Splash Omnimedia Blog:

Ask any five year-old, and you’ll get a quick lesson in brand identity design

There’s a video circulating online that’s just adorable. It was an experiment done by a marketer who wanted to gauge the effectiveness of brand identity design on children. He flashed a series of logos on his computer screen and had his little girl try to identify the company each logo represented.

She did pretty well. Shockingly well, when you consider that at age five, it’s likely her television viewing habits are at least somewhat limited by her parents. She had already made associations between many of the logos and the products the logos promote.

Where had she likely seen all of these logos?

• TV commercials
• Signage
• Employee uniforms
• Delivery trucks
• Product packaging

Your logo is a crucial element of brand identity design, even if your business is small and local rather than global. Your prospective customers are paying attention, even if they aren’t consciously thinking about your logo. It’s making inroads on their attention every time they see it – so it’s important to be sure your logo communicates all you want it to, and nothing you don’t.

Brand identity design isn’t a one-time task you can check off and forget. In fact, most of the most-recognized logos in business have undergone multiple changes throughout the years.

If it’s been a while since your logo was tweaked, or if you’ve never had one done professionally, now’s the time. Contact the brand identity design pros at Splash for a brand identity design consultation.

Build it and they will come. Wouldn’t it be nice if that was how it worked in business? You can offer the best service in the world at the best prices, but if people don’t know your brand then you won’t make a single sale. To solve this issue, marketers focus many efforts towards increasing brand awareness and driving traffic both online and to brick-and-mortar stores.

Sometimes businesses have the opposite problem; they are doing everything right to bring customers in but just can’t seem to convert that website traffic into sales. Creating an effective SEO or social media strategy will bring potential customers to your site, but converting those visitors to loyal customers takes much more than impressive traffic numbers.  For maximum benefit from online marketing, you need to maximize both traffic and conversion rates (see picture below).

Why SEO and branding need each other

Branding is the whole experience. For search engine optimization to result in conversions (sales), you need to consider how all aspects of marketing work together to create synergy for a more successful whole. An SEO strategy is much more effective and has greater chance for success when incorporated into the overall branding strategy.

SEO and branding work together to create a feedback loop that will take your business to the top.

How branding improves SEO

• Increase website conversion rates. As you differentiate your brand and position your company directly in front of your target market online, your search engine referral traffic will be more likely to convert as searchers find exactly what they are looking for on your website.
• Increase click-through-rate. Having a strong and well-known brand will increase the power of your SEO efforts by influencing a higher click through rate as searchers recognize brand authority.

How SEO improves branding

• Increase brand reach and awareness. As rankings increase for a diverse set of industry related keywords, your brand name will be in front of more potential customers that are already looking for a business just like yours.
• Increase brand loyalty and credibility. Repetition is key. Showing up in as many places on the web as possible creates a sense of authority in your niche that will improve both the loyalty and credibility of your brand to potential customers.

Does your marketing mix work together to help your company grow larger than the sum of its parts? Or does your business throw strategies at the wall hoping for something to stick? Contact us for a free marketing consultation to learn how we can help you blend your marketing ‘ingredients’ into a perfect medley.

Launching a successful branding campaign is more important today than ever before. Getting – and keeping – consumer’s attention can be difficult with the combination of increasing competition and distracting technologies galore.  You need to give potential customers a reason to remember you with a consistent brand identity that relates to your target market.  Here are five powerful benefits of a successful branding campaign.

 

1)    Increased brand awareness

The most immediate benefit that branding can provide a business is the recognition of the brand by potential customers.  People must be introduced to brand names, logos, and products several times before the brand becomes familiar.  With a consistent branding design and message, your corporate identity will be easily identifiable by existing and potential customers.  This applies to everything from your print advertising to your commercials and web video.

 

2)    Build customer loyalty and retention

An old marketing adage states that it “costs ten times more to acquire a new customer then it does to keep an old one.”  Successful branding tackles this philosophy by building customer loyalty and retention with things like email marketing and social media .  Customer loyalty means business sustainability, which is why branding is essential as part of your long-term marketing strategy.

 

3)    Attract qualified prospects

Getting an audience of 100,000 people won’t do your business any good if none of them are interested in your product or service.  With a good branding strategy, your target market is built into the business model from the beginning allowing you to increase conversion rates on marketing efforts by speaking to those who are eager to listen.  A huge part of branding is discovering the identity of your business and creating designs and messages that convey that identity effectively to the right consumers.

 

4)    Build credibility

There is a reason that brand name products are sold at a higher cost than store brand versions.  While sometimes there is a difference in quality, people are often willing to pay top-shelf prices just for a brand name.  Effective branding positions your business for success as a thought leader, an expert, and the go-to source for your niche.

 

5)    Launch new products to existing customers

As you begin to build a successful brand, there are many benefits that your business will experience.  Launching new products as a start-up can be difficult because you have to go out and earn the market’s trust.  As a well-known and trusted brand, you tear down many of the walls that serve as obstacles to start-ups by having an established customer base.

