polizos & company »
Advertising and public relations runs through Lynn’s blood. Literally. Her father Arthur Polizos, owner of what was formerly The Polizos Agency, an established marketing firm in Norfolk, Va., and her mother, a commercial artist, just happened to pass their marketing genes on to their daughter.
Experience
Having worked in every division of the family business, Lynn found her niche in strategic planning and public relations. For more than 25 years, she has utilized her strategic management skills in the development of industry-recognized marketing communications programs for international companies, educational institutions and government agencies such as STIHL Inc., Norfolk International Airport, City of Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, University of Virginia, James Madison University and Norfolk Southern Corporation. She has also developed and coordinated enormously successful public relations programs for a host of high-profile hospitality and attraction-based clients including Kingsmill Resort, The Sanderling, the Virginia Zoo, the Chrysler Museum of Art, Kingston Plantation, Park Central New York Hotel and Wild Dunes Resort.
Results
Known for her shrewd analysis and comprehensive solutions to complex problems, Lynn’s significant contributions to the advertising and public relations fields have earned her and her clients many of the most coveted advertising and public relations honors. They include International Best In Show for Public Relations as well as Platinum and Gold Golden Bell PR Awards from Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI); multiple silver and gold ADDY Awards from the American Advertising Federation; and Airports Council International-North America’s Peggy G. Hereford Award for best airport marketing program in the country. In 2010, Lynn received 15 awards from the Public Relations Society of America including a National Bronze Anvil Award and a Commonwealth Award of Excellence for the Best Public Service Campaign in the State of Virginia for a comprehensive public service campaign for James Madison University.
Members of Polizos & Company’s marketing team are some of the best in the business, creating nationally acclaimed marketing communications programs for some of the most prominent businesses and organizations in the country. From our strategically based branding initiatives and thought-provoking creative concepts to our innovative public relations, media planning and interactive marketing programs, our team members have developed and sustained bold, memorable and successful programs by every metric.
The Polizos & Company team is comprised of seasoned professionals among creative, media planning, public relations and interactive disciplines, and each of us finds reward not only from the industry-wide accolades we’ve received but from the excellent relationships we have forged with our clients. The consistent excellence of our marketing efforts is simply not possible without their valuable contributions to the marketing process and we believe this is essential for a smooth and successful marketing partnership.
To sum it up, Polizos & Company’s team has more than 25 years of experience in developing solidly grounded marketing programs that have generated impressive results for our clients. And it’s this talented team of marketing professionals — complete with their knowledge, strategic ability, creativity, passion and vision — that’s sure to project a credible, engaging and effective marketing program for you.
At Polizos & Company, our role is to provide you with sound strategic counsel, complete with innovative and creative solutions designed to produce optimum results. To develop the most successful marketing program possible, we believe an integrated approach utilizing advertising, public relations and interactive disciplines is essential to ensure that your brand message is consistent and seamless throughout your marketing program. You may ask, “Does every marketing challenge call for a broad mix of marketing services? “ Depending on your marketing objectives, not at all. But below is our approach to all of the services we offer our clients.
Market Research: Do you know what your consumers think of your product or service? Of your competitors? Be it via focus groups, one-on-one interviews, telephone or mail surveys, getting into the head of your consumer is our first step towards a highly successful marketing program.
Strategic Planning: It’s always wise to have a map before hitting the road. And marketing is no different. Strategic planning is the all-important process that not only tells us what, but how and at what cost. Without it, your marketing program may very well take that dreaded wrong turn.
Advertising: It’s got to do more than just look good. Our strategically based concept development, simple yet sophisticated artistic direction and thought-provoking messaging among all print, collateral broadcast and interactive media is highly creative, memorable, and most importantly, effective.
Media: It would be unbecoming to call ourselves Pit Bulls. How about Rottweilers? Our sophisticated media planning among traditional and interactive media coupled with our tough negotiating skills significantly maximizes your media dollars in reaching the right people, at the right time, and with desirable results.
Public Relations. PR goes way beyond arranging publicity. It’s about managing your company’s reputation. From issues management and crisis management to media relations and community relations, our PR approach is strategic, creative, credible and results-driven. Oh, and we’re really good with people, too.
Direct Marketing: It’s not about mass mailings. The most effective direct marketing is about reaching the right audience and determining the best means to reach them. Be it direct mail, mobile messaging or email marketing, our task is to ensure that your message is communicated to the most targeted segment possible.
