Is this a sight for sore eyes? As reported in a recent New York Times column by David Brooks:
“People remember information that is hard to master. In a study for Cognition, Connor Diemand-Yauman, Daniel Oppenheimer and Erikka Vaughan found that information in hard-to-read fonts was better remembered than information transmitted in easier fonts.”
So let’s read the fine print. The study from Princeton University says, “information in hard-to-read fonts was better remembered than easier to read information in a controlled laboratory setting.” And furthermore, “in some cases making material harder to learn can improve long-term learning and retention (Bjork, 1994). More cognitive engagement leads to deeper processing, which facilitates encoding and subsequently better retrieval.”

Now they warn you that if you can’t read it, or it’s really too hard-to-read, then most people will not read it at all. But apparently, learning is taking place in the struggle. Essentially the use of hard-to-read fonts slows down readers, forcing them to spend more time deciphering the content — and that leads to better retention and comprehension.

My daughter, Rachael, was doing improv acting at our local Barnes & Noble where they were soliciting input from the audience. She was handed a message written in crayon that she found impossible to read. She spent more time and effort trying to determine what it said but eventually she gave up and just improvised a response and continued the performance. Later that evening when she was telling me about the performance it was the hard-to-read message that dominated her recollection of the evening.

BrandmakerNews Reports on 10 Top Tips For Entrepreneurs
BrandMakerNews recently asked business owners, including David Langton, to share critical tips that every entrepreneur should know.

Here’s David’s tip:
Tip #4: Choose your projects wisely. “As a small business you will be constantly defining yourself by the work you do…and by the work you decline to accept. You can’t do everything so you must develop a criteria for work: 1. Money-based; 2. Passion-based; 3. Leads to something bigger.” -David Langton, Langton Cherubino Group.
Click here to see the other 9 tips.

We are pleased to announce that we are working on a new book!

Visual Marketing:
99 Proven Ways for Small Businesses to Market with Images and Design
By David Langton and Anita Campbell
Coming in Fall 2011 from Wiley Publishing

About Visual Marketing:
The world is visual, we use our eyes to take in most of the content that influences our behavior, tempers our reactions and informs the decisions of what we buy, think about and ultimately what motivates us. Whether it’s on the web, in a book or live-in person, the most effective solutions are those that unexpectedly grab our attention. David Langton––award-winning visual communication designer who has worked for a range of businesses from Fortune 500 leaders to Mom and Pop start-ups––uses his visual acumen to identify winning marketing and PR tips, ideas and stunts that are eye-catching and thought-provoking. Anita Campbell, internationally-known small business expert who reaches a small business community of over 1 million small business owners and stakeholders annually, brings her wide small business expertise to the table. Case studies are presented with photos and illustrations that display unique examples of marketing programs that work in unexpected ways. A must-have resource for the small business owner or marketing executive looking to build business with effective creative strategies. A compendium of winning ideas that will inform and inspire creative professionals and students. Successful marketing campaigns will be organized in three modes of communication: Online, In Print and On site. The book will celebrate campaigns that capture the attention and hearts of audiences by building buzz and awareness to increase sales. For small business owners, designing a creative program that goes viral or building a communications platform that reinforces your company’s messaging doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Here are 99 examples of campaigns that cut through the clutter and bring attention to small businesses in unique and compelling ways.

Call for submissions:

What we are looking for
Successful examples of visual-based marketing solutions that promote small businesses (1,000 employees or less) in unique and unexpected ways. Projects should have definitive results in increasing sales and marketing awareness and may be print-based, online solutions, or environmental solutions. Projects must have been completed in the last two years.

What we will need from you:
1. Name of project
2. Why it is unique
3. Why it is successful?
4. Low res image or URL of your project.

Submission deadline:
All projects must be emailed to hello@visualmarketingbook.com by December 31, 2010.

There is no limit on the number of projects you can submit for consideration.

If your project is selected for the book, you will receive more information on submission requirements, including hi-res art requirements. I will also be arranging a quick interview so you can tell me the “inside scoop” on the project.

All contributors will retain the rights to their projects and will authorize a one-time use of the design for the book.

Pass this on
Feel free to pass this message along (or blog about it) to anyone who might be interested. For more information contact hello@visualmarketingbook.com .

More info
www.visualmarketingbook.com

My child’s first grade teacher made a comment about “going green” that really set me off. She said that her colleagues were suggesting that all first grade homework should be delivered via email to “be more green.” She went on to apologize to the parents because she couldn’t transfer everything to the computer just yet, and as an aside she mentioned that perhaps it is better to hand-out homework anyway. “What if the students wanted to start on their homework right after school and the home printer runs out of toner?” she wondered.

I asked if the homework was intended to be completed by hand and on paper. (“Of course!”) And would students be expected to do homework online and return it via email. (Of course not!”) Then it’s not really green is it? If the goal was to reduce resources, then the homework must be done online and returned online. In order to really be green we must take a look at the whole cycle — otherwise we are just pushing off our resources on someone else. In the case above, students and their families would have to print on their own paper with their own printer and toner. In fact, individual copies actually waste more resources, there are savings and efficiencies in multiple copies because less energy is used and you’re less likely to print out extraneous copies because the master document – often with advertisements – may lead to wasting a lot of paper when you just intended to print a single page.

The Green Grocer
At Peapod, the online grocery service from Stop & Shop, I selected the “green” option for delivery expecting my groceries to arrive in a Prius in recycled cloth shopping bags. Instead I was greeted by a driver in a large truck who handed me a dozen plastic bags full of my groceries. I stopped using plastic bags at the grocery store, but apparently the online grocer always forgets their bags at home.  When I clicked the “green” option for my order it simply meant that the driver would not print my receipt. That meant I had to go back to my computer and print it myself. That’s not being green, that’s forcing me to do more work and use my own resources. When I looked closer, I found out that the “green” option at Peapod is really about offering Peapod more convenient delivery times so they may consolidate their deliveries in my area. That’s a little bit green.

The Green Trucker
UPS has a program that eliminates left-hand turns and saves gas and time. They have customized GPS directions that determine the most efficient rote for deliveries. According to EarthandIndustry.com they continue to promote greener trucking: “UPS has added nearly two thousand natural gas-powered diesel hybrid delivery trucks to its fleet, UPS increased the miles per gallon of the delivery vehicles in their U.S. Domestic Package segment by 10% from 2000-2009. And in 2009, UPS drivers logged 77.3 million miles more than they did ten years earlier, yet used 3.2 million gallons less fuel.” That’s green delivery.

The Green Apple
Another good example of going green is the Apple store. Instead of cash registers, iPhones are used to accept your payment. They’ll email you a receipt (and get your email address in the process.) This can be really green if you don’t print the receipt, and many of us probably won’t print it unless we have a problem.

“Going Green” is admirable but really going green requires us to take a look at the overall cycle. Just being green yourself doesn’t address the problem. If you are relying on the other party to print and use resources then you are just passing along the problem to someone else.

“Creating a Healthy Wellness Program,” by David Langton was just published in a new book Work-Life by WorldatWork. Wellness programs are on the lips of every HR and benefits professional these days. But starting one takes planning, patience and consistency.

Work-Life features articles on the challenge of balancing one’s work and personal life as experienced around the globe. Organizations from all countries must respond to the struggles employees are facing by implementing effective work-life initiatives. In this collection of articles from WorldatWork, thought leaders provide ideas and concepts about how to effectively implement work-life initiatives, including programs that address telework, flexible scheduling, business continuity, wellness, dependent care and time off. We are proud to be included in the new book.
To buy the book click here.

Learn how to get your wellness program off the ground with this primer. Click here to download the PDF.

Social networking is here to stay
David Langton writes in Investment News that advisers who don’t incorporate Facebook, LinkedIn into marketing plans will be left behind.

Advisers who don’t incorporate Facebook, LinkedIn into marketing plans will be left behind
By David Langton
September 5, 2010

This year, while I was organizing a mission trip to Mississippi for teens and adults, I sent out weekly e-mails with up-dates on our travel plans. My high school daughter said: “Dad, nobody is reading your e-mails.” I was shocked: My e-mails contained critical information for a target audience that was invested in the subject matter. “It’s not that,” she assured me. “Nobody reads e-mail anymore.”

