If you’re gearing up for the big Shamrock Series game between Notre Dame and University of Maryland, you’ll get to see the new Notre Dame helmet. It’s a kick ass helmet covered in 24-carat gold leaf that we had a chance to shoot in our studio, making it look as impressive in photos as it does in person.

The helmet was made exclusively for this weekend’s game, the first in the 2011 Adidas Football Shamrock Series, and won’t be worn again until the 2012 Shamrock series.

To promote the game, Adidas Football created limited edition Notre Dame boxes which contain the special Adidas-created Notre Dame uniform, the helmet and other cool stuff like an iPod Nano and a golden dome glass vial. Only 11 of the limited edition boxes were made.

So, why’d Adidas pick Troy Lee? Well, there really isn’t a more respected name in custom helmet paint and design. And for these Shamrock Series helmets, Troy Lee Designs did some seriously custom work.  You can get a taste for what that means in this video.

We’ve been doing photography for Troy Lee Designs for years, and their work never ceases to amaze us. Every helmet is more bold and innovative than the one before. And, we’re not the only ones who think so. TLD helmets have been worn by some of the greatest racers in the world.

It seems only natural then for TLD to create a helmet for one of the most iconic football teams in history.  We won’t be shocked if Notre Dame’s running backs seem to be running a bit faster than normal tomorrow.

You can see the Shamrock Series helmets in action on tomorrow’s game on NBC, starting at 4:30 p.m. PST.

You don’t have to be in a creative industry to brainstorm. Everyone does it. We’ve all been in a meeting where someone says “why don’t we do a quick brainstorm?” and then opens the floor up for ideas. The trouble with this type of brainstorming is that it usually leads to really bad ideas. Why? Because no one’s had time to prepare so people just end up saying whatever pops into their heads.

I wish I knew how to stop these impromptu brainstorms from happening, but I don’t. However, I can tell you how to have a good brainstorming session.

Follow the leader. Every brainstorm needs a leader. The leader keeps the group focused, writes down all the ideas (good and bad) and encourages a positive atmosphere. Ideally, the leader shouldn’t be your boss. Bosses have a tendency to make people feel uncomfortable so they’re less likely to share ideas.


Bring Something to the Table. Think about the project before you meet with the rest of the team. Then, jot down a few rough ideas and bring them with you to discuss.


Push Past the First Idea. Often, the first idea is what everyone would think of. It’s up to your team to push beyond the clichés and come up with an original idea. This may mean you have to go through hundreds of ideas to get a good one, but once you get there, it’s worth it.


Share the Spotlight. Brainstorming is supposed to be a group process. The project suffers if the only ideas you’re interested in are your own. Remember, it’s ok to let someone else come up with a good idea. You don’t have to do it all by yourself.


Be Nice. The easiest way to kill a brainstorming session is with negativity. Sure, there will be ideas that sound so stupid, you’ll look at people and wonder if they were dropped on their heads multiple times as a child. You can think it, just don’t ever say it.


The next time your team decides to brainstorm, try these tips out. You’re sure to get better ideas as a result.

Halloween is just another excuse to eat lots of sugar, play pranks and dress up like Rambo or sexy nurse #3. But, the holiday actually gives us some good insight into marketing.

#1 Go for Variety.
As a kid, it wasn’t a successful Halloween unless I had a huge variety of candy at the end of the night. The same goes for marketing. The best ad campaigns use multiple media to reach a target audience. Each medium presents the same message, thereby reinforcing the campaign’s other media vehicles.

#2 Don’t Chintz on Treats.
Back when I used to trick-or-treat, I hated the houses where people would pass out apples or dental floss instead of candy. On Halloween, kids want candy. Give them anything else and they’re disappointed. While you may think you’re doing customers a favor by giving them what they need, adage.com says successful brands try to give customers what they want.

#3 Team Up.
At Halloween, it’s unusual to see single trick-or-treaters. That’s because it’s more fun to travel in packs. In marketing, being part of a team is just as important. You get better results when you work with an ad agency that understands your brand and has the resources – creative, media, research – to help your brand grow.

