Business, economic development - the unofficial Chamber of Commerce

Here are four things you should keep in mind as you build your company’s brand:

1) Own the “Significant Thing”: Dole tried to be all things to all people spend your time focusing on a single clear message. Mercedes-Benz owns ” Engineering ” in the car industry because it’s focused on that singular message for decades.

2) Consistency is key: consistent presentation will ensure that your customers recognize you. Be consistent in the use of logos, taglines, visual elements, tone, and ad copy. Coca-Cola it is one of the most recognized brands in the world because they haven’t changed in decades. Make sure your brochures, website, Direct mail, and all the other advertising have the same feel and message.

3) Make your message relevant: know your audience, know what they care about and how to speak to them. Make sure what you sell is what they need. Remember the conversation should always be about your audience, not you.

4) Use a strong offer to motivate: you want your audience to remember you and you want its members to buy from you. You need to move them to action. A strong offer should give them a reason to buy. Make the offer clear and appropriate for your brand.

Every time a customer comes in contact with your brand, they will have either a positive or a negative experience. Those experiences will add to their perception of your brand. Those experiences are recalled later when it’s time to make a purchasing decision. How do you want your brand to be remembered when the time comes for a prospect to buy? You need to start building that positive perception today and do whatever is necessary to maintain it.

Good luck.

The Sales & Marketing Mensch is brought to you by BorderBound Communications (www.borderbound.com), and integrated marketing firm presently located up on the Frozen Tundra of Minnesota. Comments and questions can be forwarded to Chris Olson, (the S & MM) via chris@bbwh.com

As a business owner, you have the option of taking several different approaches to handling your Marketing and Advertising. You may choose to handle the responsibility yourself, with the idea that no one understands your business quite the way you do.. You may also consider hiring a full time marketing manager or even assigning the tasks, as they arise, to someone already working within your organization. Consider this… When your business needs plumbing work do you do it yourself? Hire a plumber to be on staff full time? Or ask your accountant to handle it?

Call in the Experts.

Though some advertising and marketing ventures seems simple enough to be handled ”in house”, nothing is as costly as a marketing misfire. Not only may you be sending out the wrong messages, to the wrong markets, but also by the time you catch it, your budget may be in no shape to recover and redirect. The truth is, no one can do the job as effectively and efficiently as someone who lives and breathes the industry everyday. Plus, the added perk of consistent media contacts that will prove to be financially beneficial to your business.

Seeing the forest and the trees.

When you hire a consultant you hire an objective opinion, as well as a fresh point of view. Sometimes a business may lose perspective on itself by being too heavily immersed in the day-to-day operations, and lose itself in the big picture, missing the small details… or vice-versa. Sadly, sometimes a business’s marketing will clearly reflect this. The president of a private jet company’s focus is on the bells and whistles of his fleet. It’s what he sees as important in his view of his business. Inevitably, his marketing may also focus on this portion of his business, ignoring what he is really selling to his potential clients: The feeling and the status of private jets.

If you add another ball, technically it is juggling.

If you, as a business owner, or an employee take on the added tasks of the marketing of the business, attention is being taken from other projects and responsibilities. Inescapably, focus and demands are bound to pull from one and take away from others until something falls to the floor. Consultants are dedicated to one, and only one, portion of your business. Their focus is committed, and they allow you to keep yours where it should be.

The Gumby Factor.

Consultants are very flexible. Immediately ready and available to take on assignments at a moment’s notice. Accessibility to getting a new project off the ground is just a phone call away. On the other hand, trying to hire a new employee specifically to handle your marketing needs takes valuable time to places ads; conduct interviews and then sort through applicants, hoping to find the right person for the job.

The M -Word Money.

When you total up the actual cost of bringing on a new employee, you will most likely find that hiring a consultant is much more cost effective. The hourly rates may seem to favor a full time employee, but when you factor in employee benefits, training time, vacation/sick time, 401(k), the added overhead involved in situating a new employee, and the sheer fact that you may be paying full time wages for something that may not need full time attention, the cost effectiveness will fall in favor of a consultant. Which bring us to….

The C- Word Commitment.

Hiring a full time employee is a commitment. And bringing on an employee to handle a special marketing project, or set up an initial marketing plan, may in the long run leave you scrambling to find a new project or position for that employee. Or worse yet, you find yourself paying a full time marketing director to do basic maintenance. Hiring a consultant requires no long-term commitment. When a consultant completes a project, they have the flexibility to move into whatever position you need them, from quarterly analysis, to basic maintenance, to completely out of the picture, but on the sidelines when you’re ready to take a new step forward.

