Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The Elements of Positioning

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Expert Author Tracy E Morgan
Pos'it'ion'ing(verb) "Positioning starts with a product. But positioning is not what you do to a product. Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect. That is, you position the product in the mind of the prospect." (Al Ries and Jack Trout, Positioning the Battle for Your Mind.)
When most of us hear "Tide", we get an image about something that "Gets the Dirt Out". When we are standing in the grocery aisle, we remember that image as we compare brands and select one for our grocery cart. The importance of strategic brand positioning for consumer products is well recognized. But what about for "techy" products or services? Is brand positioning important or even possible? The bottom line: strategic brand positioning is critical to technical businesses whether the company sells to consumers, provides technical services, or sells to other businesses. Building brand equity leads to greater market share and increased profitability.
If you look at the wireless communications industry you may think positioning means inventing a catchy new name, such as Verizon or Cingular, then rolling it out with a hundred million dollar advertising campaign. In reality, a brand name is only one component of effective positioning, and a massive marketing budget is not always necessary.
There are three steps to positioning:
Step 1: Define the target customer. Segmenting the market in the volatile technology sector is not always easy, but it is critical to understand the customers' needs and to group customers based on their common needs. Cingular Wireless has defined and targeted a segment of their market that makes an emotional purchase rather than one based on technical performance features.
Step 2: Know the competitor. It's important to analyze both the competitors' offerings and their positioning so you consciously decide whether to create a new position in the customer's mind or to battle head-to-head for the same position with another company. Unless you have a substantial competitive advantage, the latter strategy is almost always more costly.
Step 3: Describe the unique benefit you offer.
Unique is a key word here because there are some benefits that all competitors in your field offer, and you don't want to build your position around one of those attributes. For example, name a wireless company that offers a flat fee for a set amount of minutes. This once-unique offer has become so common that all the ads and commercials tend to merge with no brand standing out from the rest.
If you have several unique benefits you need to rank them in importance to your target customer. Federal Express, for example, has held a leadership position in its industry for many years because it guarantees next day delivery. This guarantee is more important to the overnight delivery business customers than low prices.
Writing a Positioning Statement
A positioning statement is the foundation for the company's advertising and promotional campaigns; it should not be confused with an advertising slogan. A company must first define its message by developing a positioning statement. Only then should the company develop catchy phrases to communicate that message. The positioning statement must remain constant even if the slogans change.
Positioning statements are usually built around the following attributes:
Price- Our prices are unbeatable.
Quality - Only the finest ingredients are used in our pasta.
Convenience - Our technical support people are available 24/7.
Customize - "Have it Your Way" at Burger King.
Proprietary Technology - Our patented formula will improve your health.
Performance Features - We have the highest speed connections in our region.
Relationships - The software used by investment professionals.
Every marketing tactic can either support or contradict the positioning statement. The brand name, logo and advertising give the position high visibility. The brand name, Cingular, is a play on the word "singular." Their animated logo resembles a person. Both support a position of individuality and self-expression, as does Cingular's memorable advertisement showing football players doing ballet. Verizon is a blend between "veritas" which connotes reliability and "horizon" to signify unlimited possibilities. Their position is as a dependable leader, embodied by their spokesman, James Earl Jones, an honest, loyal, father figure. Other elements that influence positioning include pricing, packaging, supplemental services, strategic partners, and distribution channels.
With the vast quantity of information assaulting people on a daily basis, to be remembered a company must create a distinctive position in a customer's mind. In your race to the top, follow these steps and create brand positioning for your company, and then ensure that every marketing decision is consistent with your positioning.
Tracy Morgan is the founder of North Star Strategies, a management consulting firm based in Delaware.
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Good Design Is Always Simple

