The Crop | The 411 on Advertising & Marketing by Virtual Farm Creative

The humble history of a modest logo

August 18, 2010 – 2:13 pm
Virtual Farm Creative’s Corporate Identity We'd always rather discuss our clients than ourselves but we recently received a request from an inquisitive soul roaming the Internets, to tell the story of the Virtual Farm Creative logo– how it came to be and the process behind it. Now, we are not so vain to think that the story of the VFC logo has any particular gravitas or that the logo is even our best work. We're certain, in fact, that we've designed more effective and more famous identities for others. However, after receiving the request, it did make us sentimental as we recalled the evolution of the VFC brand and we looked back at twelve years of using it to promote similar work for a host of worthy clients. The request for our brand's story was spurred by a VFC Facebook posting that linked to a blog entry discussing how logo designers' logos are ...

Posted in Todd Palmer, VFC NEWS, advertising, branding, fleet branding, identity, marketing, marketing plan, naming, positioning |

Welcome to ideaville

August 3, 2010 – 5:06 pm
Region's first TEDx slated for September in Phoenixville Phoenixville, PA-- A lot of big changes have happened in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania in the past few years and now a group is bringing a day of joyful new ideas to the former steel town. Phoenixville, situated along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia's northwestern suburbs, has become an arts and entertainment destination thanks to groups like the Association for the Colonial Theatre. Now, the Colonial Theatre, famous for contributing compelling music and film to the Borough's revitalization efforts, is spearheading an effort to introduce the region to new ideas with a TEDx program. TEDx is an independently organized TED event that enables local communities such as schools, businesses, libraries, neighborhoods to organize, design and host their own independent, TED-like events. TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in ...

Posted in Clients, Public Relations, Todd Palmer, branding, campaigns |

VFC Launches Showcase Site for Phoenixville Firm

July 20, 2010 – 4:29 pm
CHESTER COUNTY ARCHITECT’S WORK SPEAKS FOR ITSELF Phoenixville, PA— There are some businesses that define a community and some communities that define companies. Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, a town undergoing a significant and much publicized rebirth in Philadelphia’s northwestern suburbs, is home to one firm that does both. The small company is helping to make the town special while gaining notoriety for their significant contribution to a regional renaissance. Carnevale Eustis Architects, headquartered on Phoenixville’s busy Bridge Street, is the creative and dynamic firm responsible for some of the Borough’s most noticeably improved structures including the rescued Iron Foundry, 101 Bridge, The Colonial Theatre and Molly Maguire’s Irish Restaurant and Pub. “The story was all there,” says Todd Palmer. “Here you have an engaged group contributing to the success of the region but they just weren’t branded well and communication to potential customers was lacking.” Palmer, 44, is the Creative Director at Virtual Farm Creative, Inc. (VFC) also of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania– the ...

Posted in Internet, VFC NEWS, branding, copy writing |

GRAMMAR TIME: To, Too, Two, Tutu

May 13, 2010 – 5:11 pm
One advertising agency’s heroic attempt to rid the Internet of an overwhelming number of errors that are as likely signifying the end of days as anything else—say, that sandwich from Kentucky Fried Chicken that uses two pieces of chicken instead of rolls, or the failure of certain adolescents to wear belts causing their oversized jeans to reveal an excessive proportion of their designer boxer shorts or Lady Gaga. All too common English language faux pas are long nails slowly moving down the slate blackboard of the World Wide Web. They have become more unnerving as they become more ubiquitous, and dare we say it—more acceptable—contributing to the overall dearth of intelligence on the Internet and the general, but rapidly progressing, decline of human civilization. Please repost and link to the definitions below every time that you see an OFFENDER so that, together, we can save the Internet to be enjoyed by our ...

Posted in Grammar Time, copy writing, tips |

GRAMMAR TIME: Your, You’re, Yore

May 6, 2010 – 5:49 pm
One advertising agency’s heroic attempt to rid the Internet of an overwhelming number of errors that are as likely signifying the end of days as anything else—say, that sandwich from Kentucky Fried Chicken that uses two pieces of chicken instead of rolls, or the failure of certain adolescents to wear belts causing their oversized jeans to reveal an excessive proportion of their designer boxer shorts or Lady Gaga. All too common English language faux pas are long nails slowly moving down the slate blackboard of the World Wide Web. They have become more unnerving as they become more ubiquitous, and dare we say it—more acceptable—contributing to the overall dearth of intelligence on the Internet and the general, but rapidly progressing, decline of human civilization. Please repost and link to the definitions below every time that you see an OFFENDER so that, together, we can save the Internet to be enjoyed by our ...

