News

AlphaGraphics wins PODi Best Practices: Self-Promotion Award

Yesterday, PODi, the Digital Printing Initiative, announced the 2012 winners of the PODi Best Practices Awards for digital printing case studies. These prestigious awards recognize outstanding examples of digital printing, cross media and relevant direct marketing campaigns.  AlphaGraphics in the Cultural District is honored to have one the Self-Promotion category for our Coconut Campaign.

The entire press-release can be read online here. 

AlphaGraphics’ New Brand Identity Reflects Evolution from Print to Cross Media Solutions

The AlphaGraphics network unveiled dynamic new branding at its August 2011 national conference. The updated logotype reflects an ongoing evolution driven by innovation and ingenuity.

Evolving and adapting to meet the needs of an ever-changing marketplace, AlphaGraphics ensures that its clients have access to the latest technology and comprehensive slate of products and services to power their marketing programs.

“Our franchise has always been positioned on the leading edge as a marketing and business communications services provider,” says Clare Meehan, President and CEO  of AlphaGraphics in the Cultural District. “The new identity expresses the forward thinking, creativity and imagination, and the full-circle, start-to-finish solutions approach upon which our business was built and continues to grow.”

Over the past several years, the AlphaGraphics brand has leveraged its 41 year history of print experience to continually expand its marketing services offerings to address the changing needs of small to mid-size businesses.

“These are exciting times in marketing communications,” continues Meehan. “Our clients increasingly need help in effectively communicating with their audiences across many channels. We have an enormous opportunity to service clients using personalized, targeted, and most importantly, measurable multi-channel direct marketing campaigns.”

Offering printing services, including digital, large format, and offset printing, and strategic marketing services including graphic design, website development, and cross-media campaigns that integrate personalization, email, SEM, social media, mobile marketing and direct mail, AlphaGraphics in the Cultural District partners with clients to deliver one-stop, fully integrated communications solutions.

“Our new identity really speaks to how we put it all together to help our clients communicate in an increasingly complex world,” concludes Meehan. “It’s an evolution whose time has come.”

Clare Meehan awarded 5th Annual Jackie Robinson “MVDBP”

Yesterday, on behalf of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Major League Baseball, Clare Meehan was awarded as the recipient of the 5th Annual Jackie Robinson “MVDBP”(Most Valuable Diverse Business Partner) Award by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In recognition of the extraordinary contributions of Jackie Robinson we think it most befitting on this, the 64th Anniversary of Jackie breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball, to recognize those Diverse Business Partners we believe reflect the character and commitment to excellence of Jackie Robinson.

Many people remember Jackie Robinson for his outstanding play on the baseball field. His Rookie of the Year Award, six consecutive All-Star appearances, an MVP award, six World Series appearances and Induction to the Hall of Fame are all testaments of his greatness on the baseball diamond. In addition, Jackie Robinson was also a forerunner of the Civil Rights Movement. He was a key figure in the establishment and growth of the Freedom Bank, an African-American owned and controlled entity, in the 1960s. In recognition of his accomplishments on/off the field, Robinson posthumously received a Congressional Medal of Honor in 2004 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984.

Dating back to 1947, Major League Baseball has been at the forefront of professional sports in recognizing the importance of diversity, both on and off the field. In 1998, Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig, authorized the creation of the DBP program, an economically driven business initiative established to cultivate new and existing partnerships with minority- and women-owned businesses by increasing opportunities for minorities and women to participate in the procurement activities of Major League Baseball.

Congratulations, Clare!

AG Gets a Rare Sneak Peak at the 2012 Olympic Sailing Venue

Earlier this month, Bill and Clare Meehan, owners of marketing and business communications firm AlphaGraphics in the Cultural District, traveled to Weymouth, England as part of their company’s title sponsorship of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics.
 
The sailing team competed at the Sail for Gold Regatta, a selection event for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, which will be held at the same venue.
 
The Meehans were among several owners chosen to represent AlphaGraphics Inc., which oversees the nearly 300 owner-operated, locally-based AlphaGraphics centers worldwide.
 
