The Bark Communications Blog

What's Behind The Passion?

ANDREW — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:30:00 +0000

One of the challenges we face as we communicate about what we do is that so many of the words we use aren't understood well. Brian's post from a few weeks ago talks about that a bit - it reflects the passion that we have for what words like "brand" mean to us and why we believe they are important.

But where does that passion come from? Are we just pumped up about the terms? Or is there more to it than that?

There's definitely more to it, and in the case of the word "brand", it's this:

Behind our passion is a firm belief that no matter if you are for-profit or not-for-profit, good branding helps you achieve key organizational goals.

For instance, good branding makes and saves you money.

It makes money by ensuring that you communicate effectively. When you understand the overall picture of your organization and you develop every aspect of your brand image in such a way that it reinforces itself in every medium, right down to your product, you will build recognition, which, coupled with a good product/service, will result in greater success for your organization.

It saves you money by allowing you to generate a look-and-feel that you can leverage over time and work within, instead of having to start from scratch on a new campaign every year.

So we're not just talking about a fluffy term, we're talking about real, organizational change and improvement. We're talking about learning how to communicate honestly, with quality and consistency and then doing that frequently - the four pillars of an effective brand.

It's no different than what I think each of us as individuals strive for as well. We aim to be honest. We try to be the best that we can be. We want to be known as consistent and trustworthy and we want to achieve all those goals all the time. Of course, no one is perfect, and neither is any organizational brand, but that's not an excuse to not try at all.

So if you ever wondered why we go on-and-on about this stuff all the time, perhaps now you have a better sense. And if, along the way, I found the right words to convince you of the importance of branding, well, then let's talk. It promises to be a fruitful conversation.

BarkBuilder Upgrade: New CSS Editor for Designers & Developers!

CRAIG — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:30:00 +0000

We've been working hard on a number of new features and upgrades for BarkBuilder and today, we are pleased to present one of them – the latest edition of our 4.0 CSS Editor!

At Bark Communications, our goal is to design a platform that’s simple enough for a non-techie, and advanced enough for a web designer or programmer. This update is specifically geared toward our Intermediate and Advanced-level users – meaning, web designers and developers.

Watch the video below to get a tour of the new CSS editor, and stay tuned for more updates coming over the next number of months!

Clarity+ Video Introduction

ANDREW — Thu, 6 Jun 2013 14:39:00 +0000

Branding isn't easy and it's not straightforward. As a result, it can easily become complex. Clarity+ is a program that aims to make branding simple. We want to help you understand the core principles of good branding that will increase the effectiveness of your advertising dollars and increase your profitability. In four one-day seminars, we'll teach you how to create passionate advocates for your brand who will be your sales force for you and we'll help you engage your internal team with passionate messaging that will increase their effectiveness.

Live on Purpose

BRIAN — Thu, 30 May 2013 08:45:00 +0000

Let's be honest.

We all talk a good game, but when it comes to true belief (spending time to get better/be better) in regards to brand-driven directing, we would much rather bite off a smaller chunk of the cake than deal with the whole, messy brand thing. We just can't/won't wrap our heads around what I call the grey (opposite of black and white). If we can't kick it, poke it or throw it, we want no part of it.

When it comes to avoidance, like anything, it is usually due to lack of talent, lack of understanding or lack or energy. I'm talking about decisions like:

We should change the logo and grow awareness get some attention from doing that
We should change the color of our product to red because it's a high visibility color
We should build a Facebook site because everyone else is doing it – must be good
We should use humor in our ads because they are more effective

Granted, some of these things may be good and needed. But what I am suggesting is this: determine what to do in conjunction with its true brand merit. Not only will you hit the mark more often, you will cause less damage which you would have to undo somewhere down the road. Each scenario resulting in higher effectiveness.

As a true believer and practitioner, I want to tell (scream) at those who use the term "brand" without understanding or forethought. This includes both corporate (the client) as well as service (supposed brand developers). They are everywhere, lurking around every corner killing a perfectly good term along with a much-needed philosophy for success.

In order to help my kids deal with the grey, I tell them and teach them to 'Live on Purpose':

Think (stop living by the seat of your pants)
Discover and develop your purpose
Do everything in your power to stay 'on purpose', on purpose.

Success for the majority of people in this world takes a great deal of effort. For those who are happy with mediocrity, ignore this post. (you probably already stopped reading it anyways).

Passionately Misled

ANDREW — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:24:00 +0000

I remember about 5 years ago, it felt like you couldn't go to a marketing blog without reading someone's rant about the fact that big businesses all around the world will fail in the next 5 years if they didn't get on the social media band wagon and that traditional media was dead. Turns out, they were wrong. We said that then, and we're seeing it be proven true now. Social is extremely important, but it's not been the media and company killer many touted it to be.

So what's the lesson here?

It's to understand that your passion can skew your perspective and put you way out of balance with what's actually going on.

How you apply that lesson is by doing two things:

First, bring in an external perspective. Outside firms bring a different voice to the table and can help temper your passion when it becomes misled.

Second, be ready to be an external perspective for the outside firm as well. The reality of us marketers is that we get over-passionate as well. We love to jump on the bandwagon of the latest tool. We did it with social media, we did it with QR codes (don't see too many of those anymore…) and we're doing it with content and video creation now. We flood things and in time, kill them with our passion. Here are some stats to think about:

61% of Marketers are Twitter Followers (follow other people on Twitter), while only 12% of online consumers are.
90% of Marketers have a smartphone while only 51% of online customers do.
93% of marketers have made a purchase as a direct result of an email marketing message, compared with only 49% of online consumers.

These realizations will help you work more effectively with your marketing consultant. Allow them to speak. Give their opinion and perspective a lot of weight. But also be ready to ask the tough question. Be ready to find out if they are pushing a specific medium just because they like it, or because it's the right one for you and your audience.

* Marketing Profs: Marketers Are From Mars

The Boring Stuff

ANDREW — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:34:00 +0000

On my way into work this morning, I passed by a house that was being built and I was reminded and reinforced of something we learned a long time ago.

It's the boring stuff, the stuff you don't really see once the house is built, that allows the house to be what it is. It's absolutely critical to the house being what it is - but you don't really see or think about it on a day-to-day basis.

In other words: It's not paint; it's not decorative lights; it's not light switches; it's not plumbing fixtures; it's not a finished basement or a beautiful back deck with landscaping.

It's blue paper with lines on it. It's concrete. It's 2x4's. Boring stuff. Critical stuff.

Your organization is no different.

Twitter might be fun. Billboards might be a sign of how established your brand is. Facebook might show you quick response. TV ads might grow your recognition.

But then there's the "boring stuff". The stuff you don't think about a lot.

Mission statement. Vision statement. Brand positioning. Customer support processes/policies.

The difference between your house and your organization though, is that the boring stuff in your house keeps doing its job even when you don't think about it.

In your organization, the boring stuff desperately needs your attention.

Leadercast London 2013

ANDREW — Thu, 9 May 2013 16:01:00 +0000

Jack Welch, Andy Stanley, Condoleezza Rice, David Allen and others…

That's what awaits a number of us tomorrow as we look forward to attending Leadercast London 2013.

As the title sponsor of the local simulcast location here in London, we are excited to be a part of the day and know that, as in the past, it's going to be a great day for all the attendees.

This year's key concept is, Simply Lead.

Simplicity in this fast-paced world is difficult. It's also something that we talk about a lot in terms of good communication. So we're confident we're going to come out of the day with some great nuggets to drive us forward into 2013 and that we can share with you.

If you'd like, feel free to track with our Twitter feed @barkcomm as we're likely to share tidbits throughout the day.

Don't Forget Your Umbrella

ANDREW — Thu, 2 May 2013 11:31:00 +0000

When it comes to marketing and advertising, it's easy to forget your umbrella.

Often, ads can be developed to feature the latest product or service and marketing plans can revolve around strategic goals for a specific part of your offering. But along the way, very little is communicated about the brand of the organization - the umbrella that everything lives under.

Your brand is the thing that will protect you when the rain comes. It's the sum of every interaction that your audience has had with your organization and if all it's ever been was piecemeal adverts for this service, that program or your latest product, then you've missed a massive opportunity to connect with your audience on a deeper level than simply as a provider.

Sure, you can create advocates through a good product offering or service, but advocacy happens much easier and in a more meaningful way, when it's created in context of relationship.

Personal relationships offer a great picture of this truth. If you were to say something that could be taken two ways, one positive, and the other negative, your closest personal friends will always be more likely to interpret the things you say in a positive light and/or be forgiving because they will bring all the context of your friendship to bear on your comments. Those who don't know you don't have that context and as such, will be far more likely to interpret your comments badly.

