Thanks to our awesome clients for the creative spark that inspired these ideas. You’re awesome. And great job to the creative, media and account teams who brought it to these programs. #getSoMe!

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Super excited to announce that the 2013 GB Grant program is underway. It’s our fifth year doing this, and over the years we have loved getting to know some really terrific non-profits from around the region, and getting to do fun work that — we hope — helps them help our community. Win win!

As always, we’re looking for non-profits doing charitable work in the Portland-metro area. Our $25,000 grant goes toward digital, brand, PR or other agency services. The $25,000 must be matched by the participating organization to cover production and execution costs. 

If you know of — or ARE! — a non-profit who should apply, we’d appreciate your help getting the word out. Applications are due June 11.

The post Announcing the 2013 GB Grant! appeared first on Grady Britton.

You know you’re a fit if you can manage your schedule well enough to complete your work and then quickly switch gears to help other departments such as Media and Account Services – all with minimal supervision. You should be proactive from day one, showing us your attention to detail in both numbers and grammar. You need to have a “I’m on it” attitude. You are are unafraid — no, EAGER — to jump into the action, to learn new things. 

The Essential Details:

• Hours: 15/week
• Duration of internship: 3 months
• Compensation: Paid

Desired Skills and Experience:

• Working toward, or has a bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism, or English
• Can be trusted with grammar, proofreading and editing content
• Proficient in Excel, with the ability to learn new production management software
• Excellent organizational, communication and interpersonal skills
• Bonus Skills: Photoshop, WordPress, HTML

Responsibilities:

• Assisting the Production Manager
• Creating reports
• Proofreading content
• Tracking production status
• Data entry
• Various administrative and office management tasks

What you’ll learn:

• If you think agency life is your cup of tea, you’ll get a good dose at Grady Britton. You will learn the ins and outs of the creative process and get a taste of many other roles in the agency. You will get hands-on experience with project management software, with the possibility of dabbling in web platforms and content entry. 

To apply:

Email us your resume and cover letter to jobs@gradybritton.com

The post Hunting for a Production Intern appeared first on Grady Britton.

Funstuff:

There are few Tests More Important than SuperImportantTest.com. That is because SuperImportantTest.com is Super Important, and assuredly, so is your answer to its Super Important Test. Get after it.

TED:

Since 2010, TED—the authority on “ideas worth spreading”—chooses ads that are worth spreading.Here are the conference’s picks for this year

The Biz of Agencies:

Digiday asked brands what they dislike about agencies. The results are seriously enlightening

Digital + Social Music:

Vinetune proves that all you need for a music video are hashtags and a bunch of unknowing collaborators.

Games:

Ever feel like Internet is one big, crazy maze with arbitrary numbers and rules? That’s because it is, at least for the Chrome Experiments team, who turned websites into levels for a game you play with your smartphone. Super fun.

Visual Storytelling:

 "Bottled History," the second entry in Smith Journal’s short documentary series, shows us the artistry behind a hobby. This storytelling is absolutely remarkable – lovelovelove.

The post This week’s click-worthys: web mazes, hashtag music videos, ships in bottles appeared first on Grady Britton.

After all, wine is the sum product of a near-infinite number of environmental factors such as soil, seasonal temperature, rainfall, and a parasitic louse called phylloxera. Not to mention its history. Like beer, wine has an ancient and storied legacy. Unlike beer, wine is the only completely naturally occurring alcohol, which means humans can only control so much of how it turns out. 

More to the point, how do the majority of consumers, who know next to nothing about any of the above, choose between the seemingly endless wine brands on the shelf?

It’s easy to see why some wine manufacturers (and buyers) avoid most branding efforts altogether. But for wineries looking to stand out and build a lasting profile immune to the other unpredictable force of nature—consumer preference—a solid brand can lay the seeds of success deep within the bedrock of the alcoholic beverage market.

Here are a few brands—those around what we call our wine country, and those nowhere near it—who are fighting against the unpredictability of grapes with innovative brands and smart marketing:

Archer & Vine, U.K.

What’s great wine without great food? Archer & Vine’s brand is built around that idea, with cheeky names and dapper labels courtesy of designer Matt Davey. Its varieties, with names like “The Battered Fish” and “The Sizzling Toad,” provide direct pairing recommendations to drinkers while crafting a set of tiny stories.

Big House Wines, California

Is this what they drink in prison these days? Big House Red may be the the best wine in a box, ever, but its success is in its approachability; You won’t feel embarrassed bringing it to any potluck or barbecue. Bonus points for breaking cute, illustrative storytelling out of children’s books.

Bear Flag, California

If you like your wine like your super-low-budget early 90’s underground cartoons, Bear Flag is the brand for you. Though it owes everything to its wild, Bertone Eduardo-designed labels, something should be said for its company philosophy: Unlike traditional wineries, the Modesto-based rejects pretension in favor of grunge. It’s wine for the people. Who knew the people were so weird?

