1. It cannot be distinguished from a close competitor.

2. It has little visual interest, making it unremarkable.

3. It’s too complicated. Why is simplicity important? Because it ensures faster recognition, even under unfavorable conditions. As an example, take your present logo. Make a black and white photocopy of it, and reduce the size while you’re at it. Hold it at arm’s length. Is it instantly recognizable? If it isn’t, it’s too complicated.

Have you seen the original Apple logo designed by Ron Wayne, co-founder of Apple Computer? When I first saw it, it took me a while to realize it’s a scene featuring an apple tree and Sir Isaac Newton beneath it. That logo was replaced very quickly with the “rainbow” version designed in 1977 by Rob Janoff. They changed it because Steve Jobs felt it was too complicated, making it almost impossible to use on computers. Apple subsequently updated it again, simplifying their logo even more.

4. Your business model has changed, and the mark no longer represents what you offer.An example would be IBM. In 1924, their first logo had “International Business Machines” as a part of the “IBM” mark. And in 1947, their logo was shortened to the acronym because the company started doing more than just make machines— it invented new technologies and offered services and consulting, too.

5. Your brand has become dated,  is no longer relevant in the minds of your target audience, and your business needs a boost. When companies make changes, opportunities for news coverage exist, and a logo redesign is a change. It allows you to remind customers and prospects that you’re around and that you’re tuned in to the world around you. You’re relevant.

Investing the time and money to change your logo can earn you a return on investment (ROI) for your efforts in the form of media coverage and target audience buy-in.

So, does your business need a new or updated logo? Probably not. But it is worth asking an expert if you’re in doubt.

KNOXVILLE, TN–(August 12, 2010) – Hibachi Grill Buffet, Inc. announced today the grand opening of its first restaurant in Tennessee, Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet.

Located at 9645 Kingston Pike (formerly Mama Blues), the restaurant will open officially with a Knoxville Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting at 11:00 a.m. The public is invited.

“We are excited to bring this concept to Tennessee and to Knoxville,” said Henry Lin, partner and general manager. “Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet is focused on delicious food with freshness and variety — a completely different experience from what you typically think of a buffet restaurant.”

Don’t let the name fool you. Hibachi refers to just one feature of the restaurant — the cook-to-order Hibachi grill, where customers can select their own meats and vegetables and watch as they are grilled by the Hibachi chef. The restaurant also includes a wide selection of traditional Chinese, Japanese, Italian and even Mexican items on the buffet. There are over 250 items, from sushi, shrimp, steak, salmon, pasta, and pizza to fresh fruit, pastries, cookies and ice cream.

A large party room is also available for birthdays, corporate meetings, and wedding receptions.

Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet is open 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Monday through Friday Lunch Buffet is $6.75. Saturday Lunch Buffet is $7.25. Sunday through Saturday Dinner Buffet is $8.99. Sundays are Dinner Buffet all day for $8.99.

For more information, please call 865-357-3555 or visit online at www.HibachiBuffetKnoxville.com.

CONTACT:
Chuck Morris
Morris Creative Group LLC
(865) 637-9869

Henry Lin
Hibachi Grill Buffet, Inc.
(865) 357-3555
(931) 505-3690 cell

It is easy to delete an anonymous mass email by a huge corporation, but it takes a second look and a little hardening of my heart to deny or decline invitations from an old classmate or friend. Though I say this, and will continue to be aggravated by these Facebook invites, I still support them as a must-have to marketing, advertising and public relations. Instead, the point I bring up is: Are they enough by themselves?

With over 230 million people with Internet access in the United States in 2009 compared to 150 million addresses that receive delivered mail from the US Postal Service, it is obvious the direction communication is heading. Quantity, however, does not always trump quality.

Similar to the sincerity felt in receiving a handwritten card from an old friend, sometimes traditional grass roots direct mail strategy outshines an easily deleted email. At a time when it seems your inbox is full with promotions and offers, and your Facebook is cluttered with Page and Like invitations, a well thought-out, traditional flier in the mail has never seemed more refreshing. But, just because you may choose to send a postcard or flier through the mail does not guarantee response. There are many factors that go into successful direct mail marketing.

