marketing 101
You will recognize me - I am branded!
I met a client of mine last week at a local restaurant, Milo's City Cafe on SE Broadway in Portland, OR. About about halfway through our breakfast Bruce jumped up and said "I have to show you something. He bolted up from the table and ran out to his car. I thought, "This should be pretty good if he had enough energy to show me something". He ran back in and threw down a very nice (oversized) brochure called "The Where to Eat Guide". Bruce said, I have been going through this guide and going to their recommended restaurants. This is great, it gives you pricing, local, reviews and a portion of their menu." TheEatGuide.com
I was really impressed with everything about it. When I got back to the office I went to their website and requested a copy of the guide and asked if I could give them a write-up in my blog.
Then next day I got an email from the owner, John H. and said that he would be in town the following week and would like to meet. Now, I was really impressed that John would take the time to meet with me because of my interest in his publication.
I asked him how I would recognize him and John said, "You will recognize me because of my brand". Again, it peaked my marketing curiosity.
I walked into Milo's and saw John because of his logo embroidered on his shirt and coat (very tastefully done). I wished I would have had my camera to take his photo. John is very personable and has alot of energy. From a business perspective he has worked the process all the way through from print, marketing, sales, distribution and web. He is currently in Oregon, California, Idaho and Hawaii. He is looking to expand in other cities and markets. Super nice guy. I want him on my MasterMind group! I probably talked his head off with all my questions. . .we were at the restaurant for 1-1/2 hours.
They have a Facebook page. There you can leave comments or recommendations about local restaurants that they have in their guidebook. Plus contests and give-aways.
Great guy, I would have no problem recommending him or his guide. He even gave me a $20 gift certificate (great marketing promotional product of a bill-like certificate) from the downtown restaurant, BluePlate Lunch Counter and Soda Fountain.
There is always a reason not to take a job!
I have a client, National Builders Hardware, that wanted me to design an ad for them in this new magazine. 1859 is a nice coffee table magazine that is published in Bend, OR.
This is the ad that I created for NBH.
It is very professional magazine with some quality photos. They were very happy with my clean layout that promoted one of their vendors. It is very nice to be appreciated by your clients. That is one of my requirements for my "Perfect Client". . . someone that can appreciate your knowledge of wisdom in your specialized area of expertise.
It reminded me of my experience of working with another local company producing the Zupan's magazine "Fresh Ideas".
They (have since) brought producing the magazine in-house and renamed it "Indulge". I loved working on that job. Yes, it had some of it's frustrations. We had a YOUNG (and insecure) executive editor that made our lives miserable but my friend, Bernadette and I worked through it all and learned something about ourselves. Sometimes it really doesn't matter how much they pay you (1) is it morally right for you and (2) how much abuse do you want to take from your clients (no matter how desperate you are for work). Do you have any good stories?
My mother would say, "There is always a reason!" I love that saying.
© 2010 Michael Johnson - Inkspot Graphics. All rights reserved.
One of the Original Snowboard Icons
Brad Steward - Global Director of Marketing for Bonfire & Salomon Snowboarding
Last night I attended a lecture put on by the Art Institute of Portland "Community by Design" series in the newly remodeled Armory building in the Pearl District. I wanted to go listen to Brad because I had worked with him when I was production manager at Sumo Creative. The crowd was mostly students at the Art Institute and I was one of the few "old hipsters". He had some great information to pass on for the younger generation.
