In today's market it's more about having a conversation with your customers and not just selling them something. EA has figured that out and that is exactly what they have done. A few weeks ago a video was posted on YouTube of a "glitch" someone found in the new Tiger Woods video game. Check it out below…

Instead of EA freaking out and getting the video pulled from YouTube, etc… They crafted a brilliant response video, that addressed the issue in a comical light…

Well done EA.

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Microsoft has just hired Jerry Seinfeld to make them cool. The hope is to change the perception of Microsoft applications (mainly Vista) from problematic to cool. Im not sure if this is going to be possible. No endorsement is going to change the product itself. There in lies the problem, the product. It's horrible and everybody knows it. Lipstick on a pig, still a pig.

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Today is a big day for Matchstic, its officially New Website Launch Day!

I'm really excited about all the changes (including a new skin for the blog), so I thought I take a second to highlight only a few of my favorites.

My first highlight would be our strategy shift from "branding + design" to "a brand identity house". This is a huge change for us, but we feel its right on line with our passion, our expertise, and where we can be best in the world. When we look back at our past work and our future hopes and dreams, identity development and rebranding clients always top the charts. They are what we win awards for. They are what separate us from every other "me-too" in our industry. They are our most effective and valuable campaigns. This is a step towards focus.

My second highlight is right on line with our new focus, our work. You will notice our case studies are organized by clients and not by genre. That's because we value these ongoing relationships, not linear start-stop projects. They are much more than just one-off projects or genres, they are our friends, our business partners, and our hard work. I encourage you to view our work for each client as an ongoing, breathing, and living system, and not as a simple project. They are very much alive and thriving. We've also detailed out our thinking and strategy and the end result behind each case study. Be sure to read the description content below the slides, and heck if you get board with all the strategy jargon just click through the pretty pictures.

My third highlight would be the "recent activity" feed on our homepage. Whether its a new blog, a new case study, or a new person that joins our team, here you'll quickly see what we've been up to. If something snags your eye just click on it and it will directly link to your destination of interest. I suggest watching my latest profile update, which includes this video of me dancing in a wheaties box.

This has been months in the making with alot of hands involved, and I'd like to personally thank Brittany Thoms at See Spark! Go and Dan Lawson and Jeremy Morris at Bottlecap Development for all their hard work.

I'd love to know what you think about the new site and our new strategy shift, comment below or email us at info@matchstic.com

Cheers!

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Bear Wise Insurance wanted a business card, but what they really wanted was a mini brochure. They wanted to say more than just call us, they wanted to give an elevator pitch, or a 30 second picture of their company with a simple, yet very impressive piece.

The lawn mower at the top inserts into the brown sleeve. they both have contact info on them, but the great part is that the sleeve is big enough to also hold a personalized business card. That way, they can use it as a eye-catching mini brochure, or as a packet that has all the information they will ever need to buy insurance.

The best part about this type of a piece is that when they get back to their office/ desk, this is the type of thing that stays on their desk for a while, not just thrown into their Rolodex or discarded. (like anyone has one of those anymore anyways…) A week later, they remember you, but more importantly they remember what you do.

What do you use so that people don't forget who you are?

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Law 22 of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding.

Of all the laws I've covered so far, this one seems to be the most important, apparent, and overlooked law out there.

It's been said before that a brand isn't built over night. What builds a brand in consumers minds is consistently being consistent. Volvo has sold safety for 35 some odd years, while BMW has sold the ultimate driving machine for about 25. It's understandable that repetition can become boring, and therefore these brands often stray off on some cool new idea that yields no real return for the company.

When you think of vodka, hopefully not while on the job, what brands come to mind? Now think of gin. I think of Grey Goose and Absolut for vodka and Tanqueray for gin. I used to be a bartender so I've come in contact with my fair share of alcohol brands, but not once did I have some one ask for a Tanqueray vodka and soda, or an Absolut gin and tonic. However, Tanqueray saw the surge towards vodka and had to get in on that action. Just like Jack Daniels moved to the uber-masculine "cooler" drinks. Neither have done well, because Tanqueray is supposed to make gin and Jack Daniels make sweet Tennessee whiskey.

     Stic to what made your brand what it is. Attempting to adapt to changing markets and audience only weakens who you are in consumers' minds.

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I ran across Coinstar's new ad campaign today. It's called "Change For Our Earth". Essentially Coinstar is trying to cash in on the "Green Revolution" and positioning themselves as "environmentally friendly". Their pitch, recycle your coin!?!?

This is straight from their website, "Think of it as a new form of recycling—when you reuse your change instead of letting it sit idle in your coin jar, fewer coins are produced. And that translates into environmental savings by reducing the need for limited natural resources used to create new coin."

The only problem with this is that they don't provide any source for these claims. It seems like the only green thing you are doing is putting more money into Coinstar's pockets from their 8.9% counting fee.

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As far as hardware stores go, Ace is smart. They realized that if HomeDepot was going to be the "big" store, they would be the "personal" store. They are just around the corner, small, friendly and helpful. To emphasize the personal side the in-town stores keep the name of the original neighborhood hardware store. In Decatur this is "Smith's Hardware" and in East Atlanta its "Village Hardware". I like this model. I still recognize the store as an "Ace" and what that brand offers but I appreciate the personality. The Ace brand emphasizes "personal" so each store has a unique name.

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Honest feedback. That's really important, and only a few real friends can offer that. That's just what I received from a newly formed acquaintance via email.

I've been working on a essay called "Sobjectivity". It's a quick read about the natural disorder or the two sides to the graphic design coin. One side is the artistic expression in which opinion and subjective thoughts lay, and the other is the absolute nature of communication, either a message is received or it isn't (like morse code) which tends to be more objective. Designers usually are more subjective, and clients tend to be more objective. The friction that can ensue is called "Sobjectivity".

I sent this idea around to some friends/ colleagues to get some honest feedback, and boy did I ever! Guy Richards sent me a reply email that really got me thinking. His main point touched on the lack of emphasis on the audience in my analogy. The conversation should be about opinions or facts, but consumer opinions and facts. They are the ones who provide judgment, right? They are the ones who really matter.

Better understanding our audience should be the goal, but how does that happen? One way is consumer research; better understanding behavior, habits, emotions, etc. It is the key to better strategy, executions, and more appropriate opinions in subjective conversations. Guy puts it this way, "The main problem with design without research is that the client believes they are the target and if they like it, it must be right. The challenge it to convince the client that they are not the target and then define who is and what are the motivating buying decisions both emotional and logical that are made before a sale happens."

Thanks for the inspiration and wise words Guy, a big shout out to you my friend!

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Do your sales pieces tell a story? Can people read them and see more than just your services and your prices?

This sales kit for A Bryan Photo does just that. It has info on the details of his photography services, but lets you experience what a bryan photo really is. Our team created a brand-defining, state-of-the-art sales kit that tells the unique A Bryan Photo story.

What story do you have to tell?

“Three weeks after using the sales kit designed by Matchstic, we closed the two biggest weddings to date. It empowered our clients to choose the best fit for them.” –Bryan

A Bryan Photo Website

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A few weeks ago I wrote about a project in my neighborhood we were calling, "You Got Benched", where we wanted to plant a brand new bus stop bench to celebrate and reward those faithful to mass transits. You can check out the original full story here.

Here's the update:

The installation was a huge success and alot of fun. The only down side was the nasty sun burn on my forehead! We decided to turn the bench into a fun character that could become a staple for the neighborhood. We wanted kids to get excited about it, and adults to feel like kids again sitting on it.

We created what we called "Benchy", a bright green lovable jolly bench who is looking for someone to join him on the journey of sitting. He happily exclaims, "Please sit on me", as you can see in the pictures. For all the pictures click here.

We also shot a short film about the event, including interviews with local families, which will be done very soon. A big thanks to everyone who helped out, Jeff and Andre Shinabarger for their idea, Brandon McCormick and his crew for the movie, Gern at Matchstic for his torch cutting, Gift Card Givers, and Vince Hungate for smoothing things over with the pastor of the Church we setup camp in without permission.

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