We couldn’t think of a better sentiment to start the year. In the words of Bill and Ted, “Be excellent to each other. (And party on, dudes.)”
The holiday season is simply too crazy to watch every single festive film out there. So we took the liberty of mashing movies together, with our writers and designers teaming up to create all-new posters and synopses for these soon-to-be holiday classics. Come, let us adore them.
In 2022, Well Done had our first official favorite pie survey. The results were pretty spread out: 33% pecan, 30% apple, 21% pumpkin, 8% sugar crème, 4% for the humble cherry, and another 4% for other. We thought it appropriate to make a quite literal pie chart to show our findings—‘tis the season for pie, after all.
The marketing projects we work on to promote Well Done look different from the projects we execute for our clients. Step inside our creative sandbox to learn more.
We’ve been thinking: What would Coachella be like if we had a say in how things were done? We imagine it would have that Hoosier flair while still bringing you great music. Read on to find out what we think would make a Well Done music festival, well done.
A reminder that it’s getting better, and you definitely make the world a better place. Happy Pride!
Well Done’s Peace, Joy, and Jamz playlist is a collection of the music that shaped us—the songs that evoke our fondest memories of the season. Just like us, no two songs are the same, but together they bring a little fun, a little quirkiness, and a lot of good cheer. Read more about why we chose just a few of the 58 songs on this year’s playlist.
Those giant character balloons are still pretty cool but, back in the day, they were magic.
You want to be great? You want to make a difference for clients? You want to win the admiration of your peers? Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Do the work. Be the compost.
In honor of Indiana playing host to the NCAA’s March Madness tournament in 2021, we designed a limited-run poster that pays homage to basketball legends with Hoosier ties. Check it out.
“A marriage of color conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting,” is how Pantone describes its 2021 Color of the Year duo, Illuminating and Ultimate Gray.
The 2020 holiday season was unlike any other in our lifetime. To commemorate it we created an interactive advent calendar that highlights 15 “quarantisms”—the quirks and truths that’ve become part of our lives while working from home. Check it out.
A Hoosier Guide to Social Distancing: 6 Feet of Distance in Indiana
As we all get used to staying in, let’s stay IN. As we put our feelers into the world to connect virtually, let’s remember our roots, too.
Your digital strategy can’t afford to sleep. We look hard at how you appear to search engines and social platforms, as well as how your online presence fits into the always-changing digital landscape. So you—and your message—stay top-of-mind.
With constantly changing algorithms more competition to stand out, getting to the top of a Google search isn’t quite so simple anymore. Christine Hudson has a few things to say about why keywords are still important, and some tips on making yours even better.
Words are more than just vehicles for information. They tell stories, paint pictures, and carry the tone of a voice. At Well Done, a blank page means endless possibilities.
Those plastic masks—they fall right into the uncanny valley. They’re sort of human and sort of repulsive at the same time. But that’s masks for you. When you think about it, maybe they were the original uncanny valley.
We don’t mind getting a little dirty—especially when that extra grime leads to exceptional results. We’ve certainly slogged through a quagmire or two in our day, and we’re pretty proud of the work we have to show for it.
We support equal rights for all. Fly your flag and fly it high.
When it’s NCAA Tournament time, we know where your head is: It is said that the first two days of the tourney are the two least-productive work days of the year. Relive these buzzer beaters.
In the competitive environment education has become, it’s critical that parents and students understand what your school has to offer. We’ve worked with lots of schools over the years, and we’ve helped many with their positioning, messaging, and identity.
We don’t just help you place stories in today’s ever-changing media environment. We also help you manage your reputation through corporate and community relations, sponsorships, internal communications, crisis communications, and more.
Pantone’s selection of Living Coral as 2019’s Color of the Year was not without controversy. But whether you loved it, hated it, or didn’t especially care one way or another, we think it made a lovely addition to the palette of our Pantone coloring page.
The Luck, Hurler of Pigskin card has been used to win six consecutive international Magic the Gathering tournaments, which is a fact you should definitely not look up.
When we commit to an idea, we really commit. So when we decided to celebrate the mid-90s pog fad with our 2018 holiday card (complete with six original pogs and a Well Done slammer), we couldn’t resist writing a whole blog about the game.
