Today I read that large cable and TV networks are fearful of GoogleTV.

Why are they so afraid? Is it because they operate in an old style advertising lead network? Is it because they are afraid Google will force them to evolve? Afraid of changing the way they have been doing things for 50+ years?

Simple answer is YES!

GoogleTV plans to offer the viewer unlimited options allowing you to search the internet through your TV. Basically, the idea is they will sell TVs with Google enabled web browsers and keyboards so you can type in your search and get the streaming video right into your TV. I looked at this intro video. In a nutshell they are making your TV a web browser but instead of having to own a device to see the web like the computer, iPad or iPhone you will be plugged in directly to your TV. Think mega-sized-computer-screen if you own a large 46″ plus TV! Wow, that would be cool.

You can watch your game, downsize the video and, at the same time look up stats on your team on the web page… or, you can view  a news story while tweeting about it in real time with friends around the world. You have all the videos on the internet at your fingertips (think youtube, hulu, etc…) and all your photo viewing programs like picasa, Flickr, Shutterfly, Snapfish, etc… all right there for you to see or share with your friends.

That brings up the other side of having all this technology in your living room. Being a mother and having a house with other people sharing the same TV, I can tell you the problems will start very quickly. I happen to have one of the newer TVs that can go to the internet with a browser. It is definitely NOT Google by any means but you can browse certain things… I say certain things because I haven’t had the chance to really sit down and play with it. Why? Because I have a husband and a daughter who would rather watch their shows.  They get bored watching me play around with it– so basically the browser is never used.

I can just hear the arguments from people fighting over the keyboard (instead of the remote)

OK. The geek in me says the Google TV sounds like a great idea. The only problem I see with it is what I mentioned above. The TV tends to be where families gather to watch something together. Having so much control over the bazillion things you can watch on the internet is very intriguing, but I do not think it will bring families together, and it definitely will not help with the couch-potato pandemic sweeping the country.

I do agree that being able to just search for your favorite TV show is awesome. I already do that on my computer if I miss a show. I can always go to abc.com or fox.com and catch up (and with less commercial interruption!). Viewing it all in a large screen TV would definitely be a plus too. Mac actually pioneered this idea with their AppleTV. Oh yes! Apple thinks of all of these things first and then Google jumps in the bandwagon. The problem for Apple is that Google is a behemoth. Most elitists go for Apple, the world goes for Google. Sad but true. (Go Apple! )

The big cable TV conglomerates will need to adjust to the new era or be left behind. The music and print industries know this very well. Once the internet moves in, it is going to be an all out war. The way they generate money will have to change, and I am sorry to say that users  will suffer for it. We will inevitably have to view more ads online and pay for subscriptions to see our shows. Otherwise, how will they make the money to keep making expensive and cool TV? Early on, watching TV shows in abc.com for example, there were no ads! Now you watch any show and they plug in 4 to 5 areas where they place ads and force you to look at them. The only cool thing is they tell you how long it is going to last and actually have a count down, but still, they are annoying. Get ready for more of the same.

The buzz is going crazy on the internet about this Google TV. It even made headline news across the country! As one writer for the Los Angeles Times put it “…whenever new technology emerges that allows consumers more choices, it is inevitably a destructive experience for the companies making money off the old model, since they are the ones who find it most difficult to embrace and take advantage of the sweeping changes.” See the story here and also take a look at the comments.

We are talking a hot button for all things creative now. One comment says “If you go back a hundred years, actors earned money by actually doing live performances. Now, through the magic of TECHNOLOGY, they have been able to do one performance (~1 month of work) and make 20 million dollars. What technology giveth, it may also taketh away. By the way, the people who invented that technology that enable you to make a load of money, never made 1/100 of what the artistic exploiters made.” So true, but that is also the beauty of invention and capitalism!

