Color is one of the most powerful methods of design; it affects our moods, emotions and our buying habits. It can even raise blood pressure or suppress appetites. Just as red means stop, and green means go, the colors used for a product, website, or logo can cause powerful reactions.

There have been many studies on the significance of colors in regards to the human mind and body. In fact, there are many people whose careers are solely based on the study of the effects of colors in marketing. For instance, you may notice that in many fast food restaurants, bright red or orange color schemes are often used—this isn’t a coincidence. Fast food restaurants choose these warm and energetic colors because they encourage diners on a subconscious level to want to eat faster and leave. It’s also been said that if you’re trying to lose weight, you should eat all of your meals on blue dishes, as the color blue is known to suppress appetites. Here are some other color correlations and examples of their best uses in marketing:

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However, color perceptions aren’t entirely universal. You have to know and research your target audience thoroughly. Colors that may entice in North America may have a much different impact on the emotions and reactions of those from other cultures. For instance, in the U.S., the color white means purity/peace/simplicity/innocence/cleanliness/birth/good/marriage; while in China, India and parts of Africa, it is the color of death and mourning. So, while it would be completely appropriate here in the U.S., you definitely wouldn’t want to incorporate a lot of white in the design of promotional materials for a line of infant clothing and accessories that is to be marketed in China.

Color plays a larger role than you might think, eh? So, the next time you’re trying to decide on a color scheme for a project, take the time to do a little research on the psychology and physiology of the all-powerful chroma; the life of your brand might depend on it.

Starting a new business can be described at the very least as… overwhelming. With tons of start-up costs, new business owners are faced with cutting corners wherever possible; and unfortunately, many decide to skimp on their logo. Many people don’t understand how important and valuable a good logo is. It’s the first impression people get of your business, and can make your company appear large, small, fun, serious, professional or unprofessional. You’ve put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into your business, so why would you want a generic mark that doesn’t reflect your company’s values?

The Client-Designer Relationship

As the client, you should know that your designer values your business. A lot of thought and research goes into the creation of your mark; its so much more than just slapping your company’s name on a stock illustration and calling it done in 30 minutes. A professional designer will look deep into your business plan, your company mission, your background; thoroughly researching your industry and your competition. All of this research is pertinent to creating an original and timeless identity that doesn’t need to be updated two years later once trends change. You’ll receive several options of designs and numerous revisions until you’re absolutely 100% satisfied with the one-of-a-kind design/color/typography combination they’ve created especially for you.

Bargain Designers & Logo Design Contests

There are plenty of websites popping up out there promoting logo design contests paying as little as $20 to the winner. Oodles of designers submitting numerous logos for you to choose from for $20 bucks?! Sounds great, doesn’t it? Sure, there will be tons of logos to choose from, tons of lousy logos. Another risk of using a non-professional is possible copyright infringement. It would be so easy for an amateur designer with no accountability to enter a design that isn’t their own. You would be the one that ends up being held liable for this very embarrassing mistake. A professional would never dream of copying a logo—not only is it immoral, but could get you in some costly legal trouble. Let’s consider some other ramifications and perceptions about your brand that a bad logo can create:

• Unprofessional: Maybe your logo looks great on paper, but horrible on a billboard or a car wrap- (were you provided with a vector format version?) or if the graphic quality of your logo isn’t compatible on the web, your business could be perceived as amateurish.
• Unreliable: If your logo doesn’t have a professional quality about it, people may assume the same about the quality of services your business provides.
• Brand Distortion: There is nothing worse than a logo design that communicates the wrong message. If viewers aren’t able to understand its meaning or if they interpret it as having a negative context, your brand image in their minds is distorted, and possibly even at risk of being hated.
• Costly Re-branding: If you went through the whole branding process with a poor or copied logo, (e.g. printing business cards, stationary, brochures, banners, posters, mugs—the whole shebang), when it comes time to redesign your mark, not only will you be paying again for the design cost, but will have to replace all of those promotional materials with your new and improved logo on them—a huge hit for a company that’s just  trying to get started.

How Does Your Current Logo Measure Up?

So, now that we’ve covered the advantages of a professional designer, and the disadvantages of a non-professional, let’s talk about your current logo. Take a look at your current design, and answer these questions (honestly):

1. Is it memorable? The simpler a logo is, the more memorable it is. Is your logo simple and creative enough that it could be remembered and recognized at a glance?
2. Does it work well in black in white? What if you were printing tshirts and the budget only allowed for one color? Would your logo still be legible?
3. Is it a unique design?Have you seen several other logos very similar to yours?
   

