tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27639113094017096632024-02-19T16:17:58.312-08:00Orange County graphic design, logo design, web design | David Morin, Brand Artist | PowerplayGraphic and web designer with a passion for branding. Peruse my recent graphic design projects as well as free branding tips and logo design tips from my blog which reflects my commitment to quality.David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-63168022454406446282009-07-14T12:17:00.000-07:002009-07-14T12:18:07.511-07:00Quality-Price-RatioGoing through some reading this morning, I came across a story, on the blog of business nerd Jeff Gardner, that I heard long time ago while I was studying branding and its fundamentals; perceived value. This story as simple as it is, is probably to branding what "Who Moved My Cheese?" is to adapting to change.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I once heard about a wedding photographer (who charged average prices) that wanted to work less. So, she figured that if she just began raising her prices there would simply be less interest from clients. First she bumped up to $3,000 a weekend, then $4,000, then $5,000. To her astonishment, she actually began receiving more requests from clients. The clients figured that if she was charging such a high sum, she must be really good. Truth being told, she hadn’t gotten any better, she’d always been a good photographer – but the higher price led her potential clients to believe this and, in the end, they were never disappointed. Finally this photographer raised her prices to $20,000 per weekend, essentially pricing herself above what almost anyone could afford. Her potential clients then began offering to fly her to remote locations around the world just for the chance to have her shoot their exotic weddings.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I think you get my point. The old economic adage that higher price correlates to lower demand doesn’t always hold true, and this is especially true of luxury goods. Design is a premium service. A luxury good. It is certainly not necessary to run a business (just take a look at all the used car dealers of the world for confirmation), but results in a definite advantage to the businesses who value good design. Don’t be surprised to find that design and the pricing of design follows a slightly paradoxical pricing relationship.</span><br /><br />This little story also illustrates how important market positioning is to luxury goods. Positioning, positioning, positioning, positioning, positioning, and positioning... In a recession, work on attracting quality clients. Life will be much more enjoyable. Get the idea?David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-39469149446441843282009-07-14T11:23:00.000-07:002009-07-14T11:33:40.755-07:00The Fight of the DecadeThis morning, I can’t keep myself from smiling and finally give an honest two thumbs up to GM as they finally had the courage to look at their issue from a global stand point, and finally reposition of their brands.<br /><br />They have a lot on their plate, as this is probably their most ambitious enterprise in years. However, as Larry Light, author of "Six Rules for Brand Revitalization" and global CMO of McDonald's from 2002 to 2005 said: "McDonald's Did It, and You Can Too".<br /><br />This morning in an article published in Advertising Age, General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz says that: “…one of the first things he plans to do as the new head of marketing is make "drastic" changes in the "tone and content" of all of GM's advertising” (I just hope they will not lose sight of the need for change for the car itself to stick with their new tagline “The Rebirth of the American Car”).<br /><br />See, beyond perception there’s the product itself. As Columnist Collis Ta'eed writes on his blog, “Changing features on a product is the most obvious way to take on a competitor. And out of all the features that businesses try to use as a hook, price is probably the most common. What is important to remember though is that you need a substantial difference in features for this to work. If you say take 10% off the price, add one or two “oh that’s neat” features, chances are your product won’t be different enough to really win away many users.<br /><br />A while back I was surveying project management web apps for a blog post. The first couple I looked at stuck in my head, but by the time I’d gotten to about 10, they’d all kinda blurred into one. Sure some of them were cheaper, some had an extra feature or two, but really the only ones that I’d remember were the first couple. Now a small change in features or price may win some users, and you can even build a healthy business out of it.<br /><br />But you will never be able to really challenge the competition with a 10% upgrade.<br /><br />If you want to go this route, you need to turn things on their head. If price is the feature, then it needs to be like 90% cheaper. If it’s a feature it has to be a feature that makes people go “wow this changes everything”. These sorts of game busting differences effectively create new markets, ones which can then be dominated.<br /><br />A great example of a company that turned pricing on its head is iStockPhoto. Before they came along, traditional stock houses would charge hundreds of dollars per photo. iStock initially charged just 50 cents. Sure the product was the same - a photo is a photo (and believe me the quality sometimes is pretty indistinguishable between cheap and expensive stock) - but with that price difference they’d created an entirely new market. iStock went on to dominate so well that their original behemoth competitor Getty not only acquired them, but then made iStock a large part of the core strategy of the company.<br /><br />Two examples of companies that have delivered huge non-pricing feature changes spring to mind, Dell and Amazon. In the first case, Dell introduced the ‘configure to order’ model of PC manufacturing, which along with its innovations in delivery changed a lot about how people bought PCs. In the latter case, Amazon took bookselling online effectively using online ordering and delivery as a massive feature change to a traditional business.<br /><br />Of course a dramatic feature change doesn’t need to be quite as industry changing as these examples to be an effective strategy, but they do illustrate how the bigger the change, the better the play. It’s hard to imagine any other way unknown companies could have broken into the top echelons of industries like personal computers and book sales!”<br /><br />In this morning’s article, “Mr. Lutz says his first priority will be to create the public relations and advertising messages that will "not only break through but actually leave consumers with an enhanced view of each of our brands."<br /><br />"Easier said than done," he said, "but we must do it."<br /><br />Mr. Lutz claims that can happen as GM works to increasingly differentiate its vehicles through improved design.<br /><br />For example, he said, the new Chevrolet Equinox small SUV and the soon-to-be launched GMC Terrain small SUV "don't even look like they were made by the same manufacturer."<br /><br />Lutz gave some other indications as to how he thinks GM can better define its brands.<br /><br />"The new Buick design direction, coupled with a soft and luxurious driving experience, is radically different from the more angular and sporty Cadillac design direction," Mr. Lutz wrote.<br /><br />"Marketing also needs to respect brand differences in how we advertise the various brands and to whom."<br /><br />With that in mind, Mr. Lutz said, he intends to have Cadillac rival German luxury and performance brands such as BMW, while Buick's task is to take on Lexus.”<br /><br />I give a round an honest round of applaud to the initiative am still concerned about the quality of the product itself and its ability to compete with the other guys on that angle. He sounds exactly like a hard core disciple of Thomas Watson of IBM who famously said, "Good design is good business." This isn’t a bad thing but we’ll see if design only will be sufficient to give BMW a run for their money. Nevertheless, it will be an interesting battle of creativity to reestablish GM’s rights to hang out with the rich royal families of Europe. I remember Mr. Ta'eed referring to a book called The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, “…in which the authors discuss what they call the Law of Duality. The idea is that in the long run every market becomes a two horse race. So think Coca Cola and Pepsi, McDonalds and Burger King, Crest and Colgate. The authors state that there is only really room for two brands in a consumers head - the leader and the other guy.<br /><br />This idea implies that one way to take on an established competitor is to be … the other guy!” Let’s see how GM will set themselves up as the yin to their yang.<br /><br />At the end of the day, it’s all about differentiation again, and I am eager to see the fight. For me, it will be as exciting as the Stanley Cup finals.David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-21090329843340824532009-06-30T16:17:00.000-07:002009-06-30T16:18:44.198-07:00Six Rules for Brand RevitalizationIn a recent post on AdvertisingAge, Larry Light, author of "Six Rules for Brand Revitalization: Learn How Companies Like McDonald's Can Re-Energize Their Brands" and global CMO of McDonald's from 2002 to 2005, teaches us about how McDonald was able to revitalize their brand following 6 simple rules. His catchy phrase confirms what I've been preaching for the past few years; small and mid-sized players have a tremendous advantage in size over bigger entities by their ability to reposition themselves fast. To quote his own words: "McDonald's Did It, and You Can Too".<br /><br /><b>Rule 1: Refocus the organization</b><br />"Refocusing the organization begins with redefining the brand and business purpose and goals. The brand purpose should be aspirational. At McDonald's, where I held the post of global CMO, we defined the long-term ambition "to be our customer's favorite place and way to eat and drink." For the first three years, the primary focus was on becoming the "favorite place and way to eat." As Jim Cantalupo, McDonald's CEO, liked to say, we would "be bigger by being better." How would we accomplish that?"<br /><br /><b>Rule 2: Restore brand relevance</b><br />"The brand promise is an articulation of the relevant and differentiating experience that the brand will deliver to every customer, every time. Brand revitalization means defining where you want the brand to be and then deciding how to get there.<br /><br />Over the years, the essence of the McDonald's brand was the perception that it was an affordable, convenient brand for families with kids. There were those who said that equity could not and should not be changed. But McDonald's set out to change people's perceptions and go from appealing to the child in your heart to appealing to those with a young-adult spirit at heart."<br /><br /><b>Rule 3: Reinvent the brand experience</b><br />"To revitalize a brand, we need to bring the redefined brand promise to life. This is what the five action P's are all about. The five action P's are people, product, place, price and promotion.<br /><br />People come first. Building employee commitment to the new direction, employee confidence, and organizational and employee capabilities are critical factors that influence future success.<br /><br />And it's imperative to inspire those in the organization to believe that the new brand future will happen and that they can help. At McDonald's a new on-boarding communication was created called "Learnin' it. Livin' it. Lovin' it."<br /><br />Product is the next P. Products and services are the tangible evidence of the truth of the promise. When we redefine the promise, product and service renovation and innovation are imperative.<br /><br />A disciplined approach to brand extension can revitalize and strengthen a brand. McDonald's extended its product range to include products such as salads, yogurt parfaits and coffee. The Crest revitalizations included extensions beyond cavity prevention to include tartar control, whitening, breath freshening, dental floss, mouthwash, tooth whiteners and toothbrushes.<br /><br />The place is the face of the brand. Whether a store, a website, a retail display, a kiosk or wherever the "place" may be, the experience must be consistent with the intended brand direction. For example, McDonald's embarked on a very ambitious retail reimaging program. It also updated the brand website.<br /><br />Price comes next. The launch of the McDonald's Dollar Menu created an everyday-low-price list of items and enabled the brand to significantly reduce marketing emphasis on on-and-off discounting. Overemphasis on deals and discounts builds deal loyalty rather real loyalty.<br /><br />Promotion comes next. In September 2003, a new global campaign was launched in 119 countries. The common signature theme was "I'm lovin' it," supported by a distinctive set of five musical notes. The character of the communications was designed to reflect the new young-adult spirit of the brand. The following year, McDonald's adopted its first global packaging approach. It's the longest-running theme in the history of the brand.