by Miriam Hara | Apr 30, 2013 | Advertising, Latest, Social Media
Most people know about social media and its distinct ability to help advertisers get out their messages. Unfortunately, as the rapid pace of the social media technology keeps evolving, it’s no wonder that advertisers can’t keep up on the latest and greatest… and how best to get these messages across. Keeping up with the speed of change is all consuming, but a necessity. You only have to look to Facebook and LinkedIn, and how they are constantly evolving their presentation, adding features, removing features, monetizing their applications. It is obvious that computers help get advertisers messages out to people, but when, where and how people receive this information is vital to the success of a brand and product.
The Smartphone gives advertisers the ability to operate in real-time and in niche marketing. This is key on so many levels when launching campaigns, opening a retail outlet and getting brand attention when it matters most… when consumers want or need to make the purchase. The generation of technology that is being launched today is user-friendly technology, all geared toward making the consumer aware of their entire surroundings. Consumers are given information on their favorite coffee shop, new products, like unique electronics, as well as restaurants, and nightclubs…and advertisers need and want to tap into this.
Kindles, iPads, notebooks, and other hand-held devices can display amazing graphics, and play outstanding videos that make content jump off the web and into the thoughts and minds of the consumer when they are looking for it… and therein lies the beauty of technology!
With up-to-date technology advertisers can adopt marketing – tech platforms, target multiple consumers across many technologies, being able to harness real-time data. Using various technologies one can measure growth and performance of your product.
The Internet itself is an ever-changing format for advertisers to promote their products. The downside to this is consumers can compare prices even as they shop. A store may lose a customer’s entire shopping purchase because the store does not stock a particular item. A brand may lose a consumer at any time in the buying cycle. People purchase new products and services together via technology, with their set critera whether it be a lower price, or a new feature… or colour!
Imagine for a moment that we are back in the days of MadMan, where ideas have to be written or typed. That pictures can only be created by hand, and presentations were not given by means of PowerPoint. And, the only way to get out your content was by the television, newspaper, magazines, or an insurmountable amount of flyers. Not to mention the gift we have given back to Mother-Earth by not using nearly as many paper products. Technology has made it a game changer for advertising.
Since one can use advertising in real-time, compared to how it was done in the past the targeting demographics as well as psychographic has not only become accessible but has become a science.
Technology, with the use of PVRs has allowed us to skip commercials on television, so that advertisements are obscured. Amazingly enough, a study posted in The Economist shows that the Brand name does get observed.
Hitting the key audience is paramount for launching your advertising campaign. Information gathered by using social media, researching and gauging the public reaction could be make or break a product. By using technology one can track one’s product, to see where, it was bought, how it was bought, when it was bought, and who bought it. Advertisers can go as far as understanding what made them purchase… through the use of AB testing, and multiple targeted offers.
Advertisers Beware: Technology has allowed marketing and advertising to have limitless applications. It has pushed the envelope, and it will no doubt keep pushing it with newer and newer technology… are you ready?
by Daniel | Apr 29, 2013 | Advertising, Creative, Design, Latest
Flyers, brochures and catalogs are used globally and on a massive scale. They are a very cost-effective way to market your product, service, brand or event, and they produce some amazing results if they’re done well. The only problem is that with so many flyers out there already (literally millions), and so many more being produced and distributed each week, it can be very hard to produce something which stands out from the crowd, grabs the attention of the reader and makes an imprint on their memory.
In order to make something like this, which produces the results you’re looking for, you need to make sure your design is different. It needs to be fresh, original and unique – the more different from everything else it is, the better it will perform. In this post I have rounded up some awesome flyer designs to help you in your design project. Try to pinpoint which elements of the designs are consistent throughout and then incorporate that into your design. What is it about each design that draws your attention, are any more memorable than others for you? If so, why. It’s thinking and designing like this which will make the difference between a successful flyer and a complete disappointment.