“There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt

Mary Ellen Martelli
MareMax Consulting
http://www.maremaxconsulting.com
Mount Laurel NJ 08054
609-413-0248
Advertising - Marketing - Public Relations - Web Design & Content

1. There are many types of cards you can choose from . Design the ones that you need or that sound the most interesting to you. Try birthday, anniversary, cards for children, wedding, sympathy, holiday or get well.

2. To begin the design you will need good paper. Look for pre-folded cards or use cardstock and fold your own. Using a bone folder is helpful here because it makes a very nice clean fold. There are several sizes to choose from, make sure you have an envelope to fit or be prepared to make one. There are templates galore for this type of thing.

3. Next choose a sticker or rubber stamp for the image on the front of the card. If using stamps, try different color stamp pads until you get the design and color you like. You can layer the stickers or stamped image on other paper to create a more pleasing design. Try using a combination of plain and matching patterned paper for this step.

4. There are embellishments you can use instead of a stamp or sticker. These are often dimensional and add a lot to the design of your card.

5. Make certain you have appropriate glue. Carefully consider the adhesive you want to use. A glue gun works well for heavy items but will wrinkle most papers. Glue dots and strips are handy for many design gluing jobs. I really like the glue stick that says”heavy duty” on the label, it is good for almost any paper and dries smooth and clear.

6. Design the words next. Think about what you want the card to say. Do you want the greeting or message on the inside or on the front of the card? You can use rubber stamps for this, stickers or computer generated greetings. There are so many fonts available that every card can be unique.

7. Lay your design out on the card before you attach the different elements. Check to make sure it all fits and that you like the design. Glue everything down and making sure all pieces are secure.

8. Now look at the inside of your card. If you are going to put a message there think about layering it on other paper to match the design on the front of your card. Attach these pieces to the inside of the card.

9. Check out the whole card now. Are you happy with the design? Does it need anything extra like colored brads or buttons? Is there part of the design that would look nice colored in with marker, colored pencils, chalks or watercolors?

10. I believe a card is not finished until the fiber is added, both inside and out. Matching colors from the design, take two or three strands of coordinating ribbon, yarn, metallic thread or wire and tie into a knot. Trim the ends so it looks the way you want it. Attach with your glue gun and you are done with the card.The envelop please! To put a final touch on your design decorate the envelop to match the card. Use your markers, chalk, stickers and stamps to create an envelop that is as gorgeous as what’s inside!!

In very little time you can create a special and unique card and envelop using your own design.

Robert Michael is a writer for Fhg Designs.com which is an excellent place to find design links, resources and articles. For more information go to: www.fhgdesigns.com

Recently, I asked Jim Daniels why he had no information about Ad
Swapping at his new site. He said he did not have much
experience with it and asked if I would like to write an article
since I have had some very good results with it. So, here I am
sitting down to let you all know that Ad Swapping does work
well. I subscribe to just one ezine, Ezine-Swap, Ezine-Swap.com,
that carries nothing but ezines wanting to exchange ads. All
pertinent information for the ezine is listed: circulation,
target market, etc. This makes it easy to pick out a targeted
market like, for me, women. Some issues I send out 5 emails
requesting a swap and usually get a 98% “yes” response. This
last time I only sent out one request as I did not think the
other newsletters were appropriate for my product. This was a
positive response, too. I have just joined Binky’s Swap Club but
do not yet know how this one will work for me. I have signed up
to accept 4 ads and will have my ad published 4 times. I have to
send a Courtesy Copy to each person that I run an ad for which
is more time consuming that just adding them to my mailing list.
Another thing I must be careful of is to not carry to many ads
so that none of them are noticed. Although the tracking system I
use does not show me exactly which ezine I am getting hits from
I know I am getting responses based on the dates and when the
ezines are printed and the fact that “unknown” shows up as a
referral. Being a fledgling site that does not yet get a large
number of hits, I am pleased with the 10 or 20 hits/ezine I get
from doing this. I have spent money in the past on ezine
advertising and have not been as pleased. After all, this
advertising costs me nothing but my time (and that isn’t much)
and allows me to target my ads. What more could I ask for?
Another good aspect of swapping is the fact that I can test out
ads at no cost to me. If an ad does not work, I just change it
until I have one that does work. Then, I use the ad for larger,
paid advertising campaigns. As far as I can see, swapping has
worked as well for me as paid ezine advertising. Of course, to
reach the really large numbers, you will have to use paid ezine
advertising. I highly recommend this form of advertising to you.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me
at Ginny@bedaisyfresh.com.

