2008-04-16
Axon Design and Marketing’s conference on Web 2.0 is designed for marketing professionals who want to learn more about how social networks and online communities can be incorporated into an organization’s marketing strategy. This event, titled "Practical ideas for integrating Web 2.0 into your marketing strategy," will take place at The Cumberland Club in Portland, on May 21, 2008. To register, call Jenika Scott at 780-1700. The conference fee is $60, which includes lunch.
Topics to be discussed will include using Facebook for marketing and advertising, building the architecture of a content-based website, and real-world stories about our experiences in developing and launching websites with Web 2.0 components.
There will be two timeslots in the morning when there will be two concurrent sessions for each time period. One track will be for hands-on learning, at which participants will work on their laptops, gaining first-hand experience with social networking sites. The other track will be for presenter-led sessions. [Download the PDF]
2008-04-15
Axon just completed the last of four informational breakfasts on the topic of online communities and social networking. The original working title of this breakfast meeting was "Everything you wanted to know about Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube but were afraid to ask your kid." As we delved into the topic with our first two groups, we changed the title to reflect a broader scope which encompassed incorporating Web 2.0 capabilities in your website and marketing. We discussed the use of blogs, videos, message boards, and forums on websites, as well as how to use existing social networking sites, such as Facebook, within an organization's marketing plans.
Attendees of the breakfasts have provided very positive feedback about the quality of the presentation and the value of the information. Sample comments include:
"This was exactly the overview I expected. The whole program, excellent."
Victoria Mares-Hershey, Director of Development, Portland West
"A very helpful session on social networks and Web 2.0 in a comfortable setting."
Janine Bisaillon-Cary, President, Maine International Trade Center
"This will open a whole new world for me. I am thinking differently about how to connect – for the Maine Development Foundation and for myself."
Cheryl Miller, Senior Program Director, Maine Development Foundation
Please contact Rich Grant at rich@axondm.com for more information about this topic.
2008-02-22
Axon has two fun and interesting upcoming events planned: CEO breakfast discussions and wine & cheese receptions for clients and friends.
The CEO breakfasts will take place at the Cumberland Club in Portland on four different dates from mid-March through the end of April. Each breakfast meeting will be a small gathering of top-level executives at which we will engage in a discussion about changes on the internet that undoubtedly will impact our businesses and industries.
The topic for these gatherings is “Everything you always wanted to know about Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, social networks and online communities but were afraid to ask your kid.” Social networks and online communities are changing not only the way consumers buy, but how they relate to products and services. At the breakfasts, we will discuss how these changes will affect your marketing strategy.
The wine and cheese receptions are after-work social gatherings at Axon’s offices each month from March through June. We want to bring our clients and friends together for good fun and good networking, and maybe hear a few good stories along the way. For more details, please give Rich Grant a call at 780-1700.
2008-02-15
Axon awarded a $5,000 grant to Outdoor Explorations, Inc., a Medford, Massachusetts not-for-profit organization which helps people with all types of disabilities experience the outdoor freedom that others take for granted. The grant will enable Outdoor Explorations (OE) to produce an annual report that will serve three purposes. The report will provide an update to current funders of OE, make an appeal to current and prospective donors, and function as a calendar to let people know about the events and adventures OE is offering throughout the year.
Susan Tufts, executive director of Outdoor Explorations, Inc., envisions the annual report and calendar as an important vehicle by which the organization can convey the life-changing effect it has had on the children and adults for whom OE has broken down the barriers to outdoor adventure.
Axon and Outdoor Explorations will collaborate on the project during the spring of 2008, and will mail the final report to OE’s constituents early in the summer. In addition, Axon will create an organization-wide marketing plan for OE, including an improved web presence and plan for attracting donors and participants to the website.
2008-02-07
Rich Grant joined Axon Design & Marketing in Portland as director of marketing and communications. Rich will focus on internal and external communications and new business development. Prior to joining Axon, Rich was the director of business graduate programs and executive education at the University of Maine. Rich began his career as a retail store manager for Timberland in Maine and Vermont, followed by seventeen years at L.L. Bean where his final role was senior planner in brand services. After leaving L.L. Bean, Rich established a freelance writing business, Right Word Communications, and contributed regular news articles to the Interface group of newspapers. Rich resides in Brunswick with his family.
