Marketing Genius from Maple Creative

Marketing tips, observations & philosophy, plus a few rants and random musings - from those who practice, preach and teach marketing, research, advertising, public relations and business strategy.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Welcome, Lauren!

There's a new Mapleonian in town. She's a talented young graphic artist with agency design experience and a BFA from Appalachian State University. Meet Lauren Boder.

Lauren joined our team at the beginning of September and is already contributing with crisp, creative designs that help our clients achieve results. She has not yet debuted on the Maple Web site ... but that's coming soon. Welcome aboard, Lauren!



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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Hidden Logo Design: American Stock Exchange

Thanks to marketing genius, Justin Seibert, for spotting this interesting logo design teaser. Justin writes:

I really enjoy your logo analysis and saw one today that caught my eye. Go to the American Stock Exchange Web site and check out the logo at the top for Fixed Rate Options. It reminds me of a different word (don't want to bias you with my thoughts). Would love to see a post or just your thoughts if you have time.
There you go, Justin. Thanks, again.

Readers, let's have your comments! What do you see?

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Thursday, August 07, 2008

Coming Up: Another "Hidden Logo Design" Challenge

Friend and comrade, Justin Seibert, gave me a heads-up on a new logo example to share with the community of marketing geniuses. It's sneaky. And I think you will love it. So here's a clue: it is somewhat reminiscent of my 9th grade hairstyle.

If you are not familiar with our Hidden Logo Design series, it is one of the most popular themes on our blog. Here are a few, if you'd like to get up to speed to be ready for this next one that Justin discovered:

Animal Planet

FedEx

Finding Nemo

Goodwill Industries

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Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Maple Creative Talent Search: Graphic Designer

Recent changes at Maple Creative have created an opportunity to join our talented design team. Do you know of someone who might be described as follows:

Experienced graphic designer (or art director) with 3+ years of relevant work experience
Great attitude a must - optimistic, driven, unselfish, dedicated, honest, upbeat, reliable
Bachelor's degree (or more) - BFA preferred
Wildly creative with a great sense of style
Ability to interpret clients' needs, taste & preferences and to visually translate those into effective design solutions
Ability to conceptualize and plan multi-media campaigns including video and Web
Strong in print, typography/logo/identity, Web/electronic, video/TV
Proficient in Adobe InDesign creative suite
Web programming skills (html, PHP, Flash) preferred but not required
Strong understanding of printing and production processes
Team player with ability to relate and communicate with other designer and biz dev types

If so, please send them our way. Hey- maybe this is you!

This is a great, career-making opportunity to join an established, progressive and growing marketing firm, one whose work has garnered top honors regionally with American Advertising Federation (AAF-WV) and Public Relations Society (PRSA-WV). Please direct all inquiries to me via e-mail to (Skip @ maplecreative dot com). All inquiries will be handled with utmost confidentiality. Thanks in advance for your help, marketing geniuses!

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Saturday, June 14, 2008

Hidden Logo Design Elements: The Golf Channel

Here is another chapter in our continuing feature series on interesting logo designs. The Golf Channel logo, displayed at left, is an interesting and timely case study in hidden logo design elements.

This week is, of course, U.S. Open Week. Millions of golf fans around the world are tuning in to the Golf Channel for in-depth coverage on one of professional golf's major championship contests.

Like most viewers, I had seen this logo hundreds of times prior to today. Yet, this morning, it came to me: something new. My eye found the hidden elements embedded within the Golf Channel's brand icon.

Can you find it? Post a comment below and tell us what you see. Happy hunting!

For more of these logo studies, check out the following:

Animal Planet

FedEx

Finding Nemo

Goodwill Industries

Hershey Kisses

Baskin Robbins

Big Ten Conference

Staples

Presidential Campaign logos

Tostito's Fiesta Bowl

Xerox

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Thursday, February 14, 2008

Google's Whimsical Logos

Don't you love how Google posts special thematic or seasonal variations of its logo every so often? I surely do. They call them "Google Doodles." It keeps it fun and interesting. Here's their special Valentine's logo below:







Actually, you've probably seen it in context already on Google, considering the fact that 200 million people visit each day. Kudos to Dennis Hwang and the design team at Google and to its leaders who see the value in doing cool, fun stuff like the Google Doodles!

