Posts filed under 'Creative'
July 3rd, 2008
This weekend, we all feel patriotic and many businesses are likely to be decorating their spaces - or filling their promotions - with flags and related flag merchandise and displays. But before you err on the side of what looks good versus how to actually display the American flag properly, review these guidelines about how to display a flag indoors or out.
And if you’ve already decorated or printed your fliers, change what you can and remember the rest for next year because there is in fact a right way and a wrong way to use the American flag and its likeness.
Oh, and don’t shoot your eye out with illegal fireworks. Have a happy and safe holiday!
June 30th, 2008
We have recently been taking a look at trends, not only in design but across the board in media and branding strategy. Pandora, (www.pandora.com) the ‘create your own radio station’ site, comes to mind immediately as a shining example of efficiency and simplicity. Mind you, simple on the front end, not behind the scenes where someone attached characteristics to thousands of songs after listening to each one. So, making note here, they spent time and much forethought on the back end before creating something that seems seamless and simple. You go to the site, type in one name and it creates your play list in a clean, visually-pleasing screen with no fuss or confusion. It is just efficient and I’m hooked already.
Bill Gardner writing for Logolounge.com on the trends in ’08 logo designs highlights several styles and points out, “There’s an overall move toward cleanliness - in type, in line, in color - as if ideas are getting more and more succinct. It may be an indication of the degree of seriousness with which branding is now regarded. And less is more common: less calligraphy, less Photoshop tricks, less artificial highlights.” (Read more at http://www.logolounge.com/articles/default.asp?ArticleID=607 )
So it seems, we move toward simple. It used to be that with the onslaught of cool Photoshop tricks it was trendy to “throw all you’ve got at it” and create something complex and intricate above all, just because you could. Though getting back to basics is not rocket science, really, who doesn’t want the acclaim of a simple swoosh, the recall factor of a golden ‘M’ or the punch factor of a little white apple. The iconic brands did not get there overnight or by chance, but they did build an empire with a simple logo. Perhaps in your design strategies this year – for logo, email, blogs, web site – think simple, think clean.
June 25th, 2008
As KMK Media’s graphic designer, some of my time is often spent educating clients about graphic design and how it works. Design is a critical piece in any successful campaign; here are some tips about how you can work effectively with any graphic designer to make your pieces better and more effective:
1. Know your budget. The size, layout and print quality of the piece are all affected by the amount of money you have to spend.
2. Know your project. Is it a brochure, a trade show display or a postcard? Who is your target audience? Will it be mailed or handed out? All of these elements will dramatically impact your design work from the start.
3. Planning and forecasting. Work with your designer up front to discuss concepts and goals for the piece(s) and then work with him/her to set up a realistic production calendar with milestones and a “drop dead” print date. (A word to the wise - it’s often easier to build in a few “cushion” days to any print deadline you may have and be sure to count holidays, when printers and even designers are closed.)
4. Feedback…and then some. Working with a designer is the ultimate give-and-take. We need - and expect - constructive feedback throughout the process. If you don’t like something, tell us up front. It’s much easier to make a change in the early stages than the day before it’s supposed to go to the printer.
5. Final copy first. The design phase is not the time to be doing massive rewrites of copy. Make sure the copy you submit has the sign-off of all parties involved. Small text changes are OK but massive rewrites will only delay the process and likely cost you more in design fees.
6. Changes are OK…to a point. If you find yourself going back and forth with a designer more than 2 or 3 times on a project, likely it’s because you were unclear in your direction at the beginning of the project or too timid in your criticism. Design is a dialog and it only works when both sides are talking to each other. Again, more changes = more delays and higher costs.
7. Keep an open mind. Graphic designers do this for a living - be open to their ideas and suggestions. Oftentimes, we can suggest a better way to design a piece so that it gets the results you’re after.
For examples of good design, visit Creativity Online…a great source for the leading edge in advertising creative.
June 23rd, 2008
Not to be outdone by the Superbowl, NBC Universal is cashing in on the August 8 start of the Summer Olympics in Beijing. According to this piece in the June 19 USA Today, sponsors have already shelled out $40 million just to be part of the action and may likely spend upwards of half a billion dollars to be part of the pageantry that mark the modern-day Olympic games.
A dozen — including U.S. companies such as Coca-Cola (KO), General Electric (GE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Kodak (EK) and Visa (V)— have spent about $40 million just to be top-level Games sponsors and will spend up to 10 times that to exploit the tie-in with ads, promotions and events in the USA, China and other world markets.
“It’s a lot of money but it’s got breadth and depth and will run all summer,” says Kevin Lane Keller, professor of marketing at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. “The potential is there. It’s what marketers decide to do with it.”
Here’s an example of what to expect. Visa is going with a theme of “Go World” (at least right now).
Saw a TV version of this - narrated by Morgan Freeman - over the weekend during the diving and gymnastics trials:
June 10th, 2008
MSNBC.com’s media blog - Test Pattern - is again hosting its annual “Best Of” television ad competition. It is an informal affair driven generally by user comments posted online, in other blogs and in other ways I’ve yet to formally discern. (Complete ground rules here).
