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Ask a Branding Pro... Free Advice, with no B.S.
Whether for business or family keepsake, a portrait is a treasured, personal work of art. Some edgy, new century portrait innovations will make you want to resurrect the old custom of having your portrait made. Stay tuned for some exciting tips on how to add these innovations to your own portraits.
Posted by Kitty A Smith on July 17th, 2008 at 11:42am — No Comments
Today, professional photography has taken a backseat to camera phones
and digital frames, photo bucket and scrap booking. Although all of
these have a place in our lives, don't forget the beauty and joy of a
special portrait. Portraits are made at the beach, a theme park or even
in the family bed. They can be as unique as your fingerprint.
One photographer who has used some interesting ideas in his photography is Christopher Bridge. Check…
Posted by Kitty A Smith on July 17th, 2008 at 11:42am — No Comments
Okay so it's time for me to do a little self-promotion. I've just released the newest and greatest product in the 5SonStudios family of products.
Have you ever wished that it was more immediately clear what you do when your customers visit your website? Have you ever felt the need to point to a specific aspect of your website or welcome someone in a more "lively" fashion that can be done images and photography alone?
Posted by adam fiveson on June 27th, 2008 at 2:51pm — 1 Comment
Really? and my uncle plays golf on the weekends but he's not Tiger FREAKIN Woods!!!
Why is it that every profession on earth has a barrier to entry except ours?
Any imbecelle with a computer and a copy of Photoshop can call themselves a creative professional.
Hell, "artist" is now Goddamned code for "lazy bum".
I work my tail off educating my clients to no avail... I'm constantly being offered ridiculously low rates or worse... "a piece of the action" to do my work…
Posted by adam fiveson on June 19th, 2008 at 9:49am — 1 Comment
I read an interesting article on BrandChannel, "People Buy Brands Like They Make Friends." The article written by Nichiketa Choudhary explored
the various relationships brands have with their customers. You can read the full article here.
Choudhary writes:
"Consumer-brand relationships are less about love and more about friendship.
Just like our friends, bran…
Posted by Karen Swim on May 15th, 2008 at 11:14am — 3 Comments
The 2008 Brandjunkie Survey Results are in and some of the results may surprise you. You can read the survey results here but below are a few excerpts.
When asked to describe themselves as a brand and identify what brand they would be, the top five answers were Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, Virgin and BMW. Top five brands that respondents would most like to sit next to at a dinner party were Apple, Virgin, Google, Coca-Cola and Nike. When…
Posted by Karen Swim on April 1st, 2008 at 8:46am — 2 Comments
Check this link out for something a bit different....once open, just give it a few seconds to get going...
http://producten.hema.nl/
Damn that's excellent!!!
Posted by adam fiveson on March 12th, 2008 at 10:39am — 1 Comment
They only way you will have buyers beating a path to your door by "Simply Building It" is to have them come to your door first.
When delivering a product or service to the person making the purchasing decision you must make sure the the product actually meets NEEDs, address Wants and adequately controls their expectations.
This is accomplished by taking time to listen to them before you take the time and effort to "Build it".
Niel
Posted by Niel Leon on March 10th, 2008 at 1:25pm — 11 Comments
OK, so the other day I broke down and finally hired a salesperson. His name is Scott and he has been a friend of mine since I was 14.
I went ahead and got him some business cards and gave him the tools to go out there and get me some business.
Now before I tell you all the issue of the day I think it's fair to point out that Scott and I are good friends but he isn't "in" the business... he comes from a sales background b…
Posted by adam fiveson on March 7th, 2008 at 9:37am — 1 Comment
Posted by Karen Swim on March 3rd, 2008 at 9:36pm — 9 Comments
No, I'm not rehearsing a script for the lead in a sadomasochistic short story.... I'm thinking about what I think every time I hear a client tell me that they are really wanting "out of the box" concepts for their work.
Typically, when a client asks for such a thing what they really want is simple, effective advertising... which is fine... safe... dull... boring.... and actually pretty lame ass advertising but it's fine I guess. We can do boring too and it pays the bills.
