Brand Integrity: How Remaining Consistent With Your Message Will Help You Stand Out

One of the things we talk about on our company website is “maintaining the integrity of your brand.”

Brand integrity is important to any business. It begins with a corporate philosophy, and is reflected in everything a company says or does. That’s why messages need to be consistent, no matter what the medium.

For example, when customers come to us at Creative Source, our goal is help them present their message in a big, bold way. We do it with signs, displays and large-format print products that are designed to grab—and hold—people’s attention. In the process, we encourage clients to consider the purpose, location, message, use of name, logo, color and other important considerations that will make their message stand out and get results. All of those things are driven by one thing: their brand.

The same holds true with any other form of marketing—brochures, websites, advertisements and more. Branding is everything.

At its core, it comes down to your primary message. Some call it your position. It’s who you are, what you are, and, most important, why you are.

In sales, they call it your “elevator speech.” If you were to get on an elevator with someone and they asked what you do, what would you say—understanding that you may only have 30 seconds or less to say it? That’s your elevator speech. That’s your “why.” That’s your brand.

In my case, I describe how people say things to me like “We’ve always wanted to,” or What if we could,” and then fill in the blank with an idea. I respond by explaining how we can help make it a reality. That’s what we’re all about: Turning big ideas into bold presentations. (You can read my elevator speech at the end of this article.)

Earlier in my career I worked for the marketing department of a national retail chain. After my partners and I launched Creative Source, we narrowed our focus to signs and displays. That change in perspective has taught me a lot about how best to communicate your message. The fewer words you have to work with, the more efficient you have to be.

If you haven’t done it for a while, take a moment to consider your brand. What’s the essence of your message? What’s your elevator speech? Even better, if you came to us and asked us to communicate your brand on a sign, what would it say?

That’s who you are, what you are, and why you are. In business, that’s where it all begins.

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POSTSCRIPT: Here’s my actual elevator speech, which I’ve used when introducing myself at meetings or in front of groups. I would welcome your feedback in the comments section below, or by email at mike@csforideas.com.

We've always wanted to... We had this idea... What if we could...

These are the things we hear from our clients.

"Hi, I'm Mike Boyd with Creative Source. We're experts in the sign, display and printing industry. We've been particularly successful working with ad agencies, designers and in-house marketing departments.

"Many of our clients come to us because they're struggling to keep their branding, or their clients' branding, looking picture perfect, or they're looking for something fresh, different or unique—something that stands out.

"Again, I'm Mike Boyd with Creative Source. The next time you're looking to turn a big idea into a bold presentation...we can do that!"

MIKE BOYD is president of Creative Source. Clients looking for sign companies in Canton, Ohio

and the surrounding region look to Mike and his staff for creative marketing solutions.

How Volunteer Community Service Can Help You and Your Business Stand Out

Recently I had the honor of being the chairperson of the Field of Heroes, an annual event conducted by the Rotary Club of Jackson Township. It takes place over the Memorial Day weekend and features the placement of more than 1,000 American flags on the township safety center lawn. The flags are sponsored by area residents who wish to honor a military veteran, safety officer, or other hero in their lives.

Mike Boyd served as chairperson of the
2015 Jackson Township Field of Heroes

The Field of Heroes is a regal and inspiring display. It has a dramatic impact on visitors. And it involves people who represent a true cross-section of the community.

Because of that, I noticed along the way that my volunteer service was having a direct, positive impact on my business. Here I was, being put in touch with community leaders and key volunteers on a daily basis. They came to my office, or attended meetings in our conference room, or were otherwise made well aware of who I am and what I do. As that happened, they became acquainted with our company and learned more about the products and services we provide.

Was chairing such a major community event a lot of hard work? Absolutely. Did it consume a great deal of my time? Yes, it did. And that’s fine; volunteerism is one of the great things that drives our country and our communities. We serve because we want to help, not because we expect to get anything out of it. As I mentioned, it was an honor to chair the Field of Heroes, and I felt privileged to do so.

