Blumenfeld and Fleming

We just received an email from CRAIN’S NY. It’s OK to love your work, screamed the headline. The folks at Crain’s went on to explain that they’re going to unveil the best places to work in NYC. Here’s a (not so) secret – you couldn’t pay us a million dollars to work at one of them. Sure, there were days, even months, back in the day on and around Madison Avenue, when we loved where we worked. We enjoyed shooting in LA, we didn’t mind hanging out with Drew Barrymore at the Sunset Marquis. But at this point, we think b+f would beat their winners hands down.

Part of the reason we love our work is we love where we work. Our office overlooks Deep Hollow Ranch, less than a mile from the Atlantic Ocean. We work with a lot of business owners all over the East End, remember integrity, honesty, and kindness? They’re alive and well out here. Whether you own an advertising, marketing and web design business, a landscape company, a car dealership – you work at a local bank, newspaper, magazine, or hospital, you can’t beat taking a beach walk before, after, or during work!

So, a few days after Thanksgiving and a few weeks before Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanza, we thought we’d say THANKS. There’s no better place to live or work than the East End of Long Island.

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I didn’t want to take computer science class at Emory. The giant, unwieldy, ugly beige box intimidated me. When Jill and I got our first real jobs in advertising at Young & Rubicam and Lord Geller in the early 80’s, copywriters typed on word processors, art directors hand-set type, and commercials were shot on film and spliced together with tape by editors.

In 1984, Steve Jobs changed all that. Click here to watch comercial. His Apple was built for us “creatives”. Design mattered. Fun mattered. Music mattered. Art mattered. Macs were intuitive, Iphones were smarter, and Ipads turned octogenarians and babies into believers every minute of every day. Genius is an overused word, but Jobs was pure genius, there’s no way to eulogize the man. Look around your home, your office, your world, at all the products you love. Do you know the names of the CEOs of the companies who made them? It is remarkable to feel so much loss and sadness and to see it echoed all over the Internet by millions of others, like us, like you, who didn’t know Steve Jobs, but knew he changed the game, changed our lives, changed the world.

Today, when so many people are “thinking the same” let’s remember, moving forward, to think different. (Or for you grammarians, to think differently.)

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Ten years later, you still know exactly where you were.

Who you were with.

Who you knew who might be in danger.

I moved here on September 1, 2001. The morning of September 11, I was living in an East Hampton rental with no TV. A friend instant messaged me saying a plane had hit the WTC. I assumed it was a small Cessna, until my phone started to ring like crazy.

Jill was editing a TV spot. When she got back home to Montauk there was great surf, but she couldn’t bear the thought of enjoying it while so many people were suffering. Unable to face a scarred Manhattan, Jill didn’t venture into the city for six months. A few days later I returned for meetings and was devastated as the Jitney headed towards the tunnel, Ground Zero was still smoldering and my “true South” was gone. I felt lost. Haunted by the people searching for their loved ones. And my thriving work as a freelance writer was gone indefinitely.

September 11, 2001 changed history. It also changed this place we call home. Quaint villages became year-round communities. City slickers gave up Manhattan for a different life. School enrollments expanded. New businesses grew. The Internet was in place. The impetus was there.

Ten years later, life has changed. blumenfeld + fleming wasn’t even a dream then and is now a nine-and-a-half year old reality. I met our first client on the beach the day after the towers went down. I doubt we’d have spoken if it hadn’t been for 9-11. On September 11, we both were grateful to be here. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed.











What do you remember? How has your life changed?

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This time of year we’re in full court press. April and May are bloomin’ crazy. Here’s what new at b+f!

Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center

We’ve been working closely with our friends at the former Atlantis Marine world to create this new logo and ad campaign. And we’re all a flutter about the new Butterflies exhibit!

Suffolk County National Bank

We were fortunate to creative direct this TV spot that Plum TV did a great job producing. Click here to watch it. We’ve also created new print ads, radio spots and a series of brochures for SCNB!




Southampton Hospital

This is the first ad we’ve created in a new emotional campaign that reminds the community how much we all rely upon Southampton Hospital. We also developed this print and banner campaign to remind people that the excellent services they need are right here.

Hampton Hills

We don’t golf, but it doesn’t stop us from appreciating this members-only golfer’s oasis in Westhampton Beach that just got a new logo, new website and web-banner campaign on Hamptons.com

Coming soon from b+f!