There are a lot of contrasting and passionate views that this GoogleTV has touched upon. Having TV giants be afraid of an Internet company was unheard of 10 years ago. The truth is if you do not embrace new technology you WILL BE LEFT BEHIND. It is true for the internet, for your career, for everything you do and use. It is everywhere. Sitting there and closing yourself to it will do you no good. The good news is you can pick and choose what you want to deal with (like fuel efficient cars) and what you don’t (like 3-D TV LOL!!).

To me, the real worry is what will these big companies do to control what we can or cannot have access to and if they will be able to charge us for it. That’s in a near future, as for now, I can still plug in my Xbox to my HDTV and watch Netflix or get on Facebook and send likes to all my friends… and I don’t need GoogleTV to do so.

Archer is pleased to announce that this year’s 2nd Annual Emerging Artists Expo at the 42nd Annual Corn Hill Arts Festival was a tremendous success! As the Expo’s sponsor, we strove to create an inviting, interactive, and fun atmosphere at the main entrance to the Expo. If you stopped by to visit the A-Team, you may have walked the red carpet, posed for paparazzi pictures, and created artwork to contribute to the gallery displayed in the Archer tent.

“Everyone at Archer is extremely pleased with how the weekend went. We really tried to make the Expo the highlight of the Festival. I feel that people really enjoyed the activities we offered at the entrance of the Expo and interacting with fresh, young, Rochester-based talent,” said Jeff Lennox, President of Archer Communications.

Jeff continues, “For most of these artists, the Expo was their public debut. It was a chance for them to sell and display their artwork to a large and diverse audience. I am pleased that Archer could partake in supporting these passionate and brilliant artists.”

Be sure to check back to the Emerging Artists Expo page (www.archercom.com/emerging-artists) throughout the upcoming weeks! We will be updating the site with red carpet pictures, video interviews with the artists, and more!

Archer Communications would also like to congratulate Heather Swenson on winning 1^st place for the Emerging Artists Expo category. As promised, Ms. Swenson will be presented with a customized website to showcase her portfolio of work throughout the year. “I am grateful to Archer Communications for providing me with such a generous gift. This will really help me gain exposure to the public and help me keep in contact with other artists,” said Swenson. She continues, “I gave out a lot of business cards at the Festival, but everyone also kept asking me if I had a website. Getting a website has been something I have been putting off, so I am thrilled that Archer is going to help me finally put my art on the web.”

Heather Swenson, an Irondequoit native, is a rising junior at SUNY Purchase College of Art Design. She felt that Expo went very well for her, as she sold several pieces and networked with many of the area’s local artists and art professionals. The 2^nd Annual Emerging Arts Expo was Swenson’s inaugural showing to the general public and she was thrilled as to how many people were intrigued with her work and the process of woodcut lithograph printing. She is also excited to be recognized for her hard work and dedication to her art. Swenson said that, “Winning this honor provides me with affirmation and confidence that I can succeed within a medium that I am passionate about.” You may see Swenson’s work around Rochester at different events this Summer—events she was invited to show at by people with whom she connected with at the Expo.

Stay tuned for updates regarding the release of Ms. Swenson’s new web-based portfolio. And don’t forget to check the Emerging Artists Expo web page for the latest updates!

The 2^nd Annual Emerging Artists Expo: 25 artists, 25 and younger, 25 different styles.

This weekend is the 42^nd Annual Corn Hill Arts Festival! Here at Archer Communications, the anticipation and excitement is building. We are thrilled  to be sponsoring the 2^nd Annual Emerging Artists Expo and wanted to promote a greater awareness for the Expo by creating a microsite: www.archercom.com/emerging-artists.

Talented. Innovative. Entrepreneurial. Fresh. Edgy. These artists are all that and more. Visit the website to learn a little bit about every artist. Connect with them to see who they are and what inspires them. Then, meet the artists in person at the Emerging Artists Expo, located next to the Food Court, at the Corn Hill Arts Festival, July 10 and 11.You can also see photos of the artists and their artwork for a sneak peek as to what you can expect at the Expo this weekend. Throughout the Festival, Archer will also be conducting fun video interviews with all the artists and posting them on the website. The website also features a Twitter feed, a map of the Festival, blog posts, the latest news, and more!

