Metropolis Creative on Branding and Marketing

Amstel Parties With a Winning Campaign - Consistently

2009-07-12T09:23:00.012-04:00

Amstel Light kicked off their One Dam Good Bier campaign by taking adult consumers on tour to "Amstel's Amsterdam" to experience a progressive twist on the art, nightlife, music and magic from the city in which it is brewed.

Each aspect of the campaign portrays the unhampered and cool culture of "Amstel's Amsterdam," including a redesigned and viewer engaging web site, off the hook new packaging, new outdoor and print ads and a
sweepstakes that gives adult consumers the opportunity to win a trip to Amsterdam.

"We witnessed an incredible reaction to the launch of One Dam Good Bier last year as consumers made the connection between Amstel Light and Amsterdam," said Kheri Holland Tillman, vice president of marketing, Amstel Light. "The brand saw a dramatic shift in consumption as a result of One Dam Good Bier. Now, we're taking the campaign to the next level by offering memorable experiences that speak to the diverse culture and fun of Amsterdam while reinforcing Amstel Light's heritage and brewing tradition. Amstel's Amsterdam is all about enjoying One Dam Good Bier and having One Dam Good Time."

I had the pleasure of witnessing the power of this seamlessly on-target and very tight campaign first hand last week at a club in Boston. Amstel culled the strength of their entire campaign into one room. Even the band and DJ (Shiny Toy Guns and DJ Clinton Sparks) matched the campaign’s theme. Talk about having a consistent brand!

Kudos to Amstel for practicing what I preach everyday: Have a consistent brand - a theme, and use the theme in various modalities. In addition to a damn good party with a custom t-shirt, Amstel is applying their consistent campaign theme thusly:

Packaging

This summer, Amstel Light is launching new bottle graphics and new packaging that embodies the brand's roots and tradition by emphasizing that a "taste of Amsterdam is brewed in every bottle." The package
creative features images of the Amstel River and canals running through the cobblestone streets of Amsterdam, as well as a synopsis of the beer's connection to the city. The new packaging will be showcased on 6- and 12-packs. While the bottle shape and appearance remain the same, the design of the label now highlights the word "Amsterdam."

Web

Amstel Light's Web site has been redesigned to give adult consumers a chance to actually step inside "Amstel's Amsterdam." By hopping on a virtual bike and riding through the streets of Amsterdam, site visitors will have the opportunity to explore Amstel Light's take on the city's unique traditions and culture. Users will enjoy their own progressive experiences as they interact with "Amstel's Amsterdam" in unexpected ways, such as learning an authentic Dutch Roar (a traditional Dutch rallying cry), creating music by moving the mouse over a series of Amstel Light "bottles" and downloading their favorite Amsterdam-themed
art.

Advertising Campaign

The Richards Group created the brand's new print and outdoor advertising campaign by using powerful and emotional images of Amsterdam to illustrate the fun energy and spirit of Amstel Light's connection to the city. The ads feature both the picturesque imagery and the festive atmosphere that have become synonymous with the city of Amsterdam, such as scenic views of the canals and groups of revelers enjoying the nightlife.

The Amstel campaign and my party night will serve as a great example for how to use a brand/message consistently. Please add your favorite example of a consistent brand message campaign (party or not).

How We Measured the ROI of a Social Media Community

2009-07-05T09:11:00.014-04:00

In front of a crowd of about 180 Boston area professionals, Mark Wallace, VP of Social Media, Environmental Data Resources, used examples from commonground, his successful online community to prove that the ROI of an online community can be measured.

Metropolis Creative organized “Realize the ROI of a Social Media Community”, a live social media networking event at FELT Boston on June 30, 2009, to illustrate how an online community can be created, measured and used successfully to build a brand/message. “The Metropolis philosophy of approaching web and design projects from a brand building perspective mindful of target audience i.e. community was a great fit for this event...” said Michael Flint, Metropolis Founder. Additionally, Derek Showerman, Director of Social Media, Authority Domains co-sponsored the event and offered a complimentary social media assessment to all attendees.

Here is the entire slide presentation, including Mark Wallace’s 5 ROI and Reporting Tips:

ROI Of A Social Media Community 6/30/2009

The topic of social media ROI brings a general disagreement among many social media experts and upper level corporate managers. David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR and World Wide Rave, stands out from the crowd and writes “We’ve been trained that everything gets measured down to a sales lead. If that’s how you measure social media, then forget it.” But a good amount of bloggers frequently post that ROI is either tough to do or not relevant.

How are you addressing the ROI of a social media community?

Join the LinkedIn discussion here.

"Social" Isn't a Tool

2009-06-29T15:44:00.013-04:00

One question I've been asked a lot recently is "what's going to be the next Twitter?" The quick answer is, it doesn't matter. I know that sounds flip but hear me out before you think I'm just another social media basher (you'll know this is not the case if you read my blog). I say "it doesn't matter," not because I don't love Twitter and all the other social networks but because it assumes that the concept of "social" can be limited to a single tool.

To that end, comparing the phenomenon of "social" to a tool is somewhat akin to thinking that a good website is strictly about a great logo or a slick header graphic. Obviously those things help but they aren't the end all to be all. It's the concept of great usability and design coming together meeting the needs of a stated business objective that makes a site great. Oh yeah, the site damn well better meet the needs of the customer too. Otherwise, you're dead in the water.

Getting back to my rant about Twitter and why limiting "social" to the category of a "tool" is such a pet peeve of mine... Well, it's not dissimilar to thinking that the discipline of marketing could be confined to just e-mail or advertising. While some companies might concentrate their efforts on a particular tactic, most good businesses also leverage other tactics to help accomplish their goals. They also realize that at the end of the day, "marketing" isn't limited to one tool because it's a more about a philosophy and a thought process than it is a bunch of tools.

The difference between good marketing or even site design is that while "social" can be important to helping a company get in touch with its customers, it can also be a transformative power within an organization helping companies:

Share ideas — both internally and externally
Co-create with its customers
Energize its customer base by creating a launch pad for word of mouth marketing
Deepen loyalty and increase referrals by giving customers something of value

I guess the next time someone asks me what the next "Twitter" is, I'm going to tell them that it's the wheel, or the printing press. Or a turbine engine. Or the Internet. Maybe then they'll start to think about this brave new world of "social" as something more than just a tool.