Of course, anyone who has volunteered in their community will tell you how they benefited personally from their service, and received something in return. Typically, it’s a new perspective, or a greater sense of appreciation after seeing what others may be experiencing. During the Field of Heroes, I saw how much it meant to people to have the opportunity to express appreciation for those individuals who had made a difference in their lives. It lifted my spirits and reminded me that we all have much to be thankful for.

Since the event concluded, my volunteer service has had a tangible effect on our company, as well.  People continue to thank me, weeks later. Others have called to place orders, or have stopped in to invite bids from us on projects they’re working on. In some cases, these are people who didn’t know much about me or my business just a few weeks or months ago.

I’ve written before about how important it is to get out of our comfort zones, to try new things or to involve ourselves in community activities. It’s benefited me personally on a number of occasions. In addition to the Field of Heroes, I’m active with our local Rotary Club and serve on the board of the Canton Advertising Federation. Our company has helped dozens of charities promote their organizations and events. Not only have they provided us with the chance to be of service, they’ve offered us numerous opportunities for networking with organizations and individuals who later became customers.

Without question, we all volunteer in the community because we believe in the causes we’re helping, and because it’s the right thing to do. But don’t overlook the fact that the right thing can also be the beneficial thing for your company. What you give in time and service will often come back to you many times over in business or career opportunities.

MIKE BOYD is president of Creative Source. Clients looking for sign companies in Canton, Ohio

and the surrounding region look to Mike and his staff for creative marketing solutions.

What's Your Excuse?

Recently we were contacted by three different organizations—Jackson Township, The Repository, and AultCare. They all needed signs and banners, and for the same reason: They’re celebrating anniversaries.

AultCare 30th Anniversary banners on display

AultCare, a Canton-based health insurance company, is 30 years old. Meanwhile, Canton’s daily newspaper, The Repository, and neighboring Jackson Township are each celebrating their 200^th year of existence.

So we went to work assisting them with the graphics and displays they needed to commemorate their respective milestones.

What about you? What’s your excuse? By that I mean, what might provide you with a good excuse for celebrating a milestone of your own? Are you overlooking anything that, with a little planning and creativity, you could be celebrating?

It doesn’t have to be a major anniversary, either. After all, we don’t just celebrate our milestone wedding anniversaries. We celebrate every year. Any reason to celebrate is a good one.

A colleague of mine told me the story of how he went to work years ago for a small university, which at the time was 44 years old. He suggested to the president that, rather than just wait for their 50^th anniversary, they go ahead and celebrate the 45^th as well. The president thought it was odd, but gave the okay, and it turned out to be a smart move. They received widespread media coverage, hosted luncheons and banquets for the community, had a concert series, and raised awareness (and money) for the university.

Look for an anniversary or other event to commemorate, and make a splash. Banners and signs are just one element, but an important one, because they increase visibility with the public and with your staff. So make your plans, carry them out, and have a party. Any excuse is a good one, especially where anniversaries and other milestones are concerned. 

What's your excuse?

MIKE BOYD is president of Creative Source. Clients looking for sign companies in Canton, Ohio

and the surrounding region look to Mike and his staff for creative marketing solutions.

Prepare to Stand Out (or, To Stand Out...Prepare!)

Jonah Sandler (L) with
Mike Boyd

Recently I had the opportunity to meet Jonah Sandler, CEO of Scene75 in Dayton, Ohio, which opened in 2012 to great fanfare as the largest indoor entertainment center in the United States.

That fanfare was no accident. It was the result of Sandler’s painstaking planning and carefully crafted marketing plan.

He documents the story in his book, Before the Doors Opened, which explains his journey from would-be corporate executive to innovative entrepreneur. His secret? Sandler used social media to create a viral campaign of word-of-mouth advertising, to the point that Scene75’s Facebook page had more than 20,000 likes before the business had even opened.