A Tamagotchi teaser hints at the 2018 Well Done holiday card, which remains as yet unrevealed…
Vote already, fellow Americans. Unless you’re under 18—then make as much as much noise as you can.
Sure, they look cute, but beneath their candy-colored exteriors, the suppressed horrors of Well Done Halloweens past do lurk. Don’t turn your back on them. Unless, as we suspect, they’re also right behind you.
What is the most fall thing of all the fall things? And: Is Well Done Marketing the official agency of fall? Who’s gonna tell us we’re not?
When it’s time for a client meeting, should you book a conference room or suggest a coffee shop? The answer depends on more than just your own desire for your favorite pour over. See all of our go-to coffee shop and conference rooms.
We believe in acceptance, in celebrating our differences. There is no more perfect microcosm of this belief than Gen Con, where stormtroopers and Klingons—despite decades of bad blood—talk, laugh, and maybe even shake hands.
Sometimes it can be easy to forget about Independence Day. But then you remember just how great Will Smith and Bill Pullman were in that movie, and everything feels right in the world.
MasterChef Junior has given a lot of joy to Well Done’s Brittany Mason. To say thanks—or maybe just to stake her claim early—Brittany designed restaurant logos for a few of her favorite young contestants.
Less is more (plain glazed)? More is more (all the fixin’s)? Clean and minimal or full to the maximal? Or do you try to have it both ways? Where is your heart on this hole-iest of days?
We live in a divided nation. Sometimes it’s politics; other times it’s a sound clip that lasts less than a second. After the latest viral debate broke out online, our designers found a clever way to comment visually on an audio phenomenon. So, tell us: Do you see yanny or laurel?
Certain hobbies attract certain kinds of people. And at an event the size of the One America 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, you’re bound to see a few recurring types over the course of 13.1 miles. Helpfully, we’ve identified some of the most common.
You can tell a lot about a person by how she decorates her desk. To introduce new hires Casey Cawthon, Taylor Streeter, and Jenny Tod, we seeded clues across three desktops—hints at the personalities of our new people.
When it comes to social movements, should corporations chime in? Or are they doomed to being an unwelcome voice in our country’s important conversations? We have some thoughts.
Frankly we never expected Eschatological Anxiety to make it past Thom Yorke’s Lazy Eye, let alone Taco Bell “Meat.” Our bracket was busted after the first weekend.
Because we can do a lot of good work for you. Honest. But here’s the deal: You’re paying the bills, so our work is only going to be as good as you’ll allow. If you want safe or boring work, we’re probably not a good fit.
When the Winter Olympics are happening, we watch a lot of curling. This least extreme of all winter sports can be great TV—in part because you can get a lot of work done while you’re waiting for the crew to analyze their next throw. Also because we sort of feel like we could be great at it. With that in mind, we created the Games of the First Marketing Olympiad. Let us know if you’re interested in competing.
Every year, we watch the spots. Every year, we’re mostly disappointed. The Super Bowl blockbuster spot long ago reached the point of diminishing returns. As per usual, the best ones were the simplest, clearest, and most surprising. As a bonus, we created a downloadable tabletop football featuring 8-bit Nick of Rare Marketing fame.
What more is there to say? Here’s what Pantone said:
“A dramatically provocative and thoughtful purple shade, PANTONE 18-3838 Ultra Violet communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking that points us toward the future.
“Complex and contemplative, Ultra Violet suggests the mysteries of the cosmos, the intrigue of what lies ahead, and the discoveries beyond where we are now. The vast and limitless night sky is symbolic of what is possible and continues to inspire the desire to pursue a world beyond our own.”
It goes on….
We couldn’t think of a better sentiment to start the year. In the words of Bill and Ted, “Be excellent to each other. (And party on, dudes.)”
It’s been a tough year. Everyone we know is grappling with something. We just wanted to let you know you’re not alone, and we figured you could use some reinforcements. So we reached back into our childhood imaginations and decided to send you the best tag-team partners we could think of.
We are great proponents of every once in a while leaving America. It gives you great perspective on living in America. Abby Reckard—can you find her in this photo?—shared her experiences upon returning from a trip to England.
Say what you will about Kipling. Racist? Yes. Imperialist? Yes. Great writer? Certainly.
Louis Armstrong said, “Good music is what you like.”
