I saw via a Google Alert that Visual Marketing was listed in Wikipedia…and my heart raced, could it be that our new book, Visual Marketing: 99 Proven Ways for Small Businesses to Market with Design and Images (Wiley) had made it into Wikipedia? Well, not quite…but the term is a new entry and their definition goes like this:

Visual Marketing is the discipline studying the relationship between an object, the context it is placed in and its relevant image. Representing a disciplinary link between economy, visual perception laws and cognitive psychology, the subject mainly applies to businesses such as fashion and design. (Wikipedia)

Now, our definition of Visual Marketing is the, “intersection point between design (the visual) and marketing (influencing buying behavior).”

Wikipedia includes references to author Susan Sontag and Italian philosopher Umberto Galimberti, which puts Visual Marketing in classy company. So feel free to add your comment to the Wikipedia entry and soon enough, our definition, and perhaps, our book will be there too.

You can find out more at the Visual Marketing Book website or follow the book on Twitter at @VisualMktgBook. Or order a book now. 

See the video behind the book.
We always say, “Seeing is believing.” Well, sometimes we say, “Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?” But that’s only when we are quoting Chico Marx. See for yourself by checking out our new video for Visual Marketing that we made with video producer Gene Faba. See how small businesses today can have world-class marketing with great ROI.

Let us know what you think!

For more information on the book, visit our new Visual Marketing website.

Is the mobile barcode scan just another flash-in-the-pan…or is it the next Twitter? According to Wikipedia, the mobile barcode or QR code is a specific matrix barcode that is made up of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data. “QR” stands for quick response.

To read a QR code you need to download an app on your smart phone. (Newer phones have QR Code scanners built-in so you don’t need an app.) The phone scans the matrix barcode and directs you to a website, display text or email/texting message. It seems to have a lot of potential and it’s quite popular in Japan, but hasn’t really caught on in the US.

And yet, we see more and more of these funny matrix boxes in magazine ads and on websites. Lena West, social media strategist and CEO of Influence Expansion says there are many ways for service businesses to take advantage of the QR codes. She offers these suggestions:
“1. To provide a direct link to a lead generation tool like a white paper or a free report.
2. To provide a direct link to a brochure (PDF) — and avoid printing costs.
3. To help a video “go viral”
4. Add a “contact” QR code to the back of your business card to automatically have someone add you to their cell phone contact list.

Retailers can use QR codes to expand on advertising — you only have so much space on a page/billboard and to give special offers for people smart enough to use those codes — discounts for insiders, invites to in-store events, etc.

Anyone can use a QR code to track a specific marketing/advertising effort.”

To read more about Using QR Codes, 5 essentials for making your site mobile-friendly click here.

The One Club, an advertising association that recognizes and promotes excellence in advertising, has brought together the top 10 digital campaigns of the past decade. This is the first time the One Club is honoring a decade’s worth of digital ads, because there was not a full decade’s worth of online and interactive ads in the 90s. (The first year the One Club honored digital ads was 1996.) This is a great opportunity to see some past campaigns and learn about the marketing ideas behind them, including Burger King’s Subservient Chicken, Uniqlock by Uniqlo and Dream Kitchens by IKEA. Visit the One Club’s site to see the top 10 and all 75 of the semi-finalists.

Social Media University, Global (SMUG) is a post-secondary educational institution dedicated to providing practical, hands-on training in social media to lifelong learners.

SMUG is founded by Lee Aase, from Austin, Minnesota. (Austin is also the home town of Hormel–the makers of Spam. Go Figure!) By day Lee is the director of the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Social Media. The fancy Latin motto is Suus non ut Difficile which translated means, “It’s not that hard.”

Students are called “SMUGgles” with a nod to Harry Potter. It is a label that reinforces one of the founding principles of the institution: You don’t have to be a wizard to get magical results with social media.

Lee believes that Social Media is here to stay. He has collected lots of examples of free or ridiculously inexpensive services like YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and WordPress.com, and shows how effectively these powerful tools may be with limited professional IT support. It’s a great resource. With SMUG you can work through the learning process step by step, until you feel confident using these tools in your organization….Or call, email or friend us and we’ll set it up for you.

Pat, I would like to buy a vowel.

Ever wonder what type of gift to give to anyone who loves visual communication? We’ve sifted though the catalogues and websites and identified these type-inspired gifts that celebrate the alphabet in various typographic splendors.

Visual communication is the topic on the WGCH Greenwich radio program featuring David Langton Co-founder of Langton Cherubino Group. Find out how Norman and David began their business…and learn about the often misunderstood value of designing effective communications. Greg Skidmore, President of Belray Asset Management and David Lehn of Withers Worldwide are the hosts of this weekly program about entrepreneurs which you may listen to below…or download for free at the itunes store.

Play the game that proves you are a baby-boomer!
Our interactive game won a 2010 American Web Design Award from Graphic Design USA. The award celebrates the power of well-designed websites and online communications. Web vs Webb is a game based on the style of an old-fashioned quiz show that challenges players to distinguish between words from the “World Wide Web” and phrases that might have been uttered by Dragnet’s Jack Webb. Play the game here.

It’s important to keep evolving your creative executions, but it’s not always clear which direction will resonate best with your customers. So next time you’re presented with several options, instead of going with your gut, select your favorite two or three and test them. A/B Testing is a great tool to determine which of your new designs or subject lines will really ‘wow’ your audience. Our email marketing partner, OpenMoves offers a platform that automatically splits your mailing list into multiple segments, and sends your different creative options to each group. After the mailing, the system will show you the results of which version performed better. If testing subject lines, you should measure which line generated the best open rate. When testing creative, the click through rate will reveal which look got more people to visit your site.

Case Study

Our client Hanover Fire & Casualty Insurance Company recently tested new subject lines and creative layouts, in an effort to drive higher response rates and sign new policies. Starting with subject lines, they tried the following:
A: [Name], Do you care about protecting your Home or Apt. from fire?
B: [Name], affordable renters insurance
The first employed an emotional tone, while the second was based more on a value proposition; in this case, A was more successful.
The results of your split test results can easily be seen on the email marketing dashboard:

Hanover also tested two different visual designs. Both related to the company’s branding, but organized the space within the email differently:

The A layout performed best, and throughout the campaign, Hanover leveraged the same template but substituted in several different images to make each mailing feel fresh.

Conclusion
Throughout the testing phase, Hanover learned which combination of tone and style would get them the best results. As a result, they are more in tune with their customers’ preferences AND are able to drive more business.

Renaissance Capital just introduced a new app that offers IPOs at your Fingertips. The first IPO App for Apple mobile enables investors to stay abreast of the IPO market by delivering the best features from RenaissanceCapital.com. The logo design created by Langton Cherubino Group is based on a Greek Revival ionic architectural column that spells out “I-P-O” and “RC.” The identity design is featured in Letterhead and Logo Design 11 by Design Army (Rockport Publishers).

To download the free IPO App, click here.