While print marketing should not be relied upon exclusively in today’s communications world, direct mail campaigns are still an important ingredient in an effective marketing mix.

Packaging. It’s something most people don’t necessarily think about, perhaps partly due to the fact that it is so overwhelmingly pervasive. Even just picking up groceries for the week, in a single forum we are subjected to the end results of thousands of individual design and branding endeavours; some good, some bad, and the rest forgettable.

In addition to taking advantage of outstanding growth opportunities, there are several factors driving the increasing interest in taking brands global…

It’s part of our job to educate our clients on the importance and advantages of excellent design. At the same time, it must be said that effective brochure composition requires more than (just) compelling design. In planning your promotional materials, you need to pay as much attention to content as you do to visuals – and vice versa.

Building a strong brand takes commitment, time and hard work, but the result is one of the most valuable assets a company can own. That said, not all assets are static, and your brand image is no exception.

In building your brand, you are creating a new definition with the aim of making it a household name. When people think of tissue, they instantly think of Kleenex. That’s the sort of association you want. Instant identification in the mind of the customer is not enough though… you also need that identification to represent competence, quality, authenticity and credibility. At the same time, your brand needs to remain dynamic, relevant, and at the top of mind while retaining its established heritage and identity.

In the end, the message your brand puts forward must ring true to your business, in its current state, its history, and in what you hope for the future. When your brand image doesn’t represent the message you want to convey, it’s time to consider making a change.

Question:
What does excellent trade show signage look like? Is it simple? Colorful? Digital (narrowcasting)? Branded?
Jan-Burger Troost, Owner, Wester ExpoGraphics

Answer:
Your exhibit and trade show booth graphic elements must powerfully reflect who you are and draw visitors to your booth in the midst of a loud, crowded exhibit hall filled with distractions and competitors…

Most of our readers own their own business, or at least run the marketing department. And for the most part, they know that the concept of branding has a much farther reach than just their company. But maybe you’re not the CEO of your own business – yet – do you really need to be thinking about issues like branding?

In recent years, the concept of personal branding has been getting more and more attention. The basic premise of this is that over the course of your career, you would benefit from creating “Brand You” as a way to differentiate yourself from other job seekers, business developers, vendors, and people in general.

Graphic designers are intimately familiar with the all-important portfolio and accompanying self-promotion piece. After the big pitch and presentation, designers and firms provide prospective clients with an SPP, often a bound promotional brochure or catalogue highlighting their best work and success stories/case studies, as well as a list of awards and some basic reminder company information.

Now, all business owners are familiar with the corporate brochure, but rarely is it utilized in the same way by companies in non-creative fields. Most corporate brochures end up serving either as extended ads (too obviously self-serving, unless the ad is the purpose), or dry company profiles (which are, well, dry). I often suggest a more creative approach to my clients… a “show” rather than “tell”.

In today’s increasingly competitive marketplace, there is a growing awareness of the importance of branding and design in moving product off the shelves. As a project manager (or designer), if you aren’t already thinking green when you think about your product packaging, you should be.

How strong is your website’s immediate appeal? According to a Carleton University study published earlier this year in the academic journal Behaviour & Information Technology, web designers have only 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression.

In less than the blink of an eye, your internet users have already formed an opinion about your website and by extension, your company. Participants in three studies were first asked to rate a series of web pages according to their aesthetic appeal after viewing them for 50 milliseconds, and were then asked to examine each site more carefully and provide a new rating. Confirming the old saying that a first impression is often a lasting one, the researchers found no significant difference between the two ratings. This means that in that first 50 milliseconds, your audience has already sussed you out.