Creative

No one is sitting on the edge of his or her seat waiting to see a clients next advertisement or collateral piece. If the message delivered is not relevant, breakthrough or engaging, the advertising dollar is wasted. But advertising cannot exist just for creativity's sake. For advertising to be effective, it must be attuned to the sensitivities and intelligence of the audience. It must present the product or service in a way that is meaningful, embracing, entertaining or helpful to the target audience.

We know that your budget exists for the express purpose of selling your products and services, not for proving our creative brilliance. We believe that if we accomplish the former, the latter is self-evident. You will find our creative department articulate and savvy, with an understanding of your business and the business of communication.

Our creative people start with a clear understanding of the client's customers and of what the client wants those customers to hear. It's not what you say that counts; it's what the customer hears. Adhering to certain prescribed and fundamental principles can consistently create Memorable and effective advertising. But to achieve great advertising, you need that extra measure of creativity that makes work not just memorable, but mesmerizing.

We believe the first measurement for good creative is effectiveness. Did the needle jump…the cash register ring…attendance increase? Second, are the awards for excellence. We tend to cherish those from the client's own industry over those given within our own.

One of the most satisfying things that we hear about our creative product, however, is that it looks considerably more expensive than it is. This is because perception of larger budgets for our clients, be it creative or media, is a primary goal with our staff.

Collateral

All concepts, designs and executions for any project, including collateral, originate within the agency. Brochures, packaging, sales aids, point-of-purchase displays, movies, slides, etc., have all been undertaken by the agency and have been developed against the strategy decided upon by the client and agency.

Outside services include photographers, film production companies, engravers and printers. Final selection of these vendors is based upon quality, experience, cost-efficiency and timeliness at meeting deadlines. When utilizing outside suppliers, all work is carefully supervised by the agency. Three bids for every project are solicited from all outside suppliers ensuring the best quality at the best price.

Web Design and Development

Everything we do must further the image you want to present; we are simply conduits for presenting you at your best to your partners, clients and public.

When we design a site and propose specific looks and rich media solutions, we do so because they are right for you, not because they are trendy, would impress other potential Hybrid Studios clients or win us awards.

Our goal is to provide you with a site that you can easily modify and update, without sacrificing a distinctive tone and feel. We have extensive experience creating online environments that combine customizable templates, research-based content, the latest rich media technologies and social media integration that adhere to W3C and 508-compliance guidelines.

Outside services include photographers and film production companies. Final selection of these vendors is based upon quality, experience, cost-efficiency and timeliness at meeting deadlines. When utilizing outside suppliers, all work is carefully supervised by the agency. Three bids for every project are solicited from all outside suppliers ensuring the best quality at the best price.

Production

Over the years our people have produced scores of television and radio commercials, multimedia presentations as well as scores of print advertisements and collateral pieces. All were created under the direct supervision of our creative staff.

Our experienced staff is responsible for casting, choosing directors and overseeing all filming, recording and editing. This start-to-finish involvement by our people (as opposed to handing off a project to the next person in line) not only makes for a better end result, but also helps us attract personnel who truly care about the quality of their work.

For print advertising, we offer in-house concepting, layouts and camera-ready services, as well as desktop publishing for manuals, media schedules and presentations.

Media Planning and Buying

Hybrid Studios was founded on the principle that media is critical to the success of a client's marketing program. Most clients allocate over 80% of their budget to media, yet the majority of advertising agencies view the function of media as an afterthought or separate function from the overall efforts performed for an account. This is not true at Hybrid Studios.

Over the years, the agency has utilized the following media:

Network Television
Network Cable
National Consumer Print
National Trade Print
Spot Television
Spot Radio
Regional Print
Local Newspaper
Outdoor
Transit
Specialty/Out-of-Home Advertising

The following is a list of various services and tools utilized by the agency in the development and execution of its media plans.

Arbitron Radio Reports
Arbitron Television Reports
Nielsen Television Reports
Scarborough Research Reports
Standard Rate and Data Services
IMS Directory of Publications
Media Market Guides
Newspaper Circulation Analysis
National Weekly Newspaper Directory
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Directory
ARB AID and Tapscan Data

Account Service

Hybrid Studios offers clients a powerful account service team. Because of our broad experience, our clients benefit by getting the best of both worlds—big agency experience and small agency attention.