It’s a fascinating story. In fact, Jonah’s success with Facebook led to his being invited to speak at Facebook’s Global Sales Meeting in 2013, and to serve on their inaugural Small and Medium Business Council, advising Facebook on the development of its marketing tools.

What’s remarkable is that Jonah used Facebook posts and advertisements to promote his business for several weeks before he ever saw one customer walk through the door. He used those posts and ads to create interest and desire among potential customers, to the point that they were counting the days until Scene75 opened its doors.

Jonah’s story is a sterling example of how important it is to plan ahead, whether it’s in business or in life. Too often we allow ourselves to be tossed around by events that are out of our control, rather than creating our own plan and increasing our chances of success.

To truly stand out, we have to be willing to think and act differently than the rest of the crowd. That’s what Jonah did, and today’s he’s not only running Scene75, he’s busy scouting locations for additional indoor recreation centers. You can bet that, when he decides to expand, those new locations will benefit from the same planning and forward thinking that led to Scene75’s runaway success.

You can order Jonah’s book on Amazon.com. It’s a quick read, only 80 pages. But it’s full of inspiration and wisdom. More important, it’s an example of what a difference planning and determination can make. I recommend it highly.

MIKE BOYD is president of Creative Source. Clients looking for sign companies in Canton, Ohio

and the surrounding region look to Mike and his staff for creative marketing solutions.

Brand Extension: Turn Your Brand Equity Into New Opportunties for Growth

Much has been said in the world of advertising and marketing over the past 30 years about the concept of brand or line extension. Articles have been written. Books have been sold. Reputations have been made.

First, a word about the concept. Brand extension, sometimes called line extension, is what happens when a company known for a product or service in one category expands into another. Recent examples include such historic brands as Barbasol and Dole. 

Barbasol's line extension increased market share (Perio, Inc.)

For example, over the past decade Barbasol added several variations to its original shave cream (left); eventually, one of those variations, Soothing Aloe, became the most popular. They also branded a new line of pre-shave and after shave lotions, natural extensions of its shaving products. Together with a rebranding in 2013, these moves solidified Barbasol's position of leadership in its product category. 

Likewise, Dole, once known primarily for its canned pineapple, expanded its brand to include such eventual favorites as fruit juice blends and frozen fruit bars. There are numerous other examples of strong brands becoming stronger through brand or line extension.

Even so, to some experts, extending a brand dilutes it. Yet others insist that a well-planned brand extension can lead to greater overall market share. The debate goes on.

For our business at Creative Source, we extended our brand by adding services. We began 20 years ago as a design shop, and for a while took on all sorts of projects. Gradually, we realized that our strength was the design and production of signs, banners and displays, and later we added large-format printing to our list of services.

Installation description from the Creative Source website

Most recently, we’ve taken to doing our own installations as well, adding a service that we believe guarantees the integrity of our work and helps strengthen our relationship with clients. Signs, displays, printing and installations; all are related, and all are integral to who we are as a company.

Brand extension, properly pursued, can open doors to new opportunities for your company. Rather than diminish your capabilities and cloud your identity, brand extension can magnify who you are and what you do. And that can make a significant difference in today’s crowded marketplace.

MIKE BOYD is president of Creative Source. Clients looking for sign companies in Canton, Ohio

and the surrounding region look to Mike and his staff for creative marketing solutions.

Tips for Buying Business Signs: Some Things Never Change

I recently came across an article that was published more than a decade ago in Entrepreneur magazine, titled “Tips for Buying Business Signs.” Often we focus so much on how things have changed in business that it’s easy to overlook how much they’ve stayed the same.

Indoor signage communicates
a more personalized message,
like building employee morale

As the article quickly points out, signs are used indoors as often as outdoors, whether they’re hung from ceilings, attached to walls, or applied directly to surfaces. While outdoor signs are often more marketing oriented, indoor signs can do things like direct guests, communicate a more personalized message (like at a trade show) or even boost morale.

The materials used for a sign are an important consideration. As the article says, it usually comes down to lettering and types of substrate materials. At the time the article was written, painted signs were already on their way out. Today they’re nearly obsolete, having been replaced by vinyl, raised or engraved lettering.  Signs themselves can be made from materials as diverse as metal, wood, plastic and foam core, depending on the need and location.

A sign company needs to be able to
deliver what you need, on time and on
budget, no matter the challenge

Where the rubber meets the road, as the saying goes, is the design of a sign and how to choose a company that can deliver exactly what you need. In addition to color combinations, the article points out that “factors such as sign height, lighting and time of day can affect how easily the sign can be viewed.”

The article also emphasizes the importance of a sign company being able to provide the sign materials you desire, offer expertise in the planning and placement of signage, and give you the design and creative background necessary to help you achieve maximum impact with your project. Of course, being able to deliver those services at the right price can make all the difference.

Overall, the points made in the article still hold true. It’s important to trust your signs and displays to professionals who can get the job done right, do it on time, and work within your budget. Those are the keys to doing business that will never change.

You can read the entire article in the Entrepreneur article archive.

MIKE BOYD is president of Creative Source. Clients looking for sign companies in Canton, Ohio

and the surrounding region look to Mike and his staff for creative marketing solutions.

The Color of Money: The Relationship of Color to Marketing Success

Have you ever noticed the colors on the McDonald’s sign? Wendy’s? Burger King? KFC? Or countless other fast food restaurants?

On each of those examples, the dominant colors are red and yellow. And there’s a reason. Years of research about the effect of color on consumers has confirmed that red stimulates the appetite, while yellow is associated with cheerfulness. That’s exactly the combination of emotions those fast-food giants want their customers to experience.

The impact of color cannot be underestimated, particularly as it relates to conveying an effective marketing message.

Think about how some of the world’s other top brands use color. Coca-Cola is the prime example. A brand leader for more than a century, Coca-Cola and red are synonymous. The link to energy, appetite, passion and activity make red the perfect choice for Coke.

Likewise, John Deere and green are an ideal match, not only because of green’s association with nature, but also because it has come to represent care and concern for the environment. John Deere does more than make tractors and mowers and other tools; it helps us take care of the great outdoors.

And then there’s Google, with its understated, multi-color logo. That’s exactly what you want when you represent all things to all people. No matter what you’re looking for, or what you’re in the mood for, Google can help. Its representation of the rainbow in its logo helps convey that.

How about you? Have you ever considered how color affects the relationship consumers have with your brand?

Whether you’re creating a logo, interior or exterior signage, a banner, or a display, the colors you select—and how you incorporate them into your design—can make all the difference between being noticed and being just another voice in a noisy world.

The research I referred to earlier uncovered all sorts of fascinating information. For example, 85 percent of consumers cite color as the primary reason why they buy. Whether it’s a car, a dress, lawn furniture or just the design of an advertisement, color makes a huge difference.

Men and women have different tastes when it comes to color. Men overwhelmingly prefer blue. Women like it, too, but they also favor purple nearly as much. That’s why a lot of perfumes and cosmetics use purple in branding and packaging, while power tool manufacturers don’t.

There’s much more, of course, but the examples I’ve cited illustrate how the proper use of color can heighten awareness among your target customers and help your brand stand out.

Once you’ve decided on a primary color or colors, it’s important to use them on all of your branding materials: Logos, business cards, stationary, brochures, your website, your Facebook page, specialty items like pens and mugs, and anything else where your brand will appear. That includes signs, banners and displays—items we deal with on a daily basis in our industry.

Color is a powerful thing. It changed movies, the television industry and even our daily newspapers. Once upon a time, the world was largely a black-and-white place. Color made it come alive.

Used correctly, it can do the same thing for your company, and your brand. 

MIKE BOYD is president of Creative Source. Clients looking for sign companies in Canton, Ohio

and the surrounding region look to Mike and his staff for creative marketing solutions.