Blabber Duckie

jillharding — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:53:42 +0000

How do you define your brand? Is it how you position yourself in the minds of stakeholders and the public in general? Is it shaped by what people think you do and how you do it? Is it determined by the design of your website, the quality of your marketing collateral or the success of your public relations efforts?

In lieu of the XLVI National Football League Bowl of Super (reworded slightly so not to step on toes :o), being in Boundless Design’s home state we want to share a huge back to your roots 2012 blog post. We have visited downtown Indianapolis, Indiana to see and be a part of one if not the largest sporting events in the world. We started by visiting downtown the night all of the festivities began and went back mid-week to enjoy even more and went to the NFL Experience. Wow, we are truly proud to be a Hoosier and appreciate our strong Indiana roots. Visiting downtown gave us a great appreciation for Hoosier Hospitality and what it truly means to stop and remember where you are from, your roots.

Brand strategy is the process of aligning what we say with what we do, to positively influence what customers think. Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana is aligning “Hoosier Hospitality” with the largest sporting event in the world and gaining a hugely positive experience from folks all over the country and even world.

Indianapolis, Indiana XLVI

Vince Lombardi Trophy on the JW Marriott

Ice Carving

NFL Experience, Indianapolis, Indiana

Colts Branded Indy Car

Pig’s Foot Family Fable

jillharding — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 03:49:07 +0000

Well with 2011 gone and a week into 2012 BD is ready to get personal this 2012. BD decided to end 2011 with a Top Secret design project that would surprise our entire family.

So we designed and had illustrated a children book by retelling a story that our grandfather told. Pig’s Foot. This story is our family fable passed down from our beloved grandfather Gordon Leigh Speer. We grew up listening and then watching others hear our grandfather tell this fable. We would all sit on the edge of our seats anticipating the fable’s surprise ending. By sharing our family fable, we too hope you and your family will enjoy this fable with your family from generation to generation. ENJOY!

We at BD want to share this family fable with you all as an example to get personal in 2012. In other words, we encourage you to grow from your roots to strengthen your brand. Keep it simple and know BD is here for you in 2012 as roots are important for any business.

We encourage your thoughts and comments, in fact we will personally mail out a book each to the first 5 comments we receive from this blog post.

Pig's Foot

Pig's Foot : Intro

Pig's Foot : Discovery

Marketing Coordinator, Springdale, UT

jillharding — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:20:57 +0000

POSITION: Marketing Coordinator, Springdale, UT

Organization: Zion Adventure Company

As Zion Adventure Company has grown over the last 15 years, so have our marketing and media efforts. We have always handled our markerting in-house, preferring custom-tailored copy, images, and design to anything we could hire out or subcontract. In 2012, we will hire our first full-time Marketing Coordinator - someone who can give their full energy and attention to promoting Zion Adventure Company in our store, in our local communities, and on the web.

Roles:

Oversee the implementation of the current 2012 marking plan, with revisions as needed

Monitor progress of 2012 action plan and goals achieved and communicate this progress with ZAC staff

Create 2013 marketing plan based on 2012 results and 2013 goals

Track success of various marketing strategies (i.e. Newsletter, Print Ads, Hiking Zion Maps, etc.) and evaluate effectiveness

Manage $100,000 Advertising Budget and leverage for best investments for web, print, and special promotions

Oversee Print Material Development and deployment

Manage Guide Photo Database within Lightroom

Manage other team members (up to 3 staff) assisting with material distribution and special programs

Continue Community Outreach programs, including YAZ and develop further to extend beyond Zion

Participate in monthly Zion Canyon Visitors Bureau meetings

Special Event organizing (Banff Film Festival Radical Reels,…)

Hiking Zion Distribution (100,000 units distributed across Southern Utah each year)

Develop and deploy web & local advertising campaigns

Build relationships with existing customers through newsletters and special events

Build relationships with local businesses, hotels, spas, and outlying businesses for product awareness and sales

Coordinate, arrange, & orchestrate media appearances (TV, web, magazine, newspaper)

Reports Directly to General Manager and works parallel with other directors for Outfitting, Guiding, Shuttles, River Tubing, and Overland Tours.

Prerequisites:

Minimum Two year commitment preferred.

Able to work with Adobe InDesign CS, Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS and Lightroom 3

Savvy with Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, Constant Contact

Able to learn functions in Joomla! Website Content Management System

Socially graceful

Industrious and able to work independently without supervision

Outdoor oriented and able to participate in rock climbing, canyoneering, mountain biking, and hiking on a weekly basis, both paid, and recreationally

Benefits:

Year-round employment with extended vacation allowances

Pay commensurate with experience, $15-20/hour, 35-40 hours per week, 40-45 weeks per year, (annual earning estimates at $25,000 to $38,000 per year).

$2500 medical reimbursement toward health care deductibles which can increase each year by percentage of pay based on tenure

2 weeks paid winter leave (Dec.-Feb), based on average semi-monthly earnings

Up to 4 weeks of unpaid leave each year

An exciting, dynamic work environment out of the city

Freedom and opportunity to alter, change, and inspire new ideas

Live in the foothills of Zion National Park year round

Apply Online: http://www.zionadventures.com/about/career-opportunities/2012-employment-application.html

CONTACT:

Application Deadline: January 23, 2012 for position beginning March 1, 2012

This position is posted as a National Outdoor Leadership School (”NOLS”) free alumni service. No NOLS endorsement is given or implied for any companies or jobs broadcast. See: http://www.nols.edu/alumni/organizations for other, regionalized list subscription opportunities— there may be a NOLS alumni group in your area.

