Category Archives: Uncategorized

Behind the scenes: An inside look at design

Posted by: | March 14, 2013 | Creativity, Design, Print

Earlier this year, The Simons Group had the opportunity to work on materials for three award galas. I love working on award materials because they are a chance to celebrate honorees and each organization as a whole.

Below are two of my favorites from 2013: an elegant trifold program for BOMA Chicago and a fun twist on IABC’s Call for Entries for the Chicago Bronze Quill Awards.

Edward Bury, our contact at BOMA Chicago, was a pleasure to work with. He had a clear vision of what he wanted, but left the creativity to us. It was important to him to have a sophisticated and classic program. He also wanted to include categories and names that weren’t included in past brochures. Space was a challenge, but with just the right organization, everything fit nicely. For the cover, I chose a striking photo of Chicago and tied everything together by using the yellows in the photo to create a subtle gradient on the inside spread.

blog-program-boma

I always enjoy designing multipage layouts, so the IABC Call for Entries was a treat. Alex Mitchell, our contact at IABC, asked that we incorporate a quill to tie back to the show’s title. To do this, I drew a few different quill silhouettes and created abstract designs by layering and varying their opacities. I carried this design element throughout the entire piece to create a uniform look. Overall, this two-color design is very clean, open and easy to read.

blog-program-iabc

Good luck to all of this year’s nominees! I’m looking forward to next year’s award season.

Have any designs inspired you lately? What elements appealed to you? Tell us about them in the comments below.

 

Don’t let spell-check make you look dumb

Posted by: | May 10, 2012 | Best Practices, due diligence, Puncutation

Spell-check is like a friend who wrecks your car and then repairs the damage to disguise the accident: It seems like she has your back, but she ultimately lets you down.

A writer sent me a draft of a magazine article he wrote recently so that he could get my feedback about the content. It was well-written and engaging, but it’s a good thing he sent it to me. He overlooked the punctuation and grammatical errors. (more…)

Your website: The great differentiator

Posted by: | March 29, 2012 | Best Practices, Blogging, Branding

Many companies are spending time and money to create customized websites that show off their products and services, and what makes them unique.  Once you get customers on your website, it helps to offer content that adds extra value. Even if clients don’t want a personal relationship with your company, they want to know you understand their needs. (more…)

An insider’s guide to getting media coverage: Part one

Posted by: | March 8, 2012 | Best Practices, Journalism, Marketing planning

Some things haven’t changed since I was a reporter. News staffs are stretched thinner than Demi Moore after her breakup with Ashton. And they’re still inundated with requests for publicity. Hundreds of press releases, story pitches, emails and phone calls cross their desks every day. Break through the clutter and get coverage for your business with a few straightforward strategies.

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Going mobile

Posted by: | February 28, 2012 | Blogging, Branding, General Business Practices

When it comes to websites, small is in. Thanks to the proliferation of smartphones, most people spend more time cruising the Internet on their phones than they do making calls. Companies are responding by creating mobile versions of their websites, making it easy to check your credit card balance, order dinner or book a vacation from your phone.

So, should your business create a mobile site? If so, what should the site include and, more importantly, how much will it cost? Read on for our crash course on all things mobile. (more…)

My brochure exists – I’ll (e)mail it to you

Posted by: | February 15, 2012 | Advertising Strategy, Best Practices, Creativity

You may ask yourself, “If my product hasn’t changed, why should I change my brochure?”

If so, ask yourself another question: Have you ever seen a 10-year-old brochure? Not only does the color fade over time, but the information also becomes stale.

As customers’ needs change, so should your marketing strategy. And it isn’t as difficult as you think – designers have the technology to create eye-catching graphics that communicate your message effectively while also highlighting your products or services.

Many businesses have steered away from physical copies of their brochures and turned to digital versions of their marketing collateral. Going electronic allows companies to post brochures or sell sheets on their websites and send information to potential customers instantly. I remember waiting three to seven business days to receive a brochure or catalog in the mail. Now, I receive them immediately and can save the materials on my computer.

By providing customers with a digital format, you’re able to reach a larger audience. In addition, you’re not limited to a certain number of printed copies if you have price constraints. Another great advantage of going electronic with your brochures is that you can adjust your content quickly when necessary.

The magic potion for getting your Zzzs

Posted by: | January 10, 2012 | Best Practices, Creativity, Uncategorized

The stresses of work, home and life can make sleep elusive. If you can’t zonk out, the hours crawl until dawn when it’s time to get up and start a new day.

The usual tricks – reading, drinking a glass of warm milk, meditation – don’t work for me. Instead of clock watching, I think about random intriguing words. It beats cleaning at 3 a.m.

Some night when your brain won’t shut down, try these on for size:

Reprobate. The neighborhood delinquent who used to pull my hair out by the handfuls and tease me mercilessly was raised by wolves. He exemplified the definition of a reprobate – a depraved or wicked person. Fascinating fact: The word was originally a verb and meant “to disapprove.” The noun was recorded in 1545.

Clink. Otherwise known as the place where they should have put the reprobate who relished making other kids cry. If this word conjures up images of Chicago “typewriters” and Packards, there’s a reason. It’s often used in old gangster movies, where the bad guy goes to “the clink.” Fascinating fact: The original clink was a prison on Clink Street in London.

Lascivious. Plunging necklines! Miniskirts! R-rated movies! At one time, all of these were considered lascivious – lustful or wanton in nature. Our perception of lewd has certainly changed. Fascinating fact: Early writers used the word to scold people for being wanton or unruly.

