Random Thoughts: Printer Intervention

December 2, 2010 //

I’m sitting at my desk today getting ready to print out the latest project I’m working on. I hit Apple-P (Control-P for you Windows users), tap the return key and move on to my next job. Suddenly the printer icon starts flashing, so I click on it. This is the message I get: “Print Error; Intervention Needed; Printer is out of paper.”

My computer actually told me that an intervention was needed, like the printer was an alcoholic who had gotten out of control. So I gathered everyone in the office and we confronted the printer. We said we knew it was out of paper. Of course it denied the whole thing. We knew denial was the first step, so we kept pushing. An hour later, after many tears and toner spilled, we put more paper in our little HP buddy and we were good to go.

Porter County Museum of History

August 16, 2010 //

Twice a year, V as in Victor donates services to a local non-profit in need of design or marketing. Last year, we donated time to CCA and to the Northwest Indiana Division of March of Dimes. Our first recipient this year is the Porter County Museum of History.

A few issues have plagued the museum. It has been known by several names over the years, including the Museum of History, the Historical Museum, The Old Jail Museum. It has also had inconsistent hours of operation. Due to these factors, awareness of the museum was minimal. My initial conversation with Kevin Pazour, the Executive Director, opened the door to needs the museum had beyond a new logo; Kevin’s initial concern. The museum needed to create an awareness. Kevin has been working diligently to revamp the museum from the inside out, overseeing a grand remodel to bring the museum back to its former glory and it needed a look and brand to match. Read the rest of this entry »

Random Thoughts: Genie in a Bottle

August 7, 2010 //

Let’s say I find bottle with a genie in it. The genie pops out and offers me a wish. What happens if I say, “I wish you wouldn’t grant me any wishes.” Is he obligated to not grant my wish? By doing so has he granted my wish, therefore negating the whole thing? Or will his head just explode?

Glossing Over 850 Ads

July 8, 2010 //

Over the course of one day, the average American is exposed to at least 850 commercial messages: billboards, television commercials, business cards, delivery trucks, internet ads, junk mail, t-shirts, Facebook links or telemarketer phone calls. That’s over 300,000 messages every year.

Are your marketing efforts different enough to cut through the clutter? Every company has their own point of differentiation. McDonald’s and Burger King sell the same products at the same price points, but each is known for a different specialty. Burger King flame broils, McDonald’s doesn’t. McDonald’s is open 24 hours, Burger King isn’t. Some companies have more than one point of differentiation. What’s yours? What are you doing to set yourself apart from your competition? And what are you doing to promote it? Read the rest of this entry »

Non-Traditional Advertising: March of Dimes

May 5, 2010 //

Can I tell you how much we love Victor Garcia at the Northwest Indiana March of Dimes? Here is a man that starts every brainstorming session with “Let’s do something different.” When you own a marketing and design agency, you don’t hear those words too often. What you do hear is, “If my competitor is doing it, I need it too.” Not Victor though.

Back in September of last year, he gave us complete freedom to transform the advertising for the annual March of Dimes Chef’s Event. Matt and I took this as a challenge and we came up with a nontraditional approach in a place thought to be the most traditional of traditional media – newspapers. While most advertisers think within the four lines of their ad space, we approached the Times and asked, “How can we get away with coloring in the paper.” Yes, I said color, as in my three year old was about to make an ad. After the puzzled look we got (which many of you probably have at this moment) from our Times rep, we explained that the March of Dimes is all about children and what better way to express that than to use a childlike approach to an ad.

March of Dimes Signature Chefs Newspaper Ad

The idea was simple. We pulled in the chefs with a picture, wrote a little story about the event, and let my three year old draw crayon stick figures (that we placed into the ad) who held the chefs’ hands to show how they’re all working together for babies. One little idea sparked a slew of conversation throughout the various March of Dimes offices, as well as locally by those in attendance.

The next time you start thinking about a very traditional media, try to see things differently. I guess I turn to my three year old. Try turning to your inner child, if you’re not as lucky to have a Picasso running around your house. After all, the advertising industry was built by a bunch of three year olds in grown-up bodies.

