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August 24, 2021August 24, 2021

Let’s Talk Color & Branding

Let’s talk color & branding. This blog is aimed directly towards those starting out in business or rebranding.

At first look, colors may not seem that important. However, they are extremely important to your business! No matter what colors you choose for your logo and brand, there will be certain psychological perceptions of them. In other words, it’s called color psychology. You can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_psychology

We’ll break down a few widely used colors, as well as some that are uncommon. Let’s talk color & branding a bit more in depth.

Red

Few colors evoke a psychological response more than red. Red is love, it is fiery, passionate, angry, exciting, and quickly catches attention. With this in mind, it’s good to know what other colors to couple it with. We’ll use black and white as examples. It also depends on which shades of red you are using.

Red and white can present itself as exciting and clean. Or, perhaps evoke passion and health.

Red and black are two power colors. Therefore, they are to be used cautiously. There’s a lot of aggression when combining these two colors. So, it makes sense to choose your shade of red wisely when combining it with black. Red and black, albeit a pretty cool color combo, reminds us of the Empire in Star Wars or even the Nazi swastika. So be careful! What do you think of for a black and red logo?

Other shades of red convey different emotions. Maroon is strong and brave. Burgundy is sophisticated or subtle. On the other hand, bright red is energetic and exciting. Whatever red you choose, certainly make sure it’s not too overpowering with the complementary color.

Blue

Ah, blue! This writer’s favorite color. Calm, trusting, confident, and the association with water. However, as I have shown above, there’s still negative aspects associated with blue. These would be cold and distant. At the same time, think of the term having the “blues,” you certainly don’t want to give off that impression!

Blue and white evokes dependability and innocence. A blue and white logo, if designed correctly, would exude a feeling of tranquility and purity as well. As long as the graphic designer is aware of their color choices and the overall layout, these color combos could be great for business. Think Lowes, Ford, or American Express.

Blue and black is trust and sophistication. Of course this depends on the type of blue used. For example, BMW and its use of blue and black works well.

Some alternate light blue colors give off a sense of faith, health, or stability. Darker blue hues represent feelings of security, masculinity, or trust.

Green

When you initially think green, what do you think of? If you answered money, environment, or nature you’d be correct. In addition, green is used for brands like John Deere, Land Rover, and Whole Foods. Businesses in the environmental, landscaping, and restaurant industries regularly use green colors.

Green and white makes for a harmonious and clean feeling. Pending the shade of green and the design shape used, it could represent natural purity. At this point, we’ll also add that the complete design, font or typeface choices, all combined will lead to very specific emotional responses. It’s important to realize that the complete design combination is what truly leaves a viewer feeling a certain way, not just the color choice.

Green and black are growth and elegance. Black can be an edgy color to use with greens. You’d want to go with black likely as a complement to whatever green you choose.

Light greens like spring green or chartreuse give off feelings of freshness or spring time. By comparison, darker greens are associated with maturity and growth.

Other Choices

Gray. Gray is used in branding mainly as a secondary color. In addition, it’s a great way to tone down other bolder colors. Gray is subtle, steady, and controlled. Use gray sparingly to avoid unwanted feelings of isolation or depression.

Purple is next on the list. The color purple leaves us feeling creative and/or curious . Purple is also often associated with mystery. It’s the color of royalty as well. Lighter purples are romantic and spiritual. As I have said with other colors, there are consequences with each. Darker tones of purple, if used unwisely, present themselves as sad or frustrating.

Finally, brown. This color is earthly and dependable. Brown also evokes neutrality, boredom, and emptiness. So be careful! You do not want your logo or company brand to be boring or drab. Look for ways to make brown stand out if you choose this color. M&M’s, UPS, and A&W Root Beer have found successful ways to utilize brown.

Need help brainstorming a new logo and branding color palette? Let’s talk color & branding! You know how to find us!

Analyze. Create. Achieve.

December 31, 2019

Marketing with a Small Budget

Email marketing Girl here. Hola, and Happy New Year! How do you market your business with a small budget?

When you think of small budget, let’s start real small…like free. Therefore, what are some marketing tools that are free? Social media, email marketing, networking, blogging, webinars, ebooks, etc.

Email Marketing Girl and pup.

Numero uno. Social media.

If you are a business, you need social media. One of the first things people do when they research are Google and most likely Facebook. Depending on the company and demographic, it could be Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or some others. Be consistent on social media. Engage people on social media. Be proactive instead of just reactive on social media. By proactive, for example, I mean look for the audience you wish to make business with. Likewise, look up hashtags and follow those people who are liking or posting those awesome pictures you wish were your content. (Consequently, learn from those cool profiles).

Email marketing.