It can be difficult for rising artists to gain exposure to a large audience. The 2^nd Annual Emerging Artists Expo is the place where the premier young artists in the area can be recognized for their creativity, talent, and dedication to the arts. At the end of the Festival, the Corn Hill Arts Festival’s Jurying Committee will select a winner of the Expo. Here at Archer, we believe in supporting and promoting young, promising artists. Thus, to further encourage these artists to pursue their creative dreams and develop their talent, we will also award the selected winner with a website. This custom website will allow the artist to showcase and promote their work online throughout the year.

We hope you will make a trip out to this year’s Corn Hill Arts Festival and visit the Emerging Artists Expo. Come by and also meet the “A-Team” from Archer Communications at the entrance the Expo. We hope to see you this weekend!

For more information regarding the festival, please visit www.cornhillartsfestival.org.

What art offers is space – a certain breathing room for the spirit.

- John Updike

When you step into the world of art and allow your mind to experience alternative views of reality, it is a chance to relinquish what you know for what is possible.

Embracing art, its limitless possibilities, and the young people who challenge themselves to exhibit, is precisely why Archer Communications has chosen to sponsor the Corn Hill Arts Festival 2^nd Annual Emerging Artists Expo on July 10 and 11. We’re counting down the days, and we’re really excited about this opportunity because we see a need to support young people as they enter into the arts.

This year, 25 talented men and women, between the ages of 15 to 25, will represent the next generation of creativity in the Rochester area. No one knows where or when the next great artist will emerge, even Picasso had a debut.  Young artists have limited opportunities to display their work to large crowds. (Corn Hill attracts over 250,000 people in two days!) So, this expo will give these young artists the opportunity to receive feedback and be able to sell their work.

“Finding your way in the world of art can be difficult,” said Jeff Lennox, Archer’s president. “We want to support these young artists by presenting this showcase.”

Jeff shared his belief that, “as both a fine and graphic artist, as well as a long-time member of the Rochester community, I am personally dedicated to inspiring and supporting our local talent base.” Whatever direction their art careers take them, whether it’s commercial or fine art, everyone has to be able to market themselves and their product.

Archer is going to liven things up and connect with each artist at the Expo. You will be able to visit www.archercom.com/emerging-artists on June 30th to view their photos, art, and bios, and have an opportunity to follow our twitter feed, along with festival blog updates.

The weekend will include the expo art show, opportunities to create your own “masterpiece,” meet the artists, and hang out with the Archer team at our tent adjacent to the expo.

We’re looking forward to the event and we hope you can stop by the Expo on Adams Street, adjacent to the food court, spend some time exploring the Emerging Artists, and meet our team of professionals from Archer Communications.

Recently I had a personal issue with my a certain insurance company that has a duck for a mascot. (hint, hint) I was upset and felt really used by the company, so much so that I had a little rant about it on Twitter. I was not expecting much, but I had heard that these big company’s are getting into social media in a big way and that they might be listening in to the conversation in Twitter and other social media outlets like facebook and digg.

Being that I am in advertising and the fact that I did have a compelling and real issue that I felt they should have been more attentive to, I thought, why not see if it is true. Is social media the new way to reach customer service?

At Archer Communications we talk about social media to our clients all the time, and sometimes they do not understand the power of this medium. They often ask us about the ROI, how much is my company going to get out of it, if it is really necessary, and the big question…who’s going to do this? I understand their concerns and believe me, before this experience I was asking those same questions myself. So, as a curious consumer, a proponent of social media, and a detective, I decided to tweet about my issue.

I didn’t know what to expect after my 10 or so 250 character entries. In each of them I mentioned the company by name, over and over again. I was upset and I talked about it. You could say I did a bit of a rant. Well. Tell you what. It didn’t take long at all. I was surprised to have a company representative tweet me about 1 hour after my last post. She was very nice and asked me to tweet her directly the problem with my account. For those of you that don’t use Twitter a lot, you can actually tweet privately to anyone. This means the tweet is not public like the regular tweets out there. You can send private messages to an actual Tweeter account holder and only they can see it. Not only that, but I do have my private tweets sent directly to my phone… and that’s how I found out the rep had sent me a tweet! My phone received a text message from the rep. I was completely dumbstruck. THEY ARE LISTENING! (I know, a little creepy) But, they really ARE listening!

Well, I answered their tweet with a one-on-one “tweet-conversation” with the rep. I told the rep what my problem was and why I was so upset. She said she would look into it. Again, I was not expecting much and to my surprise, I received a call the next day from another representative asking me a few more details about what had happened. They had decided to look into my case again and they would let me know the outcome. In a couple or more days, I received another call with their decision to reimburse me for my claim. Yesterday, I got my check. YAY! I was not only surprised and happy but I also remained with the company as a client.

It goes to show you that the ability of this company to be in touch with social media, actually brings them ROI in a much direct manner that most people dismiss. Word-of-mouth. Actually it is more like “tweet-of-mouth”, (or “digital-word”? or “type-a-tweet”? “Twordeeted”! hmm… there is a new term in there but I can’t put my finger on it. Lol!) which has become the new customer service in my book. They actually retained a client by their diligent use of social media, and they used it to their advantage. Bravo for them!

I do realize that this is a large company with lots of people working for them and the financial ability to have employees monitor their social media 24/7. But there is help out there for the smaller businesses to get on the bandwagon too! There are programs sold out there like Radian6 or Scout Labs that for a fee they can help you gauge your internet exposure and how it is being received. You can know when someone anywhere on the web is talking about you. There are also a number of free services like Google Alerts that sends you an email whenever you are mentioned on the web, know if they are talking good about you or bad about you with Co.mments and you can search community forums or message boards for your company to see where it is being mentioned by using Boardtracker. Andy Beal goes through these services and lists 26 free online reputation tools on his post for Marketing Pilgrim.

As you can see what happened with me and that duck company was not magic (although it sure felt like it). They didn’t read my mind or were looking at me like “big brother”. They just had their finger on the pulse of their brand, they were ready to jump in to protect their integrity and fix the problem. That’s insight, and that is a smart business move… plus, they retained me as a client which is the best ROI of all! ;-D

By: Michelle Martorell
Creative Director, Archer Communications, Inc.

We have found an actual letter written by Steve Jobs directly answering the question of “Why the iPhone does not run Flash applications?” As many of us know, Flash does not work on iPods, iPhones or iPads. The fact that Steve Jobs actually jotted down all the reasons Apple doesn’t support Flash in their portable products is amazing. It actually highlights many of the reasons why Archer generally does not include Flash in our web development. We can do it! We just don’t recommend it. We try as much as possible to stay away from it.

Why? As Steve puts it…“we strongly believe that all standards pertaining to the web should be open. Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards.” This is something that Archer has also pushed since we started designing for the web. We have always used open source programs for our content management systems, and we usually steer our clients into using javascript animations instead of Flash.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Flash is a great tool, but it is not an open source such as HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Let me explain… To see anything done in Flash you have to download a proprietary program from Adobe to see it. You don’t have to pay for the player itself, but to be able to make anything in Flash, you have to own the program from Adobe. You don’t have to do that to make a website or to use the web because all code for the web is done using HTML, CSS, etc., which is all open source code. It is out there for all of us use… free-of-charge.

Personally, I agree with Steve Jobs and applaud the fact that he came out and explained exactly why they do not allow Flash in their devices. One thing that he said which surprised me was that Flash does not support touch technology. Basically, Flash was made to be used with a mouse, not the new touch screens that Apple is creating for their products. And we all know how much we like touch screens…  It is the wave of the future, so why look to old technology when we have all the cool new stuff ahead of us?

