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Do You Have One Spokane?
Do You Have One Spokane? Well... DO You?
Klündt | Hosmer was excited to work with a mystery client in promoting a special campaign that launched today. Over the next 7 weeks, you'll see billboards, a webpage, videos, print and radio ads, and social media sites asking that question. On May 31 you'll be able to go to DoYouHaveOneSpokane.com to find out WHO does have one, and what you can do to get your own.
Curious?
Don't Look Now, But Your Brand is Showing
This morning, Sarah Schwering from Desautel Hege Communications and I co-presented a BizStreet presentation on branding to a group of interested members of Greater Spokane Incorporated.
Sarah and I talked through the basics of branding; what it is, why it is important to a business, how to make sure that a brand is authentic, how to manage brand communication and other aspects of successful branding.
Our presentation was projected on-screen, with handouts of real-world printed samples and website examples to reinforce our messages. We also linked to several YouTube videos showcasing the power of consumer-controlled media to criticize companies not authentic to their brand, along with video examples of businesses who are doing it right. Attendees were guided through a brief brand platform exercise to help them determine their brand strengths, competitive positioning and an examination of what makes their business unique.
It was interesting responding to questions and comments from the attendees. Whether the organization was a hotel, a law firm or a fire district, everyone realizes the power of a strong and appropriate brand. Sarah and I know that the better informed potential clients are about the value of branding, the better clients they may become... so we were happy to talk with the group today.
Libby Barnes, VP Membership of Greater Spokane has already received great feedback on our presentation. She is emailing a copy of our presentation to attendees. If you are interested in getting your own .pdf of our presentation, send me an email request at rickh@klundthosmer.com.
Your organization has a brand, whether you control it or not. Don't look now, but your brand is showing. Make sure it is what you want your customers and clients to see.
Is proofreading necessary?
I found this on a blog that I follow and thought you might find it interesting.
Can you raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! …
And when I think of the HOURS we spend proofreading annual reports, brochures and websites...
Pizza with Pearson
Any design firm can gripe about their clients. Never enough budget. Impossible deadlines. Way too many changes, etc. But the reality is, some clients are just really great people. While budgets, deadlines and changes may still be tight, it's nice to know when our work and efforts are appreciated by the client beyond their just paying the invoice.
Klündt | Hosmer got to experience that kind of appreciation this afternoon when the Pearson Packaging Systems marketing team dropped by our office with a surprise lunch of Bennidito's pizza, salad, and Darin's favorite frosted cookies from the Rocket.
This week we wrapped up the production of a big website initiative for Pearson Packaging Systems. Our team worked really hard and put in some late nights to get everything designed right, looking good and programmed correctly.
Pearson showed us their appreciation by supplying the lunch goodies and hanging out with us while we all ate together.
What a great way to wrap up a week of hard work. Thanks, Leslie and Janelle! You two (and your company) are awesome clients. We are proud to serve you and happy to have lunch with you, anytime!
Marrying Words and Design at Whitworth
Yesterday had the opportunity to speak to a class at Whitworth University. These students are learning about designing and editing a literary publication or journal. The class is taught by Thom Caraway. Annie Stillar (who now works in the English Department at Whitworth) recommended to Thom that I speak with his class.
We had an interesting discussion about the relationship with design and writing... how the two must be married in order to convey a consistent and credible presentation to the reader. Using industry stories and examples from our website and sketches on a whiteboard, I explained different options for developing a personality of a publication and how design, layout, font, color, paper and other elements can attract readers and set the stage for the desired message of the text.
It was fun having this dialog with the professor and students. Hopefully, they left the class with a better understanding of the power and influence of design and how it should be an integral (and first-level) component of any written publication.
It was especially nice to see Annie again, have a tour of her new place of employment and laugh together like we did daily when she worked at Klündt | Hosmer.
The Inevitable Finally Happened
Well, it's official. The venerable Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) has finally passed away.
We have been waiting (and hoping) for this event for quite some time. Supporting websites to function properly in such a geriatric browser was a pain. Born in 2001, IE6 was the browser du jour for many years, but it eclipsed itself with IE7 and IE8.
According to today's article on CNN.com, "Internet Explorer 6 isn't exactly dead yet, and in fact remains widely used. But in recent years, it's been eclipsed by newer, faster browsers that are better equipped to run the Web's latest bells and whistles. Google Docs and Google Sites discontinued support for the browser Monday, and YouTube will follow suit March 13.
"The web has evolved in the last ten years, from simple text pages to rich, interactive applications including video and voice. Unfortunately, very old browsers cannot run many of these new features effectively," wrote a senior product manager in a Google blog post. He urged users to upgrade to more modern browsers."
Klündt | Hosmer has encouraged people to upgrade their Web browsers (away from IE6) for several years. Mastery Sheets (one of our site developers) has wanted to "pull the plug" on IE6 for an equally long time. Now, it appears to be official. A funeral service for IE6 is being held today in Denver, CO. In lieu of flowers, donations should be made toward upgrading your network to IE8, Firefox, Safari, or any current Web browser.
The accompanying graphic is part of the funeral notice designed by Aten Design Group.
Rick Judges Yakima ADDYs
Last month, the Yakima chapter of the American Advertising Federation recruited me to judge the design and advertising entries that were submitted for their 2010 competition.
