Illustrator will be responsible for creating illustrations to the project’s specifications in a timely mannor.

 Being able to illustrate using different styles and create different looks depending on the project’s requirements is a neccessity.

Projects range from drawings to infographics to conceptual illustrations.  Knowledge of printing and CMYK color reproduction is a plus.

Projects are quoted and paid on a per illustration basis.

Please send samples of work to Christina Carden, Creative Services Director.

Requirements:

• Demonstrated proficiency in InDesign and Photoshop
• Technical know-how
• Creative, but with the ability to take direction well
• Attention to detail, ability to multitask and manage projects to completion
• Enjoys a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
• Positive attitude, strong initiative and desire to continue learning
• Able to react to change productively
• Ability to work independently as well as a member of a team
• Strong communicator
• Experience with copy editing a plus
• WordPress or other CMS experience helpful
• Bachelors degree in graphic design or related field preferred

Send cover letter, resume, and samples of work to Christina Carden, Creative Services Director.

The region will also have a presence on businessclimate.com, where a companion web page will feature detailed demographics of the region, business success stories and a digital version of the print magazine. Both the print and digital magazines will be used for recruitment and retention of talent and businesses, and content developed for the magazine will be promoted through social media campaigns.

The Lehigh Valley region includes the cities of Bethlehem, Allentown and Easton, PA, and is the fastest-growing region in the state.

Home furnishing and cookware retailer Williams-Sonoma recently released its Summer 2013 catalog, which spotlights the company’s outdoor appliance selection. Even if you’re not in the market for a $14,000 outdoor pizza oven, you can’t help but be drawn to the catalog’s stunning photography, particularly the scrumptiously styled food shots that seem to pop right off the page.

But if you look closer, you’ll also find burger recipes and grilling tips and a how-to on infusing flavor into various types of meat. This is the kind of content that engages readers because it’s smart, entertaining, fun and beautiful – and most importantly, useful. And it says the same about the brand: Williams-Sonoma is smart, entertaining, fun and beautiful, and if you purchase its products, perhaps you’ll be perceived that way, too. Because as Journal’s President and Publisher Bob Schwartzman said, “They’re not just selling cookware; they’re selling a lifestyle.”

The 2013 Official North Carolina Travel Guide was redesigned to resemble a catalog with big, bold photography, brief headlines and copy blocks that are easily digested. In this case, the North Carolina Department of Tourism isn’t just selling the state’s attractions and accommodations; it’s selling the excitement, adventure and lasting memories of a North Carolina vacation.

Williams-Sonoma isn’t the only retailer using content marketing to build brand awareness and loyalty. Home improvement giant Lowe’s has loaded its website with home and gardening ideas, tips and DIY instructions to position itself as the authority in the home and garden sphere.

Journal uses the same content marketing techniques to build awareness and loyalty for our agribusiness clients. Tennessee Home & Farm magazine, for example, uses farm-to-table recipes and a gardening advice column to connect with the non-farming members of the Tennessee Farm Bureau, and the library of recipes, cooking tips and fun facts on farmflavor.com help state departments of agriculture build a larger consumer audience.

Check out how other companies are using content marketing and the lessons learned from their success.

An effective communication strategy has to be able to cut through the clutter in a short amount of time. Infographics can help do that by reducing information overload into digestible, visual and compelling pieces.

The editors of Journal’s 17 statewide agriculture guides use infographics to communicate important agriculture facts, figures and technical processes to a consumer audience.

Requirements for this position:
• Keen eye for typography, color, and interface design/layout
• Demonstrated understanding of user-centered web design principles and best practices
• Proficient with Adobe Creative Suite, WordPress CMS, HTML and CSS
• Experience with HTML5, jQuery, Javascript and Git a plus
• Communicative with team members, eager to share solutions, trends and insights
• Strong attention to detail with meticulous troubleshooting standards
• Ability to follow a prioritized workflow, manage own time and adhere to instruction
• Bachelor’s degree in Graphic/Web Designer or other related subject a plus, but not required
• 1-2 years experience a plus, but not required

How to Apply
Please email your cover letter and resumé as a .PDF, along with your web portfolio link to Allison Davis, Web Creative Director.

Requirements for this position:
• Proficient with mySQL & PHP
• Familiar with Drupal & WordPress
• Experience with jQuery, Javascript, Git & social sharing tools a plus
• Strong attention to detail with meticulous troubleshooting standards
• Ability to follow a prioritized workflow, manage own time and adhere to instruction
• Communicative with team members, eager to share insights and solutions
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or other related subject a plus, but not required

This contract will be for 20 hours per week for a term of 12 consecutive weeks. There is potential for the contract to be extended at the end of the term depending on need. Developer will perform all work from our Franklin, TN office.

