I am constantly amazed how dismal the news is these days. With most companies shrinking with the economy, any talk is business is typically negative.

At first glance, i would agree that things seem a little dire. But, if you think about it, the situation has stemmed from an inflation of perception of prosperity that really wasn’t there. In other words, our perception of how profitable we are as a nation tends to lead to how prosperous we actually are. I think that this holds true, not just as a nation but with individual organizations as well.

My advice is this; even though times may be tough, have a positive outlook for your business. Instead of just focusing on what has changed within the market, focus on what opportunities may have presented themselves within this climate. While competitors may be focusing inward by slashing jobs and costs, you too should be efficient but also look externally to how you may capitalize on what new opportunities are within the market.

jeremy

So, if you are in the market for a logo, then you have probably heard the terms “identity” and “brand” in addition to “logo” somewhere in your research. You may be wondering what the difference is. Different firms may define these terms slightly differently, but this is how i see them.

Logo. Logo is simply a non-marketing agency term that everyone is familiar with. This is a mark or symbol of an organization. 

Identity. Identity goes a little farther than just a logo, although a logo is typically involved in this process. When creating an identity for an organization, everything from the name to the final application must be considered. Therefore the target audience as well as marketing goals are factored into the identity so that it is as effective as possible.

Brand. The brand is the perceived image of an organization. This essentially means that the identity is carried out within all marketing initiatives so there is consistency of the brand. Branding packages often include the business basics, such as business cards, letterhead, envelopes,…etc, but the brand does not stop there. It should be continued to all ads, web, print and any other media so that it is consistent. Consistency of brand creates recognition and positive recognition leads to strategic (long-term) sales.

TIP: Now that terms have been defined, what does it mean for an organization that needs a logo? Well, a logo should never be just a logo. All elements of your organization need to be factored into the design and direction of the logo so that it is a solid identity that can be carried out through a brand that has positive brand recognition. Do not just go with a logo because you like the way that it looks, choose a direction based on the larger picture of why it was designed the way it was (audience as well as organizational identity in mind) and how it can be applied to all marketing initiatives in an effective manner.

jeremy

We would like to extend a warm welcome to Beyond Partnership, an organization that connects Americans with nationals within countries throughout the world. Where they are unique is by approaching the humanitarian and other needs through the globe through subjugating to the local leaders. In other words, instead of imposing their ideas upon locals, the local nationals decide where their needs are and then Beyond Partnership helps the local nationals see it happen by sending teams out there to assist the nationals. Very humbling and proven to be very effective.

We are currently working with Beyond Partnership on their identity (logo and then brand) as well as their website. Welcome.

We recently completed a logo for an organization in the Bay Area (CA) that is a spanish-speaking church. In addition to the spanish language website that we will be putting together for them, we have come up with this logo to start their branding off on solid footing. Personally, i don’t speak spanish (jesse does though), and that just goes to show that language does not need to be a barrier for a working on marketing, design or websites. 

We would like to extend a warm welcome to Sage Environmental. Sage is a Salt Lake City based firm that provides environmental consulting services to commercial, industrial, and governmental clients. Wold Creative Group has been brought in to help revamp their logo (identity/branding) for various applications as well as a complete overhaul to their website. We are excited to be working with Sage and are looking forward to assisting them to reach a broader audience with their marketing.

Business cards are seemingly innocuous. Everyone has one and they all want to give them to you. They don’t have to fade into the woodwork, you just have to be creative about how they are done in order to get noticed and to be effective.

Here are a couple of tips that i think should be standard in this day and age of printing business cards:

1. All business cards should be double-sided. The back could simply be a solid color with your website listed but the point is that this is a mini billboard that could be utilized and should not be left blank.

2. Full color, full bleed. Larger businesses may not need to run at full color since their large quantities can justify printing at 2-color on the press. For most companies though, each card is going to be a shorter run since the contact information will change and thus printing these process (4 color) is definitely more affordable. Plus, having full color gives you some options for potential unique design work. Full bleed in printing is where you print off the edge of the paper. I personally like using this on cards so that design elements can be incorporated within the design that do not take away from the branding and contact info.

3. Simple is okay. An example that i like is actually within the movie Ocean’s Eleven where Daniel Ocean gave a card to Linus that was blank except for his name, “Daniel Ocean” in the center of the card. It is amazing that, with simplicity comes complexity and sophistication within design. 

4. They must fit the branding. Because business cards are an extension of your business, they must be consistent with the branding of your business. Just like every other marketing initiative, business cards have to drive the consistency of your brand which includes your logo and current design elements.

Here is an example that we have recently completed for the Fantis Group. As Realtors, they needed certain items on the card, i.e. photo, RE/MAX logo, but this doesn’t mean that their cards had to be standard or uninteresting. In fact, we are printing these cards with a silk laminate with a spot gloss coating on the logo which is quite unique within their industry.

With extensive courtroom and litigation experience both defending and prosecuting, Ben W. Lieberman has recently started the Law Office of Ben W. Lieberman. Being a smaller law firm, they have the experience to handle large cases but have the unique position of accessibility with all clients.

Wold Creative Group will be providing branding and website strategies and implementation for the Law Office of Ben W. Lieberman. Starting with branding, we will help guide them through the competitive market of marketing law firms. We are looking forward to it.

Welcome.

Working with Powder Mountain, Wolf Creek Utah, Ogden Convention and Visitor Bureau and Utah Tourism, we have come up with a full-page ad that will be running within Backcountry Magazine. This is a comprehensive campaign that will include a few runs of this full-page print ad, online banner ads, partner ads that will run in Telemark Magazine and a landing webpage to capture contact info.  

There is much speculation out there about how our economy is actually doing and where it will be in the coming months and years to come. As a small business owner, i myself have kept a close eye on this to ensure that Wold Creative Group will not only survive but thrive within these financially tenuous times. 

As with all economic shifts, there are two sides to the coin. When some companies are struggling, others are booming. Is this just industry specific? I think that has something to do with it but the companies that are booming right now also know that this is a time of opportunity. 

With some organizations cutting back their spending on advertising or marketing strategies because they think that will save their company some money, other organizations are able to create waves within their industry through advertising and marketing strategies. Cutting back on marketing to save money is often a fallacy due to the fact that it only saves money at present but certainly hurts the potential future revenue stream. As some say, “stepping over dollars to pick up pennies”. 

I am not advocating spending a bunch of money on advertising or marketing, rather, keep on spending something, anything, on advertising and marketing. In addition, i am also advocating to spend your money wisely and not put your advertising dollars in one area (publication, medium, campaign). Keeping up or starting to have a presence within your industry during the time where other organizations may be cutting back is a win-win situation and should allow you to get a leg-up on the competition. In other words, your dollars spent on advertising or marketing will go farther and do more within our economic climate. 

The current state of the economy can be an opportunity for your organization to stand out and get noticed. All you have to do is to make sure that your brand is still out there and wisely placed.

-jeremy

We have just completed the logo (brand) for the Refugee Outreach Partnership. This is a California-based organization that brings together like-minded non-profit organizations to assist refugee placement, housing and jobs. In my opinion, this organization is cutting-edge in the fact that it crosses normal organizational boundaries to focus on the greater good that no individual organization could handle on their own. We are proud to be a part of it.

With any logo, their brand needs to properly represent who they are as an organization as well as incite confidence/trust of that organization. The Refugee Outreach Partnership incorporates the idea of being connected around the world with a sense of movement. In order to give the perception of movement, we purposefully designed outside of the lines. In other words, the people holding hands extend outside their own borders and, thus, fulfill the idea of movement and life beyond their country’s borders.