Zehno

Explore New Orleans Like an Insider

Zehno — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:01:45 +0000

You’ve maybe visited New Orleans, but have you experienced the real New Orleans?

We’re here to give you the inside scoop on this funky town! We dispatched our in-house experts to uncover the city’s coolest finds: the late-night lounge that’s like a David Lynch movie, the convent credited with bringing vampires to the new world and the candy shop where Richard Simmons used to work. There’s even a gym where you can follow 20 minutes of Stairmaster with an hour at the bar.

Zehno created a special guide for our clients and friends that highlights the best New Orleans has to offer. And now that they’ve had a chance to get the first look, we’re ready to share it with the rest of the world.

Head on over to our new A to Z Insider’s Guide to New Orleans or request a keepsake print version.

St. Ambrose University and University of the Pacific Win UCDA Design Competition Awards

Zehno — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:47:15 +0000

Undergraduate admissions tools created for St. Ambrose University and University of the Pacific earned Awards of Excellence in the 40th Annual UCDA Design Competition. The judges evaluated nearly 1,300 entries this year, granting 237 prizes. Congrats to these winners:

University of the Pacific
Award of Excellence
Category: Recruitment/Other
Admissions Magazettes

St. Ambrose University
Award of Excellence
Category: Recruitment/Other
Admissions Package

See a complete list of Zehno’s awards.

Nazareth College Launches Public Phase of Campaign for College and Community

Zehno — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:38:30 +0000

In 2008, Nazareth College began the quiet phase of its Campaign for College and Community. Funding from the campaign has already renovated the Nazareth College Arts Center; other campaign initiatives include the Integrated Center for Math and Science, scholarships, the endowment and The Nazareth Fund.

Zehno worked with Nazareth to define a messaging platform for the public phase of its capital campaign, with an initial emphasis on raising funds for the Integrated Center for Math and Science. The primary audience for the public phase includes regional philanthropists, foundations and corporations, many of whom are not familiar with Nazareth’s work.

Zehno created a communications plan for the public phase of the campaign and developed a creative concept. The creative theme “Teach. Heal. Discover. Transform.” positions the institution as Rochester’s premier educator of health care and education professionals, many of whom come from outside Rochester to study and then stay in the area. Stories focus on the people impacted by students, alumni and by the programs the college provides to the community.

Photography collages combine images of historical Rochester, Nazareth students and faculty, and patients and youth — connecting Nazareth to the past, present and future of Rochester. Transparent foil stamping and debossing give texture and depth to the print materials. The resulting look and feel is high-touch and emotional.

Specific tools developed by Zehno include

A case statement and folder package that serve as the lead publication.
A dedicated campaign website led by four impact stories about Nazareth’s work in teaching, health care and research. The site also includes an interactive building feature that allows prospective donors to view the benefits of the new space and explore floor plans and renderings, as well as donor profiles and giving opportunities.
A hosted Wordpress blog that allows advancement writers to post news and updates without the overhead of integrating the entire site with a more robust content management system.
A supporting college image advertising campaign for local newspapers.

The materials have been enthusiastically received, with one foundation even requesting extra copies of the case statement to distribute to their board.

“I have enjoyed working with the Zehno team so much and been so impressed with their creativity, professionalism and ability to orchestrate exceptional products in a short window of time,” said Cara Meyers, Nazareth’s campaign manager. “I can’t tell you how proud I am to have such beautiful and impactful materials to support our capital campaign.”

Just Do It (Yourself)! A Primer on Usability Testing

Erin Allen — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:19:00 +0000

Most institutions choose to skip usability testing. It seems mysterious, costly and maybe a little dreary. But usability testing might be the single most important thing you can do to make your projects more successful. We lay out some basics about what usability testing is and provide an overview on how to run your own in-house tests.

Download PDF

Brainpower from Burlington

Shane Shanks — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:15:32 +0000

I just returned from the CASE Summer Institute in Communications and Marketing exhausted and inspired.

The conference, held each summer in Burlington, Vt., is the best boot camp I know of for someone who really wants to be successful in this business.