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Expert Author Cheng Keat Tan
One of the great masters of the 20th century Mies van der Rohe once uttered the famous sentence of "Less is More." This short sentence succinctly encapsulates the essence of minimalism which is a design style that emphasizes on the arrangement of clean lines and clear order of space in architecture. The idea behind this sentence is so powerful that it has effectively influenced not just architects but designers of all disciplines as well.
The most obvious influence from this quote is on the design of logos and symbols. Established graphic designers will tell you that a simple logo can be registered in consumers' mind easier and as a result people can associate it with the product better. One very classic example is Nike's logo. This simple and yet powerful logo of Nike successfully project the brand to a higher level as majority of people can read and comprehend it at ease. When a symbol becomes too complicated and overcrowded with many elements such as the design of school badges; people will have difficulty in differentiating one from the other. Furthermore, most good logos don't have any text associated with it. The moment there is text in the design of logo, it needs to be written in a certain language. If people do not understand that language, then the logo has failed in its function as a marketing tool. It will be an opportunity loss to whichever company that has this type of logo. It is acceptable if the product is just being targeted for the local market as people within that market may still comprehend it. However, if the product is being exported to another country, then its message may not get delivered across to the consumers overseas.
Recently I came across a souvenir card which I think was cleverly designed to represent a country. The moment I saw the card, I can instantly tell that this souvenir must be from Vietnam as there is a cut-out lady wearing the traditional dress riding on bicycle which is a clear representation of that country. When I opened the card, a much more detailed cut-out lady on bicycle with colors popped out. This image further confirms to me that the card is indeed a souvenir from Vietnam. What I like most about the card is its simple design. When observed carefully, there is not a single word trying to explain what the card is all about. The design only relies on an image as a symbol to represent an entire country. This is indeed a good example of "less is more".
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3 Tips for Using Billboards for Advertising

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Expert Author Selena McIntyre
Billboard advertising is the most cost effective type of advertising and it is very effective. Billboards are everywhere, and for good reason: They work! Since they are so effective, how can advertisers get the most bang for their buck with billboards? Here are three tips to help you with your billboard advertising.
1. Chose the best possible location:
In the billboard world, location is everything! Look for a billboard location that is close to areas that your target market will go to so you can expose them to your advertisements.
Also look for billboards that can be easily viewed from far away. You don't want a billboard that you can only see right as you drive past it. Choose billboards that give you plenty of time to read your message.
Drive by the billboard several times throughout the day to get an idea of how well you can or can't see it before making your final decision to purchase it or not.
2. Follow these basic billboard design rules:
Advertisements on billboards only have an average of 7 seconds to be viewed so it is our job as advertisers to make the design the best it can be by making sure the copy is big enough to be read by passing motorists. I would recommend to make it at least two feet tall and to use thick, easy to read fonts. A good general billboard rule is to use 9 words or less in your entire billboard! Less is more.
Make sure you use good contrasting colors. Black copy on red backgrounds do NOT work well on billboards because their isn't enough contrast between the two colors. However, black copy is very effective when placed on a yellow background.
Tell the passing motorists who your company is and how they can get in touch with you. There's nothing worse than a great ad with a tiny logo which makes you guess who the ad belongs to and leaves you with no way of knowing which product to purchase.
3. Test your results to see just how effective your billboard really is:
Ad tracking is the ultimate way to see just how good or bad your advertisement is doing and the same is true with billboards. Tracking the results of a billboard isn't as easy as tracking an online ad, but it can still be done with a little bit of creativity.
  1. Simply ask potential customers how they found you. You can bring it up in casual conversation with your potential customers, you can email them or even ask them on your social media sites.
  2. Put a unique phone number or website address on your billboard so you can see how many people contact you this way. You can then see how many of those people purchase your product of service.
  3. There's even tracking devices that can be placed on billboards to see who looks at your ad. Of course it's a bit pricey, but it can be done.
Selena obtained a Marketing degree from Abraham Agricultural College in 1998. She has always loved art and has taken several art and web design courses over the years. Selena became a Graphic Designer in 1999 and has worked with hundreds of small businesses and national corporations to help them get the most out of their advertising. Some of her strengths are: billboard design, banners, and advertising, and she is very skilled with: PhotoShop, CorelDraw, Illustrator and Dreamweaver.
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Your Brand - Your Reputation

