Ranting about marketing, public relations, design and anything else that tickles us...

Marketing That Holds Weight

Often clients ask us how they can maintain their visibility with all the communication channels while not increasing their spending (the constant battle of staying on budget). A consistent identity from message to message can make a huge difference. Delivering consistently on an organization’s identity provides identification, unifying tactics and a persuasive influence for a brand. Making every part of your organization adhere to that discipline, including everything from advertising, sales, customer service and customer relationship management to even the way you answer the phone should be considered. It won’t seem easy initially, but the results are always amazing!

Maintaining a singular focus fights off fragmentation. An integrated plan for everything you do will attract, convert, retain, and engage customers. If your brand isn’t woven beyond your marketing efforts you are wasting your time. It’s essential to deliver consistent signals in everything.

Because integration is such a powerful force, why don’t companies implement an integration strategy more often? The most effective ones do! So, get with the program and make your marketing more effective!

Business Cards as Collectibles

Hmmm... business cards as collectible items.

http://typophile.com/node/56423

I get it. I totally do... but I'm a type nerd. A design geek if you will.

However, this sounds a little like the old pick up line of "Would you like to come back to my place and see my etchings?"

"Wanna see my business card for Tom Smith the vetrinarian? It has a cat die-cut and is printed on real faux fur."

or

"Hey, wanna come and see my vintage, 1978 Boba Fett? It's still in the original cardboard mailer."

Eh, I kinda fit both of those descriptions.

So true...

Make the margins BIGGER! 

The margins are where I take notes, list ideas and flesh out concepts (he he he he he he... flesh).

The margins... traditional space of bored doodlers everywhere, but quite probably the next best thing to a sketchbook for many designers.

http://ilovetypography.com/2012/04/28/make-the-margins-bigger/


Hello Monday...

Marketing That Holds Weight

Often clients ask us how they can maintain their visibility with all the communication channels while not increasing their spending (the constant battle of staying on budget). A consistent identity from message to message can make a huge difference. Delivering consistently on an organization’s identity provides identification, unifying tactics and a persuasive influence for a brand. Making every part of your organization adhere to that discipline, including everything from advertising, sales, customer service and customer relationship management to even the way you answer the phone should be considered. It won’t seem easy initially, but the results are always amazing!

Maintaining a singular focus fights off fragmentation. An integrated plan for everything you do will attract, convert, retain, and engage customers. If your brand isn’t woven beyond your marketing efforts you are wasting your time. It’s essential to deliver consistent signals in everything.

Because integration is such a powerful force, why don’t companies implement an integration strategy more often? The most effective ones do! So, get with the program and make your marketing more effective!

Poster Art

I'm a sucker for good poster design, especially illustrated posters. 

There's probably a long, long diatribe/post about why I dig posters and how I think they encompass everything great about graphic design but this isn't the time for that.

Check out the new Nightmare Before Christmas print from the cats at Mondo.



The Unedited Path

You’re running.

Not from or to anything, just for the pleasure of the experience.

The breeze is cool, the sun and high clouds make the perfect backdrop for “taking it all in.”

Your pace is strong, nearly effortless in its rhythmic consistency.

Your breath and heartbeat syncopate a strong, steady tempo.

Simultaneously your mind clears of all humdrum detritus and your focus sharpens. Your thoughts coalesce with a clarity that is increasingly rare – an accord between mind and body at the rightness of the path. You feel enjoyment and an eagerness to continue.

And then suddenly you’re airborne, flailing, confused—launched out of a concentrated pleasure and into chaos!

Something has tripped you up – not even a big thing – the smallest pebble out of place has caused you to lose your footing and skid off the course until

::SPLAT::

Now imagine that you are not a runner but a reader. You’re a reader enjoying the pleasure of a piece, drawn in from the start, following a pleasing path set out for you by the author. The author is knowledgeable, adept in providing a perfect backdrop for the message. The path forged is one of trustworthiness and proficiency, and you feel an accord with both the message and the author. The words give you effortless clarity and you believe them.

Until abruptly you don’t. Until you’re thrown off the course with even the smallest pebble of disorder and distraction.

The pace is undone. The message is gone. Your focus has been sent sprawling by a typo or an error in phrasing – some small grammatical pebble.

This is exactly what happens with unedited copy. An enjoyable, rhythmic, focused read turns on a dime to sprawling, confused disruption. You’re cut short from the pleasure of taking it all in, even agreeing with it and wanting to go on –

to full STOP. Back up. What? What does that say? Why am I even reading this?

