Posts Tagged branding

Annual Mid-Michigan Marketing summit – MI MOB Summit

2022 Mid-Michigan Marketing summit Speaker Connie Sweet Connection Group

Registration is no longer available for the 2022 Mid-Michigan Marketing Summit.

 

Connection Group has been invited to present at the 1st annual Mid-Michigan Marketing Summit on May 7, 2022.  Amy Zander of Zeedia Media marketing agency is the brainchild behind the 1st Annual Mid-Michigan Marketing Summit – affectionately known as the MI MOB Summit. The MI MOB Marketing Summit is a one-day event where Lansing area marketing experts will conduct presentations and workshops on a variety of marketing topics. The event is being held on Friday, May 6, 2022, from 8 am to 4 pm at Royal Scot Banquet Facility located at 4722 W Grand River Ave, Lansing, MI 48906. Connection Group, founder and President, Connie Sweet, is grateful for the opportunity to speak on Logo Design as it relates to brand marketing. Connie will be offering the presentation “Branded in Memory.”

Branded In Memory covers the importance of logos and the role they play in the identification and recognition of your brand.  Although a logo isn’t your entire brand, logos play a leading role in brand recognition. Branded in Memory will cover some of the most frequently asked questions we receive when we are working with our branding customers

Logo FAQs We Will Cover Include:

  • What makes a memorable logo? 
  • Where should a logo be used? 
  • What are the best colors to use for a logo? 
  • When should a logo be revised?
  • Which logos need trademarks?

Connection Group Joins Other Marketing Experts  at the Mid-Michigan Marketing Summit

Along with Connection Group, many other Lansing local marketing experts will be presenting. The target audiences for this event are regional small businesses and non-profit marketers looking to improve their marketing. Plus, other marketing agencies and professionals looking to up their game and network.

The keynote address will be delivered by Amy Zander, owner of Zeedia Media, on the topic of branding. Amy has a unique approach to developing brands. Her brand archetype model helps companies define the specific psychology their business is best suited to. Some of the archetypes include the Mother and the Neighbor. Each is outlined by specific characteristics that businesses can then leverage for their branding messaging, brand marketing, and brand visuals. It’s a pretty cool approach and can really help businesses hone in on their messaging.

Some of the other presentations will be on website SEO, Google Ads, Instagram Reels, Video production, and more. In true mobster fashion, our friend, Paul Schmidt at UnoDeuce Media will be presenting “Picture It!… Sicily 1938.” One of our very favorite printers who Connection Group has worked with for over 20 years will also be in the spotlight. Missey Trudell, Co-Owner of Paper Image Printing Centers will guide everyone with her presentation “How to Make a Brochure That Doesn’t Suck.” You know we love that topic!

Tickets are on sale for $75/person which includes lunch and a full-day access pass to the area’s best and brightest marketing professionals. Purchase your tickets now, they are limited.

The Mid-Michigan Marketing Summit will include prizes ranging from $200 – $5000 in value, including a full rebrand package by Zeedia Media. Connection Group will be giving away a full year of website hosting (value of $240). Several sponsorship levels are available for businesses who wish to maximize their exposure to a room full of up to 250 local businesses professionals as well as exposure on social media, podcasts, and other forms of marketing.

Current sponsors and speakers include Jesse Flores, Missey Trudell, Julie Holton, Paul Schmidt, Brian Town, and more. For additional information about the event, sponsorships, and tickets check out the website.

About the 2022 MIMOB Marketing Summit creator, Amy Zander of Zeedia Media:

Zeedia Media is located in Grand Ledge, Michigan, and is a full-service digital marketing agency. Services include social media marketing, website, and logo design, graphic design, content creation, branding, and podcast production.

Connection Group has worked with Zeedia Media with their Brand Archetype Platform and we have also sought Amy Zander’s wordsmithing expertise for our customers. We highly recommend Amy’s writing expertise, please let us know if you would like a personal introduction. I hope you can join us on May 6, 2022. There may be an option for virtual attendance as the creators look into making a hybrid format available. Be sure to follow the link for tickets for updates if this is a format you prefer. If you’re like us and love the experience of being surrounded by the creative energy of an in-person summit, get your tickets now! They will sell out fast.