Posted in Grammar Time, copy writing |

The Crop: Spring 2010

May 3, 2010 – 1:59 pm
After rebranding this dynamic suburban Philadelphia financial firm, VFC strategically developed content and organized an Internet presence to attract new clients and service existing ones. A robust, custom content management system allows MLFA to add white papers, promote events and communicate with their clientele. We've never subscribed to the notion that the cobbler's children must go barefoot. If you can't communicate your own offering in an effective, engaging way, how can you be expected to do so for demanding clients? Still, many VFC competitors fall back on that old bromide while publishing an 'under construction' message for months, and in some cases, years. The old VFC site received plenty of compliments, but this new version is just as creative but much punchier, more reliable and better suited for VFC's effective search engine optimization techniques. The family of canned beers brewed by Sly Fox have steadily gained in notoriety and popularity since ...

Posted in Clients, The Crop, VFC NEWS, fleet branding, identity, marketing |

Memorial Group Throws Party for Kalas and You're Invited!

April 8, 2010 – 11:44 am
April 7, 2010--The Philadelphia Phillies' opening day came and went this year with several noticeable differences. Polanco at the hot corner and Halladay on the mound were new sights but it was something less visible that made the Phillies first season opening win in four years bittersweet for some fans. When the Phillies emerged victorious in an 11-1 romp over the Washington Nationals on April 5, 2010 it was without their voice of nearly forty years. Nearly one year ago, the Philadelphia Phillies' Hall of Fame announcer, Harry Kalas collapsed in the Nationals Park press box at approximately 12:30 pm on April 13, 2009, just a few hours before the Washington Nationals' home opener against the Phillies. Kalas had touched the lives of millions of Philadelphians as the longtime play-by-play voice of the Philadelphia Phillies. In a heartfelt demonstration of affection for Kalas, a group of friends formed the non-profit group Dear Harry, ...

Posted in Public Relations, Todd Palmer, VFC NEWS, advertising, event marketing, marketing, outdoor, sports |

Main Line Financial Advisors Adopts Branding to Match Service Quality

March 2, 2010 – 10:00 pm
Main Line Financial Advisors, Pottstown, Pennsylvania, recently elected to step-up marketing efforts by partnering with local award-winning advertising agency, Virtual Farm Creative (VFC). The Phoenixville, Pennsylvania-based agency will be charged with strategizing efforts to rebrand and position Main Line Financial Advisors while increasing visibility with the development of a professional and competitive marketing campaign. As a brand, Main Line Financial Advisors is nearly fifty-years-old. Founder, Fred Matarazzo started the company by independently delivering reliable accounting services to businesses in Narberth, Pennsylvania and the surrounding Main Line suburbs of Philadelphia and beyond. Matarazzo became a leading tax advisor as the small company grew and underwent branding iterations and enhancements along the way. As the company evolved, Matarazzo began offering synergistic services to a growing base of satisfied clients. In 1990, Fred’s son Al joined the firm and Main Line Financial Advisors began comprehensively marketing financial planning and accounting. The last ten years have ...

Posted in Clients, Public Relations, Todd Palmer, branding, campaigns |

One Hundred & Thirteen Designs, Tweets and Posts

January 28, 2010 – 3:24 pm
A sculptor friend of ours is working on a larger-than-life piece honoring beloved Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas to be installed somewhere in the artist's hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A huge Phillies fan and a native son of the city of brotherly love, this is his dream project. Sometimes work works out that way, it's more fun than it oughta be. It was a similar situation when VFC was asked to provide marketing support for Sly Fox Brewing's Route 113 India Pale Ale in a can! Sly Fox Brewing isn't just a Virtual Farm Creative client, they're friends and we are huge fans! We genuinely love their entire impressive lineup of beer varieties, but our hands-down favorite has gotta be the IPA! Being outdoor enthusiasts who also enjoy a tasty beverage after a mountain bike ride or during an al fresco concert, we're equally enamored with the fact that beer THIS GOOD and ...

Posted in Clients, Todd Palmer, advertising, branding, campaigns, social media |

Killer Apps & Elegant Devices

January 27, 2010 – 8:30 pm
YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR A LOT about the newest gadget from Apple, the iPad, between now and the time the next life altering invention comes along, but we just had to add our critical two cents. The iPad isn't going to help the earthquake victims of Haiti or the jobless in America so it seems kind of trite to give it the praise that we're about to, but it is the device that will change the game. It may be surpassed by other improved devices but the iPad is a unicorn in a room full of mules. Hear me out. In the early nineties, the Internet in it's infancy, experts were all trying to define- if not develop- the "killer app". This was the application that would do everything for everybody, seamlessly and easily. Google has started to, finally, twenty years later, put all of the pieces together. In the same ...

Posted in Internet, Todd Palmer, naming |