Archive for the ‘A. Bright Idea Sonoma’ Category

A. Bright Idea wins AVA Award

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

A. Bright Idea Acknowledged for Award-Winning Work in Audio-Visual Arts, Accepting Three International AVA Awards for work in Sonoma, California.

 

A. Bright Idea Advertising and Public Relations celebrates industry recognition in interactive, graphic design and marketing from the Audio-Visual Arts (AVA) Awards, presented by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), with the Gold Award for its travel website, SomethingAboutSonoma.com, and related website video.

 

“We recognized a need for sharing our creative services in Sonoma County and particularly creating a website for tourists looking to visit “Real Wine Country” and Sonoma County. ” says T.J. Brightman, Principal and Vice President Client Relations.  “The dynamic creative of SomethingAboutSonoma.com demonstrates our approach of blending verbal and visual communication with great brand, at the same time keeping it local.    We strive for excellence and I am always pleased to see our creative team get the recognition they deserve for their work, especially for our new clientele in California.”

 

A. Bright Idea developed SomethingAboutSonoma.com, coinciding with the opening of the West Coast office to position our solid interactive capabilities and multimedia approach in website design.  SomethingAboutSonoma.com has quickly become, the premier destination resource for everything there is to know about Sonoma County, California. From concept development to completion, A. Bright Idea launched the website in March 2011, actively maintaining the site content. Further supporting this product, SomethingAboutSonoma.com also maintains a strong social media presence, using the award-winning designs and videos on Facebook and Twitter, engaging over 7,000 followers, while continually gaining support for the interactive resource website.

 

“The concept developed for SomethingAboutSonoma.com stands as a prime example of the characteristics that make great interactive media – the ability to break through the clutter with unique concept, direction, design and production,” says Vince Novak, Vice President of A. Bright Idea Interactive. “Our recent recognition by the international AVA Awards competition confirms our commitment to exceptional creativity and professional design in all our work.”

 

About AVA

AVA recognizes outstanding achievement by creative professionals involved in the concept, direction, design and production of media as part of the evolution of digital communication. Work ranges from audio and video productions to websites and social media sites that present interactive components such as video, animation, blogs and podcasts, as well as other forms of user-generated digital communication. There were over 1,700 entries from throughout the United States, Canada and several other countries in the 2011 competition.

Tags: , ,
Posted in A. Bright Idea, A. Bright Idea Sonoma, Brand | No Comments »

Economic Impact on California State Parks: Sign of the Times

Monday, October 10th, 2011

Jack London State Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Written by T.J. Brightman, Vice President of Client Relations

 

The California budget crisis has forced the closure of nearly 70 state parks, three of them in Sonoma County, California.  If successful, the state indicates it will recognize a savings of $33 million dollars over the next two fiscal years.   It will mark the first time in 100 years, including the Great Depression, that the parks department will entertain closure due to budget concerns.

As many of you know, A. Bright Idea expanded its reach of services by opening an office in Glen Ellen, Sonoma, California a little over a year ago.  In that time, we have had the opportunity to not only make some new friends within the business community but also experience first hand the true beauty that this part of the country has to offer.

Not only does A. Bright Idea find itself in the middle of wine country, but is just a stones throw away from Jack London State Park, a memorial to creative writer and adventurer Jack London who made his home in Glen Ellen from 1905 until his death in 1916.  It was on these 1400 acres that the American author wrote more than fifty fiction and nonfiction books, essays and short stories.  It was also on this hallowed ground that Jack London worked and lived off the land, experimenting and inventing  various  agricultural techniques.

This weekend, Brooke Austin, A. Bright Idea’s newest hire and Director of West Coast Operations, and I had the opportunity to take a behind the scenes tour of Jack London State Park with Chuck Levine, former board member of the Valley of the Moon Natural History Association.  Being an “East Coaster” all my life, I can’t say that I’ve ever been moved by the natural beauty of the outdoors more than I was during my visit to Jack London.  Maybe it was the giant redwoods, or simply seeing the views of Sonoma County from the Jack London residence that got my attention.   There was something special and tranquil about this place that could only make me imagine what Jack London saw in Sonoma when he moved from San Francisco in the early 1900s.

It was London who said, “All I wanted was a quiet place in the country to write and loaf in and get out of nature that something which we call need, only the most of us don’t know it.”

Politics aside, to think that a park like Jack London could close within the year is nothing more than a tragic outcome of the current economic crisis.  Last week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that would allow qualified nonprofit organizations to take control of the parks scheduled for closure, assuming the management and operations.

As the Valley of the Moon Natural History Association positions itself to manage Jack London State Park, we are proud to partner with this nonprofit and continue our commitment of community as the organization works to secure control of the park and its overall operations in the coming year.