<br /><br />Whether advertising, special events, public relations, online, cause marketing, sponsorships, Olympics, World Cup or other forms of communication, the goal was to be consistent with the new McDonald's brand promise. Disconnected, monthly promotional messages and tactics destroy brands."<br /><br /><b>Rule 4: Reinforce a results culture</b><br />"Measuring and managing performance is the eighth P. The McDonald's Plan to Win included three-year, measurable milestones.<br /><br />Creating a results culture means it is important to produce the right results the right way. A balanced brand-business scorecard should include measurable elements such as brand familiarity, brand reputation, employee pride, customer-perceived value, brand loyalty, sales, share and profit."<br /><b><br />Rule 5: Rebuild brand trust</b><br />"In this skeptical, demanding, uncertain world, trust is a must. As part of revitalizing a brand, rebuilding trust is critical. Investment in rebuilding trust is an important, challenging marketing imperative. There is demand for more openness, more social responsibility and more integrity. Over the years McDonald's invested in building trust -- Ronald McDonald House, environmental responsibility, commitment to employee diversity, local community activities. As the concern with healthful living has grown, so has McDonald's commitment to providing appropriate choices -- for example, salads, apple slices, yogurt parfait, water, juices and milk."<br /><br /><b>Rule 6: Realize global alignment</b><br />"The power of alignment is awesome. During brand revitalization, we often talk about the need to get everyone on the same page. But we rarely, if ever, define the page we want everyone to be on. That's the purpose of the one-page Plan to Win, the one-page document that summarizes the eight P's and the desired outcomes."<br /><br />Despite of all the controversy and bad publicity about unhealthy eating habits, McDonald's today success is the living proof that "Brands do not die natural deaths. However, brands can be murdered through mismanagement" as he quotes. "Brand revitalization needs the courage and perspective of strong leaders", ...and can be achieved.David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-66088676618634514252009-06-30T16:15:00.000-07:002009-06-30T16:17:27.599-07:00Evaluating the creative work you receiveAs promised, here it is. This is a quick checklist that allows you to evaluate creative work. Agencies usually use such system but very few freelancers do. This is a useful tool so use it, and don't be intimidated when it comes the time to re question somebody's work. Have Fun!<br /><b><br />Product/Services:</b><br /><br />o Is central to creative concept.<br />o Is correctly shown/explained<br />o Its benefits/features (uniqueness) are properly emphasized<br />o The way it is shown reinforces established positioning and customer perception.<br />o Logos/trademarks/names/intellectual properties are treated correctly.<br />o Other product/services could not be easily substituted within this creative<br /><br /><b>Creative Approach:</b><br /><br />o Is uniqueness/unusual to the product/service.<br />o Is attention getting<br />o Fits tone/style of the product/service<br />o Fits tone/style of the client/organization<br />o Complements other media.<br />o Addresses primary interests of reader/viewers.<br />o Has inherent interest or story appeal; is not merely decorative or explanatory.<br />o Directs readers/viewers attention to what’s most important about the product/service.<br />o Is memorable<br />o Is believable<br />o Is persuasive.<br />o Appears stylish and contemporary.<br />o Encourage further action by readers/viewers.<br />o Provides means for contacting/next step.<br />o Has staying power (is not quickly outdated)<br /><br /><br /><b>Shop Standards</b><br /><br />o Can be produced within time and budget constraints.<br />o Presentation materials are organized and professional.<br />o Presentation has been gone over/rehearsed.<br /><br /><br /><b>Clear Objectives</b><br /><br />• Primary objectives:<br />• Is addressed by:<br /><br /><br /><b>Secondary objective:</b><br /><br />• Is addressed by:<br />• Other Considerations<br /><br /><br /><b>Evaluation</b><br /><br />o Okay as is.<br />o Needs further Refinement:David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-78241844389855630442009-06-04T09:27:00.000-07:002009-06-04T09:28:26.453-07:00The things you should know about advertising agencies... even yoursIn a recent post on Advertising Age named "Agencies Should Be Defined by What They Know, Not What They Make", Phil Johnson re-opens an old debate about the issues the advertising world is facing and the true value agencies can bring.<br /><br />"At their best, advertising agencies grasp the magic of how people communicate with each other. At their best, agencies operate on the front lines of the communications world and harness the forces of culture and society to help their clients influence perceptions and behaviors. At their best, agencies lead their clients through changes in communications technologies, figuring out the most appropriate marketing strategies.<br /><br />At their worst, agencies get fixated on creating stuff, whether it is an ad, a website or a Twitter feed.<br /><br />When this happens, clients usually get copycat campaigns that don't connect with the most important communication innovations of the day. Besides turning advertising into a commodity with commodity pricing, this focus on the output also leads to a lot of artificial distinctions between traditional advertising, digital agencies and everything in between. Agencies become defined by what they make instead of by the truths they know. "<br /><br />It's funny how it seems to be a consensus among the industry. I hate to admit it because I love the advertising world but even Paul Arden, probably among the most prolific creative director England ever came up with agrees. In one of his book, Arden writes: "Creative people in order to justify their salary, they need to be seen to have clever ideas. In their need to prove their worth, creative people often produce work which on the surface appear to be clever but with little substance. ...Never put cleverness in front of your communication.<br /><br />I was always the one saying do not try to win awards. Like Charles Yves said, awards are no more than the badge of mediocrity. Awards are judges in committee, by consensus of what is in fashion. Most advertising people will tell you 90% of advertising inspiration comes from other advertising. You'll see the same books in every advertising agency... Too many times creative are just looking for something new to copy."<br /><br />Even with that being said, there's light at the end of the tunnel. Johnson concludes his post by sharing his vision of what advertising should be which I couldn't agree more with, as a lot of my pals in the business: "My conviction is that advertising agencies should become a community full of intellectually curious people. The more social and intellectual and technical diversity we can cultivate the better. I think that agencies should reflect and act on the important events and trends of the day. Clients should feel compelled to work with a given agency because they hold the keys to the mysteries of how people communicate with each other. Agencies should be valued for their ability to open the door to the world in which our clients want to engage. Agencies that deliver on that promise will always be relevant."<br /><br />In my next article, I will educate you on evaluating the creative work you get.David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-43954580310080155422009-05-29T12:02:00.000-07:002009-05-29T12:03:39.185-07:00Recession: The Age of Change -Acknowledge and succeed!We all have a reason good reason to panic during those though times. Even if we started year 2009 with encouraging news, the balloon just blew in our face with the recent drop in real estate market, but STOP. As dramatic as it is, a recession is simply a revolution. You may choose to go with the flow and choose to succeed, or be up against a tsunami. Those situations aren't new for mankind, just think about the fall of Rome. It's a time of profound changes and the first step is acknowledgement, so you can find ways to make it work for you.<br /><br />While a recession can mean death for a resistant to change type of management, it is probably the greatest news for an entrepreneurial mind since the bid is open, and the old conventions are no longer.<br /><br />According to Thomas Nagle, partner in the Cambridge, Mass., office of Monitor Group. in a recent article published in AdAge's CMO Strategy column "Times like these, when margins are down and the cost of raising new capital is high, are relatively unfavorable to new investments. Even fast-payback investments in trade shows or new ad campaigns look less promising when customers are buying less and expecting lower prices anyway. Still, some companies do mitigate sales declines with innovative marketing, often putting themselves in a stronger position for recovery as well. The key is to make the most out of capabilities the company already has to generate incremental revenue.<br /><br />What makes recessions such good times to leverage existing advantages is that cash-strapped, or at least saving-motivated, customers are open to making changes they would not have made before. Millions of previously loyal Starbucks drinkers are now willing to forgo a custom-made beverage for a good-quality, standardized substitute at a lower price. Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's are using that newfound price sensitivity to offer cut-price lattes and cappuccinos, at what are probably very good margins for those chains. And the customers they attract may also discover that the bagels at Dunkin' and the salads at McDonald's are an equally good value.<br /><br />The key to success is to be open to some inside-out marketing. Look at what you're already capable of doing, probably in excess because of the recession, and figure out how that capacity could enable you to offer a new service or enter a new segment quickly, with relatively minimal investment. At least you can generate incremental contribution during the recession, and at best you may capture some new customers for future growth."<br /><br />Remember your customers are more open than ever to change; it's just a matter of being creative. Brand what makes you different and don't be afraid of revisit your business model and products offering. Opportunities are out there for creative minds... Remember how Steve Jobs saved a dying music industry from pirates with his iTune store. <br /><br /><br />David Morin B.V.A<br />Principal/Brand ArtistDavid Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-46603625548968069172009-05-29T11:59:00.000-07:002009-05-29T12:02:05.386-07:00Branding isn't just about eye candies -4 low costs actions to strenghten your brand during slow seasonOne of the most accurate definition of branding I can remember doesn't come from branding legends such as David Ogilvy or Leo Burnett but from Howard Schultz, from Starbuck: "...Branding is the sum of the actions taken by a company". You may be asking yourself: "How the heck is that gonna help me increase my sales during slow season?" Well, in an article published in MarketingProfs, Kimberly Smith says: "When the slow season strikes... it's time to put some energy into pumping up your brand." <br /><br />She lists 4 actions to help you make the most of your dowtimes. As Howard suggests, branding goes above and beyond simple eye candies. Branding is much more about the companies culture in every facets of its daily operations to create an experience, while the visual aspect of it is just its graphic embodiement. In other words, the sum of your actions eventually shape the perceived value of your product, service or company, turning ordinary into extraordinary. As Marty Neumeier says in his book "The Branding Gap", "A brand isn't about what you say it is, it's about what they say it is". <br />The strategies suggested by Kimberly revolves around strenghthening the connection with your current customers. Since we all remember the old saying "It's far more expensive to attract more customer than keeping an old happy one". Not only that but Seth Godin also suggest that "...an old customer is far more likely to bring you new people via word of mouth than someone who isn't even a customer yet." <br /><br />Kimberly highlights the achievements of one company that boosted sales by 12 percent and decreased client shrinkage by 75 percent with a program that included:<br />• Meeting one-on-one with clients with the sole purpose of discovering their needs and concerns.<br />• Making the executive team's contact information available to all clients.<br />• Producing competitive audits that detailed how clients might better engage their target markets.