Insight Categories: Brand Strategy

It’s not often you have a great client who always lets you do great work. But the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has provided numerous opportunities for Grafik to do just that. Penny Murphy and Amanda Hall are extraordinary partners in that they consistently bring us in on projects where we can offer strategic insight and flex our creative muscles. They’re wonderful to work with because they value our perspective and really appreciate our work.

Recently, we helped them develop print ads showcasing both the value of specialist care, and the need for tort reform. The two sample ads shown here are just a few of the pieces we created. We hope to extend these campaigns soon, but right now we’re busy helping ACOG launch a microsite for their new online publication, pause magazine. I’ll have more to say about that in coming weeks, but for now I just wanted to say thanks to Penny, Amanda and Adam (the latest addition to the team) for making my job easier — and a heck of a lot more rewarding.

Cheers to good work and good clients.

Alexandria, VA — July 1, 2009. Grafik Marketing Communications, the DC/Metro area-based marketing communications shop has been named agency of record for the Philadelphia-based non-profit, Women’s Campaign International (WCI). Founder and former Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies chose the Grafik Team because of their keen ability to compassionately get to the heart of the brand, creating an identity and communications platform that commands market share and increases awareness in a highly-competitive sector.

“In a short time, Grafik has not only become experts on WCI, our work and our peers – but has been able to get to the essence of our brand and help us see how to distinguish ourselves to our supporters, donors and governmental grant-making bodies ,” says Margolies, who is herself, not only a former NBC reporter and five-time Emmy Award Winner, but a best-selling author. “They completely understand cause-branding and we look forward to working with them as a partner for many years to come.”

Since its founding in 1998, WCI led by Margolies, has focused its passion and resources on increasing the participation of women in political and democratic processes worldwide. Even as successful initiatives are fulfilled, the need and opportunity for new programs continues to grow. And after 11 years of operating on boundless conviction, WCI’s leadership has concluded that building a larger, broader base of support and funding is essential. At their last major event in NY, WCI honored many well-respected female luminaries such as Hillary Clinton, Katie Couric, Gloria Steinem and Geraldine Ferraro to name just a few.

“Grafik has always been concerned with doing important work, and as a woman-owned company, we are particularly committed to working with WCI,” says Grafik founder and CEO, Judy Kirpich. “We believe that working with WCI will not only make them more effective, but it will make Grafik a stronger company, keeping us close to our founding mission and contributing to make the world a better place for us all to live in.”

Grafik will redefine the brand identity and strategy, from logo to interactive presence. Additionally, Grafik will be assisting with PR messaging and the WCI annual fundraiser in November 2009 featuring luminaries in the field and to be attended by policy-makers, opinion-leaders and superstar spokespeople in women’s issues. For more information on donating to or creating strategic partnerships with WCI, please contact Kerri Kennedy at 215.387.2602 or go to www.womenscampaigninternational.org.

Editors Note:
Women’s Campaign International (WCI) is a United States-based, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to incorporating women into political, democratic and decision-making processes worldwide to impact legislative agendas. WCI works toward this goal by promoting and assisting women leaders at all levels in post-conflict countries with the skills and knowledge needed to influence policy, laws and social issues in the areas of education, environment, healthcare, social welfare, women’s, children’s and family issues. www.womenscampaigninternational.org.

CEO,  Judy Kirpich was recently interviewed along with 9 additional nationally-known design professionals as part of the AIGA/Aquent Survey of Design Salaries 2009. This group of select design professionals was asked to share advice on how to remain competitive in these challenging economic times. Here’s her advice for staying competitive:

Control only the things you can control

Here’s my advice for staying competitive in tough times:

Always manage your business like you are in a recession. That means putting money away in good times so you can weather the next recession—because there will be a next recession. Resist the temptation to spend profits during fat years because lean years always follow. Remember, cash is king.

“Business” is not a dirty word. Many of us designers look down our noses at the business aspect of our profession, in which creativity reigns supreme. Never forget that if you do not operate your practice like a business, there will be no place for your creativity to live.