There are a bunch of free email marketing tools out there that can do some cool stuff. Most popular from my experience, would be Mailchimp. However, all you have to do is go back to your friend Google and type in free email marketing and do some research on what best fits your needs.

Web mail computer keyboard button for business contact concept. Email envelope icon key in blue color.

Networking.

I know, talking to people can be scary. That is to say, if you find yourself at a free marketing happy hour, talk the talk! Have your elevator pitch ready and go into it with a positive attitude. Even if you don’t get a sale or a client right there, you have planted a seed. Continue to follow up and make a relationship. Certainly, networking can be a powerful way to grow your company.

Blogging.

Like what I am doing now? Yep! Have a landscaping business? Blog about the newest trends you are seeing for the summer. What about some fun tips for your garden? I mean, that sounds interesting to me!

Free downloadable resources.

There is so much free stuff on the internet. If you don’t know much about SEO, download a free ebook about it or register for a one hour webinar on it. Likewise, it’s the same thing with literally anything marketing. Like I’ve said before, just Google.

There are a lot of free marketing things and resources you can get away with to start off your strategy. Have any questions? Reach out!

Analyze. Create. Achieve.

November 12, 2019

Client Interview with a Marketing Coordinator

Hi all,

Recently, while on a product photography shoot, we conducted a quick Q&A interview with a recurring customer. Chelsea is a marketing/sales coordinator for a local company we’ve worked with frequently over the last few years. A great company making fantastic one of a kind products. We candidly asked her what she likes about her role and some general marketing questions.

What’s your role in marketing?

Chelsea: “So, I’m the sales and marketing coordinator here. I help coordinate trade shows. I help with photographic shoots, and I also manage a product line with our company. It’s really exciting because we’ve gained some new customers recently. We have a trade show in Pittsburgh and then one in New York in a few weeks too.”

What’s the hardest thing about marketing?

Chelsea: “Umm, so, probably finding out what people will like. Trying to grab their attention. Seeing what gets peoples attention and why they’d want our product. Since we have a new product line, I’m trying to find out what’s going to make them want our products over our competition. Learning about what sets our products apart. There’s other products that are similar, well, more simplified versions, but ours are unique and I have to show that.”

If you had to put a number on it. What percentage about marketing, do you think, is related to creativity?

Chelsea: “Wow!…Honestly? A LOT! You have to be creative. I would say, wow, 70-80% really. Even if you are writing a simple email blast you have to have it creative. What’s going to make them NOT want to delete your email? Finding that creative niche, that attention grabbing moment is super important!”

How important are the images, or photography, to your marketing plans?

Chelsea: “Oh my!” Extremely important. So, yes. Crucial! You have to show our products in many ways, even in lifestyle settings. For example, we even found that we had older product photos and once we had new photos taken by you guys, we sold them! I mean we sold many older products that weren’t selling once we had new images of them. They were updated, better focused, and started selling a lot better.”

That’s fantastic!

Chelsea: “Yea! Honestly. We’ve found that really high quality pictures are really really important!”

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned about marketing in your time here?

Chelsea: “Wow, I’ve learned a LOT. So, I came right out of college and I had no idea hardly what I was doing. College isn’t real world, it’s all like books, studying, book knowledge, and tests. It was hard at first. For instance, you take the concepts that you learn in school and apply it to your work in the real world. Getting a customers attention, like I first said, is probably the biggest thing.”

So, in conclusion, if your local business has a need for updated photography, design work, or a new website…drop us a line! 77 Design Co is here to help you grow your business and increase sales the only way we know how… through creative visual marketing!

Analyze. Create. Achieve.

October 30, 2019October 30, 2019

A Brief History of Halloween!

Halloween is here! It’s one of our favorite days of the year!

Why do we dress up? What’s trick or treating all about? Why do we carve pumpkins? Have you ever wondered why Halloween started and what traditions continued through the years, changed or have been phased out? Read further to find out more.

History

So, Halloween technically began as the festival of Samhain. Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the “darker half” or winter as we know it. The festival takes places October 31 – November 1. Celts believed that on the night before the new year (November 1), the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred or thin. Scary stuff! Most importantly, they would have big parties or feasts and dress in costumes because they believed it would scare away the ghosts and spirits. Do you see the correlation?

Consequently, we then get to America, where we traditionalize everything and make carving pumpkins and trick or treating super popular. Meanwhile, let’s talk about trick or treating. So, young women believed that on Halloween they could divine the name or appearance of their future husband by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings or mirrors. Subsequently, it then trickled down to young children dressing up and getting candy from neighbors.

Did you know? One quarter of all the candy sold annually in the U.S. is purchased for Halloween.