That's your umbrella in a friendship. It's also your umbrella in a business relationship.

So next time you start talking about your great new service or offering, make sure you don't forget to bring your umbrella to the party.

Participation Is Not Enough

BRIAN — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:30:00 +0000

I read a great article called "How Adults are Stealing Ambition from Kids" by Tim Elmore. This article not only resonated with me from a family perspective, but from a brand/organization one as well.

It seems to me that we are in a day and age where participation is enough – right?

Wrong.

The attitude of "I participated and did my best (which often means I did my best without straining myself), therefore the world/marketplace owes me, is all to familiar. Or maybe you don't think it owes you but you do think it will magically happen just because you participated.

This simply is not the reality – and never was. A strong, successful brand/organization takes massive amounts of energy and resources. Putting a junior out of college in charge of your brand development because it's "affordable" is not enough (nor is it fair to the person). Allocating .5% of your budget to brand communications is not enough. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., is not enough. A five-day response time is not enough. A Facebook page is not enough. Writing a blog once a quarter is not enough. Having competitive pricing is not enough.

Participation does not equal success. It's not enough when you are 16 trying to impress your summer job employer and it certainly isn't enough when you are trying to grab the attention and imagination of a massive, over-stimulated marketplace.

Intelligent, creative, hard work results in success. Success inspires discovery of better ways, more creativity and an excitement that inspires everyone to work harder – which creates more success – which creates … you get the picture.

The effort we put into our brands (the organizations personality/how the market views us) will be directly proportionate to the success we experience.

Announcing: Clarity+

ANDREW — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 08:30:00 +0000

For many years, we at Bark have consulted numerous organizations, helping them to build and strengthen their brands. Over this same period, we recognized that not every organization understands the value of their brand or has the money set aside to invest in it. So we started to challenge ourselves with the things that we challenge our clients with by asking questions like: Is what we are offering something that our clients actually need? And if it is, how could we share it in a way that will serve them better?

The answer? Clarity+.

Clarity+ is a one-year brand mentorship program aimed at Executives, Brand Managers and Visionaries.

The four, full-day sessions that make up the Clarity+ experience are held on a quarterly basis, and include people from 10 different organizations. Each workshop is hosted in the Genesis Room; a new, 2,650 sq. ft. meeting space attached to the Bark offices in London, Ontario.

In the sessions, you and one other person on your team (your brand manager) will learn, interact, and engage with brand-essential content and forward-thinking leaders from other organizations.

Six weeks after each workshop, one of our brand coaches will meet with you to ensure the information is clear, discuss successes in your implementation, and strategize how to make the new principles we’ll teach you into a foundational part of your brand. The next quarter, we will do it all again, focusing on the next step in the process.

Each workshop features a different aspect of brand development and provides the appropriate steps for implementing those principles into your organization.

Over the year, you will cover the following areas:

Internal Brand Clarity – Vision, Mission, Positioning Statements, Understanding Who You Are, Understanding Who You Want To Be, and Your Product/Service.
Aligning Culture and Operations – Practical Vision Casting, Empowering Your Brand Manager, Internal Audits, Brand Accountability Documents.
Strategy, Conversations and Metrics – Understanding Your Market, Communications Options and Executing Projects.
Listening and Refocusing – Measuring Your Effectiveness, External Audits, Digital Feedback, Reviewing Projects, and Refocusing for Clarity+.

The first Clarity+ workshop will take place on Tuesday, July 09, 2013 in The Genesis Room, a 2,300 sq. foot facility attached to Bark Communications' offices in London, Ontario.

If you are interested in learning more, enrolling, or recommending Clarity+ to a colleague or friend, please feel free to check out and share the Clarity+ feature page at: www.barkcommunications.com/clarityplus.

When Advertising Gets Ridiculous

ANDREW — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:54:00 +0000

How do you know if your advertising is just a bit over the top?

How about this?

This is an interview/press conference surrounding a soccer match in Europe. When I saw this moment in a video I was watching, I had to pull a screen capture because it's such a wonderful example of a bad strategy that we can all fall into.

What strategy, you ask?

The strategy where we try to say too many things at once and end up saying nothing at all.

The person (who happens to be the reason the camera is on in the first place) is surrounded in advertising in the form of graphics and product placements. The very reason that anyone was in that room was to hear this guy speak...and they buried him in logos and bottles.

It's ridiculous. And it's easy to do.

But easy isn't always best. Even if it comes naturally.

Objectivity May Be Closer Than it Seems

BRIAN — Thu, 4 Apr 2013 08:30:00 +0000

As a brand development firm, one of the most valuable services we offer might surprise you. It's objectivity.

So often, an organization's intuition on their brand is colored by deep engagement in their work. Those last couple words sound like a good thing, don't they?

But whether you are a sole proprietor, or a CEO of a global brand, the minute you dive into your work and market, your objectivity is compromised. You begin to see things in a different light through different filters (both positive and negative). Your busyness, or lack thereof, taints the "truth". This skewed vision now begins to impact your decision-making and your brand.

It could result in an unrealistic view of your loyalty status (either negative or positive) and in that case, you would be connecting with your marketplace under false pretences, which would be recognized quickly and have immediate ramifications. Alternatively, your view on your communications/advertising could be skewed because your in-house creative department (which you spearhead) followed your direction to the "T".

While no one is absolutely unbiased (we all bring our life experiences to the table), there are those of us who are keenly aware of our potential for bias and have put training and processes in place to be that valuable, unbiased opinion. This, mixed with a talented and experienced marketing pool, and combined with the client's strong knowledge of their work and marketplace creates an atmosphere of massive potential.

That is my biased opinion. What's yours?

The Cost of Free

ANDREW — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:20:00 +0000

We live in a world where some things are simply expected to be free - particularly art and those types of art that are available digitally/online. We expect free television, music, images and visual art as well.

But for all this "free", what's the cost?

It's an interesting and perplexing question because there is a very real cost to this new economy, but it's convoluted.

For instance, it used to be that musicians would essentially make their money directly from their fans. When I was a kid, you liked a band, so you paid $20-$25 for their CD. You probably also spent $50-$75 to go see them in concert and when you were there, you bought a $20 T-shirt. The artist would get a cut of each of those sales and that would be it - fan pays artist. Obviously, there were labels and other third parties involved as well, but for the most part, the money changed hands pretty logically. Today, however, large portions of artist’s income are derived from places like YouTube and advertising. So at the end of the day, what's happened is that money changes hands differently today than it ever did before.

Today, artists don't sell albums as much and they give a lot of their art away. For instance, I can go on YouTube right now and search for Canadian homeboy, Justin Bieber's latest hit, Beauty and the Beat, and listen to it over and over again - ostensibly without paying a single penny.

So how does Justin get paid? Well, in part, it's through advertisements. The ads placed by companies like Coke and even non-profits like World Vision will pay Justin - and we'll just keep watching for free…or so we think.

The reality though, is that in order for Coke and World Vision to keep up with the growing advertising options and the need to pay artists salaries (the amount they get paid is not the point here), they will need to sell more product (or increase their prices) and gain more donations respectively. So at the end of the day, the money will still come out of our pockets. It will just take a far more circuitous route to get to the artist. This will also mean that advertising budgets of organizations across the world will continue to grow and perhaps even soar in the years to come.

The challenge for us as an ad agency working in this new economy is that connection isn't easy to see and people will have a hard time understanding why advertising budgets are going up and in turn, the cost of "stuff" is going up. Furthermore, in all this devaluation of creative art, advertising as an art form is being devalued as well. It's an art form to come up with a creative concept. It's an art form to design an effective ad, website or mobile app. Programming is also equal parts technical skill and art. And along with our music, movies and television, in the minds of many, advertising should be cheap too - if not free.

And the consumer? Well, we may think we're getting some stuff for free, but we're giving away a lot more than just dollars and cents, we're giving away ourselves. We're allowing our preferences to be saved up in databases all over the place, to the degree that our personalities, likes and dislikes can be predicted and our online experiences massaged to fit our specific tastes. If you don't believe me, go and pick a movie on Netflix that you wouldn't normally pick, watch 10 minutes and then go back to your library and see all the new movies that show up. Your profile changed based on the selection you made. As long as you stay within that profile, your movie options will stay the same. If you change, so will they and each time you make a new selection, the more detailed and accurate is the picture of you as a person in that database.

This new economy is unknown territory and it comes with many different risks.

So what's my point?

