Effective January 2011, Westergaard Advertising will be known simply as Westergaard. The name change comes as the firm begins its 30th year of business in Iowa and reflects the agency’s expanded focus on brand development and strategic communication across a variety of media.
“We are very different than a typical advertising agency,” said owner Dean Westergaard highlighting the firm’s purposefully small size which allows them to move nimbly and economically to meet client needs. “At the end of the day, we work with our clients to create strong brands with compelling stories. We then work to activate these brands across a variety of media which, as we all know changes rapidly. Our expertise is strategic brand communication. Through our network of creative partners we can execute anything a client needs without incurring additional overhead. We’ve purposefully kept our company small but in many ways we’ve outgrown the term ‘advertising.”
Founded in Des Moines in 1981 by Dean Westergaard, the agency has built long-standing relationships around creative and effective strategies for some of Central Iowa’s premiere brands including the Willis Auto Campus, Hummel’s Nissan, Wyckoff Industries, and Peoples Trust & Savings Bank. The agency still serves its first client. Dean first operated the business from his home, then an old bank building, and now from a quaint bungalow on the brick streets of Adel.
In 2007 the agency expanded into Eastern Iowa, as Dean’s son Nick Westergaard joined the agency. In that time they have expanded their client base regionally to include ACT, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), as well as leading the successful 21 Makes Sense initiative to protect Iowa City’s 21-only ordinance.
Along with the name change, Westergaard has introduced a new tagline — Brand/Action. This is an evolution from the firm’s previous slogan, Ideas + Action. “We realized as we broadened our name, we needed to hone our positioning statement as well,” said Nick Westergaard. “Any consultant provides ideas. Our true value comes in developing strong brands and setting those brands into action to achieve client goals. What we really work to create is active brands or Brand/Action.”
Added Dean Westergaard: “As we enter our 30th year of business and continue our growth, our goal is to continue to create strong work and results for the region’s premiere brands.”
On Super Bowl Sunday just as much action happens during the commercial breaks as it does on the field. Both Dean and Nick will have Super Bowl ad commentary available in their respective media. During the game, Nick will provide color commentary on the ads in real time on Twitter like last year. If you want to join or follow the larger Twitter conversation around the Super Bowl, use the hashtag #SB44. On Monday, Dean will offer a post-game ad wrap-up on 1700 The Champ’s “Out of Bounds” with Larry Cotlar, The Round Guy, & Andy Garman for those of you in the listening area. Also be sure to check out YouTube’s Super Bowl Ad Blitz where you can view all of the ads and vote on a fan favorite. Ready? BREAK!
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Traditions are an important part of every brand. One of Westergaard Advertising’s newest traditions is Hawktoberfest — a celebration of our favorite things — our clients and friends, Hawkeye football, and of course, Oktoberfest beer. The second annual Hawktoberfest was held on October 31st before and after the Iowa vs. Indiana game. The Hawks tricked us a bit for the first three quarters but we were ultimately treated to a great Halloween win by the 9-0 Hawkeyes. We were also treated to have some exceptional clients and friends from all over Iowa make this a memorable day.
Friday, May 8th the winners of the Iowa Bankers Association’s Best of Iowa Marketing Awards were announced at the West Des Moines Sheraton. We are pleased to report that our work for Peoples Trust & Savings Bank was awarded the gold prize in the Multimedia category. Additionally, the campaign was honored with the Peoples Choice Award — voted upon by the bank marketers in attendance.
From all of us at Westergaard Advertsing, congratulations to Peoples President/CEO Barry Smith and VP Marketing Director Thelma Hedges (pictured above with Dean and I). We couldn’t ask for better clients. Awards are nice. Awards presented to our clients from their industry peers are the best. You can view samples of our work for Peoples in our portfolio.
Due to advances in technology and perhaps accelerated by the economic downturn, online/social media is quickly overtaking other traditional forms of staying in touch with those who want to hear from you — namely your customers.
One can’t simply have a website and respond to email any longer and call that good enough for online communications. You need to harness all high-traffic online social outposts such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter and feed them relevant updates about your business. Not only will your audience listen more but they will also share your messaging more with others.
