Check out our latest web creations. We recently launched two very different new sites for A & G Management and Kane X-ray. These two companies needed to revamp their web presence and contacted us for help.

Kane X-Ray has offered x-ray and medical equipment to the mid-atlantic medical community for over three generations. Their new site shows the full scope of their offerings to the veterinary, chiropractic, orthopedic, urgent/primary care and radiology imaging centers. A full content management system allows for easy site updates. Check out Kane X-ray’s new site here. You can watch a demo, request a quote or get service for your equipment.

A & G Management offers apartment rental communities in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard Counties. The new site has detailed floor plans, photos and loads of information about each of their apartment communities. Visit the new site here.

Dear Subscribers,

Thank you for liking what we have to say, and subscribing to our content on a regular basis. We wanted to take this opportunity to tell you that we appreciate your eyes and ears, and want to make sure we are giving you what you want.

So this blog post is for you. What do you want to read more about? What is interesting to you? What is boring? Give us information so that we can give you the information you need to create effective advertising, or to stay abreast of advertising news, hear our (occasionally) witty comments or anything else.

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Lucas Hanyok, The Cyphers Agency’s very own graphic/web designer, has been appointed official web master of the Production Club of Baltimore, a non-profit, all volunteer organization that provides educational resources and networking support for professionals in advertising, production, design, printing, etc. They even offer events and scholarship opportunities for students driven by the graphic arts.

Luke’s role? He rules the online world by setting up email templates and pretty much anything web-based that they need, bringing PCB’s awesomeness online. So in layman’s terms, he is the peanut butter to their jelly. Pretty awesome, eh? We think so, because now we have among us a “chosen one”. Congrats, Luke!

P.S. – Don’t worry, those aren’t his real teeth

In our last post, we highlighted a study that revealed a correlation between social media and financial success. Some of these companies deemed as social media “mavens” in the report included huge companies such as Starbucks and Nike. With a global presence, enormous budget and millions of brand ambassadors, it’s not too shocking that these companies are successful at social media.

That doesn’t mean that small businesses don’t have the potential or resources to be social media wonders themselves. Small businesses typically earn their customers through traditional word of mouth. Twitter, which allows users to exchange quick 140 character messages, is a perfect model of  digital word of mouth. And small business owners across the U.S. are beginning to recognize  its WOM power.

Curtis Kimball, who opened a crème brûlée cart in San Francisco, knows how powerful Twitter can be for word-of-mouth marketing. With more than 6,000 followers, Kimball can Tweet where his cart is,  and customers can easily locate him and purchase crème brûlée. According to this New York Times article, the crème brûlée became so popular that Kimball had to quit his day job to manage the demand.

Restaurants are among small businesses that are taking advantage of the digital word-of-mouth opportunities that Twitter provides. There are tons of ways that a restaurant can use Twitter, from Tweeting specials, posting pictures and even getting feedback from customers. Myers and Chang, a restaurant in Boston, talks to its customers on Twitter, as you’ll see below.

Feedback is valuable, and it is among the many ways that businesses can use social media to work for them.Think of it this way, if one person with 200 followers posts to Twitter that they had a good experience dealing with your company or brand, it’s likely that 100 people were exposed to that message. So, one Tweet is equivalent to 100 (or way more) word-of-mouth recommendations.

The worst thing to do is to sit back and let the global companies get all the attention. Jump in now, even if you are a small business. Remember, we’ve done this a time or two, so we’re here to help!

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a letter to General Mills warning of “serious violations” regarding the cholestorol-reduction claims used in Cheerios advertising over the last couple of years. This raises some very important issues for advertisers:

FDA “sending a message”

Is the FDA simply taking action to send a message? The FDA has recently been more aggressive in its enforcement of advertising, and this may be a strong message to brands that the ad police are here to stay. But if sending a message was the purpose, it raises ethical questions about how these targets are chosen.  Enforcement targets should not be targeted based on which will send the loudest message, but rather the most appropriate and deserving targets should be sought after.

Enforcement Delay

Why did the FDA wait two years to enforce the validity of Cheerios claim? The FDA can hardly claim that the campaign flew under the radar. The Cheerios cholesterol-lowering ad campaign has been one of the most high-profile and long-term campaigns of the last few years. Of course the obvious explanation is the change in administration – maybe General Mills should have paid closer attention. On the other hand, the FDA shouldn’t be able to renege on past decisions just because the people running the ship have a different interperetation of the regulations. If the FDA approved a claim, there should be accountability on their side as well.

Cheerios Claims – true or false?

Whether or not the FDA is sending a message, the main issue is the actual facts behind Cheerios claims. Even though the facts may be true, (that Cheerios may help reduce your risk of heart disease) General Mills did not adhere to the regulations that strictly govern how such statements are made. In laymans terms, advertisers cant associate just whole grains with a reduction in risk for disease. Rather, they must include the entire context of how good nutrition can reduce your risk for heart disease. For example, Cheerios would have to include fruits and vegetables and high fiber foods along with whole grains when stating a diet that can help prevent heart-disease.

So, where do we go from here?

Essentially, the Cheerios claims didn’t adhere to FDA regulations, but the FDA apparently had better things to do over the past two years. Now the FDA has wisened up and is cracking the whip. Businesses (and their advertising agencies) would be smart to re-evaluate their advertising claims. There’s a new sheriff in town. Cheerio for now, I’ve got some reading to do.

I initially learned about this from the Advertising Age article.