Operating a turnkey website is one of the hottest ways that people are making a living on the internet and, best of all, it’s low maintenance and affordable. You don’t have to be an experienced web designer or have a large amount of cash to invest in your business. A turnkey website is fully functional and features everything that you will need to get started, in your new business, immediately. The website design is already done and the product(s) or services are ready for you to begin selling. Depending on the nature of your business, the only cost that you may have is that to purchase the turnkey website and a monthly fee for it’s operation and management.

What’s the key to the success of any business? That’s a very good question and the answer is actually quite simple. The answer is promotion.

Paid advertisements are placed every day and they are a terrific way to generate new customers for your business. However, if you are just starting out, perhaps you don’t have the cash to place a full page ad in a national magazine or start an Adwords campaign. But, don’t be discouraged and don’t be afraid to start small and work your way up. It really isn’t possible to get rich overnight, but it is possible to achieve with time and proper planning. For those with a small budget, you can still get excellent advertising at no cost. When you pick up a magazine or newspaper, consider whether you generally pay more attention to the articles or the advertisements. The majority of readers actually read the publication, which is why your business needs to make headlines. Consumers may put more faith in an actual article than an advertisement.

When beginning to promote your turnkey website, write a one-page press release. The top of the page should read: ‘FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.’ Be sure to include your name, mailing address and contact number somewhere on the page. This brief overview should consist of your name, the name of your business, it’s primary function and future goals. Include personal quotes about things, such as why you chose a turnkey website, what you envision for the future of internet revenue and your plans for the business. You should also include your website address somewhere in the press release.

Once your press release is written, send it to every local newspaper in your area. Be sure to address the envelope to the editor’s attention. There are several ways to submit a press release, which include fax, e-mail, regular mail or online via PR-WEB. Many local newspapers and/or magazines will be happy to publish press releases featuring local residents and their new business ventures.

7 More Ways To Promote Your Turnkey Website For Free

1. Submit your press release to free online press release websites.

2. List your website on other websites, ask your friends to link to your website & use linkmetro.com to swop links.

3. Start a mailing list for your website and promote your business to those who sign up.

4. Distribute flyers, featuring your new business, in your community.

5. Print business cards and ask local business owners if you can leave them for customers to pick up.

6. Submit your turnkey website to every major internet search engine.

7. Set up an e-mail signature, which will attach to every e-mail that you send. For example, your signature may read: “Regards, YourWebSiteName.com”. Then every email you send will have your business name attached to the bottom of it.

Once your business is up and running, and is beginning to generate a profit, consider paid advertising as your next step toward the success of your business. This method can only be successful if you have the cash to put toward the advertising campaign without pinching your wallet.

Mark Kenny, creates exclusive turnkey websites. You can view these ready-to-go turnkey websites at http://www.Trading-Web-Solutions.com or http://www.Concept-Casinos.com

It’s not unusual for clients of service providers to insist that
their budget dollars be quickly applied to a variety of flashy
tactics. Yet, when pressed, many acknowledge that what they
REALLY want for their money is visible, end-game change.

This is especially true in public relations where clients often
second-guess careful plans for achieving that end-game
change by insisting on premature use of tactics like news
releases, talk-show appearances and sports sponsorships.

But obviously, flashy tactics alone will not satisfy those
clients once they start looking for a return on their public
relations investment. Because it is then that it becomes clear,
sometimes painfully, that their goal MUST be the
kind of change in the behaviors of key stakeholders that
lead directly to achieving their business objectives. Thus,
it is quality planning, and the degree of behavioral change
it produces, that eventually captures client attention,
not tactics.

These days, with public relations budgets always in mortal
danger, tactical chats between a client CEO and public
relations counsel probably sound like this: “Do something
about those activists chaining themselves to our plant gate
and yelling that our emissions go into the river. It’s costing
us big money each day that plant is shut down.”

Or, “How are we going to calm down those Garden Club
members down in the lobby waving around those
cockamamie newspaper reports and talking to the TV
cameras about the additives we use? Where’d that reporter
get those numbers, anyway? It’s costing us sales!”

