PRESSIUS RELEASUS

August 11, 2009 - Cincinnati, Ohio - Yagööt and The Creative Department celebrate one year of successful business with new growth on the horizon.

Cincinnatians have long been entertained by The Creative Department’s clever, Busken Bakery advertising campaign. However, despite the success of the bakery’s ads, Busken opted for a grassroots approach to promote their frozen yogurt store, Yagööt, when opening in Rookwood Commons one year ago.

Marketing Director Brian Busken is pleased with their decision to use interactive marketing, rather than relying on a more traditional advertising approach. “This past year, we were able to launch the brand without spending a single penny on ads,” Busken explains. “This really speaks for the popularity of our product and the power of the web.”

With Busken launching the business from a single location last May, The Creative Department saw the opportunity to relate the Yagööt brand uniquely to three specific targets: “College Cravers”, “Fashion Fabulous”, and “Moms-On-The-Go”. Understanding and catering to a particular profile naturally led to a positive experience for visitors who then recommended the product to others.

“We identified within our consumer segment a desire to be among the first to try things and share new experiences with others,” explains Creative Department brand director Jacqui Killen. “This set us up very well for strong word-of-mouth opportunities.”

Recognizing the value of Yagööt’s “exclusivity”, The Creative Department concentrated on developing an original store environment, a friendly interactive atmosphere, and an overall inviting company culture for their retail and consumer neighbors – efforts which yielded two, first-place awards from the Ad Club of Cincinnati’s 2009 ceremony.

But the emphasis on consumer-retailer communication didn’t end when the doors opened.

In the past year, The Creative Department has continued to help the business leverage social networking websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, where “Yagroopies” share favorite flavors and inspire others to visit the store. Killen explains that Yagööt’s web-based, social opportunities have personalized the consumer-retailer relationship, and allow Cincinnatians to “engage” with the brand.

These unconventional marketing efforts are leading to an ever-growing Yagööt fan base, as well as plans to open a Kenwood store in July. Yet, despite growth on the horizon, the business is adamant about conserving the original brand personality their devotees love so much.

“The Creative Department works with Yagööt to maintain high brand standards, and we are constantly following our core consumer to make sure the brand and target are aligned,” says Killen. “We work hard to ensure Yagööt’s success.”

So put on your party shoes – it looks like we’re headed for one gööt celebration.

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Founded in 1992, The Creative Department is an ad agency that has built its business by breathing life into brands and framing communications in delightfully compelling ways – whether traditional, interactive or guerilla. Their rebel band of 25 (and counting) highly creative individuals includes creative directors, brand directors, writers, art directors, production artists, brand leaders, designers and interactive marketers and developers. Their now-bursting portfolio includes advertising campaigns for the world’s best clients including Procter & Gamble. LexisNexis, Busken Bakery, i-wireless, and more. For more information, please visit their website at www.creativedepartment.com. (WARNING: Some shower scenes contain good, clean, fun.)