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At Orange Label, we strive to cultivate a creative team comprised of individuals with multiple talents and passions, and when a single team member brings a variety of creative perspectives to the table, that spells out our clients’ success.

OLAA Senior Designer, Sheri Audette, is one of our multi-talented team members. Though Sheri holds the belief that short is sweet and less is more when it comes to ad copy, Sheri Audette really has a way with words. We invite you to take a peek into her unique approach to creative typography in this month’s Creative Corner.

 
Q: What component of design are you most excited about?
Sheri: I love typography. You can use it as a copy setting, a graphic element, or use it in a more extensive sense and create letter forms that are very creative and unique. I’m most excited by creative custom fonts for logos. A custom-drawn font is more personable than just choosing an existing font and slapping it on a design – having something that’s completely custom-designed makes it true to the company. It’s their own.

Q: How do you approach typography in your work?
Sheri: For me, I actually draw out and create my own fonts from scratch. I’ll make one letter, an “N” for example, in many different styles for a specific logo. One logo I created had five letters within it, so I created about 5-10 completely different forms of those letters, and then saw which combinations worked best together.

Q: How much time does that take?
Sheri: Days.

Q: Are there any sources that you use for inspiration; how do you brainstorm ideas?
Sheri: I do a lot of research and speak with the client to get a feel of what their company is about, and what they want portray to the public. I get a real understanding for how they want to come across, the feeling that they want to achieve. I soak up that feeling and get the picture in my head of where I want to go and where I want to take them.

When I’m creating a logo, it’s not just a “font” or a font with a logo bug.. I really want to bring that feeling I draw from speaking with the client into the type treatment to bring out the company’s image.  I also don’t do “cool” for the sake of “cool”…the design has to have real meaning.

Q: When would you say are good or bad instances of font use?
In terms of a bad example, don’t use too many fonts when it doesn’t work. You should never use multiple fonts for the sake of it.

The way to use multiple fonts together is about the marrying of styles, making them flow together as one graphic image just from typography.

Q: Do you pay attention to fonts/typography in your everyday life?  Do you judge everything you see?
It drives my kids crazy/ Yes, I do. I love typography posters.  I do analyze what I see, but what I often feel gets looked over is old signage. People look at old signs as horrible, old, but they’re historic and I am really inspired by that. I love vintage signage and old typography.

Q: When did your interest in typography begin?
I’ve always loved typography. Even when I was young when my friends and I would put on plays and I would always make the signs for the different acts. I’d use different letters , colors… It is art. People may look at fonts and think they’re just something that you read, but when you really look into how custom fonts are created – the art and the science – a lot of creative energy goes into that.

Q: So…do you have a favorite font?
I love a goods sans serif. My favorite is Helvetica because it’s such a big family with so many different styles to it.

Check out samples of Sheri’s typography exploration and design:

We are smack-dab in the middle of what are likely to be Summer’s best blockbuster releases – Ironman 3, Man of Steel and Star Trek: Into Darkness. So which cast of galactic heroes best inspires you to adorn a cape and face-punch a super villain? Or simply take on a Monday morning … Cast your vote! IRONMAN 3 VS MAN OF STEEL VS STAR TREK.

“In order for us to serve, in order for us to remedy this suffering, people have got to recognize that elder abuse is out there and that regular people can each do something. The only way we can really accomplish change is by everybody taking a small step forward.”

In last month’s Thriving Brand Leader Spotlight on 830AM KLAA’s Business Experience Show, Rochelle Reiter hosted Kerry Burnight, co-founder of Ageless Alliance: United Against Elder Abuse.

 
Kerry is a professor of family medicine in UC Irvine’s Program in Geriatrics and has a PhD in gerontology. She is the co-director of the Elder Abuse Forensic Center in Santa Ana, and works with the Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse and Neglect at UCI.
During the show, Kerry spoke about her and her team’s journey in forming Ageless Alliance and the challenges and opportunities faced in launching a national social justice movement. Below are some of the episode’s highlights.

To listen to the full segment, download the Orange Label Art + Advertising podcast on iTunes.
Q: Explain the Ageless Alliance name and the purpose it serves.
Kerry: Ageless Alliance is really a social justice movement, just as we realized it’s not OK that women can’t vote or it’s not OK that people of color have endured intolerable discrimination. Today, people are saying that one, we recognize that a lot of older adults are suffering, and two, there is something that we can do about that if we all come together.

