While this DMO’s old website had once been adequate for a young organization, by 2020, it begged for an overhaul. The look hadn’t kept up as the District’s tone became more modern and offbeat, and the evolving sitemap had gone from slightly overgrown to badly rootbound over the years. Ethic® Creative Works saw an opportunity to give the client more than an aesthetic update. We took a stern look at the site’s many distinct responsibilities and complex content collections, devising an experience that feels breezy to the user while expertly guiding them toward featured information specific to their role and needs.
Sollos Branding
Sollos is Halco Lighting Technology’s entry into the competitive world of landscape lighting. Building on their expertise as a bulb manufacturer, they designed and engineered this elegant, versatile new line of fixtures to bring together form, function, and efficiency. Every Sollos fixture works interchangeably with an assortment of Halco lamp technologies, including energy-efficient LED and halogen-xenon bulbs.
Halco engaged Ethic® Creative Works early in the development of this product line to create both the name and brand identity. To separate Sollos from the competition, we introduced an aspirational aesthetic focused on high design, quality, and superior technology. The resulting graphics define Sollos as both stylish and smart – a fresh approach backed by a trusted name in the industry.
Destination Marketing
Every destination has qualities that draw visitors in. At Ethic® Creative Works, we enjoy the process of figuring out what those are, where they fit together, and how to show visitors the whole picture—in the exact right light.
AirportChamber.com
After rebranding the ATL Airport Chamber, Ethic® Creative Works took a look at its out-of-date website. It hadn’t been designed with regular updates in mind, and it was handcuffed to a proprietary hosting platform that made edits difficult, so team members didn’t feel they had reasonable control over the content. The look was outdated as well, and the site wasn’t configured to be viewed on mobile devices or smaller screens.
Long story short, it had to go.
The New Site: Beautiful and Usable
Ethic migrated the Chamber to new hosting and redesigned the site from the ground up to be visually appealing, fully responsive, user-friendly and easy to navigate without getting lost. We built it on the Wordpress platform, making it a cinch for team members to update with minimal training and zeroprior experience—whether they’re editing existing pages or adding media of any type (photo galleries, videos, stories, etc.). Stale, difficult-to-update content is a distant memory now that the team canmake changes with a few intuitive clicks.
Launch Site
Backend and Integrations
The Chamber team had also been unhappy with the features and usability of their membershipmanagement software (Wild Apricot), so we migrated them to a customized version of MembershipWorks and fully integrated it withtheir new WordPress site for a seamless backend experience. This allowed us to add a Chamber member directory to the site andgive users the ability to create event listings, which are monitored and approved by the site administrator. Posted events, which can be free or require membership registration (with the ability to pay directly on the site), are then displayed publicly in a list or calendar view. All membership billing and automated subscriptions were configured and built into the system, including Quickbooks integration.
We also made it possible for team members to easily include banner ads across the website, and to collect email addresses and distribute newsletters directly from the WordPress admin panel, which helps them stay connected to members.
SEO and Training
As part of the redesign, we performed a search engine optimization (SEO) audit of all content and updated all metadata to improve search engine rankings. Analytics tracking was also integrated into the site to monitor SEO performance.
After the site was launched, we created a user guide to help team members learn and use the new website. We also had several in-person training meetings to ensure everyone knew how to use the system and had the opportunity to ask questions. Now, years later, our relationship with the ATL Airport Chamber continues to thrive; the team does a wonderful job operating the site without our help, and when needed, we assist with functionality updates and additions to help the Chamber team keep things humming.
Before its site redesign, we worked with The Chamber team on their branded identity. After completing a competitive analysis for the Airport Area Chamber of Commerce, it was quickly decided they needed a full rebrand. So, Ethic started with a new name;the ATL Airport Chamber was born.
#Spincyclopedia Social Media Campaign
Ethic® Creative Works targeted this little social media campaign toward would-be spectators for our Spin the District bike race events. For all the spinquisitive minds out there, these seamless two-image Instagram galleries first defined an interesting cycling term in earnest that spectators might like to know. Then, after a quick read and a quick swipe, we revealed how we might redefine the same term to fit the spectator lifestyle. Comedy!