So how does your company describe "social?" Let us know in the comments -- just do me a favor and don't use the "T" word.

Key to Content Marketing: Shh...

2009-06-29T06:07:00.011-04:00

How do you attract people to your website through content marketing? Listen to what is important to your audience.

Listening to customer needs and wants will give you ideas about what content you need to produce for your audience.

You can listen in a number of ways:

1. Monitor your customer service department for frequently asked questions. As the customer service department develops answers, you can re-purpose that content for your website. Text, help centers, or videos can all answer questions and attract more people to your site through content that solves problems. A customer at Exaiminer.com asked their social collaboration tool vendor, grouphub.com, if GroupHub.com provides an online survey tool as part of their services. Currently, GroupHub.com does not, but that did not stop the customer support team from taking the question and creating a FAQ answer that features a third party survey tool. GroupHub.com’s answer is a great example of a strategy of focusing on helping the customer and by doing that you will provide useful relevant content that establishes your company as a responsible brand.

2. Monitor what's being discussed by your customers out in the community. With the advent of the web, ordinary people now have the ability to create content that discusses your products and brand. Listen to what people write and record about your products and brand. You can choose to respond where customers ask questions and discuss, or follow up with content that provides answers back on your own website.

Dell monitors its community, and as a result the company is able to respond and provide content and links to existing content that solves customer problems. Check out this Dell post on the topic of driver updates for the Latitude.

3. Create places for customers to give feedback about products and your brand. Dell does this with their online forums and IdeaStorm website. The IdeaStorm website is a voter popularity website that encourages customers to contribute ideas and suggestions, which are then voted upon by the rest of the community. Dell responds with feedback and if the ideas can be implemented.

By focusing on content that answers questions and solves problems, companies are much more likely to have answers to customer questions as they arise, plus content that’s available to attract customers when they have generic questions about the industry.

John Cass is the Author of Strategies and Tools for Blogging, and the blog PR Communications.

Search Engine Marketing: Hiring Managers Rock The House in Boston

2009-06-25T15:37:00.011-04:00

The excitement felt at the SEM Community Mega-Event event, sponsored by Search Engine Strategies and Onward Search, was certainly a refreshing change from the constant hum of economic downturn news. The Wall Street Journal's report of unemployment reaching nearly 10% by 2010 was certainly not the topic of conversation at the House of Blues in Boston on Monday night. About 200 search marketing professionals mingled with their peers as they heard industry leaders and hiring professionals line up to announce that their companies are hiring search engine experts.

After a short meet and greet, it didn't take long for recruiting agents to dart forward to the front of the room, line up and get their company's pitch in. Tom Ellis from Adverplex, Inc. was one of the first up to pitch his company and service while making the bold statement: We are hiring. Need look no further than the front page of every commercial newspaper and magazine headline; the point is being made clear, social media and SEM is the new wave of marketing and human communication. After speaking with Katie Donovan, the managing director at the Sempo Institute, it is clear that SEM is the backbone of this new integration of marketing, PR, advertising, internet research and social media. Companies of all sizes are just getting started using Pay Per Click Advertising to pursue active users to follow their blog and Facebook as the ROI for social media is beginning to be realized.

Although the tremendous potential of online networking is creating a stir, one question still remains: how to increase the ROI from SEM?

What You Can Do Without Paying a Marketing Company: SEO 101

2009-06-23T15:09:00.013-04:00

Just three years ago, "Google" was added to the dictionary. The trademarked term is not defined, however, by the company bearing the name but rather the act of searching for something online using the Google search engine. This addition is just one example of how search engine use in the past decade has infiltrated most aspects of our culture. And it's not a surprise: the use of search engines has skyrocketed over the past ten years. So it's no wonder that companies are willing to pay for their page to rise to the top of a result page. A report released by eMarketer shows that paid placement on search engines and organic search engine optimization (SEO) are more effective than traditional advertising and marketing tactics and is the most cost-effective way to gain new customers. Channels of communication with consumers are evolving and growing significantly in online space, so making sure that your site shows up in a Google or Yahoo search is critical to businesses. Marketing firms have entire teams of people that work on optimizing your search engine placement, but here are a few ways to raise your SEO for those with a tight budget (we are, after all, in a recession). Many of the most-used search engines today (like Google, Yahoo, Bing, MSN, etc) are all crawler-based. They each have an algorithm that "crawl" or "spider" the web to create automatic listings. What they collect through the information provided in the title, body copy and elements of your website design is then put into the ranking algorithm that is eventually delivered to the searcher. But SEO isn't rocket science, and there are several steps you can take without having to break the bank that will bump up your rank.

Enhance Your Page Titles
One of the first things that spiders look for is page title. Make sure you have a title that is specific to your product—don't be vague or general about titling the information on your page. Having a static title on every page of your site that only includes your company name or the overall site name will undoubtedly drop your site on the search engine result page and make it harder for consumers to connect with you. Instead, include both the website title and the page title so that crawlers can pick up more information.

Only Publish Unique Content
It's hard to know exactly how many websites exist at any point in time. But netcraft, a company that surveys the web in attempt to accurately report the number of pages in existence, estimated last month that there are over 235 million websites in existence. How can you stand out competing with hundreds of millions of other sites? With the ever-increasing number of sites competing for the same audience, the way to get hits on your page will be to have content that no other site has. And because so much of search engine results are based off of the content, it is almost necessary that your content be search friendly—don't bother with Flash, Javascript or AJAX when it comes to the body copy on your page.

Think About Your Image Names
When you're designing web pages, it's easy to keep get lazy with your labeling system and save your images with nondescript titles, like "IMG_001". But making sure that your images have relevant titles will help with optimizing your placement on the result page—put yourself in the shoes of the search engine user and try to anticipate what they would search.

Utilize the Tags
This advice is for all the bloggers out there (and companies or organizations that have a blog on their site). Blog search programs, like Technorati, search tags to deliver results to those using their services, so make sure you utilize them correctly. Try to stick to a rotation of no more than 20 subjects and tag every post with no fewer than two tags. Not only will proper tagging make page navigation easier for the reader, but it can actually bring more readers to your site.