2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Anna Tunnicliffe, 27, led her team to a gold medal in women’s match racing in Weymouth, and afterward caught up with the Meehans and news from Pittsburgh, where Tunnicliffe’s parents now reside.
 
“We first met Anna several years ago at an AlphaGraphics national conference. Back in Pittsburgh, her mother, Joanna, is manager of Team Tunnicliffe and became our client,” says Clare Meehan, President and CEO.

Anna, who lives in Florida with her husband, Bradley Funk, hopes to return to Pittsburgh for a family visit this November, taking a short break from Olympic training. The Meehans extended an open invitation to Anna to come to their center for a “meet and greet” with staff and clients. The parallel between Anna’s work and AlphaGraphics’ corporate culture is the basis for the corporate sponsorship.
 
“With her commitment to the highest standards and tireless dedication to her passion, Anna is a role model for all of us here at AlphaGraphics. She exemplifies the ‘team’ concept 110% and inspires our own team to consistently achieve at the highest levels for our clients.”
 
AlphaGraphics, Inc., is owned by Pindar Group, headquartered in Scarborough, England, a leading print and electronic media company, which over the years has become known for its support of sailing through its sponsorship of world-class sailors. www.alphagraphics.com

AG is now mobile-friendly!

You can now check AG out on your smartphone. We just made our website more mobile-friendly! 

www.m.agpittsburgh.com

Elevator Speech: Trumped Up "118"

Check Out AG in the Cultural District's newest Marketing Pitch! http://bit.ly/mMGzUo Please vote for us by logging into YouTube & clicking the "Like" button.

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Laura Edgerly, Art Director at Education Management Corporation! Laura is the lucky winner of the Habitat Restaurant gift certificate as part of our Use Your Coconut campaign.

Duquesne wins again with the help of AlphaGraphics

The Dukes, whose nine-game streak is the school's longest since 1971, move to 14-5 overall with the aid of "Big Heads" produced by AlphaGraphics. Jared Kramer of Duquesne's University Department of Athletics ordered the giant signs to distract their opponents... and it's working. Go Dukes!

Congratulations John Flaherty!

The staff at AlphaGraphics would like to announce John Flaherty of the Diocese of Pittsburgh as the winner of our Black Friday contest! Congratulations John, and enjoy that $100 Visa gift card!

AlphaGraphics in the Cultural District Donates Total of $6000 to Local Non-Profits

We are proud to announce that Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and Family Hospice & Palliative Care each received $3000 as a result of a promotion held during the last week of September. Both organizations were presented with a check at a VIP event hosted by AlphaGraphics on October 12. AlphaGraphics celebrated its 10th anniversary by launching a promotion during the week of September 27 through October 1 to benefit two of its local non-profit clients: Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and Family Hospice & Palliative Care. We encouraged the community to place orders throughout the week, when 5% of our revenue would be divided equally and donated to the two organizations.

AlphaGraphics in the Cultural District Will Donate Portion of Revenue to Non-Profit Clients

AlphaGraphics in the Cultural District is celebrating its 10th anniversary this fall by launching a fundraising effort to benefit two of its local non-profit clients: Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and Family Hospice & Palliative Care. During the week of September 27 through October 1, AlphaGraphics will donate 5% of its revenue, divided equally, to these two organizations. The company is encouraging the community to show their support of these wonderful local efforts by placing orders during that week.

“Our team at AlphaGraphics is very proud to have chosen Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and Family Hospice & Palliative Care to share in this important celebration,” said Clare Meehan, President & CEO of AlphaGraphics. “We are excited to give back to these two organizations that have such a positive impact on our community. In 2000 when we started our business, the non-profit vertical market quickly became our largest client base. Prior to AlphaGraphics, I spent a large portion of my life raising money for non-profits as a committed volunteer. My husband Bill and I have always had a strong belief in the importance of giving back to the community.”

AlphaGraphics Ranked Among Pittsburgh’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies

AlphaGraphics in the Cultural District was recognized by Pittsburgh Business Times in its annual publication, “Pittsburgh 100 Fastest Growing Companies,” ranking 98th with 21.66% sales growth.