 
Q: What is elder abuse and neglect?
Kerry: Formally, we’re talking about any knowing, intentional or negligent act by a caregiver or any adult that causes harm or serious risk of harm. The reality is much, much tougher than just a definition. In Orange County for example, we have 800 reports of elder abuse every month. And national studies show that for every one that gets to us, 23 are unreported. It is the physical, financial, sexual, neglect and emotional mistreatment that comes from ageism, entitlement, ignorance, and thinking that people are less than as a result of being older.

Q: What are some of the action steps that you’ve taken while building the Ageless Alliance?
Kerry: What I found is that anything you do, it is by rolling your sleeves up and digging in locally that you start. We were seeing older adults suffering in our community, such as a man who was said to have died of natural causes, but in fact had a latex glove lodged in his throat. We met a woman, and because she had been wearing the same bra for so long, her skin grew over the bra and a scalpel was required to remove it. Financial abuse is just staggering – adult children who move in with family members to “take care of them” and before you know it, they’ve drained their bank accounts or had all of their friends moving in. And then when people do really need the care the finances are not there for it. There’s also sexual abuse then emotional abuse which can be every bit as debilitating if not more so than the physical abuse.

 
When people are suffering, and when we are at such a pivotal demographic time, it is not enough to just say we are coming together. It is the action. First, the professionals came together and we created the Elder Abuse Forensic Center. We had doctors, law enforcement, district attorneys, public guardians and mental health professionals, but the big missing component was what all of us can do. Teachers, children, students, radio announcers, baseball players. That’s when we got connected with Orange Label Advertising and that’s really when it took off.

Q: Have you found that people are willing to listen about elder abuse, because it needs to be heard and needs to be dealt with?
Kerry: No. Before we connected with Orange Label, we would share our passion coming from a geriatric medicine perspective and people would put a pillow over their head and say, “I don’t want to hear that it’s just too awful.” That’s where Orange Label could come in and say to us, “Let’s explore your topic.”

Q: So, they helped you with messaging?
Kerry: Yes, that’s exactly right. We don’t have any expertise. We’re gerontologists and geriatricians. So for us, they were able to create the brand. Create our name, our logo, our look, the website, public service announcements, printed materials. And we even have t-shirts and bumper stickers. I’ve seen other people on the road with our Ageless Alliance bumper stickers and I about crash when I see it I’m so delighted.

Q: How did the name evolve?
Kerry: The process kind of amazed me. Orange Label went out and gathered from all the people we work with, all the words connected in a positive way and a negative way. So we talked about elder abuse and all the words we use, but also what would it be like in a world that didn’t have elder abuse. And that’s where we came up with Ageless. The fact that right now, I happen to be 43 but I’m also a 10-year old and I’m also the future 110-year old.

Q: If someone knows that their own family member or friend is being abused or neglected, what would be your message to them? What can they do instead of being paralyzed?
Kerry: If you are worried about someone in your life, you don’t have to know for sure, but what you do need to do is report it. I would call law enforcement and I would call right away. And you can call Adult Protective Services. Here in Orange County and across the nation, Adult Protective Services are social workers who will come to the home and check out what’s going on. If your loved one is in a nursing home or facility you can call the Ombudsman and they’ll investigate what’s going on. But doing something is infinitely better than doing nothing.

Q: And your agenda is not to just report abuse but to prevent it?
Kerry: Yes, it’s one thing to be able to address it when it’s already occurred. But prevention is the ultimate goal of Ageless Alliance. People across the nation saying, if we are visiting, if we are listening, if we are teaching in our schools that ageism will no longer be tolerated – that’s where we are going to prevent it from happening in the first place.

Q: Can someone find this information on your website?
Kerry: Yes, they would go to agelessalliance.org and there you would get information on what it is, the red flags, what to do if you suspect it. It can link you to our other partners, the National Center on Elder Abuse, for example. And, all of this has come from donations so if your heart encourages you to do so you could make a donation as well.

Q:  Do you find that your efforts help empower government agencies in combating this by bringing the importance of elder abuse to the forefront?
Kerry: Yes, we really learned that given the complexity – legal, medical, ethical – it cannot be addressed by one. It can’t be just social workers; it can’t just be doctors. It needs to be people coming together from different disciplines and saying, “How can we serve this older adult.” Adults with disabilities are often mistreated as well and the penal code that covers older adults also covers younger adults with disabilities.

Q: What would you recommend to non-profits who are looking to strengthen support for their causes? What advice would you give?
Kerry: I would say that you may be an expert in what you do, which is great, but in terms of getting the word out there and taking the next step, particularly in this technology age of Facebook and Blogs and Twitter, that connecting with somebody, in our case Orange Label, is what took us from pre-school up to graduate education.

