Here's what we're talking about.

Help me help you

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 actually a little embarrassed that I had started him with the basic brand development questions.

Jim was on point and had the following questions answered fully:

  • Who are you?
  • Why should I listen to what you have to say?
  • What can you do for me?
  • Do you have the expertise to back up your claims?
  • What can I expect when working with you?

Many companies can’t answer those questions right off the bat and it’s up to the creative strategists like me to help them discover those answers and figure out ways to deliver that message to their intended audience.

It’s a lesson for creatives and small business owners alike that getting to the heart of the “why” is crucial to the success of any brand, advertising or marketing project. When a client comes to the table with those questions already answered in a clear, compelling way, then they are truly helping me help them.

Look for more info about this client coming soon!

It’s a knockout

An often overlooked logo design element is the knockout version. The knockout is the version of the logo that would appear on a dark background. There are many times when a logo cannot be reproduced in full color due to the environment where the logo will be placed or the costs associated with printing in… More

App Review: IFTTT

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

strike up a conversation

I saw this article that may be of interest to you: it’s premise is that user like it when companies answer their questions on Twitter. This is also a great opportunity to demonstrate your expertise in your field and make the person who asked the question feel heard. Here’s the crux of their research: “Eight… More

Understanding culture

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

First Contact

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

Branding Brilliance

Brilliant.

Brand Culture: Creating a community around your small business brand…a primer

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

Let’s Dance

New client meeting tonight in Bear, and it is a dance of peacocks, preening, spitting and strutting their accomplishments. Each person trying to one-up the other and demonstrate their knowledge of the best way to promote the business in question. Enter the owner, who has spent months or years in the trenches. Enter the marketer,… More

Location marketing on location (Me gusta “lo-sos”)

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

Book Review: About Face: The Secrets of Emotionally Effective Advertising by Dan Hill

I am an avid reader of design and advertising books. As geeky as it sounds, I read those types of books as my pleasure reading. I always want to know more about how to excel at my craft. Every so often there comes along a book that completely changes the way that I think about… More

Spring Cleaning

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’m givin’ it all she’s got, Cap’n!

You remember when Scotty, the engineer on the Enterprise always came up with a solution to catastrophic damage to the ship in a third the time he told Kirk it would take? Or that he was “givin’ it all she’s got” when Kirk asked for more power and found just enough to save the day?… More

(free) information is power 2

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

Facebook microtargeting

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

Shock and aww

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

The most important conversation you’ll ever have

Sitting here late at night working on a name for a new product for a small business client, which got me to thinking about the meeting that led to this late night activity… I call it the kickoff and it is the most important meeting I have with a client. Just like in football, the… More

Another gem of an article. http://lnkd.in/dgHftfK

a little something interesting I found: http://lnkd.in/dgHftfK from LinkedIn via IFTTT