We built a nice little online store for Indiana Landmarks. One of the great things about it was how nicely it fit into their existing site. It’s a great example of how a well-built website can get even better over time.
Sure, there’s a good life lesson in the iconic Kenny Rogers song. And the man did make a tender bird. But we’re also impressed by the Rockwellesque tableau of the album cover. It may be true that every hand’s a winner, but in another, more accurate way, Kenny is the winner.
We work in a create-on-demand world. Although there’s artistry in what we do, what we do is not art. We conceive, we refine, we kills our darlings, we shred the evidence, we collaborate, we persist. Not for art’s sake or for our own, but for our clients. We love it. We hate it. We love it.
Sometimes, you’re at a loss for words. You can’t find the words. Imagine if finding the words were your job. That’s what writers do: find the words. They don’t make them up (usually); the words are all out there, hiding in plain sight—in the dictionary, if nowhere else. Finding the words you need: That’s the trick.
We’ve done a lot of health and healthcare content. We were healthcare content before healthcare content was cool. We wrote a white paper to share some of what we know.
How is marketing strategy like gaming strategy? So, imagine your competitors are a bunch of orcs and you’re trying to fend them off as you advance upon the Castle of Commerce to woo the fair maiden—no. Really, that’s not it at all. Our account service gaming nerds can explain it.
We’re pretty sold on email as a great way to reach an audience who wants to hear from you. That makes email an amazing tool for nonprofit organizations. We’re sharing some of what we know via this tip-filled white paper.
We’re big believers in the idea that great health content can make the world a better place. By giving people information about their health and access to healthcare services close to home, we help them make good decisions and get the care they need, when they need it. It’s been the basis of our work for Hancock Health, among others.
We happen to agree with Mr. Orwell. The most affecting prose doesn’t call attention to itself. It’s invisible, which makes it all the more surprising when it knocks you for a loop. (May we recommend the works of Kazuo Ishiguro in this regard? You’re welcome.)
Look, we were just having a bit of fun here. Or were we? Is it time to change the name of our beloved AAA baseball team? Would we be the only stadium in the league to proffer Toast on a Stick to our patrons? Would that not alone be worth the change?
The world turns. Over the past few trips around the sun, a handful of Indy’s familiar broadcast news faces have joined The Dark Side, aka the marketing and public relations world. We caught up with a few of them and found out that the Dark Side can actually be pretty bright. But we knew that.
The Bigger Picture Show, which raises money for the Indy Film Festival, has become the best annual poster show – if not the best visual art event – in the city. And that’s not even one of the five reasons we love it.
The Seinfeldian blessing for a sneeze. Which is sometimes heard in our office, usually as the final invocation after a multiple-sneeze fit.
Cannabis marketing is a thing. Who’da thunk it? Is it too late to have Cheech and Chong-branded weed and merch? Because, if weed had been legal back in the day, they’d have been the most sought-after spokesmen in the universe.
It was time to update our logo! But we still sort of liked our old logo! But there was stuff we didn’t like about it, too! So we tried a bunch of stuff! And then…we…well. Take a walk through our wastebasket with us.
You know you’re in a good place in your life when you can invite your favorite illustrator to hang a show of her work in your office, then invite all your clients and friends to come over and eat and drink and hang out.
We celebrate women in marketing who inspire us, including the super-smart women in our digital strategy department who look uncannily like the fist-bumping women in this illustration.
We do an e-newsletter. It’s filled with stuff we think you’ll like to read—stuff by us, and other stuff we find that inspires or provokes or amuses us. We’re sorry if you thought we were actually sending out brain lollipops. It wasn’t our intention to mislead you.
Really. Read more fiction. If you want to understand the human condition, read fiction. And if you’re reading fiction, you could do worse than read Muriel Spark.
Do you even remember who won this Super Bowl? When in doubt, guess the Patriots. Do you remember who did the worst Super Bowl spots? When in doubt, guess a car company.
Election year 2016 was strident, no matter which side you were on. A bunch of us were feeling the need to split the difference between futility and capitulation. Matt Mays rounded us up and Brian Deer and the Achievers rocked out a Nick Lowe classic. You had to be there. But if your weren’t, there’s video.
Good resolutions. All copywriters make ’em. By March, most copywriters have broken them. There’s a vast array of reasons why.