Q: Almost a year ago was the White House event for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Tell us a little bit about this year’s activities.
Kerry: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is occurring in Orange County on Thursday, June 20th. We’re going to be holding it in South County at Laguna Woods and we have a room that holds a thousand so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that people might come out for this free event that has free lunch. And the whole goal of it is for each of us, just us humans, to say what small step we might take in basically changing the world. We each have a unique gift and by offering that gift that’s how we’re going to be able to empower older adults to have better lives.

Q: And who should come to that?
Kerry: Absolutely everyone. We’re going to have little children. We’re going to have physicians, law enforcement officers, attorneys, judges, mayors…

Q: Imagine where you’ll be five, ten, twenty years from now. What are your goals?
Kerry: Traditionally when I say that I work in the field of elder abuse, people give me a quizzical look. My hope is that, just as with child abuse, we no longer question whether we should report or question whether we should get involved.

As we find ourselves in the throes of March Madness aftermath and are beginning the season of America’s favorite pastime, we are surrounded by a plethora of sport options. Don’t worry, we aren’t going to ask you to fight for your favorite teams – that’s what fantasy is for. At OLAA, we want to talk about what really matters during spring sports – SNACKS. So before you reach for that salty snack of choice, tell us what you think – Hot Dog VS Popcorn. Go!

At Orange Label, we strive to cultivate a creative team comprised of individuals with multiple talents and passions, and when a single team member brings a variety of creative perspectives to the table, that’s music to our clients’ ears. That’s why OLAA Designer, Micah Panzich, is the highlight of this month’s CREATIVE CORNER. Micah designs more than just visual art. From creating custom music beds at Orange Label to rocking out on stage with his band Paperplanes, Micah takes an artistic perspective in everything he does and applies it to his music, his style, and in all of his visual designs.

• What types of sounds or music inspires you?

I like the natural sound of a perfect acoustic stringed instrument, or a group of vocalists harmonizing. One of my favorite sounding instruments is the pedal steel guitar. As far as music inspiration, I like anything real. I connect with the “three chords and the truth” mentality of old country music, the attitude of outlaw country, the hot pick-n’ of bluegrass, the twist and turns of Rock-n-Roll and Tropicalia and the screaming sounds of Nels Cline on a Jazzmaster.

• Describe your band’s unique musical sound.

‘Paperplanes’ – is pretty much a rock band with hints of country. Some would say Alt-Country or Americana. There are 3 songwriters in the band, and we all have similar taste and grew up on similar music. I recently started playing keyboards with a new band called Champanties. The OC Weekly described the music as “revved-up, off-the-map rock ‘n’ roll ‘n’ fuzz ‘n’ soul”. That is a pretty good description.  The music I record by myself is all over the place.

• What do you love the most about writing and playing music?

With writing, I love the first few minutes a song starts to develop. It’s like seeing a new color or meeting a new friend. I usually don’t know what the song is about until it is finished, so that is always an interesting process. Riding the wave of a new song is pretty cool, seeing where it takes you.

My favorite thing about playing music is what happens when there are other people playing with you. The energy that is created with a band is a rush. Hearing the combination of amps playing together, and the overtones created by the different instruments. When you are playing live with a group of people, you are very much “in the moment”. That can be therapeutic.

At the end of the day, it’s about being with the people, and sharing a moment in time with them. Music is just a portion of that time.

• What’s your favorite thing about design or advertising?

Similar to music, I enjoy when there is a connection made. I enjoy looking at good design as much as I enjoy looking at a beautiful building or a great painting. I like when the design is easy to understand, and communicates the idea clearly. I like when an advertisement makes you think, or changes your perception of something. As a career, I enjoy the challenges of the advertising world. It is constantly changing and evolving, and that keeps things fresh, and it feels like I learn something new every day.

For a taste of Micah’s musical talents, check out his band Paperplanes or listen to Orange Label’s Music Bed, written and produced by yours truly!

“…we really are the stewards of a brand now. It truly is not our brand any longer it’s all of our customers’ and their loyalty to us.” – Liz Parker

In last month’s Thriving Brand Leader Spotlight on 830AM KLAA’s Business Experience Show, Rochelle Reiter hosted Tulsa Rib Company co-owner Liz Parker.

Liz and her husband Steve have owned and operated the Orange-based restaurant for 32 years, which has been voted Best Barbeque year after year. Recently, Tulsa Rib was named as one of Orange County Register’s 13 restaurants to watch in 2013.