Or, “Please people, what are you doing to encourage a
favorable Town Council vote on our petition for that new
highway off-ramp?”

What’s common to each of those rants? The CEO is asking
his public relations people to modify somebody’s behavior.
He doesn’t want to talk tactics, or even strategies. He wants
those activists off his property, he wants those print and
broadcast reporters to do a fairer job of reporting on his
production methods (hopefully getting the Garden Clubbers
off his back), and he wants a real effort made to
move public opinion in a way that encourages local officials
to approve that badly needed vehicle ramp.

Modify somebody’s behavior, that’s his goal, and
that’s the job of the public relations agency and its
client’s corporate professionals. Fortunately, the
key to a successful effort is the fact that people
really DO act on their perception of the facts. In
so doing, and in a cumulative way, they form the
very public opinion that those practitioners must
now inform.

So, what is their strategy? In short, to reach those
perceptions with the facts as they know them.
Hopefully, the messages they use will be clear and
persuasive, and will change negative or inaccurate
perceptions, then alter behaviors in the client
company’s direction.

Using the three examples above, when the activists
become satisfied with explanations of the company’s
new, public commitment to correct their emission
problems, the protesters can be expected to leave the plant
gates.

Editorial board meetings with local newspapers and
television stations will begin to bear fruit with more
balanced reportage of the company’s efforts to meet
emission standards which, in turn, will reduce negative
public opinion.

And, while the agency’s briefing sessions with town
council staff will do little to hasten a formal vote, a targeted
communications effort is likely to lead to a community
opinion poll showing positive movement in public, then
official sentiment about the new highway off-ramp.

In the end, a sound public relations strategy combined
with effective tactics leads directly to the bottom line -
perceptions altered; behaviors modified; client satisfied.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box
in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.
A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.
Word count is 720 including guidelines and resource box.
Robert A. Kelly © 2005.

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and
association managers about using the fundamental premise of public
relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR,
Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR,
Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi-
cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press
secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree
from Columbia University, major in public relations.
mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com

Dale Carnegie knew the secret, and that’s one reason his book
“How to Win Friends and Influence People” has sold more than 15
million copies. In fact, British Airways recently named it, “The
Business Book of the 20th Century.”

It’s a great book. But if Dale had titled it “How to Remember
People’s Names and Curb Your Incessant Urge to Argue,” do you
think it would have sold as well? Probably not. There’s great
power in good titles.

What you may not realize is the words “How to Win Friends and
Influence People” are not only the title of the book. Those
words were also the headline of a mail-order ad, which sold the
book. The ad ran successfully for many years and sold hundreds
of thousands of copies.

So what does this have to do with turning your advertising into
an irresistible customer magnet?

Here’s what. Behind the title and headline is a “secret code”
that makes it powerful. Dale knew it. Great advertising
copywriters know it. And now, you’re going to know it, too.

The “secret code” is actually a generic formula that gets
attention and creates desire in your prospect’s mind. Every
winning headline has a unique generic formula hidden inside.
Here’s the formula in Dale Carnegie’s book title and headline:

How to _____ and _____.

Let’s see the formula at work. Say you are an executive
Recruiter, and you help companies find new executives. In
reality, your biggest problem is finding the executive
candidates in the first place. So, to increase your group of
candidates, you decide to run an ad in your local business
journal. Here’s how you could use this formula to write a
headline for your ad:

How to Get a Better Job and Make More Money

…and right away anyone who’s even a little interested would read
your ad. Then, if your copy (text) is even halfway decent, you’d
get plenty of calls.

Or, let’s say you run a martial arts school. Here’s how you
could apply the formula in an advertising headline to get you
new students:

How to Stay Fit and Protect Yourself

Do you see how powerful that is? You’ve just zeroed-in on people
who are likely to be interested in learning martial arts.

The brutal reality of advertising: An ad with a good headline,
and even mediocre copy, will get you a response and generate
sales. But with a poor headline, even the most brilliant copy
will get you little or no response. Why? Because without a good
headline to get their attention, most people won’t read any
further.

The good news is, once you have identified a good headline that
works in one industry or market, you can adapt it (like we did
with the Dale Carnegie headline, above) for your own business.
Great headlines work as subject lines in emails, titles on Web
pages, and of course as headlines in print ads and sales
letters. Great headlines will literally transform your sales.