<br />• Incorporating thoughtful gestures into all client-facing activities.<br /><br /><br />Branding isn't just about eye candies. In downtimes as Kinberly says "It's time to catch up on all the little housekeeping, brand building tasks that have been put off due to time constraints. In addition to positioning yourself for future success, you'll likely find that exercises like these can help to keep yourself, and your staff, both busy and optimistic."<br /><br />David Morin <span style="font-style: italic;">B.V.A.</span><br />Principal/Brand ArtistDavid Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-2697329195222291722009-03-18T16:11:00.000-07:002009-03-18T16:37:05.091-07:00New Identity -Groupe Immobilier Pettigrew<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVMxHEwfZdebV2CZwAD4N4-sMxgXaH7_at2OMeu5GDk3w9gb-6qOlYLYhqGb-Ud2e3T9f4zsU2HZDxYHuHhnFMnNvGiHIVXtufPgatxBeG4AjOb3CErF1mTP-QaGj-a-i9yXL-ELV7X8/s1600-h/Pettigrew.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVMxHEwfZdebV2CZwAD4N4-sMxgXaH7_at2OMeu5GDk3w9gb-6qOlYLYhqGb-Ud2e3T9f4zsU2HZDxYHuHhnFMnNvGiHIVXtufPgatxBeG4AjOb3CErF1mTP-QaGj-a-i9yXL-ELV7X8/s320/Pettigrew.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314670457706327378" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Groupe Immobilier Pettigrew is a small real estate company which only deals with high end commercial spaces.<br /><br />The communication challenge that the nature of their business was bringing, was calling for something high-end enough to attract the right clientele. A big game of perception had to be won as it is a key element in the natural positioning of the company.<br /><br />See for every product, has a psychological price tag attached to it. This price tag will determine how we perceive a product and to what category it belongs to; entry level, intermediate or high end. When you introduce a product to the market, there’s a few thing you need to take into consideration.<br /><br />Before anything if you didn’t do it yet, please do some research and know where you belong in the market. A price isn’t simply, “I have a product, it costs xyz to make, I can sell it for whatever so let’s do it and we’ll be rich!” Determining where you belong in the market is a price VS quality issue and has very little to do with your true cost (from a perception point of view).<br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiWgHA5jXKIB7oIwL3FXvcMzq21Jr75YxeOCdFTsv53uSnxnRRWVawaFizxmtzoOabCSeVHW0DihwwtrjpIDb_YZs1KewKug_dWEm0pTDBfa6Y5ItoT57bhbw3ay3vg1k5z4424V6jkk/s1600-h/Positioning.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiWgHA5jXKIB7oIwL3FXvcMzq21Jr75YxeOCdFTsv53uSnxnRRWVawaFizxmtzoOabCSeVHW0DihwwtrjpIDb_YZs1KewKug_dWEm0pTDBfa6Y5ItoT57bhbw3ay3vg1k5z4424V6jkk/s320/Positioning.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314670627207185730" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br />Take Lexus as an example, let's pretend we are back in 1989 and Toyota is coming on the market with a car that is exactly the same as a Mercedes but costs only $35,000. Would you believe it? Maybe right off the bat you would say yeaaah duhhhh! But then, you would probably have a second thought: <span style=""> </span>“Wait a minute, Mercedes cost at least $70,000 so how in the world am I gonna have an equal value for so cheap?<span style=""> </span>On top of that, it wears the tag Toyota…Toyota makes great cars but it surely doesn’t compare with a Mercedes, at least the feel wouldn't be the same”. Now let’s say Toyota introduces a luxury line of vehicles called Lexus.<span style=""> </span>It’s supposed to be as refined as Mercedes but since the line is less known, it sells for $10,000 less.<span style=""> </span>Now it makes perfect sense right (Guess how Korean cars were able to make it in North America)?<span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="">How does that relate with real estate? Well, the right positioning prequalifies your leads.<span style=""> </span>It will look too expensive for the guy who’s looking to start a small convenience store in a bad neighborhood of Sin City and will be right on target for the attorney firm that wishes to expand in a new building. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><br />The important thing to remember here is that you and the quality of what you offer need to be in line with your client’s expectations. Otherwise will end up creating disappointment and this is how you end up burning a name.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, using principles and philosophy described in my post of December 7<sup>th</sup>, I chose to go with a modern look (which is almost a tribute to the Bauhaus School in Germany).<span style=""> </span>Since they are dealing mostly with office spaces, I chose to shape the “P” as if it was an office building, only using lighting contrasts to shape the idea of the building and the 3 dimensional effect.<span style=""> </span>The typography is classic and clean which supports the idea of high-end office buildings.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I very much enjoyed working on this project, and your thoughts on this identity work are more than welcome.</p><p class="MsoNormal">David Morin B.V.A.<br />Brand Artist<br /><a href="http://www.getapowerplay.com/">www.getapowerplay.com</a></p>David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-11505783983270507732009-03-10T18:08:00.000-07:002009-03-12T12:41:56.533-07:00From Freelancing to Startups – Netsetting<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKh_ERh6h5CCkSyDVlkAGHojXXmnmoH2f0EDrQawxpD8qPCJ_ReA5KIhZwiywnMtiALE7mEfvk9hhlYO7D6sM2k-kG5br46gfcUHo7oseYWqVGaSi06NkBmSUaISdumniQK8n13plcao/s1600-h/Guerilla.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKh_ERh6h5CCkSyDVlkAGHojXXmnmoH2f0EDrQawxpD8qPCJ_ReA5KIhZwiywnMtiALE7mEfvk9hhlYO7D6sM2k-kG5br46gfcUHo7oseYWqVGaSi06NkBmSUaISdumniQK8n13plcao/s320/Guerilla.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311744057535452194" border="0" /></a><br />As a startup myself, I think there’s nothing more exciting than when somebody comes to you saying: "I understand, I’ve been there, I’ve done that", and it is especially true in those tough economic times.<br /><br />This morning, I was drinking my tea (I gave up coffee recently excepted for an occasional espresso) and reviewing my blog roll and a post called: <a href="http://freelanceswitch.com/the-business-of-freelancing/from-freelancing-to-startups-netsetting/">"From Freelancing to Startups – Netsetting”</a> caught my attention……<br /><br />It describes in short the story of <a href="http://twitter.com/collis">Collis Ta'eed</a>, making the transition with his wife into the business world “...it kinda sucked doing client jobs all day, then working on the new business into the night - usually interspersed with even more client work. But it sure beat taking a loan from a bank and having repayments hanging over our new enterprise.”. So far, nothing new. We all have dealt with that situation at one point. Where it becomes interesting though is that they’ve been starting a new blog recently about their experiences in startups and web business. It’s called <a href="http://thenetsetter.com/blog/">TheNetsetter</a>. Their posts are very insightful, a great resource for any freelancer who have the desire in bridging to the business world full time.<br /><br />Following, the first posts, make sure to check them out!<br /><br />1. <a href="http://thenetsetter.com/blog/tips/it-wont-happen-overnight-but-it-will-happen/">It Won’t Happen Overnight But It Will Happen!</a><br />2. <a href="http://thenetsetter.com/blog/tips/doing-things-yourself-will-only-get-you-so-far/">Doing Things Yourself Will Only Get You So Far</a><br />3. <a href="http://thenetsetter.com/blog/marketing/guerilla-marketing-for-startups/">Guerrilla Marketing for Startups</a><br />4. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/c8kp6b">Strategy Games and How They Can Help Your Business</a><br /><br /><br />David Morin B.V.A.<br />Brand Artist<br /><a href="http://www.getapowerplay.com/">www.getapowerplay.com</a>David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-62862267547069074482009-03-05T11:11:00.000-08:002009-03-06T09:01:31.328-08:00New Upates: The Fifty Dollar Logo ExperimentThis is where fun really kicks in; when you realize that things we see often have deeper roots just like the old adage saying "We only see the peak of the iceberg".<br /><br />Here is the story. With the rise of a lot .com design services that somehow hurt the business of a lot of professionals, creative director Jim Walls at <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.160over90.com/">160over90</a>, a Philadelphia based branding agency, conducted what he calls an <a href="http://www.160over90.com/blog/2009/02/17/the-50-dollar-logo-experiment/">experiment</a> with one of these offshore companies (<a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.50dollarlogo.com/">50DollarLogo.com</a>) to make a point. On February 17th, Jim finally posts his insights of doing business with such company. The next day, acclaimed designer <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.davidairey.com/">David Airey</a> picks up the story and posts it on his blog, <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.logodesignlove.com/">Logo Design Love</a>. The blog has 9516 readers so it didn't take very long to start an intense discussion and argument among industry professionals which eventually lead to exposing a genuine scam and copyright violation story.<br /><br />Keep in mind that whenever an offshore company promises six logo designs, unlimited revisions and a 1-3 days turnaround time, just know that:<br /><br />a) It is too good to be true.<br /><br />and<br /><br />b) They might be hiding a dark truth... just like that laundromat not far from where I used to live that have no washing machines but still in business after 10 years...<br /><br />Apparently, according to a comment left by <span style="font-style: italic;">Brian</span> on <span style="font-style: italic;">Logo Design Love, 50DollarLogo.com</span> has been reported as an attack site by <span style="font-style: italic;">Firefox</span>. For those who are unfamiliar with attack sites; they "...try to install programs that steal private information, use your computer to attack others, or damage your system... Some attack sites also intentionally distribute harmful software".<br /><br />Another comment left by <span style="font-style: italic;">Keith</span> suggests that "...if you go to their <a href="http://www.50dollarlogo.com/web_folio.php">web design portfolio</a> you will see links to work that they clearly haven’t done” such as the <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.getlondonreading.co.uk/Home">Get London Reading </a>Website. It has in fact been design by artist<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.kentlyons.com/">Kent Lyons</a>... And I personally believe that the layout of the site is purposely built to be mistaken with successful <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.logoworks.com/">Logo Works</a>. It is clear that the company is ran by crooks with the intention to fool and screw you. Ask Doug in Florida that filled a complain on <a href="http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/316/RipOff0316455.htm">Rip-off Report.com</a> :<br /><br />"This company offers logo design packages starting at $50 for 6 logo concepts, you can also add other services to this for additional fees. They offer to present you with your concepts for revision in 1 to 3 days. I picked a package above the $50 one that offered 12 design concepts. I made payment after completeing my order and waited for my concept designs.<br /><br />After 4 days I had heard nothing and decided to use there <a id="KonaLink1" target="undefined" class="kLink" style="text-decoration: underline ! important; position: static;" href="http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/316/RipOff0316455.htm#"><span style="color: blue ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-size: 13px; position: static;color:blue;" ><span class="kLink" style="color: blue ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-size: 13px; position: static;">online </span><span class="kLink" style="color: blue ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-size: 13px; position: static;">help</span></span></a> service as they claim to have 24/7/365 operaters to answer your questions. It seems I must have caught them on the leap year when no one was available. I left a message reguarding the status of my order only to recieve a mailer demon email saying it could not be delivered and the mail box was full. I then sent a somewhat threatning email to the email address on my order confirmation. I recieved a generic misspelled email in return stating my order was in progress and I would recieve my designs asap.