California Riverside Ballet Site Re-Design

In the spring of this year, the California Riverside Ballet entrusted its website re-design project to students at the Art Institute of California-Inland Empire in San Bernardino, CA.  The students had just 11 weeks to create new branding for the ballet.  Their work included a new logo, stationery, website and twitter background.  The image to your left was the existing site.  The image below is the newly re-designed site.

During the course of the project the students were able to meet with Artistic Director, Mario Nugara, and Executive Director, Janet Rose, to receive direction on the project.

The result is a much more dynamic site that shows off the beauty and artistry that the ballet offers.  The re-design also allowed for a more prominent placement of calls to action, including ticket purchasing and donations.

Remember to pay attention to these attributes in the design of your own sites.

New Media Distribution & Execution of Content

Great piece from Jon Burgess of RedFusion Media.

Check out all their videos at

http://www.youtube.com/user/redfusionvideo

or visit them at

http://www.redfusionmedia.com.

Recycled Creative Ideas

I have spent the majority of my career in advertising.  And during that time I have seen a few agencies recycle creative from one client to the next and within the same designated market area (DMA), to the same type of client while using the same mediums to deliver the message.

There are so many things wrong with this practice that I don't know where to begin.  Clients are paying these agencies for creative.  Fresh, new, effective creative.  If it's been done before (especially in the same DMA), it will lose its effectiveness.  It may be confused with the prior, original ad.  Lending more effectiveness to the first client, thus making it a waste of dollars for the others.

Plus, the first client to have paid for it should be upset as well.  If they have paid for the creative service, don't they now own it?  I would consider it an infringement for others to use the same concept.  It is understandable that common themes will be shared throughout every small business' creative concepts. But what I have seen are exact matches sold to everyone who will buy.

I would like to urge small, local business to demand fresh, new creative from your advertising agencies.  If your agency is trying to advise you to sign on to a recycled idea, drop them.  They are only there to make a quick buck, not to support your business.  In fact, these are typically the agencies that use one business as a pawn in a game to get better rates for another, larger client.  I've seen that happen as well.  Personal politics do not have a place when marketing decisions need to be made on behalf of small businesses. But that should be another blog post.

What are your thoughts on recycled creative ideas?

Riverside Arts Walk Logo Re-Design Contest

Direct all question and comments to the Riverside Cultural Consortium.  Please note there is an official entry form.

SNL Skit: Paid Product Placement?

Ever since I saw this skit on SNL I've been wondering if this was paid product placement on behalf of the new Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides movie. If so, it was brilliant. This piece has all the components of a great viral post. Its funny, its contagious, its an innovative approach to product placement and this is something I want to share. My husband has it saved on our DVR and watches it every few days. If Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer (the Lonely Island) weren't paid by Disney, they should be.

Talking m&m's: Cute or Disturbing

How Google Reader Changed My Life

 I manage social media accounts for multiple organizations and have found that using Google Reader has changed my life and if you're not using it or one of its equivalents, you are probably losing valuable time.

As part of being part of the community of the organizations I serve it is imperative that I stay up to date on industry news from national/regional sources as well as be aware of what is happening within the local landscape of similar organizations.  I use Google Reader to do this.  I track keywords, subscribe to feed from trusted sources and follow relevant blogs.  Google Reader delivers all this information in an organized format right to one place.  No more random searches, no more navigating to each and every pertinent website.  I save valuable time because they all come to me per my specifications. 

If you don't use it, it is quite simple to set up.  First you need a Gmail account.  You can set one up at https://mail.google.com/.

Then go to www.google.com/reader to get started.  It will prompt you to select keywords to help you get started.  Then, as you visit your favorite websites and blogs, subscribe to them via Google Reader.  How and where the subscription opt-ins are will vary by site, but look for it, it's there.

Following your favorites on Facebook and Twitter is also a way to learn good information but it doesn't happen on in your own time.  Stay current, save time and be a leader within your industry with a little assistance from Google Reader.