http://www.brookslacayo.com/index.php? All Weblogs including News for Brookslacayo en slbrooks@brookslacayo.com Copyright 2012 2012-10-09T18:30:57+00:00

As an award-winning creative agency, we are pleased to announce that applications are being accepted for our 2013 Pro Bono Publico grant. Non-Profit 2012-10-09T17:30:57+00:00 I really enjoyed the recent blog on “7 things journalists wish PR pros knew about pitching” bit.ly/Kqgo8i. I’ve been on both sides of that one. Before I opened the agency, I was a journalist back in my hometown of Chicago. First with a local newspaper, the political beat no less, and later with a number of trade publications and journals focused on technology.

I think there’s a necessity for a blog on the “7 things clients need to know about PR.” Public Relations 2012-06-15T13:34:03+00:00 Sandra Brooks is founder and president of BROOKSLACAYO, a full-service advertising, branding, and public relations agency in Jacksonville, Florida. Sandra started the company in 2002, enjoyed double-digit growth through 2007, and now has six employees. 2012-05-20T16:06:26+00:00 ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 18, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Paychex, Inc., the nation's leading provider of payroll services to small businesses, announced today that it will honor small businesses with the following theme during National Small Business Week: Small Business, Big Impact.

As a co-sponsor of the Small Business Administration's (SBA) weeklong tribute to America's small businesses, Paychex is recognizing small businesses for the big impact they have on communities, economies, philanthropy, and innovation. A recently released infographic from Paychex offers a visual representation of small businesses' big impact. Advertising, Marketing, News, Public Relations 2012-05-18T16:29:41+00:00 I just learned a good friend has untreatable, inoperable brain tumor. Yes, that needs a minute to process. 2012-04-25T20:28:00+00:00 We have all seen a campaign launched for a competitor that is just brilliant and out of the box creative. You beat yourself up about why you didn’t think of that first or what you will say to your client or boss when the campaign is mentioned. You start racking your brain trying to think of what you can come up with to top it…and you can’t come up with anything.

With multiple clients all wanting the next greatest PR strategy, it is hard to keep the creative juices flowing. Creativity doesn’t happen on demand and it usually happens in strange places, such as the shower or at the dry cleaners, when your mind is elsewhere.
2012-03-20T11:49:05+00:00 If the predictions are right, 2012 will be a good year for the advertising industry. ZenithOptimedia is predicting a 3.6 percent increase in advertising revenue over 2011. The prediction was even slightly increased late in the year due to signs of an improving economy, such as growth in retail sales and record Black Friday sales of $11.4 billion. Additionally, the 2012 Olympics and the 2012 Presidential Election are expected to steadily increase the advertising dollars spent. 2012-03-05T12:06:07+00:00 I overheard a conversation recently about how to invest in marketing. I thought “Oh, no!” With encouraging signs in the economy, every account executive on the planet is making a pitch for your dollars. Some of them are good, damn good.
How To, Planning/Research 2012-02-06T21:21:27+00:00 BROOKSLACAYO works with many non-profit organizations in Florida and nationwide. Over the past few years, we've been mindful of the economics and excelled at focusing on the most pressing need and developing THE program that would generate the greatest ROI.

As we see signs of economic recovery, the non-profit sector can benefit by focusing on key Public Relations best practices. Non-Profit, Public Relations 2012-01-28T14:38:39+00:00 Andres and I have been discussing relevance, as in “We need to be more relevant in 2012.” I couldn’t agree more. And so does the rest of the world for that matter. Too many have been recycling the same old and it is really starting to be annoying.
Agency Life 2011-12-29T20:27:01+00:00

Here at the agency we’ve gotten into the habit of blogging about Thanksgiving. I think it has a lot to do with having the opportunity to pause this week and reflect on the year while we get ready to visit with family and friends over the Thanksgiving Holiday. There certainly is no time to reflect after we are launched into the holiday season on Black Friday!

It amazes me how what I am thankful for changes each year. Here’s my Top 10 for 2011: Agency Life 2011-11-21T17:11:41+00:00 It’s safe to say, we’ve all heard Buzz Lightyear’s famous catchphrase…”To infinity and beyond!” Experts say “Buzz is showing everyone he can do the impossible and cross horizontal and vertical asymptotes.” I’m no mathematical wiz, but in my professional opinion, Buzz’s motto, accompanied by his projected wings and raised fist, is his way of preparing to rise to whatever occasion presents itself.

So where am I going with this? I’m glad you asked…
Marketing, Planning/Research, Social Marketing 2011-11-10T19:35:45+00:00

If you are a non-profit organization, t's time again to prepare your Pro Bono Publico grant application! Deadline is December 16, 2011. Non-Profit 2011-11-05T14:18:19+00:00 Last week I was in a rush, on my way to meet family in Orlando when I hit bumper-to-bumper traffic. While I impatiently sat there, I developed a little theory about the relationship of highway traffic and website traffic. The crucial objective to creating and maintaining a website is to establish an online presence – driving traffic, leads and sales.
Social Marketing, Trends, Web Design 2011-10-19T14:04:02+00:00 The results of the nominations for Advantage Magazine’s Top 50 Small Business Influencers.

