Marketing Tips from Some of the Best Marketing Minds

There are marketers from large companies and marketers from small companies. No matter what size the marketing company, it's always fun to pick the brain of a creative mind. As a Chicago Marketing Company, here are some our favorite marketing ideas.

It's in your best interest to make your product unique. The idea that you can have the same product as another company and still somehow have it stand out is a fallacy. You can't have the same product as another company and still succeed. You have to make different somehow. No, having it just a different color doesn't count.

No amount of people guarantees creativity. You can have a large team or a small team and the guarantee to have a lot of creativity will not happen. The key to having a creative staff for your marketing agency is having an environment that fosters creativity because it is relaxed, human, and friendly.

Don't be afraid to speak up. When in large groups deciding on work, it can be easy to fall to the group consensus, even when you don't agree. When someone proposes an idea, it can be a good idea to actually analyze it and not just accept it. What happens when that proposed idea is bad but no one is willing to speak against it? It can ruin everything. Speak your mind, challenge things. Genuine success doesn't come from obeying the quo, it comes from innovation.

Being a creative agency is a deal that is not for everybody. It takes creativity, persistence, character, and a whole lot of team work. You have to be willing to take risks and think deeply; a shallow thinker won't do well in a creative business.

Marketing in 2014- Our Favorite Possible Trends

Marketing trends change every year; various trends emerge and they may or may not change the face of marketing. Perhaps the biggest marketing change in recent years that is still reigning champion is social media marketing. Since its emergence, companies have been doing it and even created jobs just for that sector of marketing. With all the areas of marketing, such as, search engine optimization, web design, graphic design, social media marketing, online marketing, and more traditional marketing such as branding all desire to be fresh and innovative.

 However, there are more predictions for what people believe will be marketing changes and progressions for the coming year. We have picked our three favorite possible trends.

1. Content marketing. This is utilizing content that your company has written to bolster your name and build your marketing platforms. Common ways to do this are blogging, articles on your own site, articles on other sites, newsletters and videos. This form of marketing is already around but for the coming year, it is predicted that it will explode in popularity. A lot of companies attempt this form of marketing but they either do not do it correctly or they do not do it enough. A company blog does very little to generate popularity if it is only being written once a month. 
2. Images. It is said that images will become gold in marketing in the next year. This totally makes sense because in a field where visuals are what make things happen; either in the sale of the marketing plan or the plan for packaging, etc etc. it is all about what we can see. If someone is looking at something online or in print and there is no photo to quench their curiosity for what the plan will look like, then they aren't going to be sold. We, as people, like seeing pictures. It just helps us see things and aids the thought process. 
3. Going back to simple. A big change in marketing for 2014 will be the movement towards simplicity. You can see the trend already forming for companies like Apple; it just appeals to a lot of people to see something simple because then we're not overwhelmed by the marketing. If we see a complicated ad, we tend to dismiss it; thus, companies will be moving towards simplicity and letting creativity reign instead of shoving information in the faces of consumers. Web design is seeing this as well. 

Integraphix is a leading Chicago Marketing, Advertising and Creative Agency creating strong brand identity and marketing strategies with our unique mix of advertising, graphic design, web design, and internet marketing expertise. We give free consultations. 

3 Big Marketing Mistakes

Marketing is a busy business and requires an intelligent and creative mind to really be successful. The reason is because marketers have to be creative enough to capture the attention of consumers and do things that have not been done before. It's important to be able to walk the fine line between doing what you want to do and still pleasing consumers Marketing involves a lot psychology as well because marketing requires marketers to think like a consumer and get into their minds to answer the questions about things like, "How can we get people to notice this product/service/idea?" Of course, there are some common mistakes that marketers make while trying to promote products/services/ideas.

The first common marketing mistake, especially with internet marketing is that marketers can forget to consider a target market's values, beliefs, etc. A big ploy in marketing is to tug at the values and beliefs of a target market; you want to play with pathos, ethos, and logos (feelings, credibility, and logic) but especially pathos. Persuasion is hard to accomplish but is often accomplished when you get your recipient of the persuasion, or marketing, to consider things they hold close to their heart. As a Chicago marketing agency , we have seen other marketing and advertising agencies accomplish this. For example, there was an ad in a magazine a couple years ago for Goodyear tires; the ad showed a baby smiling and playing with a toy and the copy read, "Because you care about what rides on your tires" and the point of the ad was to use pathos and get parents to consider their loved ones who ride in their cars and how they need top quality tires if they want to protect their family from harm in the cars. Unfortunately, there have been companies that decided to do what they wanted and ignored their target markets.

