03 Jan

2008 Observations, 2009 Insights

It would be obvious and redundant to say that 2008 was a tumultuous year. 2008 was tumultuous. There, I said it. We have been through 12 months of what was perhaps the most interesting times since the 1960′s. Looking back, we consider some of the things that continue to resonate for us as we all run headlong into the New Year. Continue reading after the jump to see our thoughts about the year that has passed and some ideas for getting the most out of 2009.

The Smartest Companies Continue Marketing

Nearly everyday in 2008 the news brought stories of rising fuel costs, bankruptcies, corporate malfeasance and individual greed that resulted in unprecedented job loss and market depreciation. In spite of this we’ve seen that the smartest companies we work with are continuing to forge ahead with communication and marketing efforts. Cutting budgets marketing during market downturns can mean that your organization will not be well positioned for the rebound. In a survey conducted by BtoB Magazine, Nearly 40% said they plan to increase marketing budgets in 2009.

“It could be a little bit of savvy on the part of marketers. In an economic downturn, this is the time for marketers to capture a greater share of market by investing robustly in a well-defined marketing mix. Your competition may be letting their guard down.”

This quote from Bob Liodice, President of Association of National Advertisers points out advantages to keeping your marketing plan and budget intact. We’ve recently learned about a few companies who have completely eliminated their marketing and communications budgets for 2009. If this sounds like your company, make sure your resume is in order.

Maintaining your current position and even growth is possible in spite of prevailing economic conditions. Staying ahead of your competition is critical. Assessing and adjusting your marketing and communications budgets are important activities even during “good times” don’t succumb to a crisis to make a change. Stick to your core plan, sort what isn’t working, fine tune and carry on.

SPAM On The Rise

We’ve been watching, and strategizing how to deal with spam here for years. We’ve always gotten some in our in box, but the first real increase came in late 2002. Today, our small office of 5 users with 7 e-mail addresses receives more than 3,000 pieces of spam and other unsolicited e-mail per month. In spite of the CAN-SPAM act of 2003, we continue to see an increase. Some tips to minimize the impact to your address. 1. Obfuscate your e-mail address whenever possible. Leaving your e-mail address exposed on websites is just asking for trouble. 2. Use Google Mail. The team at Google has a dedicated staff optimizing their anti-spam tools. These advanced tools take a load off your IT department and your organizations network, allowing you to see only important messages in your inbox. 3. If you’re active in online forms or listservs, get a separate free e-mail account — again, I’d recommend Google — and use that address exclusively in those venues, keep your main address to yourself.

Design Can Shape U.S. Politics

No matter what side of the political coin you call your own, there’s little chance that you missed see the marketing and design of the Obama Presidential campaign. Not only was it an aesthetically perfect process and result, the strategic execution was brilliant and took advantage of “new media” like no other campaign before it. Many hands had a role in shaping the branding for Obama including Shepard Fairey. Mr. Fairey had already become a cult icon through his work he started as Obama Has a Posse that evolved into the Obey Giant brand, his style was easily recognized in the posters he created for the Obama Campaign, each limited edition now sold out.

The lesson? Let Design help you make the most of your strategy, allow your creative services firm the latitude to shape deliveries and outcomes. Applying great creative to a well-thought strategy can help you launch your organizations efforts into the stratosphere.

Breaking/Stretching The Law Is Bad For Your Health, and The Company Around You.

There’s no limit to the corruption of greed. This article entitled The Most Distrusted Institution in America from Forbes sums up the recent corporate corruption that we’ve all been witness and victim to. Note the side bar for related articles.

So what did we learn? Companies and Organizations that have been smart and honest about their growth strategies have been largely unaffected by this economic downturn. Incremental, organic growth is far more reliable and consistent than instant riches. Anyone remember the tech bubble circa April 2001?

E-Mail Marketing Works

Inspite of SPAM being on the rise, we’ve learned alot about E-mail marketing since launching our AXNTâ„¢ — pronounced accent— service in 2008. Here’s the shocker. E-Mail marketing works. Not only does it do well on its own merit but when compared to other forms of brand messaging, it’s one of the best ways to communicate to your audience directly and personally.

E-mail marketing is so powerful because your best customers have asked to be included to receive more information about your company. Using  AXNT™ is an easy way to keep your organizations latest news, products, services special events and offers infront of your customers.

AXNTâ„¢ users love using our program because it’s an easy, and cost-effective way to communicate. We have clients sending brand-centric broadcast e-mail messages to lists as small as 50 or 100 e-mails, and others who have more than 5,000 addresses. Call 315-352-4433 today to learn more about AXNTâ„¢.

Design Thinking (Don’t Cheat The Process)

Design Thinking

Design Thinking

In the past year we’ve been aware that many of our projects are under increased pressure to be financially responsible, and that timelines are increasingly shorter. Everyone wants to get more for less. We strive everyday to manage our clients budgets responsibly, while providing the best service and best application of craft and expertise.  At stressdesign, we have a process that we’re able to overlay onto each of our projects that allows to achieve the high quality results that our clients expect us to produce.

Cheating the process is a bit like driving a car with 3 good tires.

Each design company has their own process, and lately the idea of process has been getting considerable press under the heading Design Thinking. As traditionally trained designers, Design Thinking is second nature to us — a language we speak for creativity. At stressdesign we like to include our clients as much as possible in our Thinking to arrive at the best solution together.

The Stressdesign Process

Consider // Inquire // Target

At the beginning of any project or initiative we have meetings with the client to determine goals and measurable outcomes. We have a detailed fact-finding questionnaire that we use to help illuminate core issues. With the client, and in our internal post-launch discussions, we reference the targets that we’ve set.

Concept // Refine // Mockup

The design process is iterative, to allow for the best to come to the surface. We’ll refine our findings and initial concepts until they’re ready to be presented to the client and project shareholders. Our presentations are really a series of short stories created around each possible concept direction and mocked up in 1:1 whenever possible. This attention to detail allows us to present our ideas in a context that is relevant to each client, clearly illustrating intent and demonstrating each viable solution consitently.

Perfect // Produce // Deliver

When the direction that meets client needs and goals is realized and agreed upon we continue to refine the solution to its perfect rendering for production and delivery.

Focus // Evolve // Improve

Many of the projects that we’re engaged on are cyclical on 3-18 month arc that track with our clients business models or sales cycles. These built-in loops afford us the ability to learn what is working best and improve on those elements for the next evolution. We compare target audience and client feedback against original and refined goals to make the proper adjustments.

This process we’ve been practicing can be overlaid onto our identity, publication or web projects. Through these mechanisms, we’re able to maximize effectiveness of our solutions and client budgets. The stressdesign process also provides a point of measurement for success and results.

Many companies have a similar process. Apple, one of the best examples of a company that embraces design shared part of their process at a recent SXSW conference. There’s even an entry on Wikipedia that does a good job of condensing Design Thinking into a form that you can apply in your own environment.

Staying The Course

Hopefully, 2008 wasn’t as scary for you as the headlines have told, and that you’ve been able to stay your course with only a few minor adjustments.

Looking forward into 2009, we wish you all prosperity, and the hope that we’ll be experiencing slightly less interesting times.