But wait? Isn’t “The Spacebook Tube” known as social media just for techies and teens? Consider just a few of the numbers …
- Facebook — Over 175 million users and the fastest growing segment is the 30+ set
- MySpace — There are 300,000 new users per day and more than half are 35+
- Twitter — Already the third largest social network, over 50% of self-identified users are between the ages of 30 and 49
- LinkedIn — Over 35 million business spanning 170 industries
- Blogging — 74% of US web-user read blogs; 25% write blogs
- YouTube — 13 hours of video are uploaded every minute
According to the Pew Research Center, the share of adult internet users who have a profile on a social networking site has more than quadrupled in the past four years — from 8% in 2005 to 35% now.
And all of this is just a glimpse of the numbers. I say glimpse because that’s the beauty of most online media — it’s infinitely measurable.
Whether you are a small business, politician, church, or community organization, this is where the conversation is moving. A majority of your audience is probably there and is already listening. How are you staying in touch?
To learn more, I invite you to attend my workshop “Growing Your Business with Social Media” at noon on Friday, April 17 at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center, part of the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce’s SEED series. Register now >
All of us at Westergaard Advertising are very excited about the prospect of the proposed passenger train connecting Iowa City and Chicago. So much so, that we lent our branding muscle to the cause and assisted the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce with the naming of their support initiative and developed the logo above, hearkening back to the romantic heyday of the railroad that we hope to help reignite with this movement. Get on board the Chicago Flyer! For more information on this initiative check out the Chamber’s site.
CORALVILLE, Iowa, April 11, 2008 – Westergaard Advertising is pleased to announce our support of the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce’s Buy Here economic development initiative. The program’s goal is to strengthen our local economy through increased business-to-business purchasing. If every business in Johnson County shifted just 5% of their out-of-area spending, the change would result in approximately $95 million for our community.
“Giving back to other businesses in the communities we serve is an important part of our business,” said Nick Westergaard, Creative + Account Director at the agency’s Eastern Iowa office. “We appreciate it when others choose our business as a local option and it also means a lot to our clients when we support local vendors.”
Westergaard Advertising is also exhibiting at the Chamber’s Buy Here Business Fair on April 16 at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center in Coralville.
ADEL, Iowa, April 13, 2007 – Westergaard Advertising is pleased to announce that their client, Iowa Spring Manufacturing, Inc. – a major producer of precision springs worldwide – was recently awarded the seventh annual Door & Access Systems (DASMA) Advertisement of the Year award. Rick Sedivy, DASMA president, presented the trophy to Iowa Spring at the organization’s annual meeting in January. This marks the first time that a DASMA Associate Member has won the top prize in the competition.
Iowa Spring’s “Meet Our Offspring” ad appeared in the winter 2006 issue of Door & Access Systems to announce the opening of Southern Atlantic Spring, the manufacturer’s new garage door spring division located in Granite Quarry, North Carolina. The ad, selected from more than 100 entries, earned the highest scores in three of the five judging categories including creativity, attractive design, helpful copy, integrity/professionalism, and overall effectiveness.
“The judges felt that the ad took a creative approach to announcing a new manufacturing plant, with a distinctive appeal not commonly seen in a magazine for our industry,” says Tom Wadsworth, editor of Door and Access Systems. The judging panel was composed of 11 independent judges including nine design experts and two industry observers. Most of the judges have more than 20 years of experience in marketing and advertising.
“It is an honor to receive this award from DASMA and to be the first Associate Member singled out at this level,” said Tim Bianco, President of Iowa Spring Manufacturing, Inc. “It’s always been our goal to communicate with customers through unique and effective messaging like our Offspring ad.”
Westergaard Advertising produced the ad for Iowa Spring and Southern Atlantic Spring. “We have enjoyed working with Iowa Spring over the years,” states Dean Westergaard, agency owner. “They have consistently allowed us to create strong work that communicates their exceptional services.”
The winning ad was one piece of an overall “Offspring” launch campaign for the new site that included a print ad series, direct mail component, and a trade show booth. For additional information, please contact Westergaard Advertising now.
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