In between my presentations on trends, student recruitment, web writing and communications strategy, I sat in on other workshops and brainstormed with attendees about how to solve their marketing challenges. A few things stood out this year:

We’re wearing more hats — and there’s less time to wear them well
Because of staff cutbacks and the explosion of new communications tools, professionals in our business wear more hats than ever. The upside: proving that you can do more than one thing helps people move up in the organization. The downside: some people are now in charge of initiatives they have no experience with (and that’s always a challenge). Several people attended this workshop to bone up on what’s missing from their resumes (but now appears in their job descriptions).

There’s no magic recipe for anything
Strategic marketing solutions are still institution-specific. I met people from schools that had eliminated their viewbooks or made their magazines available only online. I also met someone who’s launching a new magazine — the institution’s second. It will be interesting to see, 18 months from now, how these experiments work out.

Magazines aren’t dead (and shouldn’t be)
Lots of magazines — even the best in the business — have experienced cutbacks. They’ve cut issues, trimmed pages or worked with their printers to cut production expenses. But before your institution demands another round of drastic cuts, check out the CASE magazine readership survey. The data, drawn from readers at 300 institutions, provides ample evidence that dumping a quality magazine is a big mistake. (If you remember your CASE log-in, check out “Main Squeeze” in the March 2010 CASE Currents online. If you can’t remember, see who in your office is hoarding the old-school, printed issue. It’s essential reading if your magazine is on the chopping block.)

This field is truly international
Attendees came from Barbados, Turkey, South Africa, Mexico, Canada, Nigeria, England and Lebanon. And guess what? Our ZIP codes may be different, but most of our challenges are the same.

What’s New in Publications and Magazines?

Shane Shanks — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 19:02:30 +0000

Is brown the new black?

In the spirit of the fashion world — where “brown is the new black” this month, but pink will become the new brown next month — let’s take a look at some publication and magazine trends inside and outside of education.

Where should you go to check out the trends for publications? The best place to look is magazines because they represent the front edge for print. When you hit the local newsstand, you’ll see hundreds of targeted publications — everything from Fit Pregnancy magazine to American Witch — but you’ll also see some common trends. And even though many titles didn’t survive the economic downturn, you can still find great examples to inspire you.

Here’s an important disclaimer about trends: You shouldn’t try to chase them all. In fact, it can be a smart strategic decision to buck the prevailing trends. But you should be aware of the world outside education — because your audience is certainly seeing these trends. The trick is to decide which trends will work for your institution.

The trends here are illustrated by innovative publications outside higher ed, recent winners in the national and regional CASE contests and a few “hall of famers.”

More resources
Download The New Viewbook and the Web, a free white paper

SEO What: Search Engine Optimization for Higher Education

Amy Wong — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:41:19 +0000

A lot of institutions struggle with search engine rankings. So what’s the secret to getting to the top of the results page (and increasing awareness for your university or college)?

Ingeniux Corporation, an established leader in higher education web content management and frequent technology partner for Zehno CMS projects, published “Search Engine Optimization for Higher Education,” a white paper that breaks down the ins and outs of SEO. This handy guide to writing search-friendly copy for the web explains:

how Google works
how to structure your site with external links
how to choose strategic keywords and phrases
why page titles, meta descriptions and alt tags matter

SEO might sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. By optimizing your content, your institution will rise in the ranks.

Graduate Management Admission Council Changes Up Conference Materials

Zehno — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:24:05 +0000

The Graduate Management Admission Council’s (GMAC) conferences gather graduate business school professionals from all functions and experience levels to learn, network and share best practices. In the past, GMAC’s conferences had different themes and visual styles. This year, Zehno helped GMAC develop a creative concept that unifies all the organization’s programs, establishing a visual identity their audience would notice and recognize.

GMAC surveyed past event attendees and found that one of the main reasons they go to the conferences is to keep current in an industry that is continuously moving forward. GMAC used this perceived benefit of change as the theme for three major events.

