Nancy McNulty, Author at Forest Home Media | Content Marketing

Using Video For Business Announcements

March 22, 2013 By Nancy McNulty Leave a Comment

There is a lot being written about the importance of using video in business marketing and communications as well as the positive effect on website traffic. At Forest Home Media, we totally agree but with the caveat to make sure you are imparting new information in a concise manner and throw in some entertainment value for the viewer.

FHM strongly recommends short, concise, informative videos. Value your viewer’s time.

As the economy continues to grow stronger, we have several clients currently undergoing exciting expansions. We produced short video montages to give company employees, their customers and the community an update and a sneak peek before the change officially takes place. There’s nothing more fun than feeling like you are getting a preview.

Benchmark Realty LLC is one of the fastest growing companies in the Nashville area and the company is currently more than doubling their Franklin, Tennessee office size with new on-site lending services and an Internet café.

CEO/Founder Phillip Cantrell said the double-digit growth rate the company has consistently earned over each of the past four years is pushing the needed expansion and office upgrade. Benchmark’s annual gross sales have grown from almost $34 million in fiscal year 2009 to in excess of $500 million for fiscal year 2012.

Here is how Forest Home Media helped Benchmark communicate their upcoming office move:

This video was achieved using a Panasonic HDC-TM900 and edited using iMovie. We’ve also worked with Cantrell to produced another general overview of the company for potential real estate clients and to assist in real estate agent recruitment. We partnered with Jim McCarthy of VidSigs:

One of Nashville’s top art galleries is also experiencing an expansion and the addition of a new gallery partner. In conjunction with their second anniversary art benefit celebration, York and Friends Fine Art Gallery located in the Belle Meade area of Nashville, unveiled the gallery expansion, new hours and the addition of Chandelierious Artful Furnishings. Take a look:

When produced in a concise and inviting manner, video can draw website visitors into your story in a very dimensional and engaging way. Be sure and share with us your success story videos on our Facebook page. We love to see what our creative community is accomplishing?

Redefining the traditional advertising and public relations agency, Forest Home Media is a Nashville area integrated marketing firm which merges successful communication elements of the past with the new media revolution delivering a powerful integrated marketing approach for home-related industries.

For more information, contact them here.

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Marketing With QR Codes

March 12, 2013 By Nancy McNulty Leave a Comment

What’s cool, new and different in marketing is always going to catch the attention of Forest Home Media whether it be using a Harlem Shake video to cross-promote an event or a QR code in an advertisement. However, before we suggest to a client they use their important resources for either of these, we take a strong look at the target audience.

In 2011, the first Southern Living home tour in Nashville in over a decade was held by premier homebuilder Alan Looney and his company Castle Homes. When preparing for this popular event, Looney assembled his marketing team to review whether or not QR codes on in-home signage and ads was a good idea for the project.

Although the QR code was developed in 1952, it actually did not gain prominence until 2011 according to QRCodesInMarketing website. Macy’s and Best Buy are cited as examples in this story. It was determined for the Castle Homes’s Southern Living Showcase Home in Nashville the majority of the demographic base for our event – women 25-65 – did not have smart phones enabled with QR scanners so it would be too early in the technology curve.

In December 2012, the Forest Home marketing team conducted a research visit to the Southern Living Idea House in Senoia, Georgia. Southern Living builds only one Idea House in the nation per year. In the Georgia home, QR codes were seen for various products in each of the rooms.

Marvin Windows QR Code in the Senoia, GA Idea House.

Today, as Forest Home Media assists Castle Homes as they build the nation’s only 2013 Southern Living Idea House at Fontanel in Nashville opening in late June, the QR Code is firmly on the planning agenda for consideration.

I wanted to also share with you another unique use of the QR code by a nonprofit organization. As a member of Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Franklin, TN, on a recent Sunday morning Senior Pastor Ryan Bennett unveiled to the congregation the new QR code in the church’s bulletin where members can now give online.

Here’s what the screen looks like once you’ve scanned the QR code.

Once you scan the QR Code in BUMC's bulletin, it takes you to this page for giving. — Once you scan the QR code in BUMC’s bulletin, it takes you to this site for giving.

