Archive for the ‘Branding & Identity’ Category

Howdy! Hope you’re doing well!!

On Tuesday, I gave you a “Tackle it Tuesday” task – Gathering up all of your marketing efforts into one place. Now, for Thoughtful Thursday, I want you to take a moment and give some thought to your gatherings.

Grab a piece of paper and jot down the following questions and the answers to these questions:

• Does your marketing mesh with your current vision?
• Are you happy with what your message says?
• Do you need to revamp your message or your brand?
• Are there any additional places that you can be marketing?
• Any other ideas or thoughts that come to mind?

These will be the basis of your marketing plan for 2010. This will help to direct your sales vision. This information is crucial to your success in 2010!

Think…Think…Think…

And then let me know if you need help!

A

Welcome to our first Tackle it Tuesday. Every Tuesday I will be doing a post with the goal of tackling something (anything) that will help your business get ahead.

Today’s tackling goal: Gathering up all of your current marketing efforts.

If you are like most companies you should have a variety (even if it is a small one) of marketing efforts; this may include a combination of the following:

• Profiles on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn
• Links in online directories or other websites
• Print ads for magazines, newspapers or directories
• Collateral such as promo videos, brochures and business cards
• Giveaways like pens, magnets etc.
• Anything that has your company name on it anywhere, anyplace

Some of these items may be as easy to locate as your yellowpages book, your desk drawer or maybe your car (what do you mean you don’t have marketing materials in your car?!). Other items maybe harder to find.. Doing a search on the major engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN) will probably bring up items you didn;t even know where out there, so do that as well.

Perform the following searches in these engines and you’re all set:

1. Type the following in the search bar: link:http://www.yourdomain.com and press search.. This provides you with a listing of any site that has linked to you.
2. Search your own name “First Last” in both Canadian and American options
3. Search your business name “Business Name” in both Canadian and American options

(The reason for my use of quotations is this, if you type in your name as First Last, what the search engines will do is bring up any/everyone with your same first and/or your same last name in the search results. If you add quotation marks, the search engines limits the results to what is written inside the quotes; It will show your name only.)

Keep all of these newly found marketing methods in an envelope for now because I will guide you through another task (one that needs this info) on Thursday.

Have fun searching!!

Ariane

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Joyeux Noel! Whatever you’re celebrating right now, we wish you all the best!!

We will be officially closed for the holidays from December 24th through to January 10th; but of course will be back with our usual pizazz from that day forward!

This is our last post of 2009! Crazy how time has flown by and with such great things that have transpired in the past 365 days, we know that 2010 is going to be even better!!

We have HUGE HUGE news in the beginning of the new year that will see Foundation Studio becoming more involved in the small business industry; we have new clients that we are excited to tell you about and loads of awesome events that are set to kick off in January! Keep your eyes open for a new website, expert bloggers and even better content!

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A huge thank you to everyone who helped Foundation Studio get to this point – we certainly could not have done it without you!

A great big high-five goes out to all the Treasure Trove Companies – Our “little” Companies got a LOT of great exposure!

And to YOU; Foundation Studio Readers.. Thank you so very much for your replies, your input and most of all your willingness to keep receiving our posts – I promise you, 2010 will be full of fun, informative and exciting happenings!

Cheers to a great holiday, good eats and plenty of fun with family and friends!

‘Til 2010….

Ariane

Howdy!! I hope you are having a good October so far!! It’s pretty crazy to think that September went by that quickly!

October is usually the time when tradeshows, expos and craft fairs start to gear up for their busy season (the holiday season!!).

I have been privvy to some good show times over my past few years in business – I have been a vendor in small craft shows, medium consumer shows and even a HUGE weekend show that boasted over 80,000 attendees!!

I have learned TONS along the way about booth setups, ease in preparation and take down, time management tricks (to keep you occupied during your “slow” times) and even small tidbits that you didn’t even think of… zip tie anyone?!?!

Throughout all the times I have been prepping for shows, one thing remained the same – my “Booth Kit”. My booth kit has been my savior over and over again and even yesterday – when I was at my first show of the season, I actually inspired a few other vendors to create their own booth kit too.. I was setup in about 15 minutes and when I was done, I was out in 5 minutes flat!