Pittsburgh Business Times interviewed AlphaGraphics’ owner Clare Meehan for an article that ran along with the rankings in the publication, titled, “Growth Strategies for Tough Times.”

Clare, who founded the business along with her husband, Bill, comments, “We moved from Boston to Pittsburgh in 2000 without a single client and recognize how fortunate we have been to build a strong organization and business. We are very proud that we have had double digit growth for nine out of our 10 years, despite the worldwide economic conditions.” She credited especially the AlphaGraphics team for not being “afraid to step out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves on a daily basis.”

Introducing: agSpeaks!

In celebration of our 10th anniversary, we are pleased to announce the launch of our new blog, agSpeaks!

Visit us weekly at agspeaks.typepad.com for interesting marketing tips, facts about emerging technologies, AG internal happenings, and posts just for fun as we enter into our next ten years of innovation.

Log on today to view our first post, an interview with our founder, Bill Meehan, who looks back at the past 10 years and outlines his expectations for another decade of success!

AlphaGraphics in the Cultural District Honored at Conference

AlphaGraphics in the Cultural District was recently honored at the company’s annual conference in Tucson, Arizona. Our center received the "Best Operations Award," which honors the best of the best of global centers based on operational performance and is only given to one center amongst 280 worldwide.

In addition, we also received awards for Marketing Solutions, Technical Innovation, Industry and Community Recognition, Network Builder, Top 10 Selling Owners, Masters Club, and Grand Masters Club.

This year’s conference focused on the latest trends in communications marketing, such as social media marketing strategies, QR (Quick Response) codes, and personalized URLs. Our staff is excited to share what we’ve learned and to use the knowledge we’ve gained to meet and anticipate the communications needs of our growing customer base.

Lunch N Learn Recap

Last Wednesday, AlphaGraphics held a luncheon event to demonstrate innovative marketing strategies. During the lunch, we reviewed two AlphaGraphics case studies from successful campaigns during the event. Below are links to the case study discussions that you can copy and paste in your web browser to view the videos.

http://www.agpittsburgh.com/video/Gateway_May2_849am.mp4

http://www.agpittsburgh.com/video/ValentinesDreamBig_May2_859am.mp4

Congratulations Cedrica Lowe!

The staff at AlphaGraphics would like to announce Cedrica Lowe of Education Management Corporation as the winner of $50 cash for correctly guessing that the US would win 9 gold medals in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Congratulations Cedrica!

Current Medal Standings

Congratulations Robin Hanna!

The staff of AlphaGraphics would like to announce Robin Hanna of the Pittsburgh Pirates as the winner of our $100 Macy's gift card raffle! Congratulations Robin!

AlphaGraphics/Pindar Sailing Team Held Captive, Now Free

On November 25th, the AlphaGraphics/Pindar sailing team was sailing from Bahrain to Dubai to take part in the Dubai-Muscat Offshore Race when they mistakenly strayed into Iranian waters. After being held by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard for a week, the five yachtsmen have now been released. Andrew Pindar, chairman of Sail Bahrain and co-owner of the boat, said as far as he knew the crew members were fine and were sailing the boat slowly. One team member recently said it feels "absolutely fantastic" to be free.

Holiday Shopping Spree

The Holidays are fast approaching, and who couldn't use a little extra cash? That's why AlphaGraphics is offering one lucky winner a $100 MACY'S GIFT CARD to help lighten the burden on your wallet this gift-giving season. To enter, text "AG514" to 91010 from your mobile phone! Drawing will be held on Wednesday, November 25 at 2 pm, just in time for Black Friday! Limited to one entry per customer. Deadline for entries is noon on Wednesday, November 25, 2009.

Dream Big

Earlier this month, our clients traveled to Greece and back with our Seven Wonders of the World themed party in which we unveiled our new large format equipment and showcased our promotional products. Rob Zelinsky and Paul Cline, our digital operators, gave demonstrations on the new equipment. Additionally, a variety of promotional products were on display to give clients the opportunity to see and touch samples and generate new ideas for future projects. Congratulations to Geri Toth from Catholic Charities! She was the winner of the $500 DREAM BIG, WIN BIG! drawing.