During the show, Liz shared on-air what it takes to thrive in the restaurant business for 32 years. Below are some of the episode’s highlights. To listen to the full segment, download the Orange Label Art + Advertising podcast on iTunes.

Q: What sets Tulsa Rib Company apart from other BBQ restaurants?
Liz: Everyone seems to think they can do barbeque really well, but one of the first avenues we started with was to think in terms of where people would enjoy eating. When you walk into our restaurant it is truly an extension of your home. And then we worked into the ribs, and we made sure that they were home comfort food. One of the other things we knew is that we are Southern California ribs. We’re not Southern ribs. We’re not Kansas City Ribs. We make very local, California-style ribs, which meant we had to buy the best meat and slow cook it, so you literally don’t need a knife. And most important, the sauce is a little sweeter.

Q: What is most memorable about the Tulsa Rib Company brand?
Liz: The people that work with us, our customers and the delicious food. But one thing that our customers say over and over again is that it’s the quality of the meat, the way we cook it and how they’re treated when they come in.

Q: As a thriving small business in Orange County, what was the most difficult challenge you’ve faced?
Liz: My husband opened the business with two other partners and one left to go back East. The other was his partner for 25 years and unexpectedly passed away at 50 years old. That ended up taking us in a direction as a husband and wife and as a business. To maintain the integrity of the business was to keep it open and make sure that the family he left behind was still intact.

Q: As advertising opportunities have evolved, what have you had to do to stay relevant and thrive?
Liz: Thirty two years ago, customers found us by newspaper reviews, direct mail or word of mouth. Then we advertised in newspapers and TV cable, which was very inexpensive at the time. My background is very much in understanding market demographics, but we had to go get help. Ten years ago, we interviewed three different groups and Orange Label stood out hands and feet.

Q: It sounds like you believe in the importance of relying on the expertise of others?
Liz: That is absolutely correct. We know we make fabulous ribs and if you have a party of up to 10,000 people we’re your company. We also know who our customer is, but how do you find them, keep them and keep evolving? That’s where strategic partners are key.

Q: Tulsa Rib Company has a new location. What led you to make the decision to move?
Liz: We were in the same location for 32 years and the center has been evolving and changing. We began to look elsewhere, but we knew you had to take a target and you couldn’t move far. We had to stay in Orange, and almost in walking distance. That was a hard situation, but a stand-alone restaurant around the corner opened up. The challenge was to take this big building and make sure it was small, comfortable, homey, just like our place had been.

Q: What are some of the benefits of the new location?
Liz: We started with the original location 32 years ago because it had space for catering. Then we had to evolve as the business evolved. Our to-go customers have grown dramatically. And in the old restaurant you had to go to the front to an office area and walk all the way through the dining room. Now it’s front and center. We also extended our booth seating because most of our customers will wait longer for booths. The parking lot is all our own and we can take reservations for larger parties. The banquet room holds up to 40 guests.

Q: What have your loyal customers said about your move?
Liz: At first they were a little bit nervous. They wanted to make sure we weren’t going to change. But we kept them involved. We took photographs, showed them the layout and they were so excited. They liked that our booths were moving, our mojo and menus weren’t changing. When they walk in they’ll be greeted by the same staff, many of who have been there for 32 years.

Q: Part of your branding is the overall experience at Tulsa Rib Company…
Liz: Once you brand yourself and then become known as a certain kind of restaurant with a certain feel, you in a way lose ownership of the brand it goes to your customers. Every time we make any sort of change we really have to run it up the flagpole. Our CEO’s are all of our customers. We moved our cornbread originally from squares to muffins and we’re now moving them back. It sounds silly, but it was very important when we heard our customers who said the recipe changed. It was just the presentation, but we really are the stewards of a brand now. It truly is not our brand any longer it’s all of our customers’ and their loyalty to us.

Q: In this soft economy a lot of businesses resorted to offering steep discounts and coupons, but that can really impact your brand in the long run…
Liz: It was a very difficult decision, but we did not want to cheapen our brand. We didn’t want people to believe they could get high quality food for cheap. It was a very, very difficult couple of years, but we had our strategic partner Orange Label help us make it through.

Q: What do you say when people talk to you about starting their own restaurant?
Liz: We say don’t! You have to be really dedicated. Our best advice is to go work in a restaurant, the type of restaurant you really want to open. Make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. And whatever money you think you need, triple that.

Tulsa Rib Company is located at 220 East Katella Avenue in Orange. For more information about the location or for menus, catering information and Tulsa Rib’s birthday club, visit www.tulsarib.com.