In case you don’t have a QR code scanner on your cell phone, you can download this for your smart phone for free via your app website. The website Visualead has quick QR generator for free here.

Tech-savvy real estate agents are using the QR codes for additional information links on listing signs like Benchmark Realty LLC agent Christian Fraser. Where are you finding success with your QR Code?

Looking for a new home? Benchmark Realty agent Christian Fraser makes it easy to find more info from the comfort of your car. — Looking for a new home? Benchmark Realty agent Christian Fraser makes finding more info easier with a QR code.

Coming next, Forest Home Media uses a Harlem Shake mash up for a pro bono marketing project.

New Marketing Projects: Business Launch To Southern Living Idea House

December 26, 2012 By Nancy McNulty 1 Comment

From launching our new integrated marketing business in March to ending the year preparing for the nation’s only 2013 Southern Living Idea House (with a little Vince Gill sprinkled in), it’s been a year full of blessings and here are just some of the highlights of Forest Home Media’s first year of operation.

March – Integrated Marketing Firm Launch

The virtual “doors” were open as Forest Home Media redefines the traditional advertising and public relations agency.

integrated marketing firm, Forest Home Media — “Like” Forest Home Media on The Facebook where partners Dana Tucker and Nancy McNulty post the latest in the world of marketing and communications.

Merging successful advertising elements of the past with the new media revolution, a powerful marketing fusion has been created engaging clients’ target audiences through content marketing. For the business owner, it is a very exciting and empowering time in the world of communications and customer engagement. We’ve been thrilled to unleash this concept. By year’s end, we’ve been fine tuning and focusing our energies specializing on home related industries from work just beginning with Kings’ Chapel premier neighborhood near Arrington Vineyards to Benchmark Realty which has set a new standard in the way a real estate agency operates.

April – Website Created For Top NJ Home Improvement Company

Capturing great stories and photos for a top New Jersey home improvement and renovation company was a great challenge for FHM partner Dana Tucker. Utilizing WordPress, Monk’s Home Improvements now has an easy-to-update website using great photos to tell the success stories of this busy company.

May – Charity Tour of Homes Media Blitz

FHM represented the year’s premier home tour, The Charity Tour of Homes, presented by the elite Master Custom Builders Council of Tennessee. Taking place from Gallatin to Leiper’s Fork, the tour buzz dominated the Nashville area earning multiple print, radio and television stories including the cover of Greater Nashville House and Home – all complemented with great social media. In addition to writing live spots for 102.5 The Game’s Willy Daunic and coordinating numerous television segments, FHM also created a landing page for the event with a clever “click here for tickets button” from TicketsNashville which we highly recommend.

Forest Home Media, Nashville, TN — Working with photographer Peyton Hoge since the 1998 Parade of Homes, Hoge and FHM’s McNulty have partnered on numerous magazine covers and photo spreads for Nashville area projects & media kits.

French County home, photo styling — The charming French Country home of Hughes-Edwards Builders was selected by Greater Nashville House & Home Magazine for their cover. FHM coordinated the shoot including photo styling with interior designer Jane Greenway. (Photo by Peyton Hoge)

July – Launch Party Pinterest and More!

At FHM’s official launch party, ideas for food and favors were culled from Pinterest earning the duo a clever cross-promoting food story covered by Nashville’s daily paper, The Tennessean. At the event held in the historic Forest Home Farms, for which the agency is named and the duo reside, Pella Windows & Doors Nashville General Manager Ben Talbot and tour chairman Bryan Edwards, Hughes-Edwards Builders, presented checks to the local nonprofits who benefited from over $12,000, substantially more than any other area home tour. The launch event also garnered additional media coverage.

July – Social Media Campaign Nets Thousands

FHM partner Dana Tucker facilitated a huge social media campaign earning client Crest Cadillac – 4,500 new Facebook “likes and 4,000 “likes” for Crest Honda.