Linking
The final thing that you can easily do to better your position on a search engine result page is to make it easy for others to link back. This step can be as simple as adding a widget that allows readers to easily "link back to this article." If you really want to increase your presence online, though, it may take a bit more work. We've all heard the old saying: "It's not what you know, it's who you know." Although admittedly clich‚, this phrase is fitting: networking is a fundamental part of running a website. Try to get other bloggers in your niche to link to you and encourage your readers to submit your posts to digg or StumbleUpon.

There you have it. Five tips that you could implement by the end of today. And if it weren't obvious enough, don't forget to link back to this post.

Expose Your Brand and Reap the Benefits of Social Media

2009-06-17T11:22:00.011-04:00

It's very trendy. Companies of varying size and type are exposing their brand and messaging via social media marketing. These organizations are having cocktail parties online! They are establishing and maintaining real-time conversations with customers, colleagues, industry peers, thought leaders and management. Throughout the conversations, brand loyalty is being garnered. Messaging is being spread. Stories are being told. The exposure is immediate, smart, savvy and contagious. "Social media creates a solar system for a brand with multiple satellites of interaction channels, some large, some small." - Derek Showerman, Director of Social Media, Authority Domains.

Use your website to first explain your message/brand and then have direct links to your social media sites (i.e. Facebook, twitter, online community, etc). But be sure to keep the design of your messaging, and overall identity consistent!

Expose your brand to social media and reap these benefits:

Online conversations and increased SEO
Thought provoking and news worthy content is contagious. People tell people. Conversations will build a community of loyal followers (customers).

Immediacy
Hitting a front page of major social video, news and bookmark sites will send you large amounts of instant traffic while simultaneously building your keyword optimization.

SEO
Conversations and linking will dramatically boost your rankings in search engines.

Peer Power
Gain peer recommendations, attract influencers, comments from bloggers, etc. Initiators and influencers decidedly play an important role in decision making.

All Natural
Receive natural links without any discernible pattern! Your website will be exposed to large groups of people in a spontaneous fashion. This differs from paid advertising which can be conceived as commercial efforts.

Quite Complimentary
Social media optimization and marketing is usually community-specific. It doesn't interfere with any other methods of getting traffic to your website. It can and will fit perfectly with an advertising campaign targeting other websites or search engines.

The bottom line is social media has created a way for people and businesses to become transparent. Social media can be a great way to find and establish followers, but like in real life, friendships require time, understanding, honesty, and the occasional greeting card. Before exposing your brand via social media, step back and take a look at all of your marketing components (logo, website, calls-to-action, etc). Make sure that all of your messaging is consistent and accurate before you expose your identity. Ask for help.

In the spirit of being social, join us for a live presentation about social media communities. A complimentary and informative networking event with appetizers, drinks and even pool. June 30, 2009, FELT Boston, 6-8:30PM. Sign up here.

Avoid Website Embarrassment

2009-06-07T21:41:00.010-04:00

If you are not paying attention to your website by adding fresh content, checking links and overall functionality, or even comparing your site to the competition, your prospects are bound to click the delete button. Now that’s not only bad business, but it’s embarrassing!

All evidence I have seen during my tenure shows that customers will ruthlessly dismiss a website on which they come across out-of-date content, broken links, hard to find contact information or even worse, waiting several minutes for something too “important” to load and then having a “real actor” pop-up with an marketing message. Please don’t get me started.

Here are the most frequent causes for website embarrassment and perhaps loss of business reputation:

Slow Load Time: How annoying is it waiting for a very long and truly meaningless welcome graphic?
Advice: Avoid glitz for the sake of glitz. Flash can be effective if it delivers a meaningful image that supports your message/brand.

Spelling/Grammar: Hello spellcheck. There’s no excuse for typos or misspellings these days.
Advice: Spellcheck and then have another person proof the text.

Contact Information: I am always surprised at the number of businesses that make it impossible to find their contact information. They either don’t include it on their site or hide it in an obscure page.
Advice: Always put your full contact information on your homepage. Moreover, contact information provides great keywords for SEO.

Broken Links: "Page-not-found” is extremely embarrassing.
Advice: Assign a weekly date to check your website for broken links.

Old Content: News or blog items dated 3-6 months ago make your site look outdated and dusty.
Advice: If you can't keep up with the new content, simply remove the dates!

Did I miss anything? Got some good advice on how to avoid website embarrassment?

Does Your Brand Have the Power of a Super Villain?

2009-05-18T12:50:00.011-04:00

Everyone needs a brand. Super villains decidedly stand out as brand identity czars. Identities are created that are memorable and recognizable in various formats.

As a basic handbook, you can't beat Neil Zawacki's manual, "The Villain's Guide to Better Living." It covers such important topics as how to choose an appropriate lair, how to motivate your minions, and even resume writing tips. Aside from the obviously practical advice in this book, many of the topics help define the villain's personal brand by building on every aspect of their image.

When proper planning isn't done, you can end up more like the aptly named Mystery Men - unclear on who they are, and what they do.

Last year during the writer's strike, Joss Whedon seized the down-time (anyone have any down-time right now?) to write a personal pet-project of his own, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog". We see Dr. Horrible work on his evil laugh, and try to get respect from not only the evil community itself, but from his potential love-interest.

It's interesting that even though Dr. Horrible is a "bad guy", he is branded with "good guy" colors (all white). And the hero Dr. Hammer, who turns out to be arrogant and selfish, wears all black. (Other good villain colors are red, and sometimes neon green).

The design of a villain's costume, logo, and calling card must all be truly evil and impressive. Memorable icons and graphics, contrasting colors, and occasional flair are key to create a powerful brand. Additionally, allies such as business partners and organizations will help give your own brand additional power.

Help your brand to take over the world by:
1) Defining your brand identity
2) Applying your brand to your marketing strategy (evil or not)
3) Listening to your audience and respond to their reaction

PS. Who's your favorite or most feared super villain?

Are Your Branding Strategies and Website Design on the Same Page?

2009-05-14T08:48:00.015-04:00

Prospects and even current clients judge your website when making a buying decision. It could be their first impression or their information source for your news. If your website doesn’t match your brand and marketing strategy, you may be losing customers.