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There is a common misconception when it comes the definition of a "Brand". Your 'Brand' is composed of experiences a customer can expect when they deal with your company. That can be anything from your website and brochure, your office decor to the way you answer the phone. Many small businesses assume that branding doesn't apply to them and that it's only for the Nikes and the Apples. Reality check.... If you're not managing your corporate image, who is?
Whether their first experience is through your website or the business card that you hand out at a networking event, that first impression isn't one you can get back. Professionally designed and branded marketing materials tell potential clients that you value your business and that you are serious about the product or service you provide. In this case, the perception is the reality. If your corporate image is sloppy and unprofessional, why would someone trust you with their business.
You should look at your branding efforts as an investment. What's the old adage?...You have to spend to money to make money? Well the only thing more expensive than hiring a professional is hiring an amateur. You are really good at what you do. If what you do doesn't include graphic design & marketing then put the mouse down and step away from the computer. Too often small businesses try to create their own marketing materials. More often than not, businesses and organizations fail to understand the true benefits of hiring a professional to handle their branding and marketing efforts. They say, "Oh I just designed it on my computer and printed it in the office." That kind of behavior can damage your company image. It can damage your brand and that has far reaching consequences. It can affect your ability to get new clients. It can affect your ability to charge the rate you're worth. It can affect your ability to have the business you dreamed of.
Just because you can..doesn't mean you should. By the same token, there are plenty of aspects of your business that you must manage. You can have the best brochure on the planet but if you don't return your customer's phone calls, you won't keep that customer very long. Your branding efforts must be a balance between your visual brand (logo, marketing materials, website, etc.) and the experience that customer has when they interact with your company. Make sure that experience is a good one.
Monica Jones is owner and president of 3D Studios a brand management firm specializing in helping businesses and organizations get in front and stay in front of their target market. http://www.3dstudios.net
Monica is also creator of the B2B Bash a business to business networking community that hosts super cool, super funky networking parties. The Bash is held after work at nightclubs, lounges and other cool venues across New York. It's a social life for your business.
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Top 4 Things to Look for When Selecting a Point of Sale (POS) Provider

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Expert Author Blake Gillum
As a retailer, you have probably already come in contact with many point of sale (POS) dealers offering you systems. So who and what do you choose? There are four important things to keep in mind when selecting the best provider for your POS solution.
1. Track record of success - It is important to find a POS provider with a proven track record of success.
Fly by night dealers are becoming more and more common. They offer systems at cut-rate prices to get the deal and are never seen again when a support or service issue arises. Often they are out of business in less than a year. This leaves you with a system with no support or service greatly inhibiting your system's potential. This situation often leads to finding a new provider who will expect you to change hardware, software or both, greatly increasing the overall cost of your system. What seems like a great deal in the beginning, ends up costing thousands of dollars more than if a proper provider was chosen in the first place.
With the typical life of a system is 10-15 years with upgrades every 5-7 years, choosing a trusted and reliable provider is key to getting the most profit from your system solution. Look for a provider with many years in the industry, references and a proven track record of delivering the expectations set during the sale for the life of your POS system solution.
2. Service and Support - When purchasing a POS solution, it is easy to focus solely on software and hardware and forget about one of the most important aspects of a POS solution, support.
Like a car needs an occasional oil change, preventative maintenance and repairs, so does a POS system. It is important that your provider can deliver the service and support you need to keep your system running like new.
Look for a provider with multiple support options such as on-site, depot, remote/cloud based, online service portals and a help desk. Multiple support and service options guarantee that a speedy and reliable fix is available for any issue. It is also a good idea to get a maintenance contract to help reduce the overall costs of service and support over the life of your system.
3. Training - Now that you have a system, how do you use it? Systems can provide a wealth of information and are rich in features. It is important to chose a provider who can teach you how to use your new system so you can get the maximum benefits and profit returns.
Technology has allowed providers to develop many useful tools to make learning your system easier. Providers should always provide on-site training during the installation of the system, however it is beneficial to find a provider who also offers additional training resources. Examples of additional resources include remote/virtual training and in-house training sessions. Some providers are even offering online video training libraries. This type of training can be extremely useful by giving you the option to access and review information whenever you need it or hire someone new.
4. Solutions not systems - There are two types of point of sale providers, those who sell systems and those who sell solutions.
While system hardware and software looks impressive sitting on your counters or at your lanes, it is limited by the lack of other important profit maximizing elements such as personalized modules and applications. A system solution is designed to address and solve your specific needs by combining hardware, software, support, training, information and personalization with a trusted provider to automate and maximize your operational efficiency and profits.
Blake Gillum
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Pixilation Animation