How does this work in today’s economy?

Recently a client asked me to help him introduce a new service
to Internet Service Providers. (Note: To understand what you are
about to read, you should know that ISPs call their suppliers
“backbone providers.”) I wrote a direct mail letter and my
client sent it out to ISPs. Because my client was revealing new
information his prospects hadn’t heard before, we used the
following “teaser headline” on the front of the envelope:

What Your Backbone Provider Isn’t Telling You

Was this an entirely original headline? No. I had seen a similar
“teaser headline” on a successful mailing to promote an
investment newsletter:

What Your Broker Isn’t Telling You About High-Tech Stocks

So I merely identified the “secret code” in the original winning
headline, and applied it to my client’s market, ISPs.

The response to the mailing was overwhelming! Nearly 10% of the
entire ISP industry responded to our letter — and my client has
added eight figures of new annual revenues as a result of the
business that developed.

I’m telling you this not to brag, but to point out the awesome
power of good headlines. While many people spend hours and hours
trying to come up with “the perfect headline” for their ads,
there is an easier way. Find proven headlines that already work
for another business in another industry, and adapt them to your
business.

Then prepare for a flood of new customers!

There are many uses for promotional items. This means that they are just not used as freebies for a grand opening special. Knowing all the uses for these nifty items, often called “swag,” will open up many opportunities for your place of business.

Advertising Specialties

Look around you. You can probably count on two hands the number of items in your office or home that are etched, engraved or printed with someone’s name- magnets, key chains, coffee mugs, calendars, rulers and note cubes. Oh, and how could we forget the pen or stress ball? These items were most likely given to you at no cost at a business you frequent, or perhaps were even sent to you. These are often given out at trade shows, seminars and other events open to the public. Even the businesses that have booths at the county fair have these types of giveaways. And, some businesses just have them out in their reception area. Others, like schools, may hand out pens, folders and lanyards at orientations and open houses. This marketing tool not only builds recognition but also is a way to gain your repeat business.

Business Gifts

Many of the above type of items are also used as business/corporate gifts. Items under this category sometimes also fall under higher price ranges too such as insulated travel mugs, clocks, messenger bags, polo shirts, fleece blankets, paper weights and more. These are generally sent to clients and vendors of a business to show their appreciation. They can be sent around the holidays, given out at receptions or just sent around an event specific to the company sending them. According to a Baylor University study, over half of the companies in America take part in this practice, and 68% of them find them to be very effective in helping achieve their business objectives. Some more reasons for business gifts: thanking customers, developing business and recognizing employees.

Premiums

Sometimes promotional items aren’t free. But, the customer is not exactly paying for them either. Welcome to the world of premiums! If you sign up for this, you’ll get this for free! And, this gimmick works! Have you ever donated to a charitable organization (like the Sierra Club) for a free newsletter subscription and t-shirt? Have you ever applied for a credit card to get an umbrella? Have you ever pledged to your local PBS station during a membership campaign for a Sesame Street plush toy? Or, have you ever switched banks to get a free beach blanket, or signed up for a health club for a free gym bag? These are just an inkling of ways companies use premiums to win your business. Premiums are basically promotional products used as an incentive to gain your business. Many times, the item is not given until an obligation us fulfilled. So, if your company is seeking membership, subscriptions or even sales, attaching a premium is a smart way to attract new business!

Recognition Awards

Sometimes promotional items are created solely for inside purposes, such as the case with recognition awards. These can range from plaques and pins to jackets and messenger bags, and many other types of gifts. These can be used for reaching and exceeding goals, perfect attendance, leadership qualities, promotions, inside contests and much more. Unlike ad specialties and premiums, which cater to the public, these cater to employees to motivate and boost morale within the place they work. While the recognition may mean more than the actual item, it serves as a reminder of accomplishments. When others see someone with an award, their own performance may increase. In a way, a recognition award is sort of like a premium after all- there is an incentive to earn one.

Other Uses

Sometimes promotional items are given out to customers as prizes as events. This is similar to recognition awards, only these are usually smaller ticket items given to random customers. An example would be a special sale or promotion where people can enter to win at the store, perhaps there is a grand prize of a big-ticket item and runner-ups will be selected to win imprinted prizes donning your logo. Also, items like inflatables (balloons and other shapes) will draw attention to a business and are indeed considered promotional items. Also, everybody has seen items with logos up for sale in gift shops- think tourist attraction, or gift shops at the end of a company tour (Hershey, Crayola factory, etc). These are still promotional items, but are considered souvenirs and are bought my consumers. Shot glasses, pint glasses, mugs, license plate frames, bumper stickers, salt and pepper shakers and more can fall in to this category!

