“Right now, it’s all in the planning stages,” Robyn Deyo, president of the Chesterfield County-based ad agency, said about the upcoming campaign.

The ad agency hire comes as RIR officials, as well as community leaders, worry that the track could lose one of its two annual events if attendance falls too far.

Losing one — or both — of the annual races would be a multimillion-dollar economic blow to the region.

Deyo said Barber Martin will take a “holistic approach” to the work, which will include broadcast, digital media and social media as well as promotions.

Barber Martin counts retailers Cato Fashions and Southern States Cooperative Inc. as some of its oldest clients. It added nTelos and Bassett Furniture to its roster last year.

The agency, in part, is tasked with bringing people to the racetrack for the two annual race weekends — this year in late April and early September. It will promote RIR in the Richmond area and nearby markets.

Before hiring Barber Martin, RIR worked with the New York agency Deutsch Inc. for its advertising.

Aimee Turner, an RIR spokeswoman, said track officials decided that a local agency could better understand the area and the people living nearby.

“That’s what really drew us to Barber Martin. They know our fan base,” Turner said.

A major goal for RIR, she said, is to reach out to race fans who live within a couple of hours and will drive to the race but “sleep in their own beds.”

Turner said the agency can bring in a fresh approach and creative ways to do that.

Deyo said her agency’s long history of working to get customers into retail stores makes it a good fit for RIR.

“It’s not too too different. It’s all about grabbing traffic,” she said. “We have two opportunities to make an impact.”

Getting people to the track is of upmost importance considering that the recent recession has contributed to a drop in attendance at NASCAR races nationwide. Each NASCAR weekend generates $168.5 million in economic impact for the Richmond region, according to a study by the Washington Economics Group that was released in 2009.

This is not the agency’s first dealings with the racetrack. RIR hired Barber Martin in 2001. That relationship lasted about two years.

See other articles regarding RIR and Barber Martin Agency:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/RIR-hires-Barber-Martin-agencyChesterfield-outfit-to-help-promote-tracks-NASCAR-races-40472468

http://www.rir.com/Articles/2012/01/Barber-Martin.aspx

“We are excited to work with a Virginia-based agency, and we selected Barber Martin because of their impressive retail heritage and strong history of returning results,” said Rob Cale, Vice President of Marketing for nTelos. “The agency presented strong creative concepts and media strategies to express our brand position across a variety of platforms, and we’re confident that they’ll fit in well with our commitment to outstanding local service and tremendous wireless value.”

Barber Martin has begun working on a new campaign that will leverage nTelos’s key strengths in a crowded wireless marketplace. As a full-service agency, BMA will provide nTelos with strategic planning, brand development, print and broadcast advertising, social media, design, production, and media planning and placement services.

“We’re thrilled to be working with nTelos and their dynamic leadership,” said Robyn Deyo, agency president. “The company offers the best value in the wireless industry, and they’re heading in some exciting new directions that truly capitalize on their core brand values. We’re proud that we can help position them as a leader in the telecommunications field, and build on their previous successes.

NTELOS Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: NTLS) is an integrated communications provider with headquarters in Waynesboro, VA.  NTELOS provides products and services to customers in Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Maryland and North Carolina,  including nationwide 3G wireless voice and data services, local and long distance telephone, high capacity transport, networking and high-speed Broadband data services and IPTV-based video products. Detailed information about NTELOS is available at www.ntelos.com.

Founded in 1988, Barber Martin is one of the largest advertising agencies in Virginia, listing Wendy’s Restaurants, Southern States Cooperative, Cato Fashions, Bassett Furniture, and the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth among its clients.

“This is a big win for us and we are excited to be working with Chartway,” said Robyn Deyo, agency president. “I am confident that Barber Martin’s retail branding and advertising capabilities coupled with Chartway’s industry expertise will help position Chartway as a leader in the financial category.”

Chartered in 1959, Chartway Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial institution with over 190,000 customers and assets of $1.6 billion. Barber Martin
will begin working immediately on a new advertising campaign that will leverage Chartway’s unique offerings at a time when they are most needed.

Barber Martin will provide Chartway with strategic planning, brand development, print and broadcast advertising, social media, design, production, and media planning and placement services.

“We were very impressed with Barber Martin’s knowledge and creativity. We think that Chartway and Barber Martin will make a fantastic team and we look forward to building a strong business relationship with them,” said Phillip Richards, Vice President of Marketing & Strategy for Chartway.

Founded in 1988, Barber Martin is one of the largest advertising agencies in Virginia, listing Wendy’s Restaurants, Southern States Cooperative, Cato Fashions, Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation, and The Port of Virginia among its other clients.

Part of this success can be attributed to the consistent efforts of our client, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), the state authority responsible for marketing the state’s business assets.

Barber Martin Agency considers it a privilege to have been VEDP’s marketing partner for the past 12 years, and looks forward to continuing our collaborations moving forward.

Read more about the ranking here or visit VEDP’s website.

The $4.2 million contract will fund anti-smoking advertising and marketing efforts aimed at Virginia youth. Barber Martin, the five-year incumbent on the account, beat a national roster of other agencies to retain the business and to further reduce smoking rates among Virginia teens and tweens.  Since 2001, smoking rates among Virginia high school students have dropped from 28.6% to 15.5%, or 4.5% below the national average, “a huge accomplishment  for any state, but particularly for a tobacco-growing state,” states Danny Saggese, Director of Marketing for VTSF, “and one we would not have attained without Barber Martin’s help.”

“It’s been our privilege to help reduce teen smoking rates so dramatically within Virginia,” states Robyn Deyo, President of Barber Martin. “There are very few opportunities in this business to create work that actually saves lives, and this is one of them. We are thrilled to be able to continue doing so on behalf of VTSF and the kids of Virginia.”

In addition to lowering tobacco usage among the state’s youth, Barber Martin will also work with  the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY),  a new initiative aimed at childhood obesity prevention in Virginia. The  VFHY will  include a new branch known as Virginia Youth Obesity Prevention, while continuing the tobacco-prevention  efforts under the VTSF name.

Founded in 1988, Barber Martin lists Wendy’s Restaurants, Southern States, and Cato Fashions as other significant clients.