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Not all animation is done by hand. Many animations are done using different techniques, and in animation school, one of the most popular was pixilation animation. While somewhat similar to stop motion animation, pixilation often uses live actors and objects and sometimes other forms of animation, such as Claymation into its fun filled mix.
Pixilation uses the technique of shooting one frame at a time, just like in like stop motion and is primarily used with live actors. While it sounds easy enough, it can be a rather time consuming process, as you have to keep things like continuity in mind. If you're filming something outside, you want make sure the lighting is consistent and that there's no differentiation in the actual photography. The overall effect can be a rewarding exercise and if you're in animation school, it's a good way to play around and get a feel for it.
Say you're shooting a sequence where two people are walking across a field. You want to shoot one frame, then have them walk maybe about a foot, then shoot another frame, all the while repeating the process until they cross to the end. When reviewing the animation, it'll look as if they've bounced across the field rather quickly in just a few seconds, giving the actors the appearance of puppets.
Try the same thing using actors walking down a busy street, and you'll see how the characters, as well as others in the background, bounce all over the pace and how it makes for a startling effect. Pixilation is a great way for students in animation school to get a grasp not only of the genre's many possibilities, but also how to experiment with the camera.
Pixilation uses the same breakdown as does most other forms of animation. There's usually a storyboard involved with sketches on how the action should progress. If you're in animation school and trying this for the first time, it's a good way to get a grasp of how pixilation works. You might make a few mistakes, but the end result can be really cool looking and serve as a great learning opportunity as your style progresses over time.
Pixilation has existed since the early days of filmmaking, with the oldest known use of it in the short Spanish film El hotel eléctrico in 1908. Since then, it's been an extremely popular form of animation that has appeared in film, television commercials and music videos.
In fact, many celebrated filmmakers have flirted with pixilation, such as Norman McLaren, The Brothers Quay, and Mike Jittlov, with the best known being Czech animator Jan Svankmajer, who's created many surrealistic animated films and influenced many animators and filmmakers.
While the general technological approach to pixilation has remained the over the decades, probably the greatest use of it appears in the critically acclaimed "Sledgehammer" video by singer Peter Gabriel that combines elements of Claymation and stop motion animation. This particular video is ruthlessly inventive, featuring Gabriel in live action and in animated form surrounded by a myriad of objects. Its breezy five-minute running time cannot mask the fact that it took perhaps months to create, due to its complex fusion of live action and Claymation. Watching this particular video in animation school, as well as seeing it countless times on MTV, still remains a visual smorgasbord. Its inventive use of rapid paced imagery, especially the dancing chickens, has inspired numerous filmmakers and animators since it first appeared in 1986.
So, if you're unfamiliar with this type of animation, and have been dying to experiment with it, it can definitely be a fun way to create something unique and different. If you're in animation school, it's also a great way to let your imagination run wild.
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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

When Did Advertising Become Entertainment?