How to Apply
Please email your cover letter and resumé as a .PDF to Allison Davis, Web Creative Director.

The State of New Jersey Department of Agriculture has partnered with Journal to develop a content marketing program that aims to connect consumers to the farmers who produce the foods they eat and reinforce the industry’s economic impact to lawmakers and industry influencers. The integrated marketing effort consists of an annual print magazine that can be used as an economic development guide and resource, a web page on the national ag-to-consumer website FarmFlavor.com, and a digital version of the publication that can distributed via e-mail or shared through social media.

Along with it’s top agriculture commodities which include greenhouse and nursery products, horses and mules, and tomatoes, New Jersey produces five major fruit berry crops: apples, blueberries, cranberries, peaches and strawberries. Find out more about New Jersey’s agriculture industry on FarmFlavor.com’s United States of Agriculture.

For more on New Jersey economic development, check out the New Jersey Economic Development Guide on BusinessClimate.com.

As the Spring and  Summer Festival season heats up, Livability Magazines Content Director Lisa Battles discusses how festivals can add to a city’s overall quality of place and livability and help attract and retain relocating families and businesses.

“Themed festivals are popping up on calendars along with the first buds of spring, fulfilling the need for those people who may need more reason besides the warmer temperatures to get outside and socialize,” she writes.  “Cities of all sizes have turned to community-focused festivals for decades.”

Visit the Livability.com Best Places Blog to read Lisa’s Six Ways Community-Focused Festivals Benefit Cities. Then stay tuned for the Livability.com Top 10 List of Summer Festivals coming in May.

General Excellence, Blogging
BusinessClimate.com Blog
Emily McMackin, Bill McMeekin

General Excellence, Digital Media
Livability.com homepage and City homepage redesign
Allison Davis, Yamel Hall, Nels Noseworthy, Natasha Lorens, Richard Stevens

Photo of the Year
Livability Sweetwater 2013: Red Canyon Landscape
Brian McCord

General Excellence, Print Photography
2013 North Carolina Travel Guide
Jeff Adkins, Brian McCord, Jeff Otto

General Excellence, Print Design
North Carolina Travel Guide 2013
Laura Gallagher, Robertson Design

General Excellence, Print Editorial
Livability Sweetwater County 2013
Mitch Kline

Content Marketing Programs of the Year

Agribusiness Quarterlies: FFA New Horizons – Summer 2012
Kim Holmberg, Jeff Otto, Christina Carden, Laura Gallagher, Kris Sexton, Rhonda Graham

State Agriculture Guides: Georgia Grown 2012-13
Kacey Passmore, Jake Shores, Rhonda Graham, Katie Newbern

Livability: Livability Sweetwater County 2013
Mitch Kline, Brian McCord, Kacey Passmore, Deshaun Goodrich

Economic Development: Kentucky Economic Development Guide 2012
Bill McMeekin, Jeff Adkins, Clay Perry

Travel: 2013 North Carolina Travel Guide
Susan Chappell, Jill Wyatt, Jeff Adkins, Brian McCord, Jeff Otto, Laura Gallagher, Allison Davis, Jill Ridenour, Mike Chow, Mark Forester, Deshaun Goodrich, Robin Robertson, MaryAnn Stafford, Scott vonCannon

2013 People’s Choice Award
Livability Southern Idaho 2013
Erica Lampley

1. 80 percent of consumers and business leaders prefer to get information through custom content.

2. 90 percent of consumers find custom content useful.

3. 78 percent say engaging with a brand’s content helps forge a relationship between them and the brand.

Read the other 21 reasons.

1. Find good content to model.
Use LinkedIn Today aggregator to find professionals in your industry. See what types of content they’re sharing and what content is being read. Use these stories as a guide to help you produce content that strikes a chord with these industry leaders.

2. Choose the right platform for your content.
LinkedIn gives you the ability to share multiple types of content – from articles and infographics to videos and blog posts to white papers or entire presentations. Check out MediaWhiz.com’s list of content with the best ROI.

3. Take advantage of LinkedIn Slideshare ads.
Slideshare, “the world’s largest community for sharing presentations” has teamed with LinkedIn to offer businesses and organizations a new form of targeted content marketing. Read more here. Then check out a Small Business Guide to Slideshare.

The Maine DECD project is the second content marketing program Journal has secured with the state. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry signed on for an agriculture guide and website that will help the department reach out to lawmakers, ag professionals and industry influencers with profiles of the state’s farmers, features about the leading industry sectors and statistical information about the state’s ag industry.