But to…
Posted by adam fiveson on February 12th, 2008 at 8:42am — 3 Comments
If you say it enough, does it make it true? We tried hard not to use the "R" word. But as we watched the housing market tank, our neighbors losing their homes and jobs and teary eyed stories on Good Morning America there was just no denying it - the US is in a recession.
While we understand what that means on a personal level, what does it mean for your business? How will it impact your branding efforts?
Well some marketers simply make lemonade out of lemons. We're in a recessi…
Posted by Karen Swim on February 8th, 2008 at 10:22pm — 3 Comments
One of my favorite design review stories comes from a device that I developed for the US Military. It was a special container that held chemical simulants to confirm operation of a chemical dector first used in the 1991 Gulf War. The simulant package had to be small, rugged, inexpensive, easy to manufacture, a prevent the simulant form escaping prematurely.
Larry, my designer, and I developed the design prepared all the drawings and got the first units made for evaluation by Marketing…
Posted by Niel Leon on January 27th, 2008 at 4:38pm — No Comments
This isn't true.... back in the day, cigarettes were marketed by cute little babies and by Santa!
And it was OK to beat your wife over what brand of coffee she buys.
(those were the days... now she onl…
Posted by adam fiveson on January 26th, 2008 at 5:31pm — No Comments
Social media is hot and businesses are using it to engage customers and ignite viral marketing. The trend makes managing your online identity an essential component to your overall branding strategy. Comments posted to forums, blog posts, profile pages on FaceBook, LinkedIn and even your social bookmarks contribute to how your brand is viewed.
It is worthwhile to give consideration to what you write, text, type, endorse, rate and photograph before hitting the enter key on your keyboard…
Posted by Karen Swim on January 26th, 2008 at 11:26am — 8 Comments
I started a Forum Thread about Product Development - http://www.brandingservices.org/forum/topic/show?id=1699302%3ATopic%3A1361 -
where I noted that being first and original is not always the best road to success with new products. If being the FIRST with a new product was the ultimate situation then patents woulds have a much higher success than they do. In the USA there are over 7,320,000 patents…
Posted by Niel Leon on January 19th, 2008 at 11:05am — No Comments
But crap floats too.
I'm always amazed when I see the crap I get in the mail from people trying to win my business.
Just the other day, a local chinese restaurant decided that to celebrate the new year, they would send me this bamboo wall calendar to try and win my business.
Yes, the Great Wok thought a calendar with DOGS on it…
Posted by adam fiveson on January 18th, 2008 at 10:50am — 4 Comments
Many business owners have lots of questions about hiring a writer. How do you select the right writer? What quality can you expect? What price should you pay? For those who brave the quest for a writer they are often rewarded with wide swings in pricing and experience. In my practice I've been the writer and the person tasked with hiring writing talent so intimately understand the issue from all sides. I've put together a few tips that will help the business owner in need of writing talent. The…
Posted by Karen Swim on January 11th, 2008 at 3:23pm — 1 Comment
OK, so I'm working on my own branding... building a site and creating marketing materials for 5son Studios (a new name because I've ALWAYS felt 5webdesign is too limiting and doesn't describe what I do).
The projects I do for myself are ALWAYS the hardest. I mean I've had designers and ad agencies hire me to do their self promotion and it's a snap.... but when I put the creative juice to my own business I'm almost always creatively sapped.
I think it's about perspective.... seei…
Posted by adam fiveson on January 11th, 2008 at 12:09pm — 4 Comments
Hello,
No sense in being funny about this, I'm seeking answers. Okay, what is this place? I recognize the gentleman from Elance, so I don't feel I've been duped. A community where the need-to-vent types like myself get their own corner of the world, or a locus cell gathering authoritarians?
Well, I'll play along. Wait! This isn't hopscotch is it? I have one bad knee and can't bend the other. I had to spell check hopscotch so lost my train of thought. I'll introduce myself proper…
Posted by Joshua Henry on January 7th, 2008 at 10:58pm — 3 Comments
OK, people... if anyone is reading this PAY ATTENTION!!!
I have created this BS site for one reason. To help promote my business and to help you to promote yours. It's a self fulflling process which SHOULD help us all.
The advice columns and helping people with their issues is a nice side effect.