Cindy Carrera is a freelance creative author who’s written numerous articles about PR including: business promotional items, custom promotional products and wholesale promotional items.

The Creative Process Hello! My name is Mario Ogas (I am one more
worker writing e-zines to ‘illustrate’ the world wide web).

I’ve been working the last 12 years or so, in web & graphics
design jobs: teaching at university and also as webmaster (in
argentina) until 2003…now I’ve moved to Brazil and, as an
internet dependant like I am, has my own Web Design & Internet
Services Company ( www.artandata.com ) on wich I’m so proud of.

Time ago some friends and business related people I know told me
that It would be a good idea to write technical letters on the
subjects I know (mostly by every day working challenges) to help
other people on their needs given them tips and information.

The point was: “I do not have the time to do this ! “. So the
years have passed out…I’m my own boss…so I (like a boss) said to
me (as the employed of myself that I am) “Mario, got a job for
you…sit down at your desktop and do not move your ass from that
chair until a nice first technical letter is cooked out of the
oven. No matter the theme or subject I know you’re good for
choosing the thing…”

So ….as my boss asked me: “I’m sitted here until this letter be
done and published”. Let’s go to the subject that I’ve choosen
to be the first:

AD Banners: The Creative Process If you, like I do, are a
webmaster, web designer or your job is somehow related to
advertising and promoting goods or services on Internet, may be
that you need to create your own AD Banners ( or at least have
to get the idea of what the hell you want showed on that banner
to explain to the person that will perform the hard job). Of
course you can always go the alternative way that is: call a
well known Design Company, pay a fortune or a half and let them
perform the whole job while you rest in a park, looking the
clouds and the sky for a couple days until your banner is ready.

If you think this last alternative fits you ok, quit reading
this e-zine and contact artandata. Hahaha just teasing !

If you’re still here I need to explain (the best I can) how I
and my collaborators walk (sometimes run and others climb) the
Creative Process:

First, you’ve got the problem to be solved, becouse without a
need for an AD Banner you probably won’t be much interested on
this tutorial.

So, you’ve got a problem…but also you’ve got ( or you can
research for ) a lot of information that can trigger your
creativity.

Better than words are examples so I’ll explain on a real case
study:

“…my site offers courses on design but most people told me that
they can’t find the information on those courses in the site.
How can I solve this problem…can you help me ? …”

the former paragraph has the expression given by the client but
It has no tips for solutions only describe the problem and
sometimes you have clients that don’t even know exactly which is
the problem, in this case “they only describe symthoms but don’t
recognize the desease”.Like that patient that goes to the doctor
saying “oh doctor, I’m so f…ill !!! if I touch here my
stomach…if I touch here my neck also pains…again if I touch by
here my knee pains. What a hell is happening in my body? I’ve
never see a desease so rare and killer !”

then, the doctor said : “don’t worry my friend. What you have
it’s not so rare: YOU BROKE YOUR FINGER !!!!! ”

Some other times they give a diagnostic approach wich is wrong
like “my car has some problem in the break because it always
cross red ligths…”

(back to the tutorial).

Here, really starts our Creative Process !

The first thing you have to do is “write down the problems” I
mean get a peace of paper ( or open a word doc) and put in a
written sentence only the problem. The best you can. Like:

“most people can’t find the information on courses in the site.”

We have isolated and described the problem. Great ! Now we have
to detect the cause of the problem because not always the
solution is an AD Banner. ( It could have to change the
punctured tyre! )

Possible causes are:

The user writes a wrong URL on his/her browser The hosting
server is sometimes down The link pages (or some of them) to the
information have broken links to. The information is hidden for
the home page The information is hidden to many clicks down from
the home page There are some other choices that wouldn’t be
considered, like:

The user has no conexion to internet The user is blind The page
exists but the owner didn’t realised that the information
doesn’t. Most of your clients lie. Etc, etc. In this point we
better go to the site and try by ourselves to find out which is
the reason that better fits. I won’t explain here how to test
the URL because I suppose you know how. We can discard the first
cause qoute before hand unless the URL is something like:

http://www.myzisipilinky.com.uk/tryTotYpeThsURL/coursersOnDesingP
rogram.htm

(don’t try it. It won’t work):

In wich case the solution is to make a redirect page easier to
be written.