Well, there's a number of things to consider, both as consumers and advertisers (presuming you're part of your organizations advertising):

Consumers:

Realize that there are costs to the "free" stuff you're getting. Some way, some how, artists will be paid and the money will come from you eventually.
Part of the new economy is a new currency - you.
Stop devaluing advertising because it pays for your "free" stuff.
Don't be surprised when the costs of goods and services go up because organization's advertising budgets have ballooned.

Branded Organizations:

Expect to grow your ad budgets, because the options are vast and artists need to get paid.
Stop devaluing advertising because it pays for your "free" stuff.

New Wallpaper: Be Yourself

RAY — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:12:00 +0000

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #043: "Be Yourself".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 043
Be Yourself

The Fruit

BRIAN — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 08:30:00 +0000

In our experience, we have seen many organizations working on the fruit and not the important components, which produce the fruit.

We are privileged to work with many agriculturally based companies and often rub shoulders with the people who feed us on a daily basis. From that experience, we know that if you ask a farmer, he will tell you that when the fruit is mature, there isn’t much you can do to make it better. You might be able to shine it up a little on your sleeve, but if it’s bad, you’ve just drawn attention to the badness.

The same holds true for what you are selling/promoting (the fruit). Focusing your efforts on the final product and ignoring your brand is an exercise in fruitility (pun intended) and disappointment.

Nature teaches us, along with many other scenarios, that we must look after the plant in order to realize great fruit. We must carefully look after (nurture, empower and protect) the brand, which will then produce the desired results.

We’ve all heard the saying money doesn’t grow on trees. Often, that’s because we haven’t looked after our tree like we should have.

R.F. Please!

ANDREW — Thu, 7 Mar 2013 08:30:00 +0000

For those who don't know, RFP stands for: Request For Proposal. The purpose of an RFP is to provide an outline of the specifications for a project that you hand off to a number of different vendors in order to receive quotes back from them.

Now, in that statement, there's an inherent directive that often gets overlooked in many RFP's.

Most vendors in our business can recount stories of receiving RFP's from organizations that were for $100,000+ of work and the RFP was 10 pages long, 9 of which were taken up with information about the mission of the organization and details of how the proposal should be structured - leaving the project specifications to one page.

To put that in context, I have also seen 50-page proposals that dedicated 30 of it's pages to project specifications and there were still gaps in the project definition. So, that perspective can help you appreciate that the one-page project spec. really isn't going to provide more than the broadest of broad strokes to the vendors.

The challenge that a weak RFP presents is that it doesn't give vendors an opportunity to quote effectively. Their proposed approach and associated numbers are based on speculation and as such, one vendor’s proposal can vary wildly from that of another vendor. This doesn't give the vendors a fair shake at the project and it requires them to do a lot of strategic thinking for free while not being assured of any work. As such, it's a huge risk.

But even more importantly, it doesn't really give the organization issuing the RFP a good sense of how the vendors stack up against one another. In other words, the whole purpose of the process is undermined.

By providing as much definition in your RFP as you can, you create a baseline from which to evaluate various vendors. Sure, there's still room for them to get creative and suggest additions or revisions to round out their pitch, but if you force them to quote on a well-defined standard and then provide any revisions/additions as separate costs, you'll have a great baseline to compare and contrast them.

That all being said, I realize that there's a flaw in that plan.

What if you don't know what you need and don't have the people in-house to help you figure it out? Web development projects are a frequent offender for this kind of thing and the idea of having to spec out the whole project can seem daunting.

Thankfully, the answer is simple. You're not ready to issue an RFP for the full project yet.

What you need to do is issue an RFP for a Project Requirements Definition. You need to bring someone in to help you define the project well and then help you define the RFP for the actual project. Project planning is a fundamental element to a successful project and if you can't do it alone, be willing to bring someone in to help with it!

Separating that process from the project bid process will allow you to ensure that you minimize risk for everyone. And again, vendors may provide you with tweaks to the project plan/execution, but the specification you put out in the RFP will allow them to at the very least, quote against other vendors and then strategize above and beyond that.

New Wallpaper: Brand Positioning

RAY — Mon, 4 Mar 2013 14:16:00 +0000

"A brand should strive to own a word in the mind of the consumer." - Al Reis and Laura Reis

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #042: "Brand Positioning".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 042
Brand Positioning

New Wallpaper: Opportunities

RAY — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:56:00 +0000

"Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming." - Richard Branson

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #041: "Opportunities".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 041
Opportunities

New Wallpaper: Be Heard

ANDREW — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:55:00 +0000

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #040: "Be Heard".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 040
Be Heard

The Tools, They Are a-Changin'

ANDREW — Thu, 7 Feb 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Do you hear that? That sound? You have to stop and think about it to catch it.

It's noise.

The noise of Facebook and Twitter. The noise that we've all become so accustomed to, that we don't even notice it much anymore.

As a brand, it's also the noise that you have to cut through in order to be heard.

Twitter is probably the bigger of the two culprits here. Facebook is less noisy, but it has other problems. With the changes they've made in the last year (paid advertising system), fewer-and-fewer of your posts are actually showing up in people's Facebook feed. That's on top of research that was saying more-and-more people were "hiding" (the equivalent of unsubscribing) posts from the pages they were fans of even before paid advertising hit.

So once again, we're faced with the reality that your communications need to be driven by strategy. Throwing more money and time at the problem isn't the answer. An effective overall strategy that intelligently leverages all of your marketing and advertising mix is.

For instance, we've found that our email newsletters have been instrumental in bringing real engagement to our blog. And that means that we are helping more people, which is what we're all about!

We still use Facebook and Twitter, but they are secondary drivers of engagement. That test (using newsletters) came out of analyzing our own personal tendencies to really appreciate newsletters from organizations that are doing email well. When they do, it's valuable to us and they create a positive brand impression that leads to an excellent brand/customer relationship.

But that's just one example of mediums changing. The reality is that the mediums will just keep changing in the coming months and years.

What doesn't change? Sound strategy.

So if you do, stop talking about your Twitter strategy or your Facebook strategy, and instead, talk in terms of your marketing strategy. Talk in terms of your audience. Understand them and their needs. That way, it won't be about the ever-changing tools - there's no way they should drive your communications. Your communications need to be about the people and the strategy of connecting with them. Then you'll know which tools to use and how to use them.

And by all means, if you need help with that, give us a call.

New Desktop Wallpaper: Believe

RAY — Mon, 4 Feb 2013 15:12:00 +0000

"Believe you can and you're halfway there" - Theodore Roosevelt

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #039: "Believe".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 039
Believe

Why Does Branding Matter?

ANDREW — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:30:00 +0000

Why does branding matter?

It matters because you and most of the people you know probably think that the Apple iPhone is the best-selling smartphone on the market. You presume it. You might even consider it to be common knowledge.

The reality though, is that Android devices own 70% of the market. Apple, in comparison, currently sits at 22%.

But which company comes to mind first when asked about smartphones? And which one has the most passionate and vocal fans?

The difference? Branding.

Let's talk.

New 4.0 Template: More Than Just a Number

RAY — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:25:00 +0000

We are pleased to announce a new BarkBuilder 4.0 template entitled "More Than Just a Number"!

As usual, all BarkBuilder 4.0 templates are fully customizable including the ability to change the layout, styles, colors, fonts, etc. Resource files for the new template can be found in the Themes section of your 4.0 Admin Panel.

To change your template at any time, login to your BarkBuilder account and select "Themes".

Note: If you would like to have Bark Communications customize a template specifically for your organization, please contact us. We can also assist you with your branding, marketing and communications strategy. View a sample in our portfolio.

New Wallpaper: Conversion

RAY — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:10:00 +0000

“If content is king, then conversion is queen.” - John Munsell

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #038: "Conversion".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 038
Conversion

Desktop Backgrounds - Inspire Us!

DEREK — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 08:30:00 +0000

We know that a lot of you are downloading and sharing our desktops and that's excellent!

The desktops are intended to be an inspiration to the Bark community and so from time-to-time, we like to touch base with you to ask for ideas that you would like to see wallpapers created for.

So if you have a quote by someone famous or a tidbit of timeless wisdom that we have not done a wallpaper for, please leave a request in the comment section of this blog post and we will get to work on it in upcoming weeks!

We certainly appreciate your love for our wallpapers and participation in the community, so open up the floodgates and we'll get to work!