Stay connected, we’re here to help.

5 Ways to Connect Your Brand to a Cause and Make a Difference

5 Ways to Connect your brand to a cause

“It’s clear that brands now are being asked to do much more than just brand their products. Customers are taking the extra step to ask, ‘Hey, what is this company all about?’. – Antoine Andrews

When you connect your brand to a cause you make a promise to your customers, staff, and stakeholders. As we build quarterly promotional calendars for our customers our most exciting content comes when we can connect your brand to a cause and create supportive messaging around that cause. Whether it be childhood nutrition, mental health, sustainability, diversity, equality, etc. when a brand can use its position to make a difference, studies show customers have more loyalty to the brand.

5 Ways to Connect Your Brand to a Cause

  1. Offer financial support. For example a percentage of profits from a specific product’s sales, annual corporate profits, or profits from an event, etc.
  2.  Increase awareness of a cause and offer educational resources for their followers
  3.  Offer ways customers can participate in contributing to the cause through their efforts
  4.  Evoke change through working with, hiring, sourcing products and services that support their beliefs and chosen causes
  5.  Create an event to increase awareness with a course, a presentation, etc. Or raise financial support through a fundraiser or auction, etc.

Keep Authenticity when You Choose a Cause

I am writing this in February and am happy to report on the many large brands sharing black stories and standing for equality and change. Just this morning I received an email from Disney+ with their campaign Black stories. Black joy. Black History. Moments later an email from Hulu.

Hulu’s Black Stories Always promotion recognizes that the interest in Black History isn’t just in February. A variety of Dramas, comedies, documentaries, etc. are available 24/7, 365 days a year. Subscribers can search within the app for Black Stories. They can also follow the link from social media promotions or email campaigns. Hulu has developed evergreen digital content for the campaign. Each February during Black history month it is locked into the promotional calendar.

Thoughtful, inclusive, creative, on-brand.

What a consummate way for a media company to raise their platform and lift Black History and culture. Hulu understood the need for black stories to be shared, they considered how to fill the need, and recognized they had a platform to make a difference. Creating the catalog that continually expands offers value to subscribers and builds loyal audiences. This compilation not only exposes larger audiences to black history, it advances black voices, demand for black actors, and more. All the while educating and entertaining bingers.

Personally, I started with Mudbound and then got hooked on the series Snowfall. Waiting for this dramatic series to drop more episodes I’m inspired to watch more of the Black Stories catalog. The Hulu brand has demonstrated how to use its role to shine a light on society’s problems, introduce history and new ideas, be inclusive, and entertain audiences with diverse catalogs and messages. Now, when I am looking for a story with depth, I look to Hulu first.

Even if your brand does not touch the number of people that Hulu or Disney+ does, your brand has the power to make a difference. In addition, the morale of the entire corporation is lifted when you are working together to create change. So what is important to you? What is important to your team? How do the products or services you offer affect a population, a community, a culture, the future, etc?

When you choose to connect your brand with a cause, follow through on your promises through perpetuity. In 1990, Starfish tuna claimed they would change the way they were sourcing tuna. Dolphin numbers were being diminished in part because they were being netted by large tuna harvesters. By making a commitment to change the way they captured tuna they eased consumers’ minds that no harm would come to dolphins. Unfortunately, many reports claimed there was no such action taken by Starfish. Not only did they not create positive change and save dolphins, but customers also sued them in 2019 for not following through on their claim.

How Your Brand Can Make a Difference

It’s great when you tie your cause to your brand or connect your brand to a cause. In the case of Starfish, it was evident. In other companies and industries, there may not be an obvious path. I encourage you to give it some thought. What do your customers feel strongly about? What causes are in mainstream media that align with your business or personal beliefs? With a few exploratory conversations with your customers, ideas develop from local issues, personal experiences, family, company history, etc.

