Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Why You Need to Start Doodling at Work

We’ve all been there. You’re sitting at a long table in a meeting, and that giant cup of coffee you just chugged is doing nothing to help your focus. Your thoughts begin to wander as the speaker’s voice slowly fades into the background. Pen in hand, you start to doodle. By the end of the meeting, you have a full page of random sketches. There’s a rabbit jumping into a puddle, two bumper cars crashing into each other, and the word “engagement” written repeatedly in various sizes and fonts. So doodling is only a childish distraction for people with short attention spans, right? Wrong. Quality doodling isn’t about zoning out, but rather processing information and thinking visually. With a little strategy, doodling can be an amazing tool for boosting productivity and creativity in the workplace. This is why (and how): The Benefits - It promotes immersive learning. Everyone has a different learning style, but drawing (kinesthetic) while listening to information (auditory) leaves you with a graphic record (visual) of your thoughts, making it a tool that’s useful for all kinds of learners. - It helps focus and memory. A 2009 study from the University of Plymouth found that those who doodled during a phone call recalled 29% more information than those who didn’t. Because doodling allows you to process information on a deeper level, you’ll be able to remember things more clearly. - It makes brainstorming better. Seeing your ideas on paper allows you to see connections you hadn’t thought of and expand upon your thoughts. The free-flowing nature of doodling will help you think outside of the box. The Strategy - Learn (or create) a visual alphabet. Developing recognizable symbols will give you some consistency and enable you to doodle more quickly. - Use words as well as pictures. If you’re trying to identify demographics of a target audience, write down a few key words and see what drawings they inspire. - Don’t get caught up in how it looks. You don’t need to be Picasso to doodle. It is a way of thinking, not an artistic method, so don’t stress about your misshapen stick figure. - Collaborate! Doodling is incredibly useful in business settings because you can do it as a team. Your coworker’s sketch might just spark a new idea for you. - Make sure you have the right tools. To implement doodling in a business, provide large whiteboards in meeting rooms and small ones for each employee’s desk. Even a pad of paper and permission to sketch freely is enough to get your team excited about thinking in this creative way.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Use Pantone’s Color of the Year in Your Marketing

Pantone is a company best known for its Pantone Matching System, which allows for standardized color reproduction and easy color communication between printers, designers, retailers and consumers. But Pantone has increasingly become a trendy household name. People love buying Pantone’s home goods in specific shades, and magazines and news organizations feature articles on Pantone’s Color of the Year. For 2014, Pantone’s chosen color is Radiant Orchid, which the company describes as “an enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. It is a captivating purple, one that draws you in with its beguiling charm.” You may or may not think that a color picked out by a company has anything to do with your marketing, but incorporating Pantone’s Color of the Year shows that your brand is relevant (and has darn good style.) Here’s what you need to know about Radiant Orchid: How It Was Picked To pick the color, Pantone begins searching in the spring of the previous year. They look to high-end fashion brands, films that are in production, popular travel destinations, circulating art collections and other incredibly timely inspirations. The company said they chose 2014’s color because “Radiant Orchid encourages expanded creativity and originality, which is increasingly valued in today’s society.” What to Pair It With Believe it or not, Radiant Orchid is an incredibly versatile color. Pantone recommends pairing it with other vibrant colors, such as turquoise, teal, royal blue and light yellows. If these palettes are a little too outside of your comfort zone, consider tying it in with neutrals like gray, beige and taupe. Though a light pinkish purple color may seem inescapably girly, when used in small doses and paired with basic colors, it can have mass appeal. How to Use It You still might be thinking that Radiant Orchid has no place in your branding, but even the most masculine and minimalist of companies can find a tasteful way to use it. Try it out as a border on your next direct mail piece or promo poster. If you’re handing out promotional t-shirts, order some in the shade. Have you updated your social media profile photos lately? Play around with your logo to see if you can incorporate it in some small way. If you love to be up on the latest trends in design, you’ll probably enjoy figuring out how to use 2014’s favorite color. But if it’s not your cup of tea and seems a little unnecessary, remember that Pantone holds a lot of power, and one color can make your company seem modern and trendy.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Expect the Unexpected for Marketing in 2014

So what can you expect for the world of marketing in 2014? Unpredictability. There’s no such thing as a sure thing when it comes to business, so creating an accurate forecast of the next year is impossible. After all, who saw Snapchat’s crazy rise to success coming in 2013? There’s no way to determine what The Next Big Thing will be, but that doesn’t mean that you have to be anxious and unprepared. The only thing you can count on is yourself, so gearing up for the rest of the year will allow you to navigate the changes that lie ahead. Here are some ways to develop maximum marketing adaptability: Get your ducks in a row. You won’t be able to keep up with changing situations and trends if you don’t have a clear idea of what you’ve done in the past. What channels or campaigns have worked best? Do you have a system of tracking customer behavior? By organizing a history of your marketing efforts, you’ll be able to identify what will (and won’t) be effective in the future. Identify the story that you’re trying to tell with your brand. By now you might have an established narrative, but make sure that the storytelling concept is fully concrete. Outlining what your brand is and isn’t will allow you to make easy decisions when new trends and platforms emerge. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Perhaps in two months, an exciting new social media platform will become all the rage. Don’t hesitate to check out what the buzz is all about, but don’t feel like you have to invest all your time in energy in the latest social media fad. If its capabilities and reach align with your brand’s goals, then jump right in. But also know that there’s no point in letting something new (and not fully established) detract from your other marketing efforts. Have different team plans in place. As different options and campaigns come up, make sure you have different teams and team members who can handle various tasks. Marketing is reliant on timeliness, so you don’t want to waste any time trying to figure out who can do what. By appointing roles ahead of time (and knowing that flexibility will be required) you’ll be able to tackle issues and opportunities as soon as they arise.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Tell a Story With Your Marketing in 2014

“Tell me a story!” This typical refrain heard from children at bedtime also applies to your customers. When it comes to marketing, they don’t just want information. They want a story too. Scientific studies have shown that our brain activity increases and we become more engaged when there’s a narrative involved. As you go into 2014, be thinking of how you can make your business’s marketing all about storytelling. Here are a just a few ways to create an intriguing narrative for your customers. Infuse your personality. Personify your business to identify key personality traits. If your company were a person, what would they be like? How would they write? What values would be important to them? By fleshing out a unified set of characteristics, you’ll be able to create intriguing and cohesive marketing. Develop characters. This doesn’t mean you have to create a company mascot with a big backstory. It can be as simple as tying a loyal customer’s buying experience into your narrative. And don’t forget your employees. They are your best brand advocates. Make them a part of the story, giving customers a glimpse of the kind, interesting and passionate people who are the core of your company. Get visual. Images are always going to capture more attention than plain text, and recent updates from Facebook and Twitter make it even easier—and more important—for you to include them in your posts. Weave images into the overarching marketing narrative to enhance the storyline, or find visuals that tell a story on their own. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. Create experiences. The best way to get customers talking about your business is to give them something to talk about. Create events that allow them to be part of your story. This doesn’t have to be on the scale of a YouTube-worthy flash mob, but think outside the box to interact with customers in unexpected places or bring them into your business. By doing something memorable and out of the ordinary, they’ll be excited to share their story (and yours) with friends and family.