Ethical stalking by Mark Williams. UpliftLive 2024
Edge Creative Brochure Ps.Qxd
1. E D G E C R E AT I V E
S T R AT E G I E S
Ready to change the world?
Let’s roll.
2. What’s with All the Marbles?
Changing the world is serious business.
So why the marbles? At Edge we frequently
tell a story about marbles to illustrate the
challenge organizations face in influencing
prospective customers, donors and other
influential groups. We look forward to
sharing it with you.
Through many story-tellings over the
years, we’ve come to take delight in the
game of marbles for the same reasons we
love our work – challenge, variety and fun.
We invite you to enjoy marbles, too, as
people have for at least 3,000 years.
On the following pages, you’ll learn a
few facts about marbles and a few facts
about Edge. We encourage you to take a
minute, have a little fun, and don’t forget
to play. And by the way, if you’ve lost your
marbles, just let us know. We’ll send a bag
right over.
“Edge brought fresh creative ideas to KSBJ – not just
through impactful marketing campaigns, but also in
helping us expand our reach while at all times staying
true to our mission. We personally found Steve to be a
man of great integrity, good humor and a genuine
heart to serve.”
Tim McDermott
89.3 KSBJ-FM
God listens.
3. Let’s start
something. “Before The Women’s Home began working
with Edge, we felt like we didn’t stand out –
we got lost in the sea of Houston-area nonprofits.
The time has come to really make a difference. Perhaps you need to establish Now Houston is finally beginning to see the
a new organizational identity. Launch a product or service. Build a loyal, important work that we do.”
supportive community. Elevate your profile. Raise awareness, attendance or capital.
Paula Paust
The Women’s Home
And you think a new marketing communications firm may help.
Nothing could delight us more. So whether you’re a young or established
nonprofit, or a large corporation with an altruistic mission, let’s talk business.
We know that searching for a firm can be difficult and time consuming.
And that’s true whether you’re prepared to invest $20,000 or $2 million.
We’re here to make communications easier and more effective for you. And
we’ll try and make it fun along the way. All we ask is a few minutes out of
your busy day. An attentive ear. And a willingness to forget a lot of what
you’ve learned about ad and PR agencies.
• The modern game of marbles comes to us from the Ancient Romans, notorious inventors of competitive
diversions. They called their amusing pastime “nuts.” The word “marbles” didn’t enter our language
until the late 1700s, when the Germans first exported small, polished orbs of marble stone to England.
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4. Yes, size matters.
For our clients,
smaller is better.
We’re not talking about the size of their organizations,
messages or impact. We’re talking about the size of
their agency.
You might be considering a big, hot ad and PR shop. One
sporting offices on both coasts. Conference rooms with theater seating. A cabin
in Colorado. And principals who do meetings and lunch, but not much real work.
So what does small get you? An agency that knows your name (and likely the
names of your spouse, kids and pets). An agency that knows nonprofits inside and
out. An agency that produces results. An agency with an insatiable desire to excel.
A habit of being cost-effective. A knack for rock-solid creativity. And the kind
of care and attention you thought went the way of the typewriter.
Since you’re taking the time to read this brochure, thinking small just might
get you Edge Creative Strategies. Maybe the littlest agency ever to create a
“Excellent service, broad industry knowledge, striking design
Super Bowl spot. To build legendary campaigns. To position international
work and timely delivery are Edge’s hallmarks. Through the
businesses for rapid growth. To be the choice of some of the biggest and
years, from the initial business card to our current web site
best-known organizations around. And to always love working for some of
design, Edge has been our partner and our guide.”
the newest and smallest, too.
John Montgomery
Bridgeway Foundation
• The game of marbles is the source of several idioms. Of course you’re familiar with “going for all
the marbles.” But did you know that “knuckle down” derives from the game, too? Now you do. The
expression “lost his marbles” derives not from the game but from Lord Elgin’s loss of marble friezes he
removed from the Parthenon in the early 1800s.
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5. We love what we do.
And you’ll love that
we do, too.
Since 1981, our staff has been promoting products, services, causes and
“The Collaborative for Children has greatly benefited from
organizations for clients from California to the Carolinas. Diversity is our
the excellent advice and expertise of Edge Creative Strategies.
portfolio’s hallmark.
When they put “Creative” in their name, they mean it!