Travel Marketing
At Ethic® Creative Works, our experience is deeply steeped in travel and destination marketing, and one DMO we’ve worked with extensively over the years is the ATL Airport District Convention & Visitors Bureau. The District is a neighbor to Ethic’s own home base and, by definition, a fellow champion of the Southside.
Lifestyle Photography
Having worked with several Convention & Visitors Bureaus through the years, Ethic® Creative Works knows there’s nothing more important than photography. From highlighting a city’s assets to creating killer advertising, Ethic is on the scene, snapping the shots we need to bring a community to life. If we can’t shoot it ourselves, we work with fantastic partners to ensure we get what we need every time. Here are few of our favorite Lifestyle Shots.
©2022 Ethic Inc. All rights reserved
ATL Airport District Billboards
Ethic® Creative Works created this digital and billboard campaign for the ATL Airport District to give a cohesive voice and aesthetic to the District as a whole, while also spotlighting what’s unique about each of its component cities.
Halco Product Catalogs
There’s not a huge demand for product catalogs these days, but during the late-era print heyday of the aughts, Ethic® Creative Works had our hands deep in ’em. No matter the product—radar, clothing, bedding, lightbulbs—we did it all, art directing, designing, copywriting, and even shooting much of it ourselves. Here are a couple of catalogs we completed with our Halco partners, including custom abstract photography shot by Ethic. There is still a need for catalog design, and we love creating them for print and web.
Spin All Day Lager
In 2022, Ethic® Creative Works partnered with Arches Brewing and the ATL Airport District to name, design, and develop a tasty brew for Spin the District, a local cycling event that Ethic has a large hand in. The design incorporates Spin’s brand aesthetic in exuberant color blocks, anchored by the organic touch of a hand-sketched bicycle diagram.
The beer was first debuted and sold at the 2022 Spin the District kickoff. It was available throughout both spring events, the Hapeville Crit and the College Park Crit, to with resounding success amongst attendees.
Born right here in the District, this easy-drinking American Amber Lager helps keep our wheels true and our spokes a-turnin’ with its malty foundation, bitter noble hops, and a hint of caramel.
Ethic’s tasting notes
ATL Airport District Tourism Advertising
How do you market a tourism destination that actually contains a bunch of different cities? It’s a delicate process, but the key, as usual, is balance. The first objective is to present it as a single cohesively-branded destination, so as to simplify the concept for out-of-towners who aren’t familiar with the area. But the more you streamline the area’s image, the greater the danger of losing the quirky small-town flavor of each city, which is what really makes it shine.
To create ample opportunity for creative messaging, Ethic® Creative Works designed this campaign for the ATL Airport District with a foundation of loud, cheeky headlines—often including transportation-based puns as a nod to the area’s unique accessibility—set in classic type with vintage overtones. Each headline is paired with dynamic imagery in a daring duotone treatment, while clean lines and minimal layout pull the look squarely into the 21st century. The result is a scannable and recognizable District aesthetic with an irreverent attitude that tells travelers that they’re not in Corporate Downtown anymore.
Open wide and chow down! It’s a breeze when you book your stay in the ATL Airport District. Spend your days exploring all that nearby Atlanta has to offer, and take your pick of hundreds of great District restaurant options when you’re ready to wind down. No parking mysteries. No mile-long wait lists. No surprises. Just good food, and the opportunity to chill out and enjoy it.
Georgia Eats Advertising Copy
LET A LOCAL BE YOUR GUIDE
atldistrict.com/restaurants
Spin the District Event Photography
Over the years, Ethic® Creative Works has lived, breathed, and sweated all things Spin the District. So when you see us rolling up our sleeves at each cycling event to shoot as much video and as many great still shots as we can, you’re probably not too surprised. (Maybe you don’t even notice. You’re probably preoccupied with striking a pose in our super fun event photo booths, like the giant pocket and the disco bike!)
Below are just a few samples of some of our personal favorites. If you’d like to see the whole kit and caboodle, you can check our full gallery here.
©2022 Ethic Inc. All rights reserved