Launching a branding strategy can be time consuming and requires planning and execution.  Contact the marketing consultants at Splash Omnimedia today for a free consultation on your branding and marketing needs.

What, exactly, makes a good logo? With hundreds of thousands of logos out there, designers and non-designers alike have this same question. I have taken three examples of strong, memorable logos here and hope to briefly explain at least why they are successful.

 

First, let's take the FedEx logo. Designed by Lindon Leader of Landor Associates, it is instantly recognizable from great distance. Its claim to fame though, is the "hidden arrow" between the "E" and the "x" (once you notice it, it'll be all you see). It is a great example of effective, subliminal imagery.

 

The Coca-Cola logo is arguably the best example of cursive lettering (in a sea of tacky, poorly designed cursive fonts). Note how the logo isn't just "typed out". The baseline of "Cola" is lower than "Coca". Iconic, American -- it's everything Coke markets itself to be.

 

Finally, the logo created by superstar designer Saul Bass, AT&T. Sure, its undergone minor updates through the years, but the core design has not changed. That's the hallmark of a strong design. Few brands have been able to undergo updates and maintain their mark (think BP's shield to starburst, or the recent Comedy Central rebrand).

So there are some examples of logos done right. Do you have a favorite logo? Share in the comments.

 

If you are looking for the perfect logo design for your business, contact Splash Omnimedia today for a free proposal.

Effective marketing encompasses a wide variety of strategies, including online marketing, social media, and advertising.  However, without a solid branding strategy most marketing efforts will fall flat. A branding strategy will provide a foundation for a successful marketing campaign, giving it direction and substance, so that the marketing message hits the target audience.

 

Branding is the whole message prospects and customers receive about your business. It’s the conveyed personality, mission statement, graphics and logos, slogans, customer service style and employee perceptions all rolled up into one. Anything your business does or creates ties into branding.

 

When it comes to standing out among your competitors, few things are as important as a branding strategy. A cohesive brand that you consistently weave throughout all of your business messages and practices positions you in the mind of customers and prospects. When they see a certain image, hear a certain message or even see a certain combination of colors, your company should come to mind. This is branding strategy at its finest.

 

Contact us today for a free marketing proposal on how we can help improve your bottom line. 

We've all seen lorem ipsum (known to many as "Greek text") used as a placeholder on all kinds of "works in progress" -- websites, print ads, brochures, etc. And while it's merely an excerpt from a passage of Latin literature, the designers working on new packaging for Chipotle recently found a way to have some fun with it.

 

On one side of their new bags is simply some text pumping the Chipotle bag, but on the opposite side there's lorem ipsum. This little surprise garnered Chipotle buzz on the internet as many speculated whether or not this was an intentional, playful design decision, or rather a giant oversight before printing.

 

We'll never know for sure if it was a goof or a clever design stunt. Either way, it goes to show how a seemingly small element of an overall brand can generate a lot of talk. Sometimes making "unsafe" design decisions can prove beneficial and serve as the catalyst you need to drive more traffic to your business. With the prevalence of social media today, everything can be shared with the click of a button, and you can bet those lorem ipsum bags got captured with many a smart phone before even leaving the store. 

 

Contact us today for a free marketing proposal on how we can help improve your bottom line. 

 

Marketing trends have been changing, the use of video marketing and corporate videos has been increasing.  Video is everywhere online. They are appearing on websites, social media sites and countless other venues. Many businesses are beginning to use video marketing and corporate videos to increase their online presence. If you are not using video marketing and corporate videos to market your business on the web, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to increase your advertising audience.

It seems that everyone today has a video on YouTube, do you? Do you have video on your website? By placing a video on your website, you increase the possibility of visitors remembering you and what your products or services are.  It is a proven fact that people remember more of what they see and hear together than what they read. In addition to video on your website, you should consider video marketing on some of the social networking sites. There is an entire market of consumers online who are surfing the web looking for products and services. Video marketing and corporate videos will help put  you in front of that market.

Video marketing and corporate videos are a great way to brand your business. Many companies are creating corporate videos to not only market to the consumer, but to market to potential employees as well. A corporate video can help build name recognition with the online community. When a consumer sees a video with the faces and voices of the people behind the company, they are quicker to identify with the company. Corporate videos will also help you educate the consumers about your products or services. In addition to marketing, corporate videos are a great resource for trainings and educating new employees about your company’s mission and policies.

Using video and audio will allow you to connect with your consumers in an entirely different way. With video and audio, consumers will be able to distinguish the excitement and enthusiasm in your voice. With print ads, there is no excitement in reading the words. Video marketing allows you to bring the excitement to the consumer.

There is fierce competition in the marketplace today. You need to be creative with your marketing in order to set your business apart from the others. Video marketing and corporate videos are a great way to increase your exposure online which will help to  increase your business.  Contact us today for a free marketing proposal on how we can help improve your bottom line. 