Here is the link to the full story called “Thoughts on Flash” by Steve Jobs. Read for yourself. It makes a lot of sense… all I have to say is: Steve Jobs is just one cool dude.

By: Michelle Martorell
Creative Director, Archer Communications, Inc.

You don't want your newsletter or email to end up like this!

Recently a customer who was about to start a email newsletter for his company, in order to increase their direct marketing and get more unique visitors to their website, asked us at Archer to design a template for it. We have created many e-newsletters in the past, but usually they have simple layouts to accommodate the stringent rules email clients adhere to. The most notable and well known email clients are Gmail, Lotus Notes 6, Outlook 2007 and mac Mail, to name a few.

The difference with our client was that he wanted a fancier look for the newsletter. We tried to please the client all the while something told me we would have issues. Pizazz! and WOW! get lost in translation when it comes to email marketing if you don’t do it correctly. Some of these fancier looking designs you can achieve on websites cannot be done for email because they get blocked by very finicky email clients. It is not a good feeling to design a beautiful piece only to find out that no one is seeing it. Plus, creating something that works for one email client, may not work for all, and you end up compromising with a very boring e-newsletter or email. A designer’s conundrum… beauty vs visibility. If they can’t see the forest why decorate the tree? (Hey! I just made that saying up and it is so true).

Here is the flip side: If you know what you CAN do, a good designer can make your email work AND look awesome! I did some research and came across solutions where we could give our client the “WOW!” factor and still get it through to their customers. Here are some that stood out the most to me…

First of all, designing for email marketing is not the same as designing for the web. Where as website browsers keep evolving, email clients seem to be going in the other direction, thus making a lot of emails look like nothing is there. Or the email is filled with a bunch of question marks that frankly, I don’t even bother with, because it is too much work to even try and let the email program view the image. Most people would just ignore the email entirely, and there goes your carefully thought out email blast or e-newsletter… In the trash!

Less is more when it comes to email design. I just read a very good article from Campaign Monitor titled “Email Design Guidelines” where they go through step by step on the most basic rules. A good quote from the article that gives you a hint of hope that your email will be viewable is this: “While it’s not without its challenges, rest assured it can be done. In my experience the key is to focus on three things. First, you should keep it simple. The more complex your email design, the more likely is it to choke on one of the popular clients with poor standards support. Second, you need to take your coding skills back a good decade. That often means nesting tables, bringing CSS inline and following the coding guidelines I’ll outline below. Finally, you need to test your designs regularly. Just because a template looks nice in Hotmail now, doesn’t mean it will next week.” Amen to that!

The article itself gets into the actual coding, and may be a bit overwhelming to some that really don’t deal with the code itself. So for the benefit of non-coders, I will try to explain in simple terms what it all means.

Background images will probably be replaced with solid color. If you’d like to reach maximum email client compatibility, you (or your designer) should avoid positioning any elements above any other graphic element – like large images – because of issues with css properties support in email clients. The email client will remove the background image and replace it with a solid color or nothing at all. So images or items floating on top of other images are a no-no.

No repeating backgrounds. Let’s say you wanted a fancy wood grain background that gets repeated throughout the email like many do in their websites. This would also disappear because of the same rule above. So you are better off with solid colors.

No transparent images. Transparent images will also cause problems because they combine with the background so the email client would treat them as a floating image and they could disappear or get the dreaded question mark. They could be faked only if they are treated like a picture, but since email clients tend to move things around, it would simply be better to stay away from that.

Avoid fancy fonts. Unless they are treated like an image, your best bet is to use web friendly fonts that everyone has in their system like Helvetica, Arial, Verdana or Times. Why? Because if your intended receiver does not have Arno Pro Bold Condensed in their computer, most likely the email will revert to one of the fonts I just mentioned and break your design. I can hear moans right now… this is the worst travesty of web designers. I know. All websites are doomed to have the same fonts, but there is nothing worse than things changing on you without your consent. And if they can’t read your newsletter or email, what good does a fancy font do?