2008-02-07
The next deadline for Axon Design & Marketing’s Grant Program is April 15, 2008. The award-winning organization will be notified by mid-May. For more information and to request an application, please email rich@axondm.com.
Axon’s Grant Program was established in 2004 to give back to the community while helping non-profit organizations better understand the influence a quality design and marketing program can be in achieving their mission. Axon Design & Marketing has pledged to donate $5,000 worth of services to one non-profit organization per quarter per year.
Future deadlines for applications are July 15, 2008, October 15, and January 15, 2009.
2007-06-29
An award ceremony to distinguish Maine’s leaders in technological innovation and development recognized Axon’s Director of Information Technologies James Cradock on Friday, June 22.
Host Noel “Paul” Stookey, of the folk group Peter, Paul & Mary, enlivened the crowd of nominees and spectators with his witty humor at this year’s Maine’s Software & Information Technology Industry Association (MESDA) award ceremony held at the South Portland Marriott at Sable Oaks.
Jim was one of only three finalists for Digital Don of the year, which honors “an outstanding gentleman who contributes to Maine as a cutting-edge technology community and is an overall ‘geek.’” Although Jim didn’t get the top honor, he has undoubtedly proved himself to be among the top innovators in Maine’s technology community (and, without question, a certified “geek”). Bravo, Jim.
2007-06-15
Axon has opened its new doors at 377 Fore Street in Portland. The new suite of offices, located on the fourth floor of two adjoining buildings, offers breathtaking views of the waterfront and Old Port.
2007-05-02
Portland, ME/January 2007: With the Internet revolutionizing the marketing landscape, one Portland agency has taken a giant leap forward to strengthen and expand its new media capabilities. As of January 2, 2007 Axon Design & Marketing welcomed Jim Cradock and Wes Brown, formerly of ME3 Technology Consultants, to its team.
Jim Cradock has twelve years’ information technologies experience in corporate, startup, and freelance consulting environments. In Chicago, Cradock worked for The Quaker Oats Company and GATX Terminals Corporation. For six years he was partner in ME3 Technology Consultants, specializing in relational database design. His clients included the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System, Southeastern University Research Association, GreenPages, the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, Crossroads for Women and U.S. Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment. Jim served on the University of Southern Maine's Computer Sciences Advisory Board, and he managed the Maine Software Developer Association's Open Source Software User Group.
As Axon’s Director of Information Technologies, Jim brings project management, database design, data visualization and reporting, and web and desktop programming experience to his role.
Information technology comes naturally to Wes Brown, who is proof that not all computer knowledge requires a college degree. Although he has taken courses in Java programming at USM, it is his on-the-job training that has resulted in Wes becoming a specialist in PHP. In addition to having a vast knowledge of Linux, he continues to keep current with Java programming.
“We are excited about this expansion,” notes Axon’s principal, CJ (Johnson) Conrad, “because it solidifies not only our technological expertise, but also our commitment to remaining smart and innovative. Axon is committed to being a leading edge communications firm — with Jim and Wes on our team, we have a breadth and depth of experience that really sets us apart.”
2007-05-02
There has been a lot of buzz around Portland lately, and it’s not just from chainsaws cutting trees felled by the recent nor’easter. The buzz in the air is biotech, specifically Bio 2007, the annual convention organized by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, which will be held next week in Boston. In addition to more than 1900 exhibitors from all over the world, the event will feature a host of prominent keynote speakers, including Queen Noor of Jordan, Senator Ted Kennedy and Michael J. Fox.
Several Maine companies are among the 1900 exhibitors, including Axon clients Marical, BioProcessing, Inc., the Biotechnology Association of Maine (BAM) and the Cities of Portland, South Portland, Scarborough and Westbrook, who have collaborated for this event. In addition to designing the booths and marketing materials for these clients, Axon will also be an exhibitor at the event, which will run May 6, 7, 8 and 9 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, 415 Summer Street.
Axon serves a growing roster of clients in the biotech industry, providing brand development, strategic marketing, Web expertise and integrated communications campaigns plans.