Be selective here. If brands connect to each and every cause, studies show they are less effective. Don’t be viewed as wishy-washy. Be choosy, show support in what you believe in, but build focused efforts to connect your brand to a cause that resonates with you, your team, and your customers.  Don’t try to be all things to everyone.

For instance, the Connection Group team loves nature and the outdoors and feels strongly about protecting our environment. The print industry uses virgin wood and damages the environment. In response, we adopted sustainability practices over twenty years ago.
• commit to the reduction of virgin material use in our office
• established a recycling program
• source the highest recycled content in print stock for client print projects as possible
• partner with vendors who share our beliefs and follow sustainability practices

What cause can your brand embrace?

Also, we are a certified woman-owned business and as such are advocates for diversity, inclusion, and equality. We demonstrate our support by providing high-value services to diverse businesses, primarily women-owned businesses. By delivering valuable brand services, reliable support, and fair pricing, our efforts help lift women-owned businesses. We also seek partnerships with other women-owned businesses for our needs, personally, and professionally. We know that the more women-owned businesses we help succeed the more equitable the marketplace can be. Living our cause and connecting it to our brand extends our impact.

Support a cause and demonstrate that your brand is committed to changing the world. Or keep it closer to home and lift your local community. Our customer Augusta Mills is a woman-owned flour mill in Michigan. Their motto is family, community, love. One of the causes we help them to promote each year is families baking together. Teaching children to bake, inviting them into the kitchen to make their own food is empowering. It helps strengthen families and teaches a skill to fulfill our basic need for food.

What cause can your brand embrace? How can you create change with your promotions, advertising, actions, or profits? If you are curious how you can share a cause effectively with your audience, connect with us. We are happy to help with a consultation. Or, we can assist with building a promotional plan and editorial calendar that can help you beginto share your story. Connect with your customers on a level that makes a difference to you, to them, to your team, and to the cause you believe in.

Stay connected, we’re here to help!

Are You Embarrassed to Share Your Company Website With Prospects??

Embarrassed to Share Your Company Website With Prospects

 

Recently I spoke to one of our favorite customers, Life Coach Jamie Lightner, about how the new responsive WordPress website we designed for her was working. We were in a group of other women business owners when I asked the question. Jamie’s response to my question actually made most of the women laugh out loud. She said she loved it and mostly she was happy not to have a website she was embarrassed by anymore! Jamie has an authentic sense of humor that is never lost on the crowd.

However, she explained further that the statement was sadly all too accurate. The free DIY website she built when she started her coaching business over 6 years prior really was embarrassing to her. Her experience, her services and programs, and the technology had all outgrown that initial DIY website solution. Of course, as the chosen website design firm I was happy to know how much our new website design has helped her in such a short amount of time. I knew when we started the new website design, organization and updating of content would help her prospecting and for her current clients. What I didn’t consider was the emotional impact the newly branded website would have.

Some of the reasons you may be embarrassed to share  your company website:

 

  1. Life coach, Jamie Lightner responsive website designOutdated design that looks like it is from another decade
  2.  Broken links that prompt 404-page errors
  3.  Confusing navigation that doesn’t lead the visitor where they intend
  4. The website isn’t responsive and is hard to read on mobile devices
  5. No clear calls to action
  6. Outdated services, products, or promotions
  7. Staff members listed who are no longer with the company
  8. No clear brand messaging or visuals
  9. Competitiors websites are modern and have valuable content
  10. The information doesn’t present current level of expertise
  11. …more…

It was rewarding for me to hear Jamie express that her decision to update her DIY website to a professional website design was the best business decision she has made. She now confidently shares her website URL with prospects and customers and she has quickly realized a return on her investments.

 

Want to Love Your Website Again?

Schedule a 100% free, no-obligation 15-minute consultation.

We’ll visit your website while on the call, talk about your goals and offer some insight. Even if your website is embarrassing right now, we can make it shine again – we promise. Let’s Connect

 

I’d like to say the conversation about being embarrassed to share your company website ended there.

It didn’t. Total transparency, I had to share my true confession that Connection Group also found ourselves in that same predicament.  (Obviously, I was feeling pretty safe with this particular group of women business owners!) My confession didn’t receive a laugh like Jamie’s did. The reaction was more surprise, “You? But your company excels at website design and development!”

After being in business for over 20 years our website has experienced many iterations, much revamping, some re-dos. Remember Flash websites? Yes, as cool as all the moving text and dancing graphics were, there was little to no ROI on that website design technology – and we did it in-house!  But, I digress from the point of my story…

Although we have over 20 years of experience in website design and have one of the most talented responsive WordPress developers leading our team our website was sadly outdated. It wasn’t because we didn’t have the talent, or the desire, or the budget, our reason was we didn’t have the time. We were living the proverbial ‘the cobbler’s children have no shoes’ saying. If you are a small business owner you may relate to our position. Basic business principles taught us customer orders, customer service, and billable hours come first.

We now liken our marketing to putting our own oxygen masks on first – before we save others.

Although we were allocating time for brainstorming, re-branding, targeting key audiences, and content planning, the new website was not given the priority it deserved. In the midst of the planning, COVID hit and our existing and new customers needed us even more. Of course, along with the rush of orders, there was the unknown. In addition to the customer projects we were also being proactive and responding to RFPs that we felt were a good fit.

I will never forget the late night preparingto post our RFP response to a web portal. I made the mistake of checking how many other branding firms had submitted responses. To my dismay, that particular RFP had 64 submissions, 64! To further add insult to injury I decided to check out my competition. I definitely needed to put my oxygen mask on after that! For over an hour I perused modern, sleek, contemporary websites that shone bright like diamonds. Talk about being embarrassed to share your company website with prospects! Ugh! It was too late (literally and figuratively) to do anything about it at that point, so I submitted the RFP and went to bed.

In the end, we did rank pretty high in the selection – because our credentials, experience, and cost were competitive and our proposal rocked. However, what I gained was the insight that taking care of our brand needed to be a higher priority. Never, ever may we make excuses or neglect imprtant components of our branding and prospecting ability.

Today, I am proud to see our new website doing its job. Like Jamie, I too appreciate the ease in updating it with the new front-end editor, the clear brand focus, and imagery we have developed. We took our time to hone in on the services that we do best and we have simplified the navigation and content to make it clear to our customers and prospects. Would we have won that RFP if this new website design was in place earleir? I’ll never know, either way, I know I always want to honor our brand, our abilities, and show our expertise. I want to proudly post our website everywhere and know the information is up to date, attractive, and fully functional on all screens.

So, that’s our story. What about you? Are you embarrassed to share your company website? If so, don’t wait any longer, I promise you, your competition isn’t waiting. Connect today, we’re happy to craft a professional, responsive website you will be proud to share and update for years to come. 

Stay connected!

Hurry and reserve your 15-minute slot today!

Commit to starting the new year strong. All of our websites come with step-by-step training. You and your team will know exactly what to do to keep your website up-to-date.  Let’s Connect

Our brand story – The Beauty of All Things Connected

Our brand story con

From an early age, it has been my desire to see and spread beauty. This purpose has enhanced my love for nature and design and the appreciation of the interconnectedness of all things.

Connecting nature, beauty, and design is the key component of our brand story. It’s what makes me stop and take a picture in a city park, a foggy forest or a trendy restaurant. It has inspired interest in landscape design, interior design, jewelry, and fashion design. All the design things. Consequently, show me a clever graphic design on retail packaging with an inspiring brand story, and you’ve got an instant brand ambassador.

This appreciation of nature and beauty inspired me to pursue graphic design training and launch Connection Group, Inc.  As a result, for over two decades the Connection Group team has created beautiful logos, beautiful graphic designs, and beautiful publications that people pay attention to.

Connection Group Brand Story

Articulating beauty is our purpose, graphic design is our talent, and increasing connection is our mission.

“In nature, we never see anything isolated, but everything in connection with something else which is before it, beside it, under it and over it.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

This partnership of beauty and nature and the belief that everything is connected was the inspiration behind our name. As a graphic designer, the patterns of nature and beauty in natural form have always captivated me. My morning dog walks remind me to be grateful and slow down and enjoy the beauty around me. These moments allow me to ease into my day with gratitude and clarity. I then bring to my work a creator’s mind and an artist’s eye.

Recently, a TED Radio Hour presenter on climate change expressed his belief that humans will outlive nature. Humans will live on but they will have to live without trees. No trees, no beauty. I began to wonder how much we take for granted the role nature plays in defining what beauty is?  What of living without beauty, without the beauty of trees? What kind of world will it be without the sight of a tulip tree in bloom, an apple tree at harvest time, a Michigan sugar maple aglow in October? Trees encompass all of the elemental rules of design; symmetry, color, organic line, patterns, textures, and placement. Like a beautiful design, they evoke a response.

#aTreeaDay

all-things-connect-a-tree-a-dayIn response, I have slowed my walk in my favorite parks and dirt roads. I started seeing each tree individually and as a connection to each other and all of us. I started connecting with them and photographing them. The beauty of nature, the beauty of a forest of trees, the beauty of that one special tree that makes you gasp every time you see it. We are celebrating nature’s beauty in the Connection Group #aTreeaDay posts. We want to share the wonder and variety and strength and power and fortitude that is the beauty of each tree. Each day we share a tree on our social media platforms, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. We encourage you to spread beauty and share #aTreeaDay to pages too.

People find beauty in many things; in other people, architecture, art, cars, shoes, a new Apple anything, the list goes on. If sharing a favorite tree of the day helps people remember to breathe and appreciate beauty, we have succeeded in our mission. I can’t think of a better depiction of our brand story, than honoring our personal practice to connect with everyone through recognizing and spreading beauty. This includes creating beautiful marketing materials for our customers and sharing posts of trees that remind you to slow down and take a long, beautiful breath.

“All things are connected like the blood that unites us. We do not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.” – Chief Seattle

Stay connected!

Building A Purpose Driven Company

Identify Your Brand Purpose Begin with the following exercise.

5 Steps to Define Your Brand Purpose

What is your product or service and what does it have to do with your brand purpose?   Are you a product manufacturer? Do you have a retail store or online shop? Does your company provide property management services? Even if these questions seem very basic to you, you may be surprised what is revealed through this practice.

Taking a few moments to determine your purpose by penning a products and services list is invaluable whether you are a start-up company or an existing business. The list helps your customers know what products and services they can expect from you, plus helps your company identify its purpose and where you want to focus your energy.

Begin to identify your brand purpose with this product and service list exercise.

Consider what a customer may need when they are seeking your product or service. Do they just want yarn or do they need online knitting classes? If you are a product manufacturer, will you provide one complete product or replacement parts, will you create multiple models that offer unique features?

Below I have used Connection Group as an example. I began with core services and then added subcategory items under each as applicable. I have purposefully left some items off at the risk of creating a 20-page blog!

The main services Connection Group provides are:

  • Graphic Design – Including logo design, digital graphics, print collateral, publication design, web page design, signage design, display advertisements,
  • Printing – Including – offset and web press, short-run digital and large quantity print runs, proofs, delivery
  • Website Design and Development – Including website design, user interface design, navigation and content flow, digital graphics, website maintenance, hosting
  • Brand Marketing Management  – Including digital graphics, display and internet advertising, direct mail, brochures, event marketing, product marketing
  • Content Marketing – Including graphic design creation, blog writing and distribution, social media post creation and social media management

1. Create your product or services list.

Begin with your core product or service, then add the elements of each. After that step is complete, you can also break down tasks that are part of each service. For our example, we could add specific tasks required for publication design, or website design, etc.

 2. Read through your list.

Do you see some services repeated under multiple categories?

In our example, graphic design services are under all categories. Graphic design is our core service.  It makes sense that we have included it in all of our main service platforms. Although it may appear repetitive, we include a service under each applicable category because we want to communicate clearly to our customer what is available for them.

