Howard Merrell & Partners Inc

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We believe wholeheartedly that the best, most effective communication is inspired by unique insights into human emotion. It’s a science we’ve turned into an art, and we’ve found there’s no better way to profoundly transform a client’s business. We believe in starting with an idea, then building the mediums around it. We believe advertising can be anything, but it first has to be good. We believe a smiling client is the best way to end a meeting.

Down here in the South, we’ve learned to be pretty self-sufficient. We offer a range of services. More than most agencies our size. Yes, we actually do them right here, under one roof. And yes, our disciplines are integrated. We have walls, but they’re just to hold the building up. Our teams work side by side, with experts in each field in each department. Helps our clients sleep better at night.
These days at HM&P, advertising takes on a wide range of forms - print, radio, television, web, social media marketing, direct mail, guerrilla, ambient, trade show design, you name it. The audiences we’re talking to are just as diverse. No matter what it is or who we’re talking to, we’re driven by the same thing - an intense need to produce work that transforms the competitive landscape. Work that touches the soul and ignites an emotional reaction in people. We hope you’ll take a minute and view some of that work.
Here you’ll find programmers, interactive designers and art directors, information architects and project managers, creating content using Flash, AJAX, CSS, HTML and other technologies that don’t even have names yet. Sounds typical? It’s not. Where most agencies have their interactive departments off working on their own, only to be seen at the Christmas party, ours is smack dab in the middle of it all. Working side by side with Creative. Same level of strategic and creative scrutiny that applies to any other medium is applied here. The results are web components that are more effective at engaging, entertaining and informing. And are completely integrated with any other campaign parts that may exist.
At HM&P, there’s much more to public relations than writing and distributing press releases. Our relationships with national, regional and local print, broadcast and online media, as well as with the trade press, get us the best results for our clients. In addition to garnering media coverage, we have a wealth of experience with speaking, employee communications, community relations programs and managing both large and small events. Our people are comprised of trained writers and communicators with backgrounds in journalism and marketing.
Our goal is to find or create media assets that connect client messages with their audiences in ways that enhances the flow of information. We see our role as one of archeologist, creator and/or caretaker of that connection. We don’t perceive target audiences as eyes and ears, we see them as human beings that make hundreds of choices each; some simple, some complicated.
And, we value our client’s money as if it was our own. That completely changes the way we plan, buy and reconcile media. In fact, we post everything we purchase for our clients. Why? Because it is the right thing to do by our clients. It’s what they deserve. And, it makes us better at what we do. Fully accountable from plan to post.

Among us, you’ll find professional psychologists and behavioral scientists that apply advanced techniques to get inside peoples’ heads and hearts. To understand what moves them on a subconscious level. When appropriate, we use behavioral analysis to quantify consumers’ priorities, and identify market opportunities and their potential value.
Effective consumer communication touches the soul, causing an emotional reaction. This reaction occurs instantaneously, at an unconscious level. The act of asking about it actually distorts the emotion. So how do you measure the effectiveness of an emotional connection without asking a respondent to think about the answer? Don’t ask. Observe. We have a tool to do that. AnswerStream.
For more information, visit answerstream.com, or contact Dr. Bruce Hall, bhall@merrellgroup.com.

What are we trying to do when we create an ad? Are we inoculating our consumers with a belief in the brand? Are we trying to create recall? Purchase intent? Our unique approach to creativity flows from our original thinking about How Advertising Really Works.
To request the ebook "How Advertising Really Works" email Bruce Hall.

Senior managers at HM&P work to offer clients a fresh perspective on how to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. We use proprietary research to identify competitive insights at the business strategy level, then convert these insights into strategic options that have long-term investment and return implications. Often these strategies are delivered through a brand, where we specialize in creating intangible value above and beyond functional benefits. No matter how we help, we are constantly searching for big ideas that will deliver long-term wealth to businesses.
Consulting services most often focus on customer need analysis, new product ideation, brand concept validation, new brand pricing and positioning, mature brand repositioning, or line extensions that leverage existing brand equity. And sometimes, we evaluate competitive activities and market data to create a point-of-view that will help validate ideas or courses of action being considered by the client’s organization.
Communication has changed. More and more people everyday are using social applications on the web to have online conversations on a global scale. The Social Media Marketing team at HM&P understands how to leverage this growing form of communication and integrate it as an important component of a client’s marketing strategy. HM&P creates customized engagement and community building campaigns that facilitate word of mouth marketing, build brand awareness and create brand advocates. Client campaigns include managing online brand reputations, engaging key influencers, developing and distributing online content including blogs and podcasts, and social application education and training.

Let’s make some advertising. Really good advertising. The kind clients always dream about but can never seem to get until they come here. Let’s create things that are smart and relevant and touch people on an emotional level. Do things other agencies aren’t. And can’t. Let’s work late because we want to, but get home to tuck in our kids when we need to. Let’s bust our humps. Think until our brains hurt. Solve problems that seemed unsolvable. And for crying out loud, let’s have fun doing it.

The roots of Howard, Merrell & Partners run deep. But being the first full-service ad agency in North Carolina doesn’t mean we get to sit back and rest on our laurels, on all the brands and brand managers we’ve made famous over the years. Quite the contrary. We learned a long time ago that in this business, as in any other, you have to reinvent yourself every so often. And one of those reinventions is going on right now. We’ve been around since 1945, but today, we feel brand new.

Beck Promoted to Senior Account Executive and Senior Writing Specialist - November 9, 2010
Welcome Jeff Swiatowicz, Our New Systems Administrator - October 21, 2010
Jeffrey L. Cohen to Speak at BlogWorld & New Media Expo - October 14, 2010
Bank Independent Names Howard, Merrell & Partners Agency of Record - October 11, 2010
Moriarty Joins Account Services Team - October 4, 2010

Happy Birthday Nicole! - November 10, 2010
Practice, Practice & Perfect: The elevator pitch - November 5, 2010
POLL: Who’s the Most Annoying Insurance Salesperson? - November 3, 2010

Want to talk? Drop us a line. Or feel free to give us a call.

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Thanks for your interest in HM&P. Someone will get back with you as soon as possible. In the meantime, we hope you’ll explore our site and learn a little more about us. Talk to you soon.