On to the inspiration:
These flyers should have given you plenty of inspiration, ideas and pointers to take away and incorporate into your own flyer design. If you have any amazing examples of flyers, catalogs or brochures, then please feel free to share them in the comments section!
Once you’re finished with your design and you’re looking for a company to print a catalog, flyer or brochure for you, make sure you select one who provide a manual quality check process every order. Companies that offer this will check your order by hand to make sure it looks exactly as it should, and just as good as it looks on the computer screen. After putting so much work into your design, you don’t want it to fail at the last hurdle, so go with a reputable company.
Stay creative, and good luck with your flyer design!
Author Bio:Daniel has worked in design and marketing for the past 10 years. He enjoys keeping up to date on everything to do with design, print, technology and creativity, and you can find him blogging about these things regularly here and at other top blogs around the web
by Lisa Wedmann | Apr 20, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Latest, Social Media
It’s important to have a social media strategy. As Marketers it is important to get your message out in a consistent and timely basis; but how do you handle that when a tragic situation occurs within your community? Does your team have a crisis plan in place within your social media strategy?
Recently there have been some very tragic news stories that were rampant throughout mainstream media. When the horrible explosions occurred in Boston at the Boston Marathon finish line we at 3H, along with the brands that we represent, chose to extend our sympathies and then remain quiet in our social media streams. In light of the situation that was the appropriate and respectful thing to do and we were happy to see that many companies and brands chose the same approach.
Alas common sense is not so common and sadly there is always at least one company that puts out a message that the general public is offended by due to poor timing. https://twitter.com/stringsn88keys/status/324139615852298241/photo/1
Epicurious took a beating over these tweets and have since deleted them and apologized.
We can all learn a lesson by unfortunate situations like this. Here is a great checklist that your social media team should keep on hand:
- Turn off scheduled tweets/posts
- Listen to what your community is saying
- Just as you think before you speak (or should), think before you type and hit enter
If you happen to say something that you probably shouldn’t have:
- Don’t delete your post and then go into hiding
- Own up to it and do it quickly
- Be honest and genuine in your apology
If you approach your Community with honesty and integrity, even if you made a mistake, your Community will respect you for doing what you can to make things right. Once the dust settles your true fans and followers will still love you.
by Lisa Wedmann | Apr 1, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Creative, Interactive, Latest, Social Media
CASE STUDY: A Quebec Brand: Adrien Gagnon Part II
A new Adrien Gagnon for today’s Quebecer!
Adrien Gagnon, the Quebec Natural Health Products provider for over 60 years, found themselves losing their relationship with Quebecers. As such, they needed to reposition their brand to the Quebecer of today, providing a contemporary and youthful image.
The first step was to re-brand their logo and their positioning (click here to find our more).
The Second step was to take that new look and feel and establish its presence throughout the social media channel and enhancing a stronger online presence.
1. Website
Adrien Gagnon is all about health and wellness so we re-designed the website to embody their brand values and represent the companies main selling point of Natural Products. To accompany the logo’s new look and feel we created a fresh looking website with new colours. The goal was to create a new vibrant look that speaks to health and vitality.
2. Social Media
We revamped Adrien Gagnon’s social media presence by changing their Twitter, Facebook and Youtube look. Creating banners and profile pictures to mirror the look and feel of the website and new logo gave a boost to the social media efforts already visible for Adrien Gagnon. In February, we participated in Hearth Month and created a month of themed posts that represent Adrien Gagnon’s health and wellness values.
From concept development, graphic design to positioning statements, we deliver solid re-branding strategies that are sure to embody your brand values and get your brand noticed!
by Miriam Hara | Mar 11, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative, Latest
Suffice to say that in any business, client happiness amounts to a happy business– your business. In the advertising world where business marketing meets conceptual communications …objectives, strategies and creative all need to be integrated to provide the one strong solution … it’s important to keep the following in mind to earn client happiness!