Want to get in shape this summer? Coach Minardi will make it happen, his new website is almost ready. This new logo for CCOM will debut on their new website and Main Beach is being programmed right now too. SWEET! Want to get your new website and logo in shape? B+f will make it happen! Just give us a call.

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Everyone knows it’s better to give than receive, especially to the Red Cross Blood Bank! But with so many charities vying for your attention here in the Hamptons all summer long, and throughout the holidays – who do you support and why? Where can you make a difference?

Here are some of our favorite do-gooders in the Hamptons and around the world. Feel free to share the list and  click on any one of the links to learn more. And, feel free to tell us who you love and why! Happy Holidays, share the joy, count your blessings and give what you can. We’ll see you in the New Year!

Lynn + Jill

1. Local Food Pantries & Island Harvest
The idea that people could go hungry in the Hamptons seems impossible – with all the left over lobster and steak we’ve seen at $400 plate galas. But it’s true. As oil prices and unemployment go up many local residents’ cupboards have gone bare. Buying a turkey for a family in need or sending a check to your local food pantry are easy ways to help.

2. Peconic Land Trust, Concerned Citizens of Montauk & Group for the East End
If you moved here for the same reasons we did and you’re simply in love with this part of the world, we encourage to you preserve and protect it.

3. Heifer
Five years ago Jill and her daughter Maggie spend a few days at a Heifer camp. They came back inspired and knowledgeable about how much Americans consumerversus other countries. Since then we’ve been supporting this super-cool organization that donates cows, chicks, pigs and bunnies to impoverished communities and teaches them how to support themselves.

4. VDAY!
Dedicated to ending Violence against Women and Girls.Eve Ensler is one of Lynn’s mentors and heroes and Lynn was on the founding committee of VDAY. Protecting women and girls around the world is near and dear to our hearts. VDAY has virtually no overhead 96% of every dollar goes straight to the cause.

5. Paddlers For Humanity.
Don’t float through life, Paddle and Make a Difference.We love this small local charity. The generosity of spirit and the athleticism and the sheer determination they bring to everything they do is awesome. And they raise money for local and global good works.

6. Doctors without Borders.
Whenever there’s a disaster, this group is there. Katrina, The Tsunami, Haiti – these doctors fly in and get the job done.

7. Fighting Chance.
The C word. It’s pretty overwhelming. Fighting chance offers cancer counseling, patient navigation, resources and more free-of-charge to cancer patients and their families on the East End.

8. Wait wait there’s more! We also love and support:
Project Most, The Retreat, The Fresh Air Fund, CMEE, ARF, The Clamshell Foundation, Montauk Medical Center, Southampton Hospital and Swim Across America, Fiver,  Acumen. Safewaternetwork, Karmakidsart, and of course, the Montauk Fire Department.

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This was the second hottest July on record in the history of New York. Ditch Plain Beach looks like Coney Island, and it’s probably easier to find a parking spot there! It’s finally August when things get really hot. The Romans called these “the dog days” because Sirius the dog star is so prominent now. We say it’s time to take a break from the business of being fabulous in the Hamptons (or whatever it is you’re doing!) and enjoy the dogs of summer! Here are some of our favorite pooches on the beach and après the beach! See you in September unless you need something before then!

Lynn + Jill

Enjoy the Dog Days, Post your dog on our FB page and call Lynn @ 631 668 0007 if you want to discuss your logo, website or ad campaign.

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Over the past 20 years, we’ve created a lot of ad campaigns. One of Jill’s was on the
Super Bowl. Wilson Sporting Goods. One of Lynn’s was so controversial it could only run after 9pm… Clairol Herbal Essences. We’ve come up with campaigns that were loved

and ad campaigns that we’d rather not take credit for all these years later. But neither one of us have ever written an ad that got someone fired. Until now.

In May, the manager of Prudential’s Southampton office called us. He’d heard us give a presentation on branding hosted by Hampton’s Magazine. He wanted to brand himself – make his name better known. “Are you sure you can do that? Don’t you have to stay within Prudential’s campaign?” we asked. “No, I’ve spoken to Dottie. I have permission to go outside the campaign.”

Great! We were all over it. In less than two weeks we turned around a campaign. We presented to the client and the Prudential marketing team in Bridgehampton.
The campaign was approved by all.