Charles Smith, Washington

Don’t blame yourself if you think it’s a craft beer bottle at first glance. Charles Smith wines are supposed to look like that. They’re meant to be consumed immediately—you know, like how most people drink wine? Charles Smith, the man, is a bit of a rock star, and his personality shows not only on the labels, but in the kickass wine itself.

Craggy Range, New Zealand

Craggy Range is what so many wineries are trying to be: A best-kept secret. Its wine is sophisticated, but connected to the earth; prestigious, but simple. If you’re ever in the Hawkes Bay Region, go for a tasting—As soon as you walk through their tasting room (read: cellar) door, the staff makes you feel like you’re a part of their club. Also, hands down, their Le Sol is one of the best wines. Ever.

Enso Winery, Oregon

Enso embodies Portlandianism in almost every way: It’s “artisanal” and “local,” was started in a garage, and serves beer on tap. Not that it’s a bad thing, of course. Enso is a proud product of its environment. And while it doesn’t grow its own grapes, the winery is deliberate during every step of the winemaking process. Its bottles truly feel like expressions of the land and the team responsible for them.

Layer Cake Wines, International

No, it doesn’t taste like cake. Layer Cake is named for the soils, generations upon generations stacked on top of each other, in which the vines grow. And Layer Cake’s products, like its namesake, are sumptuous—good for celebrations or self-indulgent nights in. Really, who doesn’t love cake?

Redheads Studio, Australia

Let’s face it: After a few glasses of wine, you probably look like you just feasted on a bloody carcass. The genius of Redheads’ Return of the Living Red is the way it blends the elegance of wine with the brutality inherent in drinking gore-colored booze. In lieu of a label, the bottle comes wrapped with an inscrutable, macabre fold-out note that seems straight out of a 19th-century anatomy book.

That’s our list—what’s on yours? Share your favorite wine brand with us in the comments.

The post Brands We Admire: Wine Edition appeared first on Grady Britton.

We value open communication, so you’ll be an active participant in architecting, implementing and maintaining our web-based solutions, and in-the-mix during all phases of the development cycle.

Core responsibilities include:

• Developing, maintaining and deploying complex custom Drupal/PHP/HTML websites and functionality
• Understanding and translating client needs into workable specifications
• Estimating project tasks and scope effectively

Ideal experience includes:

• 4-5 years of agency environment; you know and value efficient processes & team dynamics
• Backend development experience with Drupal 6 and 7
• Strong knowledge of PHP, MySQL (LAMP stack), GIT/SVN and Drush
• Ability to troubleshoot existing Drupal modules and site settings as needed
• Coding modules or debugging current custom modules.
• Developing large Drupal sites and working with Views, Features, Panels, etc.
• Working with external APIs and large data imports
• Ability to work with other developers’ code when necessary
• HTML, CSS, JavaScript/jQuery/AJAX and XML experience are definite plusses

If you are this person, send us your resume: jobs@gradybritton.com

The post Wanted: We’re Hiring Drupal Developers appeared first on Grady Britton.

Rajita Kaundin – Director of Client Services

As Director of Client Services, Rajita plays a key role in new business development, account management and client relationship management. She brings 14 years of experience in marketing and technology, having driven agency engagements with organizations such as OHSU, Widmer and Iberdrola Renewables. Rajita has leadership responsibility in ensuring that our clients receive tactical project success and long-term value when they partner with OakTree.

Sue Foley – Senior Project Manger

Sue Foley, a certified PMP, has more than ten years of experience in managing web marketing and development projects.  She has managed more than 25 web projects from concept to completion, including requirements gathering, information architecture, concept development, usability testing, content management, web analytics and interfacing with the technical team.  Sue prides herself on proactively communicating clearly and openly to set expectations, address issues and bring teams together.

Jodie Krivens – Project Manager

As Project Lead for OakTree, Jodie Krivens brings a strong focus in marketing and advertising to help internal and external teams think outside the box. Most notably, Jodie was part of Publicis & Hal Riney’s award-winning campaigns for HP. She has managed a number of projects from concept to completion for hi-tech clients, and will assist the project team to ensure that all deliverables are planned and executed to the highest quality standards. 

Dan Eckis – Senior Web Developer

Dan brings over 14 years of web experience and his expertise is an end-to-end one: CMS set-up and configuration, web site theming, site build-out, deployment, and end user training to name a few. Dan is extremely comfortable with the Drupal and Sitefinity platforms, as well as hand coded HTML and CSS. His attention to the big picture helps bring projects to successful completion, both internally and externally.

Jenny Yamada – Front End Web Developer

Jenny has been deeply involved in web development for over 5 years, developing web sites and campaigns for clients including Iberdrola Renewables and Portland Development Commission. She specializes in different technology platforms and is extremely fluent in ExactTarget, Sitefinity and TeamSite. Jenny excels at planning, organizing, and executing all technical requirements and drives projects toward complete and successful implementation.

The post Meet our New OakTree Digital Team Members appeared first on Grady Britton.

As OakTree Digital’s Founder/CEO John Schmitt decided to retire, he was looking for an agency that’d be a good fit to support their clients and his staff for years to come. And here we are. We share a lot of similar perspectives as OakTree — our strong cultures, our obsession with solving business and brand challenges creatively, our devotion to Fritos.

