On the web there are all sorts of content driven sites… blogs, company web sites, informational data entries and the long, video, audio, picture loaded sales pages. Let me say right now in a world where we want everything right now, if your page doesn’t load within 30 seconds, not only am I gone, but I’m now mad, because you have wasted my valuable time.
We all want to get to the point and be quick about it.
I just clicked on a link from what I thought was a reliable source and was hit with an ever loading, truly long, video polluted page. Give me a break! If you think I’m sticking around for the 6th or 10th video to load, you are mistaken.
As a web designer, I am all about fast loading, smartly tagged, keyword rich content. In other words, seo friendly, seo rich, low resolution imagery and video. I find it sad when people want so much to be heard, will just put any old thing up there and just don’t understand how to present themselves the right way. I’m not talking about design right now, which is a whole other issue. If I could raise a magic wand and make all the sites and pages perfect… I would, but since I don’t yet have those powers, I’ll do it one client at a time.
Most of my attention is on unique branding… creating it myself, featuring others in my brand interview series, and studying what others have or are doing.
Recently, I came across two “lookalike” companies and need to bring this out into the open for discussion. Over at my other blog, Frogs Are Green, we wrote a post, Tee Off For Frogs about how some golf courses are going eco-friendly and how this helps the wildlife as well as the earth. In our post we mentioned the company, Audubon International. They help businesses, organizations, and schools through a variety of programs, “…receive certification within one to three years depending on how quickly they plan, organize, implement and document their environmental practices.” Some of the companies featured on their site are Fedex and New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association.
Now you may be thinking is this The National Audubon Society? No, it is not. It has nothing to do with The National Audubon Society. This is why I want to discuss this.
About The National Audubon Society from their website:
Audubon’s Mission: To conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.
Some info about Audubon International from their website:
Community Engagement, Planning, and Action
Helping community leaders and stakeholders to embrace environmental stewardship and sustainability as a central element of planning, policies, and practices.
Golf and the Environment
Seeking to assist golf courses in becoming a valuable part of our conservation landscape, while building support for more eco-friendly golf through the golf industry.
Both websites have a similar font for the business name and feature birds in imagery. Both companies have the word “Audubon” in the business name. So, should we just assume that Audubon International did this so that the general public would believe they were associated with The National Audubon Society?
I suppose in this case study, when creating a similar look for strategic marketing it can definitely be effective, but is it right? The big question is, do the members and clients who have joined or hired Audubon International for big bucks, know they are a completely different company?
Brand Interview – Mary Carlomagno, Author and Founder of order.
How long has your company been in business? Please tell us a bit about your company, its mission, goals… order was founded in 2005 to help busy people get organized. With the idea that stuff should not control your life, we help people deal with the emotions behind clutter and tackle those first. It is never really about the stuff. Our techniques rely heavily on how to deal with the emotional and mental side to why we keep things, why we cannot get organized and most importantly, what is holding us back from living the life we imagined, to quote Thoreau! In the end, people find more space and time to do the more meaningful things in their lives that perhaps they have been missing due to excessive shopping, clutter or disorganization.
Do you donate to charities? Tell us about that also and why.
I donate to charities constantly, especially churches and homeless shelters. By the nature of my work, I often have bags of clothing and household items that can be put to good use. Personally, I practice what I preach as well, constantly passing things along to those in need.
How did you know what typeface (font) would be right for your company wordmark or logo? If your logo has an illustration, describe why that art was the right thing, animal, place, object, etc…
I love lower case fonts that are simple and pure. They inspired me to create the letters of order.
How did you decide on the right color palette to fit your company look and feel?
I chose colors that I liked, that I would have in my wardrobe perhaps. Color can really convey an emotion and I kept that in mind when choosing my logo.
How did you decide which type of designer to work with, or did you design your own identity and web presence?
I was interested in building a website, so I asked around through my networking groups, which how I get most of my business providers. A friend showed me her own website and recommended that I talk with Two Thirty Media in Canada. They had designed her website and were very easy to work with. They did a great job.
