Daddy's Day Card

Being a creative, it's hard to buy anything already done (Amber, you can testify with me on this). In light of fathers day, my son and I created this cutsie card with a nice play on words. To the best daddy, ever! 

Your headline stinks.

Caught your attention, didn't we? Creating an ad isn't all about the pretty picture, it's about making a statement. Here are some tips on how we help you create an effective, and catchy, headline.

The boring stuff.

Identify the boring stuff first, then dress it up

Use facts!

Statistics can be boring on their own, but thrown into a creative headline, you can get your message across while giving living proof!

Use your, well, inner smart-ass.

Quirky lines get attention. People expect the norm, and when you go past your limits you create a whole new sense of awareness.

Make 'em laugh.

Surprise your readers. Start your headline with something calm and end in something that makes them fall off their chair.

What are they getting?

What would the world look like without your product. Give them a message that conveys what they could be missing out on.

Inspiration for this post from the June 09 HOW magazine, Wayne Geyer, Write More Good

Is your business in a recession?

I've never lived through a recession before, but I've learned quick what an effect it can have on a business owner. I also learned that the outcome depends on you and your attitude towards it. My attitude: BRING IT. My business is not in a recession because I treat it that way. Here are some tips to help you feel the same way...

1) Are you advertising? - The first thing people want to do is save money, so what do they do, pull out their advertising dollars. WRONG. This is actually the best time to advertise. Why? Your competitors are pulling out, what a better time to gain market share! When people really start spending bucks again, they'll think of you first.

2) Are you networking? - You are a mobile campaign for your company, and it's free! What's a better way to spread the word about what you do than to tell them yourself? It's about building relationships. 

3) Is your image updated? - Are you using marketing materials from 1972? If so, it's time to update. When your potential clients see that you are with the times, they are more likely to do business with you. For instance, are you offering something new and spectacular that everyone else isn't? That should be advertised!

4) Are you on the web? - Since 2000, the percentage of internet usage has gone up 342.2%. That's powerful. Why not take advantage of that? A website is a perfect place to display who you are, what you do and how you do it. Take it a step further, sell your product online.

(Stats supplied from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm)

The moral of the story is, if you treat your business like it is in a recession, it will get recession results. Hold your head up high and get your name out there.

WCAC Contest

The Washington County Art Council is in the middle of a rebranding project and opened a contest to redesign their current website. We've submitted two designs that are colorful and compliment the arts - wish us luck!

First Friday Logo Chosen

The logo for Greencastle's First Friday has been chosen and can be found in the windows of participating shops downtown. 

If you're not familiar with First Friday, it is a national event that happens in participating cities. On the first Friday of every month, local artists display their work and demonstrate their techniques in the shops on the square. There's anything from painters to poetry readers, musicians and jewelry makers. 

If you're interested in participating, please contact me!

The Power of Color

Color not only makes a statement, it is an essential part in your branding. By staying consistent in your color scheme, you can increase your brand recognition by 80%. 

A few years ago, Heinz Ketchup decided to take their product to the next level and make their ketchup green. With an amazing marketing team and some persuasive advertising, they sold over 10 million bottles of green ketchup in 7 months. Their workers were bottling ketchup around the clock to keep up with the demand. The result: over $23 million dollars in sales from changing the traditional color of ketchup from red to green.

Source: www.colormatters.com

Worx Highlight - urbizsolution

urbizsolution is just that. Owner Beth Lanzer is a miracle worker when it comes to people who have either have messed up their paperwork, or don't know where to start (I would know). She specializes in Quickbooks set-up and training. If you need to know anything about business development & bookkeeping services, urbizsolution is your savior. 

We just finished creating her identity. She came to me and said, my logo needs to say this: "professional, outgoing, serious, exciting, able to expand with a growing company." I said, lets do it! We tied in specific colors that express her personality, kept it clean to represent the streamline services she offers, and created something professional that she is proud to say is hers.