But more relevant, this new relationship is an excellent opportunity for both our companies to accelerate forward where clients need it the most, now and into the future.

We deepen our digital capabilities. Look: it’s no secret that the web (mobile or otherwise) is here to stay. By adding new people at GB who are focused on digital, we’re just expanding in the areas where our clients need us to be. With our combined in-house team we’ll be able to support multiple platforms including WordPress, Drupal and Sitefinity, in addition to more robust capabilities around systems integration, ecommerce and application development.

We can expand services available to clients. Going forward, we believe that the integrated capabilities GB brings to the table (PR, media services, advertising, brand development, branded content strategy & development) will be a great opportunity for OakTree to provide additional services to its web-centric clients.

Our team from OakTree Digital will continue to run their business as “OakTree Digital, a Grady Britton Company,” and their team is reachable via all their existing OakTree contact info. They’re working now from the Grady Britton offices, where we’ll all be doing everything possible to ensure that their clients’ projects continue to move forward, with the highest degree of service and creativity — hallmarks of both OakTree and Grady Britton alike.

But from today forward, we’re so excited to start working together as one team, looking ahead at all the incredible possibilities that exist as we join forces.

Welcome OakTree! Here’s to our future together.

The post The Growing GB Family: Welcome OakTree Digital! appeared first on Grady Britton.

We’ve written about a different kind of green on this blog before, but now it’s time to discuss the literal color, 2013’s shade of which – according to Pantone – represents “elegance and beauty” and “enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony.” It’s a color that’s been described as “sophisticated,” “stylish,” “natural,” and “fresh.”

How about “meh?”

Maybe I’m just jealous I didn’t see it coming first, but emerald green honestly doesn’t strike me as the color matching our current zeitgeist. The color Pantone picked last year, tangerine tango, felt like a bold statement at the time, embodying a necessary energy and heat that the worlds of marketing and design seemed to be lacking. Emerald green, on the other hand, looks about five years too late.

All of which isn’t to say that I think emerald green is ugly. Like any color, it’s all about context, and choosing the right color to match an idea is difficult—but important—work. From a branding perspective, the colors you choose to represent your brand are often its most recognizable element: think of Dunkin’ Donuts’ orange and purple, UPS’ brown, or BP’s yellow and green. Colors have associations—learned and unlearned—and smart brands know how to take advantage of consumers’ subconscious preferences, as well as when to innovate.

Whether you’re creating a new identity or thinking of rebranding, be aware of the colors most often associated with your brand’s industry, and ask yourself what kind of statement you want your brand to make. My advice for the next year: Don’t go with emerald green. Why?

It sends the wrong message

While for some, the color may stand for healing and renewal, emerald green is also the hue of the central city in the Wizard of Oz, a place known for exclusion, shallowness, and illusory wealth. Emerald green is chintzy. It’s loud. It’s the color of money, prom dresses, and couches from the ‘70’s.

Historically, it’s the color associated with arsenic poisoning, as emerald dye in Europe and the Americas was chemically unstable  for much of the 19th century. Emerald socks, dresses, and wallpaper were common sources of disease until a synthetic green replaced the dye in the 1870’s—not exactly “healing.”

It’s ubiquitous

Emerald green is everywhere. It’s abundant in the natural world, from the leaves of trees to moss growing on mountains to seaweed washed up on the beach. It’s also the color of the Christmas tree you just hauled out of the house.

Besides its place in nature, emerald green has taken the branding world by storm. As the aforementioned go-to color for brands looking to extol their environmental efforts, green is fast losing its significance. When everything is green, nothing is.

It’s safe

Emerald green is a classic color for apparel, cosmetics, accessories, cars, and jewelry. We’re used to seeing it year-round, especially in March and May, and as a metaphor for the year, doesn’t say much about what separate this year from any that came before it. Case in point: 2010’s Color of the Year, turquoise. How different are the two?

Every business sector has its own “emerald green:” That color that manages to somehow blend in and look unpleasant at the same time. Don’t believe the hype. Choose a color for your brand that reflects not only your brand’s personality, but its awareness of its environment. Together with the right messaging, products, and customer experience, your color of choice will become synonymous with your brand.

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Look for more of our thoughts on colors, including our own personal pantones, in upcoming posts.

The post What Every Brand Can Learn from 2013’s ‘Color of the Year’ appeared first on Grady Britton.

Partnering with our good friends at Digimarc and Travel Portland, we created “The World of Portland,” an awesome print + digital experience where your mobile phone detects hotspots in the ad and serves up different bits of Portland goodness– videos, Instagram feeds, etc.

While we didn’t win, we’re still super excited with how it turned out. We were able to bring Portland to life in an extremely tangible and immersive way and pull users into an authentic PDX city/culture experience. Plus we had a lot of fun.

Click the image to see a larger version if you’re interested. And an extra special thanks to our awesome illustrator Cole Gerst!

The post Travel Portland Digimarc Competition appeared first on Grady Britton.