The first to consider is evaluating your desired needs and goals. Why are you choosing to address the public? What is it that you have to offer? What do you wish to gain from contacting a mass audience?

Take a few minutes to write down three objectives you have for the mailing. One of these focal points may very well  be to get the receiver to visit your website or Facebook page. Concentrating on only these three objectives will not only help you to create a clear message, but help you target your audience, as well.

This is why the second step is carefully deciding to whom you will be mailing your material. A mass mailing to every Joe on the street will rarely be as successful as selecting a target audience that already has interest in or a need for your product or service.

Now, with the audience and goals determined, you can begin to create the actual flier that will be sent. Your handout should physically appear appropriate to the material you are presenting. This step should not be taken lightly; whether you need a professional letterhead or a bright design, the look should be polished and reviewed by a few people who fall into the audience you are targeting.

Throughout this entire process, try to remember that you are using a traditional form of advertising, and likewise, you should stick to a simple but informational message. Also, you cannot lose site of the fact that the handout should not be the end of the road; instead, you have to find a way to pull the potential customer into further communication with your company. This is where social media and websites come back into play. Offer an incentive for joining an email listserv, visiting your website, or becoming a friend of your business on Facebook. After seeing that you care enough to send a personal letter through ‘snail mail,’ the follow-up emails that come from you later may, too, seem more endearing.

Healthcare, automotive, real estate, and electronic industries alike should be planning their marketing strategies around American mothers, daughters and wives. So the quick fix would be to stick a fuzzy, pink bow on all the advertisement efforts, right? Not according to MarketWeek, and I could not agree more.

Women are confusing and tricky, as you may know, and always expect you to know what they want without having to spell it out for you. They expect you to market to them; to be on their side and talk to them, not talk at them.

One of the major issues that goes unnoticed when marketing to women is the economic downturn. While many men often feel like they are the sole ones hurting during these times, “almost double the amount of women (28%), compared with men (15%), say they feel squeezed by the economic climate.”

This is because, again I emphasize, women are the ones making the majority of consumer purchases. Stephanie Holland, Executive Creative Director of Holland + Holland Advertising and author of the blog She-conomy: A Guy’s Guide to Marketing to Women, gives the advice to be sensitive to a woman’s position as a buyer during these difficult economic times and offer an “optimistic message.”

Holland offers insight about women for all stages of marketing on her blog. Her explanations are clear and logical, not to mention right on the mark. In fact, She-conomy.com is a great place to start when trying to decide how to best target women.

Women, like men, do not all agree on the same likes and dislikes. As a woman, I can confidently say that there is no single style that will attract the female population as a whole. So, do not try to create an advertisement that umbrellas all women as the same; you will end up stereotyping (which is worse than not marketing to us at all). Like I said, we are complicated.

Listening to your consumers to find out what they want will take you further than any textbook guidelines, and right now, statistics show that you should be focusing on women.

• Values that guide behavior and decision-making given unique relationship issues of a family business
• Leadership that develops future leaders
• Strategy to deliver unique customer value at the highest efficiency and profitability
• Capital and administrative management including legal agreements, insurance, estate planning and succession

The institute offers monthly seminars for family business owners as well as monthly Peer Advisory Groups, which have a maximum of ten owners per group.  Currently, eight different groups meet for 2-21/2 hours per month.

WHO: The Family Business Institute of East Tennessee
Confirmed attendees: Knoxville Chamber, Wm. S. Trimble Co., Regas, Breadbox Stores, Sustainable Future, University of Tennessee College of Business, BMC, Engert Plumbing, Center for Business Transformation, Coulter & Justus, Clinton Glass, The Trust Company, House of Thaller, Bailey International, J. Smith Lanier & Co, Steel Plate Fabricators, Shamrock Growth Associates, Morris Creative Group LLC, Friedman’s Applicances, Rodefer Moss, Malone’s Coffee, Stowers Machinery, DeCosimo, Claris, Labor Support Management, MigunTN, KW Commercial.

WHAT:  Family Business Celebration

WHEN: Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 4:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.