New Wallpaper: Direction

RAY — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 11:32:00 +0000

“You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight” - Jim Rohn

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #037: "Direction".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 037
Direction

Dropping The Hammer

ANDREW — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 11:33:00 +0000

In the last week, two articles have come to my attention, each one showing the different sides of effective branding. I encourage you to give both articles a full read, but here are my quick breakdowns:

Article 1 - The city of Hamilton, ON hired an out-of-town firm to develop a campaign for them. Unfortunately, some gaffes were made, such as: Twitter feed contributors had no idea that Hamilton's public transit system was known as the HSR, images of Hamilton, Ohio's courthouse were used on Pinterest, and a T-shirt was made which stated the population of Hamilton is 354, likely representing the small town of Hamilton, Washington, not the half million+ people living in Hamilton, Ontario. The firm has since offered an apology to the residents of the City of Hamilton on the Our Voice, Our Hamilton website that had been developed as part of the campaign, but forgiveness doesn't seem to be forthcoming.

Article 2 - A CBC article highlighting the fact that Hamilton has seen the biggest drop in welfare cases since the 2008 recession hit. The article personalizes the facts of the case by telling the story of Circe Luna, who, just one year ago, was living off of the Ontario Works program and now, is a creative and design specialist for City Kidz, a non-profit agency that works with inner-city youth.

So, what's the difference here?

Well first off, I want to be clear that my intent is not to defame or denounce the firm in the first article. These things do happen and there are reasons why a firm might be put in a position wherein this kind of thing can happen - we really don't know the whole story.

My point though, is about honest, authentic, human communication.

The campaign developed for Hamilton is called, Our Voice, Our Hamilton, and in developing that excellent theme, the expectation is that communications in that campaign would actually be the voices of Hamilton - clearly, they weren't.

But when you read an article that talks about a huge success story for Hamilton in terms of an overall improvement in welfare numbers and then communicates that win in terms of the story of a human being who is part of the story and is now helping that story come true for others, you've truly landed on an example of, Our Voice, Our Hamilton.

It's honest. It's real. And it's effective.

That's what good branding (and the marketing and advertising within the brand) looks like.

New Desktop Wallpaper: Simplicity

RAY — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 10:40:00 +0000

“Simplicity is complexity resolved.” - Constantin Brancusi, Sculptor

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #036: "Simplicity".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 036
Simplicity

Co-operative Success!

ANDREW — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 15:12:00 +0000

We don’t talk about this very often, but one of the ways that we try to give back to our community is through our co-op program. Over the past 4 years, we’ve played host to a few different individuals, each of whom continue to show great drive and passion to excel in their studies and work.

Of course, we hope that their experience with us is such that they will gain important experience in their field, but it’s also always a learning experience for us as well. Having young minds around the office always helps to bring perspective to our day and our work.

This past fall we had the great experience of having co-op student, Sarah, join us for 4 months. Throughout her time with us, Sarah demonstrated a fantastic ability and passion to tell a story through video and other visual mediums.

As we roll into 2013, we’re looking back on our past co-op experience and wish each of those students all the best and we also look forward to new opportunities in the future!

"Liking". You're Doing It Wrong

ANDREW — Thu, 3 Jan 2013 08:30:00 +0000

Picture the following two scenarios:

Scenario 1:

Fellow employees at a large company, Jane and Mary, who have never had an interaction but know of each other through the grapevine, walk into a meeting they've both been requested to attend and are the first ones to arrive. To break the ice, Jane walks over and says: "Hi! You're Mary right? My name is Jane". From there, Jane and Mary get talking and find that they've got some common interests and over time become friends.

Scenario 2

Jane and Mary walk into the same meeting, but in this case, when Jane introduces herself, Mary responds by asking: "Yes I am Mary, but before we talk any further, I'd like you to send out an email to everyone you know, letting them know that you now know me. I'd also really appreciate it if, before we talk any further, you could commit to follow everything I say in public in the future. If you can agree to those terms, then I'd be happy to continue this conversation."

Absurd, right?

So then why does this happen on Facebook?

Why are there companies out there who think that the right way to get a "Like" on Facebook is to demand that a user "Like" their page before they'll even show the page to the user? It's called fan-gating and although it's "proven", it's ridiculous in context of effective branding (in some cases I've seen, the user doesn't even know what the company does before clicking "Like"!).

It's a case of everything that is old is new again because these same conversations were happening years ago when it came to email newsletter sign ups. Organizations were blocking content on their site until a user gave them their personal currency (name, address, email, phone, etc...). They were getting it wrong with email back then and that sales-first mentality has now drifted into the new medium of Facebook "Likes".

It's numbers for the sake of numbers and it has nothing to do with creating real advocates or fans.

Think human when you're marketing. Think relational. Think common sense.

Merry Christmas from Bark!

ANDREW — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 09:16:00 +0000

Well, that time of the year is upon us again and I think most of you would probably join me in asking, where did 2012 go?!

Our hope is that as the holidays are essentially upon us, that you get a chance to step away from the speed of life that helped turn 2012 into a blur, and spend some time slowing down with family and friends.

For our part, we'll be slowing down on Friday at noon to be precise - that's when our doors close for the holidays and we'll be off until January 2.

During that time, the blog will go "dark". However, do feel free to track with us on Twitter and Facebook as we'll be posting there about any urgent issues that could arise and you'll still be able to enjoy our Photo of the Day feature via them.

So, on behalf of the entire team here at Bark Communications, we hope that you have a great Christmas celebration and a Happy New Year! Kind of like our buddy Mike Tompkins already seems to be having:

S.E. Oh!

ANDREW — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 10:36:00 +0000

On a number of occasions in the last 12 months, existing and prospective clients have approached us with questions about Search Engine Optimization ("SEO").

The frequency with which it has been coming up and the importance people are placing on it as part of decision-making criteria for which agency to work with tells me that this is something that has recently become more top-of-mind for marketing professionals and executive leadership.

The really interesting thing about it is that when we've tried to explain the realities of SEO today - that positive search results are more dependent on good, relevant content than keywords - people have seemed to balk. They just can't seem to believe that their site content has that much to do with it. To be clear, keywords and Meta data are still necessary, but content optimization and inbound/outbound links are far more important and have a far greater impact on your rankings.

I believe that people struggle with what we're trying to tell them for one or more of the following reasons:

It's possible that they've been influenced by SEO firms that haven't been able to adjust to the new reality of SEO. Those firms try to validate their services by not telling the whole story.
Keyword effectiveness measurement and optimization is easier to understand and more tangible so people gravitate towards it.
Content optimization requires a pretty fundamental shift in approach, which could be scary for some firms because:
- It requires a change to the core of how a business communicates
- It has to do with the very product/service the organization offers
- It’s based on good brand communications and people sometimes shrug that off as too soft a science to be legitimate

The reality, however, is that Google themselves have been speaking clearly to this issue and with almost 67% of the desktop-based search market, they carry a pretty big stick.

The key thought from that video that I want to draw your attention to is that, around 2005, firms that specialize in Search Engine Optimization ("SEO's") lost focus. They got caught trying to 'game' the system. They tried to figure out how to work within Google's algorithms in order to achieve positive rankings. But Google has always, from day one, been focused on the user and providing them a good search experience. Their methods (algorithms) to achieve that goal will constantly change, but their primary goal will not. Their perfect world is when a user logs on to google.com, runs a search for something they want (with whatever search phrases/terms that that user deems best), and arrives at content that is meaningful and valuable for them.

Strategically, therefore, the answer is to follow Google's lead and chase the user, not the search engine algorithm. Strive to offer a valuable product or service and to communicate its value well. If you do that, not only will you get positive SEO results, but it will also help you stay current. The issue with many SEO's is that they lost sight of the bigger picture of what Google is about and when they did that, they were open to get off track, eventually becoming obsolete – they couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

So what's the lesson?

Good branding wins again!

We here at Bark preach Honesty and Quality as fundamental pillars of a healthy brand. You need to honestly communicate who you are - your advertising & marketing should not be a massive effort to game the system. If you've been communicating honestly and you are providing a quality product or service that benefits your audience, then 'gaming' strategies won't fit your brand. In fact, there's no reason to game the system at that point - your work will speak for itself and Google will find it.

Again, I'm not saying that you shouldn't optimize your site structure, code, keywords and Meta data - these are fundamental things to do on your site. But you don't just want fundamental. You don't just want to do what everyone else does. You want to do something outstanding. Something that your customers will notice. So that they, and Google, have a great reason to talk about you!

Be about excellence. Be about your audience. We say this all the time and SEO is one practical example of why!

Merry Christmas: A New Desktop Wallpaper

RAY — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:45:00 +0000

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #035: "Merry Christmas: The one time each year that we get gifts on someone else's birthday."

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 035
Merry Christmas

Bark Partners with IBAO

RAY — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:30:00 +0000

Bark Communications is pleased to announce that it has partnered with the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) to assist them in providing robust web solutions for their broker network.