Put your website to a test to see if it matches your messaging. Here’s how:

Does your latest sales/marketing brochure design (or even your business card) match your website design? Are the colors the same? Are the fonts the same? How about dots versus dashes between phone numbers? Do they convey a consistent message about your company, product/services?

Ask someone who is unfamiliar with your company/product to read your homepage and reply with a quick summary of your messaging and how to contact you. Was this person able to easily identify your targeted message, reach you and receive a reply?

Ask a salesperson or company spokesperson to use your homepage and present it’s content to you as if you know nothing about the company. Does the homepage really match your elevator pitch and have a compelling call-to-action?

Make a list of 5 adjectives that describe your targeted audience. If your list includes young, hip, trendy, swank... be sure to have contempo images and slick technology like Flash animation.

In summary, everything you put in front of a customer should have a consistent message. Every ad, every brochure, your website, corporate identity elements, etc. An integrated campaign works wonders when designed professionally by a single designer or agency.

Content is king. Keeping your website updated with fresh, high-quality, informative content positions you as an expert in your field. People want to do business with experts. Moreover, keep your information current. An outdated news page makes one wonder if you are still in business. New content also provides protein for search engine spiders.

A website that is designed with all of your marketing activities in mind will reinforce trust in your capabilities, increases sales and build your brand online.

PS. Don’t have time to put your website to the test? I’ll do it for you. Send me your url.

Extreme Marketing through Social Media

2009-05-11T09:50:00.004-04:00

Everyone knows social media tools like Twitter, Facebook and blogs can drive traffic to your site and help build your brand. And nowadays, every marketing conversation has some component of social media. Last month, my team stepped away from the fodder and physically DID something - face to face.

On April 29th, Metropolis Creative engaged hundreds of marketers through social media by having an Extreme Website Makeover party . This was our most successful marketing effort to date (I founded the company in 1999). We harnessed the power of social media, partnerships, networking and free booze into one brand building and socially engaging campaign that stirred a contagious buzz (before, during and after the event). Nearly 150 marketing professionals came off-line to shake hands and interact by using more than 140 characters.

The campaign served its purpose of strengthening the Metropolis brand, engaging face to face interaction, and also was a helpful experiment in demonstrating how to plan, deliver and measure a social marketing campaign.

Social Media Reach

The campaign’s impact, influence and reach were measured by these tools:

Google Analytics: Site-side analytics measured the traffic back to Metropolis' site and the referring social media properties

WordStream: Keyword analytics and organic visits

RatePoint: Outreach to their network (and email marketing tool)

Twitter: Followers, tweets, retweets, frequency and interaction

Facebook: Extreme Website Makeover and Metropolis Creative pages (become a fan!)

SHIFT Communications: Outreach to their clients and prospects via twitter

Social Media Breakfast group and Bob Collins socialized the invite via twitter and facebook

Groupon: Email to Boston opt-in database

STUFF@Night/Boston Phoenix: Multiple emails to opt-in database

MA High Tech News, Galen Moore article

Congrats to American Public Television for being awarded the Website Makeover winner and props co-sponsors SHIFT Communications and RatePoint.

Ready for Extreme Website Makeover 2010! But how can Metropolis make it more extreme…?

Feng Shui for your Home(page)

2009-05-05T16:34:00.018-04:00

The Metropolis studio recently got some serious spring-cleaning. There were some painful divorces with historic furniture and relic printers, but on the whole, we ended up with a significantly improved space with (I’d venture to say) significantly improved Feng Shui. Feng Shui, for the skeptical or those weary of anything sounding like something your New Age aunt is into, is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to improve life quality. These days a Google search will lend you hundreds of pages of Feng Shui tips to improve your office, your garden, your apartment or your bedroom with long lists of benefits. But whether or not it holds that an octagonal mirror across from the North-facing window will bring you good fortune, maybe Feng Shui can offer some good advice for your web design.

We’ve adapted four Feng Shui principles to add some positive chi to your web site.

Feng Shui asks that one Always Be Mindful of the State of Your Home[page]. When is the last time you updated your web site? Whether a user gets to you from a blog, from Twitter or from a search engine, does the first page they land on tell your story completely? Being mindful is the first step to a Feng Shui site.

Clear clutter. The biggest take-away for modern interpretations of this ancient art is to clear out the clutter from rooms. This holds for your site: is your navigation intuitive and user-friendly? Are users overwhelmed with buttons and options, or are they drawn to relevant content? We think that sites should be clean, simple and balanced.

According to Feng Shui when you arrange your room it should be done in such a way that you can see anyone who is entering the room. So too, should your website be able to recognize any new or repeat visitors. You won’t need to set up some complex set of mirrors like a Feng Shui house; Google has great (and free!) analytic tools to tell you just who is on your site and how they got there.

Finally, images carry powerful energy in Feng Shui. Their placement and intention makes a great impact in the home. On your site, they put a face to your brand. Make sure they’re unique, representative and that they send the right message to visitors.

Feng Shui wisdom teaches us that nothing is static in the world of energy. And more than ever, we know that nothing is static in the world of web. So, when you do some spring-cleaning this May and bring in some balance and positive energy, consider doing the same for your website.

The Good, The Bad, and The Typography

2009-04-24T09:09:00.023-04:00

Any talented designer can tell you: Good, consistent typography is essential to building a strong brand. Deciding which typefaces will be used in a project is an important and long-considered choice. Typography is used to subliminally communicate ideas with the reader — the wrong type will send the wrong message. In this post, I'll be showcasing some examples of strong, communicative typography and giving tips on how to bring good type to your website and branding.

Type & message

Subtle differences between typefaces create entirely different type personalities. Type and layout can be used to convey a message to the reader, defining a brand's image. Common intentions are reliable, classy, professional, modern, quirky, or funky.

When used well, type can fill the role of an image, providing both impact and meaning. Distressed type and clashing colors portray the uncomfortable notion of war in this brochure for Emerson College as well as any photograph could, while reducing printing costs.

The Metro free commuter newspaper has good typography. They abandoned the classic news type conventions in lieu of a modern sans-serif face designed by Lucas de Groot. The Metro has a strong sense of hierarchy with an easily scannable mix of headlines, sub-headlines, pull quotes and running copy. The overall look is very cohesive, fresh, and actively engaging — well targeted for its young audience. The Metro has 20 million daily readers, making it among the most popular newspapers.

