One of my favorite projects from this last year was designing the collateral for Music on the Half Shell. Creative Images takes an active role in the community and this is one event that we are a Benefactor Sponsor for every year.

This summer concert series began 17 years ago with a mission to provide free concerts to the people in Roseburg featuring quality artists who would normally perform at distant venues for a substantial admission fee. Every summer season, people gather on Tuesday evenings in Stewart Park to listen to music, socialize, eat dinner on the lawn and experience the great Roseburg community.

Each of the eight concerts averages $20,000 to produce and seasonal attendance exceeds 50,000 people. Music on the Half Shell is a private, charitable non-profit organization that relies on contributions from sponsors in the community to fund the concerts.

Fundraising for the 2009 season began in October last year when we designed and produced sponsorship brochures and posters. The purpose of these two pieces was to ask people to become sponsors of the event. The letter-fold brochure included a form that people could tear off and submit with their check and both the poster and brochure directed people to the website where they could donate. A TV spot soon followed these two collateral pieces.

The Music on the Half Shell committee hosted a big media event announcing the acts in May. We designed invitations that went out to the sponsors and media. At the event they passed out the event posters below which were posted all over the Roseburg area.

As you can see, the Nichols Band Shell is an icon in the Roseburg community and became the focus of this year’s design. The posters were soon followed by television commercials and black and white newspaper inserts.

Parking passes were designed for the event sponsors and backstage passes were designed for performers, guests and crew.

There are still two concerts left this season. The event is a lot of fun. If you can, you should try to make it out some time.

Project Team Included:

• Creative Director: Gary G.
• General Manager: Paul Z.
• Graphic Designer: Karly Barrett
• Video Production: Carl and Geno

What are your thoughts? Does your community have a similar event?

Filed under: Graphic Design, Marketing || Leave Your Thoughts

If you visit Eugene, Oregon’s City Council website, you are greeted with “Welcome to the City of Eugene World’s Greatest City of the Arts & Outdoors.” That slogan makes me laugh for several reasons. A declaration of being the “World’s Greatest” anything is absurd and subjective, but most of all because the slogan is supposed to be “World’s Greatest City FOR the Arts and Outdoors.” If you dig deeper in the website they actually get it right.

I agree that Eugene can be described as a city for the arts and outdoors. During the five years I have been living in the area I have observed a general goal of the city and its residents to help and support these two items in particular. However, the “World’s Greatest” makes me question the arrogance of the Eugene City Council. I would prefer: “Eugene: A City for the Arts and Outdoors.”

Even though downtown Eugene has more arts and entertainment opportunities than anywhere else in the area, it has also been a concern of many of the residents that downtown Eugene has been losing its draw. Pan handlers hang out on Broadway, more and more store fronts are sitting vacant and several revitalization initiatives have failed to please the tax payers. A few buildings have been knocked down leaving giant holes and no one has even begun to show any sign of filling in any of them. During the rainy season I like to refer to them as swimming pools.

In 2003, Downtown Eugene Inc. (DEI) worked with Funk/Levis and Associates, a local design firm, to create a downtown brand identity and marketing campaign. DEI’s website had this to say about it.

In the case of downtown, we need to change a perceived personality that is largely negative. According to Funk/Levis CEO David Funk, “Branding takes what is true and makes it more true.”

What is true about downtown is that arts, culture and entertainment are flourishing. DEI believes that as an economic development strategy, a growing arts and entertainment sector makes sense.

There are several components of the Branding that need to occur. First, DEI will look at the physical appearance of downtown and make it brighter, cleaner and more colorful. For instance, regional marketing programs will help make downtown Eugene a destination for those interested in arts, entertainment and the outdoors. Branding downtown’s personality and character can also be accomplished through retail and restaurant promotions, downtown parking programs and consistent representation of the Downtown Brand through visual graphics and the use of the tag line “Surprise Yourself.”

From what I have read, my understanding is that they want to highlight the liveliness of downtown Eugene and make it more appealing to the senses. I really like the logo Funk/Levis put together for them. It captures the qualities of the branding initiative in a fun way.

I wonder though if the campaign is working. I have noticed flower baskets and colorful banners downtown. I have also noticed restaurants and clubs piping their music to outside speakers. However, I do not recall ever seeing this logo anywhere except on the DEI website. That does not mean it is not out there, it just did not burn itself in my memory. I read all 27 pages of their branding plan and continually thought to myself, “I wonder when they will implement this portion of the plan?” I even asked a few of my coworkers if they had ever heard of the “Surprise Yourself” tagline before. None had. One of them made the joke, “Come to downtown. Find out how you will react when approached by a shady stranger on the street. Surprise yourself!”