The partnership will leverage Bark’s popular content management system, BarkBuilder, which is used by thousands of organizations worldwide.

Ray Majoran, CEO of Bark Communications notes, “We are very excited about this partnership and what it will mean for IBAO brokers. Our hope is that we can assist them in raising the bar when it comes to communicating excellence on the web.”

More details will be announced in Q1 of 2013.

Marketing Buzzwords: Content Marketing

ANDREW — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:18:00 +0000

One of the marketing buzzwords that's been floating around for the past couple of years is "content marketing".

Yet, despite how frequently it pops up on our radar, I get the distinct impression that many people either: a) don't know about it, b) haven't associated the name "content marketing" to a phenomenon that they have already engaged, or c) fear that it gives too much away.

So, in the interests of filling in the gaps for people that fall into categories a and b, let's start with what content marketing is.

In my research for this post, I found a blog post that lists 21 definitions of content marketing. I think the fact that the blogger of that post was able to pull together 21 different definitions of the term is helpful in understanding why content marketing is so badly understood. Another post highlighted 11 different synonyms for content marketing - again reinforcing why the concept is unclear in a lot of people's minds.

So, in sharing what I'm about to, my intent is not to add more confusion to an already confused topic. Rather, my hope is to clarify it - to bring it down into its simplest form in language that regular people use.

Content marketing - Sharing the ideas, knowledge and experience that you have on a specific topic in order to establish yourself as credible and valuable in that area.

If you want an example of content marketing - then I can tell you that you're looking at it right now. Our blog is content marketing. It's us sharing our ideas, knowledge and experience with you for free. By means of this blog, we are hoping to help you. But we are also hoping to grow our market, both in depth and size. We want you to grow in your appreciation for our knowledge base and as such, more-and-more come to think of us as your go-to resource for marketing, advertising and branding. If we've done that, then we also hope that you will want to share that appreciation for us with your friends, or that our name will pop up when someone asks you: "Hey, by the way, do you know of any good branding agencies?"

Of course, the onus is on us to provide you with content that is valuable to you - content that helps you and people like you. Content marketing, therefore, starts with the audience - it's all about you. It also ends with the audience because it's up to you to do something with it. We can't force your hand in it and so the success of an organization's content marketing lies in your hands.

There's a lot more that could be said by way of definition and clarification, but this is a blog post, not a book, so I'll move on because I still have to deal with that third group: those people that think content marketing is risky because you're giving your expertise away.

The chief complaint or concern that I have heard surrounding content marketing is that engaging in content marketing essentially means you are giving away the very ideas, knowledge and experience that make you valuable to others - those skills and experiences that are the reason people hire you or give you money. The fear therefore, is that content marketing will cannibalize your market.

The reality though is that this doesn't happen. Knowing is only half the battle. Applying that knowledge is an entirely different thing and it takes time, effort, knowledge and experience to apply well.

If you don't believe me, think about people who go to church. The reality is that churches don't really offer anything that you can't get online. You can access the Bible. You can watch sermons. You can listen to religious music. You can connect with friends of like faith. And yet, people still go to church week-in-and-week-out - they have for hundreds and hundreds of years. Why? Because there's more to church than just facts and videos.

From a corporate or organizational perspective, if you think about it, there's a lot of stuff available on the Internet these days. You could probably gather all the knowledge you'd need in order to become a lawyer if you wanted to by just reading books and checking out online resources. Then you could handle your organizations legal needs. But no one is going to do that, particularly when they are busy with another job. Furthermore, in a discipline like branding, agencies everywhere have been marketing their content for years and as a result, everything you'd need to brand well is there at your fingertips. Yet, there are a couple of things that are still missing. As mentioned above, the ability to apply those learnings well and efficiently is one of them. The other is perspective. One of the biggest things that we bring to the table when we enter into a relationship with a client is a fresh perspective. We can look at the issues the client has been struggling with for years and immediately identify the problems and provide solutions. That kind of perspective is invaluable and can't be given away via content marketing. The same is true of any discipline. There's an element of experience and 'gut instinct' that content marketing will never be able to replace.

So hopefully this post has provided some clarity to the world of content marketing and removed some roadblocks to you considering engaging in it, or perhaps just acknowledging that you already are doing it and seeking to engage it strategically. If the latter is the case, I know a great branding firm that could give you a hand (hint, hint. nudge, nudge.)

Photo of the Day

ANDREW — Wed, 5 Dec 2012 07:30:00 +0000

For many years now, we've been trying to inspire you - 16 years to be exact. It's been an interesting road and along the way, our methods of inspiration have changed. It started simply, by setting a new standard with our work in the web industry and it grew to include print and other traditional media and then grew again when social media came along in earnest.

Throughout that time, we started offering downloadable desktops and grew to add PowerPoint backgrounds, a blog and a Twitter feed, all of which were intended to reach out to you and inspire your thinking about the value of good brand imaging.

Today, I'm happy to announce our newest addition to our Inspiration family - the Photo of the Day.

We've always had a few shutterbugs in the office and we've been known to shoot custom photography for our clients in the past. But in the last year in particular, we've seen our efforts and opportunities increased and the results have been some great images that we want to share with you.

The images will be shared on Twitter and Facebook and they range in inspiration. Some were commissioned by our clients; others are images that we've taken as we've been out shooting as part of a hobby; others came from mission trips and vacations; still others just came by way of an unplanned, inspiring moment that we just had to stop and capture.

Our hope is that these images will provide you with real examples of authenticity, beauty and wonder and that along the way, they'll inspire you to redouble your efforts towards good brand imaging.

Today's Photo of the Day: "A Foggy Reflection"

New Wallpaper: Lost Time

RAY — Mon, 3 Dec 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Lost time is never found again. - Benjamin Franklin

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #034: "Lost Time".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 034
Lost Time

Handle With Care

BRIAN — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 08:30:00 +0000

If your brand is in a delicate spot, handle with care.

The health of brands is in a constant state of flux. Depending on many influencing factors, your brand could be stronger than ever, or weak and desperate, in which case extra care should be exercised.

The other day I was eating in a restaurant with one of my colleagues and an employee of an internet & phone service provider that I'm a customer of walked in wearing a really nice sweater with his company's logo on it. After further examination (not hard to spot), I realized it was a Bench sweater. For those who don't know the Bench brand, it's a high-end (translated expensive) clothing brand.

Being a long-term customer of this person's company, my thoughts went directly to the internet bill which I was presented with a month ago. It was so unreasonable in comparison to the competition, that I was forced into tough negotiations in order to get it to a reasonable rate. Furthermore, just this last week, I was mailed a notice from the same company informing me that my home phone charges are going up.

Without realizing it, that trendy, comfortable, really nice sweater has become a very poignant, visual, negative brand impression, when in my opinion one can not be afforded.

Some may think I am over reacting, but the point is that this is what your customers do. They feel things.

Everything you do that touches your customer has the potential to grow or diminish your brand impression.

Handle with care.

LIVE BarkBuilder Webinar!

CRAIG — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 11:09:00 +0000

Bark Communications is pleased to announce our first ever, LIVE webinar presentation to our existing BarkBuilder users!

Our first webinar will walk through the new 4.0 version of the platform, and answer any questions that you submit through the signup form. It will take place on Thursday, December 13, 2012 at 1:30pm EST / 10:30am PST. If you are interested, please click here to sign up and ask your questions!

Please note that this event will be limited to the first 10 people that sign up. Those 10 will then be notified via email to confirm their place in the webinar and provided details on how to access the session.

We look forward to training you on BarkBuilder 4.0 and to helping you get the most out of it!

New Wallpaper: Outside the Box

RAY — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 23:12:00 +0000

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #033: "Outside the Box".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 033
Outside the Box

West Elgin Mutual Brand Launch

ANDREW — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 10:10:00 +0000

Today, we are so pleased to announce the launch of yet another brand initiative for a member of the Ontario Mutuals group, namely, West Elgin Mutual Insurance Company.

Earlier this year, West Elgin contacted us indicating that they were looking to undertake a website redesign and potentially look at other communications as well. As we discussed their brand with them, it became increasingly clear to both parties that a bigger-picture branding exercise was needed to provide West Elgin with a foundation that would allow them to achieve their business goals.

Those goals included recognition of an ageing customer base and as a result, a need to create a brand that would appeal to a younger audience. West Elgin knows that it has the right products and services to serve both demographics - the challenge has been that their materials were predominantly targeted, both in style and content, to their existing customer base.

Furthermore, as West Elgin Mutual has grown to locations in Aylmer, Shedden, Rodney and the head office in Dutton, they've had to grapple with a name that, although fitting for many, many years, was no longer representative of who they had become.