   See any similarities with these logos? Do any of them stand out as unique?

4. Is it scaleable? Is your Is your logo still recognizable even when scaled down to a tiny size? A simple logo not only allows for easy recognition, but also has the ability to shrink down to small sizes without losing any details. You don’t want any small parts that will get lost once it’s printed in a tiny format such as on your business cards.

If you answered no to any of these questions, there’s a good chance that your logo needs some work or a total re-haul all-together.

In closing, one of the first, and ultimately smartest investments you can make in your business will be a professionally created logo. You’ll be over the moon with a design that was custom built especially for your business and proud to let it be the face of your company for years to come.

The Creative Brief is just that; a brief document that focuses on the creative aspects of a project, and an important compliment to the equally important Project Brief. Without this nifty little document, the designer is flying blindly and often has no information from the client other than, “I want it to look cool.” (By the way, the term “cool” is completely subjective).

For instance, I was asked to design a logo for a new establishment a few years ago. I was given a name, that’s it. Whenever I asked the three partners invested in the company about creative direction, I was told, “I don’t know, you’re the designer.” They assumed I could read their minds, and unfortunately, I couldn’t.  Because none of them could give me a clear idea of a look, feel or direction to take, they weren’t happy with what I initially came up with. If I would have had them fill out a Creative Brief, we all would have been saved a lot of time and me a lot of headaches.

The more information a designer has at the beginning of a project, the better. But it’s not always obvious what questions to ask, and it will be different for every project. For the Creative Brief to work, the client needs to really think about their answers, no fluff or vague answers allowed. The idea is also to garner more emotional responses rather than run-of-the-mill canned answers. For example, a few questions to ask before beginning a website redesign could be:

• When someone visits your new website for the first time, what do you want their immediate reaction to be? What are some descriptive words to describe that?
• What are some descriptive words that characterize the personality of your new website? (e.g. playful, bright, technological, friendly, elegant, clean)
• Who is the audience? What types of people are going to be using your site? Age, sex, religious aspects, geographic locations, interests and hobbies, ethnicities, income brackets, applicable jargon or buzz words that your visitors will likely know?
• What existing marketing materials do you have? Should the new website emulate them at all?
• What main colors would you like to use? Any complimentary color choices?
• What do your competitors websites look like? Do you like them? Why or why not?
• What would your calls-to-action be? What do you want users to do?
• What type of imagery will you be using? Photography, illustrations, etc? Do you want people shots, kids, animals, nature, lifestyle, commercial, edgy, b/w, white space, certain ethnicities, professions, actions?
• What type of navigation scheme do you like? Vertical, horizontal, graphic, text-based? Is there any sub-navigation?

So now, do you think your company would benefit from filling out a Creative Brief? If you answer yes to any of the following questions, then it’s likely that your creative team doesn’t have enough to work from:

1. Does it ever seem like your creative team “just doesn’t get it”?
2. Have you ever sat in creative presentations and thought “this isn’t what I asked for”?
3. Has your creative team ever asked a bunch of questions after you feel you’ve already briefed them on the project?
4. Does it ever take more than one round of comps to get the results you expected from your creative team?

In conclusion, It’s not just good creative that comes out of a Creative Brief—it’s insightful, smart, relevant and strategically sound creative that happens when the client and the creative team agree on where to go and how to get there.  If you want to inspire your creative team with your vision (whether you know exactly what that is or not), ask your Agency or Marketing Firm about filling out a Creative Brief for your next project.

A fundamental concept that I apply to every marketing challenge I encounter is that of the Buyer’s Continuum. Basically, any time anyone buys anything, they travel this continuum from beginning to end. The Buyer’s Continuum includes four phases:

1. The recognition of want or need
2. The justification of want or need
3. The research of options
4. The purchase

To illustrate my point, let’s look at two purchases: a bag of chips and a new home. Both involve the continuum, but on very different scales.

Phase One: Recognition of want or need
This is the most brief and least complicated phase of the continuum, and is simply when the customer recognizes a want or need for a particular product or service. Example: “I’m hungry and I WANT a bag of chips” -or- “My house is cramped and I NEED a new home.”

Phase Two: Justification of want or need
This phase involves the customer evaluating his or her current want or need based on the realities that will have influence on acting on that want or need. Example: “I have $5, a bag of chips cost about $3, and it is lunch time. So, yes.. I will buy a bag of chips” – or – “My wife and three children live in a two bedroom house that I have 7 years worth of equity in, and interest rates are comparatively low right now. So, yes… I will buy a new home.”