The plan here is to become a resource for all things creative.... google, yahoo, etc.... will see this site and rank it HIGH because of the…
Posted by adam fiveson on January 4th, 2008 at 2:14pm — 7 Comments
They say content is king... and while I love my copywriting friends I may have to help stage a coup in the royal family.
Content is important of course, and how you frame your message is CRITICAL.... but as a designer, I think there may be a new monarch in town. The Content Managed Website.
A CMS site is basically a website which can be designed using your special branding, complete with ALL the bells and whistles... from simple contact forms to ecommerce solutions. All availabl…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 28th, 2007 at 9:26pm — No Comments
Brand unity matters for everyone. Whether you’re a major corporation or a small corner store, you’ll find that marketing your business is an easier proposition if you can ensure that common themes, ideas and designs run through all your marketing materials.
All businesses – and consumer businesses in particular – are dependent on their advertising. But it’s very easy to design advertising materials in a piecemeal way, as their needed or as funds become available. If you’re a small start…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 26th, 2007 at 3:00pm — No Comments
These days, one of the most popular ways of getting your business known is to issue a press kit. You’ve spent good money on glossy brochures and leaflets, you’ve hired a copywriter to fine tune your sales texts, and now you need to get your company’s brand out where it belongs – in the badlands of the media. Put together a press kit and send one to carefully targeted media organizations.
But what does a press kit need? Well, no two are exactly alike, but most have certain things in comm…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 24th, 2007 at 3:00pm — No Comments
Who Is Your Freelance?
There are a lot of creatives out there these days. Have a look around Elance.com, or Guru.com – these sites are packed with guys who will happily design your site or logo, or write your copy. Some of them promise the earth for very low prices, and while its true that the increased competition that the internet has permitted has driven the price of creativity down in recent years, the old rule still holds good:
You Get What You Pay For
There it is…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 23rd, 2007 at 3:00pm — No Comments
Now, if you were the kid who used to jump up and down at the back of class waving your hand in the air and making ‘ooh, ooh!’ noises whenever teacher made a mistake, your pants are probably on fire right now. The wiseguy eleven-year-old still living in your head wants to tell me that in the New Testament the Gospel of John starts: ‘In the beginning was the Word…’
Well done little Jimmy or Jane. Have a popsicle and go ahead and jump out of the window. You’re smart, but not quite smart en…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 22nd, 2007 at 3:00pm — No Comments
Today we're going to do a little Shakespeare. Bear with us. It is relevant.
You know Romeo and Juliet? It's Act 2, scene 2, and Juliet is standing on her balcony. She's recently met Romeo, though she doesn't know that the little peeping-tom is crouching feverishly in the bushes below. She's worried, because he's a Montague, and she's a Capulet - and their families are involved in a bitter feud. But, she wonders, why should she hate him just because he's called Montague? Riffing on the i…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 21st, 2007 at 3:00pm — 4 Comments
Size really does matter! Large format design such as billboards, bus ads and vehicle wraps can have a profound impact towards the success of your business. It produces greater visibility and brand awareness not found in other mediums.
Vehicle wraps are the next greatest thing in large format advertising. A vehicle wrap is made of vinyl and adhered to the exterior of a vehicle. It provides your business with a mobile billboard. It provides constant impressions–a free set of constant imp…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 20th, 2007 at 3:00pm — No Comments
We've been reflecting lately - we won't tell you the exact reasons why - about the nature of woolly briefs.
Nope - this isn't the ultimate revelation of some hitherto undisclosed underwear fetish, but rather a disquisition on the bane of the creative life. A "woolly brief" is the name we give for client instructions that are vague, obtuse or downright unhelpful. They come in two types.
Type one: client say things like, "uh - right. Yeah we kinda want a brochure that says we're…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 19th, 2007 at 3:00pm — No Comments
Maybe you’ve heard some stuff about viral marketing. It was very fashionable a couple of years back, and plenty of ‘gurus’ made plenty of money by writing books about it.
Not the kind of thing for your business, you’re thinking. You’d be wrong. Like most marketing strategies, viral marketing basically boils down to common sense. It’s cheap, and if you do it right it can be easy.
