Take a stroll down past Imaginasium’s offices at 110 S. Washington St. to see The Window Wonderland for yourself. And recall the potential of these great kids as you do.

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The Window Wonderland is a product of the decade-long relationship between Green Bay branding firm Imaginasium and The Boys & Girls Club of Green Bay.

Imaginasium has had a long tradition of developing unique holiday gifts for their clients, thanking them for the past year’s business and wishing them well in the New Year. By 2008, however, Imaginasium Executive Creative Director and co-founder Joe Bergner wanted to go in a different direction.

“The gifts we gave clients were certainly sincere,” said Joe, “and we loved doing them. But all of us here began to feel drawn to honor our client relationships in a deeper way, one with greater significance and the power to touch lives.”

Joe and his staff turned to the Boys & Girls Club for inspiration. Imaginasium had already been supporting the marketing efforts of the Club for over a decade. But perhaps there was a way to take a deeper dive and forge real connections with the kids themselves. Imaginasium envisioned a way to connect via a shared passion for creativity. The result was the first annual gathering where Club kids came over, threw on their “painting duds” and put their artistry to work on Imaginasium’s Washington Street display windows, completing them in time for the annual downtown Green Bay Holiday Parade.

Fueled by hot chocolate and boundless energy, the first year found them working alongside each other and the staffs of Imaginasium and the Club, everyone working together and having fun. And though they may not have realized it, their high-profile window works were also helping to raise awareness of the Club and all the good it does for the communities in the greater Green Bay area.

“Still, sometimes its hard to feel like a big success when it seems like you’re treading water instead of flying forward, as you’re used to doing.” That’s the sentiment from Imaginasium president Patrick Hopkins, newly-named Business Person of the Year by the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce at its 18th annual Business Recognition Awards luncheon.

“The economy has touched all of us,” said Hopkins. “It’s been a tough year for our industry and our company — hands-down the most difficult since I joined Imaginasium 10 years ago. But we’re thankful to have wonderful clients who believe in the power of brand and communications and an outstanding team who continues to do the right thing for them.”

Held at the KI Convention Center June 3rd, the Business Recognition Awards acknowledged six area businesses in a number of categories, including leadership, entrepreneurship and growth.

The Small Business Person of the Year Award was presented to recognize a local business leader who has demonstrated achievement in ownership or management of a small business or who has made significant contributions to the small business environment in Brown County. Those selected have demonstrated leadership in bringing about business growth and have an outstanding reputation.

Hopkins noted that recession or not, it was uncomfortable to accept the award as an individual. “No business is successful because of just one person,” he said. “Every day, I rely on a lot of talented and supportive people who allow me to go out and be the face of Imaginasium and get the credit for the hard work and dedication to doing the right thing for our clients.” Imaginasium has a team of 15 and is co-owned with Hopkins by founders Joe Bergner and Denis Kreft.

“Pat’s been the driving force in the transformation of Imaginasium to an expert brand alignment firm from a generalist-type advertising agency,” said Kreft. “That’s positioned the company to be a much more valued partner to clients, and opened revenue streams that allow us to be much more successful in the long run. Pat’s been a tremendous face of the company with public displays of thought leadership and active branding of the company to strengthen our market position.”

Imaginasium adds this latest honor to a long list of community contributions, including board membership on the Boys & Girls Club of Green Bay, the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay Phoenix Fund, the Greater Green Bay YMCA and the Cerebral Palsy Center.

Hopkins is also a member of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce’s CEO Roundtable program and a recent presenter at the Chamber’s Northeast Wisconsin social media marketing workshop. He’s also previously been invited to speak on brand alignment for the American Marketing Association and the Wisconsin Society of Human Resource Management.

Upon accepting the award, Pat summed it up by saying that in these times, companies must not only keep their focus, but band together more tightly and more focused than ever.

“When we put our heads together, we’ll always get farther than trying to go it alone,” he said.

MEDIA COVERAGE
Green Bay Press Gazette
WLUK

As former graphics students themselves, the point of the three-part presentation was simple: educate these future marketers, designers and business owners exactly what branding is and what it isn’t.

Branding is of course far more than graphic identity. But for beginners, it’s often seen as the most important part.

“As young designers, it’s natural for them to think of branding in terms of the talents they bring to the table and run for their computers,” Lax said. “I think it’s important they know right out of the gate design is one element of branding, but not branding itself. That’s much larger.”

Using the Imaginasium-designed UW-Green Bay athletics’ Phoenix logo as an example, Kory and Renae emphasized the need to think about the project in terms of the client’s brand assets before the first design is even considered.

“The brand is a clients’ greatest business property,” Lax told the students, “and we have to make sure we’re protecting it. For the Phoenix logo, that meant going through a lot of steps before design.