Once broken links are discarded we have to center attention on
the last two possible causes. In this case study ‘both of them’
are true ! ( you’ll see the page and the solution banner! be
patient ! )

So we can evaluete possible solutions:

Move the program course page to be the site’s home page (no way
! ) Move that page one or more levels up so it isn’t so hidden
any more (this could improve somethig but not all) Put a text
link on the home page ( sounds reasonable, isn’t it ?) Put a
pop-up or pop-under window on the home page (also good) Put an
AD Banner on the home page. ( smiles & applauses ! ) Last three
possible solutions are what we can suggest to our client. So
call him/her explain and let decides the best. (you know pros &
cons of each solution to explain to the client)

You’ve got it ! our client has chosen the last opt. !

Diving into the Creative Process Itself Stages:

ANALYSIS Collect information on the subject to be advertised
Collect information on the Company Design (typography, colors,
style, etc) Ask your client for ideas DESIGN BrainStorm for a
while Define the banner contents & features Look for resources
IMPLEMENTATION Development TESTING Testing Validate Publish Bill
your client and enjoy the payment J Show other clients (or
friends ) your masterpiece (just to exercise your proudness)
Collect information on the subject to be advertised Any way to
find information it’s OK. Evident ways are:

Ask your client Visit the page you’re to build the banner for.
Search internet for subject related pages of the kind Search
books, media, etc Ask your friends, collaborators, etc Include
in your search gathering any other way you think it’d be fine.

Now, what we collect this kind of information for?

The answer is just because without this bagagge we, probably
make a wrong AD Banner or a banner that’s out of focus and
easily could be improved.

Suppose we are mechanics and we are told to construct a car for
a race. If we do not collect adequate information we’ll be
sending a Ferrari F1 to compete to the Dakar-Paris Rally. (poor
Ferrari F1) or to send a 4×4 big tyres turbo engined Ford F-350
to the next Interlagos Grand Prix with no chance to win there
(but the driver will enjoy so much to see how many F1’s goes
away by the horizont) J

Inquiring your client, visiting the client’s site and
specifically the page to advertise for you’ll find lots of
usefull information to step on. Don’t miss them.

You can also consult books and magazine.

Collect information on the Company Design (typography, colors,
style, etc) Tips given for subject collect applies as well for
Company Design Information gathering. But, in this case we focus
on design and art items like:

Corporate Image Style Corporate Colors Corporate Site Layout
Site tipography (family, color, styles, etc.) Visual Resources
used (shapes, lines, etc.etc.) I hope you can understand what I
mean: If you’re creating a banner just for a friend…let’s say
a teen-ager that loves skating… may be you don’t have a
“Corporate Image Style”…but your skatter friend has a site, a
personal site that conciously or not was made under some kind of
rules (even if it seems to be absolutely randomic, disordered,
unpredictable,etc. You’ll find putting it under the Lens that
there is a wirl case of design rules or layout.

Ask your client for ideas. Now you can collect information
directly from your client. May be you wonder why I didn’t
include this task in the first item (collecting information on
the subject) or into the second (collecting information on the
Company’s Design. Have a reason !

You can ask your client any time, but if you do that first, it’s
problably like you won’t get good information because you:

Didn’t see the company site and named pages Do not have much
knowledge on the subject Understand now why I left this task
until this point ? great ! J

BrainStorm for a while After you put down on paper or powerPoint
all the information formerly taken, is time to sit down around
the round table with your collaborators (like Arthur and his
Knigth) and brain storm your brains !!!

You can find lots of pages explain how to brainstorm (I found
827.000 matches at google for this word) so I have nothing more
to say on brainstorm.

Define the banner contents & features And now the cooking !

After the brainStorm process you have an idea of the contents
the AD Banner will have, so the hardest part is done ! J

But my own experience indicates that there is a feedback
corridor between desing and implementation stages.

Let’s take this same case for example:

After brain storm we clearly decide to make : an animated banner
with pictures on school classes containing links to the courses
program page.

