What Color is Your Brand?
From UPS brown to Tiffany blue, many brands have strong associations with colors, and that’s no coincidence. Whether you’re managing a global brand, a regional institution or a micro start-up, color can be a powerful way to build and reinforce your own brand equity.
But in case you don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to pay someone to analyze what color your brand is and/or should be, here are some free resources that offer some food for thought.
- “Your Brand’s True Colors” – Entrepreneur magazine. Selling health or wealth? According to this article, green may be for you. Have a brand that’s all about fun? Try orange—it exudes vitality. See what other colors have traditionally come to represent and if yours aligns with your brand.
- 2013 Color of the Year – The experts at Pantone decreed Tangerine Tango as last year’s must-have color, and it appeared everywhere from the red carpet to home interiors. So what’s this year’s winner? Click through to find out and see how you may be able to incorporate it into your graphics.
- Basic Color Theory – Get a solid introduction to the theory behind colors at ColorMatters.com. Find out all about the color wheel, color harmony and color context and start putting together color solutions that are visually appealing as well as emotionally evocative.
- 2012 Color in Design Awards – Peruse the 40 winning entries in last year’s Color in Design Awards, presented by HOW, the leading creativity, business and technology magazine for graphic designers. You’re sure to find something to inspire you.
Finally, just for fun try ColorMatters.com’s Global Color Survey. Submit your answers to 19 multiple choice questions – with no wrong answers! – to receive global results showing favorite colors and associations of 130,000 people around the world.
Kicking the Post-Holiday Retail Blah’s
It’s kind of ironic that you barely have time to enjoy the calm after the holiday storm before panic starts to set in as you watch your sales drop precipitously.
But in a classic case of making lemonade out of lemons, this slower time just might be the perfect opportunity to do some of the things you weren’t able to get to during the busy holiday season. Here’s a list of 5 ways you can kick those post-holiday blah’s and position yourself for even better sales in 2013:
1. Hit a trade show. January is ‘tis the season for checking out the fresh new goods rolling out in 2013. Last week’s Retail’s Big Show in NYC kicked the trade show season off, but you know the right shows for your industry. If you don’t, TheTradeshowCalendar.com features an incredibly extensive list sortable by industry, location and much more.
2. Catch up on the latest industry news. Whether it’s a book you’ve been meaning to read, a trade publication, or even a blog like the National Retail Federation, the winter months are a great time to hunker down with some great reading and get inspired for ways to be even more successful in 2013.
3. Freshen up your store. If you’re like many retailers, this is the time to inventory, clean house and prepare for your spring merchandise. But while you’re at it, take a good hard look at what your customers are seeing, from exterior signage and graphics to your interior wall signs and displays. SBT has a full line of interior and exterior graphics and displays that can call attract more traffic to your store, attention to new products or promotions, and even drive sales with point-of-purchase displays.
4. Do some data mining and marketing. If you have access to customer data and/or contact information, now is a great time to schedule some regular outreach to them, whether it’s in the form of emails, postcards or even special offers to your social media followers. There are a number of programs such as HootSuite.com that allow you to schedule social media in advance – so you can rest assured your busy schedule won’t derail future communications.
5. Take some time off. If nothing else, this might just be the perfect season to take that vacation you’ve been putting off. Go skiing, visit the tropics or even enjoy a “staycation” – whatever it takes to recharge your batteries and get you raring to go for 2013.
We hope we’ve inspired you to look at this slower time as a gift rather than a curse – and wish you the very best as you prepare for another successful year.
Custom Is King
Henry Ford’s most famous quote to describe the ubiquitous Model T was “You can have it in any color you want, as long as it’s black”. Something so revolutionary to American culture, that changed our demographics, geography, our fundamental core, only came in one color. We’re used to that though aren’t we? The first iPhone? Black. Men’s slacks? You better like black, brown, or navy. Who could forget the lovely shade of IBM beige?
Today though, businesses and consumers are waking up to the colors and patterns of the world around them. You can buy an iPod in no less than 9 colors, a Ford Focus in 10 vivid hues, and for the more adventurous, slacks come in lovely shades of red, purple, and green. Why stop there though? With new advancements in technology almost any object can be customized to fit the personality and mood of the person strutting around with it.
Nowhere is this more evident than the sign industry. It used to be easy to describe a sign. They said things like “Open, please come in!” or “Sale 50% Off!”, were square, and frankly, kind of boring. You had a few colors to choose from, a few materials, and that was about it. Not anymore. New print technologies allow nearly anything you can imagine to be easily customized, and for a very reasonable cost. Want your new couch to match your new wallpaper? No problem, print the upholstery with a custom color. Do you want your waiting room chairs to be emblazoned with your corporate logo, complete with an accurate color match? Simple. A sign suddenly doesn’t seem so square does it? The only thing limiting the applications is the depth of your creativity.
So next time you are yawning while looking at your white walls and gray carpet, remember it doesn’t have to be this way. You live on a planet full of color. Every surface, every texture, every object in your space doesn’t have to be boring. Make it yours, make it pop.
Effective Use of Custom Feather Banners for Property Managers
Ashley Werner Marketing Manager TexVisions
You know them as feather banners, flutter flags, or teardrop banners. You’ve probably seen them everywhere—by the roadside, in front of a business, and on car lots. What makes feather banners so popular? Like one of their names, they flutter in the wind to attract attention while remaining taut so the message is readable in high winds or no wind at all.
