I met an interior designer this morning. Angie was clearly passionate about what she does. “I’ve been doing this for a long time. People are surprised how quickly I can offer ideas that will improve the design of a room or space. Sometimes it’s as simple as moving furniture, or layering elements, window treatments or unique features on wall sections. When I work with someone, it is all about them and what they want. It isn’t about creating a designer showcase. The spaces I enjoy doing the most, incorporate the personality and goals of my clients. If there is no collaboration, the design will ultimately be impersonal.” She went on to say that the greatest thrill for her is the feeling she gets when she has a satisfied customer.

As she was talking I couldn’t help thinking about how important it is to find people like that when you are designing your marketing efforts too. You need help but you must also be willing to collaborate to get the kind of results you seek. Your business is your house and your castle…but it has to be comfortable, inviting and functional. A qualified interior designer can suggest color palates, fabrics and techniques that can make a world of difference. A marketing expert can help you understand message strategy, media and ways to differentiate your business from your competition.

You spend all kinds of time and money building your business. Doesn’t it make sense to seek professional advice when it comes to marketing? As a member of the American Marketing Association for more than 15 years I’ve met so many talented people working for companies, or as consultants or as managers of marketing communications firms. It can be a challenge finding the right fit for your needs. However, you might be surprised how much value you can gain by consulting with a professional. Don’t be afraid to suggest a budget parameter you hope to live within. Most professionals understand how to work within constraints.

The give and take in collaboration is finding a balance. You want an optimal use of resources to accomplish your goals. Get some help.

Written by Wesley A. Morgan

Wesley A. Morgan

Morgan Studio/East

www.morganstudioeast.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/morganwes

cell 314 402-1202

First of all, last week I mentioned “checking in” or “liking” a movie, show or book. This week I will explain what this means and then I will explain why this allows getglue.com to ship sticker-happy people their precious packages free monthly.

“Liking” things on getglue.com is very similar to the like function on Facebook; you see thoughts, groups, movies and music on Facebook that you like and you click the like button, letting the group know not only that you like them, but what demographic likes them. This is very important at getglue.com because the site feeds off of demographic reports. It’s even more important to “check in” to items on getglue.com.

To “check in” means to say you are currently watching that particular show or listening to that particular artist. This is incredibly important information for not just ratings. Companies pay big money to access Facebook and other social media demographic records. Your friends may not care what music you listen to but big corporations do. Through GetGlue, companies can take, let’s say, a particular movie and see not only everyone who likes it and who is watching it and when, but also what else these people are watching, listening to and liking. They also have access to all of the information about yourself that you have ever given to Facebook because the two websites are linked. This is incredibly important and invaluable for advertisers. And this is how GetGlue survives and flourishes.

Advertisers, big corporations and anyone else who wants to know who’s doing what, pays GetGlue for the access to their information –we’re talking millions of dollars here, that’s more than enough money to send out a few sheets of stickers a month. This isn’t even including the partnerships that GetGlue shares with dozens of famous networks like Showtime, HBO, Fox and NBC, as well as the free funding that GetGlue is receiving from huge corporations such as Time Warner, Union Square Ventures and RRE Ventures.

So, again, there is no catch, just the raw facts that big brother wants to know everything about everyone all the time… but at least you get free stickers…

Visit GetGlue.com to start collecting your stickers and to start letting those corporations know what you like! Let us know how your visit (and stickers) turned out.

Written by Myranda Harnage

There is no better time than now to think like a marketer. Regardless of your business, no matter how large or small, you have an opportunity to leverage the principals of marketing to help nurture your business and grow!

When the nice people at the Kirkwood Chamber of Commerce invited be to be a speaker at their April 30 Marketing Monday I was happy to accept. My career has taken me on a journey guiding the success of advertising and marketing programs for a long list of products. Some household names (e.g. Pepsi, Burger King, Matchbox Toys) and others less well known (SkyBox trading cards, SeaPak and FarmRich frozen foods). I’ve also worked within a corporate structure and managed integrated marketing programs.

Like any good marketing specialist, I want the message to be relevant and compelling. I discovered is something that might surprise you. Marketing is no longer a secret. The trends are now about transparency and immediacy. You can market your product in real time with your customers fully-engaged in the process. You still need to offer quality and service at fair prices and facilitate exchanges that exceed customer expectations. However, the expertise/tools are available in abundance for you to achieve remarkable success.

Look around you. You will see people and resources that allow you to spread the word quickly and efficiently. You can target a highly specialized and narrow audience or broadcast to everyone within driving distance of your shop. Big companies target their customers with a real value proposition.

Here’s how you can do it too. Just take a moment to consider your sales goals and how you wish to present your brand to the world. Now ask yourself: What will the increase in revenue mean in terms of contribution margin to your business. Now build a budget for marketing and spend it. Don’t be afraid to admit that your budget is modest. Don’t be afraid to get help. You will be amazed at the talent that is willing and able to come to the rescue. Now for the nurture and grow part. Take calculated risks and monitor progress. Give it time to work and take the time to evaluate the success. Make adjustments as needed. Repeat in year two, three, four, etc.

Written By  Wesley A. Morgan

Morgan is a marketing communications professional with a mission: “Make Good Brands Better and New Brands Known.” Morgan earned his Master’s degree from the University of Miami Graduate School of Business (MBA – marketing emphasis). He also completed his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Miami – a double major (BA – graphic design and creative writing). Morgan founded Morgan Studio/East in 2010 with the goal of helping companies with planning and execution of sustainable marketing communications. His experience includes full service advertising and leadership of corporate marketing and communications. He has been involved as a chapter leader with the American Marketing Association for more than a dozen years. www,morganstudioeast.com 

A week ago I noticed my friend on Facebook had sent off for her “real stickers” from getglue.com. Like any red-blooded American who loves sticking stuff to other stuff, my first reaction was “OMG STICKERS!!!” Sometime after my sticker-fueled hysteria calmed, my brain said hey, there has to be a catch, there’s always a catch.

So I visit this sticker-promising website and find out… they’re free? GREAT ODIN’S BEARD! FREE STICKERS?!!! As you can probably judge from my level of capitalized enthusiasm, this was all it took for me to find out how to get my free stickers.

To my delight, I find out that all I have to do to receive my stickers is to “check in” or “like” movies, television shows and books that I already enjoy – basically I get to talk about myself and I get rewarded in stickers. What self-enthused human being wouldn’t love this system?

There are hundreds of shows, movies, books and more that offer circular stickers for interacting in various ways. Some stickers are as easy to unlock as just “liking” or “checking in” to the item once. Other, more popular stickers, such as The Big Bang Theory’s “Bazinga” sticker requires you to check into the show 100 times and only counts one check in per day.

Once you land 20 stickers, you are eligible to send off for your stickers. You get 20 mailed to you at a time in the order that you unlock them – the only catch being that you can only request stickers once every 30 days. The site also says that it can take anywhere from four to eight weeks to receive your stickers, there is no way of tracking the mailed stickers, and if they are lost… Oh well. This can truly put a damper on the excitement, but pack your patience – it’s free!

Obviously some of you are still suspicious as to how this wonderful site can continue to offer to send free stickers to millions of followers and counting without charging them a red cent. Tune in next week and I will reveal to you the master plan lurking behind this site and what it means to the future of social media advertising.

As a goodie this week, I will include a cheat link to a website that tells you exactly how to unlock every sticker by category… have fun!

And don’t forget to tell us about it!

Written by Myranda Harnage

Within the ever evolving world of guerilla marketing there has been some extremely successful “buzz” worthy campaigns and some gigantic failures that have left companies dashing to the boardroom for a creative brainstorming session to revitalize their brand name.

In 2009, one of the most successful campaigns that scorched together a big named fast food restaurant with a creative sense of design was Canada’s very own Cossette West which created a huge custom designed lamppost to mimic a pot of coffee being poured into a coffee cup. Simple to the viewers mind, yet very effective when it comes to attracting attention to a steadfast consumer base. Not only does it tap into the public’s curiosity, it also wraps up the iconic and global love for coffee.

As the noteworthy campaigns gain recognition in our viral universe there are also the epic fails to offset the prosperous marketing campaigns. In 2004 a man leapt from the high dive into the Olympic pool in Athens, Greece wearing a tutu while trying to guerilla market an online gaming site. He was ultimately charged and convicted of multiple counts of trespassing and sentenced to several months in the Greek prison system.

As the history of guerilla marketing succumbs to the future in our fast-paced global world of marketing I feel guerilla marketing tactics and tools are evolving from the fringe into the mainstream of our 24/7 media culture and soon every business small and large will need to have and use guerilla marketing techniques and tactics to stay competitive.

With guerilla marketing campaigns quickly weaving itself into the patch work fabric of American pop culture and media do you think guerilla marketing will be essential for global companies to strive in the future? Let us know what you think.

Written By Wendy Doherty

Next time you swing by your local Starbucks and order a grande skinny vanilla latte or your usual tall dark roasted coffee, take a look at the building, the way you see Starbucks might be changing very soon. This global coffee giant has long been known for their community involvement, ethical sourcing (fair buying practices, and their Shared Planet Initiative, but now they plan on taking the next step in reducing their environmental footprint while helping out the community. Just recently Starbuck began “Reclamation Drive-Thru” where drive-thru stores are crafted from old shipping containers that are near the end of their useable lifespan.

The first Reclamation Drive-Thru store was open in Tukwila, Washington just before Christmas. As members of the Global Store Design team looked out their window at their headquarters in Seattle, Washington they noticed a lot full of shipping containers that were not being used to their potential. They came up with the idea to recycle them in a way that benefits their company as well as the environment. As Anthony P. (Global Store Design Senior Manager) states in his blog on the Starbucks website, “The result: a 450 square foot drive-thru and walk-up store made from four end-of-life-cycle shipping containers. One small 20-foot container holds garbage, recycling and storage, but other than that, the whole store is contained within the shells of four containers that have been reclaimed, refurnished, renewed and revived.” It’s nearly impossible for a company of this magnitude to be completely green, but this initiative is a step in the right direction.

As a former patron of the Starbucks Empire and a current part time barista, I think this is a great way for Starbucks to market themselves in a unique way while doing their best to cut costs and controlling waste. Starbucks, like many of the elite brands around the world, have built strong brand loyalty with their consumers, and it’s hard to believe that Starbuck’s commitment to the global community does not make an impact on their fan base. Their partnership with the U.S. Green Building Counsel to develop LEED-certified stores, which are rated on their level of sustainability, shows the willingness to change the game in terms of being an environmentally responsible company. This is evidence that they are not only the leading innovator in the coffee industry, but they are a leading innovator in many aspects of their company. I applaud this organization for keeping the best interest of their company at heart, while not forgetting what is truly important, helping others and acting responsibly.

What do you think of “Reclamation Drive-Thru? What else could they do to further make an impact?

Written by: Ryan Farrel

Recently we have had the pleasure of working with a new up and coming construction company called JH Exteriors. Just as many new companies, JH Exteriors needed to create their company image. With an already deep list of clients, they needed to be able to help their clients spread the word. So we at Trileaf Designs developed a way for them to accurately display their work, a medium for growth. We did this by developing a new company logo, business cards and a website. The identity of the company was there, we just illuminated it.

JH Exteriors is a new branch of their parent company, JH Construction. While this may be a new company, it is rooted in experience. This experience allows JH Exteriors to ensure the highest quality service at an honest price by allowing their employees to solely focus on the exterior of the home. JH Exteriors is a family owned company that takes pride in only hiring clean cut, respectful, knowledgeable employees. Their motto is “Honest Products, Honest People” and that pride that they take in their work is shown from start to finish. To ensure that you have a good experience, the project is discussed with the client prior to any work being done. After speaking with them it is comforting not only to know what is going to be done to your house, but why and how.\n\nI personally love the quality over quantity approach. Customer service is lost on many construction companies today that have the “on to the next one” approach. JH Exteriors has a great reputation with their clients and the majority of their new clients come from word of mouth. Whether you looking to replace your windows or fix your roof from storm damage, you want the job done right from honest people. The exterior of your house is many people’s only impression of you, it is important to make the right choice. You can check out some of JH Exteriors work and get more info on upgrading your windows, siding, roof, or doors check out their website.

Written by Ryan Farrell

How to sell great creative

First off, you have to be able to develop great creative.

And what exactly is great creative, anyway? It’s advertising or marketing communications or experiential marketing that grabs your attention and makes you think. It stops you in your tracks and makes an impression – pulling at your heartstrings or punching you in the gut or making you smile – and all the while, strongly delivering whatever your selling message is in a big way.

Great creative really isn’t great unless it makes an impact and delivers on what the original strategy was. If you have a generic strategy, you’re going to wind up with generic communications.

So great creative begins with a great creative strategy – something that has been seen and signed off on by your client. If your presentation doesn’t begin with an overview of your creative strategy, you’ve already lost.

What you need to do is review that strategy. Focus on the key message that your communications are going to deliver. Get agreement and buy-in. See heads nod up and down in affirmation. Then, if the work you’re presenting clearly answers the key message that you’re conveying, you’re more than halfway there.

Many people like to present more than one concept to a client. That’s okay, as long as each concept is on-target and on-strategy. But it also makes your selling job a little more difficult. Most times, but not always, your client will choose the safest of the executions you present and the concept you really wanted to sell will be relegated to your “ideas that never made it” file.

So by showing multiple ideas, you may be shooting yourself in the foot. Of course, if you only enter the room with one campaign and your client asks, “Is that all you got?” then maybe your work wasn’t quite as powerful as you may have thought.

But if you truly believe that what you’re presenting is the absolute best solution for your client, you need to be a warrior. You need to fight for your ideas because ultimately, that is what your client is paying you for, right?

It’s a fine line to walk. You need to fight and defend in a way that shows your client you are passionate about their business and doing what is best for them. If the work you’re presenting truly is right on target and they bought off on the strategy, that’s a sound argument on your behalf. Perhaps your idea could be tested or run by your target audience for their reaction. If you can do this before you present and have it in your pocket, that’s all the better.

Sometimes, though, all the reasoning and logic in the world won’t help to sell your great idea. That’s when you need to go back to the proverbial drawing board and top it.

We’re in a business where logic and reason doesn’t always apply. You need to have thick skin. And you need to always be ready to re-group, re-energize and realize that if that first great campaign or concept didn’t fly, you’ve got another one in your pocket that will.

Written by Thomas Blood

Tom has been in the creative side of the advertising and marketing communications world for more than 30 years. During that time, he”s created award-winning, brand-building advertising for a wide range of consumer, business-to-business and government accounts.

His work has won awards in the New York Festivals for radio and TV, National ADDY Awards, EMMY Awards, Telly Awards, more than 40 local ADDY Awards, and more than 80 Targeted Advertising Marketing Awards recognizing excellence in business-to-business advertising.

He”s a writer who thinks visually and an artist who paints pictures with words. Currently, Tom is the Creative Director and Owner of BloodLines Creative – dedicated to helping small-to-medium-sized businesses grow and prosper with targeted, focused communications that attract new customers and turn existing customers into brand advocates. BloodLInes Creative is the advertising agency that you thought you couldn’t afford

Here at the TriLeaf marketing department, one of our main focuses is social media. We specialize in social media solutions for small businesses. Because this technology is so new (it’s only 5 years old!), many companies are unsure how or why they should utilize it.

Social media can be a great way to spread awareness for your company and give your customers or clients a forum to interact with your brand. However, social media must be utilized in the right way to achieve desired results.

Below are a few basic do’s and don’t’s about marketing your business through social media:

DO:

• Create dynamic, engaging content that encourages user interaction. (Polls, pictures videos—don’t be afraid to mix it up.)

• Be creative. People will notice—trust me.