Random Thoughts: ISTEPs and Tonka Trucks

April 29, 2010 //

I remember back in grade school, we had to take the ISTEP tests, which stood for Indiana State Testing Educational Propaganda or something the like. The upside was getting out of class for the day. The downside was that it was for an all day test. But I did walk away with some knowledge. Some of it I’ll never use in everyday conversation, but it makes for good B as in Blog fodder, such as: a baloo is a bear, a yonker is a young man and wuzzle means to mix. There was also a name for a three legged stool, but I forgot that one. Read the rest of this entry »

COFFY wants to talk about Youth Violence

April 26, 2010 //

Back in January, we were approached by COFFY, Community Organizations for Family and Youth, a about helping them promote their upcoming Youth Violence Conference on May 7th and 8th. The result launched last week with our “It’s Time To Talk About It” campaign.

COFFY, established in 2005, is comprised of over 20 community service organizations whose mission is “to build an active network that strengthens community organizations which provide opportunities for the healthy development of families and youth in the City of Gary.” While the topic of youth violence in these areas is not a new one, the way that COFFY is hoping to approach things is. Instead of believing the problem will rectify itself, the Youth Violence Conference brings the problems to the people. The conference covers 2 days, one aimed at professionals in the field in a position to directly influence the opinions of youth and the second day aimed at speaking directly to the youth in the communities. Read the rest of this entry »

Tomorrow is a big day.

April 21, 2010 //

Tomorrow is April 22. For most people, it’s just another day, but for Matt & I, it’s a little bigger than that. Tomorrow, V as in Victor celebrates its first birthday. In an economy such as this, when marketing and design budgets are often the first thing to go, we’ve not only managed to sustain ourselves, but to be profitable as well. And that is in great part to you, our clients and vendors. We want to take this opportunity to thank you for your patronage and support over the last 365 days. We know fully that if it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.

Here’s to a great first year and to many more to come.

PierogiFest.net Launches

April 15, 2010 //

In early January we posted a blog that we were celebrating the new year with pierogies. Well, on Good Friday, we launched the first portion of the site to rave reviews and almost 1,800 visitors in the last 2 weeks. We’re very proud of the site (please check it out for yourself at pierogifest.net).

Read the rest of this entry »

15 Marketing Mistakes Made by Small & Medium-Sized Businesses

April 9, 2010 //

Throwing Money Away

More often than not, small and medium-sized businesses find themselves strapped for time, understaffed, and searching for the next big marketing idea to bring in new business. We all find ourselves wearing a variety of hats, but that doesn’t mean we should cut corners or make mistakes that could hurt our businesses in the long run. To help you along the way, we’ve compiled a list of the fifteen most common marketing mistakes that businesses make.

PROBLEM 1

Copy Your Competitors

When you were a child, your mother used to say, “If everyone jumped off of a bridge, would you do it too?” That’s sound advice because when we copy our competitor’s tactics, what makes us stand out? Think about the stars for a moment. Each one is unique and has a story, but collectively we see right past them because they all look the same. So too does your marketing efforts when you copy off of everybody else.

PROBLEM 2

Where Did You Come From?

Each day a new customer walks into your business, calls your office, or emails you a question. How did they find out about you? A simple fix is to allocate source codes to each piece of advertising you produce. For example, if you’re sending out a mailing to an area that includes ten towns, create a special promotion code such as ABC1, ABC2, ABC3,… where the number tells you exactly what town they reside in. By utilizing that data, you will be able to make informed decisions on future initiatives.

PROBLEM 3

“I Need to Find More Customers Now!”

Remember the show “Let’s Make a Deal?” Monty Hall would head out into the audience and ask someone if they had a $20 bill on them and the first person to raise their hand would have the ability to play the game. Businesses play this game everyday. They take a hard earned, valuable, $20 bill and trade it in hopes for something more valuable. When you focus on new customers more than your existing customers, you’re doing the same thing. Your customers have already bought from you in the past, and that’s the hardest part. Nurture that relationship and remember the 80/20 rule where 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers. That’s where the real dollars are and not in the hopes and dreams of chance.