The Checklist is loaded with tons of things to pack in your kit (as seen in the pic here) and guarantees that you will never be left without anything for a successful tradeshow ever again!!

I have The Checklist stuffed inside a clear sheet protector, taped to the inside of the cover of a medium rubber tote. Once filled, I throw the lid back on the tote and stick it inside my suitcase on wheels (with extending handle). All my small stuff fits neatly into the tote and then my bigger stuff fits into the suitcase and I zipp’er up and I’m good to go!

Yesterday’s show was a fabulous event that we sponsored; Stilettos & Sneakers.

Produced by Talk of the Town Events, Stilettos & Sneakers was a day long event that showcased a plethora of services that benefit the women of my town (Georgina). The turnout was amazing as women lined up at the entrance doors waiting to get in! The first 300 women were treated to a pretty cool bag filled with tons of swag and treats from all the vendors at the show!

There were mini makeovers, manicures, massages and even people getting their haircut on site! A fashion show and mini yoga classes could be found at various times throughout the day helping to keep attendees at the show for longer periods of time.

Foundation Studio was there showcasing it’s newest product (which I will have up online later this week!) and received great feedback! We had a raffle item that was donated by Jolie Mack Designs – a gorgeous pair of “Baroque Down” earrings – Our winner will be contacted tomorrow (I haven’t even unpacked the booth kit yet!)

Jennifer Anderson, CEO (Community Event Organiser) & Owner of Talk of the Town Events thought of everything when it came to entertaining the attendees – I can’t wait for her next event!

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I encourage you to download my booth kit checklist and get yourself duly prepped for your next tradeshow. Then drop me a line and let me know what your tips, tricks & tools for tradeshow success are. I’d love to hear them so that I can share them with everyone else and make this tradeshow season a success for everyone!

Cheers to a productive week!
Ariane

Happy September!

By now you should be back to school, back to work, back to reality :S Not always a good thing, but I personally like this time of year – almost like a fresh new page, you get to focus, you get to reconnect, you get down to business!

Last week, I wrote about a social media checklist, hopefully you had a chance to look them over and put them into action.. if not – check out the previous post to grab the checklists – getting your social media marketing methods into place..

This month, I have a ton of new stuff coming to fruition so it’s a great time to roll out a special!
Check out our partial Social Media portfolio and then Contact us today to get your Social Media Marketing in Gear.. and get your September Sales rolling..

September’s Social Media Mayhem Sale!

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Mike Samson, Twisted Sticker

Location: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Website: http://www.twistedsticker.com
Twitter: TwistedSticker
Facebook (Business): http://www.facebook.com/shmamberley?ref=nf#/group.php?gid=6375421897&ref=ts

The Entrepreneur Behind The Biz:
Having been in the label/barcode industry for 15+ years, circumstances allowed me the opportunity to launch Twisted Sticker initially focusing on our personalized labels. I am a work-from-home dad with a 10 year old son & 7 year old daughter. Twisted Sticker has now been going strong for over two years and I am very excited about the direction we’re going in.

[SinglePic not found]The Biz:
Twisted Sticker’s initial product offering was the personalized labels & iron ons. Sure, there are other companies offering a similar product but we wanted to change it up. My kids were never into the “cute & cuddly” designs so we wanted to offer something cool as an alternative. Many of the designs we offer are because of the kids’ input or input/suggestions from our customers. In addition to the personalized labels, we offer “business printing”. Many of the parents that were ordering the personalized labels started to ask if I can print other stickers & sizes etc. so we naturally started to offer a broader product range. We will shortly be launching an awesome new product line. The feedback we have had so far has been incredible and we are looking forward to being able to offer it on a regular basis starting August ‘09.

