So, upon closer examination, Groupon is not the deal that I thought it was. I read an article about restaurants having bad experiences with Groupon and thought that it was bad business on their part; they gave away too much to the digital coupon clippers. Up until a few weeks ago, I thought Groupon would… More
So I’m spelunking around the web as I like to do on a quiet Saturday evening after burping up code all day… I revisited the HUGE website. These guys rock as far as creative is concerned and I feel connected to them in that we chose the same color to represent our brand. It takes… More
I am addicted to Facebook. Twitter, not so much, in that the opportunities for feedback are limited and a tweet is just that-a short little burst that gets lost in the cacophony of other tweets. I like having followers, no doubt about that, but I think that in the social sphere, my money is on… More
This one’s for my creative brothers and sisters, but the small business community can use this one too. I got a call out of the blue from a prospective client that found us on The Google. I love it when that happens. One of the most important conversations you will have with a client is… More
Part of my goings-on about the user experience include knowing your audience and understanding what makes them tick. A huge part of the behavioral information that you can glean about a particular audience segment is culture. I came across an article on Business Insider that represents visually how cultures around the world negotiate. Why should… More
So I am spending Saturday watching SNL and browsing the App Store when I came across the IFTTT app. It is AMAZING for people who generate content across many social media platforms. IFTTT stands for If This, Then That and it allows you to create conditional statements called “recipes” that help you manage aspects of… More
So here is a client relations issue that many of us small business-facing creatives have: Getting too close to your client. Generally, my small business clients are usually run by a single person. That person usually has the chops to run a business and sell him/herself to the general public. One of the reasons that… More
A lot has been said about User Experience and how critical it is to the success of any web site. I couldn’t agree more. Here is an example of what I mean: I’m in an Asian restaurant for the first time today. I’ve been past it, looked at the menu in the window but never… More
Responded to an email that came through the site last week (I know, that was a little too long to wait) and a request for marketing assistance for $1000 per year. That’s a very low number, and I told them so. But instead of telling them to get lost, here’s what I did. I gave… More
So I was engaged in a conversation earlier today about User Experience, UX for short. This, along with User Interface (UI) design, are the hot button topics of web design now. Suddenly, companies care about their users now that the web has evolved and flattened so that users have a say in how they interact… More
a little something interesting I found: http://lnkd.in/dgHftfK from LinkedIn via IFTTT
Years ago, when the web was relatively young, I remember business owners asking me to build them a website with the rationale that “they just needed one.” There was no more discussion than that. Me, being young and hungry, built them a site that, for the time and my skill level, looked great. But then… More
I took a personal day to literally clean out the cobwebs. Spring cleaning! Actually, it was more of a seasonal purge. I got rid of clothing, shoes, papers, boxes; all those things that just weren’t working. I dug around in closets, cabinets, and under even low furniture to rid myself of things that were weighing… More
I had a fascinating kick-off conversation with a new client today, Jim Israel formerly of Culinary Concepts in Philadelphia, PA. He is starting a new consulting company aimed at the hospitality industry. Usually, my clients struggle with their identities, their mission and their unique selling points. Jim had all of that in spades. I was… More
Heya guys! Here’s a logo that was just approved for a massage therapist client. In my research, I found lots of massage logos to be a little on the heavy side. This logo is meant to convey health, cleanliness and serenity. Tell us what you think.
One of my favorite neighborhood restaurants is taking advantage of location marketing. For those of you that don’t know, location marketing takes advantage of smart phones equipped with GPS. On location-based social sites, also known as “lo-so”s, like Facebook, Yelp! and Loopt, a user can “check in” to establishments near him/her and the savvy business… More
One of the goals of marketers is to create a message that the viewer believes is meant solely for him/her. Considerable time, money and effort is spent developing the right message for the right audience. The smaller the audience, the more specific and compelling the marketing message can be. The practice of delivering messages to… More