WEBSITE DESIGN Ligon Media Launches Divi Dude David Ligon, Creative Principal, Sacramento November 18, 2016 We do a lot of website design around here. And most of the time (but not always), we use WordPress as the engine, and a theme design from Elegant Theme’s called Divi to actually create the site. Although using a theme is a good starting point, it’s just that - a starting point. We still have to apply creativity, strategy, customization and the all-important elbow grease. To help other designers out, we started a new website called DiviDude.com where we’ll be adding tutorials, product reviews and other fun stuff, plus links to get the theme. Most of the Divi tutorials will be accompanied by a YouTube video (here’s the channel). Contact Us If you like, share. If you don’t like, don’t share. And if you’re indifferent, then share or don’t share,...
DIARY OF AN ADMAN Video Size Differences – 480p, 720p & 1080p David Ligon, Creative Principal, Sacramento September 09, 2016 Sometimes I talk to my clients about footage and video size differences, such as Standard Definition, 720p and 1080p (we often don’t get into the 4K discussion, but that’s coming). Usually this is because they have footage they want to incorporate into something Ligon Media is shooting. A lot of times this is old footage and I need to explain to them the difference in video sizes. For those of you not aware what these sizes are, I put together this little graphic to illustrate the size difference in the 3 most common formats. I typically shoot video in 1080p (which is Blu Ray quality) and will either output the video to 1080p or 720p (which is what HD television is mostly broadcast in). I find both of these formats are good for the internet and modern projectors. Standard definition is what our old, non-flat screen TVs broadcast in and is much smaller and not nearly as sharp. So when we receive footage that is in Standard definition it will take up only a fraction of the screen. 1080p = 1920 pixels (wide) by 1080 pixels (high) 720p = 1280 pixels (wide) by 720 pixels (high) Standard Def = 720 pixels (wide) by 480 pixels (high) “Standard definition is what our old, non-flat screen TVs broadcast in and is much smaller and not nearly as sharp. ” If I’m doing a video that is 1080p and the client gives me old footage that is smaller, then I have to...
CLIENT NEWS Ciano Chiropractic Adds HBOT to Practice (and website) David Ligon, Creative Principal, Sacramento August 19, 2016 Visitors to Sacramento based chiropractor Dr. Julia Ciano will notice she is now offering (or I guess it’s: again offering) Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, or as the cool kids call it, HBOT. How do I know? Well, Dr. Ciano asked me to update her website with the news. So update it I did. Although we now build most websites in WordPress, which allows our clients to update the sites themselves if they want, we still provide updating services when needed. And Dr. Ciano would rather spend her time treating her patients than fiddling with her website. So we are happy to roll up our sleeves, login to our client’s dashboard and get to work coding. And just because the website is in WordPress, don’t think it’s all just plug and play. There is a lot of custom coding that goes into building a website (or else it would look exactly like everyone else’s — and if you wanted that, you could just use one of those bargain online website services). Dr. Ciano using her HBOT chamber. Visit her at cianochiropractic.com “And just because the website is in WordPress, don’t think it’s all just plug and play. There is a lot of custom coding that goes into building a website…” So if you live in Sacramento, California you should go visit my client Dr. Julia Ciano and get some HBOT Treatment (and if you don’t know what that is, then just visit her website … there’s a whole page that explains it, I’m pretty sure.). And if you need...
CLIENT NEWS Busy Building Client Websites David Ligon, Creative Principal, Sacramento June 17, 2016 We’ve always been known for advertising, public relations and video production, but one of the marketing services we offer clients is building websites. Our creative techniques have changed throughout the years, but one thing has always remained the same - we strive to build a quality website for our clients. We mostly use WordPress, although we have from time to time done it with CSS coding. Some websites, like our own, are pretty intricate using a lot of copy, images and pages; while others like Smoot Landscaping and Taste Cafe and Fine Art, have less content and pages. And then there are websites like Eric Chase Music which are in-between. Take a look at our website page and click on a few of our samples. If you like what you see, then we’d love to speak with you about creating a website for your company or organization. We can also help you with SEO optimization, domain registration and web hosting. Just one of our website designs. Visit this website at cianochiropractic.com “Our creative techniques have changed throughout the years, but one thing has always remained the same - we strive to build a quality website for our clients.” Although we started building websites for restaurants, over the years we have built them for musicians, marketing experts, landscape companies, medical professionals, architects, lawyers and more. We even built one once for a skunk odor remover. One of the things that has really changed over the years is building websites more responsive, meaning they can be...
CLIENT NEWS 15 Years Being Creative for Ligon Media David Ligon, Creative Principal, Sacramento June 06, 2016 Ligon Media turned fifteen on June 01, 2016. We have lots of folks to thank, especially our terrific clients. We started off as creative d ADVERTISING, but then a started doing a lot of work in public relations so decided to change our name to David Ligon Advertising & Public Relations and then noticed we had a fair amount of video, website and photography work, so changed our name to Ligon Media. Which it remains. Since we started primarily as an advertising agency, I wanted to share a little advertising insight about a few of our favorite projects. Ad for Formaggio Ristorante to promote wines and poolside dining. When Ettore’s Restuarant and European Bakery was a client, its general manager called to tell me they’d need a marketing piece on the newly acquired chocolate fountain soon. (At the time, chocolate fountains were brand new). He didn’t know when, just wanted to give me a heads up. So for two weeks I thought about chocolate fountains while I puttered around. And I had some great concepts. My favorite was around the idea that gluttony was good. So when the GM called and told me he needed something for an event they were doing at the Crocker Art Museum in a few days (I had to have it done the next day for printing), I said no problem. I already had the idea. So I sat at my computer, all set to create my gluttony ad and then I typed the following words: “It’s not a party until someone goes...
CLIENT NEWS “A Little Me Time” Ad David Ligon, Creative Principal, Sacramento April 26, 2016 When I first launched my agency, my very first client was Ettore’s Restaurant and European Bakery. I signed them on June 1, 2001 for public relations. But as time went by, I became a more integral part of their marketing efforts, and was soon involved in more than just PR, including advertising. In the fall of that year, Ettore Ravazzolo (owner) phoned to ask me to create an ad that showed Ettore’s was a comfortable place to go for a meal and take a break from it all. The terrorists’ attacks of 9/11 were still fresh in everyone’s mind and the country had not gone back to normalcy yet. Before my arrival, Ettore’s ads were quite different. Consisting mostly of clip art and encouraging people to come for the $9.95 chicken dinner. Now of course, I’m not a big fan of that type of advertising (unless you are specifically a chicken place). Even though there was no budget (other than my monthly retainer), I wanted to create something that conveyed what Ettore wanted, while being a step up from the previous “clip art” ads; which meant a fun headline and using a photo. But also doing something that wasn’t clichéd and with that added hint of humor I love so much. And finally, to start branding Ettore’s as both a restaurant and bakery with incredible food. All this with virtually no extra money. “The terrorists’ attacks of 9/11 were still fresh in everyone’s mind and the country had not gone back to normalcy yet.” Ettore’s “A...