Moldering. The meal I ruined the other night is moldering away in the back of my refrigerator. I’m trying to convince myself it’s edible and not just a cooking experiment that went terribly awry. Moldering is smoldering’s moody cousin, and means “to crumble, disintegrate or waste away.” Fascinating fact: I should probably clean my fridge. Science projects are not a food group.

Anathema. The loser boyfriend who dumped you for your best friend isn’t a jerk. He’s an anathema – a curse on society. Fascinating fact: This word began as a positive reference to a votive offering. Over time, it became associated with damnation, excommunication and evil.

The next time you’re tossing and turning, try sampling the magic potion of word diversion. And sweet dreams!

How to brainstorm like a pro

Posted by: | December 27, 2011 | Advertising Strategy, Best Practices, Creativity

At our office, we love a good brainstorming session. We’re all comfortable with one another and unafraid to speak our minds, no matter how silly our ideas may sound at the time. Whether we’re talking social media strategy or considering a new website design, we love bouncing ideas off one another. Here are some tips that I’ve learned along the way that will make facilitating your next formal brainstorming session a breeze.

Think about who you will invite to the session. It is a good idea to have a mix of people in attendance to ensure that no stone is left unturned. People who do not have any connections to the project will think of things in a different way than those who do. Consider inviting different personality types (e.g. creative, introverts, extroverts, etc.).

Prepare a brief project summary. Send this document to your brainstorming team prior to your session. Include all relevant background and request that people research independently to come up with ideas prior to the meeting.

Don’t be judgmental. The brainstorming environment should be a safe one where people are at ease with speaking what is on their mind. You may hear some ideas that you think would never work, but you never know – allow the group to explore and free associate with one another without the worry of being ridiculed. It’s your job to ensure that negativity is not in the room. If negativity rears its ugly head, however, politely point out that the group was assembled to provide a wide variety of ideas.

Be objective. You may be the one running the session, but you have to keep your ego out of the room. Do not get married to your own ideas and try not to steer people to your way of thinking. If you already had a concrete plan in place, there would be no need to hold the brainstorming session.

Remember why you’re there. Remember that you’re trying to get a lot of fresh new ideas. Your goal should be to gather as much raw material as you can. Save wrapping these ideas into a completed package for later.

Record the session. You should have someone in charge (yourself or someone you appoint) write down all the ideas the brainstorming team generates. You can even think about recording the session in addition to taking notes to ensure that no good ideas are forgotten.

Take some time away. It’s always a good idea to allow some time to decompress after a session and then revisit your notes. This will give you and the team a chance to come back and see if those sparkling ideas are still shiny. 

I hope these tips are helpful the next time you’re tasked with getting some great ideas out of your team.  Let me know if you have any other good brainstorming suggestions – we’re always looking for fresh perspectives.

Stretch your marketing dollars

Posted by: | August 4, 2011 | Advertising Strategy, Best Practices, due diligence

DollarDo you have $1000 or $1,000,000 to spend on your marketing initiatives this year? No matter what your actual budget is, I am sure you are looking for ways to stretch your marketing dollars. Here are some easy money- and time-saving tricks that we live by at The Simons Group. Feel free to use them to keep your marketing initiatives on track and on (or maybe even under!) budget:

Keep your current customers happy
It is a commonly accepted rule that it costs less to keep your old clients happy than to keep acquiring new ones. Of course, even if you have stellar customer service, you will still lose customers. So if your focus is growth, your efforts should be divided between keeping your current customers happy and new client acquisition. You want to keep the hole in your bucket small to avoid as much leaking as possible.

Be proactive, not reactive
I am sure that most of you are already planning for your futures. You know that proactive planning for your retirement is essential if you want to maximize your enjoyment of your golden years. Unfortunately, many companies do not have this forward-thinking attitude when it comes to planning for their businesses futures. What you put in (or don’t put in) now will help determine where you are in the future. Take the time to examine your business goals and plan out your marketing initiatives by creating a flexible yearly plan. If this planning seems daunting, you can always rely on outside marketing professionals for guidance.

Bundle, bundle, bundle
So you have your marketing plan in place, and it is now time to start executing. Speak with your marketing firm to see what cost savings can be realized by bundling projects. Let’s say you need to have a series of sell sheets created for different product lines. You want each sell sheet to be unique, but they still need to look like they are part of the same family. Think about keeping the same design for each sell sheet and using imagery or colors to differentiate each product.

Get it in writing
If you have a budget that you must stick to, it is a good idea to get a detailed proposal for any hourly, project or retainer creative work in writing before starting. Read over the proposal and ask for items to be added that you want covered in the proposal before you approve it. Any reputable firm will be more than happy to do this for you, and it will help eliminate surprises down the road.

Keep track of your revisions
If you have a project proposal in place with your marketing firm, it will most likely include a number of revisions for each creative service (writing, designing, coding, etc.). To help you stay on track with your revisions, I offer you the following tips:

• Put a limit on the amount of internal people who must review.
• Review, step back and review again.
• Submit changes in bulk so you can make your revisions go farther.
• Make sure that you are kept in the loop on what revision you are on.
• Find out how much an additional revision will cost if you still need more.

With a bit of planning, you can get a lot more than you may be used to for your marketing dollars. If you have any other money-saving suggestions, feel free to post a comment below. I am sure your fellow marketers will appreciate your wisdom.