But what is it?
Viral marketing, very basically, is the oldest kind of selling there is. It me…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 18th, 2007 at 4:43pm — No Comments
A painter will tell you that the greatest design is the most meaningful and aesthetically satisfying. An account executive in an ad agency will tell you it’s the design that sells the most boxes of soap powder.
Most everyday folks, if asked, probably couldn’t tell you. But they sure know great design when they see it. You’ll know this feeling: you go to a website, or pick up a magazine - and you just know it looks awful. Or great. But it’s hard to pin down why. That’s why it’s a good id…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 18th, 2007 at 3:00pm — 1 Comment
To understand it, you need to know about two things: soap and cattle. A brand, originally, was a red-hot piece of metal used to mark the hides of steers in the old West. Because the animals roamed freely, and fencing huge areas wasn’t practical, individual cattle were ‘branded’ with their owners’ unique mark to aid identification.
So a ‘brand’ came to be the distinguishing mark associated with a product. Later, as the word spread through the marketplace, it also came to refer to the ide…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 17th, 2007 at 3:20pm — No Comments
Recently I got a connection from Linkedin.com which was for a coding team out of India. They worked on the back end of one of my design clients websites and we had spoken briefly before... he wrote to me asking for my business. The problem with this is that I knew that the client was dissatisfied with their work (why would I EVER hire a company which failed to deliver for a client of mine?) after several emails back and forth for details of their working arrangements and hearing both sides of…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 17th, 2007 at 10:04am — No Comments
I am CONSTANTLY asked to add a "ltd, an inc, or an llc" to the logos I design for people and it irks the hell out of me.
While it would be far easier for me to just add the “ltd” to the logo and do as they ask, I think it’s my job t…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 13th, 2007 at 4:20pm — No Comments
This has NEVER made sense to me... hiring a designer from another country is like asking for waffles at Burger King.... and SO YOU KNOW ... if you just heard about Burger King for the first time, then YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM.
I'm not some Xenophobic jerk who thinks it's only good if the label says "made in America"... Though I'm patriotic, I'm not stupid. Heck I outsource things all over the world... but there are some things you do here... and some things you can do elsewhere.…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 13th, 2007 at 3:13pm — 2 Comments
This is really more of a rant - but here it goes! I am a provider on Elance and have noted it is becoming harder and harder to win a bid. Mostly because I am confident that if I quoted to be competitive I would not make a dime. So, I have continued to quote where I need to be and hope that a few people actually look at the quality of the work, verses the pricing.
So, this brings me to this morning. I had been working - providing information - educating - on a daily basis for a week wit…
Posted by Tina Walker on December 13th, 2007 at 10:20am — 4 Comments
Welcome to the branding services website where I hope, designers, photographers, illustrators and writers will come together, congregate and help people who are looking for the benefit of our expertise.
In the months to come, I will try and write up stories and experiences within my own member page and I urge you to do the same.
Anyone can be a member of Branding Services, which is essentially my very own "my space"... I've developed this location with the intention of creating…
Posted by adam fiveson on December 7th, 2007 at 8:00pm — No Comments
I have created this site with the intention of forming a community of designers, artists, writers, photographers and more in the hopes of referring my business to the members of this community.
It will ALSO serve as a conduit for potential customers to interact with us before making a selection... it will allow people to ask for free advice.
THE ONLY PRE-REQUISITE FOR BEING A MEMBER HERE IS A WILLINGNESS TO HELP.
Posted by adam fiveson on December 7th, 2007 at 7:59pm — 1 Comment
Posted by 
Kitty A Smith on July 17th, 2008 at 11:42am — No Comments
(Add)
Posted by Kitty A Smith on July 17th, 2008 at 11:42am — No Comments
(Add)
Okay so it's time for me to do a little self-promotion. I've just released the newest and greatest product in the 5SonStudios family of products.
Have you ever wished that it was more immediately clear what you do when your customers visit your website? Have you ever felt the need to point to a specific aspect of your website or welcome someone in a more "lively" fashion that can be done images and photography alone?
Posted by 
adam fiveson on June 27th, 2008 at 2:51pm — 1 Comment
(Add)
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