Armed with that knowledge and our experiences with the mutual, we set about the business of redeveloping the brand image of the organization. We didn't need to change who West Elgin Mutual is because they are great at what they do, we just needed to build a brand image that would better represent them and facilitate the growth of their brand and market. We also wanted to do all of that without forgetting who West Elgin Mutual had been in the past.

As the cornerstone of any brand image, the logo was the first stop in our conversations.

As we came to appreciate, their logo had a lot of history and nostalgia attached to it. At the time that the mutual was founded in 1880, the community that it operated in was largely of Scottish decent and as a result, the logo was developed with a number of Scotch elements in it. In addition to listing the founding year, the logo contained a classic tam o'shanter and the acronym "WEM" was set on a backdrop of a sporran, the pouch included in traditional Scottish Highland dress uniforms. As time wore on however, the community around West Elgin Mutual became significantly more diverse and as a result, generally speaking, the visual impact and even the comprehension of the logo elements was lost. Additionally, the styling of the logo had seen it's day and so a freshening up was in order.

So we engaged the logo process, got creative and came up with a number of logo options for West Elgin Mutual's consideration. These first logos were strong and after some narrowing of options and revisions to a specific logo, we were nearing completion. Yet, something was nagging at both teams. The logo process that had been dictated by a desire to not stray too far from the original hadn't worked to the fullest degree and both parties were left thinking there was still something else on the table. So, back to into design we went and from that second go-round, we landed on the logo you're looking at today.

Font wise, it was important in developing the new logo to remember where West Elgin had come from and so we opted for a simple, lower case serif font for the words "West Elgin". The lower case, gave that dominant text a more approachable feel that accurately reflects the West Elgin Mutual culture and service ethos. The smaller words, "Mutual Insurance" were juxtaposed in light, upper case font to maximize legibility and provide a good anchor for the piece.

But the real power of the new logo came with the icon. The simple, orange box framing the letters "we", performed the dual task of representing the mutuals name while also giving us a chance to talk about personal relationships in terms of "we" - a campaign was born.

The inspiration provided by the logo icon drove the development of the subsequent communications elements. These included (see below for a visual reference of these pieces):

stationery (letterhead, envelopes, business cards)
website
brochure
calendar template
promotional products (pens, shirts)
signage

Amongst those mediums, the brochure is the one that bears highlighting the most. West Elgin's needs were such that a standardized brochure wasn't ideal. They know that each client has unique needs and that not every element of the insurance solutions that the mutual provides may apply. So we created a modular brochure that has a sleeve with the front cut out making it look like a frame. Into that frame, West Elgin Mutual agents are able to place a customized set of handouts on the unique products that would appeal to the needs of the customer in question.

On the front of each of those handouts are phrases that play on the "we" theme, so sayings like: "we work together" and "we value farming" are presented to the user when looking at the brochure. This modular and campaign based approach allow for a more personal and effective communication of the brand offering of West Elgin Mutual.

Over all, we are very proud of this integrated campaign and are thankful to West Elgin Mutual for the opportunity to develop it with and for them.

Price Point is Not The Point

ANDREW — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 10:36:00 +0000

This week has brought a few reminders of how price can be a tempting and very natural reactionary marketing strategy, but one that doesn't actually solve sales problems.

The most recent reminder was an article about Groupon.

The two quotes that caught my attention the most in that article were:

The discounts offered through the Groupon coupons have turned out to be costly, and the repeat business they generate uncertain.

A Raymond James survey of roughly 115 merchants that used daily deals services during the fall found that 39 percent of merchants said they were not likely to run another Groupon promotion over the next couple of years. The top reasons cited were high commission rate and low rate of repeat customers gained through offering a promotion.

So here's the lesson that I take from that - clearly, deals and price cuts don't make advocates.

It's not to say that discounts and price cuts aren't a tool that you can use - they very well might be a good strategy to get people in the door (Groupon seems to succeed just fine in this area). But as a product or service provider, if you don't then knock people's socks off with an excellent product or service, very likely the only reason they'll ever come back is if you offer them yet another deal. When that happens, the only thing your price breaks are doing, is de-valuing and commoditizing your offering.

So, no matter how tempting it may seem to offer a price cut as a quick fix solution to a drop in sales (particularly in tough economic times), for every dollar that you chop off your price point, or discount you offer, you'd better spend a commensurate amount of time improving your product or service offering and the customer support around it while also communicating all of the value and impact that your product or service brings to the customer.

In the case of Groupon, the reality is that they likely aren't the problem - the problem is the intimate relationship that their business model has with the retailers who lack bigger picture, strategic thinking.

Simply stated, don't be one of those companies or organizations.

And yes, if you are a not-for-profit, these rules still apply for you. The quality of what you do and the support around it is always where good marketing and advertising starts.

11/11: A Commemorative Desktop Wallpaper

RAY — Fri, 9 Nov 2012 07:46:00 +0000

November 11 is Veteran's Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in Canada. To commemorate, we've designed a new desktop wallpaper titled "11/11". Download, share and most importantly, remember.

You can download the new desktop wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers.

Bark Inspiration Special Edition
11/11
Remember

The Problem of Social Media Revisited

ANDREW — Thu, 1 Nov 2012 08:45:00 +0000

As an unintended addendum to last week's post, I wanted to share a personal anecdote and a little something I learned through it…

Yesterday, a friend of mine "endorsed" me on LinkedIn.

Now to be clear, there are two ways to recommend someone on LinkedIn. You can click on a button that says you endorse a specific skill of a person (or add a new skill), or alternatively, you can write a recommendation like a reference would on a resume.

What my friend did falls under option one - he endorsed a skill he's seen and appreciates in me by clicking a button. Seeing the notification email, I logged in to view the endorsement at which point I was presented with an option to endorse four other individuals for specific skills - each endorsement happening simply at the click of a button.

That made me think…how much do our endorsements really mean? Of course, anytime a professional contact takes time to endorse me I really appreciate it. But for me, as I look at clicking those buttons, what would mean more? Me clicking a button, or me taking the time to write a recommendation highlighting the specific values of my interactions with that individual? No doubt, the latter is more meaningful and carries more weight.

But I also wonder, what will I (we) revert to more often? Will I succumb to the ease of a button click and as such, pass on the opportunity to add far more significant value to someone else's online presence?

It's a microcosm of the bigger issue that I highlighted in last week's post. As mentioned above, I really had no intention of making that into a two-part post, but this week, as the rubber hit the road for me on LinkedIn, I thought I'd share the practical implication I came across in my own usage of social media.

So let me encourage you to go ahead and click that "Endorse" button (especially if it's me you're endorsing :), but do so considerately - thinking through whether you truly do endorse that skill in that person. And beyond that, I'll add a challenge to ask yourself this question: If this person is good enough for me to endorse with the click of a button, are they also worth a well-thought-out recommendation as well? If they are, don't shy away from it. Take the time and give them their due.

In other words, as our social media platforms present us with more and more efficiencies, don't forget to be human while we use them.

BarkBuilder 4.0 is Here!

CRAIG — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:44:00 +0000

Bark Communications is pleased to announce the Official Beta Release of BarkBuilder 4.0!

BarkBuilder 4.0 gives you a lot more flexibility when it comes to your design, site structure and search engine management. You can read a full blog about it here.

“This is a huge step in the right direction”, says Ray Majoran, CEO of Bark Communications. “Small businesses have been asking for this kind of flexibility and control for a long time.”

Ray also notes that one of the biggest additions to BarkBuilder 4.0 is its ability to better equip designers and developers.

“The model five or six years ago is much different than the model today”, says Ray. “In the past, many of the people signing up to BarkBuilder were business owners and administrators; they really depended on us for our professional template designs. Now, we still have a large number of businesses that want our designs, but we’re seeing an even greater number of businesses that want the flexibility to come up with their own look and feel. They have capable staff and freelancers within their network that are experienced, professional web designers.”

BarkBuilder 4.0 combines a unique mix of simplicity (for the basic user) and flexibility (for the more advanced user).

Customers using BarkBuilder 3.0 can now try version 4.0 when they login to their account. Pricing of 4.0 remains the same (or better in the case of Purple Suite users) as 3.0, and includes a number of upgraded services like unlimited pages, complete design control, unlimited events.

View Pricing Details | Compare Us With Others

New Calendar Option in BarkBuilder

RAY — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:26:00 +0000

As of today, users of BarkBuilder now have a new calendar option under the Events section of their website. The new calendar can be customized using a wide variety of color schemes.