In what order did you present your company to the world? Did you start with marketing and products, or website, blog and social media?
Website first and the rest followed. Speaking and writing became a major focus of my work and at first I designed the website to drive the client business. Today, the website does it all including information about my books and articles too.
How long after the launch of your company did you start pitching in social media?
It took me a few years to get involved in social media, just this year in fact! I now have a Twitter and Facebook page devoted to my business. I tweet tips and post ideas to Facebook regularly and find it a great way to build a following and start discussions. It can also be great to find ideas, referrals and resources.
Did you do research or study any software, take webinars, teleclasses, before approaching any area of your marketing or web presence?
NO
Do you advertise locally in newspapers and/or nationally in magazines? Are they effective?
At times, local ads, but not very many, my business is referral based. I have done Hoboken Reporter ads in the past as well as doing listings on Yahoo Groups that I belong to. None of the ads have ever done anything for creating business. The thing that works the best for my kind of work is referrals through friends and occassionally I get called if someone sees me on tv or hears me on the radio being interviewed for a book that I have written.
Do you advertise online using Google, Facebook or on other company sites? Are they effective?
Yes, google at times.
When you printed your products, packaging, business cards and other print marketing did you choose an online printer or visit a local vendor?
I do my printing locally at either The Office or Mimosa Digital.
Did you know anything about different types of papers, when you wanted to print your marketing materials?
I do know about paper ( I used to buy printing) I like matte card stock quality.
Have you ever used “green” technology in printing, using FSC certified papers or recycled paper and if not, how likely are you at trying this on a next project?
Not applicable.
If you sell products, are they produced in the U.S.A. or abroad?
Not applicable for my site. My three books are sold through amazon and bn.com.
My books:
Live More, Want Less Live More, Want Less gives readers a user-friendly non-judgmental approach to simplifying their lives in a week-at-a-time format. Offering personal narratives, a reflection on a Taoist-inspired “way” toward more meaning, and a list of daily practices that bring tangible change, Live More, Want Less provides universal guidelines for every reader’s unique issue. Covering themes like shopping addictions, procrastination, prioritizing, “busyness”, weight loss, and more. Mary’s “been there, done that” approach reassures the tentative that greater clarity can be gained by voluntarily living with less, and that de-cluttering both physically and mentally can allow one to experience life more fully.
Secrets of Simplicity Secrets of Simplicity — Bulging in-boxes, out-of-control stress, and even climate change serve as reminders that when it comes to being happy and healthy, less is more. In this interactive journal, organization expert Mary Carlomagno leads readers on a journey toward release and discovery. Guided by the principle that the way you spend your time and money should reflect your true priorities, Secrets of Simplicity shows how to make practical changes to unburden your closets and calendars and make room for what’s really important. Readers can record their successes, as they de-clutter their homes and in the process, their minds.
Give it Up! My year of Learning to Live Better with Less (PAPERBACK RELEASE JANUARY 2012!)
A refreshing book demonstrates how giving something up often results in gaining something important.
“Entertaining Reading” “Publishers Weekly ” Inspirational and thought provoking – Library Journal “Book for a Better Life” selection Timeonline.com
Like most people, Mary Carlomagno was stressed out, over scheduled, and tripping over the clutter of her days—until she decided to take control. Each month, she renounced one thing: alcohol, shopping, elevators, newspapers, cell phones, dining out, television, taxis, coffee, cursing, chocolate and multitasking. Find out more about her journey in her new book, Give It Up!
Is there anything you haven’t yet tackled, but will want to do soon?
More Media! My goal is to be the host of a television or radio program based on my work.
To find out more about Mary Carlomagno, order, and her books, visit the links below:
How long has your company been in business? Please tell us a bit about your company, its mission, goals…
I’ve been working on my small business, a public relations business, Pesce PR, since 2010. Pesce PR empowers small business owners to execute their own affordable PR programs. Through my DIY PR Pack, I provide entrepreneurs with customized PR strategy and the tools (press release, media lists, pitch notes, and consultation) they need to secure their own press.