With their help, we are being more intentional and original
Sometimes a project lasts for only a year or two. Like helping Igloo launch a
in the way we communicate to our stakeholders. Further,
new product, St. John’s School raise new capital, and the Italian Culture and
they challenge our usual way of thinking and are incredibly
Community Center adopt a new logo. Other times, the engagement is measured
flexible in working with all of our internal customers
in weeks, as when we equipped Texas Children’s Hospital for a national media
(staff, board, volunteers). We highly recommend Edge
tour. Sometimes our work spans diverse media, as when we re-concepted the
whenever you want to have a strong, clear message,
advertising for the Houston Symphony, or helped the Texas A&M Health
stand out and be heard.”
Science Center find its institutional voice and articulate its distinctive mission.
Carol S. Shattuck
We’re certainly not fickle though. Many client associations Collaborative for Children
span years, and we find these particularly gratifying. This
has been the case with Bridgeway Capital Management,
its investment company, Bridgeway Funds, and its 501(c)3,
Bridgeway Foundation. Similarly, our work with CHRISTUS
Health has encompassed the parent company, three hospitals, and its foundation.
Likewise, at Texas A&M we’ve had the privilege of working for the university,
its fund-raising organizations, several colleges, departments and programs.
The same is true at Rice and the University of Houston.
Whether for a day or a decade, we pour ourselves into whatever we do. Passion
and loyalty are our bywords. That may not be politically correct. But it explains
why some clients have been around us for almost as long as we’ve been around.
• Marbles come in three basic types: handmade glass, non-glass and machine made. Most in stores
today are made by machine in Mexico or the Far East. Collectors, called “mibologists,” usually seek
handmade marbles, non-glass (mainly china) marbles and American machine-mades created before
1960. The popularity of marble collecting has risen considerably in recent years.
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6. “Nonprofits provide
good training for my
young people.”
Maybe you’ve heard that said before. Trust us: The president of every
conventional advertising agency has made the statement. They’ve also justified
their altruistic involvements by saying that words like orchestra, university and
museum look good on a client roster. Of course they’re right, though maybe for
the wrong reason.
In fact, the typical ad agency is sufficient for some enterprises that measure
success by yardsticks other than earnings. For a few, pro bono work is just plain
impossible to pass up. We certainly understand.
On the other hand, here we are, a distinct alternative to both typical and free.
Nothing is typical here. Not our people, our processes, our products or
our promises.
Edge is devoted to altruistic business enterprises.
Our clients come in the form of health care, arts and educational institutions.
They provide social services, advance environmental causes, and fight bigotry,
poverty and isolation. They enlighten, entertain and heal. They improve the
“Not only do the writers and designers at Edge
quality of our lives. And we enhance the quality of their communications.
give me what my college needs, they also
make me feel like I am their only client.”
We’re excited by every project for every client. So we
craft everything with care. With a deadline, budget
Debbie Maurer
and ambitious goals in mind.
Conrad N. Hilton College
of Hotel and Restaurant Management
University of Houston
• In June every year, hundreds of players, age 15 or younger, travel to the beaches of Wildwood,
New Jersey, for the National Marbles Tournament. To be a champion, a competitor must win at least
11 of 21 games of Ring Taw. The tournament originated in 1922 in Philadelphia and was sponsored
by Macy’s Department Store. Wildwood is also home of the National Marbles Hall of Fame.
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7. We contend that too
much of a good thing “Edge brought a consistent look, sound and feel to
isn’t a good thing. everything. Suddenly copy was readable and design was
recognizable as the Houston Symphony’s! And I’m prouder
of our 2004-05 Classical season brochure than anything
else in my career.”
At Edge we know that sound strategy and impactful creative are crucial. But
when you’re weighing us against our competition, affordability might just be
Bruce Robinson
the factor to tip the scales in our favor. Allow us to explain.
Houston Symphony
At Edge, we don’t much believe in large supporting staffs,
oversized offices and overstuffed chairs. They cost clients
money and don’t improve the work. By design, we focus
our resources on factors that directly influence our
performance for clients. This makes us highly efficient.
Which brings us to our corporate structure. Edge is not built like a traditional
advertising agency. We’ve turned the conventional agency structure on its
head. We don’t sequester creative personnel. Our clients deal directly with
them – copywriters, art directors, Internet specialists and media gurus.