Your brand is the entire experience your prospects and customers have with your company. It’s what you stand for, a promise you make, and the personality you convey. And while it includes your logo, color palette and slogan, those are only creative elements that convey your brand. Instead, your brand lives in every day-to-day interaction you have with your market:

The images you convey

The messages you deliver on your website, proposals and sales materials

The way your employees interact with customers

A customer’s opinion of you versus your competition

Branding is crucial for products and services sold in huge consumer markets. It’s also important in B2B because it helps you stand out from your competition. It brings your competitive position and value proposition to life; it positions you as a certain “something” in the mind of your prospects and customers. Your brand consistently and repeatedly tells your prospects and customers why they should buy from you.

In your industry, there may or may not be a strong B2B brand. But when you put two companies up against each other, the one that represents something valuable will have an easier time reaching, engaging, closing and retaining customers. A strong brand strategy can be a big advantage.

Successful branding also creates “brand equity” – the amount of money that customers are willing to pay just because it’s your brand. In addition to generating revenue, brand equity makes your company itself more valuable over the long term.

By defining your brand strategy and using it in every interaction with your market, you strengthen your messages and relationships.

 

Contact us today for a free marketing proposal on how we can help improve your bottom line.   

Splash Omnimedia of Columbia, SC, specializes in marketing and communication branding for local and national businesses. From the mom-and-pop shop to the corporation reaching millions, Splash’s staff of marketing professionals strives to give each business client a recognizable marketing and communications brand that facilitates customer confidence and loyalty.

Utilizing both online and off-line strategies, Splash offers marketing and communications techniques focused on brand development and promotion. The company uses corporate identity, logo creation, website design, print collateral and other marketing solutions to effectively brand clients’ businesses and send a consistent, identifiable message.

Avoiding cookie-cutter solutions, Splash Omnimedia caters to individual client’s needs and focuses on incorporating the right strategies for each business’s unique target market. While no marketing and communication branding plan will be the same, each Splash client can trust they are receiving the best plan and service for their business, according to Matt Thompson, Splash senior partner.

“No business can reach its maximum potential without an effective marketing and communication branding strategy, and Splash is here to make this part of the job easy,” said Thompson.

“Our expert team of writers, SEO auditors, social media specialists, and design geniuses can quickly develop and promote a brand for any business, and we do it with the kind of excellence and creativity that set our clients apart from the herd.”

About Splash Omnimedia

Splash Omnimedia is an all-encompassing marketing firm specializing in an array of innovative solutions including: marketing and communication branding, custom Web design, corporate identity, print collateral, video & audio production, email marketing, search engine optimization & marketing that make a powerful statement for any company.

Contact us today for a free marketing proposal on how we can help improve your bottom line. 

A retail business brochure is an effective way to put your business’s information, services and products in the hands of customers and prospective customers. When it is done well, a retail business brochure can be an effective marketing tool to help you bring in increased sales and new customers. You can make the most of your retail business brochure by using time-tested marketing techniques, helping you to get your message across to customers in a professional and compelling way.


It is easy to see when a business does not put the necessary time and effort into their brochure. Far too many businesses simply throw some information together, slap it on a folded-page and call it a brochure. Doing this prevents a business from maximizing their exposure to customers. When a customer has your brochure in their hands, they are a captive audience, so you want to be certain you have the right message and delivery in place in order to appeal to their wants and needs.


Determining the content for your retail business brochure is as simple as following Marketing 101: present your business as a solution to the customer’s needs. A brochure is not the place to brag about your awards and qualifications. The customer is trying to determine if you can help them and whether you offer the solutions and answers they are seeking. If they cannot immediately identify the solutions you offer, it is likely they will toss the brochure aside.


Below are some tips to keep your retail business brochure out of the trash can and into the minds of buying customers:

• Become a business brochure connoisseur. Research other businesses’ brochures and identify the ones that are both visually appealing and appealing to the customer’s desire for a solution. As you analyze these brochures, determine how you can replicate the design and message; yet make it unique to your business.
• Consider your ideal customer. What does this customer need? What message will be most appealing to him or her? Once you can identify the need and solution, craft a message delivery that is creative, catchy and makes them want to learn more.
• Keep the wording easy to read. While it may be nice to have a creative and flashy design, when it comes to the text or copy simple is best. You want the wording to be legible to all people—even those with less than perfect eyesight. Keep the text clean and the fonts basic and large enough to see without straining. It is also better to have uniform fonts, rather than playing around with different looks in the same brochure.
• Incorporate your logo or an attractive image, but avoid going overboard with too many graphics or clip art. The customer is most interested in what you have to say about your business.
• Choose the highest quality card stock you can afford. The way the retail business brochure feels in the hand is important. Regular thin printer paper does not give an impression of professionalism. Recycled card stock is a great choice, because it sends a positive message about your company.
• Make sure the text is error free. Proofread and proofread again. Then, ask two or three people to read over the brochure for you before sending it to the printer. Spelling and grammatical errors are huge turn-offs to customers. Proofreading is a simple and inexpensive way to make sure your message reaches customers.

Even during this Internet age, a retail business brochure your customers hold in their hands can be an effective marketing tool. By taking the proper steps to ensure your brochure is visually appealing, error free and includes a customer-friendly message, you are putting your best marketing foot forward. Contact us today for a free marketing proposal on how we can help improve your bottom line.