A second common marketing mistake is failing to excite. Some marketing agencies believe that they can get excitement generated for products by using clever buzz words or just by recycling an old marketing plan from a previous product. On the former, using clever buzz words can indeed generate excitement but having too many of them can overwhelm consumers who will then ignore the marketing efforts. On the ladder, recycling old marketing plans that were once successful can lead to mediocrity and failure. The reason for this is because what made the marketing plan great the first time was the customization to that particular product/idea/service but that customization is not there when it is recycled. The efforts are then mediocre and complacency sets in.

A third common mistake made by marketing firms is making a message too hard to move. What do I mean by this? If a marketing message is not something you remember easily and can communicate it quickly, like in under a minute, then people won't remember it or they just won't care to relay the information. Think of it this way, the message should be able to be relayed in an elevator speech; this is a speech that can be completed in 30 seconds or less.

These are common mistakes but you don't have to repeat history! Do your research and understand your target market.

Unique QR Codes

You’ve probably seen them all over the place, those little black and white patterned boxes all over advertisements, also known as QR codes. Over the last few years QR codes have become big in the world of marketing meets technology. Now most people can easily identify QR codes and know how to use them. As a marketing company that’s always on the cutting edge of technology, we believe QR codes are a great way to promote your company and market new ideas creatively. Not a big fan of the black and white look?  Don’t be turned off by their looks, because there are many different ways to personalize your QR codes.

Personalizing QR codes can make viewers more interested and intrigued to start scanning.  Adding color to your codes can make your company stand out amongst the crowd, especially with so many companies using the standard black and white code generator.  You can use the ability to create personalized QR codes to your advantage when designing an advertising piece.  Magazine ads, business cards, catalogs or brochures all make for great places to stick the special color code.  Utilize your company’s color palette and design concepts for your QR code. If you are creating a QR code for your website, you can easily create a complementing code generated with the colors of your company or logo. This new ability is great for graphic designers and marketers to utilize creative, interactive designs.

While your business cards usually only contain a small amount of basic information, a QR code can take a viewer to a page filled with endless amounts of information.  QR codes are a great way to call attention to a promotion your company is doing, a sale your company is having, an event your company is throwing and more.  If you place a QR code on a business card, you can add more than double the amount of information without making your design look cluttered.  You can stick to keeping the bare basics on your card, but have all the extra information be contained in the link attached to the QR code.  

With the new colorful QR generator not only can you create multi-colored codes, but you can also combine them with images.  The opportunities are now endless and there are many different creative ways to present your QR codes. Below are some of our favorites:  

Have any questions about QR codes?  Just drop us a comment or contact us.  

The Positive Side of Negative Space

White space, often known as negative space might just be what your design needs. Many designers in Chicago have noticed that clients and even other designers seem to believe that they need to cover every inch of their design with text and images.  When creating a logo, advertisement, illustration, etc. take a step back and look at it from a different perspective.  Adding white space might just be the element you need to make a good design, great.

Marketing companies understand that you and your company want to stand out from the thousands of other advertisements an average person sees everyday. Overpowering a design with images and text will not grab their attention, it might have the opposite effect and actually, it can make them shy away or dislike the design or ad.  

At first glance, the lack of white space creates a cluttered and distracted look. When a viewer first sees your design, you don’t want to turn them off.  First impressions are key.  Overpowered, busy designs may be perceived as difficult to read or even too difficult to understand.  People don’t want to have to try and understand your design.  They want to understand what the ad or design is trying to convey almost immediately.  Strive to create a design that can be understood at first glance.  Utilize the white space in your design.  The more white space you have in your design, the more opportunities it gives you to create a heading and feature the text making the design legible and easily understood by viewers.

If there is one thing designers in Chicago know, it is attention to detail. As graphic designers, we understand that you want to create a powerful design concept with a big message and statement. Often times the lack of white space is caused by too much content for the given space.  Do not try and overpower your viewer with too much information, stick to what is essential.  The point of marketing and creating designs is to attract customers and make them want to learn more about who your company is and what you have to offer.   

Remember, there is a positive side of negative space.  Looking for more tips on utilizing white space?  Leave a comment below or contact us.