Don’t do this to your readers. Don’t trip them up when they’re with you, following you, and believing you. You’ve asked them to come along; clear the path for your readers by editing everything. Everything. Offer your expertise and thoughts in an enjoyable, agreeable experience. Let them take it all in! Offer the undisrupted path and they will run with it.

Get Proactive with your Marketing!

  1. Measure your advertising and word of mouth referrals ask how they found you.
     
  2. Connect with your target audience by attending events where you know your potential customers should be.
     
  3. Get your promotional materials, offers and samples in retail and promotional bags, and gift bags at races, triathlons, etc. 
     
  4. Marketing better than anyone else by having your materials look better!
     
  5. Find your point of difference and capitalize on it.
     
  6. Stay in touch with your customers!
     
  7. Be consistent with your branding.  Use your logo, colors, tagline, website and contact details on everything … this doesn’t mean to keep your advertising the same, changed it up to get noticed but stay with the same colors and, of course, logo.
     
  8. Listen carefully to understand your customer.  Tr to think as a customer.
     
  9. Have a wonderful first impression: That is your website. Don’t use a template – we all see through it!
     
  10. Ask for the business!  
     

How to get customers with public relations?

Public relations is critical to any organization's success! PR should be seamlessly integrated into your marketing program, permitting you to maintain awareness even after the initial PR buzz fades. With social media and other forms of extensions, whatever marketing is developed can be unlimited with endless mentions.
 
Public relations delivers the best return-on-investment compared to other marketing communications disciplines. PR achieves high credibility by delivering mass communications through reliable, impartial writers. Developing a positive identity for your company, brand or product among your customers, employees, influencers, prospects and other stakeholders, is a bare necessity!
 
Public Relations Professionals Provide Positive Results
 
Influence positive activities and outcomes …
  • Community relations
  • Electronic and print newsletters
  • Issues management
  • Product placement
  • Publicity events
  • Public relations writing services
    • Advertorials
    • Blogs
    • Bylined and feature articles
    • Customer testimonials
    • News releases
    • Speeches
    • White papers
    • Bulk emails
  • Social media campaigns
  • Speaking engagements
  • Sponsorships
  • Strategic public relations and crisis management
 
 

Are There Transformational Leaders Where You Work?

It doesn’t matter if you are a CEO, an entrepreneur, or someone who feels you have no power at all within an organization …. leadership can come from anywhere. You don’t have to be the person proclaimed to be in-charge to raise the bar, in fact, sometimes you can do more from below than you can from the top. One person can make a difference.

Most business writing focuses on the managerial side of leadership, their personality traits and their behavior. However, transformational leadership can start in the mailroom. Most theories in leadership development stress how to be effective from day to day, with your co-workers, with your customers and within your decision-making — transactional leadership, where you give something to get something. But a leader using a transformational style of leadership can be very influential.

Have you ever been in a group situation where someone took control of the circumstances by conveying a clear vision of the goals? The passion is completely contagious! It is the ability to make co-workers feel recharged and energized. This person just might be called a transformational leader and you can find them everywhere: On the soccer field, in the classroom, and in your department.

Transformational leadership is a type of leadership style that leads to positive changes of those who follow. These leaders are usually dynamic, enthusiastic and passionate. They like hearing all the details, like helping others achieve goals, and are willing to teach others for the good of all, focused on helping every member of the group succeed. You know them; almost every good department has at least one and if they are lucky, may have more. When transformational leaders see a problem, they fix it, sometimes by implementing new ideas, sometimes by rallying a group for the cause, and sometimes by speaking up when others won’t. These people continually change themselves; they stay flexible and adaptable; and continually help improve those around them.

These are the people who have charisma, which is difficult to define, but you know it when you experience it. This is one of those people you would follow his or her instincts no matter what. They seem to have the vision that creates a gripping picture of the future that people identify with and understand. The vision, the leader provides a means for people to develop commitment, a common goal to rally around, and a way for people to feel successful.

Transformational leaders show new ways of looking at problems, they challenge the existing boundaries and believe, wholeheartedly, there is always a good solution to any problem. They inspire others to act by providing a knowledge-base and encouragement. Sometimes all it takes is to help people face the biggest barrier, one’s self.

http://noozop.com/2012/04/06/are-there-transformational-leaders-where-you-work/