Take a look at these two logos, one for high-end dry cleaning chain Holly Cleaners, and one for a business based on cell phone texting.
Looking at the logos, what impressions do you get about the two companies? Which one is cheaper? Trendier? More classy? Which business do you think is older? What age group are they targeting?

Both brands have very well-developed graphic identities which excellently communicate their images through typography. This is great type design, and these are the questions designers ask themselves when evaluating a company's image.

Type on the web

Web typography is rapidly changing. For now, working with web type is difficult and limited to the use of very few typefaces. Interactivity and ease of use are vital to good web type. Here are some basic but important tips for functional web typography:

Use contrast. Make sure type stands out strongly against its background

Never underline text, unless it's a link. Use italics instead

Don't use more than two fonts on a page

At small sizes, use a sans-serif font

Leave plenty of space around blocks of text to minimize distractions

Above all, keep your sizes, colors, and fonts consistent across the whole site

New technologies, like sIFR and CSS 3's new @font-face property are growing in popularity and support. Soon, designers will be able to be as creative with web typography as they are with print. Until then, special care and expertise is needed to make eye-catching web type. Images with special fonts are used to simulate headlines, and stylesheets are carefully edited to control type. Different users will see the same web page differently, so any typographic design for the web must be flexible and extendable.

When a website is well designed with careful attention to the typography, it looks professional and stands out from the crowd. See this interesting resource: The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web.

The Metropolis Creative team's favorite typography sites are Typographica and the type articles on Smashing Magazine.

Emergency Medical Graphic Design

2009-04-06T23:40:00.015-04:00

I used to work as an Emergency Medical Technician in Rochester, NY when I was in college. As a graphic design student, people asked what being an EMT had to do with design. At the time, I just shrugged and said that I liked doing it.

When we would arrive on the scene, calls were usually not what they seemed to be. We would sometimes get called for a broken arm, and it would be a sprained ankle — which is why EMTs are taught to determine the "Mechanism of Injury." If the sprained ankle occurred from falling down a flight of stairs, then we assumed there may be other injuries that we couldn't see. The challenge was to piece together the whole big picture — first from the patient, then from the bystanders, and then from any other clues such as medicines or other things lying around.

Sometimes, people would leave out key details because they didn't think they were important. Or sometimes they were afraid they did something wrong, and didn't want to admit to it. So it was our job to try and understand the whole situation, and the perspectives of the people involved, in order to determine the best course of action.

Most of the patients we took to the hospital didn't have money or family, and had all sorts of other issues. I had partners who would yell at the drunks and ignore the old people from the nursing homes. I figured I only had about an hour with each patient, so I'd make the best of it. I used to challenge myself with the really angry ones, to see if I could get them to smile before we got to the hospital. I would talk, ask questions, and treat each patient as if they were a relative of mine. They were, after all, someone's relative. Besides, if I treated each patient with respect and patience, it became much easier to get the information I needed to help them, and the whole experience became much more enjoyable.

So In retrospect, my work as an EMT actually helped a lot to prepare me for when I would eventually own my own graphic design studio. I still assess each new situation, gather facts, make a plan of action and then my team of designers and I go to work. I do miss the flashing lights though.

An Extreme Website Makeover Event in Boston — Move That Mouse!

2009-03-29T16:17:00.029-04:00

So what’s the connection between a website and a party? Consider your website as your brand ambassador — your host/hostess — smartly dressed but not over flashy. The overall theme is decidedly trendy but not so funky that it will become dated tomorrow. Can people find you (the host) and your location? (Note how many times this week you can’t find a phone # on a website). Then there's content, your community and the conversation. Plan ahead. Match your theme to your attendees.

Join your peers and industry leaders Wednesday, April 29th from 6:00 – 8:30 PM at 28 Degrees in Boston to see what site deserves an Extreme Website Makeover!

I promise not to shout MOVE THAT MOUSE! But, I will do a before and after presentation to show how the winning website has:

• Branding — serves as a brand ambassador — a party host per say!
• SEO features — keywords and design to attract and wow a crowd
• Call to action — lead capture tools; ways to draw an audience
• A RSVP or more info spot
• Means to get the buzz into the community

These aren't just nice things to have in a good web site design, they are required. So why do so many web sites fail? Why are so many parties boring? Because web technology, search, and social networking have rapidly changed the overall marketing and community landscape.

Keeping up with the latest technology requires constant effort. For example, when you scroll down a page, you move away from the navigation bar. To solve this usability issue on our blog, we found a nav bar that follows you down the page. Although there are multiple solutions for this, we chose one that has a smooth sliding movement — like a Travolta move (on most current browsers) and stays in a fixed position on older browsers.

"Search" is the hip party term for all things relating to Search Engine Optimization. Making your site searchable goes much deeper than just getting found. With concerted effort and smart design, you can get your company cataloged, linked to, and talked about. Searchability really is key. This can be done by carefully planning the hierarchy of content, and by using keyword-rich typography as a design element. Good design firms optimize the back-end code for search and include unique keywords on page titles. Extraneous code is separated from the main pages to allow for easier indexing of content by search engines. (See some upcoming trends on the Search Engine Journal blog.)

Social Networking blends both technology and search into an additional network of interactivity and community. (Read Bob Cargill's post: Five Important Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Use Social Media) To start with, social networking helps your company on a brand loyalty level. Customers who "belong" will not only promote your brand, but will protect it as well through blogging, comments on other blogs, and recommendations. Social networking is also viral. So the more people who are in your network, the faster (exponentially) you are able to broadcast your message. And social networking offers opt-in subscription models to ensure that people who want to hear from you never miss your message.

Usability is often overlooked in favor of fitting all the "right" content on the page. Of course you have a lot to say, but you need to show restraint in your message. Say only what you need to in order to get the desired response. Other usability factors include section titles, navigation options, and e-commerce paths. Make it easy and quick for your users. Give them a positive experience so they talk about you and come back for more. Note to self: When is our next party?

Call-to-Action — What are you trying to get your site visitor to do? Buy a product? Download a demo? Sign up for a mailing list? Call you on the phone? Whatever it is, it should be everywhere and prominent. Stay focused on the call-to-action. The purpose of your web site may not actually be to educate the user about your product, but to get them to buy it. Educate only as much as you need to achieve that goal.

You'll see what I’m talking about on April 29th. One lucky organization will be selected for a homepage redesign, social media PR makeover and email marketing offer. In front of a partying crowd of marketers, social media makers and my peers, I'll show you a quick before and after presentation. Complete with gratis martinis and tasty apps. Networking and tweeting is optional! Sign up here!

You Built It — Why Don't They Come?

2009-03-18T01:03:00.008-04:00

How do you get more traffic to your web site? Google has become very good at steering visitors to relevant content. So the real question is: how do you make your content relevant to Google? Its all about the keywords.

We just started using a web-based software product called WordStream and we think it’s pretty slick. Overall, we love the Keyword Research and Long Tail Keyword Management.

Basically, WordStream lets you create and manage a “keyword database” for paid and natural Search Engine Marketing. Discovering and organizing keywords is a crucial part of PPC and SEO, and the tool has a pretty innovative approach to both. Here’s a quick run-down of how it works:

Step 1: Create a Keyword List
First, you get keywords into the system. You can use either a traditional keyword research tool (like Google’s or WordTracker), import analytic data, or, our personal favorite, use WordStream’s log file parser to extract search history from your site’s log files.

Step 2: Organize Your List
Next the tool allows you to strategically organize the keywords very simply and easily. This is probably the most powerful feature. The software scans your keyword list and suggests keywords you should group together, based on the number of similar keywords, the amount of traffic they drive to your site, and conversion data.

Step 3: Let WordStream Suggest New Keywords
There’s also a search-focused Web analytics package. You install a snippet of Java Script on your site, and the keyword tool will record each new search query people use to reach your website, providing a constant stream (get it?) of new keywords. You can either manually review the new keywords, or let WordStream group them for you and add them to your keyword lists and paid search campaigns.

Step 4: Create and Maintain AdWords Ad Groups
WordStream has API integration, so that you can have any of those keyword groups you created dynamically managed by the software. They also offer some tools for the maintenance of all these researched and segmented keywords. You’ll be able to create filters, associate negative keywords, and prioritize workflow.

WordStream will measure the performance of not only keywords, but keyword groups and segmentations to let you know what works, where you should be spending time, and what you should do next to generate maximum returns.

We're still learning it, but so far, we really like it. Check out the free trial and judge for yourself!

You Must Obey Shepard Fairey

2009-03-17T22:46:00.018-04:00

I haven't been this inspired since visiting the museums of Paris last summer. Come to think of it, I might not have actually been back to a museum since last summer, but that's beside the point.

Shepard Fairey was not the reason I went to the ICA this weekend. I went because my good friend Mark, who is a crazy artist like myself, was in town and he hadn't seen the new ICA in Boston yet. I actually wasn't looking forward to a bunch of red and blue portraits, and I had already grown tired of the imitators.

From the moment we entered the gallery, I was blown away by the pure craftsmanship of his work. His crisp authoritative style and satirical content made me want to laugh in awe. On closer examination, his work is beautifully balanced, and intricately detailed.

What made me even prouder, was that this was graphic design, in an art gallery. Sure, his work is full of political and social statements, but he communicates them beautifully. There's not a lot of room for interpretation, his message is clear. As a good design should be.

If you have a chance to make it to the Shepard Fairey's show at the ICA in Boston, I fully encourage you to do so. It's an experience you won't regret. What are your thoughts on Shepard Fairey and/or his work?

How Much Is Your Web Design Hurting Your Business?

2009-03-09T22:25:00.012-04:00

There are over 182 Million web sites out there according to Netcraft. So what makes your site findable, usable, and effective? A good web site design should have three basic things on every page: search engine optimization, a good user interface, and a strong call to action. If your web site doesn't focus on these things, your target audience will just move on, or not find you at all.

Search Engine Optimization
This is a huge topic, but I'll talk about some web design basics.

You need a list of key phrases. If you are a web design company, "web", "design", and "company" are horrible keywords. But "web design company" is a good one. Think about key phrases as opposed to words. Include your city in there as well. The more keywords you can come up with, the better.

Target the keywords to your pages. You can't effectively target more than 5 keywords per page. Three is a better number. Start with the page title bar. Use your keywords there, and then in the copy of the page. Links using keywords are great, too. Instead of saying "See our web design work here" use "See our web design work here". Lastly, take a look at your copy, and see where you can inject your keywords more often. You need to balance effective communication with adding additional keywords, but it's usually not that hard, just time consuming.

Code the site correctly. A good web designer will use HTML searchable text, not text in a graphic. True, you can't get too crazy with fonts this way, but findability is more important than how it looks. And there's a lot you can do with HTML fonts anyway. Images should always have ALT tags, with keyword-rich descriptions. Headlines using tags hold more weight then body text. And if you can get keywords into the actual file names, that's even better.

A good User Interface
This obviously starts with an easily understood nav bar.

Navigation is expected either on the top or the left side of the page. If you deviate from that, it will be harder to find. Don't forget that most web surfers are still a bit technically challenged.

Keep the navigation options to the minimum. The more options you give someone, the harder it is to choose

Buttons should look like buttons. And if it isn't a button, then don't make it look like one. (Sounds simple I know, but we've all clicked away on that thumbnail image waiting for it to do something... waiting... grr — not a button.)

Wording on the buttons needs to be obvious. Don't put product names on buttons. They make sense to you, but not to your visitors. Also, don't get cute with titles like "The Team" and "Home Runs." What does "Home Runs" mean anyway?

Don't forget that the user interface includes proper labeling of areas of the page, including the name of the section that you're actually in. A depressed button usually isn't enough to tell you where you are.

A Strong Call to Action
What's the point of your web site? Is it for lead generation? Or are you selling a product? There should always be a call to action on every page if you can. The top right column is ideal for this for a couple of reasons. It's usually space that's available, and it's where people expect to see an important announcement. Make your call to action prominent, and you'll see an increase in action.

What's interesting, is that all of these things can usually be done to a web site without requiring a complete redesign. If you'd like an analysis of your site's effectiveness, post a comment below and we'll check it out!