Look for resources Taking the definition sentence for the banner
and it’s contents & features you need to look for the resources.
I mean :

Phrases or slogans to put in the banner Images, pictures or
photos Making the storybord (only for animated banners) Creating
the timeline and the timing Choosing the right size for the
banner Choosing the style, layout and typography to be used
Determining the banner location on the page Some other staff..
Well…I said before that there is a feedback corridor. In this
banner project I had to change or saying it better increase the
definition sentence after the search for visual resource (images
& and photos) for the banner.

I had to find royalties free photos of classrooms, students,
teachers, and so on to include. I found some in my own library
but it wasn’t enough to make me happy. Then I went to my
favorite search engine and tried out some words like class.jpg,
school.gif, teacher.jpg,etc,etc.

It’s not necessary to say that I found lots of pics (in this
point is good idea to say that you have to be sure the pic
you’re downloading is freaware. Not registered or limited on use)

What happened ?

Searching the pics I discover a pic of ‘South Park Children at
school ‘ that triggers again my imagination and said to myself:
“the definition sentence is NOW changed to ‘an animated banner
with pictures on school classes & cartoon (south park) pics
containing links to the courses program page’”

As you can see the sentence didn’t change soooo much but the
final result is absolutely different from the original idea
becouse all the work is on the South Park basis.

That why I say that you needo to be alert while you are into any
stage or task in the process for getting any other idea,
resource, fact, etc that appears on the fly and could be fine
for the project. Don’t be afraid to dig into the changes or
modifications needed in the project, they will improve the final
creature !

IMPLEMENTATION & TESTING When you enter this stages the Creative
Process is likely to be done.

Sometime will occur that you need changes on the project but
rarely this changes are due to Creative affairs, mostly the obey
to client defined reasons like ” ok guys, taxes in this state
have raised so the new price to show in the banner is $120
instead of $ 29 that we have at the banner” J

This happens. Or I also need to put my banner into a banner
ex-change program and it’s so big…to much expensive for the
program…please reduce it to the 1×1 px size” (microscope size
oftenly cost about $10 -100 for impressions wich result cheap
enogh for anybody — hahaha - just teasing)

Of course there are lots of other considerations to be resolved
but those are beyond creative process and are clearly technical
driven decitions (may be in some other letter I write on those
specifications)

Lastly, as I promised I give you the whole url of the page
containing the banner:

Campaign name: Back to School

Author: ARTANDATA

Type: AD Banner

Size: Button #1 ( H:120px W: 90px )

Client: For Company Use (published)

Publishing period: 15/03/2004 to [not defined]

Go to the page

Final words:

Well, if you had been so patient to keep reading until this
point I really don’t know how to thank you for that. One thing I
can do for you is to give you my own e-mail address so you can
inquire (free of charge , of course) on any doubt or question
you have on this reading. I’ll promise to reply an answer (this
offer is valid while I can response all mail sent . once
overloaded I’ll make FAQ’s )

Anyone who works in a Detroit skyscraper or flies into Detroit Metropolitan airport may have noticed a new landmark-or rather, roof-mark-as they look down on the city. In preparation for the 2006 Super Bowl, Ford has ordered two gigantic logos for the roof of Ford Field, where the Detroit Lions play. A South-facing logo is already in place, reports the Detroit News, and measures 153 by 316 feet. A North-facing logo will be put in place shortly. The stadium’s vaulted roof is visible from Interstate 75 too, but the main reason Ford is investing in the $175,000 blue ovals is to get publicity from blimp shots during the next Super Bowl.

This makes sense considering a 30-second spot on TV during the Super Bowl costs about $2 million. Using this logic, Ford will have gotten their money’s worth from the logos if the ovals are on camera for just 2.625 seconds. What football game shows only 2.625 seconds worth of an aerial camera view during the entire four-hour game-especially during the Super Bowl?

It seems Ford’s marketing department has scored a homerun, or rather, a touchdown, with this plan. This move only bolsters the point I made a few weeks ago, where I talked about commercialization and advertising invading the sports arena. How long will it be before open stadiums paint a 100 yard-long logo on the grass? Before you know it, the Baltimore Ravens will be running up and down a huge M & T Bank logo for first downs (they play in M & T Bank Stadium).

Instead of mentioning yardage earned, sportscasters will reference the location of the player by using the logo. “Favre scrambles to the last ‘M’ serif for a first down!!”

Logos will continue creeping into sports and any other industry where companies think they can make a buck or two through sponsorship.

Jonathan Munk writes articles for major Logo Design companies such as LogoDesign.com and LogoWorks.com.

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