I fully understand the financial and emotional impact of owning a business. I worked in PR for ten years before leaving and launching an online cookie store called Gumdrop Cookie Shop. After joining the small business community, I met a lot of small business owners who were looking for an affordable way to secure publicity for their business. After three years, I sold my cookie company and launched Pesce PR’s DIY PR Pack.
Do you donate to charities? Tell us about that also and why.
Yes, this year I donated my time to generate publicity for an organization called Anne’s Quest. Every October they host a run/walk that raises funds for cancer research and financial support of those touched by the disease. The organization was started in memory my husband’s aunt, Anne S. Rosenthal, who lost a courageous battle with colon cancer in the fall of 2007.
How did you know what typeface (font) would be right for your company wordmark or logo? If your logo has an illustration, describe why that art was the right thing, animal, place, object, etc…
The idea behind my business is rooted in the famous quote by Lao Tzu – “Give a man a fish and he can eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he can eat for life.” Fish PR doesn’t exactly have a nice ring to it, but “Pesce” (which means fish in Italian) has a nice sound and is reflective of my heritage. My logo is of a fish and the words “Pesce PR.” The font is playful yet professional – my business approach is very professional, but I have fun and upbeat style while I’m working and meeting with clients.
How did you decide on the right color palette to fit your company look and feel?
I wanted my color palette to be exciting and not too corporate-looking. At the time I created the web site I was seeing a lot of the design blogs write about turquoise with pops of red. I think it’s a playful and on-trend color combination without being too silly. Plus, Pesce PR has to have some type of blue in its logo!
How did you decide which type of designer to work with, or did you design your own identity and web presence?
I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted my logo to look like but I just needed a professional to make my idea into an image.
Cookies & Corks on the Today Show
In what order did you present your company to the world? Did you start with marketing and products, or website, blog and social media?
I started with a web site and blog at the same time. Next I created a Facebook fan page and Twitter account. I’ve been busy doing PR for other people, but I’m finally working on my own PR plan now!
How long after the launch of your company did you start pitching in social media?
I started with Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Videos on YouTube are next on my list!
Feature on the James Corbett Salon in Time Out NY
Did you do research or study any software, take webinars, teleclasses, before approaching any area of your marketing or web presence?
I’ve got the PR end covered, but I’m always looking to learn more about marketing, search engine optimization, and social media. I’ve taken classes through my networking groups here in NYC, which have been incredibly helpful.
Do you advertise locally in newspapers and/or nationally in magazines? Are they effective?
Aside from PR, I also do a small advertising campaign with Google Adwords. Comparing my experience with my cookie company vs. my PR company, Google Adwords works best with products vs. service-based businesses, however, it’s worth the small amount I spend each month.
Do you advertise online using Google, Facebook or on other company sites? Are they effective?
Yes, see above!
When you printed your products, packaging, business cards and other print marketing did you choose an online printer or visit a local vendor?
I used an online printer. Oops, I guess I should have used someone local? They were in the U.S. Does that count?
Did you know anything about different types of papers, when you wanted to print your marketing materials?
Since I’m a service-based business, the only thing I have printed are business cards. I have no idea what type of stock they are on, but I’m happy with the quality.
Sugar Couture featured in NY Magazine
Have you ever used “green” technology in printing, using FSC certified papers or recycled paper and if not, how likely are you at trying this on a next project?
I’m a bit of an environmentalist so I could be into it. I compost my shredded paper when I’m ready to toss old documents.
If you sell products, are they produced in the USA or abroad?
I don’t sell any products.
Is there anything you haven’t yet tackled, but will want to do soon?
I’ve been thinking about writing a DIY PR ebook.
To learn more about Thea Zagata and Pesce PR, visit the links below:
Let me start by saying I entered a couple of design contests a while back to test the waters and see how it all works. I soon realized how many designers were entering, working on those particular projects and of course there was only going to be one winner. (In one contest out of two, I won, which of course really surprised me!) But there are a lot of people working for FREE with no ROI for the designers, and not much for the client either because now they have to review and rate 100+ entries.