WHERE:  Water’s Edge Conference Center, 608 Mabry Hood Road, Knoxville, TN 37932

WHY:  The East Tennessee Family Business Institute provides opportunities for family business owners to share experiences and coach each other through collective wisdom. Its vision is to connect generations of family business by encouraging family businesses to develop a strong set of core values, capable leadership, effective strategy, and the ability to generate and pass on adequate capital to sustain and grow the business for generations.

Contact:
Chuck Morris
Morris Creative Group LLC
cjmorris@morriscreative.com
(865) 637-9869
(865) 300-5669 cell

“This is our largest fundraiser of the year,” said David Watson, executive director of ETCDC. “Knoxville has really come to love and support this event, and we really enjoy doing it. It gives people a real sense of what it means to live, work and play downtown, and that’s what ETCDC is all about: community.”

ETCDC’s development director, Kathy Proctor, continued, “When you come downtown to see a movie or go to a restaurant you have one level of experience, but when you can see someone’s living space, that’s like having a backstage pass.”

The event begins at 5:00pm at the Knoxville Downtown Design Studio, 500 Gay Street, with drinks, heavy hors d’oeuvres, and a silent auction. At 6:00pm, there will be a short program, followed by exclusive tours of residences and businesses on the 400 and 500 blocks of Gay Street. Tickets are $45 and may be purchased online at etcdc.org or by calling 865-525-9945.

About East Tennessee Community Design Center

Now in its 40th year, ETCDC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to make East Tennessee a better place to live and work by bringing professional design and planning assistance to communities and organizations lacking resources. The Community Design Center offers its services through the pro bono contributions of area architects, landscape architects, planners and other professionals.

The East Tennessee Community Design Center has been in existence since 1969, when Bruce McCarty, then the President of the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), visited the community design center in Philadelphia. Bruce returned to “pitch the idea” to some 40 local professionals that Knoxville, too, was in need of a community design center.

On July 1, 1970 ETCDC was incorporated for one purpose: to bring professional design and planning services to not-for-profit groups and agencies that lack the resources to pay for the service. ETCDC has assisted in a diverse range of projects, from traffic calming in neighborhoods to planning for Knoxville’s new urban wilderness. For more information, please visit http://www.etcdc.org.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flikr, YouTube, MySpace, Digg, Blogger… shall I go on?

Being connected to each of these sites can be as easy as setting up an account, filling in a few ‘About Me’ pages, and inviting friends. Actually maintaining each site and using it well is another story. The time and energy it takes to keep up with the accounts can become outrageous; it could be a full time job!

So here is my suggestion: don’t do it. By now, we all know the importance of social media’s role in the communications and marketing fields, but it has to stop somewhere. Like most things in life, becoming fully immersed and skilled in a few strong areas leads to greater success than spreading yourself too thin.

Too Soft

Recently celebrating its fifth birthday, YouTube is currently serving over 2 billion videos every day. While there is plenty of information, history, advice, tutorials, music, home videos and especially humor that can be shared and viewed through this site, I do not subscribe. Unlike many of my friends who subscribe to their favorite ‘channels’ on YouTube and post videos of their own, I find this form of obtaining information and communicating too much of a time waste. This is not to say I don’t watch an occasional funny clip or find a tutorial helpful, but it is too easy for me to get sucked into video after video of nonsense; therefore I do not have a YouTube account.

Too Hard

One of the more professional social media, LinkedIn, allows you to connect with other professionals by uploading information about your education, work experience, and even adding your full résumé. A brilliant idea in theory, I found the site more difficult to navigate and set up than others. It wasn’t the site’s layout or overwhelming options that I found most irritating; it was the fact that LinkedIn sent over 700 invitations on my behalf to people I know, and don’t know, without my even being aware of it!

The site asks for your email at various times to confirm your identity, and at some point it apparently was able to access my complete email address book. Within the next 24 hours I had received over 100 emails from friends and strangers alike asking why I invited them to this network. I even received one email from an angry wife inquiring how EXACTLY I knew her husband. I didn’t.

Needless to say, I decided LinkedIn was not the social network for me, so I cancelled my account, if for no other reason than to stop the wave incoming emails from those confused.

Just Right

Facebook is the obvious network for a college student like me. I have had my account since high school and know my way around the network as well as any other college student. The newer network that I have found surprisingly intriguing, however, is Twitter. Once opposed to this status-updating network, I wondered how people could find it interesting. I have discovered that you make it interesting.