In the suite of marketing communication tools Zehno developed to promote the conference, headlines focus on the positive aspects and outcomes of change: “Change is constant,” “Change is good” and “Change is growth.” The visual style plays on the bold colors and strong typography of WPA poster art. And the cover image for each conference is an old-fashioned piece of technology — a telephone, a typewriter and a television set — to represent how things have changed for the better.

Zehno also created a suite of supporting materials for each conference including programs, pocket agendas, PowerPoint templates and banners, as well as graphics for live presentations, websites and email promotions.

Response to the materials is excellent; to date, GMAC exceeded registration goals for the conferences.

View Zehno’s past work for the GMAC Annual Industry Conference

10 Tips to Stay On Deadline and On Budget

Christine Quebedeaux — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:58:10 +0000

Hello, my name is Christine, and I’m a reformed procrastinator. I always had too much to do and “I’ll do it later,” was my motto. As a result, I was always putting out fires because I couldn’t keep track of everything. I was out of control and needed some organization in my life.

After researching several organizational methods and programs, I devised a perfect system to keep my personal and work life in order. I use BusyCal calendar that syncs with my iPhone through Google Calendar. I can schedule appointments when I am away from my computer, confident in my available windows of time. And I subscribe to Zehno’s job milestones that are set up in Basecamp, adding specific events and to-dos for my work.

Although, I could never prepare for every unexpected situation, this system has significantly improved my routine. Now I’m more proactive, I have an incredible peace of mind and I haven’t looked back since.

Of course, everyone is different! You’ve got to find what works for you. Here are 10 tips to stay on deadline and on budget:

Consult with someone who’s organized to find out what system and tools they use. It might work for you, too.
Set up a simple organizing system that’s easy to maintain. If that one doesn’t work, try a new one. Finding the right system will take an investment of time and money upfront, but in the long run it will be an immeasurable time-saver.
Commit to it and use it. Don’t do it “later,” take action!
Always assign a due date. And realize that if you miss a deadline or to-do, it affects the subsequent events and, more often than not, other people’s schedules.
Categorize your calendars and to-dos into categories like “work,” “personal,” and “individual clients.” You can even color-code them by priority.
Be specific when recording events. Events that are too vague are hard to check off the list. Instead of “Talk to Karen about the project,” write, “Talk to Karen and narrow size options for the brochure.”
Don’t create tasks that are part of your daily routine. (i.e. Check email in the morning.)
Add and move events as needed. If it seems like a task won’t be completed by the deadline, contact those involved to let them know that you need more time.
If your program has an alarm function, use it! Send yourself reminders before an event needs to be completed — a day, an hour, 15 minutes — whatever the event needs.
Remember that unexpected events happen, and leave room for them in your schedule. Don’t overbook!

Champlain College Leads with Professionally Focused Viewbook

Zehno — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:25:12 +0000

Champlain College has already built a reputation for its unique Upside-Down Curriculum, where students take courses in their major from their first days on campus, as well as programs that prepare students for modern careers.

The Vermont institution wanted to further strengthen its position as the choice for students looking for professional preparation within the context of an intellectually stimulating liberal arts core curriculum.

Working in partnership with Champlain, Zehno created a comprehensive viewbook that emphasized Champlain’s key messages and themes: professionally experienced faculty, career preparation, leadership development, global experiences and interdisciplinary coursework.

The “Leading Professionally” cover integrates the piece in an overall publications flow that also includes a preview brochure titled “Thinking Professionally.”

Creatively, the piece employs

a modern visual approach, incorporating a digitized dot pattern and bold, youthful typography;
a saturated color palette that evokes the eco-friendly Burlington vibe students experience;
content and engaging photography that showcase relationships with mentors, on teams and with employers;
student, faculty and alumni profiles and pull quotes that illustrate the benefits of Champlain’s unique curriculum and the nature of interdisciplinary experiences;
and recurring callouts that highlight leadership development opportunities, as well as hands-on professional and global experiences.

These publications are the first to debut in a new admissions campaign. Revamps of other publications and the Champlain website are in the works.