Website as primary tool
Your website is still your most important communication tool. It serves as the portal to your company, it’s services, it’s people and it’s mission. “You shouldn’t be committing staff to Facebook if you don’t have a decent website home page or can’t email supporters,” says Katya Andresen, COO of Network for Good. If your website is not inviting and engaging your clients and prospects, how can you expect your social media tools to do any differently? The way that you communicate with your audience is how you will express your brand in the tools of social media, the website is still the most powerful tool in your repertoire. Get the website right, and the Facebook Fan page is a lot easier to build.

1. Making it Mobile
The website should be redesigned or maximized for smart phones. These devices are now the primary mode of communication for most of your clients. Making it mobile does not just mean making it smaller. You need to re-think the workflow of the website, minimize tabs, shorten links and offer content in a smart and accessible manner.

2. Blogging with comments
Beside making your content relevant, you need to offer frequent updates, new perspectives, and reactions to real world events. Many of this can be done on a blog. Your blog can archive commentary and link stories and demonstrate your unique approach to investing. You can add new blog posts very quickly and easily offer new content on your website. This is where you may add a “comments section” and begin real dialogue with clients and prospects.

3. Linking to Social Marketing Tools
Add ShareThis or Add This plug-ins to your website and blog so users may promote your website using their own social networking tools. For your email blasts use a social media link that adds a tiny little tag that simply grabs your email’s subject line and creates a tiny URL using bit.ly to share a copy of your email to the world. Social media links help people share and open emails more often. The “Email Marketing and Social Media Integration Report” found that email messages including a social sharing option generated 30% higher click-throughs than emails without any social sharing links. Messages with three or more sharing options generated 55% higher click-throughs. Emails with a Twitter sharing option returned 40% higher click-throughs than messages without any social media links.

4. Using Video and podcasts
You should begin using video clips and audio clips (or podcasts) from press appearances, or conferences where you or one of your executives are speaking. Post them on your blog or on your website. A simple Flip camera for $149 makes videos that you may instantly upload to your computer, edit and post. See our first Flip video.

5. CMS-Based
Your website should have a Content Management System like WordPress or Drupal that allows you to easily update the content on your website and blog…and to accept comments and feedback from your users. The days of static brochureware websites are over.

Conclusion:
Your brand encompasses the personality of your company, products or services. You must build your brand across all platforms and be especially aware of how your website relates to your Facebook page, your Linked-in profile as well as the language of your Twitter feed. Learning how to best use the new tools of social media may enhance your public image, but if handled poorly these same tools may dilute your brand and confuse your audience. Start getting “social” by getting your website right.

Here’s our first podcast. Langton Cherubino Group featured on Greenwich Entrepreneurs.

David Langton spoke with Belray Asset Management’s president, Greg Skidmore and wealth manager Pedro Ramirez, Jr. in their Greenwich office about how Langton Cherubino Group began and how understanding an organization’s goals is the key to creating work that meets strategic communication objectives.

Once upon a time a Flash-based brochure-ware website showing our portfolio was sufficient. But now we have Web 2.0 and “Business as usual” is over. The new economy demands that we revisit our marketing messaging and the way we deliver communications.

We took on the task and committed ourselves to a self-examination that led to one thing.
Our website needed a makeover.

Why are we doing this?
Our design communications firm specializes in branding and identity. We ask our clients:
1. Who is your target audience?
2. What impressions do you want to make?
3. What information do you want to convey?
4. What does this project have to do in order for you to consider it a success?

Now it was time to answer these questions ourselves. Our clients are employee communication consultants, human resource managers, chief marketing officers and marketing and communication specialists. We want to make our best impression in design communications to a wide range of prospects. From a new identity for lani–dig your dog, a dog shampoo, to a national wellness initiative for Pfizer, the largest drug company in the world, we are there.

We had a lot of success requirements:

• A design that is easy-to-access by prospects.
• A structure based on what visitors want to see, rather than just what we want to show.
• A portfolio that could be reshuffled by different subject matter.
• Blog links, urls, and interactive videos to be right there on the website to get a quick impression of a project. An engaged user can then delve into the links, related projects and blog posts to learn more about the project. This is called “progressive disclosure.” With this approach we are revealing a little bit of information at a time, users can select and dig deeper into the areas they are most interested in.
• A searchable website to increase our web traffic.
• The ability to add new projects quickly.

And, as Norman Cherubino stated at the outset, “We need to be proud of the design and we need to demonstrate that this is a model project for our clients.” We were beginning to sound like our own worst client.

How we did it.
We set-up weekly meetings and treated this assignment as if it were from a paying client. Our design director, Jim Keller, dreamed up a visual solution that reflected our ideas of who we were as a creative firm while our technology team led by Roland Dubois examined different Content Management Systems (CMS) and showed us what could and could not be done. Norman and I studied the competition’s websites and worked on the overall vision and content. Each week Jim would share design solutions and Roland would demonstrate how the designs could be programmed. We created a visual solution with a systematic approach that would allow us to populate the website with case studies that could be expanded and updated. Sometimes we would adjust the design, because after all form does follow function, and other times we’d send the tech team back to their drawing board to find another solution that supported our design.

