Aliso Viejo-based Most Branding Development + Advertising can thank Washington for some additional business.
Most received $4 million to keep a homebuyers tax credit awareness campaign up and running for the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors.
In November, President Obama approved an extension of the homebuyers’ tax credit to April 30. The original credit expired at the end of November.
Without the extension, the National Association of Realtors “had planned to go dark for two months,” said John Most, chief executive at Most.
The credit, which originally gave first-time homebuyers $8,000 off their taxes if they closed escrow before Dec. 1, was the focus of a $14 million advertising campaign by the Realtors’ association to increase awareness among home shoppers.
The extension expands the program to offer a credit of $6,500 to other homeowners who have lived in their current home for at least five years and are seeking to relocate.
The Realtor association quickly scraped together some additional money to fund a media and marketing campaign in to 2010.
The shop is working on some ads for the extended campaign, expected to run until Jan. 17, Most said.
The TV spot is set to run during primetime and early mornings on major networks including ABC, CBS and on cable channels, including HGTV.
The National Association of Realtors on average spends about $40 million in advertising a year on national, state and local marketing.
Most handles the creative work and media buying duties for the association, which centralized its account with the ad shop a couple of years ago.
The extra business was a surprise to Most.
“It’s something that has happened in good years, but never in a bad year like this,” he said.
Ad Shop Moves to Irvine
Los Angeles-based Traffik is looking to make Orange County its home next month.
The Hispanic advertising shop, which specializes in healthcare and fashion, is moving its office to Irvine to seek out clients.
“It’s something that was on the radar for quite a few years but didn’t make sense until now,” said Anthony Trimino, president and creative director.
The shop does a lot of work with healthcare companies including health plan providers, hospitals and medical groups.
Current clients include San Francisco-based Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Co. and Cerritos-based CareMore Health Plan.
The move to Irvine is an effort to gain business with the county’s healthcare companies, many of which have relied on internal marketing teams.
Traffik also is looking to branch out to drug makers.
The shop has about 10 full-time workers with a large pool of freelance copywriters, photographers and graphic designers.
The shop plans to keep its downtown Los Angeles office open with a small crew.
PR Shop Adds Clients
Costa Mesa-based Idea Hall said it is seeing a pickup in business after a long 2009 of budget cuts and clients that went dark.
The public relations firm was one of many in the county that saw cutbacks in marketing budgets and cut workers to survive the year.
With 2009 drawing to a close, Chief Executive Rebecca Hall said she’s “guardedly optimistic” about 2010.
“There is a lot on the horizon,” Hall said. “I just don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch.”
Historically, clients finalize marketing budgets and plans for the coming year in October and November.
“This year the decision-making slid back 30 to 45 days because it has been so volatile,” Hall said.
Businesses are looking to expand their marketing budgets to spur sales and increase market share, she said.
“We are starting to see people pull the trigger on (marketing plans), and that’s what we’re benefiting from,” Hall said.
The shop finished the year with the addition of 10 clients in the commercial real estate, hospitality, technology, marketing, legal and engineering industries.
The shop long known for its real estate work picked up several industry clients including Irvine-based commercial real estate consulting firm Attentus Advisors, Irvine-based real estate investment and management company CIP Real Estate and New York-based Emmes Group of Cos., an investor in retail, office and industrial space with an office in Newport Beach.
The shop also is working for Donald Sodaro’s Newport Beach-based Hanford Hotels Inc.
Idea Hall is overseeing the marketing for the company’s Hotel Hanford, which used to be the 230-room Holiday Inn Costa Mesa near South Coast Plaza.
The agency is handling the branding and marketing for the hotel, currently undergoing a $7 million renovation and name change.
Bits and Pieces:
Ladera Ranch-based self storage operator Strategic Storage Trust Inc. hired Irvine-based digital ad shop Ink to help with the rebranding campaign for its SmartStop Self Storage locations. The self storage operator is in the process of renaming its 24 properties in 13 states including California, New Jersey and Florida with a logo and brochures … Aliso Viejo-based SMS Media Group launched a Web site to help advertisers reach mobile subscribers a little easier. The mobile messaging company allows advertisers to use its Web site—Cellphoneads.com—to tap into mobile users who have opted in for ads with simple 160-character messages … Irvine-based Morgan Marketing & Public Relations LLC launched the first phase of a marketing campaign for Newport Beach-based jeweler Lugano Diamonds Jewelry Inc. The first wave includes a syndicated broadcast story on several CBS Corp. affiliated stations.