<br /><br />It is now day 9 and I have heard nothing and recieved nothing. So much for a 3 day turnaround. I will be requesting a refund and filing a dispute with my <a id="KonaLink2" target="undefined" class="kLink" style="text-decoration: underline ! important; position: static;" href="http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/316/RipOff0316455.htm#"><span style="color: blue ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-size: 13px; position: static;color:blue;" ><span class="kLink" style="color: blue ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-size: 13px; position: static;">credit </span><span class="kLink" style="color: blue ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-size: 13px; position: static;">card </span><span class="kLink" style="color: blue ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: 400; font-size: 13px; position: static;">company</span></span></a>. The site appears to be a scheme to me. The online support is never online and the mailboxes are full. Seems to me I'm not the only dissatisfied customer. Just remember, you always get what you pay for.<br />I thought I had found the answer to my business logo need. It turns out I just created alot more hassle for myself and I'm currently out $70."<br /><br />To all my entrepreneur friends, please beware.<br /><br />David Morin B.V.A.<br />Brand Artist<br /><a href="http://www.getapowerplay.com/">www.getapowerplay.com</a>David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-51398628627726408122009-03-05T10:24:00.000-08:002009-03-05T20:46:45.799-08:00The list of lists; 101 Tax deductions for bloggers and freelancersRecently, as the tax season kicks in, I went across a <span style="font-style: italic;">re-tweet</span> (thanks to <span style="font-style: italic;">AaronLock</span>) about "<a href="http://www.wisebread.com/101-tax-deductions-for-bloggers-and-freelancers"><span style="font-style: italic;">101 Tax deductions for bloggers and freelancers</span></a> ". It was such is such a great resource that as I was sharing it with everybody I knew, I got quickly overwhelmed forwarding the damn URL to all those who requested it... so I decided this morning to simply post the list of 101 tax deductions and the <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/101-tax-deductions-for-bloggers-and-freelancers">link</a> to the original post.<br /><br />Make sure to visit the original <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.wisebread.com/101-tax-deductions-for-bloggers-and-freelancers">post</a> by <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.wisebread.com/paul-michael">Paul Michael</a> as he also gives some interesting tips for novices.<br /><br />So here it is folks, have fun and as Paul says; "Stake your claim!":<br /><br /> 1. Industry books & periodicals, including audio books<br /> 2. Other books and periodicals used for research<br /> 3. Library book charges<br /> 4. DVDs and CDs related to your blogging<br /> 5. Movie or theater tickets, if related to your blogging or freelancing<br /> 6. Music and TV show downloads<br /> 7. Magazine subscriptions<br /> 8. Research sites that require a subscription<br /> 9. Further education classes<br />10. Webinars<br />11. Business podcasts<br />12. Business-related websites (for me, that would be Adweek)<br />13. Memberships to professional clubs and affiliations<br />14. Internet access fees (at about $40 a month, that’s a biggie)<br />15. Public internet access fees (Internet café’s, airports etc)<br />16. Stock photo purchases for your blog<br />17. Search Engine Optimization services and fees<br />18. Paid site submissions<br />19. Website hosting fees<br />20. Website design and/or maintenance fees<br />21. Website/blog templates<br />22. Domain name cost(s) and renewals<br />23. Blog expenses (e.g. WordPress additions)<br />24. Film & Digital cameras<br />25. Web cameras<br />26. Handheld video recorders<br />27. Digital memory cards<br />28. Recordable CDs and DVDs<br />29. Zip drives<br />30. Photo printouts<br />31. Film & film processing<br />32. Printer ink and copier toner<br />33. Phone charging stations (e.g. at the airport)<br />34. Second phone line for your business/fax machine<br />35. Long distance charges related to business<br />36. Cost of phone/fax/scanner/copier equipment<br />37. Cell phone & PDA expenses (bills, equipment, accessories)<br />38. Personal voice recorders and memo machines<br />39. Business equipment rental<br />40. Computer equipment & peripherals<br />41. Computer upgrades (I had to upgrade my RAM twice last year)<br />42. Depreciation costs of computer equipment<br />43. Data storage (both online and external HDDs)<br />44. Any business related software (not games…unless you review them)<br />45. Software licensing fees<br />46. Anti-virus and anti-spam subscriptions<br />47. Unpaid invoices. If you do some work for someone, be it a simple blog article or a much bigger job, and you get stiffed on the bill, you can write off your loss.<br />48. Fees for other bloggers and freelancers. If you get overwhelmed and pay a friend or relative to help out, any money you pay that person for their assistance is a tax deduction.<br />49. Tax and accounting software<br />50. Tax preparation fees<br />51. Business incorporation costs<br />52. Costs for Trademarks or Copyrights.<br />53. Business logos and graphic design fees<br />54. Business cards, letterhead and other stationery (even stuff you print yourself)<br />55. Office supplies (everything from paper to paper clips)<br />56. Home office expenses. You can deduct the part of your home you use exclusively for blogging or freelancing as an expense, including a portion of the rent, water, heating bills and so on.<br />57. Percentage of your home insurance (for your home office)<br />58. Online self-promotion fees (that includes banners and Adwords costs)<br />59. Trade show fees<br />60. Advertising costs (newspapers, stickers, posters, postcards etc)<br />61. Photography fees (e.g. headshots, pack shots etc)<br />62. Photocopying/faxing fees<br />63. Transportation costs: car mileage; airline tickets; taxis; buses; trains.<br />64. Highway tolls<br />65. Parking fees<br />66. Hotel costs for business trips.<br />67. Cleaning & laundering services when traveling for business.<br />68. Costs of conferences, plus all related expenses (e.g. BlogHer)<br />69. Health insurance costs (if you’re self-employed)<br />70. Computer equipment insurance<br />71. Food and drink purchased on business trips<br />72. Client entertainment (be reasonable…not sure you’ll get away with Strip Club deductions)<br />73. Postage costs (Stamps.com is ideal for keeping track of postage, and the service itself is tax-deductible)<br />74. PayPal and Western Union fees<br />75. Post Office Box fees.<br />76. Safe Deposit Box fees.<br />77. Self-storage fees, especially useful if your files and records are spilling over into your garage and you need extra space.<br />78. Advice. Any professional advice you pay for that pertains to your business is a tax deduction, and that includes counseling or coaching.<br />79. Membership dues to labor unions (do bloggers have a union?)<br />80. Charity work or donations (this one’s tricky. It’s limited to your out-of-pocket costs, not the final cost of the product. In my case, I’ve done some writing for charity, which is not applicable because you can’t deduct time spent. But any materials used during your charity work can be deducted).<br />81. Prizes and giveaways. Here at Wise Bread, we give away some very nice things. Often, they are generously given to us as gifts to pass on to you, or readers. But when we go out and spend money on a prize to give away, that can be deducted, as well as the cost to mail it out to you.<br />82. Business furniture. If you use it exclusively for your blogging or freelancing, then anything from a chair or filing cabinet to the whole desk can be written off.<br />83. Business functions. If you hold a little get-together for clients, even just one or two, then everything from the rental of the room (or golf course…know what I mean?) to food and drink can be deducted.<br />84. Business lunches. You can't include your own meal, but if you pick up the tab at a power-lunch (or just a meeting with a potential client) you can write off their part of the check.<br />85. Props. I sometimes use props for photoshoots, and the cost of those props can be deducted.<br />86. Job search expenses. Any money you spend trying to get work, from postage to travel, is a deductible expense.<br />87. Alcohol and drug abuse treatment. If the pressure turns you into a Betty Ford patient, you can deduct the expenses of treatment. Let’s hope you never have to though.<br />88. Any losses due to theft. Away on business, your laptop gets stolen…write it off.<br />89. Moving expenses related to your blogging or freelancing.<br />90. You can deduct 50% of your self-employment tax<br />91. Home improvements. Turn the basement into a home office, those expenses are deductible.<br />92. Clothing and accessories. If you have to buy any clothing for a particular job (maybe you needed protective clothing & headwear to write an article about a building site) then those costs are also deductible. But don’t try and write off your new Gucci watch.<br />93. Business checking expenses. If you have anything more that free checking, it’s a deduction.<br />94. Business gifts. This is cool. If your mom watched the kids while you went off to do an interview or write an article, and you then bought her flowers or choccies, well, the gift is tax deductible. Very sweet.<br />95. Annual fees for business credit cards.<br />96. Physical therapy. Writing for eight hours a day can cause all sorts of problems, including the dreaded Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. I've been advised by many accountants that you can deduct the cost of that therapy. However, medical expenses are a complex beast, and usually need to be a percentage of your income. Check with your accountant for details.<br />97. Headache pills, eye drops and so on. If staring at the screen all day gives you a killer migraine, you can write off the cost of the meds to help you get through it and keep on working.<br />98. Wages. Say you pay your kid $20 a month to empty your office trash can, maybe as a way to earn an allowance. Well, you can deduct that expense.<br />99. Your dog. No kidding, if you can prove it's a guard dog and is protecting your equipment, you can write-off the doggie expenses.<br />100. Net operating loss. If your deductions outweigh your earnings, which often happens in your start-up year, you can use that loss to lower your taxes next year.<br /><br />And one big final deduction you may want to think about:<br /><br />101. Your TV cable or satellite bill. I can deduct it because I need it…I work in the movie business. It’s a very nice deduction, too. If you blog about soaps, movies, TV shows, or anything else in the entertainment field, this could be a nice write-off for you.<br /><br />David Morin B.V.A.<br />Brand Artist<br /><a href="http://www.getapowerplay.com/">www.getapowerplay.com</a>David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-13561433580892238622009-02-24T08:50:00.000-08:002009-02-24T15:37:07.117-08:00The 50 Dollar Logo Experiment<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOfW5z4LDpyc_30k9ScG7G4S2PX9vo3xrPCdruUnzeB05u1uwSDVv9yCbbJ2SdlxbR1KAQeQF7FFNUKNzFo1BEvTiBUoI0r5cJo4YRyxdaYe-eb506llKsdaDGN0QOnVg19KNqs4GwCm0/s1600-h/cheese-supper.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOfW5z4LDpyc_30k9ScG7G4S2PX9vo3xrPCdruUnzeB05u1uwSDVv9yCbbJ2SdlxbR1KAQeQF7FFNUKNzFo1BEvTiBUoI0r5cJo4YRyxdaYe-eb506llKsdaDGN0QOnVg19KNqs4GwCm0/s320/cheese-supper.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306410873089035218" border="0" /></a><br />Recently I came across a re-post by acclaimed designer <a href="http://www.davidairey.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">David Airey</span></a> called <span style="font-style: italic;">“The 50 Dollars Logo Experiment”</span>. The post made a lot of noise as it initiated an incredibly intense discussion between design professionals, about <span style="font-style: italic;">cheap design</span> online services.<br /><br />Here what happened; with the rise of a lot .com <span style="font-style: italic;">design services</span> that somehow hurt the business of a lot of professionals (I am one of them), a man named <span style="font-style: italic;">Jim Walls</span>, creative director at <a href="http://www.160over90.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">160over90</span></a>, a Philadelphia based branding agency, conducted what he called an experiment with one of these online companies (<a href="http://www.50dollarlogo.com/">50DollarLogo.com</a>.) to make his point.<br /><br />Of course, some of the people that felt threatened by these companies embraced the so called study, when others called it outrageous because (and they are right), you cannot compare a high-end culinary experience with <span style="font-style: italic;">Chef Ramsey</span> in one of his million dollar restaurant with a <span style="font-style: italic;">Big Mac</span> from <span style="font-style: italic;">McDonald</span>. That being said, we should agree that the rise of those companies is just a natural consequence of the evolution of a market and it should be enough to invalidate the so called study. However, the experiment does have some value as it highlights some of the downsides of doing business with such companies, <span style="font-style: italic;">startups</span> should be aware of. Believe it or not, yes there are still people out there expecting getting the next <a href="http://www.facebook.