Phase Three: Research of Options
This is the most intense and lengthy phase on the continuum. And this is where solid branding practices can turn the tide in you (your client’s) favor. Now is when the customer begins to weigh his options – price, value, quality, availability, etc. When customer’s have knowledge about one option over another, that option has a better chance of coming out of this phase “the winner.” Example of this phase: “There are corn chips and potato chips. I like potato better than corn, so potato chips it is.” – or- “House A has better schools, an HOA, close proximity to my job, but is much more expensive than House B. House B is in a better tax bracket, has a bit more square footage, but will need more repairs than House A. I think House A is best for me.”

Phase Four: The Purchase
Obviously, once the first three phases are completed, the only thing left to do is to pull the trigger. Purchases can be as simple as the exchange of currency for goods ($3 for bag of chips) or as complex as the purchasing of a home. Bottom line, the customer completed the journey and the purchase was made.

So why is this significant? Because brand positioning as it relates to the continuum can mean the difference between earning the sale, losing the sale, or never having been in contention. More to come in my next post…

Sticker Giant recently ran a social media promotion that got my attention. Which is the point right?!
This video gives an overview of the recent iPhone end call decal promotion and the social networks used in this promotion and some of my thoughts on the effectiveness and strategy of the promotion.

So, if you watched the video, you would have noticed this basic formula:

• Culturally on topic (iPhone issue with dropped calls)
• Conversational in nature (iPhone issue plus free sticker)
• Clearly defined audience
• Pushed exposure by spreading the message across multiple networks (Twitter, Dailybooth, Facebook etc)
• Focused the ‘sell’ on customer acquisition (sending your email)

What was the cost of this promotion?

- Perhaps 30 minutes to write the blog and post the offer across the social networks and the cost of 50 stickers.

What’s gained?

- Visibility amongst Sticker Giant followers, increased awareness by iPhone users, 50 new emails to market to0, and the PR value of the joining the ‘end call’ conversation and spurring more conversation.

What would you add to this promotion? Tell us about your social media promotion!

Editors Note: Sticker Giant’s social media campaign is managed by Micro Media Marketing and they can help you with a similar campaign. Contact them directly or send us a note and we can collaborate or make initial introductions for you!

What is the center of your marketing universe? Traditionally, for Brick-and-Mortar stores it was always the store visit. All marketing efforts drove people to the store. For mail order companies it was the catalog / phone / fax. All people needed to call or fax the order.

Today, the center of the marketing universe is your website.

The savvy business who wants to leverage their marketing budget to the fullest does these things:
1) Has a website with lead generation and call to action capability
2) Considers their website in all their traditional marketing campaigns and uses the web as a tool to complete the marketing effort
3) Values content and places it on the website and in various places online to extend online presence
4) Engages in community discussion in social places that are aligned with your business

When your website is at the center of your marketing, you can attract and keep your customers, entertain and educate them, and keep them coming back for more while building your role as their trusted source in your area of expertise.

Ready to leverage your marketing online and offline? Let us know, we’re here to help.

( Original Image by vitroid )

Every marketing effort online and offline should point to your website because:
1) your customers are online and
2) your website has recurring, long-term value, virtually forever by always being able to bring in new visitors.

How so?

When you run that TV spot on CNN or your broadcast destination of choice, it’s a transactional effort. Once it runs, your spot is done. That air time is gone. Either people were watching that channel or they weren’t. It’s shelf life was one instance with the finite pool of people viewing in the one moment in time.

Post the same spot on YouTube or Vemeo (and many others) and link it in your website, or blog, or Facebook and this same spot has endless playback for free and on demand! Your pool of viewership is limited only to traffic and interest and anyone can see it later, link to it to drive more visibility from new eyeballs or you can continually re-post or re-link as desired.

The same concept applies to that brochure you designed, or the sales flyer you solicit with or those long form emails explaining how to work with you or use your products and services. Anytime you post those things online they are forever available and valuable. Thanks to search engines and endless people looking for information on the topics you are covering.

Not to mention this content is a topic of discussion once its online and you can actually get involved in a two-way discussion to further the relationship.

All the things you were already doing in a traditional marketing sense can have long-term, extended value online.

What are you doing to see your marketing budget live on past one instance? Can’t imagine how this works for your business? Give us a call or email and we’ll be happy to look at your situation so you can benefit from your content online.

(Original Image by dno1967 )