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Monday, February 04, 2008

Hidden Logo Design Elements: Hershey Kisses

With Valentine's Day coming soon, we have a sweet little brain teaser for you. Can you find the hidden design element in the Kisses logo?

Yes, we know that you are now suffering from an insatiable chocolate craving. Sorry 'bout that.




How many times have you looked at the Kisses logo? Have you ever noticed anything special about it, aside from the letters, the colors or the word itself? I have to admit that even though I've eaten my fair share of Kisses over the years, I had not noticed the wonderfully subtle design touch that is embedded inside the logo.


Here's another photo that may help you find the hidden design element. Don't worry about the product itself. Forget about the mini cookies and the confetti sprinkles. Just see if you can find the unique, hidden element within the "Kisses" logo.


If you like these visual puzzles, we have several in the blog archives that you will enjoy.


Have fun ... but please do not blame me if you are unable to look at a logo the same way ever again.

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Monday, August 27, 2007

A to Z of Marketing: D - Design

Design. In my opinion, design is one of the major drivers of great marketing. In fact, it separates the good from the great.

Ahhh, great design! We know it when we experience it! And conversely, when something is poorly designed, its flaws seem to scream at us.

Cheap! Who cares!
Made in a hurry!
Not concerned about quality! Who cares about customer satisfaction! Lacking talent or professionalism!


Design is the art of making things more pleasing and more effective. Design is beauty and creativity. Design subtly, but in its impossible to miss manner, says to us:
Creative!
Greatness resides here! Passion too!
Customer focused!
Pride, caring and quality minded! Made from the heart!
Worthwhile ... and worth it!

Design is so essentially human. It cannot be automated. No computer can approximate good design. Yes, there are some templates on the Web that allow us to add colors, shapes and symbols; none of that comes close to truly great design.

Design is not just pretty pictures. No, it is way more than that. Design is a well crafted product. Design is what makes great service a great experience. Design is a tool that fits the hand just right. Design is not having to read the instruction manual. (Though when you do, a great cover, intuitive layout and easily found answers are products of great design, too.) And how many of you, if you're like me, derive joy from great packaging design?

I have the pleasure and privilege of working with four extremely talented designers. They inspire. They envision. They create. They are artists who add value (or create value) to our deliverables. Their touches are what make our work look like a million bucks!

Tom Peters, in his book Re-imagine!, calls design "The Soul of the New Enterprise. " He is absolutely right. Tom also explains in incredibly articulate fashion, "Design is the number one determinant of whether a product-service-experience stands out--or does not." Today, no business cannot afford not to stand out. Not you. Not me. Business is too competitive.

Recall the first law of marketing: perception is reality.

How your business will be perceived? Marketing geniuses do not have to wonder. They know the importance and the effectiveness of investing in design as part of their marketing program. Design is marketing. Marketing thrives on design.

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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

More on Logo Design Elements - Staples



The Staples logo is a familiar one, isn't it? You probably see it almost every day. But have you ever looked closely at it. There's a small but unique design element that has been cleverly worked into one of the letterforms.

Do you see it now? Can you tell what it is, or what significance it has to the business? Do you like it?

Over the years, we have posted several examples of hidden design elements in logos. I'm a huge fan of cleverly design logos, especially those with little subtleties. (And I am a huge fan of the people who create such designs!)

Check out a few from the past. Some are more subtle than others:

http://marketinggenius.blogspot.com/2005/08/look-closer-closer-theres-another.html


http://marketinggenius.blogspot.com/2006/01/more-hidden-logo-elements-goodwill.html


http://marketinggenius.blogspot.com/2006/06/more-hidden-logo-design-elements.html


http://marketinggenius.blogspot.com/2005/10/more-hidden-logo-elements.html

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