As clients engage me, I have always spent time getting to know them and ask them what I thought were the important questions. Tell me about yourself, your goals, your mission and who your dream client is. Where do you think your dream client is? Can you show me by example what appeals to you visually, logos, websites, etc…
Since this interview process is the key to my being able to design just what is right for my client, I came to realize that this process needs to be broken out from the actual design process as one-on-one branding sessions.
In the one-on-one private sessions, we uncover all that we can across a variety of topics, and the client comes to realize who they are, what that visually looks like, what their color palette, typeface choices, web structure and other preferences are. We discuss print marketing, green printing, social media and SEO (search engine optimization).
Once we’re finished, the design process that would follow will be so much easier because now we both have clarity on their visual brand and they have a step-by-step marketing action plan including social media steps.
The design contest scenario is working for a client you haven’t interviewed, have no clear idea of their preferences, and you’re just designing a solution that you like, that seems right for you, but not necessarily for them.
The client who posts the contest may receive 100+ solutions and then have to decide which one “might” be right? This is just a serious waste of everyone’s efforts and time.
To brand effectively for a client, the creative has to develop what is right for that particular client. Different designers will always bring their own sensibilities to an assignment, but there should never be a one-size-fits-all to branding.
Brand Interview – Lynn Colwell, Corey Colwell-Lipson – The Green Year, Celebrate Green & Green Halloween
How long has your company been in business? Please tell us a bit about your company, its mission, goals…
We launched The Green Year, LLC in January, 2008. We’d never intended to start a business, but as a result of the overwhelmingly positive reaction to our grass roots initiative, Green Halloween, in October of 2007, the accompanying media attention, and the book contract that followed soon after, we (my daughter, Corey Colwell-Lipson and I), realized we needed a legal home for our burgeoning “empire.”
So rather than the conventional business based on a product, idea or service, that unfolds in a linear way, The Green Year has evolved organically (of course!).
Our mission is to serve as the umbrella under which the various components of our developing brand reside. Our brand is us−the mother-daughter team inspiring and encouraging people to celebrate green−not just for the biggies like Halloween, Thanksgiving and birthdays, but every day.
And given the organic nature of our business, our goals are around continuing to build the brand primarily through all types of media as well as collaborations with brands, businesses and individuals.
Do you donate to charities?Tell us about that also and why.
Green Halloween® (www.GreenHalloween.org) is the non-profit, grassroots effort that started us on this path. We own it, but it functions as a program of the non-profit Ecomom Alliance.
Obviously a lot of our time and energy is put into running the program which last year replaced 1 million units of conventional candy with healthier for kids and planet treats and treasures at Halloween events around the U.S. We do this because we believe that the future of humans and the planet are tied together. And unfortunately, American celebrations moved from fun times with an emphasis on togetherness and meaning to over-the-top extravaganzas marked by an enormous waste of resources.
How did you know what typeface (font) would be right for your company wordmark or logo? If your logo has an illustration, describe why that art was the right thing, animal, place, object, etc…
Although we have a logo for The Green Year that we like a lot, we rarely use it because we don’t push the company name at all. We chose it because it expresses what we wanted it to, the idea of being green all year around.
The “logo” we use for our work with Celebrate Green is the one that was designed for the cover of our book and the Green Halloween logo was developed by a local designer.
How did you decide on the right color palette to fit your company look and feel?
There was never any question that green would be the primary logo color for The Green Year and Celebrate Green!. Although any company involved in eco-friendly living most likely will use some shade of green. It’s difficult to avoid when you have the word in the name of the company/brand! Deciding on the right shade had a lot to do with the fact we wanted it to be bright (happy) without being overly so, easily visible onscreen and in print etc. We weren’t interested in a “woodsy” feel as are many companies involved with sustainability.
And of course, when we were developing the Green Halloween logo, we were looking at Halloween colors. For this logo we wanted something that felt airy but not to childish.
How did you decide which type of designer to work with, or did you design your own identity and web presence?