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Facebook</span></a> done for $1000.<br /><br />As <span style="font-style: italic;">Jim</span> writes in his post: “...there will always be good clients who recognize the value of what they’re getting when they pay experts. Likewise, there will always be the pizza shop owners and recent <span style="font-style: italic;">MBA</span> grads launching their next <span style="font-style: italic;">Basecamp</span> rip-off who get what they pay for when they go for the lowest common denominator.”<br /><br />We all get with the fact that 50 to 80% of <span style="font-style: italic;">startups</span> will fail within their first 18 months of existence. Starting a <span style="font-style: italic;">new business</span> is a risky adventure and owners need to be very careful about their spending and sometimes, it is true that the risk factor is so high that it simply doesn’t worth a $2,000 to $5,000 investment. However, it is important to point out that creating a <span style="font-style: italic;">good logo</span> requires substantial effort and should cost more than lunch money. It involves research, competitive analysis, creative brainstorming, sketches, and finalization based on the client’s and their customers’ feedback.<br /><br />Even if some people will bring up the fact that <span style="font-style: italic;">Carolyn Davidson</span> in 1971charged only $35 to design the famous <span style="font-style: italic;">Nike swoosh</span>, it is important to acknowledge that she was a student and her hourly rate was $2 (meaning that it took her 17 hours to design something as simple as a Swoosh). The Swoosh as simple as it looks is very meaningful. It represents the wing in the famous statue of the Greek Goddess of victory, <span style="font-style: italic;">Nike</span> and has become one of the most recognized symbols in the world today. Thanks to <span style="font-style: italic;">Carolyn’s</span> research and sketching time.<br /><br />Still skeptic? Check out this interview <span style="font-style: italic;">Steve Jobs</span> gave about <span style="font-style: italic;">Paul Rand</span>, who charged <span style="font-style: italic;">Steve</span> $100,000 for his <span style="font-style: italic;">NEXT</span> newborn company identity in 1993 <a href="http://www.paul-rand.com/video_stevejobs_interview.shtml">http://www.paul-rand.com/video_stevejobs_interview.shtml</a>. Remember that there's a reason why <span style="font-style: italic;">Brad Pitt</span> costs more than <span style="font-style: italic;">Chuck Norris</span> (No offense to anyone).<br /><br />Bottom line is, when you see an online company based in <span style="font-style: italic;">Sri Lanka</span> that promises <span style="font-style: italic;">six logo designs</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">unlimited revisions</span>, just know that it is too good to be true. As <span style="font-style: italic;">Jim</span>, the author of the experiment wrote: “…promising six logo designs, unlimited revisions, and a 1-3 day turnaround. Who needs messy things like research, insight, or even a modicum of information about my business, when I can have <span style="font-style: italic;">unlimited revisions</span>? I quickly gave them my information, credit card number, social security number, and bank account routing number, and we were off to the races.” Even though the project was a decoy, one year later; the fake <span style="font-style: italic;">Cheeses Of Nazareth</span> Company is still waiting for the right identity. I rest my case.<br /><br />See the full yearlong experiment: <a href="http://www.160over90.com/blog/2009/02/17/the-50-dollar-logo-experiment/">http://www.160over90.com/blog/2009/02/17/the-50-dollar-logo-experiment/</a><br /><br />David Morin B.V.A.<br />Brand Artist<br /><a href="http://www.getapowerplay.com/">www.getapowerplay.com</a>David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-35043380505692358962009-02-20T09:27:00.000-08:002009-02-20T09:35:53.939-08:00The Ultimate rewardWhatever we are <span style="font-style: italic;">graphic</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">web designer</span>, I fondly believe that nothing comes closer from heaven than when a client tells you that you did such a great job that he cannot decide on a design and he will test both skins you created for his web strategy. Well, that situation happened to me not too long ago as I was invited to submit <span style="font-style: italic;">UI designs</span> with different <span style="font-style: italic;">look & Feel</span> to revamp an online corporation.<br /><br />The client, <span style="font-style: italic;">Companies Incorporated</span> is a very successful and trusted provider of business filing, incorporating, LLC and corporation formation services, as they are the Corporation Company Rated #1 in Customer Satisfaction.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Before</span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: Calibri;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfW3LtLqcVOOqL4SdpaI-7yeISFwg3HfD7b8YOyqNRgUT0bCQMV_MmJ0dWJ8Z286ZJDkF5lO3TfhTxj7SIvpnwdd8N6UWa5k-z7UV6nORl8bp6dJJ_qkn9wsCSrpfom6PgAYbBDIBUGXM/s1600-h/Before.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfW3LtLqcVOOqL4SdpaI-7yeISFwg3HfD7b8YOyqNRgUT0bCQMV_MmJ0dWJ8Z286ZJDkF5lO3TfhTxj7SIvpnwdd8N6UWa5k-z7UV6nORl8bp6dJJ_qkn9wsCSrpfom6PgAYbBDIBUGXM/s320/Before.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303865545923775842" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Companies Incorporated</span> always believed in <span style="font-style: italic;">branding</span>, but never invested the time or resources required, to develop a brand that matched their aspirations. As the competition was growing bigger stronger in their field though, <span style="font-style: italic;">Companies Incorporated</span> eventually felt the need to visually revamp <span style="font-style: italic;">brand</span> to visually reposition them back at the top, were it belong, and keep their ranking in the market. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Competitors</span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: Calibri;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8urv3Vooa6Q0Sf03H5YKrotJBgt9Sbudp7t-hZ3guhAKmIctBoBv_adohWERs8cKFwp9L4GHfg6pmA0KE5fQXC2sbEelyLhzHGUxGhXaeW4tzrfXa6S_89YQ6kvMYqitol7uYgsJREVE/s1600-h/Competitors.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8urv3Vooa6Q0Sf03H5YKrotJBgt9Sbudp7t-hZ3guhAKmIctBoBv_adohWERs8cKFwp9L4GHfg6pmA0KE5fQXC2sbEelyLhzHGUxGhXaeW4tzrfXa6S_89YQ6kvMYqitol7uYgsJREVE/s320/Competitors.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303865644047295490" border="0" /></a></span>I decided to test three different approaches, one needed to be dropped as it was too dark which, from a legal point of view send the wrong message as the new age of business is based on transparency.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Submitted Designs</span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: Calibri;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0edlWHagvjgmuAn57PWPHbK7V-6F4LQiXz6aG1tDAv70rbOZ62akP1fv2V2YIa-3d0lnyM9Xh_9v54kdOXN7rdrwr0kR4YuSbzzadtfCORDnCaS-zuPDWXWQP7UDRyY9-0bsSD7C0uTQ/s1600-h/Comp-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 153px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0edlWHagvjgmuAn57PWPHbK7V-6F4LQiXz6aG1tDAv70rbOZ62akP1fv2V2YIa-3d0lnyM9Xh_9v54kdOXN7rdrwr0kR4YuSbzzadtfCORDnCaS-zuPDWXWQP7UDRyY9-0bsSD7C0uTQ/s320/Comp-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303865787253149938" border="0" /></a></span>The two other designs where built around the idea of transparency and simplicity. Therefore I used big images, featuring an obvious and warm human presence. The layout is built on a white background with iPhone's like icons to ease and improve user's experience. Some minor tweaks later, the two new skins were ready to be tested.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Approved Designs</span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: Calibri;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BLGTZVf0ZbYt0Aipr8YM0KJiKgnRcO9yyPyVQZ3-ohfkuXNH5ScnOa35vlihVnHY9Pe-fZp783uWhpBbfAi97MaRdjm4Z3ZHQM80GC6EIXVLRn8hR9felnqd62cSEWmKXKaIoY4g0kg/s1600-h/Final.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BLGTZVf0ZbYt0Aipr8YM0KJiKgnRcO9yyPyVQZ3-ohfkuXNH5ScnOa35vlihVnHY9Pe-fZp783uWhpBbfAi97MaRdjm4Z3ZHQM80GC6EIXVLRn8hR9felnqd62cSEWmKXKaIoY4g0kg/s320/Final.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303865999766987794" border="0" /></a></span>David Morin B.V.A.<br />Brand Artist<br />www.getapowerplay.comDavid Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-36915470673906183672009-02-09T09:47:00.000-08:002009-02-09T21:09:16.984-08:00Cash4Gold rocks! That advertising snobs like it or not.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZh8Mp0nM_9Xs4lwqCLq0yWZMBKl1yry2PQaITr_sCiS8CrKVRfPtqM_FatqKTq-akWO17UbtardMpHZODHTAYXcxSbfTDW3MWxiOhIzthzzZr-JGFtJoME0zO5R3vZsFFf0OZRuXG3A/s1600-h/1-cash4gold-020209.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZh8Mp0nM_9Xs4lwqCLq0yWZMBKl1yry2PQaITr_sCiS8CrKVRfPtqM_FatqKTq-akWO17UbtardMpHZODHTAYXcxSbfTDW3MWxiOhIzthzzZr-JGFtJoME0zO5R3vZsFFf0OZRuXG3A/s320/1-cash4gold-020209.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300863109410649634" border="0" /></a><br />All right, everybody has his favorites but wait. As stated in another post, I always end up fighting with friends on who’s the big winner and big looser because I always question the effectiveness first. Last weekend, during the equivalent of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Cannes’ Lions</span>, we witnessed something unique which makes it probably the most interesting<span style="font-style: italic;"> Super Bowl</span> ever for advertising.<br /><br />First of all, America is getting through one of the <span style="font-style: italic;">worst economic situatio</span><span style="font-style: italic;">n</span> since the <span style="font-style: italic;">great depression</span> (actually, we’re half way there with a real unemployment rate that is somewhere around 15%). Because of that situation <span style="font-style: italic;">NBC</span> had hard time to sell all its spots (I remember 5 days before the event, I was reading on <span style="font-style: italic;">Adage.com</span> that <span style="font-style: italic;">NBC</span> still had good spots available… something never seen before), we already knew right there that they would be forced to accept some weak spots to fill the gaps. That extreme measure taken from <span style="font-style: italic;">NBC</span> led to the biggest controversy the next day; “What the hell was <span style="font-style: italic;">Cash4Gold</span> with freakin <span style="font-style: italic;">Ed McMahon</span> doing in <span style="font-style: italic;">Super Bowl XLIII</span>?”<br /><br />While people are still arguing trying to figure out the winner of <span style="font-style: italic;">Super Bowl XLIII</span> (‘cause apparently someone shouldn’t qualify), whatever they like it or not… the winner is <span style="font-style: italic;">Cash4Gold</span>. Big time!<br /><br />You know, that whole situation reminds me of summer 1999…. Ahhhhhhhh! Campus life, parties, girls AND probably the summer of the most anticipated blockbusters as <span style="font-style: italic;">The Matrix</span> came out as well as <span style="font-style: italic;">Start Wars Phantom Menace</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me</span> and of Course <span style="font-style: italic;">Blair Witch Project</span>. I remember going back to class at the end of August and one of my teachers asked “What’s been to your opinion the biggest blockbuster of the summer?” I can still hear people yelling “<span style="font-style: italic;">S</span><span style="font-style: italic;">tar Wars!</span>”, “<span style="font-style: italic;">Matrix!</span>”, “<span style="font-style: italic;">Austin!</span>” and finally our teacher said it was “<span style="font-style: italic;">Blair Witch Project</span>”. Yes, that nauseous filmed low-budget horror movie that fooled a few people with a narrative presented as a documentary piece.<br /><br />Well, it appeared like he was right. The nauseous piece of crap as we liked to call it back then, only cost an initial investment by the three filmmakers of about $35,000, and is to this day (thanks to the marketing geniuses at <span style="font-style: italic;">Artisan</span>, suggesting that the movie was real event) one of the most successful independent film ever shot with a gross $248 million.