Do you benefit from this free NOLS Alumni Jobs network service? Here’s a way you can help: use www.goodsearch.com for your Internet searching. It uses Yahoo’s search capabilities and donates a penny to NOLS for each of the searches you probably do anyway. Yup, all you gotta do to help support NOLS is go to the goodsearch site and designate “NOLS” as your non-profit of choice. Easy, useful and helpful. Wow.

NOTICE - we repeat postings about every four weeks. If you’re a long-term job-seeker, you’ll see positions cycle. However, don’t despair, use that handy “delete” button—it’s cheaper than blood pressure medicine. Employers — don’t fret, your key openings will get re-broadcast to nudge those high-quality, yet fence-sitting Jobs network subscribers.

JobsListID: 2011 - 004865

Balance Your Space with Colors

jillharding — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:54:24 +0000

Remember a solid brand is much more than a well crafted logo. Brand is the personality that identifies a product, service or company (name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them) and how it relates to key constituencies: customers, staff, partners, investors etc. Some people distinguish the psychological aspect, brand associations like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and so on that become linked to the brand, of a brand from the experiential aspect.

So remember color plays a huge role in creating a visual brand… what do the colors within your office space, marketing materials say about your company’s visual brand?

[CREATIVITY] : Orange expands your thinking. It reduces self-consciousness and allows you to express yourself with confidence. Use it in your space when you want to feel younger. It is the color of laughter and celebration. [try an orange.. mouse pad, one wall or notecards]

[PROSPERITY] : Green increases wealth. The primary color in nature, it corresponds with life’s riches. It is the color of fresh starts and growth. It will encourage you to honor your unique talents and manifest them in the material world. [try a green.. checkbook, desk chair or office door]

[CALM] : Blue gives a sense of peace. It dissolves tension and promotes tranquility. Light blue especially brings ease into the office and harmony into relationships. Wearing or surrounding yourself with it helps calm aggressive tendencies and eliminates discord. [try a blue... office wall, peg board or office wear]

[CONCENTRATION] : Yellow increases your focus. It is known for enhancing intelligence and mental agility. It can help stimulate conversation and clarify thoughts. [try a yellow... no.2 pencil, bookmark or post-it notes]

[ENERGY] : Bright red will fortify you. It is a stimulant. It promotes courage and fearlessness. Use this color when you want to increase self-confidence. But too much red can make you feel overly excited. A little goes a long way. [try a bright red... dish of candy, picture frame or coffee-table book]

For example… in our Boundless Design studio, we have a bright red rug (in photo above) which is an extension of our visual brand palette. We soften this strong energy color value with large white desks to represent the clean fresh approach we give to every design project.

Also in the above photo is a logo development project we designed for INpact Medical Device Network.

Staying in Business : A Branding Story

jillharding — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 16:55:59 +0000

Someone has well said that the two most important rules of business are: 1) Stay in business; and, 2) Don’t forget rule number one. If your business fails, you cannot serve your customers. Obviously, we can learn lessons about staying in business from those who have done it.

Last Christmas we received a SodaStream. While we really thought this gift was cool and fun to use, I had no idea the SodaStream story until my brother told “hey you know SodaStream has been around since 1903, right?” And I really had no idea and I thought SodaStream was a brand new company/product.

BD with our SodaStream

SodaStream was started in 1903. It was a carbonation system invented by Giles Gilby that made standard water into fizzy water and was originally sold to the upper classes. Different flavours were introduced in the 1920s. Cherry ciderette and sarsaparilla were two of these. In the 1970s and 80s it enjoyed vast success, becoming a big hit in countries such as the UK, Germany and Australia.

The company underwent numerous changes in ownership, becoming, at one point, part of the Cadbury Schweppes empire. 1998 saw the company change hands for the final time when purchased by Soda Club, at that time Israel’s biggest supplier of SodaStream. SodaStream remained the name of the brand after Soda Club’s unsuccessful bid to change the brand to Soda-Club.

This year, and every year, thousands of new businesses will be born, and thousands of others will be buried. By analyzing a business like SodaStream we can identify qualities and strategies that might help our own businesses survive. Thanks to SodaStream’s realization that a re-branding effort was greatly needed to survive they are back on the market stronger than ever in their respective market. This is a remarkable branding story. bd

Defining Moments… A Fully Designed Life.

jillharding — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:00:21 +0000

1967 Ralph Lauren (age 27) establishes the Polo label with an instantly successful line of ties. In direct opposition to the narrow ties and conventional styles of the time, Lauren designs wide, handmade ties using unexpected, flamboyant, opulent materials. The ties quickly become a menswear status item.

“A tie was the way a man expressed himself. I believed that men were ready for something new and different. They didn’t want to look as if they worked for IBM. A beautiful tie was an expression of quality, taste, style.” – Ralph Lauren

Already interested in promoting a lifestyle with his ties, Ralph Lauren names his line after a sport that embodies a world of discreet elegance and classic style: Polo. When asked why the name “Polo” Lauren’s answer was simple he really enjoyed sports but could not name the company basketball, baseball, tennis, etc. as he wanted a more sophisticated internationally known sport hence “Polo.” Ralph Lauren teaches us to keep design simple and do not over think it.

The Polo Ralph Lauren brand is still going strong today nearly 40 + years later. The PRL stayed true to it’s roots – “About Living - About Life - About Living Life Stylishly Comfortable.” The PRL story and branding impact reminds us at BD to embrace and recognize “defining moments” as these moments can have an impact beyond your wildest dreams. Simply do what you love and most importantly love what you do. -BD

Polo Ralph Lauren & BD

Ralph Lauren & BD