto & Tire Centers.

I was looking for a demanding internship in web design/development but I underestimated how rewarding the experience was going to be. The hands-on experience and knowledge that I have gained are valuable tools that will build a strong foundation for future opportunities. I have also furthered my awareness of the importance of web design and development in today’s society. A website is an online identity of a company or individual and needs to be well designed, easy to navigate, and search engine friendly.

The position was supervised by Shauna Smart, the Web Project Manager at Prime. I worked closely with the Web Designers and Web Programmers in preparing customer sites for go live. Projects for the internship included daily meetings and tasks assigned to me by Shauna. My internship at Prime predominantly focused on building and maintaining websites for numerous clients. I contributed to all phases of the process, and learned aspects of building a website that I had little experience with prior to the internship. I gained experience from the beginning of projects at the customer estimate phase through the final phase of go-live.

An aspect of web design that I had not been introduced to previously, was the use of a content management system (CMS). At Prime, I was able to work with the company’s in-house CMS called Element Z.  Becoming familiar with Element Z taught me how to place content within a site, edit HTML code, upload files/photos to the file manager, and also use the dashboard to navigate around the system/site.

While I am excited to get back to school and finish out my senior year, I am sad to be leaving my internship at Prime Advertising & Design. I have enjoyed working with the staff and learning to apply my education in the work force. I appreciate all of your time and guidance these past three months. I cannot thank you all enough for all that you have taught me and for making my internship such a rewarding experience.

The choice of Comic Sans as a font for what can only be described as an angry rant demonstrates that Gilbert (or the person who posted on his behalf) is clueless about the impact fonts have on audiences. What was intended to rally the troops and unite Cavs fans behind him in a “who needs LeBron James anyway?” movement, backfired terribly and opened Gilbert up for an onslaught of criticism. Using Comic Sans was akin to writing a note and dotting every “i” with a smiley face – it just didn’t convey the outrage he felt after hearing James’ decision.

This episode illustrates how readers and viewers can see something and have an opposite reaction to what was desired – simply because the wrong font was chosen by someone who didn’t take the time to consider its impact. It’s a cautionary tale for companies who are marketing their services to specific audiences – and it applies to much more than just fonts.

If you’re trying to attract young families to your restaurant, use photos of parents and children – not seniors and singles. Looking to lure the 20-something crowd to your bar? Steer away from illustrations showing teenagers and middle-aged couples. Or if older folks are a demographic you’re trying to capture, you should probably keep the point sizes larger and use fewer words.

Always keep in mind that your logo, the colors you choose, fonts, point sizes, photos used in print and on the web, and anything you may link to from a blog or a Facebook or Twitter page,  will be instantly associated with your business. If it doesn’t fit with your brand and conflicts with your intended objectives, don’t do it.  And if you ever find yourself the owner of an NBA franchise and want to get something off your chest, have someone else double-check your post before sending it off.

Welcome to a brand-new online home for Prime Advertising & Design!

All of us here at Prime are very proud of the new website and how it fits so well with our new branding and look – but we are most excited about how the site will serve our clients and better explain our services.

Many of the changes you will see came following numerous conversations with our customers. Prime listened and heard what you wanted to see when you visit us online. With a home page designed to quickly direct the user to their area of interest, I believe we succeeded in maximizing the efficiency of our site by minimizing search time.

An important note is that the site is not only intended to let people know what Prime can do for them, but to assist clients and prospective customers as they imagine what can be accomplished for their own business.

Perhaps you feel your company’s website is long past due for a new look? Or your business’ logo is showing its age? Maybe you’re not sure how to effectively market your company, but know it’s time to do something? Our site will start your creative juices flowing and “spark the energy” your business needs to get back on the right track.

We are confident you will like Prime’s new online identity. Feel free to spend some time, take a look around,  and give us your feedback on this “soft launch” of the site. Check back often as we will be continuing to add new features and updated content!

I’d love to hear what you think, so please contact me with any questions or comments.

Wishing you continued success and prosperity,

Mark J. Murray
President/CEO
Prime Advertising & Design
Mark@PrimeAdvertising.com
763-315-6450

To many of you, the idea of creating a new website for your business or redesigning your outdated site can be very nerve racking. From new business to site redesign, whatever position you are in, we are here to help you through every step of the process.