Why we shone a spotlight on it:
Twisted Sticker is a unique and fun company on an all round basis – offering 100% customisable stickers and labels, you are in charge of your order – right down to the color, quantity and even font styles. The customer service is bar none – Mike actually drove 2+ hours to deliver my order! I’m certainly not saying that you’ll get a personal delivery, but even throughout the entire design and order process, Mike stayed in contact with me to ensure that I was going to end up with a perfect end product!! Twisted Sticker regularly has customers supply their own designs, pictures or graphics and that’s one way they separate ourselves from other label/sticker companies. A happy customer contacted Mike recently with a testimonial that sums up who Twisted Sticker just perfectly…”Thank you for taking so much time to make it right. People like you are very rare these days. I think you are doing a great thing and I wish you the very best of luck.”

Know an Entrepreneur who deserves a Spotlight? (Maybe you??) Let us know!

Scrimp, Save, Penny Pinch, Budget, Cut Back – We’ve heard them all – It is after-all a recession.

I know we’re budgeting and scrimping over here and it seems to be working, but one thing I am not scrimping or cutting back on is my marketing.

Now is NOT the time to cut back on your marketing. Think about it, when all of your competitors ARE cutting back and scrimping YOU will be at the forefront.

So, how do you do that without the same cash flow as there was when we weren’t in a recession? Simple – think in an environmentally friendly way and implement the 3 R’s…

Huh?!

I know it sounds strange but let’s put it into action and you’ll soon be marketing like a pro – without spending more money!

1. REDUCE: Reduce the amount of wasted advertising and marketing dollars.

Take the time to revisit your original marketing strategy (when was the last time you did that anyways?!). Take a look and see what’s working (bringing in the bucks) and what isn’t (causing more grief than necessary)?

Look at the results carefully and compare them to the amount you spent on the campaign – was your bang really worth the bucks you spent? That is your guide to what to reduce – if you spent tons of marketing dollars, but the campaign only brought in a few inquiries – ditch it.. but if you spent a little and received orders – keep it..

2. REUSE: Say hello to an old marketing friend!

Take the winning campaigns from your REDUCING session and bring them back to life! If you notice that the design or copy is out of date (maybe you’ve rebranded) make some minor changes. Remember though, these are the campaigns that worked so go easy on the revisions. Maybe reinstate a specific discount or even a service – if it brought in sales – go for it!

3. RECYCLE: Dust off your hard work!

Chances are good that you have some old marketing material (brochures, biz cards, postcards, t-shirts) lying around gathering dust. Bring them out and use them! As with REUSE, bring back the base concept of the piece and if necessary make some minor changes.

Recycling the base design allows you to use the work that you’ve paid for (either financially or time spent) and ensures you don’t have to agonize over starting from scratch again.
*Tip: If you need to make revisions, be sure that you get a professional to do them. Paying a pro doesn’t seem like a great way to cut back, but trust me, they’re a pro for a reason. They’ll actually SAVE you money in the long run.*

The final step is another R but it’s not an environmentally based R..

REVIEW: Take a peek at your competitor!

Take a little look see at what your competition is up to.. if they’re staying quiet, make some noise. Host an event (it can be done affordably), do whatever is necessary to stay in the forefront of your clients’ and prospect’s mind!
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A final note on Marketing in the recession – there are plenty of freebie ways to get your name out there.. think about link swaps, web ads, networking groups and blogging. Of course you do need to have a branded message to participate.

I am offering a discount on all orders of a Web Ad Package – normally it is $95 for three main web ad sizes, but I’m going to knock off $20!

(offer expires at the end of June)

Send me an email (info@foundationstudio.ca) letting me know you’d like to order a discounted web ad package and we’ll get the process started to get your name out there!!

Wishing you a successful day!
Ariane

Thanks to everyone who entered our Blog Design Giveaway, we had tons of entrants and lots of great projects to work with!

The lucky winner of the Blog Design Prize (randomly chosen) is The Bancroft Skating Club!!
Located in Bancroft, Ontario, the Skating Club is going to get a total makeover from Header to Footer!!

Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about our contest including:
Mom Giveaways
The Mom Entrepreneur Group

We couldn’t have had such great turnout without you!!!

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Stay tuned in the next few weeks – we have lots of news brewing, and we’re going to feature some guest bloggers too!!

Have a great day!!

A