Interactive Marketing. A great-looking Web site is great, but not so hot if it’s your only interactive tool in the box. Our smart Web site design together with an emphasis on search engine optimization, social media networking, blog management and pay-per-click initiatives will expand and maintain your online presence as well as turn your Web site into one of the most valuable communications tools you’ll own.
Social Media: People aren’t on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to buy your stuff, but they might as a byproduct of seeing you there. So, as much as you may want to broadcast to the world how great you are, our job is to design a social media program that will get your customers, friends and followers to do that for you.
Guerilla Marketing: Want to get noticed? Then it’s time to get bold. Alternative marketing tactics engage and influence your customers in surprising and unconventional ways. So, if we ever pat you on the back and say, “Let’s go out and paint the town red,” we really mean it.
Polizos & Company’s team has developed successful advertising, public relations and interactive marketing programs for some of the foremost businesses and organizations in the travel, tourism, education, healthcare, consumer, real estate and non-profit sectors. Services our team members have provided to these organizations include the development and execution of integrated marketing campaigns consisting of research, corporate identity programs, print and broadcast advertisements, collateral development, media planning and placement, Web site design, public relations, interactive marketing and social media. Below is our Top 100:
Municipal/Tourism/Hospitality
Attractions
Automotive
Aviation
Consumer/B2B
Education
Healthcare
Real Estate
Non-Profit
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Radio
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Interactive
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case studies »
“Your Call” Substance Abuse Prevention Campaign
Situation: A recent survey confirmed that more than half of JMU students engaged in binge drinking, well above the norm both nationally and within Virginia’s college system. These findings resulted in the formation of JMU Substance Abuse Prevention, a program designed to increase awareness of alcohol and other drug issues and decrease the negative consequences associated with high-risk drinking and illegal drug use.
Strategy: Polizos & Company developed a comprehensive marketing program for the newly formed office to promote its educational, outreach and prevention programs. The campaign included focus groups among student segments followed by the development of a brand identity titled, “Your Call.” A mix of traditional and nontraditional media were used including direct mail, Web public service announcements and transit advertising as well as guerilla marketing tactics such as campus-wide wallet drops and bathroom mirror decals.
Results:
Bus Sign (click to view larger)
Saint Patrick Catholic School
Situation: When construction began on Saint Patrick Catholic School (SPCS), it was soon to become the first Catholic elementary and middle school to reside on the west side of Norfolk, Va. in 20 years. The goal of SPCS was to enroll a minimum of 150 students among grades pre-K through 8th grade for the first year of operation. However, with no facility to showcase during the enrollment period, the school’s marketing challenge was to sell a vision of the school to prospective parents.
Strategy: The development of a strong branding campaign for SPCS was essential to define and communicate the school’s culture and foundational principles to prospective parents. The brand message, “Identifying, nurturing, and celebrating the gifts of each child,” was accompanied by well-defined supporting messages which were extended among all marketing disciplines - print and broadcast advertisements, collateral materials, direct mail and interactive marketing materials as well as all public relations activities including aggressive community relations and media relations programs.
Results:
Bus Sign (click to view larger)
Norfolk International Airport “Make Your Connection” Campaign
Situation: Following the events of September 11, 2001, members of the Polizos & Company team recommended that NIA consider a radical strategic shift in its marketing program in an effort to resurrect air travel. Realizing no advertising would appease the fears of travelers, the Airport agreed that its primary marketing objective would no longer be to reinforce its basic service offerings, but rather, to delicately reposition itself, revisit its place in the lives of travelers, and most importantly, underscore to the traveling public the true purpose to fly again - that is, to make that connection to the people and places that mean most to them.
Strategy: A multi-media advertising and public relations campaign to business and leisure travelers - titled “Make Your Connection” - was developed for NIA, underscoring to the traveling public the fundamental reason to fly - that is, to make that personal connection that’s so important in their daily lives. Marketing activities included print and broadcast advertising, outdoor, interactive media, new collateral materials and an aggressive public relations and community relations campaign
Results:
TV Commercial (click to watch)
Norfolk International Airport “Arrival 2002” Public Relations Campaign
Situation: : NIA’s “Arrival 2002” was a three-year, $133 million capital improvement project designed to provide Hampton Roads travelers with the most modern facilities and services possible to meet their growing air transportation needs. NIA officials recognized that this sizeable addition to the Airport’s landscape would require a significant communications effort that would lay a foundation of public awareness, anticipation and acceptance of the new facility among Hampton Roads citizens.
