Sandy Marsico is the Principal of Sandstorm Design, a user experience firm that turns customer insights into powerful interactive experiences through our unique blend of strategy, marketing, web design and usability services.
Not too long ago we explained why your logo is not your brand. However, sometimes there is a brand so strong the only thing missing is a logo.
Consider human rights. It is a cause that touches every part of the world yet lacks a single symbol to represent it. Until now, of course. The human rights logo design competition has come to a close and the winning logo is beautiful. It brilliantly blends two universal symbols for humanity and peace: a hand and a dove.
The new identity is reminiscent of the peace symbol, which does not belong to any company or organization, but rather stands as the symbol for all things peaceful. Only time will tell if the world adopts the human rights logo with the same enthusiasm.
Sandstorm Design is a Chicago user experience agency that builds intuitive web sites, interactive web applications and creative marketing campaigns leveraging a user-centered design methodology.
Google has been rolling out changes one after another, with a new (but not that different) homepage design, the +1 button, and a social network in the trial phase. Here’s a quick, easy-to-digest breakdown of what these search engine and social media updates are all about:
+1 Button
This little button is yet another factor in search engine optimization, bringing more recommended sites higher in the search results. If someone you are connected to in your Google account recommends a site with the +1 button, you’ll see that they did. This is simply a tool to tally recommendations, and that’s it. The social aspect is just that you can see which of your friends have recommended a site. You should definitely be leveraging the +1 button in your search engine optimization and online marketing strategy.
Google+
In plain English, Google+ is Google’s new social network (although they’re not saying that). It’s in a trial phase right now, and isn’t open to everyone just yet. Here are its key features:
Circles: Similar to Facebook Groups, Circles let you put different people in different circles, allowing you to interact and share with each circle separately.
Sparks: This is a feed of content based on specific interests you have selected. From Sparks, it’s easy to share with Circles, and create a thread of conversation around a piece of content.
Hangouts: Video chat with multiple friends at a time.
Mobile: There are a couple features that will be available for what Google calls a “pocket computer,” or mobile. Instant uploads let you instantly upload photos from your phone, and Huddles creates a chat-room style text conversation with friends.
What people are saying
They’re saying a lot…Facebook already meets these needs…If Buzz didn’t have great success, why would Google+?…And while it’s nice to have our world tailored to our interests, don’t we need something to balance us? Something to remind us that there are alternative viewpoints we should consider, and our world isn’t the only world that matters? Eli Pariser raised some of these concerns this past February in a talk about The Filter Bubble.
The gates through which we enter the Internet are changing. It will be exciting to see what happens in the not so far off future. And of course, we’ll keep you up-to-date on how it will effect your search engine optimization and social media strategy.
Some people like to put their brand identity on business cards and letterhead, others prefer choppers. That’s right—choppers. One of our partners, Aaron Equipment, got a custom branded bike from Orange County Choppers and appeared on their TLC show American Choppers.
The bike now sits proudly at their Bensenville headquarters. Of course, after visiting their office and seeing the bike, we had to take pictures. And who wouldn’t? This is really a great example of creative marketing—getting your brand out there by connecting with your audience on their interests.
Now that summer is in full swing in Chicago and the festivals have taken over the weekends, it’s a perfect time to get creative with your marketing. And “creative” could be anything from a custom chopper to a clever sidewalk chalk stencil. If you need a little help brainstorming some creative marketing ideas, let Sandstorm Design give you hand!
Your logo is not your brand. This is a common refrain from designers that combats the common misconception that all you need for a brand is a logo. Our Creative Director, Janna Fiester, shared an article with the rest of the team recently that talked about building an unforgettable brand outside of the logo. It makes a great point that we wholeheartedly agree with. Now this doesn’t mean the logo isn’t important (it is!), but there are definitely other factors to consider when it comes to your brand identity—copy being one of them.
A recognizable voice and tone is as important to the brand identity as the logo. Think about Allstate, for example. You always know an ad is theirs long before you see their logo. That’s the brand in the copy. On your web site, blog, brochure and other marketing materials, the copywriting should capture your differentiator in the marketplace. Your content should reflect any marketing objectives and initiatives currently in place. (Are you reaching out to new audiences or offering new services? Is your voice changing to speak more directly to these new objectives?) And, of course, the voice and tone should be consistent.
To insure we build a complete brand, our copywriters are vital members of the marketing and creative teams here at Sandstorm Design. They work directly with designers during the branding phases, giving each company’s unique identity a unified presence—in the visual elements, the marketing copywriting, and everything in between.
MIT has challenged students all over the world to give their best elevator pitch with the YouPitch Contest. This is the first year they’ve taken the elevator pitch competition to YouTube, requiring students to upload 60-second elevator pitches to compete to win $2000 and international glory.The winner was announced on Facebook, and will receive their award at the grand finale show on May 11 at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium.
So, what makes an elevator pitch good enough to win a contest—or for many of us, good enough to win business? First off, it should be conversational. It should clearly point out the need you are filling, the competitive solution you are offering, and how the solution will be carried out. And it should be short, sweet, and to the point. The student competition at MIT called for 60-second pitches. At Sandstorm Design, we do ours in 30… but maybe our elevators are just faster here in Chicago!
You never know what opportunities could be opened with the right pitch. Whether the challenge is a competition or a new client, this part of marketing is always fun and exciting. Learn more about our take on marketing strategy.
Check out our favorite marketing elevator pitches from MIT’s YouPitch contest:
Twitter has reached almost 200 million accounts, and has just added its seventh language – Korean. As Twitter expands worldwide, so does the opportunity for you to grow your business just as far.
Twitter will become increasing vital for networking and maintaining relationships with your overseas contacts, just as well those in the States. On top of that, it offers another valuable (and free) avenue for marketing your brand online (in seven languages, perhaps?). As you know, we kind of have a thing for marketing and branding.
If your company doesn’t already have an account, get one. And if you have one but you’re not using it, start now. If there were ever a time to jump on a bandwagon, this is it.
At Sandstorm Design, we live and work by the “Yes, and” marketing strategy. It is one of our core values and reflective in absolutely everything we do. So what is the “Yes, and” marketing strategy? For us, “Yes, and” is a way of thinking. It is being open to new ideas, thinking outside of the box, and drawing outside the lines. It is doing what is asked for, or expected, and then coming up with something new and interesting to also think about. It is always striving to be better, and innovative, and three steps ahead of what’s next.
If you’ve worked with us before, the “Yes, and” marketing strategy is very evident in our creative work. Usually, we will give you one concept that’s exactly what you want (we hope), and another that gives you a new idea to consider. The goal is that, regardless of which concept you go with, we challenge you and show you something unexpected.
And, until now, we sort of thought that we coined the “Yes, and” marketing strategy phrase. Recently, I came across this article that proved otherwise. It also outlined how special “Yes, and” truly is (we invent airplanes ☺), and how the counterpart “Yes, but” also plays into the mix.
Congratulations Sandstorm! We submitted an inspirational quote for the 2011 Woman’s Advantage Calendar and from over 5,000 submissions, our marketing firm’s quote (and internal company philosophy) was chosen.Woo hoo!
Our inspirational quote will appear on our own calendar page (September 22) with our company name and url. What a great way to increase our visibility and get a little free publicity. I love PR and marketing, and I love to win. This is such an honor. And a fun way to share a little insight about our marketing firm and the people who work here.
So you might be wondering, what was our winning quote and inspiration: “To become an exceptional leader, take the time to help others achieve their dreams” The extra special part – I found out today, on my birthday.