So what is the best way to use custom feather banners on your property? Here are a few things to consider ensuring your feather banners are as effective as possible:
Who is your audience?
Before deciding the placement of your custom feather banner, consider its purpose. What are you trying to achieve? Do you want to draw in people driving by your property, or advertise a sale to people already on your property? The first step to ensuring that your feather banner is effective is to consider your audience. You can’t decide the best place to put your banner if you don’t know who your audience is.
Where do you need it?
Once you’ve decided who your audience is, you need to decide where to put your custom feather banner. Consider the best place to reach that particular audience. For example, if you want to reach people driving by your property, putting feather banners along the road would probably be the best way to reach them. If you want to reach people already on your property, however, putting feather banners in your lobby would be a better solution. Because feather banners remain taut without wind, they can be used effectively in both indoor and outdoor settings.
How often will you change it?
Will your feather banner be a permanent or temporary display? After determining your audience and banner placement, this is the next thing you need to decide. Is this a permanent display? Choose a more permanent base,
Custom Feather Banners
such as a ground stake, and take care of your print so it lasts as long as possible before it has to be replaced. For temporary displays, select a base that is easier to be removed, such as a square base, which sit flat on floors and sidewalks. You might also consider selecting a feather banner size that will fit multiple settings. If you only have to change the print, you will get multiple uses out of your feather banner, even if it is a temporary display.
These are merely a few things to get you started with your feather banner. These tips, however, can apply to any display you may be using. No matter the display, if you start by asking yourself these questions, your custom feather banner is sure to be effective!
Real Estate Signage and Yard Signs – “Beyond Stakes and Open Houses”
Latest Trends in Real Estate Signage
Seemingly as long as people have been selling properties, realtors have been pounding “For Sale” signs on stakes in the front lawn and flying balloons to promote open houses.
But thanks to today’s new graphics and signage materials, there are more options than ever to call attention to your residential and commercial sale properties while reinforcing your brand.
Take for instance feather banners.
Leasing Feather Banners
You see them popping up in front of commercial properties but why not consider using these attractive visual signage aids to generate attention for your next open house? Easy to set up and store, reusable and durable, these can be a great option to lead prospective buyers to the front door.
Other creative and attention-getting options for real estate signs and graphics include:
- Full color outdoor custom banners that can be hung from the front of the property
- Custom interior graphics are perfect to call attention to unique features and areas in model homes
- Freestanding custom A-frames signs and stands are also easy to transport, are reusable and are available in a wide variety of sizes and materials to fit any budget
- Retractable outdoor banner stands can be brought in and quickly set up for an open house then removed for inhabited properties
- Custom vehicle graphics and wraps turn your car into a moving billboard that you can use to drive traffic to your website, where potential buyers often start
Remember the signage and graphics materials you choose do more than just impact how much attention a property receives from interested buyers. They can also have a direct reflection on you or your realty firm. So turn to the signage experts at Signs By Tomorrow who can develop a custom signage and graphics package that can help change your next real estate property from “For Sale” to “Sold”!
HP and Signs By Tomorrow: Helping your Business Achieve its Sustainability Goals
By John Stevens, Strategic Accounts Manager at Hewlett-Packard
Through the introduction of its water-based latex inks and recycling programs, global sustainability leader HP is supporting Signs By Tomorrow sign and graphics centers around the country in producing greener custom signs and graphics. Read on to find out more about the various green products available and how your business or institution can use them to implement greener visual communications options!
Inks
As mentioned above, HP offers water-based latex inks that are odor free, HAP free and do not emit harmful levels of toxins, making them ideal for sensitive indoor environments such as schools, health care facilities and restaurants. HP’s green latex inks also produce eye catching indoor quality graphics with outdoor durability. These revolutionary inks can be used to produce a variety of custom graphics, including Posters, Wallpapers, Banners, Backlits, Vehicle Wraps, Custom Decals and Soft Signage. When combined with select HP media, you can have a true green (and eye catching) sign & graphic solution.
Paper
HP PVC Free Wallpaper is a FSC-certified paper based media that when printed with HP latex inks is GREENGUARD Children & Schools certified, providing you the reassurance you need for your indoor air quality requirements.
To Say More, Say Less with Custom Vehicle Graphics
As a business owner, it’s hard to stop talking about your business. You want to tell everyone what you do, how you do it differently, and how much you enjoy it. That passion for your business is what motivated you to open it in the first place right?
Too Much Text
Sometimes though, you can say so much that no one hears a word of it! One of those times can be when you decide is use custom vehicle graphics to advertise your business. Vehicle graphics, wraps and lettering are a cost effective method of garnering plenty of advertising impressions for your business but only are effective when they are used properly.
Branding in a Box: A Survival Kit for Helping Launch a Small Business Brand
Dave Taylor, President, Taylor Brand Group
By Dave Taylor, President Taylor Brand Group
For a small business getting started on a shoestring marketing budget, branding may seem like a distant goal, but it doesn’t have to be. Gala customer events and full page ad campaigns may have to wait, but putting some basics to work can make a difference to early success. Major brands like Starbucks were built with a big branding idea and a relatively small advertising budget. But they also did a lot of little things right.
Here are seven do’s and don’ts for branding a small business:
