Brand Logos are Apart of Our Daily Lives
Logos are everywhere. From the moment we wake-up to the time we turn off the lights to head off to bed, you‘ll probably be exposed to hundreds of brand logos throughout the day. One blogger recorded seeing 33 logos in the first 33 minutes after waking up: http://www.logodesignlove.com/33-logos-in-33-minutes Just sitting here at my desk, I counted 12 brands on various products. The competition for brand recognition is fierce! There are a lot of factors that can make one logo standout over another. A simple but unique design, free of noise and clutter, is usually the best solution. It also needs to convey what the brand is all about. Of course, trying to achieve those goals is difficult. The great American graphic designer Paul Rand once said: “Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated”.
I recently came across this cute video posted by logo designer Adam Ladd. He showed his five-year old daughter various brand marks to get her reaction and commentary. It’s surprising how many she correctly identified. Even from a young age, we begin to associate images with a company or product. It’s hard to say whether her reactions were a result of good design or product exposure – probably both. How many logos do you think you’re exposed to in one day? What makes one logo more memorable over another?
You Can See The Possibilities – Clearer Than Ever…
In my last post, I shared some of my thoughts over the advancements in Augmented Reality due primarily to the resolution of the new iPad screen. The quality and resolution brings an even greater dimension to the whole concept of AR.
This led me to think about how the devices we use can be enhanced by apps and technologies in use, in development or in the minds of developers around the globe.
I recently came across a series of ‘visionary’ videos produced by Westernized Productions, a hot creative video firm in San Francisco. The videos for Corning reveal a vision for the future of glass technologies. The videos demonstrate how glass with companion technologies will help shape our world at home, in school, at work, in medicine, in our cars, outdoors, oh, and in entertainment.
Check out these two videos.
The first, “A Day made of Glass – Made possible by Corning” came out last year and has been seen by nearly 19 million viewers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38&feature=relmfu
The sequel, “A Day made of Glass 2: Same Day” has been out for the past few months and has received almost 2 million views.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZkHpNnXLB0&feature=relmfu
It’s worth the 11 or 12 minutes to get a glimpse of things to come…. Let me know what you think of these advancements and about the creative minds over at Westernized Productions.
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TYPO – San Francisco
A couple weeks ago Europe’s premium design event, “TYPO” took place in San Francisco at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) and was open to the public. The two-day event made its U.S. debut on April 5 and was centered around the theme “Connect.”
The event had a wide range of speakers including the beautiful free form lettering of Jessica Hische, and the very technical and precise work of Kutlu Çanlıoğlu, who is responsible for the user experience and design of 27 different language services for BBC World services.
The opening speech from Tina Roth Eisenberg, a Swiss designer, was about side projects and how sometimes we can get side tracked from what we really love to do. Joshua Davis, had a more over the top stage presence, but defended the idea that work and play are synonyms, instead of antonyms, and we lose the enjoyment of work as we grow up. Çanlıoğlu showed complexity and uniqueness of the different cultures around the world and how research and small details can affect the success of a project.
As day one came to a close, I felt that the speakers focused on spreading the message of enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy because in the end it will all pay off.
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Do you pin?
Pinterest is still a hot social media channel that now brands including MLB teams (San Francisco Giants) are using to engage with fans. We at KRT Marketing haven’t recommended it to any of our clients as of yet as we are still trying to gauge whether or not it is a good platform for recruitment clients. PR Daily shares some great tips on Pinterest etiquette whether if you’re using it for personal or professional reasons, it’s always good to know what the code of etiquette is while pinning.
One of the etiquette rules that stuck out to me was:
- Write a full caption – “This is a courtesy to your readers and a chance for you to tell why they should click on the link.”
Are you guilty of just pinning without describing what the pin is? I am, but it’s always helpful to make sure I’m following Pinterest etiquette so I can get more out of using this social media channel. I’ve learned that if you can understand and master a social media channel on a personal level, it makes it easier to get a client on board with using it.
Another great thing about Pinterest, besides the creation of rules/etiquette, is companies are now creating metric tools that can help you send out a pin, measure the engagement and more. Pinerly, is one site that KRT Marketing was able to gain access to and have utilized it on a personal level to see how it works. We’re still waiting for the results, but it’s a unique tool especially since brands/companies are interested in the ROE (return on engagement).
My Fascination with Augmented Reality Continues….
Augmented Reality (AR) is cool enough, but WAY cooler in high definition on the new iPad (not to be confused with the old iPad2).
Only a few examples out there of AR in high definition have been published so far. I found one that really shows the difference the new retina display makes: here’s an example from Total Immersion on how shopping for furniture is now changed forever. With AR, no more having to lug heavy or bulky pieces around or up & down stairs — bonus: never having to return a piece for a refund!
If you aren’t up-to-speed on some of the newer innovations in AR, take a look at over 50 Wild Innovations from TrendHunter Marketing: http://www.trendhunter.com/slideshow/augmented-reality-innovations
AR is a great way to engage with prospects, and simulate a product experience. Now with high definition capabilities, the possibilities seem limitless. KRT is looking forward to its first AR client project. Stay tuned….