I worked with Ryan Stemkoski (Zipline Interactive), Jessie Pierpopint (Seven2) and Kevin Armstrong (local freelancer) in judging entries on Saturday. I enjoyed judging with the guys. Everyone had a different specialty and it was kind of fun being the experienced "sage" when it came to judging. A couple of these judges were probably in diapers at the time I submitted my first ADDY entries.
It was interesting to see the work produced by central Washington creative firms and organizations. We selected a "Best of Show" and awarded entries in a variety of print, interactive and media categories.
This morning I received an email from the Yakima AAF group saying that they were "very impressed with the time, genuineness and professionalism (the judges) gave to review the work submitted." Glad to be of service, Yakima Ad Fed.
Alina Wheels into Spokane
February has already been a great month for marketing and branding seminars and workshops in Spokane.
First, we sponsored and attended GetListed.org's search engine and social media seminar. And right on the heels of that, we participated in a great branding workshop by Alina Wheeler.
Alina is a worldwide branding expert and the author of Designing Brand Identity: an essential guide for the whole branding team, from the CEO to the creative director, to the design and marketing team.
Her book is the first to deconstruct the branding process into a universal, disciplined five-phase methodology. Alina strives to demystify branding, and illuminates the range of tools used by experienced practitioners. Her book demonstrates the relationship between strategy and design, and showcases best practices in the public and private sector around the world.
Darin and Jean Klündt attended Alina's presentation and agreed with what she had to say. It was nice hearing an expert from Philadelphia validate our processes and position on the importance of brand development.
The branding workshop was hosted by Spokane MarCom and held at Gonzaga University's McCarthy Athletic Center. Over 150 local professionals attended her presentation and 80 people participated in a two-hour workshop going into details of Alina's branding methodology.
(L-R) Ashley Martin, Alina Wheeler and Alli Benjamin, MarCom President following the presentation at Gonzaga.
(Thank you to Dean Davis Photography for the above photo.)
Ashley Martin of Klündt | Hosmer was instrumental in bringing Alina Wheeler to Spokane and spearheaded the presentation and workshop for MarCom. Ashley also introduced Alina to samples of our own branding work. Alina liked what she saw and mentioned that she may consider including some of our branding examples and case studies in a future edition of her book. She graciously gave us a signed copy of the current edition (that we are all fighting over at the office.)
You don't have to live in Chicago or Los Angeles to get exposed to the latest expertise on online marketing and branding. When Google and Alina Wheeler come to Spokane, there's definitely something going on here.
GetListed SEO Workshop
It's not everyday that you get to hang out with reps from Google, bing and nationally-recognized bloggers discussing the topic of search engine optimization and marketing. But about 150 people got to do just that yesterday at GetListed's local university held at Northern Quest Resort & Casino.
The great slate of speakers included Spokane's own Ed Reese of Sixth Man Marketing (and Klündt | Hosmer's great SEO partner), Ryan Hayward of Google, Mikko Ollila of Microsoft (bing), Mike Blumenthal, Mary Bowling of seOverflow, Matt McGee, and David Mimh of GetListed.org.
Ed Reese, Nathan Edminster, Mark Simonds and
Rick Hosmer discuss SEO tactics at a seminar break.
Through entertaining PowerPoint slides (especially Ed's!) and interesting presentations, the speakers ran through an introduction to search engines, the basics of Local Search and website optimization, as well as DYI Internet marketing and leveraging social media to promote business.
It was great seeing several Klündt | Hosmer clients in attendance, and having the chance to meet other business people who want to exhance their online presence through search engines and (hopefully) great website design and development. As Ed Reese said, "...with SEO, good design and content is important, or lots of people will find you and see how bad your site is."
The two, 4-hour seminars were a first for Spokane and according to David Mimh, the event coordinator at GetListed.org, the success of yesterday's session will encourage them to expand the seminar to other markets.
If GetListed comes back next year, make a point of attending. If you attended yesterday's seminar, leave us a comment on what you thought. Klündt | Hosmer was a local sponsor of the event and hope that everyone found it a worthwhile investment in time and the price of attendence.
From the Eyes of an Intern
Hello Klündt | Hosmer blog readers!
Because it has been fairly busy around here, I, the intern, have been given the task to assist with blog entries. So I decided to write about the company from my own point of view.
Just today I was going through Klündt | Hosmer’s portfolio and got to see work they have done over the past few years.
I’ve heard it said many times that “Spokane is a big city with a small town feel,” and that couldn’t be more true today. I saw "big city" work representing local organizations that I grew up with. What could be more "small town"?
Klündt | Hosmer designed the brand identity for the Spokane County Fair & Expo, which is where I spent a couple of summers serving hot dogs and drinks to Spokane Indian’s Baseball fans. I also grew up with the daughter of the owner of Smith Orthodontics who hired Klündt | Hosmer for brand development work as well. And, as a recent lover of Washington wines, seeing beautifully designed labels that were created for local wineries really hits home for me.
As a lifelong resident of Spokane, looking at Klündt | Hosmer's past work has made me see how they have inspired Spokane to grow for the better. And just from the eyes of an intern, they’ve done a great job.
(That, and I also learned how to type umlauts.)
