In critic Jim Holt’s New York Times review of Harold Evans’ Why Writing Well Matters, he offers this quote from the author: “Writing well is a two-stage process: (1) write not so well; (2) fix it.”  This applies to the entire creative process.  Too often, people imagine creative professionals sitting around waiting for lightning to…

Some things just go together.  But too many companies think they have to choose between selling and informing.  They think that advertising is for sales, but websites and literature are to inform.  They’re wrong — and they’re missing great opportunities.  Every marketing message in every medium should sell and inform.  While you tell prospects what…

Think about the visuals you use, whether in print, in broadcast, outdoors  or online.  Are they the same overused images that everyone has always used?  If they are, how can you expect that anyone will remember yours?  (Hint: they won’t.)  There are two ways you can mix it up to your advantage.  First, you can…

It’s easy to assume that a marketing message designed for one medium will work across all media.  But that’s rarely the case.  People consume media in very different ways, at different times of the day, while doing different things.  A long headline might work well in direct mail, less well in a print ad, even…

Last week, participants in One Southern Indiana’s Sales & Marketing Success Series (sponsored by Idealogy) were treated to a presentation by Stacy Griggs and Sean Howard of El Toro that was packed with terrific tips and tactics for how to do digital marketing better — as well as mistakes to avoid.  So this week, we…

One of the surest ways to get the attention of prospects, especially in the B2B space, is to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.  But like any other kind of mastery, it takes real work — more than most are willing to tackle.  You can’t simply retweet and recycle the expertise of…

Here’s another way to gauge the strength of your brand.  Imagine you’re gone.  If your company didn’t exist, who would miss you?  Would your customers just move on to another provider with little noticeable impact on their lives or their businesses?  Or would they quickly miss something that they wouldn’t be able to find anywhere…

Just like every industry, large-format printing is advancing at an exponential rate.  And that offers a whole new world into which you can affordably expand your brand — literally.  Print eye-catching, weather-resistant messages for the sidewalks leading into your building or in front of stopping points like an ATM or information kiosk.  Repositionable wall coverings…

Marketing may be a lot more complex these days, but that opens up some new opportunities, too.  For example, it’s easier than ever to test different marketing messages to see which ones work best.  Digital ads with different messages can link to different landing pages.  Digital and variable data printing let you try different offers…

A bank installs vertical banners at the front of each drive-through lane, cross-selling bank services.  Smart, right?  But think about how you use the drive-through.  As you’re pulling in, you’re looking up to make sure the lane is open, watching left and right to be sure you’re pulling in safely, and maybe even looking around…