You cannot control many things, but you can control your budget. During difficult economic times you can’t control if a business cuts back its marketing budget or Wall Street tanks. But you can control what you spend. A budget can help you understand where your money is flowing and is the best picture into your economic health. Create one yearly; look at it monthly; revise it if necessary.

A “Grub first, then ethics” mentality is shortsighted. If you abandon your professionalism by entertaining spec work, or by severely undercutting your competition, it will come back to bite you.

The health of the economy is not your fault. If your business is not doing as well as you would like, it won’t do any good to beat yourself up about it. There is less work and more competition for accounts and projects. And jobs are often cancelled right after they are awarded! That’s the definition of a recession. Just remember that you are going through tough times due to external circumstances out of your control— not because you are a bad designer or a bad person.

To read the comments of the other luminaries:

http://www.designsalaries.org/advice.shtml

Our firm is often called upon to engage in pro bono work. Sometime a long-standing client will ask us to provide our services for a worthy cause. Other times, employees of our firm might have a specific interest that could use our help. The reasons vary.

However there is a list of criteria we’ve learned to ask ourselves before making a commitment, and we offer them up for discussion as a good rule of thumb for others about to take this leap. Here’s our top 10.

1. Our first consideration is timing. Can we as a firm take on the commitment based on what we’ve already committed to in our studio? As much as we may want to, if our resources are thin, we have to pass.

2. Is the cause something we’re passionate to support? And will it go against the beliefs of even a minority in our firm?

3. Will a partner lead this charge? We don’t believe that it sends the right message to ask our employees to make a personal commitment of time and energy if we are not leading by example.

4. Is the potential client specific about their goals? It’s not enough to want a new identity or website. When working for a pro bono cause we seek actionable results for these clients. Our time is too valuable to create something for the sake of making it “new.”

5. Can the client afford to produce something of quality? This one’s admittedly a bit tricker to stick to. You must be up front regarding this question. Don’t wait till after you’ve committed. If the case is such that there is no funding for creative services, we still must know that the client can either find funding to produce quality execution or has secured other partners who will donate their services— at the same level of commitment that Grafik brings to the table.

6. Are we committed to the work being done on business hours? From our experience, we’ve realized that it’s critical that our staff understands Grafik is serious about the commitment we’ve taken on.

7. Will this effort foster a deeper relationship with our long-standing clients? Another tough one to answer. Only you can figure this out.

8. Can we create a story in our community around our effort? OK, it may sound a bit self-serving but it is a real consideration as we make our choices.

9. Can we exercise our creative chops? Another consideration that may on the surface sound less “selfless,” but pro bono work is not charity.

10. Is the potential client willing to give your firm creative freedom? You’d assume if they’ve approached you, that must respect what you can offer. Not always the case. Please don’t dance around this one. Be specific.

Should you be able to to answer yes to all of these. Of course. But if you end up with half on the affirmative side, go back to question #1 and then make your decision.

From our first kick-off with the city of Lynchburg, Virginia we knew it made more sense for Grafik to establish the brand sensibility from a high-level “look & feel” and then have our client’s various departmental teams develop materials specific to their needs. After creating a few key marketing pieces, including their new website and tagline, we set out to produce an online Brand Style Guide.

The guide is now available to the various departmental design teams who are putting it to good use. And  we’re no longer cringing.

Detailed description that deconstructs the Parks & Recreation Collateral Template

Wuvie. That was just one of the names Gannett Digital had developed for its new social network for moms. And as you might well imagine, it failed to inspire a single positive response with focus group participants.

Of course, the other names they had generated faced some pretty harsh criticism as well. And through the ordeal, our friends at Gannett learned just how painful naming can be.

It’s the same for everyone. You start a naming project, and everyone has a clear idea of what the name should communicate. But after weeks of searching, someone invariably strays off into the land of nonsensical terms and portmanteau words. I don’t want to go there — but my clients sometimes do.

