DRS and Associates – jots blog

When it comes to showcasing Littman Brands’ designs and lighting inspiration, DRS and Associates is lighting the way. Hot off the press comes the 3^rd edition of “Larger Than Light” magazine—a hit at the Dallas International Lighting Market, considered to be the best issue yet. The winter edition is packed with illuminating features, including a sneak peek at new Littman Brands products and an exclusive tour through the “House of Rock.” Creative lighting and design applications, designer interviews and more round out this superb resource for Littman Brands.

Congratulations to the DRS and Associates East Coast and West Coast teams, creative art director Natalie Schlocker, as well as other collaborators for this shining achievement. Click below to read this edition of “Larger than Light,” and for more brilliant lighting ideas, become a fan of Larger than Light on Facebook.

Larger than Light

As proud members of 1% for the Planet, we are part of a growing movement of more than 1000 companies that donate 1% of our sales to environmental organizations worldwide. In our most recent contribution efforts, we donated to the World Wildlife Fund and TreePeople, a nonprofit group that works on creating a sustainable future for Los Angeles. This year we wanted to take our participation a step further by volunteering our time and energy to this worthwhile organization.

The TreePeople are important to us because they’re in our own backyard. We’ve watched them grow (no pun intended) from a small group planting trees to a whole learning system and community resource center. From maintaining hiking trails to keeping the air a little cleaner, they’re a valuable community service in the heart of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

Saturday morning we arrived at TreePeople ready to get our hands dirty. Because L.A. gets little rain and imports 85% of the water it uses, water conversation is an important component of sustainability. Our mission was to spread mulch across the trails of Fryman Canyon, which helps feed the soil with nutrients and allows the ground to absorb and hold rainwater that would otherwise run off.

The DRS team alternated between shoveling mulch into buckets and wheeling it down to the trails to be raked out by other volunteers. Despite the hot sun and occasional allergy, we were able to work together and clear the huge pile of mulch in record time.

Our Social Media team took pictures of the event, and afterwards we cooled off with a hearty lunch at Laurel Tavern. It was a great day of volunteer work, and we look forward to our next opportunity as we continue our ongoing community outreach. Besides doing our part to help the planet, getting out of the office is a breath of fresh air!

The DRS team. Everyone say "Trees!"

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When we first heard the news that a number of our clients were nominated for the Interior Design Best of Year Awards 2012, we were thrilled. While it’s one thing to have our clients receive industry recognition in national and sometimes global editorial features on an ongoing basis (that says all of our DRS team is doing our job by raising brand awareness), it’s another when independent industry professionals in the A + D community, colleagues and peers take note and recognize our clients for their achievements, designs and innovations. And while we think all our clients deserve the “Best of Year” title, you can help us support them by voting before the deadline October 9th at 11:59pm EST.

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PR 101: When a newspaper reporter calls and says he/she wants to write a story about your  luxury brand client, the answer to virtually all of their requests is “Yes.” This type of press can be a huge windfall for businesses. And if you hesitate by not calling a reporter back promptly and  balking at what may seem like big requests, you’re going to lose the opportunity. Creativity is often key  to making sure your client is featured prominently.

DRS and Associates Senior Account Manager Eric Billingsley is always prepared

This “Yes” mentality was put to the test recently, when a newspaper reporter wanted to write a story about steam shower manufacturer -and DRS and Associates client- ThermaSol. The time and date for the interview with ThermaSol CEO Mitch Altman came together easily. But the reporter informed me the day before the interview that she really needed her photographer to shoot pictures of somebody using the steam shower –and stock images would not do. My answer: “We got it covered” -or ME uncovered as it turned out.

-or ME uncovered as it turned out!

Eric takes an impromptu steam inside of a ThermaSol shower

I’m constantly amazed by the disconnect I see between marketing campaigns, messaging and packaging (or the final delivery of the message). Companies spend millions on branding, strategy, research, product development, packaging and finally on promotion (PR, advertising and social media outreach) to represent their brand and command attention from consumers. However, marketers that don’t take a step back to examine the final results of their work can let brand inconsistencies slip through – ultimately effecting the messaging they so desperately were striving for.

Over the years, I’ve collected countless examples and experiences of “marketing disconnects,” mistakes and slip-ups that have seemingly gone unnoticed. Some are pretty funny, and some are scary. Maybe it’s just me, but I find each one of these to be a lesson and reality check that we should reflect on for our own business and make sure that we don’t make these mistakes when working on our clients’ campaigns.

One such story that I’ve been holding onto for a while is that of this Lush shaving cream container. I purchased this product while window shopping in Carmel by the Sea last year and I have been doing my own product comparison testing (that is a different story).

Notice anything? The product states that “Five O’ Clock Shadow is so passé.” The obvious message they are conveying   is that clean shaving is IN and the grubby look is OUT.  The basic key to clever consumer marketing is to create an emotional connection between the product and the audience.  The concept of “passé” tells me that this in-the-know, hip, trend-watching cosmetic company is the authority on taste, style and fashion – so a clean face is the rule for the guys.

But take a look at the picture of the product maker (below) they included on the container:

Anyway, since when is 5 o’clock shadow “passé”?

So I’m being told that scruff is out by someone who has the exact same look the product denounces?   There is another thing going on here that should be a positive communication point – but backfires.  You see, Lush wants to show that they have a hand-made or employee- sense-of-pride side to them and that their company is not too big to be personal. (Hence the head shot of the product representative, maker, packer, cosmetic chemist, or even principle of the company).  It was probably someone in marketing who said, “hey let’s put a sticker on each container to show that there is this personal touch!”  Well somewhere along the way the departments did not meet to discuss what products they were actually going to apply this too.  To me the guy in the cap and hipster glasses says, “ hey I don’t care what we sell and I don’t even believe in this product!… I am too cool for this marketing mumbo-jumbo…”

David Schlocker

For a client to receive an ARTS Award – one of the design industry’s most prestigious accolades – is a tremendous honor. Receiving this honor for a second year in a row is nothing short of astounding. Which is why it is with great pleasure that we celebrate Corbett Lighting’s receipt of the “Lighting Manufacturer of the Year” ARTS Award… again!

