We are experiencing an early Spring here in the Chicago area. Flowers are blooming, lilacs are perfuming the air, and color is everywhere. A string of sunny days and warm weather has put everyone in a stellar mood! This is the time of year that makes me glad (for a little while) to live in the Midwest. Optimism and growth seems to be extending to the business world as well. Many of our clients are resurrecting projects and starting new initiatives. It appears that the budget lockdown of 2009 is making its departure.

With Earth Day right around the corner, we are working on some Spring cleaning and recycling at Allegro. I look back at our business practices from 10 years ago and see that we use SO much less paper these days. With electronic PDF layouts zooming around the country, we have cut our FedEx and printing budget by 70% – sorry, FedEx. Our own communications are predominantly electronic and we are creating more and more web content and email for clients, too.

What will you be working on this Spring? Is it time to invent some new creative? Roll out an innovative product or service? Reach out to a new audience segment? Allegro can help bring your direct and internet marketing initiatives into focus during this exciting time.

Email Ada to get started!

Companies are looking to save a buck (or 100,000) these days any way they can. In-sourcing creative services has long been a popular approach to move costs around on the expense side of things. After all, utilizing creative folks that your firm already has on the payroll seems like a good idea from a budget [...]

I really want a Kindle. Do I need one? No. But, I just think it would be fun to have. I like the idea of quickly downloading the next book I want to read. Or having a newspaper subscription on my Kindle and being able to read it at my leisure. And, I especially like [...]

How do I know that insurance marketers are thriving? First, our agency is working with insurance companies who are continuing to grow and aggressively market their products. Second, several insurance firms are hiring employees. With higher than normal unemployment rates, that tells me these insurance businesses must be doing something right. Third, insurance companies offer [...]

A couple of years ago my parents took my five-year-old cousin out for a “special” day. She got to decide what she wanted to do. Everything from whether or not her window was down to where to eat: it was up to her. She, being the youngest child, was awed by this concept. She would [...]

I can’t believe I forgot Allegro’s anniversary. As of May 3, we have been in business for 19 years. When I realized it was Allegro’s anniversary, I got a little nostalgic. Maybe even a little misty-eyed. I have been with Allegro for almost 17 years. I remember my first interview. It was awful. I didn’t [...]

I recently attended a State tumbling meet with my girls. After two long days, my girls were done with their events, and we were getting ready to leave. Then I remembered that when we had first entered the building, a t-shirt vendor had been set up just 10 feet from where we came in the [...]

I just received an automated phone call from a debt consolidation organization. The message told me they were calling about my credit card debt. The voice on the phone said she had my records right in front of her, and she could help me lower the interest rate on my outstanding credit card balance.
How can [...]

My mother, who is active in the United Methodist Church (UMC), recently took a trip to Sudan, Africa. She was part of a General Board of Global Ministries mission travel study team. The team was in Africa to observe the missionary work being conducted by the UMC and report back to their local churches.
While the [...]

Is it proper etiquette to try and grab customers from your competitors during a recession? Absolutely! Any time is the right time to go after market share.
Times are tough, right? How can you get your competition’s customers to switch to you? Here are some dos and don’ts for keeping it classy while gaining more customers.
DO [...]