July – Video News Release for Vince Gill Concert

In order to announce and explain the merging of two popular charity benefits, FHM coordinated a video news release at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum for the fall Vince Gill Benefit Concert for Students Taking A Right Stand (STARS). The video featured Tennessee Titans Kicker Rob Bironas and country music singer/songwriter Chad Warrix and was filmed/edited courtesy of Harry Robinson, Robinson Productions. Check it out here:

Chair-ish The Night With Vince Gill & Friends benefiting STARS

August – Southern Living Magazine Feature

In 2011, one of Nashville’s premier builders, Castle Homes, produced the hugely successful Southern Living Showcase Home, for which FHM partner Nancy McNulty coordinated the PR. The stellar event earned Castle Homes the prestigious title of 2012 Southern Living Builder of the Year and a one page feature in the August Southern Living magazine which FHM helped to produce.

Photos by photographer Reed Brown and also of note, the gorgeous finish in the covered porch was created by Bella Tucker Decorative Finishes. Here’s a video explanation produced by Forest Home Media on the creative Modello Rug Project.

September – GRAMMY-nominated ALIAS’s CD Release & Party

Coordinating media coverage for the release of GRAMMY-nominated ALIAS Chamber Ensemble’s CD “Boiling Point: The Music of Kenji Bunch” was a great moment.

Boiling Point CD cover, ALIAS Chamber Ensemble, Nashville, TN — The GRAMMY-nominated ALIAS Chamber Ensemble released their second CD “Boiling Point: The Music of Kenji Bunch” in September.

Well-respected and beloved, the talented, all-volunteer music ensemble released their second CD with FHM helping announce, coordinate the launch party media and secure national reviews for the esteemed group. Check out the CD on Amazon or iTunes!

September – Southern Living Groundbreaking

Building on the successful synergy from their 2011 Southern Living Showcase Home, Castle Homes is building the nation’s only Southern Living Idea House at Fontanel in Nashville in 2013. There has not be an Idea House in Nashville for over a decade. An official groundbreaking occurred in September with Southern Living Editor Lindsay Bierman and Publisher Greg Shumann attending – FHM helped coordinate media coverage.

In preparation for the 2013 event, FHM chronicled their visit to the 2012 Southern Living Idea House in Senoia, GA, also the setting for the hit AMC show “The Walking Dead.” Follow the build of the 2013 charming farmhouse style home at Castle Homes.The Idea House opens to the public in June 2013. Here are highlights of the groundbreaking.

Groundbreaking Highlights of 2013 Southern Living Idea House at Fontanel, Nashville, TN

October – Consulting With The Area’s Top Design Blogger

Already a fan, Forest Home Media had the unique opportunity to consult in October with the area’s top design blogger, The Decorologist, on website SEO and marketing. Consistently earning honors as a popular “spot-on” blogger, color consultant and home stager, Kristie Barnett writes on a colorful spectrum (pun intended) of home ideas including one of our favorites, Grinch Green, an overview of Benjamin Moore shades of green.

The Decorologist's Kristie Barnett, Nashville, TN — The Decorologist, Kristie Barnett, ran into actress/dancer Julianne Hough (far right) with her pretty sisters at the Kings’ Chapel Parade of Homes and she blogged about design trends.

November – National HGTV Magazine Feature

Pitching to national media outlets is one of the many services of FHM. In September, HGTV magazine chose Forest Home Media client, Hughes-Edwards Builders for a feature article. FHM helped coordinate the photo shoot which highlighted the gorgeous French Country style home built by Hughes-Edwards Builders in the pretty Fairvue Plantation neighborhood north of Nashville.

The story hit the stands in November as part of their colorful December issue.

HGTV Mag Cover — Bryan Edwards’ family was featured in front of the pretty French Country style home built by Hughes-Edwards Builders in the December issue of HGTV Magazine.

November – Vince Gill Concert Media Coordination

Country music’s consummate caring artist Vince Gill brought friends Sheryl Crow, Keb’ Mo’ and hit songwriter Natalie Hemby to the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum for the fourth annual benefit for Students Taking A Right Stand.