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">In many ways, the story we just witness with <span style="font-style: italic;">Cash4Gold</span> is very similar to the <span style="font-style: italic;">Blair Witch Project</span> phenomenon. <span style="font-style: italic;">Cash4Gold</span>’s long time agency partner <span style="font-style: italic;">Euro RS</span><span style="font-style: italic;">CG Edge</span> designed a campaign using (by accident) a <span style="font-style: italic;">rh</span><span style="font-style: italic;">etoric figure</span> called <span style="font-style: italic;">anomaly</span>. You may find <span style="font-style: italic;">rhetoric figures </span>in the content of the ad, in the elements in the image (such as example bellow), in the use of the canvas or in this situation an anomaly in the pool of announcers (just as the <span style="font-style: italic;">Blair Witch Project</span> in the pool of blockbusters) and it became most probably this year’s highest ratio of <span style="font-style: italic;">ROI</span> to production. It was on everybody’s lips on Monday morning.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfhmbEm16HdUnCKyRaoUu5aCuwxvToX0GjR4DjR9s2nWvQ9KWIVBkSZE6woPB0iE6mylqdaZX6RqEEX5-2vQ0etWZfzWBzy1yvWkCkdG4_olkgmjuh4gYObBENG_7gRwsq52xW_WnlX0/s1600-h/Bread.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfhmbEm16HdUnCKyRaoUu5aCuwxvToX0GjR4DjR9s2nWvQ9KWIVBkSZE6woPB0iE6mylqdaZX6RqEEX5-2vQ0etWZfzWBzy1yvWkCkdG4_olkgmjuh4gYObBENG_7gRwsq52xW_WnlX0/s320/Bread.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301030495480859394" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fh7cUf7F5rs4XKQFtxqwqDwflZhLuZdpzBADru3fmLGy2F7y-mUhnIrx9pmdohOiRmMUiv9VReu0GTmltNc5Sr5PwjhMt9sZsAZni08YpEQd8NAFi4Zrno-KL0D5eQ7z-0kHbMc8fvk/s1600-h/BK.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fh7cUf7F5rs4XKQFtxqwqDwflZhLuZdpzBADru3fmLGy2F7y-mUhnIrx9pmdohOiRmMUiv9VReu0GTmltNc5Sr5PwjhMt9sZsAZni08YpEQd8NAFi4Zrno-KL0D5eQ7z-0kHbMc8fvk/s320/BK.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301030210596313026" border="0" /></a></div>My own palmares of favorites however are <span style="font-style: italic;">Monster.com</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Hulu</span> as grand winners, and if we take a look at direct response commercials (which I believe are the future of advertising in this economy) is by far <span style="font-style: italic;">Denny’s</span> with his free breakfast offer which generated a landslide of follow-up publicity across the country and got millions of people coming by car, bus, light rail and on foot to sample their food. <span style="font-style: italic;">Denny's</span> CEO <span style="font-style: italic;">Nelson M</span><span style="font-style: italic;">archioli</span> estimated the company gave away 2 million breakfasts but if the promotion helps the company lift its lagging sales, it could be $15 million well spent.<br /><br />I know a lot of people in the industry such as advertising observer <span style="font-style: italic;">Bob Garfield</span> which stated earlier this week: “The truly scary thing is that …with the financial structures of advertising in a state of collapse, if creativity is so beside-the-point, then what is the point?” see it as a disgrace and being threatening for the industry. But being one of its survivors, I have to say that advertising has a taste of snobbery and when I read things like this, it confirms that today’s creatives are too often more interested in their own gratification than the client’s interest. For me, that’s the scary part as I witnessed a few horror stories in my career to back it up and it’s the subject of my post of January 3rd. That controversy in the industry is a great reality check and a well deserved slap in the face.<br /><br />David Morin B.V.A.<br />Brand Artist<br />www.getapowerplay.comDavid Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-14446869719654877252009-01-26T10:49:00.000-08:002009-01-28T15:21:27.424-08:00How do I choose a domain name? Should I go with www.whrp-prp.com or www.what-the-heck.com?<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is important to realize that a domain name is more than just a piece of property on the World Wide Web. It can build equity just like a house and it can become a powerful marketing tool that will drive traffic to your site… just like a well enjoyed home cooked meal can drive traffic to your bed, you just have to know how. Like in a lot of thing and <em>David Ogilvy</em>, one of the most prominent advertiser of all time, would agree “Simplicity still holds the truth, like the truth of a simple kiss.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>A well chosen domain name will help you with your <em>SEO</em></strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">First of all, chose a <em>domain</em> for your company AND for your product and have them both pointing to your <em>website</em>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The spelling of your <em>domain</em> for your business should be as close as possible from your real company name. Don’t make the mistake of adding useless things to your domain such as “inc” or “ass” or else. Keep it pure, keep it simple. If your business is called “Joe the Plummer”, name it as such; <a href="http://www.joetheplummer.com/">http://www.joetheplummer.com</a>. It will be much more memorable that way and please, PLEASE, stay away from acronyms that nobody can remember. Only concentrate on what’s memorable. Why? Just imagine the picture: you are in a networking event, you don’t have a business card on you nor a napkin and the guy in front of you is in a position to buy something from you. You can either tell him: “Please visit us online at <a href="http://www.dbblassoc.com/">http://www.dbblassoc.com</a>”, just hoping that he’ll remember or you could say something like: “A great way to remember me is <a href="http://www.joetheplummer.com/">http://www.joetheplummer.com/</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Also, you should have another domain, named after your product that is pointing to your site. Be aware that a lot of people tend to remember the products before the company that makes it. Not convinced? Try to tell me right off the bat who’s the company behind Maxwell House Coffee… I rest my case.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">If you are a small business owner, you should also buy your own name for the same reasons as those described above. A lot of entrepreneurs will push their name and reputations to sell a product.Having multiple domains pointing on the same website will help you with your ranking a bit but DON’T overdo it as it may produce the opposite effect and you may lose points on <em>Google</em> and <em>Yahoo</em>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>Make your domain a call to action</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">One of the most effective things you can do is making your domain name a <em>call the action</em>. Almost everybody that knows a bit about marketing knows what a call to action is and means. If you don’t, read bellow.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The whole idea behind a call to action is to get the potential customer to act. now! With traditional channels of communication such as TV, print Ads, billboard, Radio etc. a call to action would sound a little like: “Call Now. Toll Free. 24 Hours a Day. Mail this coupon today in the postage-paid envelope. Fax your response card.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Just make sure to avoid passive phrases like: “You know how to reach us. Call when you're ready to order.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Give your customers the perks of responding immediately. They'll be most likely to grab their wallets. If you take the same example as above where you attend a networking event and you are out of business cards. You'll be most likely to see that <em>prospect</em> converting into a <em>client</em> if you say something like: “A great way to remember me is: <a href="http://www.actnow.com/">http://www.actnow.com/</a>.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Build your domain name out of popular searchesHuh….? Just know that most search engines will rank a site higher if it's named after what people are searching for. That’s cool <em>SEO</em> right there but wait a minute…. How do I do that?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There a very cool FREE keyword suggestion tool available through <em>WordTracker</em>. Go to <a href="http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/">http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com</a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> type a word or a combination of words related to your business such as “Flat Screen”. <em>WordTracker</em> will list the 100 most popular searches containing the words “Flat” and “Screen”. Today for instance, 538 people searched for “flat Screen tv”, 52 for “best flat screen tv” and 23 for “cheap flat screen tv”. You probably figured out that today, 23 POTENTIAL BUYERS!!! were looking for cheap flat screen TV and ironically <a href="http://www.cheapflatscreentv.com/">http://www.cheapflatscreentv.com</a> was still available this morning when I checked… I'm just saying. And if the search is too long, consider the use of dashes so it becomes easier to read.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>My Point</strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em>Domain names</em> are most probably among the most underestimated and cheapest <em>marketing tools</em> available that can truly make a difference in building your business. Make sure to choose the right one using the strategies above and if you already have a domain and didn’t think about that back then, consider a redirecting domains strategy.</span></p>David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-62443322130034339932009-01-03T21:40:00.000-08:002009-01-04T17:15:24.749-08:00Be careful what you wish for…<em>Every time I watch the Superbowl, I find myself (under the interrogative look of my friends) bitching about the effectiveness of "xyz" commercial that somehow succeeded in producing laughter among the audience. Then I start explaining that too often the joke becomes bigger than the brand and when it does, chances are you will most likely remember the punch line than the advertiser. If you just invested $2.6 million for a 30 sec. and everybody misses the point, it's a huge waste of money.<br /><br />Unfortunately theses days, many advertising</em><em> professionals seems to put more emphasis on building their personal portfolio than on their client's interests. </em><em>You must first ask yourself, do I want a great ROI or help somebody win an Oscar?</em><br /><div><div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong><br />Back to Basic</strong><br />After countless books written about how to get what you want in life and the common acceptance on the basics of the law of manifestations, we all seems to agree that the first thing for everything is clarity. Whatever you are aiming for, you must be clear on what you want to determine the purpose of our actions (as brilliantly explained by <span style="font-style: italic;">Jack Canfield</span> in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Secret</span>). Guess what? Those universal principles are not only true in your life but also in advertising.<br /><br />If setting a goal and determining the purpose of an ad before designing it sounds obvious for some, it always amazes me when I see brilliant creatives from famous agencies prioritizing their personal glory instead of goal oriented results. </div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong><br />A Real Case Tragedy</strong></div><div>This is the sad story of <span style="font-style: italic;">Meubles Napert</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Meubles Napert</span> was a very prosper family owned furniture store chain. When Kevin, the youngest son, took over the company and decided to invest massively in his positioning, he hired one of the most dynamic, provocative and successful young ad agency in the province called <span style="font-style: italic;">AMEN</span>.</div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287312001390873074" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; height: 163px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNJHIpWo7k8mj-zyPXUwPEDiBDsoUY4GGx6qjEFgif0KtUO_nupTbKzwCOaO9fgXw-N8lrK3ghlYv8h9Enm1W9Lp9ENGInubdwDt-MkP-JW6NFQUDdf2PWR8GkaFXDFOoUQi388QnsJ8/s320/Leon-Napert.gif" border="0" />The agency advised <span style="font-style: italic;">Mr. Napert</span> to go with a powerful and provocative generic campaign featuring real clients of the retailer having as last names, the name of their main competitors (Most of furniture stores in Canada are named after their founder). The above ad was saying “<span style="font-style: italic;">Leon</span> is shopping at <span style="font-style: italic;">Napert</span>” and was targeting the national giant, <span style="font-style: italic;">Leon’s</span> <a href="http://www.leons.ca/">http://www.leons.ca/</a>.