Tags:
Posted in A. Bright Idea Sonoma, Nonprofit | No Comments »

SomethingAboutSonoma.com – The Right Resource

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

David Wells, Junior Marketing Specialist/ Photographer

If you are like me, you usually research an area before you travel there. You also probably have a list of places you want to visit during your trips. I have been given the opportunity to travel a lot in recent years and am always looking for things to do, places to stay, where to eat and overall information about the areas I visit. This requires a lot of research, ‘Googleing’ or asking others who have been there for suggestions. A lot of time and effort is made in planning the perfect trip.

Sonoma County remains a huge destination for vacationers, wine lovers and families. Have you heard of SomethingAboutSonoma.com?

After opening A. Bright Idea’s west coast office, we recognized a need for an all-inclusive destination resource for one of California’s (and our favorite) tourist attraction – ‘Wine Country.’ While some good information can be found on the web about Sonoma County, A. Bright Idea knew there needed to be a single resource connecting users to the area businesses, giving them a feel for the area, all the things we love about the area, and all before a visitor steps foot in the county. This resource needed to be vibrant and visual, providing users the ability to view attractions and hotspots and map out their stay.

SomethingAboutSonoma.com was created for this purpose. It’s the premier destination resource for everything there is to know about Sonoma County. Launched in March 2011, SomethingAboutSonoma.com offers unique 360 degree panoramic views and videos from amazing locations all over the county. Users can get up-to-the-minute details on local businesses featured on the site with social media news feeds, read customer reviews and even look up specials. SomethingAboutSonoma.com features videos, an interactive map and much more.

Over the past month, I have been traveling to our Sonoma office frequently and meeting with businesses to introduce SomethingAboutSonoma.com. A. Bright Idea also had the opportunity to present the site at the Sonoma County Chamber of Commerce Business Expo and have been very happy with the results and feedback, some even noting, “we have been waiting for a site like this to come around!”

In today’s virtual world, many of us turn to online resources and social media sites for research and data. The elements of SomethingAboutSonoma.com ensure businesses create buzz in the social media world and enhance their reach to new target audiences, while offering online users the right information and a connection to the area – all found in a single source.

So what’s your something? Check out SomethingAboutSonoma.com to see this premier destination resource in action.

SomethingAboutSonoma.com window sticker outside a restaurant letting passersby know they belong to the site.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in A. Bright Idea, A. Bright Idea Sonoma, Marketing/Advertising, Social Media | No Comments »

ABI Office in Full Swing on the West Coast

Monday, September 13th, 2010

As many of you know, A. Bright Idea is expanding its creative services to Northern California and is busy setting up our West Coast office this week. The ABI team will enjoy some new digs in Sonoma, inside the village  of Glen Ellen. We are happy to announce a new relationship with Peter Mathis Wines of Sonoma.  The A. Bright Idea creatives have just completed a new label redesign of the Peter Mathis Sonoma Valley Grenache and are working on some new projects for this boutique winery.

This weekend, T.J. and I were honored to attend an exclusive wine event, “The Cult Cab Party,” benefiting the Sonoma Valley Teen Center.  A. Bright Idea supported the evening by creating several pieces of collateral materials promoting a vertical tasting of some Sonoma and Napa Valley’s legendary wines including Beringer Private Reserve, Chateau Montelena, Dunn and Spottwoode. Guests included Ed Sbragia, former rock-star winemaker at Beringer and now owner and winemaker at Sbragia Family Vineyards, Dick Arrowood from Arrowood Vineyards and Winery,  Philippe Thibault of Chateau St. Jean in Sonoma and other local VIPs.

As for A. Bright Idea’s new expansion on the Golden Coast, Bel Air, Maryland and Sonoma, California may be on opposite parts of the country  but are more similar than you might expect.  It was these similarities that drew us to the area (not to mention our love     of wine) and what made us decide to expand our business services on the West Coast and put down stakes in “real wine country”. Both areas offer rich agricultural history and take pride in small, family-owned farms and businesses passed down     through generations.

Sonoma Plaza and Downtown Bel Air are small, but thriving hubs of activities with restaurants, boutiques , government buildings, festivals and Farmer’s markets.  Sonoma County, California  and Harford County, Maryland are both rich with history and made up of small nearby towns and cities like Healdsburg, Glen Ellen, Petaluma, Sebastopol in California to Bel Air, Havre de Grace, Aberdeen in Maryland. It’s a quiet and safe place for families, where you know many of the people walking down the street and you do more than just wave and nod, you stop and catch up or reminisce and time stands still for just a moment.

These areas are in a state of metamorphous. The once quiet, rural and agricultural regions are being transformed. Sonoma is becoming a lifestyle destination and Harford a busting suburb supporting military growth as a result of Base Realignment and Closure.  However, with change, they retain their history and quaint charm that make people want to call it home.

We’re lucky that we can work and live in both locations.  We can truly call both places on either cost HOME!

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in A. Bright Idea Sonoma | No Comments »