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Expert Author Michael Irvin
I must have missed the memo. When did it become mandatory to entertain people with advertising? Aren't there enough lame sitcoms out there to watch? I guess I'm too old school. I come from a background where advertising was educational, informational, and about brand identity. As an informed consumer I would like to know more about the product and be less entertained. Watching cute little 3D animated characters hit on each other doesn't give me the information I need to make an informed decision. Apparently though, some consumers would rather be entertained than informed or educated. Have we really sunk that low? Really?
Advertising should educate
How can you expect potential customers to buy your product if they don't know anything about it? Shouldn't you tell them what makes your product superior to your competitors? Shouldn't you tell them the value added they receive by buying your product over someone else's? Maybe it's better that a cute little squirrel chases after an acorn tumbling down a hill. What the hell does that have to do with your product? Advertising that doesn't educate doesn't attract customers. It might entertain them for a few seconds and then they are on to the next entertaining commercial.
It should inform
So you're having a big sale next week and you decide that the squirrel chasing an acorn is so entertaining that you build your advertising campaign around it and run an ad featuring him next week to promote your sale. However the squirrel fails to tell your potential customers the location, store hours, and limits of the sale. Nobody shows up, but be assured they were entertained. Advertising should inform your customers of not only who you are and what you sell but also inform them about your promotions, your sales, and your special offers and coupons.
Advertising should promote brand identity
Remember back when car commercials used pretty women in there ads? Guys would go out and buy a car hoping that by doing so they to would have a pretty girl in their life. That's brand identity. You want your customers to identify with the benefits of using your product. You want that benefit to be a good one. You don't want to send the message that if "you eat our food you will act stupid." The customer wants to identify with his life being better for having used your product.
Entertainment is a good thing. I like being entertained. There are many good entertaining ad campaigns out there that also educate, inform and promote brand identity. My point is this: if your ad campaign, marketing strategy, or whatever advertising effort you are making is relying solely on entertainment you are missing a huge opportunity to reach new customers and educate them as to who and what you do, inform them about your specials, new products, etc., and branding your product(s) by helping them identify with the benefits of buying from you. Which would you rather be known for? A clever, entertaining advertising campaign, or a well crafted message about your product and/or services that increases your bottom line. It's your choice. Choose wisely.
Michael Irvin is a Creative Project Manager residing in Overland Park, KS a suburb of Kansas City, MO. Michael draws on years of experience in the advertising and marketing field. He's an superb graphic designer and illustrator. He can be reached by email at: michaelirvinbigideaguy@gmail.com
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Four Mistakes People Make With Poster Printing

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People always seem to make mistakes when it comes to poster printing. Do you want to do this when you make your posters for your company? The best way to avoid mistakes that have been made in the past is to read about them before you have anything printed off. This way, you can keep from making these same errors over again. Below are four mistakes that people make that you should think about before sending your material off to the local printing company.
1. Spelling Mistakes
The biggest problem of all is that people print off words that have not been spelled correctly. There is nothing that can make you look less professional to potential clients and customers. At the same time, though, this is a very easy error to make. You need to look everything over a few times before you decide that you are done with it. You should also have a team of people who did not do any of the writing so that they can look at it with the eyes of a customer.
2. Poorly Displayed Graphics
Many times, the graphics that you decide to use will look great on your computer screen. The printing services will not be able to replicate the same thing on the paper, though. Computers are vastly ahead of printers as far as clarity is concerned. Do not order a large amount of posters until you have seen what the finished product is going to look like. You may need to make some changes when you see the paper version.
3. Text That Blends Into The Background
Again, this mistake is due to the use of a computer in the process. Blue may look like it stands out against black on the backlit screen, but the two colors will really blend together after the poster printing process as been completed. If you hang the finished product up in a dim room, no one will be able to read anything that it says. This makes it effectively worthless since you can be sure that people will not work hard to figure out what it says. You must make things obvious or they will just keep on walking past the poster.
4. Incorrect Contact Information
From time to time, people print documents with the wrong contact information. This could happen simply because an intern made a mistake or because you took the address from an old postal address file. Regardless, you should read over this to make sure that it is correct. Do not just skim over it because you have read the address for your company so many times. Without the right contact information, no one will be able to get in touch with you.
Let Master Copy Print, one of the industry leading printing companies, provide you with your high quality digital printing solutions for your business. We offer booklet printing, catalog printing, magazines, brochures, CDs & DVDs as well as many other printed materials you may need for your business. In choosing print shops to promote your business, consider Master Copy Print now.

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