Is there any reason (other than tormenting their users) that Marketcircle decided to swap the Licence and Serial Number fields like this?

Brown vs. Blue

What does that mean?

Generally most clients think in specifics about how their site should be, especially how it should look (“I don’t like blue, I want brown” – which was actually part of our conversation today). Any reference to granular detail, particularly at the start of a project we designated Brown vs. Blue detail.

How to Use

“Great idea! I’ve made a note of all the Brown vs. Blue features and we will revisit them after scoping and requirements phase.”

“I was after info to inform the use cases but all I got was Brown vs. Blue.”

Give it a whirl in your next meeting*.

*Use with caution. It will require explanation.

Dear Monica Salazar/Melodie Johnson,

I appreciate the time you took to write to me about your SEO services. Unfortunately, I’m not in the market for SEO services as provided by your company. Or any other company for that matter.

You see, based on a number of years working on the internets, I’ve come to find that SEO companies are generally a bunch of hucksters who use sometimes unethical methods to increase rankings and fool Google.

When it comes to SEO, I think this article pretty much sums up my thinking.

Now of course, there are probably many companies willing to spend money on SEO advice or SEO services that essentially do what reasoned and well-designed web content does, but you don’t want anyone to know that, do you?

I do however appreciate your efforts in reinforcing your offering of SEO services by using the acronym SEO six times in four sentences. That’s how I’d do it on my website. Oh, and my email forms aren’t created from a comment engine so they won’t appear on any content search.

One final note of suggestion: perhaps next time you send an email make sure you coordinate your name with the email address you enter. Spam filters generally don’t like that sort of thing.

Regards and thanks again, Rei

The new direction requires a more mature and established brand. The logo is just start of the new identity.

A new identity, new hire branches and competitive marketing strategies place Hire One in a great position for the future.

The digital components were part of a broader integrated campaign that included event management and print that focused on a competition to find the best ‘cool idea’. The winner of the competition is to receive $10,000. Now that’s pretty cool…

Link: colorbond.com/coolmax

Their new website, launched late 2009, is central to their marketing strategy. It’s designed to be easy to use for visitors and easy to update for staff.

Link: scaffworx.com

With that abrupt comment, my conversation with the Marketing Communications Manager of one of Australia’s largest companies ended.

I entirely understand why they responded that way. One of the main benefits of being a large company is the perception of strength and capability, but flexibility is not a strong suit. ‘Big’ companies have large numbers of employees to throw at any situation and usually generate their large revenues based on traditional mass marketing combined with history in their market. Sufficiently large companies can use whatever tools at their disposal to maximise their largeness advantage – they can stifle innovation within their industry, they can lobby for legislative protection, or they can find other ways to change the market dynamics. That is, they play by their rules.

To slip into a geeky tangent for a moment, it was much the same for the fictional Death Star. Imagine the immense natural resources required (I wouldn’t think the Galactic Empire would be too worried about renewable building principles), the hours spent in construction and all the probable Force-related choking deaths that would need to go into creating such a monolithic weapon. Imagine the corporate machine necessary to engineer such an impossibly large thing!

But that is precisely the advantage of being big. You can do stuff on a scale that cannot be matched. You’re the one people (or beings with seven eyes and green fur) look at when they talk big. Which makes it easy to become a little ignorant (or even arrogant) of the smaller fish in the pond.

And what brought the Death Star down? A small, looks-like-it-was-made-out-of-cardboard spaceship piloted by a whiny kid from the desert being assisted by a mobile rubbish bin. And a couple of proton torpedoes. Oh, and don’t forget Han Solo. Or the Force. Or Obi Wan. Or the chubby fighter pilot guy.

Combine these things with the arrogance that comes from being the biggest (“I think you’re overestimating their chances…”) and you have a recipe for disaster. Or a heroic conclusion, depending on your point of view.

If you’re large, make time for digital in your marketing. Don’t let others dictate this to you as they certainly will. Understand that this can only work if the business takes ownership of it – it cannot be done by outsiders to be effective. And realise the rules of engagement have changed. Probably forever.

If you’re small, embrace the online world. Learn it. Bumble around until you’re good at it. Play by rules that you create. In the process, you will more than likely find the weapons you need to destroy your own personal death star.

Either way, may the Force be with you.

One of the more common problems which tends to create doubt and confusion is caused by the inexperienced and anxious executive who innocently expects, or even demands, to see not one but many solutions to a problem. These may include a number of visual and/or verbal concepts, an assortment of layouts, a variety of pictures and color schemes, as well as a choice of type styles. He needs the reassurance of numbers and the opportunity to exercise his personal preferences. He is also most likely to be the one to insist on endless revisions with unrealistic deadlines, adding to an already wasteful and time-consuming ritual. Theoretically, a great number of ideas assures a great number of choices, but such choices are essentially quantitative. This practice is as bewildering as it is wasteful. It discourages spontaneity, encourages indifference, and more often than not produces results which are neither distinguished, interesting, nor effective. In short, good ideas rarely come in bunches.

The designer who voluntarily presents his client with a batch of layouts does so not out prolificacy, but out of uncertainty or fear. He thus encourages the client to assume the role of referee. In the event of genuine need, however, the skillful designer is able to produce a reasonable number of good ideas. But quantity by demand is quite different than quantity by choice. Design is a time-consuming occupation. Whatever his working habits, the designer fills many a wastebasket in order to produce one good idea. Advertising agencies can be especially guilty in this numbers game. Bent on impressing the client with their ardor, they present a welter of layouts, many of which are superficial interpretations of potentially good ideas, or slick renderings of trite ones…

Expertise in business administration, journalism, accounting, or selling, though necessary in its place, is not expertise in problems dealing with visual appearance. The salesman who can sell you the most sophisticated computer typesetting equipment is rarely one who appreciates fine typography or elegant proportions. Actually, the plethora of bad design that we see all around us can probably be attributed as much to good salesmanship as to bad taste.

via Signal vs. Noise

A crucial element to their redesign was to add some personality to their online presence. They have a unique way of finding and cultivating new customers, so the website and their communications strategy now helps them get more out of the process.

Link: specialistit.com.au

The campaign included a microsite full of valuable tools for those companies commencing projects with BER funding and how Bluescope can assist them. The campaign also included display advertising, targeted email marketing and a supporting print campaign.

Link: projects.bluescopesteel.com.au