I now enjoy posting comments about recent news or activities that I can attach links to or tag the appropriate friend’s or company’s twitter account. I attempt to make it both significant to my life and hopefully engaging in some way to other people.

I have found the sites that work—and don’t work—for me, and I think that is what social media are about and why there are so many options. It is not about the number of sites you can be connected to but rather the quality of time and information you dedicate to the sites that fit your lifestyle best. Social media are great tools to help promote you or your company. They should be used to complement your services, not appear out of control or be impossible to manage.

For more information on the various social media and which ones may be most appropriate for you, or for help in setting them up, please contact Morris Creative Group.

Carly Nash

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Chuck Morris
Morris Creative Group LLC
cjmorris@morriscreative.com
865-637-9869

KNOXVILLE, TN – May 25, 2010 – Morris Creative Group (MCG) welcomes public relations intern, Carly Nash.

Ms. Nash’s responsibilities will include account management, advertising campaign concepting, writing and editing copy, and social media.

A Knoxville native, Ms. Nash is currently a student at the University of Georgia as a public relations major in Grady College. While she values her education, she is eager to acquire an actual understanding of the professional world. “Working with the team at MCG has created invaluable educational opportunities outside of the classroom. The experience is one I can use in future career decisions; something more productive than reading a textbook.

“All of us at MCG are excited to be working with Carly this summer. Her excitement and enthusiasm to learn creates few boundaries for the roles she may take on,” said Chuck Morris, company principal.

Morris Creative Group LLC is a 19-year-old marketing, branding and public relations firm. The company serves clients throughout the southeast and around the country. For more information, please visit http://www.morriscreative.com.

###

In this economy, we’re all trying to do more with less and to make smart investments. Invest in yourself and your business and do this.

Below is a great kickstart: an outline for your strategic plan. If you’re a procrastinator like me, don’t commit to the whole thing right away. Just take one aspect of this each day and work on it for just 7 minutes. Don’t beat yourself up, and don’t put a deadline on it, necessarily. Just work on it. Then, most importantly, use it to inform how you DO it.

If you’d like a Word doc of this, please email me at cjmorris <at> morriscreative <dot> com.

Much success!