While I’m not a trained designer, when I was in PR and as a freelance writer, I also did a lot of design work. So coming into it, I had very strong ideas about our identity, particularly because Corey and I are the brand. While we had a professional designer on the book, I did a lot of art direction around the layout and design as I did with website, blog and print materials. Corey was the primary designer for the Green Halloween website.
When we do use a designer, we work very closely with him or her. While honoring his/her training and point of view, we are confident about what works for us and expect our vision to be realized.
In what order did you present your company to the world? Did you start with marketing and products, or website, blog and social media?
Again, we’re a kind of aberration in this regard. When we started Green Halloween, we had no intention of doing anything but starting a revolution. Does a revolution need an identity? I’m sure in the best of all worlds, it does. But we didn’t at the time. We just jumped in. Our messaging went out through emails, in person and on the phone. For a long time we didn’t even have business cards. And when we started social media was in its infancy.
Once we signed the book contract, we developed the Celebrate Green! website (www.CelebrateGreen.net), and loaded it with information that could not be found in the book. When Celebrate Green! came out, I had the idea to do a “baby announcement,” a post card that we emailed (and printed a few) to the media and others to help launch the book.
We did a funny video introducing our “baby” to the world. And, among other things, we started a “village” to help “raise our baby.”
How long after the launch of your company did you start pitching in social media?
While I don’t remember the dates, we jumped on Twitter as soon as I realized how simple it was. Facebook took a bit longer. We’re fairly happy with our social media presence (6700+ followers on Twitter for Celebrate Green and 1500 for Green Halloween, 1,000 on FB for CG and 1500 for GH) and continue to work to increase both followers and involvement.
Did you do research or study any software, take webinars, teleclasses, before approaching any area of your marketing or web presence?
Not really. I had developed our company’s intranet (a telephone equipment manufacturer), prior to beginning my work with Corey and have always been interested in the power of the web to connect and develop relationships. Initially our website was developed by a guy who had worked for me and again I knew what I wanted without much need for research.
That said, I continue to read a lot in this area and whenever we’re moving into a new arena, I research it. For instance, we’re going to be doing our first Twitter party for National Costume Swap Day (www.CostumeSwapDay.com) at the end of September, and I’m currently researching how to best pull that off.
Do you advertise locally in newspapers and/or nationally in magazines? Are they effective?
No, we do no paid advertising at all.
Do you advertise online using Google, Facebook or on other company sites? Are they effective?
See above.
When you printed your products, packaging, business cards and other print marketing did you choose an online printer or visit a local vendor?
We always prefer to use a local vendor, but unfortunately because we will only use 100% PCW paper and non-toxic inks, local printers have generally been unable to meet the price for small quantities. We have used a local printer for Green Halloween postcards where we’re talking in the neighborhood of printing 20-30,000.
Did you know anything about different types of papers, when you wanted to print your marketing materials?
Yes. In my work in PR over the years, I’d done a lot of work with printers and was familiar with paper choices. However, due to the fact that we are only interested in recycled papers (or treefree), I’ve had to continue to educate myself (although honestly we do very little printing).
Have you ever used “green” technology in printing, using FSC certified papers or recycled paper and if not, how likely are you at trying this on a next project?
See above.
If you sell products, are they produced in the USA or abroad?
The only product we currently sell is our book. It was printed in Canada because at the time, the bids from U.S. printers (I spoke to more than 40), were three to five times as expensive even if they were willing to print on recycled paper.
Celebrate Green! was to be published by a green publisher who unfortunately went out of business seven weeks before the book was to go to press. We approached two other publishers, both of whom were interested, but it would have taken an additional year to 18 months to bring out the book. We felt that was too long as I’d already begun the PR and the timing was right, so we did it ourselves. I would have preferred printing in the U.S., but Canada was as good as we could get.
Is there anything you haven’t yet tackled, but will want to do soon?
We are looking at many possibilities. For us, like most entrepreneurs, it’s a matter of time and money. Both are in short supply. Would love to do a complete makeover of our websites, develop a TV series, write more books, and pursue a hundred other ideas. We’ll just have to see what evolves.
To learn more about Lynn Colwell, Corey Colwell-Lipson and Celebrate Green visit the links below:
