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Emogen recently had the great honor of helping a client name her new business venture. While that activity is right up the alley of what we do here at Emogen, it’s more common for a client to come to us for branding consultation after the naming decision has been made.
Naming a business is a very, very intimate thing. Those of you familiar with Emogen may recall that we associate logo design with the birthing process, so naturally we associate the naming process with, well, the baby conception process. Intimate, indeed.
What makes naming so personal is that it is a lifelong decision. A visual identity can be tweaked and altered over the years, if not entirely revamped; but a name is much more permanent. In today’s blog we’d like to share eight tips on coming up with a name capable of going the distance.
1. Develop your elevator pitch. Before tackling a name, make sure you have a good grasp on what your business will offer. Consider developing an elevator pitch—how you would describe your business if you had to say it all in one elevator ride.
2. Consider existing vs. abstract words. Existing words are useful because they can quickly communicate what your business does, but they can also carry baggage… sometimes negative. “The Twilight Club” might sound like a really awesome name for an after hours/BYOB club, but it could potentially alienate those repulsed by the Twilight book/movie mania.
Another option is to use abstract (made up) words, which allow you to mold the words’ meaning. Xerox, for example, was adapted from a word relatively unknown to the public, so the company was at liberty to give it as much meaning and personality as it wanted. A tool for developing the meaning of an abstract word is to clarify it with a tag line, slogan or descriptor. Emogen’s descriptor, for example, is Marketing Group and we use the slogan “we’re in the business of getting your business more business” to help show the breadth of services that can fall under the term “marketing.”
3. Don’t box yourself in. Keep your name flexible enough to accommodate future growth. Naming a diner “First Street Hamburgers” could put a limit on both geographic and product expansion. It might be a little confusing to customers when you open a subsequent location on Second Street or add pasta to your menu. Although you can’t foresee where you’re business will be in 5 to 10 years, you can think about your growth strategy. If you’re philosophically against ever opening a second location or having anything but hamburgers on the menu, then you’re probably ok with the name. On the other hand, if you’d welcome opportunities to expand, then allow yourself a little room to grow.
4. Look at competitions’ names – and then make yours stand out. Does everyone in your industry basically have same name? Take auto body services, for example. I’ll bet just about every auto body shop in your town is named according to the following formula: [enter name]’s Body Shop. Not that the collision repair industry is much on the creative end of the spectrum, but a little differentiation and effort on the part of one body shop could go a long way toward signaling customers that it is different… which makes way for the opportunity to communicate that different = better.
5. Make it easy to say and remember. Your Icelandic heritage may be very important to you, but naming a store in the Deep South "Sigurðardóttir’s Clothiers" would be a mistake. It’s not linguistically or culturally relevant, which makes it both hard to say and even harder to remember.
6. Make it look and sound appealing. Pretend to answer a call saying your proposed business name, “Hello, this is so-and-so with XYZ.” Did it sound ok? Did it feel natural? A name great on paper can prove to be harsh or odd sounding when spoken. Now try writing it every possible way you can think: all caps, all lowercase letters, different fonts, etc. Some words can look funny or downright ugly when written out. Here at Emogen we’ve fought a hard battle with “landowner.” Sure it looks ok, until it’s put in all caps (LANDOWNER) and one person calls out lan-downer… and then it’s all downhill from there.
7. Check in with the government. If you’re in Louisiana, visit the Secretary of State’s website and do a database search within the corporations division. A quick search here will confirm that your proposed name isn’t currently in use. Another place to check is the US Patent and Trademark Office, especially if you have dreams of expanding beyond your city. In addition to verifying name availability, you can also confirm your slogan isn’t already being used elsewhere.
8. Perform a URL search. If you think you might one day want to appear on the world wide web, check now to see if a URL relevant to your proposed name is available. You can easily perform a domain search on a domain registry site, like godaddy.com. Lagniappe tip: if your dream URL is available, go on and purchase it even it you’re not yet ready to develop a site.
Alright, so there are our eight tips for naming a new business. And while this list may not be all inclusive, these steps should get you well on your way down the path to the perfect name for your business endeavor.
~Sarah, Emogen marketer
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Pricing Creativity
Mike, a friend in the creative business recently wrote, “Remember, you get what you pay for. If production is thrown in for ‘free’ as a package deal with your media buy it really has no value. Not to mention the end result can and probably will damage your brand.”
Amen, brother! All too often agencies present themselves as creators of advertising when they’re really just great media buyers. I’ll agree that effective placement is critical, but what’s being placed is just as crucial. But maybe those agencies can’t be blamed for approaching sales and billing like they do; maybe they’ve retreated to throwing in concept and development for free because it’s easier to get clients to pay for something tangible, like placement, as opposed to the intangible… creativity.
It’s true we can’t speak for other service businesses, but in our opinion creative work—that is concept development, copy writing, design and production—is the hardest field in which to get paid fair value for your work.
For one thing, people assume creative work shouldn’t take all that long. Sometimes that’s true. Sometimes the perfect idea descends like a prophetic vision and appears on the page before you can blink. Other times, and more commonly so, the right idea takes lots of coercing and soothing to come out from the shadows.
Maybe it’s easier to understand as described in the advertising documentary Art & Copy, “The frightening and most difficult thing about being what somebody calls a creative person is that you have absolutely no idea where any of your thoughts come from really, and especially you don’t have any idea about where they’re going to come from tomorrow.”
Beyond that, we find people don’t want to pay for the value of creativity. More often than not, creativity is approached as a cost or an expense. The correct stance, though, is to view it as an investment. Instead of asking how much an advertisement or commercial will cost, the correct question is “How much will I profit from this?”
Obviously, no guarantees can really be offered, but the goal of our work is that it do something. If we only wanted to make pretty pictures for a living we’d be artists. Instead, we’re advertisers… artists with an agenda to raise awareness, to draw attention, to sell something.
The most difficult creative project to price is a very special one at that: the Logo.
At Emogen, we akin logo creation with childbirth… some are born peacefully and joyfully while others are welcomed only after long and painful laboring. The labor pains of that process include discussion about the business’s personality, the purpose of the logo, the audience, the intended use, the desired emotional response and on and on. And, depending on the project, that process is sometimes easy, sometimes difficult.
Ultimately a logo will be the “face” of the company, if you will. Though in spite of this level of significance, we find that logos are one of the most—if not the most—underrated purchases that a business will make. Amazingly, instead of asking about the creative process or beginning philosophical discussions about the emotion that should be generated by a logo, more often than not the first question asked is how much will it cost?
There are three approaches to answering that question. Some design firms will charge a flat fee (the same rate regardless of the project or client), others will charge by the hour, and others still will charge based on the value.
Emogen utilizes the third method, which is often frustrating to inexperienced clients. They want us to say $99.95, but instead we say it’ll be between X and Z, where X and Z vary depending on the circumstance.
Gasp, you say? Why does the price of a logo vary? So much is taken into consideration that there is no value meal price to be had. We consider how much the client is bringing to the table in terms of preconceived ideas and preferences. We consider how many decision makers will be in on the process. We consider who the client is, how large they are, and the frequency with which the logo will be used. We also consider the fair market value of logos.
According to the latest edition of the Graphic Artists Guild's Handbook for Pricing and Ethical Guidelines, logos nationwide are priced anywhere from $3,000 to $50,000. That window is broken down based on client size as follows: Small Client (which would apply to most businesses in our market), $3k-$5k; Medium Client, $10k-$25k; and Large Client, $25k to $50k.
Rarely are we afforded an opportunity to charge within these windows. Maybe that’s because logos are so common that they have the appearance of being a commodity. Maybe it’s because business owners fail to fully grasp the importance of their logo. Maybe it’s because business owners don’t have an appropriate frame of reference. Maybe it’s simply because of the great availability of freelance designers who don’t understand the magnitude and importance of the project.
Whatever the specific reason, pricing logos—or creativity in general—is an almost ridiculous feat. It is, hands down, the most difficult part of our business. But we suck it up and deal with it, one, because at the end of the day we are here to get paid; and, two, because we want, no, need the work as a creative outlet. Much like electricity, it has to be grounded… it has to have somewhere to go.
-Sarah Warren, Emogen marketer
w/ Jake Dugard, Emogen designer
Amen, brother! All too often agencies present themselves as creators of advertising when they’re really just great media buyers. I’ll agree that effective placement is critical, but what’s being placed is just as crucial. But maybe those agencies can’t be blamed for approaching sales and billing like they do; maybe they’ve retreated to throwing in concept and development for free because it’s easier to get clients to pay for something tangible, like placement, as opposed to the intangible… creativity.
It’s true we can’t speak for other service businesses, but in our opinion creative work—that is concept development, copy writing, design and production—is the hardest field in which to get paid fair value for your work.
For one thing, people assume creative work shouldn’t take all that long. Sometimes that’s true. Sometimes the perfect idea descends like a prophetic vision and appears on the page before you can blink. Other times, and more commonly so, the right idea takes lots of coercing and soothing to come out from the shadows.
Maybe it’s easier to understand as described in the advertising documentary Art & Copy, “The frightening and most difficult thing about being what somebody calls a creative person is that you have absolutely no idea where any of your thoughts come from really, and especially you don’t have any idea about where they’re going to come from tomorrow.”
Beyond that, we find people don’t want to pay for the value of creativity. More often than not, creativity is approached as a cost or an expense. The correct stance, though, is to view it as an investment. Instead of asking how much an advertisement or commercial will cost, the correct question is “How much will I profit from this?”
Obviously, no guarantees can really be offered, but the goal of our work is that it do something. If we only wanted to make pretty pictures for a living we’d be artists. Instead, we’re advertisers… artists with an agenda to raise awareness, to draw attention, to sell something.
The most difficult creative project to price is a very special one at that: the Logo.
At Emogen, we akin logo creation with childbirth… some are born peacefully and joyfully while others are welcomed only after long and painful laboring. The labor pains of that process include discussion about the business’s personality, the purpose of the logo, the audience, the intended use, the desired emotional response and on and on. And, depending on the project, that process is sometimes easy, sometimes difficult.
Ultimately a logo will be the “face” of the company, if you will. Though in spite of this level of significance, we find that logos are one of the most—if not the most—underrated purchases that a business will make. Amazingly, instead of asking about the creative process or beginning philosophical discussions about the emotion that should be generated by a logo, more often than not the first question asked is how much will it cost?
There are three approaches to answering that question. Some design firms will charge a flat fee (the same rate regardless of the project or client), others will charge by the hour, and others still will charge based on the value.
Emogen utilizes the third method, which is often frustrating to inexperienced clients. They want us to say $99.95, but instead we say it’ll be between X and Z, where X and Z vary depending on the circumstance.
Gasp, you say? Why does the price of a logo vary? So much is taken into consideration that there is no value meal price to be had. We consider how much the client is bringing to the table in terms of preconceived ideas and preferences. We consider how many decision makers will be in on the process. We consider who the client is, how large they are, and the frequency with which the logo will be used. We also consider the fair market value of logos.
According to the latest edition of the Graphic Artists Guild's Handbook for Pricing and Ethical Guidelines, logos nationwide are priced anywhere from $3,000 to $50,000. That window is broken down based on client size as follows: Small Client (which would apply to most businesses in our market), $3k-$5k; Medium Client, $10k-$25k; and Large Client, $25k to $50k.
Rarely are we afforded an opportunity to charge within these windows. Maybe that’s because logos are so common that they have the appearance of being a commodity. Maybe it’s because business owners fail to fully grasp the importance of their logo. Maybe it’s because business owners don’t have an appropriate frame of reference. Maybe it’s simply because of the great availability of freelance designers who don’t understand the magnitude and importance of the project.
Whatever the specific reason, pricing logos—or creativity in general—is an almost ridiculous feat. It is, hands down, the most difficult part of our business. But we suck it up and deal with it, one, because at the end of the day we are here to get paid; and, two, because we want, no, need the work as a creative outlet. Much like electricity, it has to be grounded… it has to have somewhere to go.
-Sarah Warren, Emogen marketer
w/ Jake Dugard, Emogen designer
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Bombs Away for MedCamps Money Bomb
Today we break from our usual blogging content to share a totally cool organization with you...
MedCamps of Louisiana is a series of one-week camps held each summer free of charge for children in Louisiana facing the challenges of a variety of physical and mental disabilities. TODAY, the organization hopes to raise at least $25,000 for this summer’s camps through the fundraising event called MedCamps Money Bomb, An Explosion of Cash for Camp. Donations will be solicited through email chains, Facebook posts and other online links.
"We are very excited about the MedCamps Money Bomb!” said Executive Director Caleb Seney. “We think it will be a creative and fun way to spread our mission and increase the base of support for our special camps. We truly hope it will be an explosion of cash for camp.”
Seney continued, “Today we’re asking our 1,300 plus Facebook friends to donate $10 each and invite ten of their friend to do the same. That alone has the potential to raise over $140,000."
“Money bombs” first appeared in 2007 and have since become widely popular among political candidates for their ability to raise substantial levels of donations in a very short amount of time. The largest money bomb to date reportedly raised over $4 million in a single 24-hour period.
Donations to the MedCamps Money Bomb may be made online at www.medcamps.com/moneybomb.
Links to the donation site are also available on the homepages of the following area media outlets: The News Star, The Ouachita Citizen, Ruston Daily Leader, KNOE Radio Star 101.9, KJLO K-104, KJMG Majic97, KLIP LA 105, KMLB Talk 540, KRVV 100.1 The Beat, KZRZ Sunny 98.3, KXRR Rock 106, KMYY Real Country 92.3, KXKZ Z107.5, KNBB ESPN 97.7, KPCH True Oldies 99.3, KNOE TV8, KAQY ABC 11, KARD FOX 14 and KTVE NBC 10.
Although the goal of the drive is to raise the full amount online today, donations to MedCamps are always welcome any time during the year. Donations may be made year round online at www.medcamps.com and may also be mailed to MedCamps at 102 Thomas Road, Suite 615, West Monroe, LA 71291. Med-Camps is a 501(c)(3) organization and contributions may be considered tax deductible.
MedCamps participants face the challenges of physical and/or mental disabilities, such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy, asthma, sickle cell anemia, autism, epilepsy, juvenile arthritis, visual impairment, hearing impairment, speech impairment or other developmental disabilities. This summer MedCamps will host 300 kids from across Louisiana over the course of 9 camps, which kick off Sunday, June 6.
For more information about MedCamps or the Money Bomb campaign, visit www.medcamps.com or contact Caleb Seney at 318-329-8405 or info@medcamps.com.
Track the MedCamps Money Bomb on Facebook at www.facebook.com/medcamps.
MedCamps of Louisiana is a series of one-week camps held each summer free of charge for children in Louisiana facing the challenges of a variety of physical and mental disabilities. TODAY, the organization hopes to raise at least $25,000 for this summer’s camps through the fundraising event called MedCamps Money Bomb, An Explosion of Cash for Camp. Donations will be solicited through email chains, Facebook posts and other online links.
"We are very excited about the MedCamps Money Bomb!” said Executive Director Caleb Seney. “We think it will be a creative and fun way to spread our mission and increase the base of support for our special camps. We truly hope it will be an explosion of cash for camp.”
Seney continued, “Today we’re asking our 1,300 plus Facebook friends to donate $10 each and invite ten of their friend to do the same. That alone has the potential to raise over $140,000."
“Money bombs” first appeared in 2007 and have since become widely popular among political candidates for their ability to raise substantial levels of donations in a very short amount of time. The largest money bomb to date reportedly raised over $4 million in a single 24-hour period.
Donations to the MedCamps Money Bomb may be made online at www.medcamps.com/moneybomb.
Links to the donation site are also available on the homepages of the following area media outlets: The News Star, The Ouachita Citizen, Ruston Daily Leader, KNOE Radio Star 101.9, KJLO K-104, KJMG Majic97, KLIP LA 105, KMLB Talk 540, KRVV 100.1 The Beat, KZRZ Sunny 98.3, KXRR Rock 106, KMYY Real Country 92.3, KXKZ Z107.5, KNBB ESPN 97.7, KPCH True Oldies 99.3, KNOE TV8, KAQY ABC 11, KARD FOX 14 and KTVE NBC 10.
Although the goal of the drive is to raise the full amount online today, donations to MedCamps are always welcome any time during the year. Donations may be made year round online at www.medcamps.com and may also be mailed to MedCamps at 102 Thomas Road, Suite 615, West Monroe, LA 71291. Med-Camps is a 501(c)(3) organization and contributions may be considered tax deductible.
MedCamps participants face the challenges of physical and/or mental disabilities, such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy, asthma, sickle cell anemia, autism, epilepsy, juvenile arthritis, visual impairment, hearing impairment, speech impairment or other developmental disabilities. This summer MedCamps will host 300 kids from across Louisiana over the course of 9 camps, which kick off Sunday, June 6.
For more information about MedCamps or the Money Bomb campaign, visit www.medcamps.com or contact Caleb Seney at 318-329-8405 or info@medcamps.com.
Track the MedCamps Money Bomb on Facebook at www.facebook.com/medcamps.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
But Then, A Story About the Decision to Blog or Not to Blog
A little while back we at Emogen committed ourselves to blogging daily about topics relevant to our line of work: marketing, advertising and graphic design. We did fairly well but then…
Isn’t it funny how there’s always a but then? I was doing great on my diet, but then I went on that cruise. My portfolio was really going strong, but then the bottom fell out of the economy. The Cubs were hanging in there, but then the curse kicked in.
There’s always something to distract us and get in the way of good intentions. There’s always a but then.
Emogen’s but then was an onslaught of business, which, although awesome for us, is not so good for our intentions of daily blogging. But does breaking that commitment really even matter?
No and yes.
NO
A deli showcases its meats in a glass counter. A car dealer has that large lot out front. Those kind of display options don’t exist for a service company, so we’ve adapted our blog to work with our portfolio to showcase our “goods.” The point being, of course, to promote our expertise in order to acquire new business, so the fact that we’ve taken on several new clients as of late takes some pressure off of those efforts.
YES
However, it’s imperative to press on with a marketing initiative—whether blogging or some other form of advertising or promotion—to maintain momentum.
Rarely do you get the results you want from one ad or one single sales activity. Customers usually have to encounter your brand and message several times and ways before they even really pay attention to it much less make a purchase decision. The corollary is that it takes ample effort and resources to build up a campaign to the point of realizing the desired outcome. For that reason, you can’t hang up the towel as soon as the first phone call comes in. If you’re looking for a regular inflow of new business, you have to provide a regular outflow of information to those prospects.
So what does this mean to the fate of the Emogen blog? In lieu of our diminished time, the decision has been made to forego short daily blogs and instead post a lengthier, meatier blog once a week… at least until the next but then makes itself known.
~Sarah, Emogen marketer
Isn’t it funny how there’s always a but then? I was doing great on my diet, but then I went on that cruise. My portfolio was really going strong, but then the bottom fell out of the economy. The Cubs were hanging in there, but then the curse kicked in.
There’s always something to distract us and get in the way of good intentions. There’s always a but then.
Emogen’s but then was an onslaught of business, which, although awesome for us, is not so good for our intentions of daily blogging. But does breaking that commitment really even matter?
No and yes.
NO
A deli showcases its meats in a glass counter. A car dealer has that large lot out front. Those kind of display options don’t exist for a service company, so we’ve adapted our blog to work with our portfolio to showcase our “goods.” The point being, of course, to promote our expertise in order to acquire new business, so the fact that we’ve taken on several new clients as of late takes some pressure off of those efforts.
YES
However, it’s imperative to press on with a marketing initiative—whether blogging or some other form of advertising or promotion—to maintain momentum.
Rarely do you get the results you want from one ad or one single sales activity. Customers usually have to encounter your brand and message several times and ways before they even really pay attention to it much less make a purchase decision. The corollary is that it takes ample effort and resources to build up a campaign to the point of realizing the desired outcome. For that reason, you can’t hang up the towel as soon as the first phone call comes in. If you’re looking for a regular inflow of new business, you have to provide a regular outflow of information to those prospects.
So what does this mean to the fate of the Emogen blog? In lieu of our diminished time, the decision has been made to forego short daily blogs and instead post a lengthier, meatier blog once a week… at least until the next but then makes itself known.
~Sarah, Emogen marketer
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