Hull Creative Group

Allyn & Bacon, Educational Publishers, Tap Hull Creative to Reach Elusive Educational Market

Boston, MA March 20, 2002 – Hull Creative Group, a design and strategic marketing communications firm with expertise in branding and creative design, marketing and business planning, for high technology, education, healthcare, nonprofit organizations and other industries, announced the creation of two innovative marketing tools for educational publisher, Allyn & Bacon.

Targeting educators of Criminal Justice courses, Allyn & Bacon decided to forego the standard textbook brochure, and chose Hull Creative Group to create (a premiere promotion) that functions as a practical resource faculty can refer to year round – a 2002 calendar titled “Making History in Criminal Justice.” Each calendar month features a different historic black and white journalistic photograph with accompanying text, capturing a pivotal moment in America’s legal history. Hull Creative Group enhanced the power of the images by juxtaposing them against borders of strong, flat color. The careful use of varnishes added further richness and focus to the piece.

Photographs range from Richard Nixon’s resignation speech, to Sandra Day O’Connor sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee, to Rosa Parks fingerprinted after refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger. Noteworthy dates in criminal justice history are integrated throughout the calendar, alongside Allyn & Bacon’s roster of criminal textbooks, supplements and technology solutions.

“The calendar resonates a post September 11 mood, and is designed to foster a feeling of connection between educators of Criminal Justice courses and our rich criminal justice heritage. At the same time, it provides the strong and consistent message that Allyn & Bacon provides quality resources for criminal justice educators,” said Caryl Hull, founder and principal of the Hull Creative Group.

In another project for Allyn & Bacon, Hull Creative Group worked with the playful “genie in the magic lamp” theme to reach part-time faculty whose wishes for particular text books and educational products, are often overlooked.

Designed to be inserted in campus mailboxes, the piece is a gold metallic, foil stamped genie lamp, the lid of which slides up to reveal three key messages, and uniquely house an Allyn & Bacon sales representative business card.

"With 60% of higher education faculty working at their colleges or universities part time, the adjunct professor is a difficult to reach, untapped market. The “Adjunct Genie” piece first communicates to part time faculty that their requests are important, then leads them to an established Web site, with the same coordinated theme, where they can order materials. As a result, the “Adjunct Genie” provides Allyn & Bacon with the information needed to build a database for future communication,” said Hull.

“Hull Creative Group understood our challenge of marketing to the hard to reach adjunct professors. Through their creativity and strategic marketing communications work, we are confident our message is now being heard by the appropriate audience – and our sales staff is quite pleased with these sales tools,” said Kate Conway, Director of Advertising for Allyn & Bacon.