It seems the Discovery Channel’s “I Love the World” promo is picking up steam this year:
Last year’s winners were:
2007’s Worst Ad: Sour Skittles “Milking Man” ad
2007’s Best Ad: PetSmart Bulldog puppy ad
Advertising moves the national conversation and, for better or worse, is one of the common denominators in our culture (How many people watch the Superbowl now just for the ads?). So, take a peek at some of the ads that are floating around and join in the conversation.
PS - Taking its place in the viral litany of add-ins, and for those Deadliest Catch geeks like me, Discovery Channel also lets you download the “Boom-di-ada” song as a ringtone, MP3 or images from the campaign as wallpaper. Check it out here.
May 14th, 2008
How much of an impact has modern marketing had in the 2008 Democratic primary? Plenty. Barack Obama’s campaign has made quantum leaps in terms of “branding” a candidate. From his free-standing “O” logo to the sheer marvel that is his interactive campaign website - check it out at www.barackobama.com - he is changing the landscape both in terms of politics but also in terms of how political campaigns are run.
Here’s an interview that Crain’s Chicago Business did of the guy who created the Obama logo (click picture below). He talks about the elements that were used in the logo and what they mean, how the campaign has adapted it for other uses and even the font they used:
May 8th, 2008
The Webby Awards honor excellence on the Internet, including Web sites, online film and video, mobile Web sites and interactive advertising from around the world. Stephen Colbert and will.i.am earned top honors at this year’s Webby Awards, announced Tuesday.
Colbert, the irreverent host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, was named person of the year thanks to the “innovative way he has used the Internet to interact with fans,” a Webby rep said in a statement. One highlight? During his aborted presidential campaign, the host’s “One Million Strong for Stephen T. Colbert” Facebook group attracted more than 78 members per minute in its first week.
“The Web is essentially improvisational. … The Internet is the shortest, hardest wall against which your voice will echo back,” Colbert said. “It’s a big place, but, boy, you get an echo back really fast.”
- Steven Colbert
Well said, Mr. Colbert. Especially when it comes to marketing and your message, evidenced by Colbert’s attracting 78 members per minute. Just when you thought no one was paying attention, think again. Be prepared when you put content out there because the ‘echo back’ will happen immediately. But for a good picture of who has got it right and to ignite your creativity, take a look at the winners (chosen from 8,000 entries), http://www.webbyawards.com/.
Some of the WEBBY winners:
Blog-Political: Huffington Post
Blog-Cultural: PostSecret
Magazine: National Geographic
Best mobile news site: CNN.com (voted by People’s Voice)
Newspaper: NYTimes.com
Politics: FactCheck.org
Community: Flickr
Weird: Passive-Aggressive Notes (Academy), I Can Has Cheezburger? (Popular Vote)
Social Networking: Flock The Social Web Browser (Academy), Facebook (Popular Vote)
Comedy - Long Form or Series: “Wainy Days”
May 6th, 2008
I was in line at the grocery store the other day and was reminded of a fundamental truth in advertising. People still circle ads with red markers, cut them out, paste them on the fridge, carry them inside wallets, give ads away, put ads on the walls, etc. Naturally, it is in advertisers’ best interests to encourage this behavior because “bookmarking”, a term used to describe the above behavior, gives the ad another chance to do its job, which is why we often see the dotted “cut here” lines around ads.
Fast forward to the future (now)… How will this translate when company’s develop online advertising campaigns? The problem with advertising on the web today is that while the digital medium itself provides almost unlimited mechanisms for archiving, manipulating and retrieving information, most online ads have all the fleeting properties of a TV commercial.
So what are advertisers to do? Our goal is to make it easy for customers to translate electronic ads into redeemable coupons they can use at point-of-sale. For example, we could equip online ads with a clipping mechanism — a small scissor icon that, when clicked, would produce a printer-friendly stand-alone version of the ad with extended information for future reference. Online ad networks could offer a repository of all offers they serve and a link that says “view more offers from this vendor” or “view similar offers”. We could even offer cell phone ads, most cell phones have photo capabilities, companies could send ads to customers via cell phone that could then be scanned at point of purchase.
May 5th, 2008
According to a monthly survey by IAG Research and posted last week on Ad Age’s website, Philadelphia Cream Cheese scored the most-recalled new TV ad in March for it’s “1/3 Less Fat Philly Personal Trainer” ad:
UPDATE: Here’s the 2nd most-recalled ad by Cheez-It:
Rounding out the Top 10 of Most-Recalled spots were commercials by: Target, Lowe’, Volkswagen, Dannon, Travelers Insurance, Cialis, Expedia and Pizza Hut. These were ads whose viewers could recall within 24 hours the brand of an ad they were exposed to during the normal course of viewing TV.
Meanwhile, the most-LIKED commercial was a new one featuring a pink peanut M&M being attacked by squirrels while reading a magazine on a park bench (no luck finding a link to that one yet, however).
See the complete list here.
March 31st, 2008
One study showed that award-winning commercials - like the one below by Nike - engaged viewers within 1.5 seconds, versus the traditional 5 to 7 seconds.
Companies like NeuroFocus (in which ratings giant Nielsen bought a stake last year) and EmSense are some of the leaders of this type of work. More in-depth information is available at the Advertising Research Federation, which is hosting its annual conference this week in New York.