Through the Looking Glass: Email Marketing From Your Customer's Viewpoint.

2009-02-28T15:02:00.026-05:00

-ping- New email. Should I read, delete, or file it?

In this email marketing article from Mediapost, an Epsilon research project found that "57% of consumers feel they have a more positive impression of companies when they receive email from them, and 50% said they're more likely to buy products from companies who send them email, whether their purchases are online or at a place of business." This shows that the right message targeted at the right viewer can be very effective, especially as part of a multi-channel marketing campaign.

1) Who are you selling to?
Define your audience, and narrow it down if you can. You can send different variations of the email if there are different target verticals. Obviously, the more targeted your message, the higher your success will be. What are their needs that your product or service addresses?

2) Briefly and basically define your product or service for that audience.

3) What differentiates you? Put your competitors around a table—what makes you different? Why choose you? Try to answer a problem or concern your target market has. For example, instead of saying "Our phone is small and lightweight", you could say "Fits in your pocket—you won't even know it's there!"

4) What's the offer? You may have the most amazing new thing in your industry. Your audience doesn't care. Sweeten the deal with offers like a free consultation, or a percentage off the price of your product. I often get coupons from Staples. Even if I'm not going to use the coupon, I'll send it to someone else. Whitepaper downloads or Webinars can be enticing offers too.

5) Call to action is everywhere. Offer it early, mid-way, and on the end of your email. Offer it as a big graphical button, and in the text. Use bright colors, arrows, "Click Here", be totally obvious.

6) Craft the perfect subject line. This is the most important part of your email. If it doesn't get opened, it doesn't get seen. Make it catchy, but not Spammy. Why would YOU open an email?

7) Don't forget the landing page. This is where you'll send all those clicks. DO NOT send them to your home page. Landing pages should be similar in tone and offer to the email, but it will have a small form to capture your visitor's information. You've almost got them now! The wording should be urgent. See my tips on landing page design here.

Given the fact that you have 3 or 4 seconds to grab your viewer's interest, don't skimp on the design. In addition to following the above guidelines, it should be interesting, exciting, and clean, and should direct the viewer to read the message in a specific order. A high-quality, professionally designed email will inspire trust much faster than words can, much like a professionally designed blog;)

Send me your e-blast and I'll critique it for you!

Comicon and Creativity

2009-02-25T00:16:00.024-05:00

I really enjoy pop culture and recently attended the New York Comicon. Comic book conventions are full of inspirational illustrators, wild creatives, a few movie stars (usually from 20 years ago), and loads of fans in costumes.

I love seeing the variety of styles of artwork from the classic sci-fi of the 40's, to the many creative styles of today. I also love seeing more female artists, and more diverse racial backgrounds each year at the shows. This keeps the art and the storytelling fresh, and with a different perspective. Check out Grace Lee's amazing paintings.

I'm often touched, and inspired by the creativity of certain artists. I really love how brave some people are with both their stories and art. And of course, sometimes it gets pretty weird too. The amount of effort it takes to design their trade show booth, put their work together, and sit at a show for three days is extremely admirable. The younger artists experience a lot of rejection before they gain a following. (Been there.)

My favorite treasure(s) from this year are the comic books from Michelle Fariss. The images of her hand-made mini comics don't do them justice. the stories are weird and make little sense on the surface. You have to enjoy them for what they are; creative whimsical journeys with no rules. I love that Michelle cared enough to make little stuffed dolls of two of her characters, and include them with one of the books. My girls enact the story with the dolls while I read to them.

It's always fun to see which media celebrities are there, too. From wrestlers, to Lou Ferrigno (I saw him leaving the convention pointing and laughing at another guy dressed up as the Incredible Hulk), to Chewbacca. I even saw two of the guys from The Greatest American Hero, but didn't feel compelled to buy any autographs. I missed the Watchmen preview trailers. That will definitely be the movie hit of the summer.

The wildest part of the show is of course, the costumes. From slinky Wonder Women to giant blobby Pokemon. Some people look great in costume, and some just deserve a handshake for the effort. They're all fun, and all ages too.

I'll leave you with 3 tips for attending a comic book show: 1) Bring plenty of money. Even if you don't want to buy anything for yourself, you can get a year's worth of gifts here. 2) Take a break for lunch. Just get out for a bit. Between the lights, and the colors, and the crowds - it can be very overwhelming. 3) Don't get too close to anyone. You could get trapped in a conversation about who was the best captain of the Enterprise, or can Daleks really fly. And besides, not everyone smells so good.

Looking forward to the Boston Comic Book show in April! Maybe I'll see you there? Share your interesting comic book or trade show stories below.

Ever Pay A Lot For Bad Branding? I Did.

2009-02-22T17:14:00.007-05:00

Acronyms are infinitely useful as conversational and online shorthand, especially when working with unwieldy terms like search engine optimization. SEO is just so much easier to say and type. The problem with acronyms is that the original meaning can easily be lost, creating a significant communication problem, potentially ambiguous branding that can lead to a loss of revenue.

As a marketer, I find myself particularly sensitive to the art of branding. I’m often amazed by large companies with huge amounts of resource at their disposal that go on to launch a lukewarm, unfocused campaign.

Last week I bought a new Volkswagen CC. Know what the acronym means? No? Neither did the dealership sales representative. He told me to Google it. The acronym’s definition wasn’t even listed on the gorgeous saddle-stitched 4 color gloss brochure.

Frustrated, I called another dealership and learned that CC means comfort coupe. But I didn’t stop there. I emailed VW customer service and inquired into their secretive approach to acronyms. I received this reply:

“Here at Volkswagen, we would like to assure you that
it was not our intention to exclude the meaning for the
acronym CC. We apologize for any inconvenience this
may have caused.”

Fine, but wait, doesn’t coupe refer to a 2 door car? The CC has 4 doors.

You’d think that with all the time and energy VW put into the production of their new flagship, they could have at least taken the time to brand the thing in a way that didn’t cause confusion.

When you buy an orange, you don’t want an apple…I’m just praying that VW’s oversight stopped with the acronym, and that this car isn’t a lemon.

Got a bad branding example? Do share.

