For Immediate Release
May 5, 2007
Contact: Lauren Doyle
(513) 271-7222 x17
ldoyle@wordsworthweb.com
Uptown Consortium Taps Metaphor Studio, Smith Marketing Group for Consultancy Work
The Uptown Consortium today announced that it has hired Metaphor Studio and Smith Marketing Group (SMG) as web and marketing communications consultants, respectively. The agencies will immediately begin working on brand and website development activities related to Uptown Cincinnati.
Consortium president and CEO, Tony Brown, said that the hiring of these two consultancy groups represents a strategic shift towards establishing Uptown Cincinnati as both a destination and its own brand. “We were very impressed with the experience that Metaphor and SMG brought to the table, and we feel their accomplishments would complement our vision of Uptown Cincinnati as a destination, a neighborhood of choice and an important part of the Greater Cincinnati region,” Brown said.
Metaphor Studio is an interactive and creative consultancy founded by CEO Ran Mullins in 1997. In the nearly 10 years since the agency has been in business, it has provided brand identity, interactive and advertising strategy to such diverse clients as the City of Blue Ash, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, 3CDC, DCI, iRhine and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Brown says that the agency was selected because of its unique and customizable solutions and the company’s experience in working with clients similar to the Uptown Consortium and Uptown Cincinnati.
"We're honored to be chosen as interactive agency for the Uptown Consortium. Uptown's leadership in the Cincinnati USA renaissance has helped to define a bigger picture of our urban core. I am confident that their initiatives coupled with Metaphor Studio's online strategies will deliver a powerful partnership," said Mullins.
SMG was established two years ago, but the group’s president, Mimi Smith, has over 17 years of communications experience. SMG provides its clients with a variety of marketing support services. According to Brown, Smith’s group was selected because of its strategic and thorough approach to projects, experience in measuring the results of marketing projects and the group’s previous experience with the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Opera, the Student Activity Foundation of Cincinnati Public Schools and the Legal Aid Society.
The Uptown Consortium (www.uptownconsortium.org) is a non-profit community development corporation dedicated to the human, social, economic and physical improvement of Uptown Cincinnati. The members of the Consortium are Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, TriHealth and the University of Cincinnati. The Consortium’s areas of focus are public safety, transportation, housing, economic development and integrated social services for neighborhood residents.
Uptown Cincinnati is located just north of downtown and includes the neighborhoods of Avondale, Clifton, Clifton Heights, Corryville, Fairview, Mt. Auburn and University Heights.
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