We mentioned this past Oct in our blog, matchstic meets ROWE, that we were taking on a "Results Only Work Environment" (otherwise known as ROWE) after reading "Work Sucks".

After a few months of trying it on for size, I can say that we've seen the benefits on both sides. When deadlines and demands were high, our team put in the extra hours to make it happen. And as the holidays approached this month and things got slower, our team was able to cut out early, not come into work at all, work from home, etc. In both cases no one was asking about how many hours were "supposed" to be put in each week. Instead, we only looked at what needed to take place and everyone worked accordingly.

It has largely been a mental shift, but as subtle as it is, the shift has made great waves.

ROWE works. I highly recommend giving it a try with your team if you haven't already.

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The great thing about Matchstic, is that we don't do it all. We focus on our strengths and bring in partners who can add their strengths to make a project better. Standard Press fits perfectly into that way of working. Being the print manager here I'm always seeing print projects to completion and working with different printers to get the finishing touches on a project. Alot of the times is nerve-racking once you send the file to a printer and all you can do is wait and hope for the best. I can say without a doubt, that is not the case when we work with Standard. I know that once it is in their hands, I don't have to worry about anything and that they are going to produce the highest quality product there is. So thanks Candice and Andy for partnering with Matchstic and helping us provide the highest quality product we can for all of our clients.

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Keanu Reeves is arguably the best stone-faced actor of our time. We all know him. We can all imitate him. And we can all recognize in an instant when he's being imitated by the person next to us.

By now you're wondering, "But what can Mr. Reeves teach us about branding?" While his inert demeanor and avoidance of emotions doesn't help his acting credibility, it does make Keanu Reeves perhaps the most well-branded person in Hollywood. Fancy acting wins Oscars for Russell Crowe. Staying true to himself makes Keanu Reeves a good brand.

One of the most important ingredients for a solid brand is consistency (after having a good product, of course). This does not necessarily mean being repetitive with colors, typography, imagery, etc. (Mr. Reeves puts on a variety of hats — but we still know it's him). It means staying consistent with your brand's personality, or message.

There's a reason the strongest brands out there (Apple, Honda, Target) remain the envy of their competition. They never stray from the essence of what they're about, but still allow for aestheic breathing room and the ability to evolve as times change. By that same token, as many of his peers have become forgotten in the black hole of the fickle entertainment industry, Keanu Reeves has proven himself to truly be the one.

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All political affiliations aside, I think Obama's campaign was ground breaking in more ways than the amount of money he was able to raise. The brand that was created for him and the visuals used were brand new to the world of politics and lent itself to many applications that voters themselves could cling to.

I'm posting this almost as a public service announcement for all those outside the world of branding, to show the effort and thought that goes into creating a successful brand.

As a side note, one of the final identity solutions in the video was great, but as Alvin and I were talking about it, we came to the conclusion that it was too far of a stretch from the political design society knows, for it to be taken seriously. Hopefully this campaign has opened doors for more aesthetically pleasing politics in years to come.

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I was in a copy store in East Atlanta Village yesterday that had it all figured out. At matchstic we talk about the rule of three a good bit. There are only three types of work; fast, good, or cheap. You can't do all three… You can do two out of the three as shown in the sign here, but you can never do all three.

It was good to see that even the copy store on Glennwood agrees…

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Reaction is natural. Similar to driving on ice – when you slide out of control your immediate response is to correct the spin. But as we all learned in Driver's Ed, that only makes the spin worse. The right response is to do what feels insane at the time – turn into the spin.

With the economy taking its steady dip, we're seeing a lot of reactions from companies all across the marketplace. And most folks seem to all be doing the same thing – scaling back their efforts.

The last time we saw a recession on this scale was back in the 80′s, and there are quite a few examples of companies that chose to keep pushing forward in spite of the bad economy. Here are just a few from an article recently published in Advertising Age magazine:

"Upscale in a down market…
The early '80s were the time of generic beer, 10% unemployment, 13% inflation and record-low consumer confidence. Even in rotten times, there's a market for trading up.

Carnation (now part of Nestlé) helped pioneer the category of premium cat foods with Fancy Feast, rolled out between 1980 and 1982.

Absolut vodka, introduced in the U.S. in 1979, began a celebrated campaign in 1981 featuring its iconic bottle. First ad: "Absolut perfection," with a halo over the bottle. By 1985, it was the No. 1 imported vodka.

Calvin Klein in 1982 launched signature designer underwear with sexually suggestive ads. Price: $14.50 for three pairs — a lofty $33 in 2008 dollars…"

Its not easy, but we've got to fight against our desire to react, even if its just in our mindset. It'll not only help us make better decisions, it'll also separate us from the rest of the pack.

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This past Thursday some friends and I headed over to Octane Coffee over on the west side of town to check out their Thursday Night Throwdown (TNT). In this weekly event, anyone (usually trained baristas) can pay a small fee to compete in a "latte art" competition. All the entry money is collected in a pot which goes to the winner at the end of the night.

It was mesmerizing to see the beautifully fresh, hot creations sitting at the top of those cups. A photo is taken birds-eye-view of the resulting product and projected on a big screen. The latte is then presented to three judges who score it based criteria such as infusion of color, symmetry and use of space. Octane is serious about their coffee. (For the record, Gern correctly called scores and placing on 95% of the entries).

What made it interesting to me is seeing design principles executed in an entirely different medium than the usual print and web formats we're used to. It was really refreshing to see the amount of talent and craft behind something that we often take for granted because of our routine, ho-hum treks to Starbucks each morning.

As every profession has become automated, assembly-lined and watered down, it gives you a new found (or rekindled) appreciation for the "people who give a damn." In our world where for each product or service there are a dozen competitors, it's those with true talent and who put their pride and heart into what they do that ultimately stand out from the rest.

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Along with being my favorite fast-food restaurant Burger King hands down has the best promotions/marketing campaigns. During the "Spidey Sense" promotion I actually won a Playstation 2 from my large fries. From "Pet Moustache" and "Subservient Chicken", to being one of the sponsors for the video game "Fight Night Round 3″ and including The King as a selectable boxing manager, Burger King is always a step ahead of the competition when it comes to new ways to promote themselves.

One of their newest promotions has centered around The King being "Wanted" for putting more money in your wallet. As a part of the promotion Burger King went around and left wallets for people to find in Orlando and Chicago. When people found the wallets and opened it up to find out who it belonged to they discoverd The King's Drivers license along with real money anywhere between $1-$100, Burger King gift cards and other goodies.

This is the kind of stuff that makes me love Burger King… along with the fact that they aren't liars.

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I think we all love it when a brand comes up with a interesting new way of marketing their product. This year the trend seems to have been placing advertisements in video games. Burger King has had a fair share of odd promotions that never fail to please.

I'm interested in Puma City, an 11,000 sq/ft store and event space. It's constructed out of 24 old shipping containers which are hauled on a standard cargo ship and form the first fully shippable store, which presents an interesting idea concerning our growing global market.

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I had the opportunity of going to the last meeting for an organization that I used to work for last night. My wife and I got in the car and drove 2 hours there and back. Which lead to us staying up really late, so we could talk to everyone that we haven't seen in far too long. The reason being that when I worked there I had a unique opportunity to invest more than just time and work hours, but to invest into something that is bigger than myself and that leaves a legacy.

I think one of my favorite things about Matchstic is that we have a small group of guys that are setting out to change the way that Atlanta companies think about branding. We aren't just plugging away at our jobs, but we all have the chance to invest, lead, contribute, and be apart of a team that is bigger than any of our efforts individually… What legacy will you and your company leave?

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