Step 1: Lets talk
An initial meeting helps us learn more about your situation, challenges and goals.  We give you insight into our methods (madness), experience and abilities and outline some possible scenarios and solutions.  After meeting, our staff researches and analyzes your needs and customer needs to get a complete feel for the goals of your project.  From there we create a fixed cost proposal and recommendation.  You know that for exactly this amount, you are getting these exact services, pages and functionalities.  This proposal, once agreed upon, becomes the blueprint and working document for your project.

Step 2: Creative meeting
You will need to gather the key players that will be the decision makers for your business. When you meet with our Web Team the process begins. Aaron does a great job of explaining the layout options of a web page and how it functions within the design and layout. You will learn the reasoning behind things being arranged in a particular way and how we can better serve the site users within that layout. It’s all about usability and your site user finding what they need easily.  We will educate you on the variety of ways that users look for information on your site and how we can cater to each of those ways with the use of the navigation, text links, highlight areas, icons, site search and site maps. You will learn how changing the shape or color of a highlight area or navigation tab can provide a completely different feel to your site. When the creative meeting is over, you will have learned quite a bit about websites (sometimes more than you thought you ever needed to know). The next step is taking those ideas, strategies and goals and then putting them into a visual interface design!

Step 3: Creating your website mock
During the meeting Jeff (our lead Web Designer) & Janna (your Project Manager and point of contact through your entire process) are feverishly taking notes so that after the meeting, Jeff can work his magic and layout an interface design for your website. As a team we work on different design and layout features that will attempt to capture the look and feel that will help your website users accomplish their goals and one that reflects your organizations image and offering.  Five to ten days later we present you with your website mock. From the mock we gather your feedback, discuss the methods and tactics to certain elements and make any final tweaks to arrive at an agreed layout and design for your site.  Once approved, we can start slicing, programming and building your site at a BETA address.

Step 4: A BETA site is created
A BETA website is created for you to continually review the progress of your site while it is being built … a “for your eyes only link” to stay in the loop without having to meet in person. As new pages are added, functionalities are created and all visual features come to life, we are able to gather your feedback and approval.  The BETA address is your project’s virtual meeting room so that we can view all aspects and make adjustments, without having to drag you into our offices and away from your busy schedule.  That said … sometimes our clients prefer to walk in and have a face-to-face meeting on where things are at.  Whatever works best for you, makes sense to us.

Step 5: Content, content, content    
Hopefully you took advantage and invested in Prime’s copywriting services to get the most out of your website’s information and flow.  Not all of us are writers, and the web has it’s own set of nuances, including search engines (SEO), to write for. We will add your photo’s, graphics, video and any other content element to complete sections and pages of your site.

Step 6: Completing the site
Once all the pages have been created, they are ran through quality assurance … testing, clicking and reviewing every small nook to make sure the site hits the web running smoothly.  Finishing touches and features are applied and then we’ll be scheduling your training to understand your new abilities.

Step 7: SMC & analytics training     
For our clients that take advantage of our SMC content management tool, training with Luke gets you up to speed. He will train you on the core basics of managing your own website with ease and also show you the unlimited possibilities that you now posses with your new site. From adding new pages to updating your content you will learn it all. You also will learn how to utilize our analytics tool to track your sites performance, traffic sources, search engine keywords and more.  Support once LIVE is very important to us and Luke is also your Customer Support contact when you using the SMC down the road.  If you forget how to create a new page or add a link, one phone call to Luke and you’re back on track.

Step 8: Launching the site
Once everything is complete, we go live with your site.  Some of our clients time this with a large e-mail push or promotional launch to build excitement and interest to their new site.  We love to give you ideas on how to leverage this new launch or re-birth to give you some buzz with your customers and make them aware of new features.

Don’t let the fear of taking that first step into a new website hold you back. Of course there is a bit more to things than listed here, but we really wanted you to see the kind of interaction you’ll have with us to produce a tool your information and sales process can thrive around.

Our team is here to consult, teach, guide and support you through the entire process (and then ongoing) and we look forward to working with you.  Feel free to contact us with any other questions you might have to to find out more on web design with Prime.