Anxious to be done with it, they make long lists of ridiculous, and completely unpronounceable names. They find the wikiHow page on how to create a make up a word, while away hours on naming sites, or (and you knew this was coming) download an app for that. Then, the next time we get together, they unveil a name that looks like an alphabet soup spill.

“You can call your company anything you like,” I tell them, “but you better have the time and budget to make a whacky name meaningful. (Quick: Any of you know what companies like Xoopit, Squidoo, and Ponoko do?)

Not long after the focus group testing, we persuaded Gannett to let us take a crack at the name. And I gave them the best advice I could: Be patient. In the end, they were. And that’s why their national social network isn’t called Wuvie. You can check it out for yourself at MomsLikeMe.com.

Meanwhile, if you’re in the process of naming a company, or a product, you might want to think twice about a name that means nothing to anyone. The last thing the world needs is another Eefoof.

So today Etrade introduced a new online portfolio tool that will allow investors to cut out investment advisors. Supposedly it will give self-directed investors, after filling out a questionnaire, a recommended asset allocation model. According to an Etrade spokesperson this is geared towards the investor that is leaving a full service firm, still needs guidance but wants to control investing himself.

So here are my unvarnished thoughts. Oh- that will work really well as long as the markets start to recover and numbers go up. And it will work really poorly as individual investors start lining up on the ledge as markets start to tank. Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of having a long term relationship, and I mean long term, with an RIA is the advice you get when markets start to tumble. The words “long term” have a different meaning, and it takes real discipline to keep and maintain a long term investment strategy. Yes, I suppose the last 2 quarters of 2008 have shown us that stuff happens- but keeping that long term prospective is where an outside counsel can really help.

Since when did financial advice only become about performance? Yes- some of it is about asset allocation, some of it is about risk ratios, but some of it is about listening, being sympathetic. But some of it is also about reminding investors what their long term goals are, reminding them of historical patterns, and pointing out where models continue to work, and where they don’t. Lots of it is about experience and expertise and research- commodities that the do-it-yourself-financial-advisor may not have.

And so, once again our online replacements for real advisors, will attract average investors that want to cut out any fees, and want to control all their assets themselves. But I bet that will only work in the short run. In the long run… do you really want to take your advice from a company that makes wonderful commercials but whose own stock is down a gazillion percent and who has flirted with bankruptcy? Not the kind of investment advisor that I want in my court for the long haul.

I work in the advertising industry, but for the life of me I just don’t get the ad execs that recommended that GM, on the very day it files for bankruptcy, leaving thousands unemployed, creditors owed and the people of the US of A holding the bag—how on that very day can they recommend  launching a completely meaningless, self absorbed  TV campaign?!!

If you really want to reinvent yourself,question the wisdom of placing a video instead of plowing that money back where it belongs—getting this behemoth up and running again. All these “victory images”—hackneyed, and trite. Instead give us straight talk and action.

Now what I will give them credit for is putting up a pretty good “reinvention” web site that does answer lots of questions… of course some marketing hype. But at least on this microsite you get detailed information on concrete actions.

Funny how we call ourselves creative thinkers, but go about our work the same way day after day. We’ve developed our own tried and tested formulas for problem-solving. We’ve chosen the tools, the process and the atmosphere that makes us most comfortable. And in doing so we’ve created a safety zone.

Now don’t get me wrong, playing it safe in an awful economy is never a bad idea. It’s just not the way to get to the best solution. Breakthroughs only occur after you’ve hit the wall once or twice, and in truth, most of us aren’t willing to put up with that kind of pain. No, we prefer comfort.

In the most recent issue of CA, Milton Glaser says one of his greatest influences was Picasso. “His incredible willingness to abandon his own accomplishments … was the most important thing you could learn from Picasso; this incredible desire to give up what you know and always move toward uncharted waters. That ambition, is what I thought was extraordinary.”

