branding Category

Deal or No Deal?

Posted By Vanessa Mentor as branding, communications, Strategy, strategy

Posted 11.30.2011

The holiday season is a shopaholic’s dream comes true.  Every year retailers run amazing deals in hopes of luring shoppers who have long Christmas lists to fill.  As if Black Friday and Cyber Monday weren’t enough, more and more brands are turning to daily discount and flash sale websites to promote their business throughout the year. Sure it’s a bargain for consumers, but is it a worthwhile deal for brands?

There are arguably many advantages to steep discounting.  It can bring in new customers and allow businesses to get rid of excess inventory.  For business-to-business companies, offering a “deal” on a new contract might be what gets your foot in the door.

We can’t argue that new business is great, but wouldn’t you rather have new customers who value your offerings rather than a flock of them who want cheap goods? A good client knows a good product. She also knows that quality services and products will cost a bit more.  Constantly running promotions is a sure way to dilute your offering’s [and subsequently your brand's] worth.

Promotions aren’t all bad. Consider using them more wisely.  Perhaps offer discounts to reward valued customers.  If you want to run a promotion to attract new customers, consider a giveaway versus a price cut.  Alternatively if you’re willing to lose money to gain clients why not instead invest dollars into smart marketing that will bring new customers without the cost of devaluing your brand.

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Take Me To Your Leader

Posted By Vanessa Mentor as branding, on the web, strategic planning

Posted 11.09.2011

The idea of a spokesperson is nothing new in the world of marketing.  For years companies have been paying celebrities to endorse their brands and products in hopes that their target audience will follow suite. These days the face of celebrity has changed.  In a world full of reality TV, blogging, and YouTube, today’s “celebrities” are just everyday people.  Now that the public is more exposed to everyday faces, the influence of celebrities has slightly decreased.  Enter Brand Ambassadors.

A brand ambassador is a key influencer in any given topic that agrees to endorse your product to their audience.  For example, this year The Limited clothing brand launched a new plus-size brand called Eloquii.  Instead of reaching out to one of the many full figured actresses in Hollywood, The Limited hired plus-size fashion blogger Gabi Gregg of gabifresh.com.  Gabi’s blog is read by thousands of readers who look to her for plus-sized fashion inspiration.  If Gabi posts a blog about a gorgeous piece from Eloquii you better believe tons of her readers, who already emulate her style, will run to the site and purchase that very article of clothing.  

Even your existing audience can serve as brand ambassadors.  Whenever someone in your company’s social network shares content linking back to you, they are spreading the word.  If you are still warming up to the idea of social media (and you really should be on board by now!) try creating a traditional marketing campaign that encourages your network to serve as brand ambassadors. Perhaps you can send out stickers for clients to display on their doors or windows, or maybe infuse an incentive into a referral-based campaign. The idea of brand ambassadors works for two reasons: it is based on the fail-proof equity of word-of-mouth and second it allows your brand to tap into the trust already built between an influencer and their audience. If you are unsure exactly who is the best person to reach out to for an ambassador  partnership you can try tools like  Klout.  Klout is a website that measures peoples online influence and  can help you get your products/brand in the right hands.

By building partnerships with brand ambassadors you will be able to precisely pinpoint your audience. So stop playing phone tag with Tom Cruise’s people and start identifying the attainable celebrities that will help give your brand some real cred.

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2011 Design Trends & Discoveries

Posted By Amber Zumstein as Art & Design, branding, communications, on the web

Posted 03.31.2011

Last year I did a round up of 2010 Predictions of Design. This year I am going to write about design trends that I have been seeing and recent discoveries that I found worthy to share.

1. Fonts for Websites: Probably the #1 complaint of web designers is being forced to use web-safe fonts in an HTML environment, selection of which is extremely limited (14 to be exact). Much to my joy Typekit and Fontdeck were introduced as solutions to this limited number of web-safe fonts problem. These handy websites make it possible to use non-web safe fonts with a simple line of code. They way they work is that sign up and basically subscribe to their font library which are pretty expansive.  I have had the opportunity to use Typekit and was extremely satisfied with the results. It is a great way to enhance websites and a fantastic step forward for the future of web design.

2. Letterpress: Letterpress is like the little engine that could. As much as people tout that print is dead, letterpress manages to keep paper looking elegant and worthy of simple and beautiful design. Letterpress is a type of printing that involves pressing an inked letter or pattern block into a piece of paper leaving behind an impression in the paper. The effect is subtle but this unique aesthetic continues to be showcased on business cards, packaging and invitations as the go-to method for making the “best impression.”

3. Apple continues to pave the way: The iPad is the biggest selling gadget of last year, selling over 8 million of them. These touch screen tablets have been an overwhelming success for Apple. The minimal and sleek design seems to really resonate with consumers and has raised the bar as far as product design goes (it doesn’t hurt that the technology encased inside is incredible too). Along with this surge of tablets, designers and developers are continually coming together to create smart and intuitive interfaces and apps. The increased use of mobile devices (cell phones and tablets) is a growing trend and products will only continue to get smaller and faster.

4. Great design in product packaging: Packaging continues to be in my opinion, some of the most innovative and best design out there. As competition on the shelf heats up and consumers gravitate more towards the picking products based on design and packaging. Studies have shown that if two items are similarly priced, the consumer will purchase the one that has a better design. Brands such as Mrs. Meyers, Bausch + Lomb, Archer Farms continue to breakaway from conventional types of packaging and design. Check out the Dieline for a fantastic showcase and resource for packaging design.

5. Typography for Lawyers: This is a great website that does an excellent job of explaining typography in a thoughtful and practical way. It also gives a great overview on how to make documentation look better. It’s refreshing to see recognition of typography by the professional set and not just designers.

6. 30 Conversations on Design: This website is a great resource that is both inspiring and intriguing to watch. It centers around what 30 of the top designers answer is to a themed question.

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