We put it to you, the small business community, to come up with who you thought were the top 50 small business influencers in Jacksonville—and you exceeded our expectations.
After hundreds of nominations to sort through and multiple back-and-forth conversations between many, the list has been narrowed down to this Top 50 (in alphabetical order) and some honorable mentions that just couldn’t be eliminated.

Be sure to attend the Meet the Top 50 event on June 8 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Aloft at Tapestry Park and meet the “dream team” of influence makers that will open doors and help you make connections to push your business to reach new levels of success. News 2011-05-18T14:28:46+00:00 Among my New Year's resolutions is to write a blog weekly. OK, OK... monthly. I agree that is more realistic. So here we are on February 1, after 5 p.m., and I've already blown that resolution. Agency Life, How To, Marketing, Trends 2011-02-01T21:13:20+00:00

By most accounts, 2010 sucked. For some, on an epic scale.

Still, many managed to find good jobs, buy houses; others started businesses, ran various marketing campaigns, or successfully rebranded their companies.

Suffice it to say we made it through and stand ready to embrace the hope and opportunity that a new year always promises. You have to admire the resilience of the human race. Agency Life, How To, Planning/Research 2010-12-29T15:22:42+00:00

Before you get into “holiday mode,” consider this: In volatile markets, it can be necessary – even urgent – to reposition a product line, a brand, maybe even the entire company.
Branding, Marketing, Trends 2010-12-01T19:29:16+00:00

As an award-winning boutique agency, we are deeply committed to contributing our stewardship to the mission-based community by providing high-quality creative work completed by seasoned professionals to the greatest extent possible every year.

By raising the quality of materials available to the non-profit sector, it is our hope that the quality of the response – increased donations, increased volunteerism, and attracting the interest of others who in some other way can make a positive impact – also improves. Agency Life, News, Non-Profit, Public Relations, Social Marketing 2010-11-22T20:31:52+00:00

We are accepting grant applications for our 2011 Pro Bono Publico award. Non-Profit 2010-11-22T17:45:52+00:00

BROOKSLACAYO has won five 2010 American Graphic Design Awards, presented by Graphic Design USA and sponsored by NewPage Corporation, for logo development and collateral work for the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE), Automotive Industries, LLC, Computer Evolution of Jacksonville, LLC, Haskell Company, and Patterson Academy for the Arts. Our work appears in the December 2010 issue of GD USA at http://www.gdusa.com. 2010-11-19T14:36:45+00:00

The buzz is building about the demise of Foursquare (and Gowalia) in favor of Facebook Places. Not sure what Google has to say about that, but here’s my two-cents. Social Marketing 2010-11-12T15:03:58+00:00

It’s all the buzz today. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was in town today for the dedication of the new KIPP Jacksonville School. The first KIPP School in Florida. It’s a big, big deal.
Public Relations 2010-10-13T20:49:25+00:00

In never fails to amaze me the things that pop into my head in the morning, as I get ready for the day. Synapses are firing – rat-a-tat-tat – as ideas, to do’s, and OMG’s flash before me. Branding 2010-09-23T13:11:37+00:00 I Quit. Done with it. Not going there any more. It's a waste of my time. There's no return. Tired of the drama. That's right. Enough already.
Uncategorized 2010-08-31T17:48:26+00:00 BROOKSLACAYO President, Sandra Brooks, will be among the expert panelists addressing the topic of "Revolutionary Changes in Sales and Marketing Strategies" at the SBRN general membership luncheon, August 26, 2010, 11:30 - 1:15, at the Southpoint Marriott. 2010-08-02T15:40:13+00:00 My first post about things that I love: futbol and branding and since the 2010 World Cup in South Africa just happen I think its the perfect time to talk about futbol and branding. In 2002 while visiting my aunt in Barcelona and backpacking through Spain, I had the experience of going to a FC Barcelona game at Camp Nou. Little that I knew about the history of the Club and its branding. I have to say that I got to see great players such as Rivaldo, Riquelme, Kluivert, Saviola, Luis Enrique to name a few! Agency Life, Branding 2010-07-29T18:20:43+00:00 Back in May I read an article from Advertising Age that really stuck out in my mind and I have been on a cause-marketing kick ever since. It is wonderful how social media is being used to promote and bring awareness to cause marketing campaigns. I believe it is all of our responsibility to help one another to survive in this world and those who have taken the first step are inspirational.

Social Marketing 2010-07-21T13:27:55+00:00 Lately, all the buzz is about measuring the effectiveness of social media marketing. What is the benefit of all these new channels or do they simply fragment media into unmanageable chaos? Social Marketing 2010-07-08T16:34:17+00:00 Virtually anybody with a connection to the Internet can set them self up as an expert. Case in point: Individuals with Flip video are producers, their theatre of choice being YouTube. We'd all agree some are better than others.

There seems to be a similar bandwagon to jump to when it comes to branding. Everybody's an expert. Branding 2010-06-29T17:31:50+00:00