Chair-ish The Night With Vince Gill, Nashville, TN — Vince Gill brought special friends “Pontoon” hit songwriter Natalie Hemby, Sheryl Crow and Keb’ Mo’ to the fourth annual Chair-ish The Night With Vince Gill benefit for STARS (Students Taking A Right Stand).

Extensive coverage of the event was coordinated by FHM. The event raised over $100,000 helping the nationally recognized and evidenced-based resource for student assistance, training and professional consultation who assist youth, families and schools with prevention, intervention and treatment services addressing bullying, substance abuse, violence, and social and emotional barriers to success.

December – Creative Infographic Unveiled

Love, love a clever infographic and Forest Home Media, with graphic artist Bart Smith, created a great one for client Benchmark Realty contrasting the important differences between Benchmark and the traditional real estate agency.

Benchmark Infographic, Forest Home Media, Nashville, TN — The stark contrast between Benchmark Realty and the traditional agency is illustrated in the clever infographic.

Here’s our blog explaining the process.

Infographics Are A Cool Marketing Tool

December – Cover of House & Home Magazine

Coordinating a second magazine cover in 2012, a gorgeous Charleston single, built by Castle Homes, was selected as the charming Christmas backdrop for the magazine cover with FHM coordinating the photo shoot and write-up.

And there’s more! Check out Dana Tucker’s uber amazing company Bella Tucker Decorative Finishes for the latest on what’s cool, new and different with her artist husband, Brooks Tucker. Head over to NanceSense for the latest adventures of FHM partner Nancy McNulty.

Do you excel in a home-related industry and need help successfully connecting with your target audience? Fill out the form below and let’s see if we can create a winning partnership.

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Home Industry Market Research

December 17, 2012 By Nancy McNulty 2 Comments

Market research is an important function of having your own integrated marketing firm and definitely can be the most fun. Specializing in the home industry, this past week, Forest Home Media partners, Dana Tucker, and I headed to one of the media world meccas for us – Southern Living Magazine – and also to their latest Southern Living Idea House in Senoia, Georgia. We are preparing for the 2013 Southern Living Idea House at Fontanel in Nashville and you are going to want to follow Castle Homes as they build this impressive project on their Facebook page.

Castle Homes building the 2013 Southern Living Idea House in Nashville, TN. — Rendering by Iian Stuart of 2013 Southern Living Idea House at Fontanel in Nashville. A gorgeous relaxed farmhouse style home with adjacent guest houses. Follow the build via Castle Homes website & Facebook!

Before sharing the details on our Southern Living experience, we were amazed by the small Georgian town which has been the backdrop for around 24 movie/television projects and is currently the fictional setting for AMC’s hit show, The Walking Dead, aka Woodbury, GA.

Marketing trip discovers The Walking Dead set. — The Bank of Woodbury facade for “The Walking Dead,” hit AMC show actually in Senoia, GA.

In addition, the town boasts music sensation Zac Brown’s restaurant, Southern Ground Social Club. Brown is establishing a new youth camp on his area farm and is also the benefiting charity for the idea house. In my personal blog, NanceSense, I have additional highlights of the trip including a review of Zac’s restaurant and our trip to the latest trend in movie theaters, Fork and Screen.

Working on premier home tours since 1998, two years ago I was the PR rep for the Nashville Southern Living Showcase Home built by the area’s top custom homebuilder, Castle Homes. It’s incredibly exciting that in 2013 the nation’s only Southern Living Idea House will be built at the historic Barbara Mandrell property, Fontantel in Nashville, by Castle Homes, the 2012 Southern Living Custom Builder of the Year. In prepping for this massive client PR opportunity, we visited the 2012 home currently open in Senoia, Georgia through December 23.

farmhouse style home, historic renovation, 2013 Southern Living Idea House — A historic 1830 farmhouse was moved and renovated by John Bynum Custom Homes for the 2012 Southern Living Idea House.

This charming town, located around an hour from Atlanta, has remarkably hosted two Southern Living Idea houses. Project developer Scott Tigchelaar gave us an overview of the city and the unprecedented Idea House projects. According to their website, “Senoia Enterprises Inc. and Historic Development Ventures were started by Paul Lombardi and Scott Tigchelaar,of Raleigh Studios – Atlanta. The Historic Senoia Project is a downtown re-development initiative within the Historic District of the City of Senoia, Georgia, originally undertaken by the principals of Raleigh Studios – Atlanta.”

