Car catapults into Catalyst

It was an exciting morning. It even made the news. And nearly took out Senior Art Director Jeff Anderson on his way back from the corner coffee shop.

Catalyst sits on the corner of a three-lane one-way main artery running through downtown Fort Wayne, and a one-way that crosses at the light. Some times of day it gets pretty dicey when vehicles are turning from Calhoun onto Washington and trying to make the lights. For us pedestrians, it’s a little like a live game of frogger. In fact we have witnessed several cars hit pedestrians while crossing, but that’s another story.

It was like any day. Everyone was hard at work, making clients happy, when they heard a very loud BOOM and CRASH. Running to the lobby, the ten or so people in the office that day found the front end of a vehicle extending 5 feet into the room. It had pushed the waiting room sofa and chair against the far wall, about ten feet. And it all just missed Jeff. A few seconds earlier and it would have been bad. He was thankful that there was a line at the coffee shop that day! (No one in the car was injured, either thank goodness.)

The area has been totally repaired good as new, but we all look both ways three times before crossing the street now! (more…)

If you’ve noticed, we’ve changed more than just our website. We’ve been rolling out our new brand look, logo, and positioning statement, and we’re pretty proud of it. But you might wonder about our tagline. What does it really mean?

In the past year, Catalyst underwent an extensive brand discovery process. We got everyone in the agency together, came up with a list of about 100 facts about us, then narrowed that down to the top 30. Then we looked at each one of those facts and determined which of those really made us different than other agencies. And not “different” like every other agency is “different.” We determined to only agree on the top five facts about us that make us truly unique. Those are our unique value propositions, and make us who we are. (By the way, this is the same process we go through with our clients.)

Boiled down, we discovered that only Catalyst has the artistry, skill, and drive to help clients succeed – and the certification to back it up.

Now back to the question. What does it mean to be brand driven? (more…)

We often council our clients that their corporate website is a critical touchpoint for their target audiences. It’s often the first impression a company gets to make on their potential customers. And you know what? It’s true for CATALYST too. While we’ve been hard at work helping our clients succeed, we’ve also been busy behind the scenes planning to relaunch our own site with a totally new look that best communicates our brand distinction and position.

That being said, we (humbly) suggest that there are more than 5 reasons to love our new site. (more…)