The new calendar is available by default in BarkBuilder 4.0. If you’re using 3.0 and would like to switch to the new version:

Login to your BarkBuilder site
Click on My Content (at the top of the page)
Choose “Edit my Events”.
Click the “Event Options” tab.
Select the new calendar.

The Problem of Social Media

ANDREW — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 09:19:00 +0000

Let me tell you something about yourself.

If you're a person that says you hate social media, chances are, you don't.

You don't hate Facebook. You don't hate Twitter. You don't hate LinkedIn. You don't hate Pinterest. You don't hate YouTube.

What you hate, is how people use them.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., are nothing more than tools. Just like a telephone, they allow you to communicate with people you want to communicate with. All they are is various methods of connecting. Most likely, what actually bothers you when you look at Facebook, Twitter and the like, is how those tools are used.

Let me guarantee you that if you regularly picked up your phone to call your friend and did nothing but complain, chances are, that friend would eventually start screening your calls and not responding. You might even lose the friend. Additionally, if you constantly call them up just to let them know what you had for dinner, you present useless information and we all have enough of that to sift through on a daily basis already. Furthermore, if all you want to do with your friend on the phone is to promote your company, your friend will feel you are disingenuous and don't care about them.

So if those rules about phone usage are so easy to agree with, why do the rules seem to change when we get online?

That kind of usage isn't Facebook's fault - it's ours.

And it's also possible that it's your organization's problem too. We have GOT TO stop treating social media as anything other than an extension of customer, donor and constituent relationships, and good relationships aren't all about you.

This is why every single social media strategist worth their salt will start their recommendations with the first step in any effective communications strategy - listening.

Listening forces you to get audience-centric and it has the wonderful side-effect of making you engage like a human being when you do.

Problem is, if you're not even on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other platforms, you're not only not pushing messages out, you're not listening either.

Stop blaming the mediums and start strategically engaging them to extend your relationship with your audience.

Learning from a Light Switch

ANDREW — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 15:48:00 +0000

Let me paint a word picture for you.

In our office building, there is a back hallway that ends with some loading doors that we use for large shipments or for hauling our BBQ outside for a team lunch in the summer. The left side of the hallway is lined with bookshelves that hold office supplies, resources and all of our samples from past work and the right side is where our restrooms are.

And in that back-right corner, just to the left of the men's washroom door, is a light switch. That switch controls the light circuit for all of the main hallways in the building, and it doesn't work. I mean, technically, it works just fine - you flip the switch and the lights go on and if you flip it back the lights shut off.

But functionally, it doesn't work well at all because any time we have visitors into our office building, inevitably, if they are here long enough and are of the male gender, they'll make a trip down the back hall and as they do, they'll hit that switch as they walk into the restroom thinking that it's the light switch for it. Quickly, they realize that it isn't the restroom switch and the lights come right back on.

But it's that first impulse, the intuition to flip that switch that makes the switch dysfunctional.

So why is it there then? Well, for good reason actually. If you were to enter the building through the back loading doors, you might be doing so when no one else was around and would therefore, need to turn on the lights to see where you were going. So the functional need for a light switch is there. But that reality clashes with the reality of wisely placing your restrooms in the back corner of the building and all of a sudden, two good ideas have combined to create an issue.

Such is the reality of trying to plan and strategize your communications. Attempting to solve multiple problems often results in competing solutions. The communications problems you face are becoming ever more complex as more mediums are introduced and the complexity of those mediums deepens.

So it follows that unforeseen challenges arise. Challenges like a light switch that seem like such a simple thing to get right, but somehow ends up being really dysfunctional for first timers.

The overarching point is that after performing your due diligence in effective planning, successful communications still require you to put your project out there and while it is out there, learn about how it is or isn't working. Even more importantly, it requires you to be willing to make a change to it if something isn't working.

Having that attitude and understanding at the outset of your project will set you up to meet and exceed expectations, rather than to be shocked at the fact that ongoing investment is necessary.

Protect yourself from unrealistic expectations. Plan for success. Then, learn and revise to achieve that success.

So You Want A Mobile App?

ANDREW — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 10:40:00 +0000

More and more, we run into people who are looking to go mobile.

But as with any new technology, the oft-repeated reasoning behind the desire to "go mobile" goes something like this: "Other organizations have it, so we need to as well." That's not an effective decision-making methodology and it leaves a lot to be desired in terms of actually understanding what you're asking for. There are compelling reasons for SOME organizations to engage in a mobile strategy, but let it be just that - a strategy, not a whim.

For those of you that might be thinking about going mobile, you need to appreciate a few things.

First off, a Mobile Website and a Mobile App are two completely different things and within the world of mobile websites, there are a couple of different approaches, so the issue is complex. Additionally, the costs for developing a mobile presence can range significantly, but in most cases, people vastly underestimate the work and cost involved in developing a mobile presence.

So, for a quick, 10,000 ft. view of the issue, today's blog post serves as a little mobile primer.

Mobile Websites

As mentioned above, there are a couple of different ways in which to approach developing a mobile website.

First, a mobile website can be created by creating mobile customized CSS (cascading style sheet) for your website so that your site shows up better on a mobile device. The alternative would be to do nothing and then your site will simply appear squished on the user's screen. Without revised CSS, your user is required to drag around the screen to see the whole page and zoom in and out to take in content. Mobile customized CSS options include the current "buzzword" approach of Responsive Design. In layman's terms, Responsive Design allows the site to resize and restructure the page 'on the fly' so that the site will work no matter what device the user is viewing the site with. However, you have to appreciate that Responsive Design solutions that are done well aren't easy to implement and they require you to back up and re-think your existing desktop website from scratch because your desktop browser-based website will be the same as your mobile device website - so the financial, time and effort investments will be significant. Additionally, much of the ease of development that makes web design firms advocate Responsive Design is reliant on features of CSS version 3 that don't function properly on some browsers (most notably Internet Explorer 8 and prior). So, you need to take that into consideration as well.

Second, you could create a separate, mobile-specific website. Essentially, this is an entirely distinct process from developing the desktop/browser-based websites that we've all come to know (and love?). This option requires you to start from scratch and create a user experience that is significantly different than that of your desktop-based website. Typically, mobile-specific sites have simplified navigation structures which means you have to be very specific and intentional about what information you are going to put on your mobile-specific site. For most organizations, this is what we end up recommending and Radiant WebTools gives you the ability to pursue this option for a mobile version of your WebTools powered website at no additional cost.

Mobile Apps

In addition to all of those options, what most people will say is that they want a Mobile App. Here's what you need to know about Mobile Apps:

Mobile Apps are software applications that are designed to run on smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile devices. Us programmer types have always referred to programs like Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop as "applications" and that's where the name for these mini-applications for mobile devices comes from - they're "Apps". Perhaps that gives you a clue to how they are different from a website - they are installed programs. Apps might be cool and the big buzzword of the day, but mobile apps are typically expensive to develop, should really only be used for specific purposes, and won't get approved by the Apple App Store unless they do something that requires the features of the phone in order to function. What Apple is trying to do with that policy is ensure that people aren't inundating the App store with useless Apps, but adding value to the App world by making something that iPhone users will benefit from. Of course, there are other App stores that may have different policies on this kind of thing, but it's those nuances that many people don't necessarily realize when they turn to their marketing people and say: "We need a mobile App!"

But despite their popularity, there are drawbacks to Apps that you need to consider. First off, they require the user to install them whereas a website is immediately available without any install. Apps can be deleted - websites, not so much. Well-designed and developed mobile websites are available across numerous platforms (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc.…), whereas Apps are device-specific. Also, mobile websites are typically easier to find than an App. Now, to be fair, that's not to say categorically that no one should develop an App - there are definitely organizations that will benefit from one. But most people haven't even asked themselves the right questions to know before making an investment that could be a complete waste. For those of you who are on BarkBuilder and genuinely need an App, you should know that in the next 12 months, we will be looking to integrate a tool into BarkBuilder that will allow you to create your very own App. Stay tuned for more!

So, that's a long post…and yet, we're just scratching the surface of what it looks like to engage in the mobile world. We haven't gone deep into things like the mobile development process and we haven't backed up and asked bigger picture questions about what your mobile strategy is and how it fits with all your other marketing and advertising strategies. It's an extremely complicated consideration and it's one that you probably need help to work through.

Hopefully, this blog post will help you to appreciate that and then to make a better-informed decision about, if, or how you're going to go mobile.

----
Post edited on Oct 25, 2012

A Graceful Exit

ANDREW — Thu, 4 Oct 2012 11:55:00 +0000

It's easy to forget the value of finishing well - particularly when the finish isn't under the best of circumstances.