Job Boards are not dead…
Where do you think people tend to search for jobs? Social Media? Job Boards? Company’s career website?
In a recent study by HR technology provider SilkRoad, the company collected data from 200,000 job postings, 9.4 million applicants, and over 100,000 hires. It turns out that job boards accounted for a high percentage of hires that weren’t internal candidates, referred by employees, or came through the company career site. In fact, SilkRoad says jobs search site Indeed.com was the leading source of external hires for its 700+ customers, providing 42 percent more new employees than CareerBuilder, which was the #2 source.
Citing Your Sources – Source of Hire vs. Source of Influence
While attending the ERE Expo last week, I was excited to learn that The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved the cost-per-hire standard as the first American national HR standard:
This is a great “first” in an industry lacking in way of “standards.”
However, one of the biggest challenges we continue to face in benchmarking a client’s recruitment advertising performance in comparison to industry norms, is that there is no norm when it comes to the countless ways in which companies are tracking Source of Hire.
Every client has a different methodology for capturing source (i.e., different application processes, career site integrations, applicant tracking systems, media/source tagging conventions, etc.).
And even the exceptional clients, who have implemented the best available resources to track source, know that deep down they’re probably only capturing, at best, 50% of the true source of hires.
Worse yet, is that the Source of Hire is in most cases simply the “last source” the candidate came from prior to applying into the ATS.
So what about all of the other sources that helped “influence” that candidate’s decision to apply? Where did they first learn about the company/opportunity? Did they then go on to research the company on social media platforms (i.e., Facebook and LinkedIn) and employer review sites (i.e., Glassdoor and CareerBliss)? Did they watch a video about the company/culture/position? Did they seek out an employee referral from someone in their network?
Our more sophisticated clients are asking these questions…wanting to look at all of the “Sources of Influence” that led to a hire.
And in an industry where simply capturing the last source is difficult, trying to capture data on all of the touch points along the way is a huge challenge. But there are methods to go about collecting this information (i.e., post-impression media tagging tools, etc.) and as an Agency, this is the hot problem we’re trying to solve for our clients.
And who knows, maybe in another decade or so, ANSI will release their second American national HR standard: tracking Source of Influence.
One School’s Quest for Social-Marketing Success
Oregon State University (OSU) has always thought of itself as a place with a purpose — making a positive difference in quality of life, natural resources and economic prosperity in Oregon and beyond.
Last year, OSU launched a social marketing campaign to rebrand itself. OSU felt the school had a rural and “out of date” image, and the goal was to rebrand itself as a forward thinking, innovative, socially conscious campus working towards solutions on a global level. By doing this, the hope was not only to update their image, but also to boost enrollment. OSU was successful.
In addition to having presence on major social-networking sites, they took a very holistic approach by empowering students, alumni and community members to make videos showing how they contribute to their community and beyond.
These efforts were how the “Powered By Orange” was born. “Powered By Orange” is a network of alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends all committing to making a positive impact on the community, the economy and the environment. Check out their 100+ videos on their YouTube Channel.
To learn more and read the entire article, click here.
Are We Drowning in a Sea of Visual Garbage?
Years ago, while hanging out with a friend in San Francisco, we discussed a poorly designed poster behind the counter of a clothing store. We tried to figure out the three ugly typefaces used in the layout. Guess our critical conversation was a little too rowdy since a clerk walked over and asked us what we did for a living. We both blurted out “We’re graphic designers,” to which he angrily replied, “Well, everyone’s a designer, aren’t they!”
My friend gave him her business card from a well-known design firm, flipped him off and we were on our way. We assumed the poster was created by the guy.
These days, anyone can play designer if they’re willing to buy the software and learn to use it. Adobe CS5 Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), used by graphics professionals, will set you back $1,300. There’s even free bundled software like Microsoft Paint, used by a client of ours. Of course, the final product won’t guarantee whether you’ll win a Clio Award.
In fact, looking at the mass of 24/7 noise out there in print, web and other media, shows there’s a lot of bad-looking work being made. There might be that rare individual with innate talent to design awesome stuff, but on the whole, it takes years of training, experience and criticism, to deliver a truly great creative product. Even pros in the business can have off days and produce mediocre work.
Has the growing bombardment of visual stimulation all around us and the availability of computer tools, created a critical mass of bad design? This brings me to this video I came across awhile back. In it, a graphic designer, Aaron Draplin, tells the story about a sign and what’s happening to graphic design in this country. WARNING: He is passionate and uses some pretty strong language. So if you’re easily offended by F Bombs, DON’T WATCH.
View Aaron Draplin’s video here
Let us know what you think. Is there too much visual garbage out there?
As a side note, KRT is always looking for creative resources to add to our talent pool for possible projects. If you’re passionate about what you do, Contact Us, but please leave out the cursing…