The first ad ran Memorial Day weekend and our phone started ringing. “Did you do that ad, it looks great!” “This is the publisher, we LOVE the ad!” The client’s phone started ringing. “Great campaign!” “Very attention getting.” So attention getting, he got a call from one of the owners of the company. “You’re fired.”

Why did he get fired? The corporation says it’s because the ad violated corporate ad guidelines. He (and we) had been assured that he could go out of the guidelines. What really (really!) happened is a mystery, and the resolution will probably occur behind closed doors. We thought we’d share the campaign you would have seen had it run as scheduled. We never thought it would result in anything other than raised awareness and sales.

Tell us what you think. And call Lynn for a print campaign that’s sure to get noticed! 631 668 0007

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Ok – before we get into this conversation let’s get this out of the way: Why is a
logo so important? It’s the unifying element or uniform your brand wears every
day. It’s the first impression, the lasting impression…it’s the essence of your
brand’s graphic communication over time. So if you’re starting a company, need
a logo update, or you want to design a logo – here’s what you need to know:

1. Strategy. Don’t even get started without one. As much as you’re chomping
at the bit to start designing, wait and answer these questions: Who are
you talking to. What do you know about them? What is the main point
of difference that they need to know about your product or service?

2. Look at the competition. Don’t do something that exists (Doi! It’s not
flattering, it’s copying.) Learn how people in the sector are communicating.
You don’t want to be inappropriate, arbitrary or irrelevant but you don’t
want to blend in. It helps to have a good name to work with. Make sure
you don’t look exactly like another company.

3. Color. Color has to do as much with the category as the brand personality.
Of course don’t do the same color as your competitor! We tend toward
simple, pleasing, 1-3 color logos. Clients often tell us their favorite color is
green, but that doesn’t mean that’s the right color for their logo. For Race
Lane we mirrored some of the colors of the room, and kept the palette
very ‘Hamptons.’

4. Font. Font is your tone of voice. It conveys whether the company is
elegant, strong, restrained, conservative, bold, energetic, organic, hip,
(cheesy, cutesy). Font tells all of those stories, it’s about communicating
the brand’s personality. For Hampton & Co. we had a whimsical Jack
Russell representing the beach and chose a more conservative font to
anchor it in the tradition of the Hamptons.

5. Be Memorable. Think about the category benefit, or your product
or service’s benefit. Think about the company’s first initial to dial up
distinctiveness. For Endeavor, a sophisticated restaurant holding
company, Jill used the tines of a fork to create an E. Even the tines’
placement – upward, for energy and aspiration, are intentional. For
Aquatica Aviation, Jill created the A by having a seaplane ‘fly through it’ creating motion.
For HelpCare, the H actually ‘hugs itself,’ conveying warmth and support.

6. Does it pass the T-Shirt test? Does your logo make you proud? Will it work
on a T-Shirt, the side of a truck, your website and your business card?
These are some of the award-winning logos blumenfeld + fleming has
created in the past 8 years.

Click here or call 631 668 0007 if you want to learn more about how we can help you build a distinctive and memorable brand. Tell us what your favorite
logo is. And if you know someone starting a business, pass this on!

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A blog about the fabulous Hamptonites and why we love them.

The magazine, Homes of the Hamptons, says their readers’ average household income is $626,000. Dan’s says their readers’ average household income is $381,000. According to Saunders, the average price first quarter for homes in 2010 for the Village of Sagaponack is $6,053,571. And Range Rover of the Hamptons sold 254 Range Rover HSE last year…. starting price is $79k. Not surprising when you realize that Alec Baldwin gets $150,000 for one Episode of 30 Rock (and that’s not counting residuals!)

These statistics could make you feel woefully inadequate, but for many of us who live and work here they’re actually good news.

Manhattan movers and shakers take over our charming hamlets from July 4rth to Labor Day, making our towns unrecognizable (the population jumps from 90,000 to 300,000!) our roads unbearable, and our businesses boom.

We love the onslaught! (though you might not believe it when we’re behind the wheel of a car.) These Prada wearing invaders rely on the builders, restaurants, retailers, caterers, banks and other businesses that rely on us to make them stand out.

So for those of you lucky enough to be in the elite demographic of the Hamptons, SHOP ON! For those of us lucky enough to live and work here, keep smiling and lay off the horn!

If you want to reach folks in the fabulous Hamptons, we know how to get their attention. email us! or call 631 668 0007 and ask for lynn.