Test your design. Often. As mentioned in the article above, you need to test your design to see if it can work in different email clients. There are programs to do this and your designer should be aware of this tool. It will show you a snapshot of how your email will look and show you if things disappear or not. It is an excellent way to fool proof your design. But note that things change constantly and if you have had a certain layout for your newsletter that has been in use for a while, it would be a good idea to test it again every few months to see if it is still as visible as before.

Use a reliable email marketing software. It is one thing to send email to your mom from your own computer, and another when sending an email with commercial or marketing intentions in mind. This is a touchy subject that gets into the murky world of CAN-SPAM (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing) legalities. There are many rules that circle around marketing through email and they are covered in the article “Complying with CAN-SPAM laws” from Campaign Monitor if you want to read more. Things like double opt-in, unsubscribe links, valid reply-to addresses, legitimate from name and other issues can be covered when using a reliable email marketing software. Some of the most well known are MailChimp, Benchmark, Campaign Monitor. These services are easy to use and are very cost effective when used wisely.

It would be also wise to say that when using the email marketing providers, it can also hurt you if you go into a email campaign without thorough thought to your target audience, the branding of your company, and how you present yourself. It should look professional because email marketing is very direct and you wouldn’t want your first impression to your client to be a bad one. For a true professional presentation and great results, always consult a professional interactive marketing agency  like Archer Communications, Inc.! But, even if you don’t use us, imagine those disappearing images, broken text, question marks, in an email you receive, and remember what you (or I) would do with an email like this… Yep… Send it to the trash!

By: Michelle Martorell – Creative Director, Archer Communications, Inc.

Take it from me, Archer’s young-blooded intern, making an impression on Generation Next (my demographic cohort), is neither Jello pudding nor Pillsbury apple pie.  Our attention is generally distracted, flittering between one device and the next, from one social media platform to another. We are quick to control what enters our collective consciousnesses by fast-forwarding through DVRed commercials and closing down popup windows at warped speed.

Thus, infiltrating the craniums of my generation calls for boundless and unparalleled creativity.  There are no limits with brands coloring outside of the lines of convention.  Twitter is the digital billboard of the 21^st century, with fan-followed tweeters hawking tweet space to marketers, 50 bucks a pop. FunnyorDie.com blurs the line between product placement and solid entertainment by featuring hilarious videos scripted around a particular product. Sitcoms and feature films are working with brands from the start in order to foster a more synergistic natural partnership.  Sponsored smart phone applications are the crocuses of the digital world, delightfully springing up everyplace. Even ethically questionable new kid on the block Chatroulette is garnering interest from innovative advertisers such as Travelocity and French Connection.

Then again, I don’t think that merely registering for a Facebook fan page will do your brand justice.  Interact with us. Respond to our tweets and wallposts in a way that’s transparent and we’ll trust you. Open up the blogging forum to our ideas. Hold contests on YouTube and you can bet your bottom dollar that we’ll post videos. I challenge you to come up with ideas; flag us down with your blog posts, pop-up shop, your demonstration, or your impromptu event.  Show us that we genuinely matter, crown us your brand ambassadors, and we’ll prick up our ears, open our eyes, and endorse your brand with the utmost loyalty.

By: Marissa Dubin, Intern, Archer Communications, Inc.

Are micro-payment stock sites killing the professional industry?

Stock photography prices have come down with the availability of the internet... but is this a good thing?

Being a designer of a “certain age” I remember when stock photography was an expensive necessity, and hiring an illustrator was the norm. Pouring over glossy catalogs where these professionals showed their work and picking just the right technique for what you wanted to portray, was always a treat. Being able, as a designer, to hire these individuals was a thrill. Art directing a complete photo shoot including models, wardrobe, location, etc. was a necessary part of our industry. Stock photography was available, but sometimes, the cost was just as steep as taking the photo. Then the digital age came, and in my opinion, disrupted a whole generation of amazing professionals.

