Janet Fox Director of Communications

What I like best is helping clients see and appreciate their own unique strengths. Somebody needs to hold the mirror, and that is what I enjoy doing. The mirroring starts with the very first meeting with a prospective client, and continues as we develop a strategic marketing plan. As Director of Communications, I'm involved in those early stages of client relationships.

We talk a lot at this agency about our people being both creative and strategic. I've never been able to separate the two. Of course everything I write is intended to carry out a strategy, to position a company or service or product or idea, to achieve a business goal! Of course everything I write draws on a wealth of ways to say something, and is intended to be fresh, striking and informative!

For years I was a self-employed marketing communications consultant and writer, and almost all my clients were in distant parts of the country. So I absolutely love seeing and working with creative people every day. I love seeing my words incorporated in fabulous designs. I love seeing how ideas get better when a group of us gets together to beat them up and refine them, all to the benefit of our clients. I am proud of the work that we as a team produce, every day.

I'm ambivalent about ad agencies. The Bloom Agency provides many of the same services that ad agencies offer, but we deliberately build a different relationship with our clients. We really do operate as their marketing departments, and that includes caring intensely about the results of marketing and public relations initiatives. Having been the marketing director for two organizations, I understand the role and scope of a marketing department. Taking on that role, collaborating that closely, makes working here consistently interesting and rewarding.

After we developed a comprehensive marketing plan, Linda created a new logo and identity that wonderfully conveys what Anderson Bauman Tourtellot Vos does. The firm changes underperforming organizations into profitable companies, turning red ink to black. The tagline we recommended, "The Art of the Rebound," was inspired by conversations with ABTV principals. The passion and care they put into their work really came through.

The red and black look has provided a sturdy platform for all the work we have produced – from the capabilities brochure and website to email communications, business cards, trade show displays and premiums, and print ads. The turnaround industry requires some explanation – it's not something that can be communicated in a photo – and the clean identity makes a striking, instantly recognizable showcase for the words.

ABTV doesn't rely on a sales force. The same professionals who are interim managers and consultants are responsible for business development. That's why we designed the capabilities brochure and the website to work as sales tools. The brochure is meant to be customized, allowing for individual bios and case studies to be incorporated for each presentation. The website can be used to guide prospective referral sources or clients through content that is relevant to them, even by phone, since prospects may be anywhere in the country.

To demonstrate that ABTV's approach is not formulaic, but individualized, innovative and humane, we relied on stories. The "Tales from the Front" in the brochure are based on interviews with business owners who were helped by ABTV. Hearing the pain, fear, and then the relief they experienced, in their own words, is persuasive. It directly addresses a major obstacle that ABTV encounters – owners in denial about the extent of their business problems.

All the case studies we've developed work well as stories too, with enough drama and enough detail to be compelling. Marketing materials in the turnaround industry tend to be somewhat dry and generic. We used quotes from each of ABTV's professionals at the top of their bios to bring those descriptions of their credentials to life.

ABTV's marketing materials definitely differentiate them from their competitors. I like the work because it shows this firm to be determined, down-to-earth, highly-knowledgeable, human, and humorous.

ABTV is a joy to work with because they're experts themselves, in the business of developing solutions and giving advice. They see The Bloom Agency as marketing experts, and they trust our recommendations. That kind of relationship results in work we all like...