This should be your mantra: KNOW THEIR BUSINESS. It’s the equivalent of being prepared when you go to an interview. You must do your homework. Research their market, the industry, the competitive landscape and the product offerings. Remember trust must be earned, so if you’re not prepared and you don’t offer up a knowledge base of their playground…clients will get nervous about entrusting their product, service or brand to you.
Be a partner and not a supplier. Be accessible and make yourself a constant resource. In today’s speed of business, marketing teams, brand managers and marketing directors feel the need to rely on external resources to get the job done…and done well. Be that external resource. How? Ask to be part of the strategic process. Keep current on industry news or competitive information. Send them articles of interest or highlight key opportunities that may be pertinent to their company’s or brand’s success. Watch their back… and they’ll only be too happy to invite you in their inner circle to get the value of your insight!
Don’t tell them what they can’t do, tell them what can be done. As an advertising or brand agency it’s your job to sensitize them to the issues at hand, the potential problems of a certain initiative or concept…but if you leave it at that, that’s one more thing that they need to solve. If you want to keep your clients happy, provide solutions. You not only need to highlight the potential risks, you need to provide solutions to deter that risk. That’ll make them happy!
We all know it, we all think it. Everyone is a marketer, everyone is an art director, everyone thinks their creative. Often I have been directionally briefed. I get asked to deliver on a pre-decided tactic… “We want a direct mail” or “we need an advertising campaign”. Clients often know what they want, and they should. Afterall, they are the keeper of the brand. However, it’s our job to push the envelope and to ask the questions that may provide a hidden nugget, a new perspective, a different tactic. Our role as a brand advertising agency is to know about the next best thing about…well advertising and creative. So the rule of thumb…give clients what they need to see. Only then will they be receptive to a different approach and evaluate what you can bring to the table… making you again a partner in their business.
Prepare to WOW. It’s good enough is never enough. Go in with concepts and solutions that will WOW them. When presenting creative campaigns it’s important to go that extra mile. Understand the potential and limitations of each of your creative solutions and speak to them. Wow them, not only in what they see before them, exciting concepts, but in your thought process and preparedness to answer questions and provide insight.
One word. CARE. Ultimately that’s really the one word that wraps up all previous points. Care enough to matter. It’s about client service. There you have it. The secret on how to be a successful business. What is client management if it isn’t about keeping the client happy. And what makes clients happy, what keeps them that way is pretty straight forward.
No matter what client services you offer, ultimately there is one factor that will keep them coming back, delivering on your promise, promptly, effectively and consistently. Client Happiness is guaranteed to make your Business Happy. It’s a perfect marriage.
by Lisa Wedmann | Mar 8, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Creative, Design, Latest
Adrien Gagnon, the Quebec Natural Health Products provider for over 60 years, found themselves losing their market, their leadership and their relationship with Quebecers. As such, they needed to reposition their brand to the Quebecer of today, providing a contemporary and youthful image. With our understanding of the regional market differences in Quebec, we were able to create a strategy that will speak to the Quebecer to re-establish Adrien Gagnon as a leader in health and wellness.
The first step in this process was to re-brand their logo and their positioning
Here’s how:
Positioning Statement
Adrien Gagnon is all about health and wellness. The goal for the new tagline was to create a simple message that would ultimately speak volumes for the brand. As a health and wellness company, «santé vous-bien» (“Be Well”) or Take Care of You, was the positioning statement that speaks best to what Adrien Gagnon is about. PLUS, the french tagline includes a fun play on words. The French word for health << santé>> and feel << sentez >> sound the same phonetically…so it was a natural.
Logo
The redesign of the logo was kept simple, peaceful and tranquil. We used 2 leaves in the corner of their name to represent wellness while keeping Adrien Gagnon’s name bold with a healthy green colour.
The 2 colours are representative of heritage (dark green) and growth (light green) illustrating the credibility and new stance that is now Adrien Gagnon. This new vibrant logo speaks to Adrien Gagnon’s health and wellness values and positions the company and young and vibrant.
From concept development, graphic design to positioning statements, we deliver solid re-branding strategies that are sure to embody your brand values and get your brand noticed!