Lately, OLAA has been experiencing a light-hearted, yet puzzling dilemma. When it comes to fonts, what the Helvetica should one choose – Serif or Sans Serif? Whether you’re typing an email full of memes or a cover letter to a prospect, everyone is different- and so are their tastes in script. We were hoping you could assist us in solving the issue at hand by participating in this month’s OLAA FAV. So help us vote. Which do you prefer: Serif Fonts VS. Sans Serif Fonts. Go.

Orange Label Art + Advertising’s Wes Phillips Honored at the 3rd Annual Vistage Leadership Awards for his Agency’s Impact on Generating Awareness of Elder Abuse and Neglect

NEWPORT BEACH, California (February 14, 2013)—Wes Phillips, CEO and co-owner of Orange County-based advertising and marketing firm, Orange Label Art + Advertising, is the winner of Vistage International’s 2012 Member Leadership Award for IMPACT, one of the CEO peer advisory organization’s six cultural imperatives.  Phillips was selected out of 16,000 Vistage members from 15 different countries for his inspiring leadership and Orange Label’s impactful work with the development of Ageless Alliance, a social justice movement charged with eliminating elder abuse and neglect in our society. The award was announced at the Think Big Vistage 2013 International Conference in Dallas on January 25, 2013.

“A thriving community is dependent upon valuing everyone’s contribution, so eliminating elder abuse, whether physical, emotional or financial, is imperative,” Phillips shared following the announcement. “I am humbled by this recognition and I am honored by the commitment and devotion of the entire Orange Label team to help launch this social justice movement.”

Phillips’ team at Orange Label partnered with UC Irvine’s Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse and Neglect in early 2012 to develop a messaging strategy that would resonate with the community and increase awareness of elder abuse. After conducting primary research with older adults, caregivers and industry experts, Orange Label developed a campaign theme and brand identity that elevated the cause to a social justice movement. The Ageless Alliance: United Against Elder Abuse was fully expressed through powerful core messaging and an integrated campaign strategy consisting of a website, videos, broadcast PSA’s, event collateral, an email blast template, promotional items and social media outreach leveraging Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Dwight Frindt, Wes’ Vistage Chair of 19 years, nominated Wes for the Impact Leadership Award.   “Wes’ declaration for Orange Label to create thriving brand leadership and his stand to empower others allowed his team to seize an opportunity to make a difference in society. His ongoing commitment for the shared vision of Orange Label and dedication to develop others is part of who he is as a leader.”

As a result of Phillips’ leadership of the Orange Label team and the pioneering efforts of the experts at UC Irvine’s Center of Excellence, Ageless Alliance was invited to officially launch at a White House symposium on June 14, 2012. On June 15, 2012, President Obama signed a proclamation officially declaring the date World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The movement has since garnered additional local and national recognition, hundreds of online signups and pledges from community leaders, law enforcement and politicians to stop elder abuse.

According to Dr. Laura Mosqueda, Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Director of the Program in Geriatrics at UC Irvine, “Elder abuse touches millions of Americans and launching the Ageless Alliance is a very important part of mobilizing people across the country to become aware and involved in preventing it.   Orange Label Art + Advertising played an integral role in launching the movement and we are very appreciative of their support and expertise.”

To learn more about Phillips’ recognition for IMPACT and work with the Ageless Alliance view the video above, aired at the Think Big Vistage 2013 International Conference. Or, contact Orange Label Art + Advertising.

About Orange Label Art + Advertising
Orange Label Art + Advertising is one of Orange County’s longest-standing privately held advertising agencies. Founded in 1972, the agency currently represents clients from across the United States, in a broad range of specialties. The agency principals are Wes Phillips, Rochelle Reiter and Debbie Nagel. Key differentiators for the company include its ‘Orange Exploration™’ approach to fact-finding, powerful ‘View from the Field™’ research technique and ‘The Juice’, different-and-better client branding method. For more information about Orange Label Art + Advertising, visit www.orangelabeladvertising.com.

 
About Vistage
Founded in 1957, Vistage International, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, California, is the world’s leading CEO peer advisory membership organization, serving more than 16,000 CEOs and senior level executives in 15 countries. Vistage members participate in monthly Chair-led peer advisory group meetings, receive one-to-one coaching, learn from expert speakers, and interact among an international network of business leaders from a broad range of industries.

The year of 2012 exemplified our vision of Thriving Brand Leadership, with impressive growth in the personal and professional lives of our team members, the solidification of powerful industry relationships and the ever expanding dominance of our clients’ brands in their marketplaces.

Now, a look back at key events from 2012 that have accelerated momentum for success in 2013.