At LeDuc Creative, Gratitude Is Our Jam Year Round

At LeDuc Creative, Gratitude Is Our Jam Year Round

“I feel a very unusual sensation - if it is not indigestion, I think it must be gratitude.”

                     -Benjamin Disraeli

Yep. It’s November. That means less daylight and more carbs. And with Thanksgiving around the corner, that means, well, even more carbs. But November has also become the traditional time for “giving thanks.”

Be that as it may, we’re grateful every day of the year for our clients. So then why are we mentioning it now? Well, we’re not completely immune to the cliché.

But November is also the time our clients consider their marketing plan for 2017. Over the decades we’ve acquired a lot of great clients and are thankful when they make the decision to stay with us year after year. And since we’ve been at this for over 35 years that means some of our clients have been with us a long long time. Like, the lifetime of a cockatiel.

We’re not new to this.

Our creative and administrative endeavors run the gamut from traditional print, billboard and broadcast platforms, through the most current digital and social media marketing. And we have clients in a wide range of industries.

One of our longest standing clients is Feed Lease Corporation, who’ve been a part of us since the beginning. The experts at Feed Lease have been designing and building premium quality, high performance automated press feeding systems and equipment since 1969.

In the early days, most of our work with Feed Lease was in the form of product catalogs and flyers, as this was the advertising du jour for manufacturing businesses at that time. But times they were a changin’. The climate of advertising was beginning to shift. As their company grew, their marketing needs began to change. So we developed print ads that would work in conjunction with the newly-formed internet. The result was potential customers both calling and opting for the email contact list and a subsequent spike in web traffic. In the mean time, they developed more of a presence as keynote speakers for PrecisionMetalforming Association events.

As the years passed, we knew that if Feed Lease was going to continue with its success, they needed more than just a presence on their website and at their industry events. We needed to boost their presence in the newest platform - that of social media. So we did. By incorporating our expert design, knowledge of applicable social media platforms and utilizing our in-house Google AdWords writing expert and management team to contribute fresh and relevant content, we were able to significantly build and strengthen their brand, drive conversions and increase their presence.

All of that equals more business.

We remain grateful to Feed Lease and to all of our clients for recognizing us as the agile and forward thinking marketing and advertising agency that we are. And yeah. While we embrace traditional advertising and still use it where needed, we know that the innovation needed to drive a company’s success comes from staying current and keeping an eye on the future.

As you look ahead to your 2017 marketing plan, see how we can make your life easier and help your company grow. For us, 2017 means the addition of new services, new information and a new website  - all of which will contribute to a bright intellectual thought process. We’d love to include you on our list of clients for whom we’re grateful.

Happy a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Staff Spotlight

At LeDuc Creative, we believe “Creative Human Capital” is the backbone of digital marketing and advertising. Today, we want to highlight two members of our digitally driven staff who work tirelessly to bring our clients into the 21st century:

Lauren Maier, Resource Manager
“My background is in education; however, after teaching for six years, moving to Indiana and bringing our daughter into the world, it was time to change directions. I became the Resource Manager for LeDuc Creative, which has allowed me to expand my comfort levels and put my skills to the test, all while staying at home with my daughter, Penelope.

“I have watched LeDuc Creative grow for over twenty years, and I am proud of where we are today. There is no such thing as a typical day, as each one brings new excitement. I work behind the scenes to ensure all data and resources are accurate and up-to-date. There is never a dull moment at LeDuc Creative, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Jacob Hollenbeck, Graphic Designer
“I’m a graphic designer who enjoys helping small businesses thrive in a world dominated by corporate commerce. I take pride in getting to know the clients I work with, and I value the relationships I build over the course of a project.

“I have a degree in graphic design from Ferris State University and have been designing for LeDuc Creative since 2013. With an emphasis on problem solving and communication, my design process ensures that a company’s audience hears them clearly. Ultimately, my work helps clients bolster their business and strengthen their brand.”

About LeDuc Creative
Located in the heart of Ann Arbor, LeDuc Creative has been doing traditional, digital, and analytical advertising and marketing for over 35 years. We represent the best of traditional advertising and 21st century marketing, combining data-driven marketing strategies and cutting edge advertising techniques to serve our clients in a variety of ways.

For more information about LeDuc services and our “Creative Human Capital,” please visit http://leduccreative.us/.

A Brief History of LeDuc Creative

In 1972, John LeDuc took a job as a sign painter. He was commissioned to paint the outfield fence of the softball field in Lapeer, Michigan. The image was the Big Boy logo, but instead of holding a cheeseburger, he was holding a softball mitt and catching a fly ball. It was this job that would inspire John to pursue a career in advertising.

John went on to art school, but continued painting signs for Lapeer during summer breaks. While in school, he started painting album covers and when he graduated, John was offered a job as an illustrator for General Motors.

After a year at GM, John went back to Ann Arbor where he opened a studio making T-shirts and signs. It was here that John picked up his first client, Collected Works. Collected Works is LeDuc’s longest standing client and John remains good friends with the store’s owners Rich and Irene.

Eventually, John got married and moved to a location on Dewey St. with an art studio on the first floor. While working at Douglas Anderson Advertising, John LeDuc met John Benson. When Doug Anderson told Benson and LeDuc they would never amount to anything, the pair left the company to start their own competing agency, Benson LeDuc Studios. Over time, Benson LeDuc grew from a two man boutique studio to a 22 man agency with 5 Industrial accounts, a woman’s clothing store, a couple of bars and restaurants and 23 Taubman Shopping Centers.

In 1987, John moved to 1400 White St. where JLeDuc Co was born. The office was located in a studio built above the garage and John’s wife Julaine wouldn’t let people that she didn’t like into the house. Family friends “Peanut” and Michelle joined John as office administrators and project managers. Bill deMink (John’s brother-in-law) started working as a freelance writer and still remains with the company to this day.

In 1999, JLeDuc Co. was purchased and the company name was changed to Ideography. In 2001 John left Ideography to create LeDuc Creative Co., a creative consulting firm. By 2003 LeDuc Creative had transformed into a full service ad agency and the accounts from Ideography began to migrate over to LeDuc Creative Co.

Since 2003, LeDuc Creative Co. has transformed from a traditional ad agency to digital marketing and advertising company. LeDuc Creative has undergone many changes over the past five decades, but reflecting back on the past leaves John with nothing but optimism for the future. “Here I am at the ripe ol’ age of 60, enjoying advertising as much as ever,” John noted, “As my minister brother used to say: I can’t be knocked down, you can’t take away my joy, you can’t be beat me, because I got God on my side.”