THE CHALLENGE
Larson Newspapers provides local news to the Verde Valley Region in Northern Arizona, USA. It consists of Sedona Red Rock News, the Camp Verde Journal, Sedona Scene, and the Cottonwood Journal Extra newspapers (and online) and reaches over 40,000 readers weekly.
Larson Newspapers' goal was to increase revenue by bringing in new advertisers, keeping current ones, and increasing brand awareness.
THE SOLUTION
I was hired to create new concepts and design ads for new and current clients that would appear in all three newspapers and digital ads (on their website). The sales department would then pitch the ads to various local businesses. Additionally, I also created new concepts and designed ads to promote the newspapers on all of their advertising platforms, as well as designed the covers for their special publications.
THE RESULTS
During my time at Larson Newspapers, I worked on over 50 accounts. Most of these were new or retained due to the work I produced.
One of the company's largest accounts was the car dealership, Hyundai of Cottonwood. After producing new ad concepts they used my concepts and continued to advertise with the newspapers. The Sales Manager in charge of this account expressed how the management at Hyundai of Cottonwood was impressed with the design being produced. The client launched a whole campaign based on the design I created.
Additionally, because of my design skills and background, the paper had a few clients that preferred I exclusively work on their ads. This saved the newspaper time and money.
On the whole, this created a comprehensive client experience which increased revenue for the company as well as brand awareness.
GREEN PUBLICATION
Larson Newspapers publishes a few special publications throughout the year - one of them is 'Green'. Green is focused on promoting a healthy and sustainable lifestyle in the Verde Valley. Below is the cover I designed for this publication.
I used the idea of nature and made the Green logo look like a plant that was sprouting. Within the logo, I added images of nature and a tree to continue with the nature concept. I also designed silhouettes of birds flying away from the logo to create a more dynamic feel. Finally, I added a green gradient background which continues with the idea of nature and green.
LARSON NEWSPAPERS AD CAMPAIGN
In order to create brand awareness and revenue for ad space, I also designed ad campaigns specifically for Larson Newspapers that would appear in all their publications.
HYUNDAI OF COTTONWOOD
Hyundai of Cottonwood was an exciting client and Larson Newspapers was looking to retain them. I was asked to come up with several ideas for their ads with a fresh design. After doing research I came up with a look that was eye-catching, bold, and more in alignment with the auto industry. The dealership decided to run a campaign using the designs I created and continued to advertise with the newspaper.
SEDONA'S NEW DAY SPA
Sedona's New Day Spa is a highly rated spa in Sedona that's inspired by the land. Below is an ad I recreated for them in order to meet the specs and requirements for the paper.
SEDONA DIGS FURNITURE
Sedona Digs is a local furniture store. For their ads, I used their tagline, "the colors of Arizona" as the main focus. I took some of their pieces of furniture and used nature texture backgrounds that had an Arizona feel to them. The company decided to run a whole ad campaign on this concept and design.
HIDEAWAY HOUSE
Hideaway House was a new client the paper was looking to acquire as an advertiser. One of the benefits of this restaurant (asides from it being Italian) was the beautiful views they offered. I used this idea and used a photo of the Sedona land space that can only be taken from a place only a few people get to go to. This also reinforced the idea of Hideaway - a special exclusive place to go to.