There is a reason that all of us at DRS and Associates feel such a connection and take personal satisfaction in this award, and we wanted to shed a little light (pardon the pun) on what it takes to create and produce an award-winning entry submission through this case study.

THE AWARD
Presented at the conclusion of the Dallas International Lighting Market, the 23rd Annual ARTS Award marks the second win for Corbett Lighting in two years. The prize is no easy achievement: nominations are made one year in advance by an independent panel of judges, and awards are determined by vote from independent retailers, manufacturers and designers, sales representatives, and other industry professionals.

OUR WORK BEGINS
Once nominated the real work begins and the creative and strategic crafting of the award presentation package begins in earnest. Corbett Lighting’s submission this year was their spectacular Dolcetti Pendant – a stunning interpretation of the modern chandelier. In preparing Corbett Lighting’s submission to the ARTS council, DRS’ Natalie Schlocker knew she wanted to showcase the Corbett Lighting brand in a unique way- highlighting its signature elements and materials in a way that illustrated in the most creative way how Corbett Lighting’s creations are fashion-inspired. We knew we needed the submission to go above and beyond what had been seen and done before for arts awards.

COLLABORATION OF THE CREATIVES
To that end, DRS and the team at Littman Brands commandeered a beautiful, creative approach to Corbett Lighting’s ARTS entry – a combination of visual drama, compelling content and clever technology. In addition to compiling the required elements (the lighting fixture itself and an accompanying binder as mandated by the ARTs Award committee), DRS re-imagined the submission as a whole, creating a custom jewelry box in which to present the more detailed facets of Corbett Lighting’s signature designs – replete with an integrated LED light source. Wanting to emphasize the gorgeous, tactile elements that comprise Corbett Lighting’s chandeliers (exotic shells, crystal, intricate stainless steel chains) in an approachable yet dramatic setting, a unique custom vessel was developed. With the support of Corbett’s engineers and in-house artisans, Natalie and team structured a multi-tiered hand-crafted jewelry box that elegantly showcased the essence of Corbett Lighting’s couture roots.

As the development of the jewelry box came into focus, so did the extent of collaboration. DRS Senior Designer Jenjen Ratcliff helped create detailed 3D renderings of the jewelry box. With the help of Corbett’s engineering team the concept to outfit the top shelf of the hand-crafted jewelry box with LED lighting took shape. The LED lighting illuminated the detailed adornments as if the sample shells and crystals were fashion pieces, and not just excerpts from a lighting fixture. And together, DRS and Corbett gave the ARTS council a close-up look at elements typically only espied from afar. In a clever turn of architecture, DRS designed the Jewelry box’s drawer to contain the binder required for the ARTS Award submission. And as the fixture samples in the jewelry shelf showed Dolcetti’s story, the binder served to literally tell it with 3D sample pages. Using actual Dolcetti and other lighting fixture elements enabled us to share Corbett Lighting’s history and intentions through graphic timelines and visual layouts.

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“It takes a great team to be a customer-service-centric organization” DRS

Wow, we made The List! OK, it’s the “Valley List” or should I say the Greater San Fernando Valley List, but it’s still worth mentioning.  After all, we rarely seek out our own PR or accolades so Natalie and I were pleasantly surprised to learn that The San Fernando Valley Business Journal ranked DRS and Associates as the 10^th  Largest Advertising & Public Relations Agencies (out of 40 firms) – ranked by number of Valley Area Employees.  We definitely are not one of the highest revenue producing agencies in the area, however reminders like this make me stop for a moment and reflect on what it takes to operate and manage a customer-service-centric organization like DRS. We would not be able to provide the level of dedication and responsiveness that we do for our customers if it weren’t for our team. (And by the way, when I say customers, I mean we have more than our clients as are our customers. We consider all of our media and journalist contacts, industry associates and wide network of people we communicate with on a daily basis – as our customers).  So needless to say, the expression that “it takes great people to run a successful business – to be able to deliver exceptional service,” is near and dear to our philosophy and we obviously invest in this. It can’t go without saying that if it wasn’t for our clienteles’ understanding and appreciation of the value we bring to their businesses, they would not continue to invest their marketing dollars with our firm; for which we are always grateful and thankful.  And that is what brings me tremendous joy and satisfaction…. as well as that is what keeps me up at night (or at least on 5 hours of sleep).

P.S. Our team includes our New York City Valley and Boston Valley Sr. Account Managers too!

David Schlocker, president and founder of DRS and Associates

DRS and Associates Team

Turns out, lighting can strike twice. Hot off the press comes the 2nd edition of  “Larger than Light”. Under Natalie Schlocker’s creative art direction, the magazine – which received an overwhelmingly positive response at the Dallas International Lighting Market – showcases one of our most illuminating sources of lifestyle inspiration: lighting. The summer edition features creative lighting and design applications, smart seasonal lighting ideas, designer interviews, inspiration for interior design projects, and the hottest and brightest in new lighting creations.

Congratulations to our DRS and Associates Sherman Oaks team and East Coast team as well as our other collaborators for producing this superb resource for Littman Brands. Click below to read this edition of “Larger than Light,” and for more brilliant lighting ideas, become a fan of Larger than Light.

Larger than Light Summer 2012