I find it very interesting that some companies will brand themselves by the product they produce or service they provide and another company that does the exact same thing will brand themselves by the problems they solve or even long standing  industry terms.

Take our company for example.  We provide design and development services in the realm or web, print, photography and podcasts. You will have advertising agencies that provide the exact same services, you have other companies who say they are “marketing” companies also provide the exact same services. What gives?

It’s true that a bulk of the work we do is web design and web development, especially e-commerce and content management. It’s where we started and and it’s not big secret that it’s one of the easiest businesses to get into because of the low cost of entry. It’s probably one reason we have so much local competition within that realm. In the mid to late 90’s web design was the cutting edge technology and to a large degree it was an experiment in the early days when most people were on dial up and the design specs were restricted to the limitations of the technology at the time. We do consider our web work as a “hub service.” Whenever possible we want our print products to lead people to our clients web site, Podcasts which take on a “life” beyond the a web site definitely call the clients web site home and a majority of the photography work we provide is optimized for the web as a way to effectively tell a story.

If you are looking for a company to design a web site ask if they provide other media marketing services as well/ You may be surprised that they do! If they only specialize in web design what is their mindset in regards to integrated media and consistent branding? Of course we are not talking against other companies who call themselves web design firms, marketing firms or advertising agencies but we do want to make it clear the we provide many of the same services they do but our niches and clientele may be different.

What are your perceptions who you hear the terms, graphic designer, marketing firm, ad agency, web designer, creative professional, etc?  Is it confusing to you?  Do many tend to do the same things from your perspective? Have the industry names not caught up with technology and skill sets of the work force?

What can we do to better communicate SpinningSilk Multimedia doesn’t “fix computers” and how can we make it clearer that we provide more services than web design as some people we have talked with are so easy to latch on to in conversation?

We  have been working on coming up with a very short slogan that distills our company’s mission and brand into a memorable statement.  After many meetings and going back and forth with various ideas we are pleased to present, “Innovative Media in Harmony” as our official company mantra.

Nothing beats listening to a group of singers or instruments who join together to form a unified sound. While the bulk of our work involves web design our commitment is to integrated marketing solutions that communicate a consistent brand across multiple form of media from web sites, print products like business cards, signs, newsletter, a logo as well as optimizing and developing compelling content for portable devices.

You may have noticed that we talk about innovation a lot. Innovation is not only about new technologies it involves discovering more efficient ways to do things, the way a message is presented and how it’s distributed to the intended audience.  Look for this mantra in more and more places in the days ahead.

We have already covered the topic of branding in a previous series but without rehashing too much it’s important to consider how branding fits into your overall marketing plan. The more I read about branding the more I realize it’s an everyday strategy, not just part of a campaign.  Yes, It’s important to have a “brand awareness” campaign or to have those times when you need to refocus on your who you are, not only as a company but also a person and representative of that company.

Is your brand consistent across all your marketing efforts?  I’ve mentioned before the importance of business blogging and involvement in social media as Internet tools for spreading your message. Sometime blatant but more often subtle.  Are you aware of your branding efforts in virtual and live networking events? Is your logo just an obligatory mark or does it tell a story?

Leatherhead Stars Come to Greenville

Originally uploaded by linkerjpatrick

Yesterday I had a chance to take a short walk from my office near Falls Park in downtown Greenville,SC to watch the city of Greenville give the keys to the city to George Clooney and Renée Zellweger.

Greenville Mayor Pro Tem, Lillian Brock Flemming, declared Greenville, SC to be “off the chain” as she recognized the stars and the contribution they made by filming the movie Leatherheads, in Greenville, SC and surrounding areas. I was happy myself to be an extra in the movie.

If you are not familiar with the term, “Off the chain” it is a slang term that means; Out of control, wild and fun. Like when a dog gets off a chain and go crazy. There you have it Greenville. We have been officially declared, “Off the Chain.” One thing you can do to keep Greenville and the Upstate in the forefront is to contribute Innovative ideas to New Ideas for a New Carolina. Let’s show the world what we’ve got.

Have you ever enjoyed listening to someone even if a lot of what they we’re saying was over your head or out of you normal topic of interest? Garrison Keillor of Prairie Home Companion fame is not exactly, “Mr. Excitement” but boy do I love listening to him tell the stories of Lake Wobegon.

Passion doesn’t have to mean you are jumping up in down with excitement but your readers, listeners or viewers have to get a sense you love what you are talking about and it’s a significant part of your life. Your speaking style is an aspect of your “personal brand.”

Perhaps you remember the famous scene or series of scenes in the movie, Ferris Buller’s Day Off in which the main character and a couple of his friends play hookey from school.  During the course of the day we see their fellow students painfully enduring the most boring examples of teachers to the point many were asleep or in a “painful daze.”  I have to admit that if I had to sit through classes like that I would be tempted to cut class as well.  The teachers may have been passionate but it was hard to tell. The two teachers featured spoke in either a monotone voice or took a painfully long time to say what they had to say. To me it’s always obvious that someone loves what they do and what they are speaking about.  In your business do you get excited and have a style that let’s your listeners or prospects know you love the subject? On the other hand do you find yourself having to force yourself to take about something? Have you considered focusing more on those things that even you enjoy listening to yourself talk and could talk about all day? Have you considered dropping the things you do that you can’t even force yourself to be passionate about? or maybe finding and hiring an individual who is passionate about the subject?  Anyone?  Anyone?