Social Media Interactive Tactics

• Category: Blog
• No Comments

SCO: Social Media Interactive Tactics

By Jamie Harris

Increasing your online discoverability, maximizing social outlet reach and monitoring while building your reputation

Strategy & Reporting

Identifying business objectives then developing web presence strategies is key in this day and age. With so much of the business world now operating through online resources, interactive tactics have become a must! Creating and utilizing interactive tools such as web-based local directories, Google Places, Facebook accounts, Twitter accounts, and YouTube profiles is proven critical to our clients. The success of these interactive outlets is shown through detailed reports on search ranks, social engagements, reputation, calls, and emails.  Reviewing results monthly and making changes accordingly ensures each client is getting the most out of their social media presence.

Online Discoverability

To ensure you’re out there and ready to be found, updates of business info on local directories should be done frequently. Optimizing all content and pages for search with titles, keywords and tags, ensures you’ll come up and just the right time for those looking within your field or industry. By building inbound links and social bookmarks to content and posts you will quickly be linked up with sites and articles closely related to you.

Social Outlets

Building and managing Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts as well as broadening fan base and followers can greatly reach a specific demographic, increasing your interactive reach. As part of building social outlets for our customers, we publish content across social pages.  Reaching out and engaging with customers and commentators as well as talking about your business online will help increase your reach and overall Internet presence.

Reputation Management

Actively monitoring the web for mentions of your business and the reviews customers post provide you an in depth look of how your business is perceived.  Here at Owens Harkey & Associates, we provide strategy and guidance on how to get more positive reviews for your business.  We help spread positive reviews across your web presence.  Plus, we will alert your business of negative content/reviews and will propose response strategies.

Bill Owens 1934-2010

• Category: Blog
• No Comments

Phoenix advertising pioneer, Bill M. Owens, 76, of Scottsdale, AZ passed away December 22, 2010. Founded in 1960 by Bill Owens, Owens & Associates, now Owens Harkey & Associates, has been a fixture on the business scene for five decades, making it one of the oldest marketing, advertising and public relations firms in the Southwest.

After beginning unexpectedly on January 1, 1960, when Bill Owens found himself unemployed after the agency he worked at shut its doors. Bill turned their misfortune into his own unexpected opportunity. He started with just two accounts, himself and a secretary and quickly gained ground and began growing his own agency.

After 13 successful years in Phoenix handling accounts such as The Phoenix Suns, Arizona Dairy Association, Courtesy Chevrolet, and AJ Bayless Grocery, he branched out to Tucson even furthering his success. Continuing to gain big name accounts through the 70’s and 80’s including the McDonald’s Southwest Region, The Arizona Cardinals and The Arizona Republic, Bill eventually built Owens & Associates into a powerhouse, with agencies in Phoenix and Tucson as well as Albuquerque and Las Vegas.

Bill made an impact on the national advertising scene by being the first Arizona based agency to attract national accounts. Owens & Associates served as the national ad agency of record for Ramada Inns and Doubletree Hotels for a number of years. The next time you check into a Doubletree hotel and enjoy your hot chocolate chip cookies think of Bill Owens, as it was his idea to provide them as a welcome gift.

In a 1987 Ad Week article highlighting his thriving agency, Bill explained his interest for the world of advertising, “I got interested in that career by reading magazines and books. It was apparently a creative business that gave you a lot of freedom, with the opportunity to achieve if you had the ability.” It was easy to see Bill did have the ability and passion needed to obtain and achieve big accomplishments. In 1982, Bill was named Advertising Person of the Year by Ad 2 Phoenix, for outstanding service to the advertising community, including presidencies of the Phoenix Advertising Club, AAAA and the Arabian House Association of Arizona.

Bill Owens laid the groundwork and carved a path into Adverting history in the Southwest, he couldn’t have predicted that he would start an advertising legacy that would last half a century and be, poised to last much, much longer. With his son, Matthew Owens, now at the helm and a young protégé, Scott Harkey, as a partner in the firm Owens Harkey & Associates is poised for a major resurgence. Even in the dismal economy the company is seeing exceptional growth and so are their clients.

“With 50 years of marketing service we have learned from our experience. We have processes and disciplines that allow us to produce marketing, advertising and public relations programs that produce results for our clients,” said Matthew Owens, “We also have a secret weapon in Bill Owens, I called my father the Zen Master as he always knew the true path to success and the wisdom has imparted to us has proven time and again to be a real difference maker.”

Bill Owens’ legacy will live on through Owens Harkey & Associates, and he will be greatly missed by all in the advertising community.

The Soleri Bridge Dedication

• Category: Blog
• No Comments

By Caitlin Hooper

View of Soleri Bridge and Plaza on the Waterfront in Scottsdale

This last weekend the staff at Owens Harkey had the pleasure of attending the dedication of the Soleri Bridge on Scottsdale’s Waterfront.  Scottsdale first approached Paolo Soleri about a bridge in 1990.  On December 11, 2010 a community of supporters gathered to celebrate the completed Soleri Bridge and Plaza.

Paolo Soleri is known for his innovative architectural approach and designs including Cosanti and Arcosanti.  He has been said to be one of the most forward thinkers of our time.  We were honored to hear him speak at the dedication where he said “A bridge is more than a passage along which something moves, but is a crossing to connect.”

The bridge is not only a piece of art making a mark in time but is a grand addition to the collection of Scottsdale Public Art bringing tourists and commerce to the City of Scottsdale.

Paolo Soleri’s famous wind bells, illuminated by bright color and lights, decorate the backside of the bridge.

The bridges positioning on the North-South axis allows the sun to pass through the pylons  creating a beam of light across the bridge at solor noon.

The community joining together to make a human waterfall over the side of the bridge.

Performing artists dressed in bright colors lit up the event

Some of the staff posing with the performing artists on the bridge.

A view from on top of the bridge at sunset.