These days with the help of the Internet, stock photography sites have taken off. The cost of hiring professionals was at an all time high when I started in this industry, and just having the customer allow for such external costs was a godsend. Now it seems like all has changed for the cheap thrill of pre-canned photos and stock art.

Today, every designer faces the cost vs. uniqueness conundrum. Not every customer sees the value of a custom photo or illustration when they can easily look for one online. They give up on individuality (and not to mention creativity gets the ax), but in turn, they get a more or less decent looking model that looks “professional” for their brochure, and that is all they seem to care about.

The only time where a stock photo will certainly not work is when the customer has an actual product that needs to be sold. For that, they will need a professional to take a picture of that item. And even that will probably be silhouetted and placed into a stock background of some sort.

You could say that the days of custom illustration and high-end photography have been reserved for the true quality and art connoisseur customer who sees the value of standing out for their individuality, or the well-to-do ones that can pay for the right to be unique… Well, I disagree.

I do have nostalgia for the old ways, but to be able to roll with the changes has proven to be a big part of my survival in this industry. As a designer, it is my job to be able to take the available budget and still create individual and unique ways of portraying a customer’s product or service. They may not have the budget of Apple, but most small to medium companies don’t, and these companies are the bread and butter of our industry.

So, yes, we have lost some individuality, but we have gained the ability to look good, even if it is at discount prices. All it takes is the ability to take all these lemons and make lemonade… for that, hire a professional!

By: Michelle Martorell

Creative Director, Archer Communications, Inc.

Saint John Fisher Athletics logo

I can’t help but stare out the window at the landscape, whitened by the heavy snowfall and be awed by its beauty. A day after the storm, our birdfeeder is being visited by cardinals, chickadees, blue jays, goldfinches and the ever present sparrows.  If you are a fan of the bird world or just enjoy seeing one while going for  a walk, you’ve probably noticed that each species has very specific characteristics.

Each bird has a story to tell and it begins with a signature sound. The blue jay squawks, the cardinal sings and the chickadee repeats its name over and over.

To further distinguish themselves, each bird has a pattern of color that tells the rest of the birds who they are and where they lay in the pecking order.

By now, you’re probably wondering what a discussion of birds, their songs and colors is doing on a marketing communications blog?  Well, I got to thinking the other day about branding and why having your own distinct brand is so important.  Like so many other things, nature teaches many lessons and it seems to me that the bird world provides the perfect analogy for businesses that are wondering how to express their uniqueness through their brand.

Your brand begins with understanding who you are and what sets you apart from the flock. Are you a male cardinal, brilliant red, announcing to all that you are proud of your position or are you a blue jay, with hues of blue, daring another to try and land on the feeder? Either way, the colors you choose, the words that describe your company and the way you present your business to the world defines your brand. What food do you prefer—sunflowers, thistle or cracked corn? What helps you to thrive—trees, bushes, berries or pine trees? Understanding who you are as a company and what your products or services provide for consumers, defines the brand and makes it clear how to present yourself to the world and create your brand promise.

A brand promise is so much more than a logo—it’s how you take your products or services to market, interact with customers, and respond to the needs of your clients. Once you decide on your brand promise, integrating that into every aspect of your business is job one. Taking that message to the public, so that they relate your business with a positive emotion comes next. Archer Communications understands how to deliver the message through marketing, logo design, web design, Internet marketing and the all important SEO, search engine optimization. Our brand promise is to “Create Demand for Your Brand”.

We ask the right questions, which helps your marketing company understand who you are. Do you want your brand to create excitement? Are you all about comfort or does your product or service provide a convenience for people? Understanding what you are, leads to a brand that truly reflects your promise to the customer. Marketing strategies can then be defined and implemented effectively based on your branding.

So whether your product or service is a regal cardinal or a gentle chickadee, it has a place at the feeder. Enjoy winter’s beauty and the wonders and lessons of the natural world!

Write and tell us what type of bird you most identify with.  Hmmm.  I think I’m a Great Blue Heron!