The 2012 Southern Living Idea House is remarkable because for the first time, SL takes on a historic farmhouse renovation. We love, love a time lapse, check out this one for a great video project overview.

Southern Living Idea House Time Lapse Video, Senoia, GA

In addition to being a gorgeous farmhouse filled with great building and interior design ideas, the home has also been dressed for the holidays since mid-October. Here is my photo overview:

Photo Highlights of 2013 Southern Living Idea House taken by Forest Home Media

Throughout the home there are several QR codes available from scanning including this one from national sponsor Marvin Windows. Do you use your smartphone to scan these? We’d love your feedback at the end of this blog.

Clever QR Code for national idea house sponsor Marvin Windows. — Let us know if you like to scan QR Codes like this one for national idea house sponsor Marvin Windows.

As I also mentioned, we were also thrilled to visit the headquarters for Southern Living magazine in Birmingham, Alabama touching base with them on the upcoming Nashville project. We were given a personal tour by the oh so charming Frank Craige, Southern Living, Home Program Manager, and we were very pleased to meet Zoe Gowen, one of the editors for Southern Living’s online publication, The Daily South, a must-read for me. Here are a few photo highlights:

cake stands, storage area of Southern Living, — A dreamy glimpse of some of the a-mazing cake stands featured in Southern Living magazine.

photo stylist, — Super adorable SL senior photo stylist Buffy Hargett says there may be a little pink in the upcoming Easter photo spread for Southern Living magazine.

Talented Southern Living chef Norm King, with FHM partner Nancy McNulty, hints at a possible future visit to the 2013 Southern Living Idea House in Nashville. Fingers crossed & be sure to check out his Daily South column.

In June of 2013, Nashville will be hosting its own Southern Living Idea House at the beautiful Fontanel property. Impressively, this tourist destination has earned a #3 ranking on TripAdvisor. You are going to want to plan a visit to see visit this gorgeous home more than once and check out the yummy Café Fontanella on site. Don’t forget to follow the build at Castle Homes.

Infographics Are A Cool Marketing Tool

December 13, 2012 By Nancy McNulty Leave a Comment

Infographics are a great way to take a complicated or important point and create a visual to communicate your message in a concise and clever way. Forest Home Media is working with Middle Tennessee’s only real estate company, Benchmark Realty, which allows its agents total freedom and 100% commissions. We chose to create an infographic to communicate this progressive idea to help attract new agents to this forward-thinking company.

Begun in 2006 by broker Phillip Cantrell, the company was established out of frustration with the traditional brokerage model. Since this time, through a huge economic downturn, he has grown his business to over 340 agents using his unique business model and was named in 2012 one of “Best Places To Work” by the Nashville Business Journal.

Forest Home Media was recommended the graphic arts services of Bart Smith, Bart Smith Design, by the marketing director of Logan’s Roadhouse. Ironically at the initial research meeting, Smith revealed his wife is Benchmark agent, Linda Lurker. This fortuitous meeting helped in the creation of Benchmark’s infographic.

Smith, a Lipscomb University art grad, has been creating infographics for various uses over his thirty-year career. He quickly grasped the importance of the infographic in comparing how Benchmark pays its agents as compared to the traditional brokerage company.

“I love the USA Today feel of being able to understand information at a quick glance with the pictures telling the story,” Smith said. “Infographics are a fun, helpful and easy way to get a point across.”

No-brainer is how Smith summarized the pay and employment comparison between Benchmark and traditional real estate companies outlined in the infographic below.

Infographic Great Marketing Tool — This cool infographic, generated by Forest Home Media, illustrates the progressive way in which Nashville real estate company, Benchmark Realty, pays and employs their agents.

“The infographic comparison helps the audience understand it is a no-brainer when you look at the choices between the traditional brokerage and Benchmark. You get a much better deal,” Smith said. And, Smith says he is living the difference with a wife as a Benchmark agent.

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