They are supported by outside experts, such as researchers, programmers and
publicity strategists. We tailor our response to your specific requirements.
So you pay only for the expertise you need. And then, only when you use it.
Nor are we merely good stewards of your dollars. We also respect your time.
We help you create more. With fewer meetings and memos. Taking work out
of your hands. And delivering the goods when you want them.
Because, as they say, time is money, too.
• “Ring Taw,” the most popular marble game, is typically played with about a dozen 1/2-inch target
marbles, placed inside a one-foot circle at the center of a 10-foot ring. Each player has a shooting
“taw,” a 3/4-inch marble. Players alternate trying to “thumb the taw” so it knocks a target marble
out of the large ring without the taw’s leaving the ring. Shooting order is determined by “lagging” to
see who gets his or her taw nearest a designated line.
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8. Sure we’re old-fashioned.
And we’re newfangled, too.
When it comes to communication, the medium can often be just as important
as the message. And today, organizations are telling their stories and building
their communications in some very innovative and effective ways.
Building on the same foundation that makes for a great brochure, television
spot or outdoor board, at Edge we’ve been able to develop outstanding
communication tools of our own. Including digital, interactive and
multi-media methods that are dynamic, enticing, adaptable, expeditious
and evolving at the speed of life.
We know a lot about media. But, like you, we’re learning
more every day about new communication vehicles.
Those that are just begging to be explored. And just
so you know, aside from our founder’s undying affection
for the bow tie, we do a good job keeping up with the
times. In fact, many clients say we’re ahead of them.
“It’s difficult to find people so passionate about
You may wish to check out a few of their stories at our Web home, what they do; I’ve found that consistently at Edge.
www.edgetexas.com. The people at Edge successfully blend business
experience with creativity to leverage our research
findings and give life to our business strategies.
Not only have we worked closely with Edge on client
assignments, but we turn to them to support the
management of our own forty-year brand.”
John McKeever
Gelb Consulting Group, Inc.
• A national marble museum, planned for Northern California, will educate the public through the
preservation of historical marbles, related artifacts and memorabilia. The museum will also house the
archives of Vitro Agate Company (1932-92), a U.S. marble maker that cashed in on the Japanese
cat’s-eye craze of the 1950s.
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9. We like it when you say
those four little words: “Edge Creative Strategies folks LISTEN, and then they STUDY,
and only then they produce a one of a kind strategy that is
UNIQUE and COMPELLING. The Edge team created a complete
“What’s the big idea?” marketing plan with the new url for the ESCAPE Family
Resource Center, www.LearnToParent.org. This has given our
25-year old organization a brand new identity, and as a result,
Every day around here, the bacon is brought home via the quality of our our work and our mission have soared to the new heights,
both in public awareness and support.”
big ideas. Compelling print. Breakthrough radio. New slants on newsletters.
Intoxicating outdoor boards. Brochures that demand to be read. Inviting
Lidya K. Osadchey
interactive Web sites.
ESCAPE Family Resource Center
We like to think we’re occasionally blessed with divine intervention. But
more often, our ideas come from something akin to a formula. A logical,
labor-intensive process we call Marketivitysm. It leads us to more than one
“best” solution. Which means you can choose from several options. All of
them good. Great, even.
If it’s trophies you want, of course we’ve got them. We have shelves that
glisten with medals and statues. But chances are you’d prefer us to show
our mettle in more important ways. And if so, then pay attention to the
words of the people you find quoted in this brochure.
Endorsements like these are the grand prizes in any business. And caring
deeply about our clients and their companies is the big idea that has
distinguished us since our founding.
Now let’s roll.
If you’d like to find out more about Edge Creative Strategies,
call us at 713.868.0970. Or e-mail us at sbarnhill@edgetexas.com.
We’re ready to talk.
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10. “I LOVE the folks at Edge! They’re creative,
patient, hard-working and come in on budget.
What else can a client want?”
Stuart J. Dow
The Emery/Weiner School
“The most important reality about the Edge team is that
they listen. Their bold ideas have propelled Sullivan
Group to a new level of purpose and production.”
Clare S. Jackson
Sullivan Group
11. 5300 Memorial Drive, Suite 260 Houston, Texas 77007
Tel 713.868.0970 Fax 713.863.8357 www.edgetexas.com