Although the key audiences with whom I communicate on the job aren’t a bunch of teenagers, my daughter had a point: Basic e-mail communication is in many ways being replaced by social-media technology.

In the past year alone, time spent online increased 18%, while time spent on social-networking site Facebook rose 566%. And more than eight out of 10 adult Americans are actively using social media.

Financial planners and advisers who ignore the opportunity to reach these individuals through social-media marketing opportunities are taking a big risk. You should also consult your legal advisers to make sure you’re following the new social media guidelines from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.

Let’s look at some of the critical aspects of a social-media program:

Your website is still your most important communication tool. A website serves as the portal to your company, its services, people and mission. It’s the place where people verify who you are and, when done right, it legitimizes your business. It’s also a great place to have an extended conversation or connection with your clients and prospects.

Yet many financial websites were built five to 10 years ago and look dreadful, offering nothing more than bland boilerplate content. Some are informative, but most use a home page that bombards the user with way too much information.

Your website should offer minimum choices on each page with links for more information so the user may navigate with ease and seek out the information that is most relevant. This is called “progressive disclosure.” This is not about hiding information or avoiding transparency; it’s about offering choices and building a website that invites the user in on his or her terms.

If your website is not engaging your clients and prospects, how can you expect your social-media tools to work any better? The way that you communicate with your audience is by expressing your brand. Get your website right, and the Facebook fan page is a lot easier to build.

Make your site mobile. Websites should be redesigned or maximized for smartphones. These devices are now the primary mode of communication for many of your clients and potential clients. Designing your site to be mobile doesn’t just mean making it smaller. It’s kind of like golf and mini-golf. It’s a different game. You need to rethink the work flow of the website, minimize tabs, shorten links and offer content in a smart and accessible manner.

Create a blog to provide important information to clients. Besides making your web content relevant, you need to offer frequent updates, new perspectives and reaction to real world events. This can be done on a blog. Your blog can archive commentary and link stories, and demonstrate your special approach. You can add new blog posts quickly and easily. This is where you can add a “comments section” and begin a real dialogue with clients and prospects. Finra allows you to offer this as third-party content without subjecting it to the same disclosure requirements. Consult your legal adviser, but it’s important to allow for back-and-forth communication; otherwise, you are not being “social.”

Introduce social media to your marketing program. Here are the features that advisers should begin adding to their marketing programs: videos, podcasts, and interactive tools or applications. You should use video clips and audio clips (or podcasts) from press appearances or conferences where you or one of your colleagues is speaking. Post them on your blog or on your website. Create a new app or a calculator that distinguishes your special approach to planning.

Incorporate social-networking sites. All registered investment advisers should be on Facebook and LinkedIn as individuals. Their profiles should be approved for legal and marketing standards by your compliance department. Your firm should also have a corporate profile on LinkedIn and establish a Facebook fan page.

All of these tools should be designed and written following your brand standards. Ignore social media and the phone will stop ringing — if it hasn’t done so already.

We know what media is and we know what marketing and networking mean, but what is the “social” part that is so revolutionary? Anthony Bradley, from Gartner Research, defines it like this: “Social media is a set of technologies and channels targeted at forming and enabling a potentially massive community of participants to productively collaborate.” Social media becomes the place where people connect, relate and communicate which in turn affects their perspectives, judgments and choices in how they spend, save or invest money and ultimately influences who people choose to advise and manage their money.

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.

Meet the typeface that could save the world! “Eco font” is designed to be the first socially responsible typeface. How does it work? There are tiny holes in the letters––so small that you can’t see them at small sizes like 10 point text size. (At headline sizes it’s a bit like Swiss Cheese!) The addition of these holes means that when printing Eco font uses less ink than other typefaces. Which saves money and resources. Its creator Alexander Kraaij told the National Geographic that if Eco font is used by a company with 5,000 workers it could trim $125,000 off its annual printing costs. Let us know if you’d like to use Eco font on your next project.