<br /><br /><div>The campaign was praised by the creative industry, as the agency found a brilliant and funny way to build a relationship between the advertiser and its competitors, and created a lot of controversy among <span style="font-style: italic;">Napert’s</span> competition. </div><br /><div></div><div>Praised by some, hated by others, the campaign was on everybody’s lips. It was a pure success but 7 months later, the company filed for chapter 11. What went wrong? Of course not everything was to blame on the campaign but nevertheless, the campaign failed to bring sales up because while everybody else were advertising queen size mattresses for $599, <span style="font-style: italic;">Napert</span> was spending money advertising the fact that their advertising agency was more creative than those of the competition.</div><br /><div>The agency failed in either listen to its client who’s been successfully selling furniture for years or in learning about how to successfully sell in this industry.<br /><strong></strong></div></div><div><br /><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong>Bottom line</strong> </div><div>Before even thinking about doing ANY advertising attempt, always determine your purpose by asking yourself: What’s my objective? Why am I advertising? What results do I want to produce? If you want to sell more, advertise as such. It may look less sexy and you might not win a prize for creativity but at least you will bring more sales. </div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287313947000176130" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; height: 172px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiNRRpEnKKWcIKi2ASZKOmDdgr3cC0zL8ttDRoaZf6iIk6skj-t2mN2-pvt0hF2d_erIuB9GJO44Q_7MHNqP12xGDFRfUx-aAkT5kdwppdS1yiq14AFItuahYQ_ElkCZV5aORkUzPxns/s320/CindyCrawfordHome.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>A great creative campaign can definitely make you but also destroy you if it fails to produce the anticipated results. Do a furniture retailer need an award winning creative campaign to take its business to the next level? This is something a client objectives driven agency should have ask themselves before taking <span style="font-style: italic;">Napert’s</span> money. As we all know, an Oscar doesn’t necessarily translate in a blockbuster success and vice and versa. At the end of the day, it’s a matter of purpose that will lead every choice in any productions. Keep that in mind when you choose your agency or agree on a concept.</div><div> </div><div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">David Morin B.A.V.</span></div><div>Brand Artist</div><div><a href="http://www.getapowerplay.com/">http://www.getapowerplay.com/</a></div></div></div>David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-59685998201390564242008-12-16T11:01:00.000-08:002008-12-16T15:32:04.337-08:00For Christmas, I wish to be creative<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg55QH36DcLIOmWhyphenhyphen0b6Yh-BneXHRE1miQHJKQRuShHhLkdNwBad0PSGnf8B5CLAZgor_Ojmw1d8TOZ201YO1VFJvJmMCVBMO7wiD9TnCaMwdIYyc2noX-wp9LE6l4AizkvefxHKWVwZzU/s1600-h/large_snazal_com.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280492888138743234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 228px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg55QH36DcLIOmWhyphenhyphen0b6Yh-BneXHRE1miQHJKQRuShHhLkdNwBad0PSGnf8B5CLAZgor_Ojmw1d8TOZ201YO1VFJvJmMCVBMO7wiD9TnCaMwdIYyc2noX-wp9LE6l4AizkvefxHKWVwZzU/s320/large_snazal_com.jpg" border="0" /></a>Believe it or not, if you know somebody around you that wishes to receive the gift of creativity for Christmas, it will only cost you $6.95.<br /><br />Creativity is a learnable skill. Ideas are no more than new combinations of elements and a creative person is someone with the ability to find relationships between elements (<em>algorithm, paradigm, phrase</em> etc.), using what we call in advertising <em>rhetoric processes</em> such as <em>metaphor</em> and <em>metonymy</em>.<br /><br />There are of course several ways stimulate creativity and shortcuts are available to stimulate the human mind such as brainstorming. As one of my friend says: “Nothing happens in a monologue, you get to create in a conversation” (And by the way, this is not a coincidence that most ad agencies work with creative units which are assigned teams of two or three creative people) but that will be for another post.<br /><br />So yes, there is ways to structure and stimulate creativity and I was surprised to discover that the greatest "creativity 101" course is found in a book that has been written in 1939 (and surprisingly still up to date). It’s shocking how some things never change and appears to be universal laws; no matter how you say it, 2+2 still equals 4 as far as I can remember.<br /><br />The book was written by the greatest copywriters ever employed by J. Walter Thompson and was known in the industry, to have lived and breathed advertising. The 48 pages book should find its place in every young designer’s Christmas stockings. You will first learn about the techniques and mechanisms the mind uses to generate ideas which according to him can be as efficient as an assembly line. By the way speaking of old stuff, did you know that you can still buy the cookbook of the first noun great chef <em>Marcus Gavius Apicius</em>, who lived in ancient Rome sometime in the 1st century AD on Amazon.com?<br /><br />Everything take place within 5 stages:<br /><br /><ol><li><strong>The Gathering</strong> (For the mind to gather its raw material. This process is meant to develop an intimate knowledge of the client. In advertising, a creative will seek to gain <em>specific knowledge</em> about the product and <em>general knowledge</em> about life and events that will help him come up with his idea which will be from a <em>new combination</em> of elements.)<br /></li><strong></strong><br /><li><strong>The Mastication</strong> (It is the process of masticating these materials, Now that you have gathered and felt bits of information, you are seeking for the relationship, coming up with partial ideas, a synthesis where everything come together like a puzzle, as Young says.)<br /></li><strong></strong><br /><li><strong>The Digestion</strong> (That's the cool part where you let everything sit on the back burner for a while. You just drop everything and your sub-conscious mind does all the work for you, as your digestive system does when you just finished your plate.)<br /></li><strong></strong><br /><li><strong>The Revelation</strong> (Where as you constantly think about it and finally the idea shows up out of nowhere.)<br /></li><strong></strong><br /><li><strong>The Polishing</strong> (This is as Young describes "the cold gray morning after", as you have to test your idea in the real world, and usually as you receive criticism, you find that your original idea might not be as marvelous as you thought it would be. But don't give up, as you do your <em>post-mortem</em> on the prototype's first trial, you soon discover that it has self-expanding qualities and you can still build on it to develop something of practical usefulness as Young calls it.) </li></ol><p><strong>My point:</strong><br />Everybody can learn about how to generate ideas and it works. Take it from a guy that's been using that very recipe for the past 8 years, and cool thing is that learning the process doesn’t take longer than a taxi ride.<br /><br />David Morin B.A.V.<br />Brand Artist<br /><a href="http://www.getapowerplay.com/">http://www.getapowerplay.com/</a></p>David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-74264376826035624692008-12-07T16:58:00.000-08:002008-12-08T17:28:54.096-08:00WTH is a good logo? Show me!There’s plenty of blogs out there to speak about the technical aspects of a logo so I chose to set apart speaking about its relevant content.<br /><br />There are lots of ideas and magic story about what makes a good logo and what doesn’t. One thing for sure, your brand isn’t your logo but your logo is part of your brand….. WTH??? The logo is part of your brand because it is the symbolic embodiment of all the values associated to your company, service or product. A good logo makes a big part of your brand image, and even if your brand image won’t make you sell, it will certainly help you breaking in the market you want to conquer.<br /><br /><strong>A logo isn’t meant to be fine art. </strong><br /><br />A logo is meant to be representative of who you are, what you do and why I should care (Unique Selling proposition), not an open expression of the mind of Van Gogh or its author.<br /><br /><strong>A good logo is meant to cost more than lunch money.</strong><br /><br />As said earlier, a logo is the symbolic embodiment of YOUR brand, of who YOU are, of what YOU do and what differentiates YOU. Since the sole purpose of branding is to make you different among your competitors and not designing something just for the sake of it, if you are a small business owner and you are in a mission of finding THE cheapest deal around, be mindful of a one things; there’s a reason why a logo is meant to cost more than lunch money.<br /><br />A good logo requires substantial effort: research, competitive analysis, creative brainstorming, sketches, and finalization based on the client’s and their customers’ feedback. With a $49 budget, however, it's likely the designer will produce something generic, and even resort to non-proprietary clip art that could easily appear in other logos.<br /><br />Even if Carolyn Davidson in 1971charged only $35 to design the famous Nike swoosh, it is important to acknowledge that she was a student and her hourly rate was $2 (meaning that it took her 17 hours to design something as simple as a Swoosh). The Swoosh as simple as it looks is very meaningful. It represents the wing in the famous statue of the Greek Goddess of victory, Nike and has become one of the most recognized symbols in the world today. Thanks to Carolyn’s research and sketching time.<br /><br />Someone with a $49 budget shouldn't expect more than one hour from a professional design service, or will use a foreign service that unfortunately will know very little about the audience and the business. Yes, you might be on a tight budget, as most people starting a business are, but your image and brand should not be a place to cut corners and you should use somebody local with a solid portfolio who ideally can physically go on site to get a feel of your business. Don't jump too high when you see the price as you pay for what you get. Remember that there's a reason why Brad Pitt costs more than Chuck Norris (No offence to anyone).<br /><br /><strong>Elements of a logo:</strong><br /><br />I will not spend too much time in detailing every elements of the logo but just know that all of the four main components are equally important and all play a crucial role in making the logo successful in being; A. Representative of the company, service or product, B. Appealing to the right audience and C. Being esthetically pleasing.<br /><br /><em>The Signature:</em> The font style, size and kerning express specific values and characteristics we want to attribute to the logo.<br /><br /><em>The Icon/Avatar:</em> The icon or avatar is meant to give the audience an extra clue of what the company does and what it stands for. Let’s pretend that all the sudden a petroleum company wishes to win over environmentally aware consumers and starts to invest in renewable energy. To show the company's commitment to the environment and solar power, they decide to green their brand image (which is a great idea). They have a gross budget of $200 millions to spend so they go to Ogilvy & Mather, one of the most prestigious branding guys around, and the creative team develop some kind of organic shape that clearly represent the company’s new purpose and activities by a mixing a flower and a sun with tones white, yellow and green.<br /><br /><em>The sub-liner:</em> The sub-liner is meant to give little more information about the company’s activities such in the case of Apple. Even if the word Apple is very rich in analogies for Steve Jobs invention; tribute to Sir Isaac Newton, symbol of the forbidden knowledge in Christian theology (BTW, did you know that the Apple 1 was selling for $666… something to sip on), the name doesn’t give away a single clue on what the company is all about. To overcome this handicap, they attached the word “Computers” to the name (as a sub-liner) that ties everything together.<br /><br /><em>The tagline:</em> The tag line is usually the starting point of the creative campaign. It is meant to highlight the main benefit that differentiates the company from the rest of the world. If we use the example of that illusive petroleum company again, Ogilvy & Mather’s writers might come up with something around the lines of “Beyond Petroleum” as a tagline (for those who didn’t get it yet, I was referring to BP petroleum).<br /><br /><strong>A real life case of study:<br /></strong><br />Recently, I took over the creation of a logo for a newly formed company named Mistra. Mistra is a direct marketing company which uses a new technology called “Purl”. Purl can create personalized mail and email campaigns for each and every client stored in a company's data-base. The software analyses the company's database and finds a path from its clients buying habits.