Steve Job’s one-button solution
One goal was to celebrate our best work, and to represent the work that we show in our business presentations. We also needed to be able to update entries and add new projects. Norman insisted that the Home Page be simple. “Let’s have a big image with just three buttons on it,” he said as he challenged the designers and tech team. We’ve been influenced by Steve Job’s challenge to the Apple designers and developers to create computers and ipods with no more than one button. It forced us to focus on the importance of each component, and to organize and prioritize carefully. When we examined our work from the perspective of clients and prospects we noticed three key areas: Health and Wellness; Financial Services; and Corporate Identity. So we created a graphic with three clickable buttons to highlight these areas. We established just three pull-down tabs to cover: About Us, Portfolio and Blog. We then re-wrote the “voice” of the website using the language our clients speak.

But wait…there’s more!
We also wanted to be able to organize the website offerings by Industry and Media type. So we created a list of tags and categories and labeled each project by specialty area, industry and service. Then we wanted users to be able to go directly to a specific client so we created a client list with clickable links and expanded our ‘Industry Listings’ for organizing work that went beyond our three key areas. Then we created modules for highlighting special projects and breaking news, where we can promote www.MasterpieceYourself.com and feature special blog news.

What’s with the CMS?
I got a taste of working in the new virtual environment. When I asked for printouts of the screens for proofreading, the tech team sent me to the staging area where the website was residing as a virtual work-in-progress. I complained,“ I want to read the screens on the train, mark them up and bring them back tomorrow!” They replied, “It’s a website, you really should review it on screen the way the users will view it.” They finally relented and I was given my prints. But when I returned to work with the marked-up pages, I was told that I would need to use the CMS system and enter the corrections myself. My first inclination was to pull rank and insist that they do the corrections, but then I was persuaded to at least try it. “This way you’ll see the beauty of the CMS,” I was told. I was surprised at how simple it was to input the edits and it was gratifying to see them update so quickly on the website.

SEO-ing is believing.
One of the requirements of the new website was that is must be searchable by web search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes into play. Our old website was built in Flash and it was not easily recognized by the search engines. The new website is HTML-based, which is why the design had to work within certain system requirements. The organization of this website includes key words and tags that label each project by various category. The fact that the website is sortable and searchable increased its ability to be seen by Google. Key words and descriptive text was now “live” in HTML, rather than lost in Flash animation. With the Google Analytics tool we can now track not only how many visitors we’ve had, but also where they go, what key words they used to find us and what pages they viewed. For example, now we can tell that in a given month 806 visitors used 36 different keywords and arrived from 46 traffic sources.

It’s hard to turn the equation around and become your own client. Norman and I kept switching hats from budgets and scheduling to demanding quality design and attention to detail. (Well, perhaps it really was no different from every other assignment after all.) We now have a more robust web solution that offers users more choices in how they navigate our portfolio. With the new Content Management System we’ve been able to add new links and tinker with the content. Now that we’ve finished that it’s probably time to redo our logo….

David Langton is a principal at Langton Cherubino Group, a branding and interactive design agency in New York. www.langtoncherubino.com

Graphic Design USA magazine named David Langton and Norman Cherubino the principals at the design communications firm, Langton Cherubino Group as “People to Watch in 2009.”

I like the bumper sticker that says, “If you can read this then you are too close to me.” It’s a perfect example of a communication tool that takes advantage of its unique positioning– it is being read by the driver behind you and the writer of that bumper sticker used that positioning to make a point. In the new digital economy you need to know where your audience is and where they turn for key communication. Your company’s website is the number one communications platform for promoting and expressing your brand and in turn for positioning and selling your products and services. How does this affect your marketing strategy? Gina Trapani writes in the Harvard Business Review (online—not in print) “It’s pretty simple: Google is the new business card.” Is the business card now DOA? Not so fast. We believe the business card in its perfect 2 x 3.5 size format will be the key survivor. How else will people remember your name or find your website? Letterheads and envelopes may be on life-support, but the business card offers an easy and effective way to pass along your contact info with a quick visual reference and a url. The survival of a communications tool from the “old media” of print will be based on how effective it is in the new digital economy.

People do not read like they used to
Our traditional way of reading from start to finish is inadequate for today’s audiences. People tend to read headlines, view imagery and charts, scan captions, subheads, callouts and even view footnotes before they read the body text. Most people never get around to reading the body text. Jakob Nielsen, a usability expert, says, “In print, you can spice up linear narrative with anecdotes and individual examples that support a storytelling approach to exposition. On the Web, such content often feels like filler; it slows down users and stands in the way of their getting to the point.”  You need to know what media you are communicating in and play to the strengths of each mode. Crafting your message with this in mind will strengthen your communications strategy.