Sometimes, the new year calls for a message of hope. Other years, it’s good to remind each other that we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously—that even the best-intentioned among us will falter. This year, we probably needed a little of both.
Sometimes, you just wanna eat your Thanksgiving dinner, you know? You just don’t have time for the drama. You don’t want to rehash the hash you made last time you hashed out the same thing. Just…no. Just…what are you binge-watching? How about that?
It’s our 15th anniversary, so we turned it into an all-star year, which allowed us to again celebrate the music of a couple of our recently departed heroes (Prince, Bowie) and some of our most popular artists (Beatles, Stones, Dead). A dream Tonic Ball for some. Ken has other ideas.
Would it make our lives better if the signage in this city were a little more lively? Gosh. It wouldn’t hurt, would it? We like Indy just fine, but in this way, we could be a lot more like Nashville.
Nick Honeywell has a knack for finding weird and hilarious advertising. (Would that be a Nick knack? Just asking.) You can read all his half-baked ramblings periodically in our blog. Actually, you can read them as often as you’d like. Just don’t expect new ones more frequently than once a month.
Some of us used to be obsessed with Calvin and Hobbes. It was the rare comic strip worth obsessing over: wildly imaginative, philosophical, beautifully drawn, populated by literary fiction-quality characters, among them Calvin, who is in many ways our creative id. What would Calvin do? It’s not a terrible question.
The 100th Anniversary of CICF was huge milestone for an organization that’s been critical in shaping our community. We were lucky enough to help throw a big party in their honor where we gave away $1 million to assist other community organizations—and we’re happy to report it was a major success.
While putting together an Ikea dresser is enough of a challenge for most of us, some people like building more ambitious things—like WordPress plugins. Our own Brian McCulloh created one called Worth the Read, and according to the reviews, it’s worth the install.
Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services isn’t that catchiest name in the world—which is just one reason we helped them rebrand as Indiana Disability Rights, an organization promoting equality for people with disabilities through advocacy.
As a prolific social critic and novelist, James Baldwin changed the way people around the world think about sexuality, race, and what it means to be different. You, too, could probably learn a great deal from Mr. Baldwin.
Is a cookie a dongle? No. No it’s not.
Change is inevitable. But change is also good when adapting the constructs of society to meet the ongoing evolution of the human condition—at least according to Thomas Jefferson.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Dr. Martin Luther King
Some call it Cornhole. Others call it bags. We call it Hole Position—at least when you use a couple of spare tires and oversized beanbags. The game was our contribution to Artful Tread: a local art competition where businesses along the Cultural Trail create public art with tires. It was a great way to get our creative juices rolling.
So we did a sort of Sailor-Jerry style set of temporary tattoos to give away at one of our legendary office parties. The offer still stands: If you get one of these tattoos for real, we’ll hang an 8×10 glossy of you somewhere in our office.
Sometimes the dumbest ideas give rise to the greatest concepts—which isn’t too surprising, because creativity is a bit of an enigma. If we knew how it all worked, we’d probably have a lot more free time.
As one of nature’s primary examples of evolution gone awry, the Platypus is a true animal of mystery. Mainly because we can’t figure out what to call a group of them. Platypie? Platypuses? Platypusians?
Finding the perfect stock photo is pretty much impossible. Unless of course you’re looking for a hipster cat. In which case there’s a glut of pretentious options for your organic catnip dispensary website.
Kurt Vonnegut is arguably the greatest writer from Indianapolis, and much of it has to do with his simple, elegant descriptions. A voice so unique and captivating only comes along once in a generation. So it goes.
Back in 2016, we decided to support a local organization doing exceptional work in our community through our Give-A-Damn initiative. We landed on Rock Steady Boxing, an awesome organization that works with people suffering from Parkinson’s disease, improving their quality of life through non-contact boxing fitness.
Yeah, we made a dirty joke. What are you gonna do about it? Maybe you should just play some Pong and chill out.
An advertising agency making a joke about alcohol? Stop the presses.
It was only six seasons of pure bliss, but Mr. Belvedere gave us a lifetime of thought-provoking insight and mentorship. If there’s one sitcom we could have back, it probably wouldn’t be this one, but it would at least cross our minds.
They say the pen is mightier than the sword. While the truth of that statement might depend on context, it’s not uncommon that a writer feels like they’re in the midst of brutal, unrelenting guerilla warfare. Especially when that brochure copy is due by 4 p.m.