Cut your AdWords budget and increase your Conversions

2009-02-19T11:03:00.008-05:00

Sound too good to be true? Search Engine marketing genius Sandra Niehaus of Closed Loop Marketing used a great illustration in her Conversion Optimization presentation. Basically, instead of pouring more money to create more hits on your web site, why not just widen the net in which you use to capture your leads? By focusing on how you capture and convert leads, you can make your marketing engine a lot more efficient. (You should also be carefully analyzing your keywords to determine which ones are working the best for you, but that is a topic for another post.)

Let's talk about Landing Page Design. They are commonly used for e-blasts and online advertising, but they can also be useful for natural searches as well. Here are 5 things often overlooked on a landing page design:

1) You need a good product or service. Identify your USP (Unique selling proposition) and exploit it. If you don't have anything unique or compelling, then you're going to have a hard time selling.

2) Say it quickly and concisely. Pretend for a second that your target market is skeptical and doesn't care about you or your service. (Hard to comprehend, I know.) State your business - maybe in a set of bullets? You can always link to "more info." Copyblogger has some great writing tips here.

3) Prove it. You've got an amazing product or service? Prove it with testimonials (with a photo?), statistics from leaders like Forrester Research, or even a mini case study.

4) Call to action. Provide multiple, easy ways to contact you. Phone numbers, emails, and a mini form. Capture their info! How about an incentive or offer with that form (Free trial or a free whitepaper download? Maybe a limited time discount code?)

5) Test. Try using a couple of landing page designs. In just a few days, you'll see one working better than the other. Figure out why, adjust the design, and test again. You are your own best research firm.

Remember: use your landing page real estate wisely. You've got a lot to say? Tough. Your viewer doesn't want a lot to read. I think a viewer should be able to comprehend your offer in less than 4 seconds, or they're lost. Some up-front investment in a good landing page design can go a long way. Here are a few more tips posted on Articlesbase.

Are your landing pages too wordy? How interactive are they? What have you found to work really well? I'd love to hear some of your ideas.

Are You Ignoring Google?

2009-02-15T18:49:00.015-05:00

Google is THE advertising channel in the near and forseeable future. If your marketing plan doesn't include Google optimization at this point, then you're probably still hoping Betamax wins, you still buy cassettes for your Walkman, and your roller skates have four wheels — not in a row.

I recently attended the Web & Interactive Design Summit 2009 at the Harvard Medical Conference Center. Honestly, I was on the fence about going because they were mainly talking about how to use the new CS4 suite to design web sites, and I have a pretty good handle on that (although seeing the new CS4 features was kinda cool). But what impressed me most was Sandra Niehaus from Closed Loop Marketing's presentations on Web Strategy in Search Dominated Environments.

Sandra's first slide titled, "Opt out of the recession" says it all. The media landscape is no longer like the fertile fields of 1960's TV where you had a huge captive demographic on one of 3 major networks. It is now so fragmented across TV, radio, outdoor, and social marketplaces (to name a few) that you can't guarantee viewership of your marketing message. Technology has allowed your message to be muted, skipped, or just distracted from. But one channel that is growing is online usage, and if you want to be found online, then you better be speaking Google's language.

Basically, you need your code to be Google-friendly, you need your content to be Google-friendly, and you need other web sites to link to your site. Of course, getting found is just the first step. I'll speak about converting leads into customers in my next post!

Who Are You?

2009-01-29T22:26:00.013-05:00

Your personal brand is not unlike a corporation's. Its your reputation, other's perception of you, and how you call attention to yourself. Long gone are the days where individuals align themselves to one company for their entire career. The strength of many companies rely on the quality and expertise of the individuals. So why do people neglect their most valuable professional asset — their brand?

Your personal brand used to reside on an old resume in a drawer, and perhaps on a few outdated letters of recommendation. But we have LinkedIn now. We have Facebook, blogs, and Twitter. And they're all easy to use. Think about investing time in your personal brand the same way that you would invest money for your retirement. Even a little bit of effort now, will pay off exponentially in the future. You are only a Google search away, or at least — you should be.

LinkedIn is a must for everyone. Its a permanent professional network for jobs, recommendations, advice, and professional growth. Get on there now, fill out your profile, and connect to people you know. This is an incredibly deep version of your resume. Facebook is LinkedIn's little brother in terms of professional networking. I prefer to use it to stay in touch with my personal friends, but there's definitely some crossover there.

Blogging and Tweeting can be a very public forum to showcase your professionalism, knowledge, and expertise. And because of the viral nature of these mediums, a little effort can go a long way. In fact, once you start using these tools, you'll find countless resources on how to blog and tweet like the best of them.

Its all free (for now), easy to do, and honestly, its fun too!

(For extra credit - read Chris Brogan's take on email databases, although I think a LinkedIn account is adequate for most.)

Print Isn't Dead — Its Just Got A New Name

2009-01-24T22:19:00.035-05:00

While the Internet has been making technological leaps and bounds, Print hasn't quite rolled over and given up yet. What's the best thing about Internet marketing? It can be personalized, which is a win-win situation for both the marketer and the consumer. Marketers already know what you're interested in so they give you more of what you want.

Well, we've forgotten that direct mail has been doing this for years, and it's pretty good at it too. Variable data printing just got sexy enough for even us web-heads. Imagine a piece (post card, brochure, or catalog) that could have customized images based on your profile. Now imagine that this piece could vary in page length and copy. Not just a word here or there, but entire formatted paragraphs. You can vary everything from the color of the type to the layout of a page. Variable type can even look like its been Photoshopped into an image.

Now imagine getting a marketing piece in the mail from a sports team that you have season tickets with, and your name is painted on the back of your seat in the stadium. Or getting a brochure from an auto dealership, with info and photos of the exact cars you test drove two days earlier. Or an invitation to a wine tasting with your name on the cork? Wikipedia, among others, claim, "The returns for variable printing vary from double the normal return at the basic level to 10-15 times the return for fully variable jobs." And these pieces might just find their way onto office walls and refrigerators as well.

I've just completed a four-day seminar in how to set up and use some amazing VDP software called Pageflex. As we get this system going, I'll keep you posted. In the meantime — check out what DirectSmile is doing. You won't believe it until you see it.