G-20 Summit Notice

Due to the G-20 Summit, our business hours will change temporarily over the next week. Please see our revised schedule below.

Saturday, Sept. 19- Open for business
Sunday, Sept. 20- Open for business
Monday, Sept. 21- Open for business
Tuesday, Sept. 22- Open for business
Wednesday, Sept. 23- Open for business
Thursday, Sept. 24- Closed
Friday, Sept. 25- Closed

Regular business hours will resume on Monday, Sept. 28. Feel free to contact us with any questions. Thank you for your understanding

Annual Conference, Chicago 2009

Alphagraphics had a very successful annual conference in August at the Palmer House in Chicago. We received several awards which we are extremely proud of. Our Center got the Masters Club Award in recognition of achieving excellence in sales, team, operations, marketing and profit. Clare Meehan was recognized for her achievement as number one salesperson in the system worldwide. Our Center continues to be in Gold Circle which is the top 10% in revenue performance for Alphagraphics worldwide. Liz Gerschultz, our Assistant Manager, received the Vital Connection Award for outstanding employee performance.

Many people attend conference from all over the world to learn and share the latest marketing and technology ideas through classes, speakers, panels and networking amongst the owners.

US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics

Did you know?... In 2008, AlphaGraphics signed a multi-year partnership agreement to be the first-ever title sponsor of the US Sailing Team until 2012.

Recently at the AlphaGraphics Conference held in Chicago, Clare and Bill Meehan, Rich Cichoski, and Liz Gerschultz had the privilege of meeting three inspiring members of the US Olympic Sailing Team. During a fantastic presentation, Anna Tunnicliffe, Zach Railey, and Maureen Tucker-McKinnon detailed their experiences in training for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games and their overwhelming emotions as they participated in events in Oingdao, China. These athletes illustrated, through vivid recollections, that with teamwork and complete dedication anything is possible. They left China with one silver and two gold metals.

On a daily basis, AlphaGraphics strives to have the same dedication to our customers. As a team, we are constantly reviewing ways to perform stronger and more efficiently to create an even more positive experience for our customers.

QR codes used to generate buzz via mobile marketing

A unique data-tracking technology has recently been transformed into an innovative marketing strategy that many businesses are implementing into their marketing plans. Created by a Japanese company in 1994 for the purpose of tracking inventory, QR Codes (Quick Response Codes) have become the newest tactic in mobile marketing. The QR Code is essentially a matrix bar code that allows anyone with a Smartphone to simply snap a picture, and the phone’s web browser will instantly be directed to the website, image, or text embedded in that code. Placing images of QR Codes on business cards, store windows, vehicles, or virtually any marketing piece makes it easier than ever to direct current and potential customers to your business’s website.

AlphaGraphics in the Cultural District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is one of the tech-savvy businesses currently using QR Codes to boost their mobile marketing relevance. Owners Bill & Clare Meehan are consistently in step with the latest technologies and innovative techniques used worldwide to ensure AlphaGraphics stays ahead of competitors and has a strong e-commerce presence. “In our business, technology changes 20% every years, which means every five years you have a new business,” says president/CEO Clare Meehan. Currently displayed in their storefront window are oversized prints of two different codes: one directing Smartphone-carrying passersby to the homepage of the AlphaGraphics website, and the other displaying the store’s contact information right on the phone’s screen. Between the two is a brief set of directions for those who may be encountering a QR Code for the first time. The atypical look and ease of use of the QR Codes is sure to attract the attention of many and to generate buzz for AlphaGraphics and other businesses utilizing this notable mobile marketing strategy.

Welcome to our new site!

We are very excited about the launch of our new online information center. The future of communications is ever changing, and we stay at the front of innovation. With this new site you will be able to contact us, send files, request estimates, all from one location. AlphaGraphics strives for excellence, you can see that from our Portfolio. Be sure to check our Clients section to see who puts their trust in AlphaGraphics. Keep checking the news section to see what our Team is up to. We look forward to helping you succeed.