It’s not always about just the words on the page. A lot of the time it matters how those words look. And making them look all pretty like can be the difference between capturing someone’s attention and never making a lasting connection with your audience.
Back in 2015, we merged with Gracie Communications, a 10-year-old strategic communications and public relations firm started by Lisa Vielee. Today, Lisa is a proud partner at Well Done Marketing, and she’s using her PR skills to take our PR game and strategic direction to new heights.
Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Pulp Fiction, Jules Winnfield, once said “Pigs are filthy animals. I don’t eat filthy animals.” While we admire Jules’s restraint and appreciate his point of view, many of us non-vegetarians find the other white meat irresistibly toothsome.
Remember that old lady on your street who gave away toothbrushes instead of candy on Halloween? She wasn’t making any friends with the neighborhood children, but that was a very considerate gift.
Becoming a Google Partner isn’t easy. But with the help of Abby Reckard and our digital strategy team, we’ve received that status—and it’s a relationship we’re leveraging to the benefit of our clients every day.
Sometimes, it seems like failure is the enemy. The scourge of existence. But the best ideas often come from failure—and all those screw-ups can lead to something much greater. So take heart, and fail better.
It exists only in shadows and whispers, but one day the giant red talking toupee will come for us all. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
It never seemed right to use “muppet” as a pejorative. Not after all the amazing work Jim Henson did creating the expansive and delightful muppet universe. Somebody should really get a note to all those British gangsters: No more calling each other muppets.
While President West seems an almost certainty in 2024, we couldn’t help but take a look at what the 2016 presidential candidates were doing—and particularly at Hillary Clinton and the efficacy of her campaign’s digital strategy.
When notorious dating website Ashley Madison was compromised by a major hack, cheaters across the nation quivered in their boots. Less concerned were members of Bubba Frank, a subsidiary of Ashley Madison catering to a slightly more classy demographic.
Star Date 78462: The crew is being overwhelmed by camp! Initiate Warp Factor 7!
A little dire, yes. But this is pretty much how everybody felt about that 90210 Lifetime movie.
We can’t all agree on the mellifluence of certain words. But “bucolic?” Can’t we all just agree that sounds downright unpleasant? We’re city folk at heart.
If you’re looking to learn French, here’s what you need to do: First, get rid of all your sneakers. Next, go to France for a year. Now you know French!
Those Hickory uniforms from the movie Hoosiers were sweet. So we were pretty jazzed when we learned the Pacers would wear Hickory-inspired uniforms as part of the 2015 season—and we actually thought it was a stroke of marketing genius.
It’s a fun quote, but the truth of it depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. If you want an intoxicating rush followed by a headache and stomach pain, go with liquor. But if you’re looking for instant stomach discomfort—well there’s nothing faster than a big sack of M&M’s.
You can doubt us all you want, but it’s true.
Working in advertising isn’t full of all the glitz and glamour you might expect. But it’s a pretty cool job that attracts some pretty cool people—some of whom might be just like you! See for yourself which WDM team member most closely relates to your no-doubt awesome personality.
This guy also said, “Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” If only more people saw the world like Groucho Marx.
Few images are as stirring as two squirrels standing butt to butt, pondering their existence as they ruminate on a powerful quote.
The difference between wisdom and intelligence can be difficult to explain. Instead of trying, let us cite a carefully considered analogy.
Sometimes we like to think about the social implications of the titles of Phil Collins records. Occasionally, people accuse us of having too much free time.
Would the Beatles have been popular in the digital age? Would Facebook and Instagram and the Twittersphere have embraced the Fab Four with the same open arms that now embrace the likes of Selena Gomez, Beyonce, and Ed Sheeran? These are the questions that keep us up at night.
When the facts don’t add up, looking sexy is all that matters.
How do we get from the project brief to a great concept to a breathtakingly awesome finished product? It starts with finding the right clients, having thoughtful conversations, and—well, you can see for yourself how the sausage gets made.
Is there virtue in popularity? Is being popular a noble goal in and of itself? We’d argue probably not. Instead, we’d rather concentrate on making the world a better place, and helping our clients do the same.
Despite his many flaws, Max Fischer was full of practical insight. We’re lucky to work at a job we love, and we do our best to never take that for granted. See how we do what we do.