• Create company pages that accurately reflect your brand. For example: If you want your company to come off as fresh, creative and knowledgeable, make sure your social media pages reflect that.

• Become a knowledge resource for your industry. Keep up on industry news and trends and post about them. It legitimizes your brand and makes it more memorable to potential customers.

• Post information about the people behind your business. It helps people feel like they are getting to know you, which builds trust. Give people a glimpse of what it is like to work at your company.

• Post information about community activities your company is involved in. Collecting toys for underprivileged children for Christmas? Talk about it! It makes people feel good to know they are investing in a company that gives back to the community.

• Set up company policies regarding social media. Make it clear to employees what kind of content they can and can’t post. (Note to employees: be smart when posting information to your personal social media pages. Bad mouthing your company or complaining about your boss is a good way to get yourself fired.)

DON’T:

• Just sell to people. Everyone hates to be sold to, and if that makes up the majority of your content, it will turn people off.

• Post controversial content. Keep your political or moral opinions to yourself or you risk alienating customers.

• Ignore your users. If you respond to comments and interactions in a timely manner, people are more likely to interact again. It’s nice for people to know they are being heard.

• Create social media pages and forget about them. If you create a social media page, commit to it. Post content regularly to make sure you are engaging users.

Social media is constantly changing, so it’s important to stay abreast of updates. Building a social media campaign takes time, energy and creativity, so if you’re not sure if you can commit to regular content updates, hire someone to do it for you. It takes several months to build a successful social media campaign, but if it is done correctly, it can yield great results for your company.

Here are some articles about brands and companies that are getting it right:

http://mashable.com/2011/11/21/brand-voices-social-media/

http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/07/04/meet-the-top-20-brands-on-facebook/

If you have questions about social media, please email us at info@trileafdesigns.com.

By Lauren O”Brien

In 1838, a man named John Adam Lemp came to St. Louis, Missouri from Eschwege, Germany. He started a brewery which made him a millionaire which he was able to pass on to his family that took over the business after his death. Their mansion is located at 3322 Demenil Pl in South City. If you go to their website, you can read up on the history of the family and the mansion. What makes the Lemp Mansion so interesting is that it is claimed to be haunted due to the tragic deaths in the Lemp family. They offer tours, banquet services, restaurant dining, murder mystery dinner theatre, a yearly Halloween party and overnight accommodations. They have some really great amenities, but although they are usually booked around this time of year, I think the Lemp could be revived back to the fame it once had if someone would take the time to give their website and marketing a little TLC.

If you go to their website, it is obvious that the desired style is antique and old fashioned, and I completely agree with this decision, however, I think it could definitely use some cleaning up. First of all, I think that the link to the family history should be on the very top, because that’s what brings people in and gets them interested.

The family history is the main selling point, and therefore should be at the very top due to its importance. The site also needs to be centered on the page instead of off to the left side, because it seems unprofessional, as though it was done without the proper coding knowledge. I do really like the drawing on the homepage and I see no reason to do away with it, it just needs to be handled differently. I see it as not the only design element on the page, but maybe one that is included with other design elements to help liven up the design. The yellow color along the edge is to represent old and antique, as in the color paper turns when it has aged, but the weird dot pattern within it throws it off. I think a nice paper texture would work much better.

If you click on the “paranormal tours” tab, it will take you to a flyer. I like the idea of an online flyer, because it can be easily printed off if need be, but the style of the flyer is completely different from the style of the website. The same goes for their dinner and lunch menus. They have the old fashioned look to them, but they need a little bit of cleaning up and more relation to the website. That just goes back to a previous blog of mine about making sure all of your marketing pieces reflect one another so that people relate each piece with your business identity.

I think the Lemp Mansion is a really cool place with some intriguing history behind it and with a redesign on the site, menu and marketing piece, I think it could become a very popular and well known St. Louis attraction built off of it’s old fashioned and professional style. If you take a look at the photo below, or visit the sites immediately following, you can get a better idea of the styles I believe would work great for the Lemp Mansion.

Sensi Soft Website

The Dollar Dreadful Family Website

by Jen Ebenrick