So, do you carve pumpkins? Do you go the traditional scary route or do something fun and different? Are you the type of person that will hand out candy to little kids or keep the light off?

Speaking of modifying traditions, there are parents that have a basket of candy for kids, and a basket of beer for the parents that go around with them. In conclusion, that is a modern twist on a tradition that we can get down with!

Costumes?

What’s the coolest costumes you have? Send us photos and we’ll share them on social media!

77 Design Co owner, Rob Hoffman and his Halloween costume.

Analyze. Create. Achieve.

October 4, 2019October 4, 2019

Building a Marketing Base

This blog will feature tips on how to build a marketing base for your business. Even if you haven’t done ANY marketing, here’s a few things to get you started.

Who?

First, you need to know who your customer base is. Who are you marketing to? Where? Age? What’s their interests? For example, try to segment your customers based on who you’ve already sold to. Take notes and come up with an average at the very least. Tough to do with limited info, but necessary.

If you don’t have these numbers, use a simple chart or even tally marks on a pad to get more specific. Use guesstimates if you need to. This will certainly get you a start.

Where?

Now take those numbers (even if it’s a small average from 10-20 customers) and determine where to put the marketing dollars. Yes, most importantly, you should have SOME marketing dollars set aside.

Are they on Facebook, Instagram, or mostly LinkedIn? Would billboards or signage in certain locations help? How about a direct mail campaign sent directly to businesses or homeowners? How’d your previous customers find you? Through your website, Google, or another online source?

Consequently, this will narrow down your best approach to get moving. As a result, you’ll learn quicker what works and what doesn’t as much.

How?

So, how are you going to implement your plan of action? This is the most difficult part. It will take time, patience, and some serious creative efforts to get the word out about your company.

If you aren’t very creative savvy, look to enlist those you know and trust that are. Get their thoughts about the look and aesthetics of your signage, social media pages and posts, or marketing materials. In addition, it’s very important that whatever strategy you plan to implement looks not just good, but GREAT! Marketing is all about visuals and attracting the eye to your message.

To clarify, we’ve said it before, an attractive image or design is key here. According to multiple eye tracking studies all over the Internet, the eye moves to an attractive image/design around 60,000-80,000 faster than just text.

Once an established base is determined, and where to market, the pieces or posts need to be interesting and visually appealing. How do you do this? Again, the difficult part. Billions of dollars per year are spent on creative marketing and advertising. There’s a good reason for it. It works!

Take the best quality photographs or video possible. Hire out if needed. Design materials, signage, or supporting charts/tables/infographics to make them interesting. Hire out if needed. In addition, if you hire a solid marketing team, or employee with an extensive creative background, they will (should) be able to convey that message visually.

Stay Level Headed.

Often times there may be a difference of opinion on the creative. Don’t get discouraged. For instance, you may have differences on an image or color. This is normal. However, stay true to your brand. Work together to come to a happy middle ground on how the creative side of things should look and feel, and as a result you’ll start to see the fruits of your labor.

So, in conclusion, by following these steps on a large or small scale you’ll begin to build a solid marketing base that will better your business. However, if you need advice we’re here to help.

Analyze. Create. Achieve.

September 20, 2019

What’s the Best Things About Email Marketing?

What’s the best things about email marketing?

by Email Marketing Girl

Personalize!

You can personalize content. Send customers emails about what they actually want to see. Let’s give you an example.

You are an 18 year old male vegan. Typically, you shop at a local grocery store every Monday, getting fruits and veggies and some household necessities.

<Insert phone buzz> you get an email from that grocery store with “ON SALE – steaks and baby food” uhhhh – not the content that person wants to see. At least I wouldn’t think so. Therefore, change it up. Create a custom email for specific types of customers who you want to get a specific message to. As a result, you’ll notice an engagement increase and subsequently sales as well.

Instant!

It’s instant. People love last minute deals or coupons. Getting an email for a coupon to a store I always shop at is a great feeling. Yes! I will now order that shirt I have been eyeing up for weeks.

However, without that email, it was out of sight out of mind.

Email Marketing can work!

Reach.

Email can help you reach a mass amount of customers. Calling all your customers takes time. Email: one click and it’s out the door to everyone.

This form of marketing is affordable. Traditional marketing like TV ads can be costly. If you are a small business, those ideas are out the door. For instance, if you have a smaller budget set aside, an email marketing plan could be a game changer. So, a small business can thrive with the right email marketing strategy!

On the other hand, email marketing is a numbers game. That is to say, like anything there are always pros and cons. Any form of marketing though, may take a little while to become fruitful. Patience is necessary when applying any marketing strategy.

However, it’s still one of the top forms of communication. All businesses should have an email marketing plan in place, and if you don’t, give us a call.

Analyze. Create. Achieve.