#4 Don’t Play Tricks.
We all know most practical jokes don’t stop after just one prank. The person you pranked has to prank you back and then you have to prank them again and it never ends. Similarly, if your company makes false claims, i.e. you said you were a green company then you’re seen dumping toxic waste into the river, it can cause irrevocable damage to your brand. Transparency is key. Without it, even the best marketing falls flat.

#5 Check for Razorblades.
It just makes sense to skip unwrapped candy or that brownie from the weird guy down the street. For companies, not every medium will be right for the message you’re trying to send. Using the wrong media can dilute your message. For example, using a 30 second TV commercial to tell people about that extremely complex technology you’ve just developed will only serve to confuse your target audience. If you’re unsure about which media to use, find an agency that understands media (cough Echo-Factory cough).

Happy Halloween, kids. Hope it’s filled with plenty of sweet stuff.

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This week, we were in Orlando, FL for the 58th Annual NALMCO Convention and Tradeshow. If you haven’t heard of NALMCO, it’s the interNational association of lighting management companies.

What were we doing at a lighting convention? Good question. When we first made plans to go to the convention, we did it to support our client, NALMCO. We were just planning on hanging out at the event and meeting some new people. Then, NALMCO called and asked us to host a booth. All of a sudden, we had a lot of work to do.

As an ad agency, we help clients prepare for trade shows all the time but we’ve never actually hosted our own booth at a tradeshow before. So, we decided to take the advice we normally give clients and apply it to the NALMCO tradeshow.

We made it fun.
Unless you’re Magnum P.I., mustaches are funny. By comparing brands to mustaches, we got people laughing and opened the door for conversation about branding, advertising and our agency. 

We kept it simple.
Most people want to clutter their trade show graphics with thousands of words about their company and every single product and service they offer. But, we grabbed people’s attention by keeping it simple.

We created an experience.
During the tradeshow, we sponsored a photo booth where people could get their picture taken wearing mustaches and other wacky disguises. It was a huge hit – people loved posing for the camera with their coworkers, friends and family.

We gave stuff away.
To make a lasting connection with people, we gave out postcards to help them remember what we do and how to contact us when they get home.

We made a lasting impression.
The last night of the convention, we created a quick video with a slideshow of all the pictures taken at the photo booth. We didn’t mention our agency at all, instead we chose to focus on the people at NALMCO and how much fun they had at the convention. The video was a great way to wrap up the event and send people home with happy memories about the experience we created.

Big thanks to NALCMO and all the people who came out for the convention – We loved every minute.

So much has happened over the last few months, we thought it was time for an agency update. You might want to grab some popcorn, this may take awhile.

What We’ve Been Doing
A couple of the major projects we’ve just completed include:

The 2011-2012 annual catalog for Gensun Casual Living, an outdoor furniture manufacturer. The catalog features custom illustrations to make it stand out from traditional furniture catalogs which typically just feature product shots.

A new website for Forza Power Studios, an indoor cycling studio.

What We’re Doing Now
We’re expanding.
We’ve asked Ray Pustinger, business consultant extraordinaire, to head up our new board of advisors. Basically, Ray gives us advice, and we take it ‘cause it’s damn good advice.

We’re adding new clients.
We just became agency of record for Chigoyenetche, Grossberg & Clouse, one of the top law firms in Southern California. We’ll be doing a ton of work for them including market research and strategy, rebranding, custom photography and on-going public relations, search engine optimization campaigns and web maintenance/updates.

We’ve also been doing research (focus groups and competitive analysis), creating marketing pieces and redesigning a website for Enact Partners, a real estate investment consulting firm.

Then, there’s the work we’ve been doing for La Rocque – tradeshow materials, a company video and brochure, corporate identity pieces, e-blasts, direct mail and more.

What We’re About to Do
Order our new Echo-Factory bike jerseys.
The good people of Facebook have voted and we’re going with the jersey they wanted. It just so happens to be the one Mike wanted too. I’d say it was a coincidence except he was the one that set up the poll. Anyways, if you want a jersey, let us know. We’ll get you one for $55.

Grow More.
There are some deals in the works. I can’t say anymore but just know there are some really good clients coming our way. Stay tuned to find out more and if you haven’t already, check us out on Facebook. It’ll keep you current on the latest Echo-Factory shenanigans.