Chuck

+ + +

Strategic Plan Checklist

The Market

1. Market Definition (The existing or potential need or want)
   1. Established
      1. Continuing
      2. Declining
   2. Emerging
      1. Transitory (fad)
      2. Sustainable
   3. Future
      1. Known
      2. Unknown
2. Market Structure
   1. Size and historic growth trends
   2. Forecasted growth
   3. Product segmentation
      1. Type
      2. Brand
      3. Size
      4. Price
      5. Other
   4. Geographic segmentation
      1. Domestic, international
      2. Region
      3. Market
      4. Channel
   5. Trends: significant changes in any of the above
   6. Sales: own and competition, factory and retail purchase
      1. Dollars
      2. Units
   7. Share: (same)
      1. Dollars
      2. Units
   8. Sales per capita
   9. Sales per point of distribution
   10. Sales of products that eliminate the need for us
   11. 1Sales of products that stimulate the need for us
3. The Customer/Consumer
   1. User/Specifier/Influencer/Purchaser profile
      1. Demographics
      2. Psychographics
      3. Lifestyle
   2. Use occasion?
      1. How/when/why needed/wanted?
      2. Duration?
      3. Breadth, frequency rate of use?
         1. Trial
         2. Repeat
   3. Usage patterns
      1. Ongoing
         1. Habits/customs
         2. Heavy vs. light
      2. Occasion-driven
         1. Seasonal
         2. Sporadic
   4. Competing ways to satisfy the need?
      1. Continuing with current options
      2. Modification of current options
      3. Substitutes
      4. Doing without
      5. New alternatives
   5. Purchase patterns
      1. Trial (trigger)
      2. Repeat
         1. Frequency
         2. Depth
      3. Contrast vs. usage
   6. Purchase dynamics
      1. Priority of need/want (importance to…)
         1. Buyer
         2. User
         3. Colleagues
         4. Management
      2. Urgency of need/want
         1. Necessity vs. discretionary purchase
         2. Remedial application/collateral dependence
         3. Anticipatory/preventive
   7. Ability to buy
      1. Impact of economy and economic trends
      2. Correlation with economic indicators
      3. Affordability:
         1. Income
         2. Budget
         3. Cash flow/availability of funds
      4. Approvals required and from whom
      5. Funding “roadblocks”
      6. Financing issues and opportunities
         1. Method of payment
         2. Minimums/inventory requirements
         3. Dating or deferred payments
         4. Installment payments
         5. Leasing
         6. Other
      7. Inherent pricing issues
         1. Cost of capital
         2. Borrowing rates
         3. Monetary rates of exchange
   8. Cognition
      1. Product awareness
         1. Aided
         2. Unaided
      2. “Considered Set” of attitudes re:
         1. Category
         2. Own brand
         3. Competing brands
         4. Associations/prior experience
         5. Perceived differences
         6. Perceived benefits offered
         7. Perceived risk
         8. Interest
      3. Brand loyalty
         1. Buying motives
         2. Price/value perceptions
   9. Trends
4. Sales Representation
   1. Organization
      1. Direct
      2. Company
      3. Broker/rep
      4. Combination
   2. Responsibilities
      1. Coverage patterns
      2. Call frequency
   3. Compensation
   4. Personnel
      1. Training/certification
      2. Turnover
5. The Trade
   1. Dealers/distributors
   2. Policies, terms and conditions
   3. Purchase patterns
      1. Order size
      2. Seasonal loading
   4. Margins; profitability
   5. Promotional practices
   6. Attitudes re: Category/product:
      1. Pricing/price protection
      2. Markups/margins
      3. Case packs
      4. Assortments
      5. Handling requirements
      6. Return policies
      7. Order lead-time
      8. On-time/incomplete shipment history
      9. Marketing support required
         1. - Coupons
         2. - Rebates
         3. - Trade-ins
         4. - Displays
   7. Attitudes re: Competitors
6. Retailers
7. Purchase patterns
   1. Policies, terms and conditions
   2. Seasonal loading
8. Value added
   1. Selection/presentation
   2. Pricing guarantees
   3. Installation
   4. Instruction/training
   5. Service
   6. Returns
9. Attitudes re: Category/product
   1. Turns
   2. Pricing
   3. Case packs
   4. Assortments
   5. Handling requirements
   6. Policies re returns
   7. Pricing
   8. Marketing support
10. Attitudes re: Competitors
11. Attitudes re: Commitment to own label/brand
12. Attitudes re: Willingness to provide merchandising support

Advertising & Promotional History

1. (Own vs. Competition)
   1. Advertising
      1. Expenditures
         1. Total
         2. Per unit
         3. % of sales (advertising:sales ratio)
         4. Trends
         5. Spending by:
            1. Market
            2. Region
            3. Time period
            4. Specific product type/size, etc.
      2. Copy
         1. Analysis and comparison of basic appeals
            1. Claims
            2. Themes
            3. Other selling ideas
         2. Relative emphasis of ideas
         3. Mood/tone
      3. Media
         1. Analysis and comparison
            1. Media used
            2. Mix
            3. Coverage
               1. Reach
               2. Frequency
            4. Scheduling
            5. Audience selection
            6. Relative efficiency
            7. Recent changes
      4. Advertising results
         1. Testing
            1. Copy
            2. Media
            3. Spending
         2. Research
            1. Awareness
            2. Recall
            3. Attitude
2. IPromotion
   1. Expenditures
      1. By type
         1. Trade
         2. Consumer
         3. Sales incentive
      2. By style
         1. Trade: off-invoice, bill back, free goods, etc.
         2. Consumer coupon, liquidator, etc.
      3. Item
      4. Region
      5. Season
      6. Channel
      7. Key account
   2. Results
      1. Trade
         1. Purchases
         2. Pricing
         3. Promotional support
         4. Attitude
      2. Consumer
         1. Redemptions
         2. Purchase
         3. Requests for information
         4. Attitude (price/value perception)

Key Planning Questions:

1. The Market
   1. How big is the total business and where is it headed?
   2. Are there any interesting niches?
   3. Who are the players and what is their relative standing?
   4. What are their competitive strengths and weaknesses?
      1. Size/financial strength
      2. Assets including:
         1. Proprietary rights
         2. Brand equities
         3. Related sale leverage
   5. Who is the real competition?
      1. Direct?
      2. Indirect?
   6. Is there potential vulnerability to:
      1. Regulation?
      2. Off-shore competition?
   7. Are any critical components/ingredients in potential short supply?
   8. Does new technology pose a fundamental threat/opportunity?
2. The End User/Consumer
   1. What do users really want?
   2. How satisfied are they now?
   3. Are they vulnerable or susceptible in some way?
   4. Are they receiving value?
   5. Is there a different or better way to meet their needs?
   6. What do they believe and how does it square with reality?
   7. How important to them is the product/service?
      1. Intrinsically, inherently, functionally
      2. Imbued, personally defining value
   8. Is lifestyle or some other phenomenon likely to change needs/demand?
   9. Who makes the purchase decision?
   10. What triggers a purchase?
   11. How much brand switching, if any, is occurring?
   12. How long is the typical initial purchase planning period?
3. The Channel
   1. The Seller/Retailer
   2. Who distributes and/or controls exposure/availability?
   3. What are the business and operational conventions?
   4. To what degree are we captive?
   5. Are there alternatives now or as the result of applying new thinking or technology?
   6. How well is the customer actually being served?
   7. Are they loyal enough to purchase elsewhere; a point of leverage with the trade?
   8. Is there a win-win delivery that enhances customer satisfaction and trade support?
4. Advertising
   1. How does our strategy differ from competition in terms of:
      1. Copy theme?
      2. Choice of media?
      3. Creative unit?
      4. Allocation by region, season, etc.
      5. Message delivery (reach, frequency)?
   2. How does our spending compare in terms of:
      1. Expenditure per unit?
      2. As a percent of selling price?
      3. Share of voice/total spending?
      4. By media
      5. By season
      6. By region
   3. What evidence do we have advertising objectives are being met?
5. Client Issues
   1. Do we belong in this business; does it fit our:
      1. Vision/mission?
      2. Core competencies?
   2. Can we win?
   3. Is it an appropriate use of our resources?
   4. Are risks and returns consistent with stockholder expectations?
   5. Have we fully leveraged our assets?
   6. What’s the impact on other operations?
   7. Do we have the necessary critical mass?
   8. Should we be expanding through acquisition, licensing, etc.?
   9. Should we be harvesting?
   10. Would we be more successful in a strategic alliance?
   11. Has our product/service got a real basis to be in the market?
   12. Could we provide greater value with an acceptable return?
   13. Could we serve the customer better by changing our own operations?
   14. What’s the story behind the company; the product?
   15. Is it relevant, and, if so, how well known?

SOURCE: Second Wind

Contact:
Chuck Morris
Morris Creative Group LLC
cjmorris@morriscreative.com
865-637-9869

Henry County Medical Center is a 152-bed general hospital. Ms. Lynn will be responsible for daily operations and leadership of the anesthesia service. She will coordinate service requirements of the hospital with Resource Anesthesia.

Phil Haynie, MBA, MSN, CRNA, President of Resource Anesthesia said, “She brings experience, professionalism and a drive for improvement. She will be a strong asset as we work with hospital administration to deliver the highest quality of anesthesia care.”

In accepting the position as Chief of Anesthesia Services, Ms. Lynn stated, “I look forward to leading improvement initiatives and working with the Chief of Surgery to ensure a safe and clinically excellent staff is caring for our community.”

Resource Anesthesia began comprehensive management of anesthesia services at Henry County Medical Center in May 2009. Since then, Resource Anesthesia has recruited a new staff of nurse anesthetists, worked with hospital leaders to improve services and expanded clinical services offered to patients. Key indicators of quality by Medicare, such as Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) scores, have improved dramatically since these changes.

Resource Anesthesia is a multi-state company that provides centralized anesthesia management and support by establishing local teams who are active members of the community. Through these teams, more than 30,000 anesthetics have been performed at community hospitals and surgery centers. The company assumes responsibilities such as recruitment, compliance, documentation monitoring and billing and collections. For further information, please visit http://www.resourceanesthesia.com.