We all know the uncharted waters Glaser’s referring to. When we first got into this business, that’s where we spent most of our time. And now that we’re a little older, (and hopefully a little wiser) it’s where we need to return.

So let’s go. There are no rewards for safety. So let’s go get uncomfortable.

We’re pleased to announce the launch of McArdle’s new website (www.mcardlesolutions.com). Long known as one of the area’s top printing companies, McArdle has evolved their knowledge, service and offerings to stay one step ahead of the rapidly changing communications industry. They approached Grafik to help communicate their evolution from ink on paper to today’s full breadth of offerings which include customized training, digital asset management, 1:1 marketing and more. With over 10 years of experience working together, Grafik began a rebranding process from logo design, print collateral, display signage and now— a new website.

The new website navigation design allows users to easily find the service they need while surfacing other services that visitors may not be as familiar with. A series of “Did You Know?” facts throughout the website support the effort to communicate their depth and breadth of expertise and service.

The website also communicates a level of personality and service McArdle is known for by their long standing client relationships through the straightforward design, color choices, illustration style. Features such as “Ask Our Experts,” and “Get a Quick Quote,” allow McArdle to raise the bar on customer service and generate new ways to stay in touch with prospects and clients.

It’s always nice when someone recognizes the good work being done by one of our clients. As he references the Arts District Hyattsville development, Richard Layman, from the Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space blog, points out that the ultimate goal of any mixed use urban development is to promote life within walking distance. This is exactly what the smart folks at EYA envision as they plan each development.

Read the full article here.

I love social media. I spend hours each day (maybe too many perhaps?) checking Facebook on my iPhone or Mac, tweeting (@psubuzz) and following the various “thought leaders” on Twitter, uploading pictures of my wife or puppy to Flickr and Facebook, streaming music from Last.fm, and reading the latest web news from Mashable or Techcrunch. So, it is not surprising that I am asked by my coworkers here (almost daily) why I haven’t blogged yet. And the answer to that question can be broken down into two simple points, the later being the most important:

1. As much as I know about social media, there is so much more that I don’t know and have yet to learn.

1. Social media requires consistency.

My officemate Tony (@tonyvia on Twitter) and I had this discussion last week as we kicked around the growing social media needs of our clients. Too often, social media is thrown about recklessly as a silver bullet, a means to generate big business, or a box that can be checked as companies develop their marketing plan. But as people have found out, social media is not a means to generate substantial revenue (yet), social media is not a quick and dirty way to market your company, and social media is certainly NOT a silver bullet. Social media is instead a way of thinking, a way of living, and a way of doing business. In 2009, social media can no longer be ignored when developing your business plan. Instead, social media should be a substantial component of your business strategy, one that requires an investment of time. It’s a way to get your message out, a means to connect with an audience, and largely, a way to talk with your peers, your customers, and sometimes, people that have never crossed your mind.

That said, let me return to why it’s taken me a few months to post… social media, like brand management requires consistency. And I have asked myself over and over, as any company should do before sticking their toe in the social media water, “can I provide enough consistent value to make the effort worthwhile?” This is my personal brand on the line, and to a certain degree, Grafik’s brand, as it is your brand when you participate with the social media community. It would be considered a failure in social media terms (and my own for that matter) if I were to make one post, and then never post again. Consequently, it would have a negative impact on my personal brand. The same thought process applies when setting up your company profile on social media platforms. Social media is not just setting up a MySpace profile or a Twitter account —The people you are connecting with need to perceive consistent value from what you are providing.

So, it is after some serious thought, that I say “yes.” I, as well as the rest of our interactive team, can indeed provide consistent value to our clients, our colleagues, and hopefully, value to the larger community. We live and breathe this, and I know we can successfully apply what we know to our clients. And we will do our best to share that on this blog. Heck, this is fun for us… and I look forward to the ensuing conversations that will take place with each other moving forward. Because again, social media is not a checkbox… it’s a way of connecting…

Join me in making 2009 a year to connect with our customers and with each other. Comments are welcome or email me (Brad at Grafik dot com).