Graphic design created for print and digital graphic design developed for the web requires a grasp of each medium. Not all creative services firms have expertise in both areas. Adding it to all categories helps our customers know we can be a one-stop solution. Creating a full suite of branding services that helps our customer connect with their target audience is our brand purpose.

3. Could you make changes to increase customer satisfaction?

Can you be a one stop shop or is offering a specific niche a better brand purpose for your company? If another creative services agency did this exercise they may realize they need to bone up on their website graphics capability. Or, they may choose to focus on their print expertise and decide not to offer website design or web graphics at all.

4. How can your brand purpose list help you plan for the future?

Did you recognize you have some extraneous products or services that you are currently offering which do not offer value expected by your customer? Do you find some holes that you could fill in with new products or services? Sometimes companies can create entirely new divisions with a new product or service that utilizes core competencies or current staff, equipment capabilities, etc.

5. How will you serve your customer better?

Determining your core brand purpose is the first step in putting your customers needs first. Your company will also benefit because you can identify ways to streamline resources. Optimizing your equipment, raw materials, knowledge, and staff is key to a purposeful and profitable business.

Let us know if we can help build your company brand roadmap. From a purpose-driven brand assessment to a full blown brand marketing plan we can help you create a unified brand image and increase your brand recognition.

Business Card Design for Small Business

business card design for small business
As a graphic designer I have been known to break a few corporate rules. However, I choose to play by the rules when it comes to business card design. At least when it comes to the shape and size of business cards. As in most industries, there are standards to follow that help consumers and industry professionals.  Challenges, expense and frustration occur when products vary from  industry standards.  An innovative product may be deemed unusable. A company who chooses to break from the norm may be striving to create a new standard (Hello Apple iphone7 headphone). In other instances they may not have compiled the proper research. Or they are just going rogue!

Lately, when attending networking events the business cards I have garnered are in a variety of shapes and sizes. Creative business card design is a valuable investment for start ups as well as established corporations. But, it is important not to get too far away from the norm.  It is your logo and business card design that people see most. Business cards will be exchanged at networking events, one on one meetings, and cold calls. If your card looks unprofessional, then so do you.

What is the size of business cards?

The standard dimensions of a business card design is 2” x 3.5”. Traditionally the 3.5” is the longer, horizontal measurement. Over the years vertical business card designs have made a mark as well. The most widely accepted business card shape is a horizontal version. Industries such as banking, insurance, manufacturing, and education use traditional, clean designs. Comparatively, vertical business card designs, tend to be used by creative industries such as architects, interior or graphic designers, crafters or arts and craft products, etc.

Business card design styles

Business card designs that break away from the normal business card size stand out. But, having an outstanding design is different than having a design that stands out. The goal of a professional business card design is to be memorable, communicate clearly and be easy for the recipient hold onto it. When a vendor hands me a square business card that are all the rage right now I don’t know what to do with it. It doesn’t fit in my business card holder, it doesn’t fit in a pocket folder slit, it doesn’t fit in my phone case! Plus, with square business card design, nearly all are two sided – so now you’ve created more work for the recipient.

Don’t get me started on the small business card designs that resemble the size of keychain loyalty cards. Why would someone choose these to promote their business? Does the small business card save that much on paper cost? I will confess, I do not know the actual printing cost of business cards in this format. Why? The answer is because I would never recommend them to my customers. Consider using them as a small product insert but please don’t use them as a professional business card.

Size matters

In closing, I will share that it is common practice to scan business cards into a customer relationship management (CRM) system. All of those tiny business cards get stuck in the scanner. Additionally, square, two sided business cards must be scanned twice. In one sense you have achieved the goal in standing out to me by choosing an odd shaped business card design. Increased scanning and input time has been created for me. This doesn’t leave me with a good impression of you and your company. Isn’t leaving a good impression the first goal of networking?

We’re happy to take a look at your business card and offer feedback. Fair warning- it will be honest feedback! Email or give us a call today.

Stay connected!