AJRoss Blog

Marketing Agency Understands the Business of Weathering Economic Challenges

Chester, NY — Allan Ross, president and founder of AJ Ross Creative Media, is proud to be celebrating his company’s 20^th year of providing clients with a broad range of marketing and creative services. “Economic challenges and company struggles continue to fill the news each day. In light of those challenges, we are thrilled to be marking such a significant milestone at AJ Ross Creative Media,” said agency founder Ross. “Over the past 20 years, it has been our great privilege to help the organizations we work with weather changes in the economy, technology, demographics, and sociology,” Ross continued.

AJ Ross Creative Media is a full-service marketing agency dedicated to helping clients build their business through strong brand stewardship and a strategic mix of advertising and public relations. Services include brand (identity) development, strategic marketing plan development and implementation, graphic design, print, TV and radio production, web design, media buying and planning, public relations, media outreach, and social media.

Ross began his career as a set musician and went on to establish a music and radio production company producing jingles, musical scores, and radio spots for such well-known clients as Gallo Wine, Diet Coke, NBC Sports, Freihofer’s, Turner Classic Movies, and CNN. With success came the demand for additional services. As a result, the music production company became a division of what is now the full-service marketing agency, AJ Ross Creative Media.

Ross and his team have worked for clients of all sizes locally and nationally in both the corporate and not-for-profit arenas. Among their areas of expertise are health care, law, senior living, real estate and development, corporate, industrial, and not-for-profit service agencies. Current clients include Argus Radiology, Finkelstein & Partners, Hudson Heritage Federal Credit Union, Jacoby & Meyers, Olympia Development, Orange County Tourism, and Spence Engineering.

“I’m proud to have developed an outstanding team of professionals that bring a broad base of expertise to our clients,” said Ross. “That experience allows us to get up to speed quickly and deliver results – important as budgets remain tight.”

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In keeping with the times, website development, search engine optimization, and social networking have become key components of the agency’s services. AJ Ross Creative Media has also enhanced the availability of public relations and media relations services. “We’re all about being full-service,” adds Ross. “We offer clients the quality and creativity of a NYC agency, with the personal service, convenience, and financial advantages of a Hudson Valley location.”

“We’ve weathered this economic storm, are enjoying the upturn we’re starting to experience, and looking forward to many more years of helping our clients get noticed. Where others see problems, we see solutions,” Ross adds.

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AJ Ross Creative Media, located in the Hudson Valley’s historic Chester, NY, was founded by Allan Ross. A former session musician, jingle writer and producer, Ross parlayed that experience into the development of a full-service strategic marketing agency. AJ Ross offers brand development, print, radio, and TV advertising production, graphic design, website development, and public relations. Ross continues to play saxophone with Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The O’Jays whenever they’re in NYC. To learn more about AJ Ross Creative Media, visit www.ajross.com, call 800-723-4644, or email info@ajross.com.

Chester, N.Y. – AJ Ross Creative Media, Inc., a full-service strategic marketing firm with a 20-year history of providing creative solutions to both local and national clients, has been named advertising agency of record for Hudson Heritage Federal Credit Union.

Headquartered in Middletown, NY, Hudson Heritage has been providing financial services to credit union members for 70 years. They have more than 18,700 members, nine branch locations, and hold a community charter for Orange, Ulster, and Dutchess counties. As agency of record, AJ Ross Creative Media will serve as Hudson Heritage’s strategic marketing partner working closely with the credit union’s Marketing team lead by Ray Litchfield, Vice President, Marketing and Retail Operations.

In their role, AJ Ross Creative Media will provide creative counsel on all aspects of promotional communications, including brand development, advertising, member relations, retail locations, web and social media, and public relations.

“For 70 years, Hudson Heritage has been dedicated to providing outstanding member service and a mission of building relationships,” said Litchfield. “We selected AJ Ross Creative Media as our strategic marketing partner because they share those same ideals. Not only are they a full-service agency that understands our market and our needs, Allan Ross and his team have great creative energy, a strong commitment to personal service, and many long-standing relationships in our community,” Litchfield continued.

Hudson Heritage Federal Credit Union is a membership-based financial cooperative owned and operated for the benefit of its members. They offer members a broad spectrum of financial services and a unique approach to financial planning. Unlike traditional banks, credit union members pool their savings and lend money to each other, often allowing for better rates and terms than banks. Available services include savings and checking accounts, new and used car loans, mortgages, and home equity loans. A complete list of services is available at www.hhfcu.org.

“We’re proud to partner with Hudson Heritage,” said Allan Ross, President and Founder of AJ Ross Creative Media. “They have a long history of financial stability and a commitment to personal service – greatly appreciated assets in these challenging financial times. As they position themselves for future growth, we welcome the opportunity to build the Hudson Heritage brand, create name recognition, and communicate the benefits of selecting a credit union,” added Ross.

In today’s ever increasing and fast-paced business world, the methods used to market have hit a time of growing pains. Marketing is moving in a direction that requires less people and more technology. For some people this is second nature, some are learning as they go, and others are having a hard time leaving the old ways of doing business behind. There is a technical term for this growing pain; it’s called “Social Media.”

To better understand why social media is so important, we have to look at what it does for business in 2009 and beyond.

If you’ve ever wondered what Social Media is, it’s simple. It is a collection of various sites on the Internet with the purpose of keeping people connected on a global scale.  It quickly became a tool for business networking because of its ability to reach a mass audience without the need for travel or attend every social event possible.

What are some of the most popular Social Media networks out there at the moment?

• Facebook - (definition)
• Myspace – (definition)
• Twitter - (definition)
• Linked In - (definition)
• Blogs (Blogspot, Wordpress)

Social Media and SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Everyone that has a website understands that people don’t come to you; you need to reach out to the people when they search for a word or phrase that relates to your business on a search engine like Google. By using Social Media, it offers benefits to your SEO efforts which in turn puts your business in front of more people interested in your services and/or product(s).

Link building:

The more websites your company’s name appears on, the higher you’ll rank on Search Engines such as Google. Search Engines see your name appearing repeatedly and recognize your company as being legitimate as well as an important source for users to know.

Fresh Content:

Search Engines rate your website based on new content. As content on sites such as your blog increase, it creates more keywords; more keywords lead to more opportunities for your business to be found online. Fresh content also offers users a benefit to coming back to your website.

Social Media and Networking

While nothing can ever replace the value of face to face networking, Social Media allows you to reach more people than your business’s geographic location allows. Email and the Internet already changed business by allowing people to work on the same projects overseas; now it’s doing the same with business networking and consumer marketing.

Establish new business contacts or update existing ones all simultaneously from your phone. Promote your business or get answers to questions from real professionals while you work instead of some support line. Test new ideas and get real reactions, not statistics. Build credibility as an expert by answering questions and posting beneficial blogs or advice. Someone is more likely to do business with you if you’ve already given them helpful advice or written consistent blogs on topics that are helpful than cold calling or simply meeting someone and telling them about your services.

Social Media isn’t a tool that will bring overnight success.  It takes time to build up a network of people to be social with, but once you start you’ll find if they are part of one of your social networks, they’ll join the others. Every social contact offers the possibility of all of their contacts becoming one of yours and the cycle continues with every new contact you make.

Social media is a basic tool; it’s how you apply it to your business that is limitless. Look at it as a window into how you do business and how your knowledge can really benefit those looking to do business with you. Let the world see what you really have to offer and they’ll add you as a friend, re-tweet you, post your blogs, ask questions, thank you for your advice, and become followers.

Business is about relationships; now you have the chance to build them anywhere in the world from your desk and from that, with time, face-to-face.