I was reminded by a friend of mine recently that in the future, I’ll look fondly back on swim meets that last eight hours. He said “you’ll miss those days sooner than you think.” Thanks to my good buddy and LeClairRyan super lawyer Will Shewmake for giving me a different perspective this week. That advice, and a tall glass of Maker’s Mark helped me get through two hours of recorder practice last night. Cherish the small moments, as well as the big achievements, and you’ll make memories. We’re currently making memories of…

By Dave Saunders, Chief Idea Officer Today’s topic is Influence. How do you gain influence personally, professional and as a company? And who is influenced? Influence as a strategy is important in developing the social space essential for cultivating expert status. This should be your primary strategy, especially in a B2B market (i.e. lawyers, accountants, consultants and other business people should use social media as an audience to engage content and gain feedback.) Do you have a question for Dave? Is there a topic you would like to see him discuss?…

In the words of the seemingly immortal Charlie Sheen, it was a #WINNING week at Madison+Main. From Monday to Friday, from the top to the bottom and from clients to partners to vendors, it was a week where we had tiger blood coursing through our veins (can you believe its been two years since Charlie Sheen flipped out?) Monday (6/3) - On Monday Art Director Jeff Smack took a well-deserved day off, after leading his MS Bike team “Team Stelliza” on a 150-mile, two-day bike race to and from Williamsburg. Jeff, with the support of…

We’re happy to announce that… WE WON SIX TELLY AWARDS!!! Four bronze and two silver for TV spots we did for  the Colonial Athletic Association, First Bank, Capital Ale House and Yard Works. You can view the award winning spots on our YouTube channel. Madison+Main Awarded Six Tellys at the 34th Annual Telly Awards Richmond-based marketing and PR firm wins six Telly Awards with two different production partners, Broadscope Media and BES Studios. Richmond, VA (June 6, 2013)  – For the second year in a row, Madison+Main was named a…

By Digital Marketing Intern Emily Pickering With LinkedIn having over 200 million professionals, business owners shouldn’t underestimate its potential as a networking, reputation management and lead generation tool. Here’s a look at our top 3 recommendations for business owners using LinkedIn.   Fill Out Your Company Profile Completely – this is an incredibly important in setting up a professional and credible presence. – Utilize keywords in your description to maximize your reach – Get customer recommendations to show off your expertise – Make sure to include a complete list of…

It’s another exciting edition of the Madison+Main Weekly Report. Today marks a very special day on the calendar, my 16th wedding anniversary, which I will celebrate in style with my wife Sue this weekend. Shh, it’s a secret, don’t tell her we’re headed to the Vintage Virginia Wine and Food Festival in Centreville. The folks at Across-the-Way Productions hooked us up with premo tickets to Virginia’s premiere wine festival. In fact, the entire M+M team will be up this weekend. If you’d like to hang out and drink with us, last minute tickets are available here. The…

By Emily Farrar, Account Services Intern   To start off – I love Twitter! It is a great way to keep in touch with friends, stay up to date with news and be connected in many ways. However, it is also important to use Twitter in good taste.   Here are eight things to avoid when using Twitter: 1. Posting inappropriate photos. A common mistake you hear about involves individuals who post inappropriate photos on their social media account. As a rule of thumb, if you don’t want everyone to…

Dave is out for a long Memorial Day Weekend so this week’s Weekly Report is a team effort. Monday 5/20 - By Senior Account Manager Katie Hurst. Monday started off the same way that most Mondy’s start off… with the big MMMMM. For those of you who don’t already know, that’s the Madison+Main Monday Morning Meeting and this week was nothing short of spectacular. We had two great announcements 1) we revealed the first winner of our 2013 Summer Intern Ad Challenge, Emily Farrar and 2) we announced our newest client Foundation Basketball Group! Tuesday 5/21 - By…

By Lindsey Durfee, Marketing Administrator Madison+Main welcomed Foundation Basketball Group as a client on May 17, 2013. This local Richmond organization is all about basketball training; the company focuses on providing development, instruction and training services for student athletes. Foundation Basketball Group provides training camps, clinics, one-on-one sessions, small group training and after-school programs. The programs are open to all ages (4 and up) and all skill levels, including beginner, intermediate and professional players. You can find a center near you in Glen Allen and Midlothian. We found out about this…

By Dave Saunders Chief Idea Officer “Native Advertising” is a word that has been buzzing pretty loudly without much explanation for the past year or so. Content curated for social and mobile channels has brought with it new avenues for your marketing message. Paid posts, sponsored messages, shared posts and twitter testimonials are all new forms of time tested techniques; the testimonial, the advertorial, celebrity endorsement, etc. An increasingly savvy audience requires marketers to figure out new ways to weave a marketing opportunity into the delivery of truly desirable content. Do you…