What to you think? Does your city have similar marketing campaigns? How do you feel about applying a brand identity to a city? The Big Easy? Sin City? Do you think it helps cities attract more people?

Filed under: Critiques, Marketing || 4 Excellent Comments

For the past six months, I have been working on a side project marketing for the Portland Lindy Exchange. This is an event that happens every other year and swing dancers from all over the country and beyond come to Portland for a weekend jam-packed with dancing opportunities. It has been a challenging and fun project for me. I designed promotional shirts, flyers, web banners and the event shirts. I have been busy posting about the event on swing forums across the country and rallying others to do the same. The list goes on and on.

We are currently in the final stretch. The event is happening March 7-9. With just over two weeks to go, I am switching the focus from national advertising to local advertising. Now is the time to generate new interest in Portland and the surrounding area.

We have come up with a secondary name for the event for this purpose. People who have never tried swing dancing will have no idea what a lindy exchange is. Therefore, to advertise in the Portland community, we are calling the event Swing Fest. We are highlighting the 11 bands that are scheduled to play and the great venues we have lined up. Here’s the poster I put together:

What do you think? I will put together the rest of the exchange materials and post them soon. You will notice this poster looks nothing like the other exchange materials. A different target market called for a different approach to advertising.

If you live nearby, you should check out the event. You do not have to know how to swing dance already, lessons are offered each night before the bands take the stage. You do not have to sign up for the entire weekend either, pick a night and join us.

Filed under: Graphic Design, Marketing || 4 Excellent Comments

I have not written anything here in a while because I have been using my free time to work on our new marketing campaign for ELLA. Recently, our dance group got together and formed a plan for generating some new interest in swing dancing. We realize that the swing craze of the nineties is ancient history and most people have no clue what swing dancing is these days. This means that keeping people excited can be a challenge.

We have a very limited budget, which means, we have to be a little more creative when it comes to advertising. We decided it was time to host free swing dance workshops on the University of Oregon campus. Our sister club, U-Lindy, has access to free spaces on campus and our regular ELLA instructors offered to volunteer their time for the cause. Great! Now all we have to do is get as many people there as possible.

I designed black and white and full color flyers that we put up all over town, handed out at swing demonstrations, and took to other dance events. The flyer on its own can only do so much. We have found that doing a demonstration of swing dancing before we hand someone a flyer makes a much bigger impact. We have also found that we are likely to get more people out if their friends are excited about it, so we came up with incentive for our regulars to bring other people they know to the workshops — people that have never tried the dance before.

Chances to Win Prizes!

Everyone that attends the free swing workshops this Saturday in the EMU Fir Room will be entered into a drawing to win the following prizes:

• Free One-Hour Private Lesson with Karly Barrett
• Free One-Hour Private Lesson with Emily Erfurth
• Free One-Hour Private Lesson with Nathen Lester
• A Card for Ten Free Passes to ELLA’s Wednesday Dances**
  **Excludes free admission to live music events.
• As Good As It Gets: Swing with Various Artists

Increase your chances to win prizes by bringing first time dancers with you. You will get extra entries in the drawing for every person you bring. For example if Jane Doe shows up and brings three new dancers with her, she would get four free entries — one for herself and one for each person she brought with her. Just tell us at the door who you brought with you. We will draw for prizes at the end of the Shim Sham class. Must be present to win.

Press Releases

The final stage of the plan is to make the announcement to all the local media, dance clubs and our regular contacts. We sent press releases to everyone. We emailed our regulars. We posted on dance forums and sent event bulletins to our friends on MySpace and Facebook. We also made sure the event appeared on every community calendar we have access to, including craigslist.

We are down to the last couple days of advertising. I will try to give you an update on our final numbers soon.

What do you think? Do you have any marketing ideas that we have not thought of? Do you also have the limitation of working with a small budget. How do you overcome that?

Filed under: Marketing || 4 Excellent Comments

By now, you might see a common theme: service is the key to marketing your brand. These days, people record their favorite TV shows and fast-forward through the commercials. They have Adblock and popup blockers in their web browsers. Many have even switched to satellite radio or listen to their iPod to avoid the annoying radio commercials. These days, it seems it is harder and harder to reach the consumer. Now the consumer decides what they want to receive and search for the products they want when they want them.