All effective advertising must have a desired result, a goal, a purpose. For some clients it is easy to see if that result has been achieved (more widgets sold in April), while for others, whose goals may be more long-term (change my image), the effectiveness of advertising is less readily discerned and requires some form of measurement other than current sales or profitability. Those other forms may be consumer attitude studies, pre- and post-awareness tracking studies, sales analysis reports, post-buy analyses, attitudinal shift/reaction research and more, all of which Hybrid Studios stands ready to supply.

There is no single element, creative technique or process that makes advertising effective. However, it is true that the basis for all effective advertising is a clear idea of what we are trying to achieve: who is to be reached, what response is to be solicited, what action do we want them to take? If that first step is successfully taken—to clearly identify the goals—then the paths to creating effective advertising are numerous, any one of which will yield the desired results.

But effective advertising is only a part of the picture. There is a partner to effectiveness that has not been addressed and must be considered, and that is efficiency. Will the investment bring the greatest return for the dollar? It is the aspect of efficiency that helps determine the final form of effective advertising. And in turn allows clients to judge the effectiveness not only of their advertising, but also of their agency.

Market Research

Market research is the springboard to effective advertising. It is information that, whether gathered or created, allows us to segment markets, define creative strategies or decide which aspect of a product, service or company is most salable.

For most of our research needs, we work with outside research firms. These companies provide full service while specializing in advertising research. In the past they have conducted a variety of projects for us, including awareness and attitude-tracking studies, image studies, copy testing and strategic positioning. We work closely with these companies on the design, coordination, implementation and interpretation of each study.

We also make use of secondary research available through industry associations, government data, and information from our own clients and various marketing sources. We are resourceful at collecting, analyzing and using information to stretch the client's marketing dollars.

To implement a market test, several methodologies are useful. If possible, we choose a test market and a control market, which is typically done when testing two direct mail packages, print ads, or new product or package designs against each other. We can measure pre- and post-advertising awareness and attitudes or, better still, we can measure inquiries or sales patterns based on predetermined parameters.

Direct Response

The agency currently provides all necessary design and production of direct response print, radio and television advertisements as well as direct mail materials for our clients. This includes targeted direct response programs, acquisition and purging of lists, shipping of materials and coordination with mail houses and the U.S. Postal Service.

Hybrid Studios offers direct mail expertise in these areas:

List development and acquisition
Cross-referencing, merging and purging of existing lists
List management/maintenance
Laser printing
Hand-assembly, collating and packaging
Premium development
Evaluative measures:

AARP
American Chemical Society
APICS, The Association for Operations Management
The Appraisal Foundation
AT&T
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Calidris 28
Capital One Financial Services
Citibank
Common Cause
The Corps Network
D.C. Bar Foundation
Emergency Department Practice Management Assoc.
FedEx
Global Impact
i3 Statprobe
Institute of Food Technologists
Mortgage Bankers Association
National Association of Broadcasters
National Association of Women Business Owners
National Park Trust
National Restaurant Association
National Science Foundation
Society of Human Resource Management
University of the District of Columbia
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Washington Gas

jobs

Hybrid is always on the look out for creative talent. If you would like to work in a relaxed, positive and visionary environment, we want to hear from you. To apply, please email your resume and samples (or url) to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Qualified canidates will be contacted for a follow up interview.

internships

We support future designers in our local community by participating in the George Mason University School of Communication and Visual Arts Internship Program. If you are interested in becoming an intern at Hybrid, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

For the past eight years Hybrid Studios has been working in partnership with MGM Communications to promote Washington Gas' residential services line of business. Hybrid recently completed the 2011 campaign materials.

Global Impact, an organization raising funds for humanitarian efforts around the world, requested Hybrid to create a series of fact sheets to highlight their diverse program areas and illustrate their broad geographic reach.

Hybrid was tasked with the objective of creating a clean look and feel for a series of White Papers for the Green Chemistry Institute.

Hybrid Studios was tasked to design marketing materials for the Green Chemistry Institute's 15th Annual Conference. The institute is organization within the American Chemical Society. Completed materials included the conference program, event signage and print advertisements.