The pair explained how the Phoenix process started with a client interview and development of the internal Creative Brief, outlining goals and parameters. This was followed up by background research, brainstorming sessions, sketches and more.

Once preliminary designs had been hand-sketched and selected by UW-Green Bay, focus group testing weighed in and from the results, computer design of the final logo proceeded.
Perhaps the greatest lesson the students learned was that, for all the sexiness of a cool new logo or great visuals, a brand isn’t a look; it’s an understanding, both internally and externally.

Using Imaginasium’s work with The Manitowoc Company in the development of their employment brand, Kory and Renae made sure the kids understood that the strongest brands serve as unspoken contracts between the marketer and its audiences. To thrive, every touchpoint between these stakeholder groups must be aligned, every defining trait understood, every promise kept.

So between discussions of typography, imagery and color palettes, there was plenty of time to talk about brand positioning, promise and language, StoryLine™ development and the value of knowing what makes a brand different.

After Q&A, the pair wrapped up with some practical advice for the kids: before you enter the working world, definitely know your trade. And just as importantly, know your Authentic Brand Story.

Imaginasium was judged and recognized by industry experts for efforts during the past year. Agencies and companies from throughout the Green Bay, Fox Valley and Lakeshore areas submitted work and attended the annual banquet and awards presentation. The top performer in Imaginasium’s entries this year, winning a Gold ADDY, was the original music written and composed for a Valley Cabinet TV Spot, titled “Butterfly”. “Complimenting beautifully crafted cabinetry with a soulful piece of music has really set Valley Cabinet apart in the marketplace,” said Imaginasium Art Director Jon Stubb. “Our creative goal to build the mood with music coupled with Valley Cabinet’s courage to proceed with a French vocal were the keys to hitting the mark. We couldn’t be more humbled by the recognition.”

Winning ADDY entries and categories:

GOLD

SILVER

All Gold ADDYs advanced to a regional judging against competitors from Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Imaginasium proudly accepted a District Level Silver ADDY for the “Butterfly” TV Spot original music.

Imaginasium, supporting The Club through the creation of Wine & Cheese marketing materials for the past 11 years, has developed several new ways to publicize this notable milestone. Various media used in previous years (poster, printed invitation, email invitation, television ad) are augmented this year by a dedicated microsite) and simple but effective reminder cards. This unified campaign hits on many levels, always taking a simple, elegant approach to promoting the February 13 event.

In addition to innovative ways to spread the word, a new part of the 2009 event is a VIP Tasting, which takes place immediately before the Wine & Cheese Tasting and Auction. This gives wine lovers a chance to meet a representative of the featured winemaker, Simi Winery, and taste a special selection of cheeses.

“The Boys & Girls Club is in a unique position with this event. A Taste of Wine & Cheese is now an established, successful fundraiser in the community. It’s our job to keep searching for fresh ways to get people talking about and ultimately participating in the event,” said Executive Creative Director Joe Bergner. “This year, we went with a simple, romantic approach that captures the event’s 20th anniversary and supports a tie-in with Valentines Day,” Art Director Renae Geimer added.

“A Taste of Wine & Cheese has steadily grown in attendance from a few hundred to over 1,000 last year,” said Angie Pestka, Director ofSpecial Events & Promotions at The Boys &Girls Club of Green Bay. “We owe much of that to Imaginasium’s unique ability to capture the spirit of the event and communicate that with the community. They always surprise us with something new and appropriate for that particular year,” she said.

Tickets for A Taste of Wine & Cheese (February 13, 2009) are available at Festival Foods in De Pere and Green Bay, online at ATasteOfWineAndCheese.com, or by calling the Club at 920-494-7090 ext. 1015

A special website, BeFestiveWindows.com, was created so the community could view photos of the windows and vote for a favorite.

After over 200 votes were counted, the window titled Be Different, created by two 8-year-old girls, took top honors among the seven teams. Morgan and Kristina each graciously accepted their prizes—an art bag filled with supplies (canvas, brushes, paint set, and palette)—from Imaginasium staff members during a visit to the Club. All participating kids received gift cards to Hobby Lobby so they could discover their own creative outlet.

“The kids showed incredible spirit and creativity in decorating the windows. We received positive feedback from our clients and others in the community,” said Executive Creative Director Joe Bergner. “The windows artwork was not only enjoyable for us to facilitate, it also increased visibility for The Club, a valuable resource in our community.” The window project will continue in 2009 and is now an annual Imaginasium holiday tradition. “We’re already talking about next year and how to enhance the event,” Joe added.

Imaginasium has supported The Boys & Girls Club of Green Bay for over a decade, working on The Club’s annual report and promoting their biggest fundraiser, A Taste of Wine & Cheese.