In Part 1 I talked about standing out from the crowd by listening to the consumer and providing them with what they need. This is the key if you want them to find you. In Part 2 I talked about the importance of the people behind the brand. So, what does all of this add up to?

Connect With Your Customer and Build Relationships

If we treated our customers like cattle and burned our brand into their hides, do you think that would be enough to get them to come in and buy our products? I highly doubt it. Most people do not want to feel like you own them. Instead, think of ways you can connect with them.

In ELLA, we have discovered that the best way to retain dancers is to include them in our community. Simple things like inviting them out for dessert after the dances or asking them if they would like to volunteer to post flyers. When we invite them to help us, they have more stake in how well the dance does. Of course, ELLA is a non-profit organization. Asking your customer to work for you for free likely will not have the same effect if you are a corporation.
You need to think creatively and find what works for you. We have also found that listing our ELLA events in papers or posting flyers around town are not nearly as effective as making direct contact. When we demonstrate swing dancing in the university dance classes or dance in crowded areas on campus we triple the number of new dancers.

Therefore, my final advice to you when marketing your brand is to find a way to create a meaningful and memorable experience with your customers. If you want to change behavior, you need to enrich your customers’ lives. Think of ways that you can mix the advice from Part 1 and Part 2 to develop this bond with your customers.

What do you think? Do you agree with these ideas? Would you add any other advice?

Filed under: Marketing || Leave Your Thoughts

Let me reiterate, your logo is a symbol of your brand–it does not define your brand. With that in mind, how do you help people associate your logo with meaning? With who you are? In Part 1 of this series, I talked about standing out in a positive way. Drawing attention to your brand name and letting the public know what you can do for them. Now let us take a look at what happens after you capture someone’s attention…

People Make or Break the Brand

Think about it. When you have bad service at a restaurant or encounter unhelpful employees at a store, you probably think twice about whether or not you will return. For the swing dance group I am involved with, this has been our biggest obstacle. Oddly, it seems fairly common that good swing dancers are shy people. Unfortunately, this means others might assume the “good” dancers think they are better than others. If people start to say, “Those ELLA dancers are snobs,” that can really affect how ELLA is perceived and the number of people who will return to dance again.

It works the same when you are marketing yourself. It can be a turnoff to come off as arrogant or ignorant or pushy. Even if you have the best portfolio in the world, it will not matter if people do not like the way you interact with them. Focus on excellent customer service and remember that everyone who works for your company represents your brand. Marketing does not exist only on paper or the television or the radio. It continues the second somebody steps inside your doors. Any time someone is wearing your company’s uniform. Any time someone is trying to sell your product or service. Personal interaction makes a much bigger impact than a catchy advertisement. It is important to make sure all of your employees understand that and act accordingly.

Come back soon for the final installment of this series.

Filed under: Marketing || Leave Your Thoughts

A brand is so much more than a logo. It includes everything that represents an organization and the opinions people form about it. Working closely with marketing professionals for the last five years and learning through my own trial and error, I have obtained some knowledge that you might find useful when marketing your own brand. In order to avoid a super long post, I have broken this down into a three part series.

Stand Out From the Crowd…in a Good Way

I recently attended a sold out concert. They packed us in like sardines. Even though I was in close proximity to many people, only a couple stand out in my mind. The first is the guy who towered over us all and had absolutely no problem seeing the stage. I envied him in a way…until he started dancing off rhythm and bumping into people. Several concert goers were extremely irritated with him and he did not care. The other was a girl behind me who was yelling profanities to show her love for the band. We saw her outside after the show stumbling down drunk. Both left an impression on me, but neither was positive.

Conversely, the friend who took me stood out in his own way. He helped me find a place where I could at least see a little, let me lean my weight on him even though he was likely getting tired of standing and even danced with me a little. Of course, what else would you expect from a friend? Precisely the same sort of things customers and clients expect from you…well maybe not the dancing.

To capture someone’s attention you do not have to yell your message on the radio or overwhelm people’s mailboxes. You do not need to bump them or push them to buy. Going this route, you might reach your audience, but people will likely view you as a nuisance. Instead, be clever. Be witty. Be memorable. Stand out from the rest. Put together an ad that people talk about and show your customers/clients you are there for them–that you understand their needs and can fulfill them.

Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3.

Interested in further reading? I just ran across this article: Your Logo is Not Your Brand

Filed under: Marketing || Leave Your Thoughts