Category: Tips

17 MAY

Good Marketing Starts With the “Menu”

Posted by Armando at 6:00 pm 0 Comments

Imagine this: Your mouth has been watering all morning for a good fetucini alfredo. You quickly google for the closest italian restaurant and find a new spot called “Papa Mario’s” that’s just opened right down the street. Pulling into the parking lot you spot the sign with their logo (a smiling chef tossing a pizza crust in the air). Walking through the door you’re greeted warmly with, “Welcome to Papa Mario’s!”. You’re quickly seated. An usher takes your drink order while handing you a menu. When you open the menu you’re taken by surprise. You begin reading the menu items; Egg Rolls, Spring Rolls, Deep Fried Wontons, Egg Drop Soup, Sweet and Sour Chicken and Rice! Keep Reading

Categories: Blog, Branding, Communication, Tips

12 MAY

4 Ways to Maintain Your “Social Brand”

Posted by Armando at 1:21 pm 0 Comments

Based on the statistics, 9 out of 10 of the you that are reading this post are probably using either one or more than one of the following: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Friend Feed or MySpace. What you may not realize is that within those services rests the integrity of something that we call your “social brand”. Just like a corporate brand, your social brand is a public representation of who you are. Whether you like it or not, you live in a glass house when it comes to your online identity. Keep Reading

Categories: Blog, Branding, Tips

10 AUG

We can lead a horse to water, but YOU make him drink

Posted by Armando at 7:03 am 0 Comments

In it’s most basic sense, Successful Marketing lets potential customers/clients know about your products or services in a creative and memorable way. Your marketing should be well-thought out, purposeful in implementation, and focused in execution. That’s a no-brainer, right? But what happens when your marketing works? What then? Successful Marketing gets potential clients into contact with you. You (and your staff) are then charged with turning them into actual clients or customers.

Your worst case scenario is to successfully create a demand for your products or services when those products or services are not ready to be sold or offered. Or, as more often is the case, when those products or services aren’t as cool or professional as you marketed them to be. Think about it- We have all responded to good marketing that left us asking, “Is this all there is?” or saying, “This is not what I was led to believe it was going to be”. If that is the case with your organization, you have invested (or, rather, wasted) time, money and effort in telling your potential clients/customers that you care more about getting them than keeping them.

Keep Reading

Categories: Branding, Tips

23 MAR

Branded House vs. House of Brands vs. House Blend

Posted by Armando at 8:16 pm 2 Comments

In many organizations there is a silent war taking place. It may not even be a battle that you are aware of. It is the struggle between consistent branding and diversification. One side focuses on the categorization of a single branding while the other two focus of the branding of multiple categories. Believe it or not, you probably come into contact with all three branding architectures every day: Keep Reading

Categories: Branding, Tips

19 JAN

"Good artists copy. Great artist steal."

Posted by Armando at 6:41 pm 0 Comments

Last week we focused on the importance of clearly defined project leadership. This week we will be focusing on the negative impact of mainstream branding and how to overcome it.

Pablo Picasso, one of the most misunderstood and unique artists of the 20th century once said, “Good artists copy. Great artists steal.” What did he mean? Why would a man that affected the artistic world in such a unique way say such a thing? Google it, and you’ll find plenty of interpretations and opinions. Keep Reading

Categories: Design, Tips

13 JAN

Take me to your leader

Posted by Armando at 3:52 am 0 Comments

During the next couple of weeks we are going to be focusing on a subject that has baffled the most brilliant of minds; How to avoid a branding disaster (aka. How to have a successful branding campaign). Over the past decade we’ve learned to spot a few, avoidable signs that could lead you to wasting an incredible amount of time and money. As they say…it’s not rocket science. But, it is only learned through experience.

First, we’re going to start with the very foundational principles and lead up to the more specific guidelines to help you get the most out of your campaign. Keep Reading

Categories: Design, Tips