The financial restraints of the recession and the speed of the Internet are forcing the hand of communicators to redefine the purpose and mission of everything we do. One thing we learn is that information must be presented in a clear and distinct manner. Writing has not gone the way of the horse and buggy. Studies have shown that writing has actually improved since the advent of email, Facebook…and––God help us––Twitter. Clive Thompson writes in Wired magazine, “The fact that students today almost always write for an audience (something virtually no one in my generation did)  gives them a different sense of what constitutes good writing.” People today are writing much more frequently than ever before. Thompson concludes, “knowing who you’re writing for and why you’re writing might be the most critical factor of all.”

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
How does this inform design strategies? Designers must craft a page design that is engaging and inviting and has a visual flow with imagery that supports the content. In fact, often imagery is the content. If the 64 page glossy annual report or capabilities brochure is dead, what is replacing it? We see an opportunity in creating a “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” approach to marketing. It’s best to celebrate the individual program successes in the context of how they support the vision and the mission of the overall organization. Content must be crafted in precise ways that deliver key messages that are relevant to your target audiences.

Should the annual report or the capabilities brochure survive in the new digital economy?
The traditional annual report or capabilities brochure must become a more succinct document that reinforces the mission of the organization. We’re doing this with storytelling. The bigger vision is coming through by showing how success stories interrelate and collectively express the values of an organization. More and more, the reports generated are reflecting their missions with concrete examples rather than a self-serving laundry list of everything they did last year. This is tricky, how do you determine what gets in and what gets out? How do you satisfy all audiences? The real audience of the reports are clients, prospects, investors, donors, legislators and they are not interested in a laundry list. They want to know what makes each organization tick. We look for stories that reflect the spirit of the enterprise, then use images, captions, statistics and factoids to drive home the key messages that the organization wants to share.

The GMHC Annual Report uses a visual strategy of layered graphics where the reader may skim statistics, read captions or small factoids and get the key editorial content through the juxtaposition of type and imagery.

The IPRO Anniversary Report uses six key stories to tell the bigger story of how IPRO meets its mission of improving health care for the common good. Each Page spread features a prominent program along with a quotation, statistic and anniversary milestone.

Our mantra has been to promote all communications in three key modes: online, in print and on site. Strong marketing programs are reinforced when communications are delivered consistently in content and visual design. Knowing the unique strengths of each communication mode is critical. For print to survive it must take advantage of its ability to hold attention longer and use design methods that encourage visual and analytical thinking.

David Langton is a principal at Langton Cherubino Group, a branding and interactive design agency in New York. www.langtoncherubino.com

Graphic Design USA magazine named David Langton and Norman Cherubino the principals at the design communications firm, Langton Cherubino Group as “People to Watch in 2009.”

Click here for complete article.

I used to think email was destroying our ability to writer properly – or at least clearly. It often takes 4 or 5 exchanges to clarify a simple message. One phone call with instant back and forth where you can hear the tone of the caller can get the job done. Our written words lack the nuance and frankly we just don’t think of everything when we’re dashing off an email. The person on the other end of the phone often provides the questions or clues that we are missing critical ingredients.

Texting is another communication mode with its own language and rules. You must be brief – but there can be a lot of back and forth that’s part of the fun. And then there’s Twitter. The 140 character limit provides a framework that is poetry in some hands and indecipherable in others. One of the advantages of twitter is that you can’t go on and on — and I think people actually spend more time composing and thinking about their language.

Can we bring the attention to precise word usage required in Twitter to our blogs, emails, brochures or longer-form communications? How can we cut-to-the-chase? “Cut-to-the-chase” means to get to the point without wasting the reader’s time. The phrase is attributed to silent movie editors from the 1920s who were literally cutting film to the climactic chase scene. Yet as late as 1988, William Safire was writing in The New York Times about the term as a new way to express “get to the point” or “bottom line.”

As visual communicators we use imagery and words to convey meaning and emotion. We are often challenged by long meandering manuscripts or poorly conceived content that had not been subjected to edits, reviews and clarifications. It takes time and work to evaluate and improve communication. As A.J. Leibling said, “I can write better than anybody who can write faster and I can writer faster than anybody who can write better.” The most effective communications are succinct and on-target – and they only get that way after many rounds of thoughtful review and refinement. The end result is a communication project that expresses the right mood, delivers the right information and successfully engages the recipient.

As Dr. Seuss says, “My believe is the briefer the brief is, the greater the sigh of the reader’s relief is.”

Langton Cherubino Group was honored to be chosen as the designers for the GMHC annual report. The theme we developed is “The Web of Truth.” For 27 years, GMHC has born witness to HIV from its frontlines. And in those 27 years, they’ve charted a pandemic that changes continuously and profoundly.

2009 Apex Award, Award of Excellence
- Verizon Wireless Total Rewards Program

Langton Cherubino Group along with Mercer Human Resource Consulting created a video, direct mail and email marketing campaign for a contest that highlighted the commitment of Verizon Wireless to their employees. The video generated over 2000 responses in the first 48 hours.