Color Psychology

Have you been paying enough attention to the implementation of colors when designing and approving advertisements or branding logos? Color is an extremely valuable element and cannot be ignored. Understanding your brand and the colors that make it stand out should not be taken lightly, it should be one of the main factors taken into consideration.

Studies have shown that warm colors such as orange, yellow, and red are known to stimulate excitement. They also tend to generate activity; hence, they are great for offices. If you pay attention to detail, you would notice that kid’s packages usually have one or more of these colors, in order to imply speed and efficiency. Take McDonald’s for instance, the colors of the arc of McDonald’s did not come by chance, the people behind the brand’s logo and color choice have thought and studied the colors to create the best synergy for the brand’s personality.

Take skin care products as another example, most packaging for women products, especially night creams and skin care products, are usually wrapped up with light green or light blue; colors that help to create a soothing and relaxing feeling.

Fine dining restaurants often go for warm colors such as burgundy and burnt orange; these colors promote longevity and often open one’s appetite for food, increasing the chances of customers ordering additional treats!

However, it’s important to also note that just because a certain color is associated with a certain feeling or mood, does not mean the color should be extensively painted on every wall. Overwhelming people with a certain color can have counterproductive effects. For example, grey can add a rock solid feeling to a brand; however, too much of it, and people will feel mostly nothing, which isn’t a sentiment you’d want people associating with your brand.

These examples only highlight the fundamentals of color psychology. Any good designer should understand these basics and apply them to their daily work. Each and every color has its own uses and target market; we just need to know what goes where.

LinkedIn Acquires SlideShare!

Looks like it’s the new trend! Facebook acquires Instagram for US$1 billion and LinkedIn acquires SlideShare for US$118.75!

If you don’t know what SlideShare is, it’s a presentation sharing website. SlideShare allows users to upload presentations publicly or privately – upon their choice. Those presentations can then be embedded onto blogs, websites, or presentations. They are then shared on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and now LinkedIn. You can have a better of how it works visiting the website itselfhttp://www.slideshare.net/

SlideShare users have uploaded more than 9 million presentations. In March of this year 2012, SlideShare had nearly 29 million unique visitors. Besides presentations, SlideShare also hosts documents, PDFs, videos, and webinars.

The purchase price is a combination of approximately 45 percent in cash and 55 percent in stock, according to LinkedIn. If everything goes according to plan, the acquisition will close during the second quarter.

The potential for synergy between SlideShare and LinkedIn is almost innate, almost better than Facebook and Instagram and one has to wonder what sort of large plans are in store for the future.

This has got me thinking though, what could twitter possibly acquire? Any ideas?

General Motors, Facebook and IPO

Have you heard that General Motors Co. plans to stop advertising with Facebook?

GM announced that paid ads on Facebook have ‘Little impact on consumers’. The move by GM, one of the largest advertisers in the U.S., puts a spotlight on an issue that many marketers have been raising: whether ads on Facebook help them sell more products.

On Friday the 18^th, Facebook is expected to sell shares in an initial public offering (IPO) that could put a market value on the company of as much as $104 billion. This to me highlights questions such as why would GM do that right before the IPO? People who were interested in this issue were wondering why they haven’t seen any GM ads on Facebook.

How come GM didn’t showcase their story? This is what I think… Social media starts with strategy, and ends with strategy. You can never blame a medium for the failure of your objective. If you had as little as 10 dollars and want to reach your objective whether through social media or traditional media, then YOU WILL. It all goes down to this, an equipped team that is professional enough to understand the brand and understand how to communicate it across. Facebook advertising gives you the benefit of targeting the exact audience.

From a social media specialist point of view, Facebook advertising is more precise to reach the audience needed than any other social media platform, and definitely more accurate than traditional media. At the end of the day and as we get close to the IPO of Facebook, if companies are trying to teach Facebook a lesson by publishing stories that have no proper leads and evidence then they are only hurting their own reputation. It is important for companies to think first and foremost about their reputation before pointing the finger on an intangible medium.

YouTube, I Tube, everyone Tubes!!

Do you get those days where you need to know a certain piece of information and you’re just too lazy or tried to read about it? So you end up typing youtube.com and browse for it there, in hope to find a video that explains it all?

I know you do… But it’s okay, so do I! Especially if I’m not sure what to cook for the “husband”!

 – YouTube it is!

Recently, YouTube has been streaming a lot of video blogs by random people who enjoy taking a video and explaining their experience in various services and products, rather than writing their opinions down. Those video blogs have hit maximum views in minimal time! Maybe we’re all too tired to read?

Video blogs are normal blogs with a facial expression! And to be honest, I’d rather see a facial expression that read “?!@#$@!@#$#!” On a blog… wouldn't you? 

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2011/10/07/the-benefits-of-creating-talking-head-videos-for-your-blog/

Son Of A Pitch !

 Crucial Steps to Making the Perfect Pitch

Many people mess up the pitch in a number of common ways, from either talking too much about the product to not knowing what the client wants to hear, to rambling non sense.

There are certain rules you should follow in order to give a fantastic pitch.

1. Know the client, do a little research about the client’s needs and wants, and study exactly what they want to hear from you.

2. Know their goals, make sure you know exactly where the clients wants to be, what he wants to achieve and how you will help him to achieve that

3. How will you help them meet those goals? What will you be offering them that other companies won’t? Why are you the perfect person for the job? Show them why signing the contract will be good for them, not how it would benefit you

4. Keep it short, make its simple and easy, don’t complicate yourself and your client when you’re doing a pitch, the less words on a presentation the better, make sure they concentrate on YOU, not the screen.

5. Be professional, but enthusiastic, Make sure they don’t fall asleep, when you pitch, imagine that your life depends on those couple of minutes that you’re out there, talk about the product as if it came from heaven! Make them feel your energy, your positive energy.

6. Provide a link to your work, make sure they can view your work whenever they need to, and so always provide them with a link or a USB they can keep on the side. This will build trust and friendship.

7. Follow-up, always follow up, whether it was a pitch or a press release, people forget, you need to leave an impression in their heads where they will never forget your name or face.

8. Make multiple pitches; don’t create one pitch to several clients! As I said in step 1 always study your client and see what personality their pitch should send out, it’s impossible for all of them to receive your information the same way!

9. Relax, relax yourself, remember, clients don’t want a scared cat to run and hide, look them in the eye, convince them and make them see what you see in your eyes.

Goodluck!!

Rule for a Light Bulb Brainstorm session

Rules for a light bulb Brainstorming session

I’ve been to a lot of creative offices, and every time I’m in one, I have to check out their “brainstorming” room. You will be surprised with the amount of distractions in the room; everything from random wall colours, to weird looking bean bags, and from ps3’s to guitar hero’s or even a pool table that’s standing right next to a super comfy couch.

I’ve seen it all!

So, what’s right in a brainstorming session?

I’d say anything weird, wild, wacky and off the wall is more than welcome!

Negativity however is a definite not.

If you get to have a good idea, something that lights a bulb on top of your head, keep that light on build ideas from it; don't shut it off down- keep’em comin!

All contributions are welcome and respected, even if your imagining apple pie’s walking around say it out loud! You never know what good idea comes out from it!

Do not censor yourself. Just say it.

Ultimately one idea lead will lead to another, and you’ll get to find the biggest light bulb above your entire team. 

 

 

Smile Please!!!!

What ever happened to smiling?

In the late 1900’s American business was standing up high due to a very simple rule:

“Service with a smile”

Were you ever so mad about purchasing a broken tool, or a wrong meal, then suddenly the manager starts walking towards you with a big fat smile, you’ll suddenly start feeling although the whole world is ok and you’re no longer mad?

Maybe this rule should be implemented again in our society? If we were, to fine people who don’t smile or smile back, the fines would build a nation!

Seriously, What ever happened to smiling?

Maybe… Just maybe, each morning every one of us should tell a good joke to start off the day! I wish!

Do you know that a person will remember your name much more if you smile when introducing yourself? Yep!

Grandma & Granpa

Do you realize that older people are more interested in Facebook than we are?

So basically, my father calls me on the phone later hours of the night to ask me something about Facebook! …Really!?

 It doesn’t stop there, when I travel to check up on them, missing them, my mother starts complaining about how my father sits on Facebook like an addict, unless of course he shows her pictures of people and therefor she feels excited again – oh look at her, oh look at him!

I find it amusing how older people seem to try their best to catch up to our generation, and actually use it for their own benefit, whether it was a business benefit or pleasure benefit! Somehow, I hope than when times runs by and I’m as old as they are now, I’ll still be able to cope with the next generations media and social network abilities!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcN08Tg3PWw

I attached a video of grandparents trying to figure out how to use webcam thought its funny and will entertain everyone who watches it!

Is PR a SHE?!

Are women occupying PR agencies?

Or is PR a female?

Have you noticed that nearly 70% of PR agencies are now run by women?

Do you think public relation agencies should hire more men than women? Maybe woman are more suitable for a job like this, you know, since it requires a lot … a lot… and a lot of patience with clients.

But then again, women always seem to get it right when it comes to communication! It always sounds interesting coming from a woman- you’d wonder why!.

APCO- A PR agency went all the way from being a small office in Washington to a multinational consulting firm. It’s now an independent Public Relations consultancy with almost 24 offices and 400 employees around the world.

Its 2004 revenue was around $55 million, and counting!

Guess who made all that happen? Yep, you guessed it right! It was a woman. Margery Kraus, remember the name, I am sure there will be a lot of margery’s nowadays!

Use Protection!!!!...Against social media

If you’re a digital media savvy, and you’re the cover face of the company’s social media tactics you better know how to separate your personal networking facilities, from your professional ones!

Almost everyone has Facebook or twitter accounts, from your CEO, to your assistant, to your client! Though these sites are fantastic for networking with people/clients, it’s better to keep an eye out and keep your personal profiles squeaky clean! – Maybe set your pictures to private? – Specially the tagged ones- I’m sure you know what I mean!

It’s a good idea to create a fan page for your self – If you are that popular! Or maybe a Blog for your fans In order to keep them updated.

Let’s just say, think of your personal social network as your wife, and your professional social network as the girl your wife doesn’t know about! – Keep them separated and squeaky clean!!!

Um’ing and er’ing

It’s always a disaster to have your tongue tied, especially if you were put on the spot and the entire room is looking at you, and waiting for gold to come out of your mouth, but instead you just say umm…errr…ahhh…

It’s important to practice your notes beforehand whenever you have a meeting, it’s also important to know your client like you know yourself.

If you are in a conversation, try to concentrate on each word being said “even if you think they are talking Jebrish” you’ll be able to catch a word or two.

Don’t day dream about the weekend while you’re listening into a conversation, because the hard core questions usually come when you are already at the beach sun tanning and then- Boom!!

If you are the kind of person who worry’s and is afraid of confrontation, just take deep continues breathes, try to feel comfortable, relax, and finally, be confident that you know the answer- because you probably do!

At the end of the day – what’s the worse than can happen? Seriously… what’s the worse that can happen? – Probably your, err and umm will end you up on a YouTube video!

Congrats, you’re going to be famous J