<br /><br />Our client already picked the name Mistra. Mistra is a pretty name but also is a serious handicap to effectively communicate what the company is all about since (as for Apple), it doesn’t link to anything related to the nature of their business (as opposed to MicroSoft which is a built up name mixing the words microcomputers and software). In such a cases, the challenge resides in creating a strong storyline behind the name and its visual representation that will justify its use.<br /><br /><strong>The creative equation:</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />Besides being a pretty word, Mistra is everything but meaningless. It is also a Greek fortified city founded in 1249 to protect Sparta during the crusades. The name then hides a possible creative direction, through its medieval heritage. The middle age has a rich iconography which offers us a vast playground with his kings, knights, castles etc.<br /><br />Since medieval age is filled with heroic battles, we can easily find a common ground between marketing and middle age with the word “strategy” (as in "military strategy" and "marketing strategy"). Using chess as a theme, could effectively express the medieval roots of the name and the strategy.<br /><br />Because of the noble nature of the theme, a font featuring serifs would probably best reinforce all the above.<br /><br />As a sub-liner, to give an extra clue to the audience about the company’s activities and what makes them unique, I went with; “Analytic Data-Marketing” since analytic is what truly sets them apart from the rest of data-marketers.<br /><br />For the tagline, as being starting point for the creative campaign and highlight the company’s USP (Unique Selling Proposition), I went with “Play Smarter”. It ties very well with the logo’s theme and highlight the main benefit of their product; make a smarter use of your data-base.<br /><br /><strong>The Result:</strong><br /><br />By keeping a strong emphasis on high relevance for each and every one of its aspects, as simple as is it, the result is effective and will serve the company’s purpose for the 5 to 10 upcoming years.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277219429775805090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 247px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXROvLR4VGmr611R6LQz7sc0HFdR5x3bya_91RXr5zir90hNuCZv5cvHUf79OJtyWHa0eRNl1CjRixGH6mtKIy63jTDJ0fCFPPJR8lA0GB-6_XG0NHUi2hRh6UgPrkQYggR1gZ04ibrM/s320/Mistra-1.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br />David Morin <em>B.A.V.</em><br />Brand Artist<br /><a href="http://www.getapowerplay.com/">http://www.getapowerplay.com/</a>David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-75092116601452549412008-12-01T22:54:00.000-08:002008-12-04T15:01:13.875-08:00“There's a crisis".... should I Iower my prices?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9N4vf0mUI-I4MgCxiv0HewzaYWPDr1ZbTpuWBNy6B7dEnfwSF5VQ-ghy7zkwHgvEQyFfnciJhdNOXWUx2w_L_dA9qlQ01be_J5Cmw8T1o4jt2HCy5nn18VlOzOoTPsu4d49DbqmX7xE/s1600-h/Positioning.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275085065369265090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 220px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9N4vf0mUI-I4MgCxiv0HewzaYWPDr1ZbTpuWBNy6B7dEnfwSF5VQ-ghy7zkwHgvEQyFfnciJhdNOXWUx2w_L_dA9qlQ01be_J5Cmw8T1o4jt2HCy5nn18VlOzOoTPsu4d49DbqmX7xE/s320/Positioning.jpg" border="0" /></a>Before even thinking of lowering your prices, take a few moments and educate yourself on the basics of positioning. Everybody heard about it, everybody has an idea about what it is but very few people actually know how crucial it is for the success of your business as a small business owner. Unfortunately for most small business owners, the whole concept of having a better product selling for cheaper isn't always the answer to attract good business. See, there's a big game of perception out there that you have to study and understand before putting a price tag on your service or product.<br /><br />I remember a few years ago, my firm and I tried to help a client in the fitness equipment industry. He was ill by what I call the “SBOR, The small business owner reflex” or syndrome in some cases. He had an edge over its competition; he was more flexible, had less overhead and a better product he was selling for half price. In theory that should have done the trick right? WRONG!!!!! He was struggling.<br /><br />See for every product, has a psychological price tag attached to it. This price tag will determine how we perceive a product and to what category it belongs to; entry level, intermediate or high end. When you introduce a product to the market, there’s a few thing you need to take into consideration. <div><br /><div>Before anything if you didn’t do it yet, please do some research and know where you belong in the market. A price isn’t simply, “I have a product, it costs xyz to make, I can sell it for whatever so let’s do it and we’ll be rich!” Determining where you belong in the market is a price VS quality issue and has very little to do with your true cost (from a perception point of view). Here is a simple tool that will help you figuring where you belong. Use the chart above by positioning your competitors using price VS quality comparison and then yourself and sip on it for a moment. </div><div><br />In a lot of cases, that simple exercise was enough to pin point why some people had a hard time to penetrate a market. If your price is too low or too high considering the quality of your offer compared to the rest of the market, you will end up creating disappointment in the mind of your consumer because you won't be in line their expectations. </div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Skeptic?</strong></div><div>Use the simple but yet universal “Ketchup” analogy… it works every time. Study your own buying habits, everybody is human and we all shop the same way. Let’s say you need ketchup because you are having a barbecue for Sunday Night Football, you rush to the local grocery store, get to the condiment aisle and locate the bottle of ketchup Heinz. Tag price is $2.99, you grab it and then you are having a second thought because (you are on a budget). You browse around to see if there would be anything cheaper and find a low end brand selling for $0.99. The packaging looks awfully cheap, from a name brand you never heard of and you’re thinking: “There is no way that stuff can be the same as Ketchup because there is too much of a difference (and you are probably right). Disappointed, you browse some more and find the store’s home brand selling for $2.15. You grab it; compare bottles, label, ingredients, size and everything looks pretty much the same as ketchup (your reference for quality tomato sauce). In your mind, it makes sense to get an equally valuable product for $0.84 cheaper since you don’t have to pay for the brand name. The difference is significant enough for you to change your behavior and consider this alternative but not outrageous so your product gives the wrong perception and keep you from making the sale. </div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Still Skeptic?</strong><br />Here's another example, let's pretend we are back in 1989 and Toyota is coming on the market with a car that is exactly the same as a Mercedes but costs only $35,000. Would you believe it? Maybe at the first glance, you might have say yeaaah duhhhh! But then, you would probably had a second thought telling yourself “wait a minute, Mercedes cost at least xyz so how in the world am I gonna have an equal valued product for so cheap… and plus it has the tag Toyota. Toyota makes great cars but it surly doesn’t compare to Mercedes, at least the feel wouldn't be the same”. Now let’s say Toyota introduces a luxury line of vehicles calles Lexus. It’s supposed to be as refined as Mercedes but since the line is less known, it sells for $10,000 less. Now it makes perfect sense right? The “Ketchup” analogy, works every time, guess how Korean cars were able to make it in North America.</div><div><br /><strong>My point</strong></div><div>Belong at the right place. If you need to be cheaper, be it but maybe not that cheap. Find what will be significant without affecting your brand image. If you have to go higher, be also careful to stay in line with customers expectations.<br /><br /><strong>David Morin<br /></strong>Brand Artist<br />www.getapowerplay.com </div></div>David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2763911309401709663.post-19574621120175696922008-11-25T16:30:00.000-08:002008-11-25T17:23:43.657-08:00Take advantage of the recession to build your businessIt’s incredible how sometimes people seems to be hold back when it comes to branding. They often think branding is reserved for multi-million dollar companies, not realizing how good brand image can make them breach market. I can understand why small companies are not to warm at the idea of reinvesting in a new website or brand image after everything we’ve been witnessing in the last couple of month. The only thing is this; know that economic downturns are most probably the best thing that can happen for small businesses to grow some more market shares. Skeptic? Keep reading<br /><br /><strong>Flexibility<br /></strong>An entrepreneur one day decide to put a business together. he is A. Driven by the dream of putting his invention on the market, or B. He’s been working for the corporate America for a ridiculous amount of years in a given field, and somehow figured a way to do better and smarter business. Of course due to a huge lack of flexibility from the corporation that employs him nobody wants to listen to him and take the risk of trying something different. He then decides to go out there, get funded and put together an amazing new solution that will cut by half the cost of the traditional way of doing xyz. That being said, that entrepreneur has a tremendous advantage on the big guys that rule his industry; better offer, better cost-effective ratio and most of all FLEXIBILITY. The only thing that can stop him from disrupting the market and going after the big accounts is of course, CREDIBILITY!!!!<br /><br /><strong>Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes</strong><br />What does your prospect want???? If he his buying from you, he wants to know that you will still be around next year for customer support. Your prospect wants to know, especially right now with our financial meltdown, that every penny spent buying your solution will be an investment, not an expense. Nobody, you neither your prospect can afford to make a bad move in this economic context. So if you are bidding against GE or IBM, you better be ready. Your pitch and your presentation material must be flawless and at least match or even better overcome the visual quality of those big guys. Remember that breaching in is a game of perception.<br /><br /><strong>Skeptic?</strong><br />The strategy might seem simple but simple enough to work and will help you build your way up. Effective brand image will buy you a foot in. No doubt. Now you just have to make sure your offer is compelling enough.<br /><br /><strong>Still have doubts?<br /></strong>Study your own buying habits, everybody is human and we all shop the same way, especially if you are on a budget. Let’s say you need ketchup because you are having a barbecue for Sunday Night Football, you rush to the local grocery store, get to the condiment aisle and locate the bottle of ketchup Heinz. Tag price is $2.99, you grab it and then you are having a second thought because (you are on a budget). You browse around to see if there would be anything cheaper and find a low end brand selling for $0.99. The packaging looks awfully cheap, from a name brand you never heard of and you’re thinking: “There is no way that stuff can be the same as Ketchup because there is too much of a difference (and you are probably right). Disappointed, you browse some more and find the store’s home brand selling for $2.15. You grab it; compare bottles, label, ingredients, size and everything looks pretty much the same as ketchup (your reference for quality tomato sauce). In your mind, it makes sense to get an equally valuable product for $0.84 cheaper since you don’t have to pay for the brand name. With the same amount of money you would have spent for your favorite brand, you can add a pack of gum so you can get even more for your money! Seems like a good deal so before you know it you are out of the store telling all your friends about the great deal you just had.<br /><br />Guess what, your prospect shop exactly the same way. In tough times, they will spend more time than ever researching online for a better deal for whatever they want to buy. Revamp your overall image now and turn that tough downturn into an opportunity to finally make a break in your industry.<br /><br /><strong>My point</strong><br />Billions of dollars are still switching hands every day; money is out there so go get it. Just remember the ketchup analogy. Study your competitors and how they do it to make yourself irresistible.<br /><br />David Morin<br />Brand Artist<br /><a href="http://www.getapowerplay.com/">www.getapowerplay.com</a>David Morinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110588907870660417noreply@blogger.com0