The app features content from the 2013 Lexington Visitors Planning Guide, including feature stories about the city’s premier restaurants, attractions, sports and entertainment venues and sample itineraries for travelers. Pop-up boxes throughout present readers with travel tips and interesting facts and stats about the city.
Additional features include a map, comprehensive listings of attractions, accommodations, shopping, restaurants, and sports and recreational activities with live links to make reservations or for more information. Exclusive features include a photo gallery and videos that play inside the app.

Download the app:
iTunes

Google Play

Amazon App Store

FFA New Horizons magazine is the member publication for the National FFA Organization and is mailed quarterly to the more than 500,000 student members, agriculture educators and FFA alumni.

The app features content from the FFA New Horizons magazine, including stories about FFA members’ achievements, agriculture facts, information about careers in agriculture, and issues facing the agriculture industry and community.

Additional features include a mobile-friendly design with vertical scrolling for readability, pop up captions and info boxes containing additional information, live links throughout, embedded video within advertisements and photo slideshows. The app will be updated quarterly with new content.

“A mobile version of the magazine is a logical choice for the publication’s audience, which is mostly 15-21 year olds and very technologically savvy,” says FFA New Horizons magazine editor Kim Holmberg. “The app presents the content that’s important to them in a fun and interactive format that’s also accessible at all times on their smartphones or tablets. And since the app is free for anyone to download, it also allows us to share the magazine’s content with FFA alumni, supporters and those interested in learning more about the organization.”

Visit ffanewhorizons.org to read the digital magazine or to download the app.

Mag+, a custom tablet publishing company praised the 2013 edition of the North Carolina Travel Guide app on the
company’s blog for its usability and easy navigation, bold use of photography and embedded video, and the reader-friendly pop-up boxes sprinkled appropriately throughout the editorial content, providing additional information about North Carolina’s destinations and attractions.

Check out this quick video demo.

Then download the Official North Carolina Travel Guide App in iTunes or on Google Play.

In journalism school, we learned that there are five main components to a story – five questions that must be asked and answered for your audience to get a complete understanding of the subject or event. The same holds true in brand storytelling. In order for your customers to connect with your brand story, you should be able to answer the following questions:

Who – Who are your company’s founders and what values do they represent? Who are your employees? What are their backgrounds, specialties and expertise? On a personal level, what makes your staff special? For example: the bakery owner who knows her customers’ favorite cupcake flavors.

What – To answer this question, think beyond what your company produces or the services it provides. Instead, ask yourself what your organization stands for or what sets your company apart from the competition.

When – This is more a “how.” How long has your company or organization been in operation. Is it a cool, gutsy startup? or a mainstay business rooted in the community?

How – How do you treat your customer, members or constituents? How has your business overcome difficult and uncertain times?

Why – This is a personal question, and yet the answer lies at the heart of the company-customer relationship. Why do you do what you do?

So what’s your brand story? How do you develop that story? And how do you tell it in an engaging and compelling way? Read more for tips.

Download the Texas Wide Open app now to your device.

Google Play (Android phone or tablet)

Kindle Fire

Apple Store (iPad, iPhone)

Articles focus on agricultural commodities, importance of agricultural exports, industry developments, farm-to-consumer programs, agricultural technology and other features of interest to those involved in the industry. Interested candidates should send the following to Rachel Bertone. Please put “Agribusiness Writers” in the subject line.

1. A resume (required)

2. Three agribusiness writing clips
OR
3. A writing sample of 150-200 words using the following prompt:
Research a top commodity crop from the state you live in such as corn, soybeans, cotton, peanuts, wheat, etc. Write the first 200 words of an article on this crop’s impact on your state’s agriculture industry. Include current facts and statistics as well as what makes this crop so successful in the state and how it impacts consumers and the economy.

For examples of articles, visit www.ALagriculture.com, www.TNagriculture.com, and www.ILagriculture.com.

If it weren’t for the picnic table perched atop the large brick and stone oven, I never would have noticed Scratch. It made be do a double take. Unfortunately, it was my last day in Johnson City, TN, and it would take me another year to get back. But the wait was well worth it.

Scratch Brick Oven is not your typical pizza joint. The jukebox is a turntable sitting next to a stack of vinyl and it’s totally self serve. It was also the first time I’ve ever seen my pizza weighed after its been cooked. I was told they do it for “inventory” purposes. Not sure I’d ever want to know the outcome.

You can get your pizza three ways: Trust, Limited Trust, or Make Your Own. With the Trust, the pizza maker chooses the toppings for you and they can be a very eclectic mix, from homemade sausage to mandarin oranges and Granny Smith apples. Limited Trust is crossing out what you don’t want on your pizza. And Make Your Own is just that.

Either way, Trust, Limited Trust, or Make Your Own, you can’t go wrong.

Just don’t order a whole pizza by yourself. If you do, you’ll be eating pizza for the next several days out of the mini fridge in your hotel. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

– Todd Bennett, staff photographer