Strategy: Polizos & Company’s public relations and creative team members developed a special events and media relations program to educate the public on the new terminal’s amenities and services, enhance and maintain a positive image of NIA and create a sense of pride and ownership in the Hampton Roads community. Special events included a media preview tour to acquaint local and regional media with the new facility and its benefits to the public; an creative dedication ceremony for 500 community leaders to officially dedicate and celebrate the new terminal as well as garner maximum media coverage; and an open house to familiarize the public with the new terminal.
Results:
Contact: Lynn Polizos
757-437-4488
FORM IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2010
POLIZOS & COMPANY DOMINATES
2010 COMMONWEALTH AWARDS
Public Relations Society of America Bestows Five Awards for Outstanding Alcohol Prevention Public Service Campaign
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Polizos & Company Communications, a full-service advertising, public relations and interactive marketing firm in Virginia Beach, Va., dominated the 63rd Annual Commonwealth Awards (formerly Virginia Public Relations Awards) sponsored by the Richmond Virginia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). The awards were announced on Thursday, May 6, 2010 at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va.
Polizos & Company received the only Commonwealth Award of Excellence presented in the category of public service programs, and four Capital Awards for excellence in creative tactics and social media. The five awards were presented for the “Your Call” alcohol prevention campaign developed for the University Health Center’s Substance Abuse Prevention program at James Madison University (JMU).
The “Your Call” alcohol prevention campaign was designed to examine the impact of hazardous drinking on and off campus by creatively highlighting the associated risks and encouraging the use of protective strategies. Consisting of a mix of traditional and alternative marketing tactics including exterior and interior transit signage, online public service announcements, direct marketing and on-campus promotions, the 12-week campaign generated a 205% spike in weekly student visits to the “Your Call” Web site.
“It’s very gratifying to be recognized for public relations excellence on a statewide level by PRSA - the leading association in the public relations industry,” said Lynn Polizos, president of Polizos & Company. “Our goal was to produce a strategic communications program that would engage and influence students in surprising and unconventional ways, and we believe this approach has been instrumental to the campaign’s success.”
The Commonwealth Awards showcase the best public relations programs and tactics from across the state of Virginia. Awards are separated into two divisions: the Commonwealth Awards, which honor the best public relations programs and campaigns of the year, and the Capital Awards, which honor the best public relations tactics of the year. Award entries were judged for research, planning and content, creativity and quality, technical excellence and results.
Polizos & Company creates and implements branding programs, print and broadcast campaigns, Web sites, and public relations campaigns for corporate as well as non-profit entities in the tourism, healthcare, education, real estate and financial industries throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the world’s largest and foremost organization of public relations professionals comprised of more than 21,000 public relations and communications professionals among 100 chapters across the United States.
# # #
Contact: Lynn Polizos
757-437-4488
FORM IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1, 2010
POLIZOS & COMPANY HONORED WITH FOUR ADDY® AWARDS FOR JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION CAMPAIGN
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Polizos & Company Communications, a marketing communications firm in Virginia Beach, was honored with four ADDY® awards from the American Advertising Federation of Hampton Roads. The awards were announced at the Virginia Beach Resort & Conference Center on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010.
Polizos & Company received two gold and two silver ADDY® awards for a public service campaign developed for the University Health Center Substance Abuse Prevention program at James Madison University (JMU). The campaign, designed to examine the impact of hazardous drinking on and off campus by creatively highlighting the associated risks and encouraging the use of protective strategies, included a mix of traditional and alternative marketing tactics including exterior and interior transit signage, online public service announcements, direct marketing, and on-campus promotions.
Polizos & Company, creates and implements branding programs, print and broadcast campaigns, Web sites, and public relations campaigns for corporate as well as non-profit entities in the tourism, healthcare, education, real estate and financial industries throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
The ADDY® Awards competition, a three-tiered national competition conducted annually by the American Advertising Association, is the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition for creative excellence.
# # #
May 19, 2010
Polizos & Company Dominates 2010 Commonwealth Awards
March 2, 2010
Polizos & Company Honored with Four Addy® Awards
Polizos & Company
Phone: 757.437.4488
Fax: 757.428.2135
1055 Laskin Road, Suite 301
P. O. Box 1386
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
Email Lynn Polizos
Imagine:
An advertising, public relations and interactive agency that expands and molds to your needs.
An agency comprised of highly talented staff with industry-specific knowledge and specialized skills to meet your marketing challenges.
An agency that performs without limits.
You have just imagined Polizos & Company.
757.437.4488
