Z promotion & design | Kitchen & Bath Marketing

About Z promotion & design

Z promotion & design was established in 1996 as a full-service marketing, advertising and creative agency. From day one our mission has been simple: To provide businesses with an effective alternative to juggling a handful of freelancers or getting lost in the mix of the bureaucracy of large, impersonal agencies. At Z promotion & design, we work closely with each of our clients to provide high-quality, forward-thinking creative marketing solutions. No matter how big or small your budget, we strive to help you improve your business through personalized service that incorporates intelligent marketing ideas and top-notch design expertise.

In 1998, we began our work with the kitchen & bath industry thanks to a simple web design for Triangle Design Kitchens of Raleigh, NC. Our kitchen & bath client base grew so rapidly thereafter that we have since become exclusive to the kitchen & bath industry. We are proud to serve showrooms, manufacturers, design firms, associations and suppliers with a powerful combination of marketing, design, and production expertise backed by solid knowledge of a unique and ever-changing industry.

Located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Z promotion & design specializes in a full range of advertising and creative services, including all aspects of branding and marketing, copywriting, media planning, logo and graphic design, web design, audio/video production, 3-D animation, computer-based training/presentations, and public relations programs.

Z promotion & design Founder and President, Philip D. Zaleon, is an international award-winning writer, producer, and designer with an extensive background in marketing, graphic design, television promotion and production, and web design. He is a contributing writer to industry-leading magazine Kitchen & Bath Design News, and NKBA Magazine as well as a seasoned industry keynote speaker on all things marketing and author of the industry marketing primer "A is for Advertising... B is for Branding...". He is currently the Chapter President of the Eastern Carolinas Chapter of the NKBA and a recipient of numerous industry Awards of Distinction for creativity. Phil is also the co-founder and Partner of the industry leading, innovative Kitchen & Bath Channel.

Z promotion & design is the exclusive marketing vendor to both the SEN Design Group and Buying Group Services (BKBG and PremierDPH)

Articles of Interest...

Whether he’s writing an article for KBDN Magazine, a blurb for the SEN Design Group’s internal newsletter, or a book for whole Kitchen & Bath industry, Z promotion & design President Phil Zaleon writes to make you a better marketer, and as a result, a better business owner.

Each of the articles below will provide you with helpful ways to improve your business. The articles are categorized by publication. Click [Show] to expand each publication and reveal individual article titles. Then click on the article title to view the article in its entirety.

Kitchen & Bath Design News

Kitchen & Bath Design News "Marketing Smarts: Marketing Solutions"
April 2010, Author

"Marketing Technology"
June 2009, Author

"Marketing for Referrals"
July 2008, Author

"Make Your Mark"
April 2008, Author

"Marketing Savvy"
November 2007, Author

"Marketing for All Seasons"
August 2007, Author

"Brand Bending"
May 2007, Author

"Design Superhighway"
April 2007, Quoted

"Developing Your Database"
November 2006, Author

"Extending Your Showroom"
August 2006, Author

"Marketing Your Showroom"
April 2006, Author

"Aspiring to the Luxury Market"
November 2005, Author

"Marketing Savvy"
April 2005, Author

"High-Tech Marketing"
September 2004, Author

"Cost Effective Creativity"
October 2003, Author

"Image is Everything"
July 2003, Author

Lowes for Pros

"Get the Message Out"
2006, Quoted

"10 Tips to More Effective Marketing"
2005, Quoted

Upscale Remodeling - Quoted

Upscale Remodeling Brand Protection
Spring 2007

Trademarking can be a smart way to help you develop a brand.

Successfully creating a market identity for your company isn't easy. Branding first requires a substantial creative effort, then a serious financial commitment as you establish the brand through marketing. "It's not inexpensive to effectively brand yourself," says Phil Zaleon, a marketing consultant and founder of Z Promotion & Design in Chapel Hill. N.C. "It takes time, it takes money, and it takes patience." Because branding is so difficult, companies that have succeeded (or hope to) often try to protect the components of their brand identity, such as the logo and tag line, by registering trademarks with the US Patent and Trademark office.

"If you've stumbled across something you think is effective for marketing and branding yourself," Zaleon says. "you want to try to protect it as best you can."

Trademarking seems a logical step for many companies. And although the process first appears fairly straightforward - essentially all you have to do is fill out some forms and send them to the U.S.P.T.O. along with a fee - the registration process is actually quite complicated.

"It's much more complex than it seems on its surface." says D.S. Berenson. a partner in national construction law firm Johansen Berenson and frequent contributor to REMODELING.

First, you must be absolutely sure the mark isn't already in use in remodeling or a related industry. The U.S.P.T.O. will only alert you to conflicts with other registered trademarks, not to unregistered marks already in use.

"Just because you have the trademark doesn't mean someone's not using it already," Berenson says, "and getting the trademark doesn't give you rights over someone who is already using it."

That means you can register your mark and still find yourself on the losing side of a trademark infringement case.

When registering a trademark, you must also be careful to ensure that you're only registering the mark for the exact services you provide. Registering a mark for a service you don't provide - just to prevent
others from using it - is known as trademark fraud, and that can get you in serious trouble.

"We run into a lot of problems with people who file overly broad trademark descriptions," Berenson says. "You have to very carefully specify which goods and services you're filing the mark for."

Because of all the complexities and potential complications, Berenson says, it's essential not to begin the trademarking process without a lawyer. "It's common for people to try to go through the process on their own," he says. "but that's very dangerous."

David Zuckerman is a freelance writer based In New York

Zpd.TIPS

Zpd.TIPS is a series of marketing tips authored by Phil Zaleon from 2000 - 2005. These tips, covering general marketing topics were emailed weekly to thousands of business owners world-wide who signed up.

About Z promotion & design

Articles of Interest...