Zellers, Canada's second-largest chain of mass merchandise discount stores, is in it's last days and they are liquidating their stores.

Now, there's two ways they could have gone about advertising that closure. The first option was just to put out some simple ads. But they did more than that. They created an emotional connection via a brilliant social media campaign that features the chain's mascot, Zeddy.

Take a look:

In one fell swoop, they are effectively advertising their liquidation sale, creating an emotional response where there might not have been one before, and getting people to engage from the video on their Facebook page.

So, in your business, is there a product or service offering that you need to retire? If so, are you going to seize the opportunity and transition people out gracefully?

Your graceful exit could actually end up as a warm welcome.

Good Value for the Money

ANDREW — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:14:00 +0000

We in the advertising world talk a lot about value.

One lesson that I’ve learned and had reinforced repeatedly is that the value your customer places on a project or deliverable is directly related to how much they paid for it.

To be clear, in no way is that an argument to charge people exorbitant fees so they really appreciate and value the process. However, on the other end of the scale, if you’re thinking about price reductions as your marketing strategy, you might want to think again.

For instance, if you give someone something for free, it is commonplace that they will not value the process, deliverable or your time. Once there are dollars on the line, the project takes on a different level of importance. It’s been established on an investment – an investment that requires attention (further investment) to realize its potential.

That’s not to say that price shouldn’t be considered at all. It definitely needs to be. But consider it in relation to value and quality. Think about the fact that perhaps, it’s not your price that’s wrong, it’s your product / service or your communications around it.

If people don’t think your product or service or valuable, they won’t pay for it.

If you don’t price like it is valuable, it won’t be.

Timing Really Is Everything

ANDREW — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 17:13:00 +0000

So maybe you've got a trade show coming up and you think to yourself: "we need to freshen up our booth and our brochure...and while we're at it, maybe we should put together a little postcard to hand out to people at the conference so they remember us."

It's that last little thought that deserves more consideration than it usually gets.

If you want people to remember you, it's got to be about more than just hoping that the piece(s) you handed out to them at your booth will make it home with them and get put in a place where they'll see it again.

You have to be in more places. You have to not only present your brand when they expect it, but also when they don't. You have to reinforce your brand and that comes down to frequency.

Engage your audience with strategic communications. Not just strategic in messaging and design, but also strategic in timing.

It's Not You, It's Me

ANDREW — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:04:00 +0000

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself the question; does anyone need what I'm selling anymore?

One time to ask yourself that question is when all your marketing and advertising efforts just don't seem to add up to increases in sales.

The reason is that you've lost touch. You've been pushing something for so long, that you've forgotten to stop and ask any one of your customers, if, after all your hard work, you're actually giving them something they want or need.

Good marketing and advertising start with a good product and service around that product. Don't mistake them for silver bullets to solve your sales crisis.

Back your process up a step and take a look in before you look out.

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

ANDREW — Thu, 6 Sep 2012 12:12:00 +0000

Recently, I started watching Mad Men, the AMC drama focused on the lives of men and women in and around the advertising industry in the 1960's.

While the dramatic story lines that make up the bulk of the show haven't resonated with me, I have found myself enthralled with the scenes that include the creative process.

As a show that has been recognized for it's historical accuracy and contextualization of the advertising process, the realization has struck me that while so much has changed in the advertising world in the last 10-15 years, so many fundamental aspects of the creative and advertising process have remained the same - even over a span of 50 years.

There are two scenes in particular that speak to this.

The first is a scene in which a client with a retail store owner is presented with detailed research on her primary competitors. The conclusions that are made from the research and presented by the agency to the client end up being things that, for the most part, the client already does, which leads her to challenge the group of men around the table that they were so focused on her competitors that they failed to visit her store. It's a good lesson and one that is foundational to why ad agencies even exist. Part of our job (if done well) is to help you look in at yourself. Of course, reviews of your market and competitors are important, but we have to look inwards as well.

The second scene is one in which Don Draper (Creative Director at the fictional agency in the show) is presenting a campaign concept to it's client, Bethlehem Steel Company. He's pitching the idea that cities are made of steel with tone boards that have the artwork already drawn up to help the client envision the campaign. The boards say things like: "Chicago, brought to you by Bethlehem Steel" and "Philadelphia, brought to you by Bethlehem Steel". The client then does what many clients do and starts to poke holes. His one-two punch is the questions: "They're kinda plain, aren't they?" and "These feel like ads for cities." Can you see the holes in these challenges? Both are simply a matter of the artwork. It's the execution that the client is challenging, not the concept. While the artwork was intended to help the client envision the campaign, it's actually caused him to balk at it. The lesson here is that you can't judge a concept by the resulting artwork. The catch-22 is that often, it's hard to envision the concept without the artwork…welcome to our world :)

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post called Options Galore, in which, I talked a bit about our response to what can seem like an ever-growing and potentially concerning increase in mediums that organizations can and need to use to communicate with their audience(s).

Mad Men has reminded me that in spite of all those changes, some very important things will always stay the same and will always need to be kept central.

Options Galore

ANDREW — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:10:00 +0000

The options for advertising today are overwhelming.

Your budget, however, is not.

So what are you going to do?

Are you going to get into Social Media because someone told you that everyone was doing it? Are you going to invest in a billboard ad without investing in how you'll measure it? Will you develop a new website but not include the budget to do a mobile version of the site? Will you use YouTube and sacrifice quality or Vimeo and sacrifice potential impressions? Will you abandon an easily-measured online ad campaign to run a print ad in a local market?

Here's the trick to deciding.

Simplify.

When the options are many and the costs are too high, you have to make a strategic decision to do a few things (or maybe even just one thing), really, really well.

Research. Dream. Create.

ANDREW — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 13:49:00 +0000

"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."
- Henry Ford

Sometimes, people don't actually know what they want or need until you show it to them. What they think they want is subjective opinion informed by their own perspective and that often turns out to be the wrong solution.

That is why research, although valuable, will never be a silver bullet for effective marketing and advertising. It's a tool in your arsenal, but it's not your only tool. You've also got creativity, entrepreneurialism and "gut instinct". Those have to play into your decision-making as well.

So run your research project. But then listen to your gut too. Think of the un-thought idea. Approach the problem differently. Your creativity will make all the difference.

It's All Talk, Until You Hit the Dock.

ANDREW — Thu, 9 Aug 2012 12:18:00 +0000

We have a saying around the office: "It's all talk, until you hit the dock".

When we first started out as a bunch of “twenty-somethings”, we'd often take lunch excursions on a Friday and head over to a water driving range to hit balls together as a team. Out in the water, there were floating docks with targets that the golfers at the range would aim for.

Of course, as a bunch of young guys, we'd chirp one another about how great our golf games were, but when it came down to it, the real test of our abilities was whether or not we could hit the dock. As I sit in my office this morning, I realize just how good an analogy that is for the point I want to make today.

Many organizations tend to address slumps in sales by attempting to "talk", or advertise, their way out of the problem.

The problem is, that strategy doesn't work long-term. Eventually, someone's going to "go to the driving range" with you and if you can't back up your talk with your abilities, you've got a credibility issue. In other words, with a flawed strategy, no amount of advertising will save your organization.

This is why the first step in effective advertising is to back up and nail down solid answers, strategies and operations around the following questions:

What am I offering?
Who is my audience?
Do they need what I'm offering?
What do they say they need?
What is the competition like?

Then you get to move on to equally important questions like:

How will I distribute the product/service?
How will I provide service around it?
What is the brand?

It's at that point that you get a chance to advertise effectively.

It's about hitting the dock before you start to talk. It's about backing up your words. Really, it's about being honest with yourself and your audience.

That wins people over. That will grow sales. That is good, long-term strategy.

Anything else is all talk.

New Desktop Wallpaper: Truthful

RAY — Thu, 2 Aug 2012 09:24:00 +0000

"To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful." - Edward R. Murrow

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #032: "Truthful".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 032
Truthful

Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 8)

RAY — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 10:48:00 +0000

"Even the tiniest Poodle or Chihuahua is still a wolf at heart." - Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #031: "Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 8)". The new desktop is the final wallpaper in an 8-week wallpaper series focused on unleashing your brand.

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 031
Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 8)

BIG Changes Coming to BarkBuilder!

RAY — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 15:26:00 +0000

Today we are thrilled to tell you about something that we’ve been working on for over the last 16 months: BarkBuilder 4.0!

A Pre-Beta of BarkBuilder 4.0 will be announced today at the HOW Conference in Boston, MA; another private Beta will be launched on July 18; more details to follow in the next couple of weeks.

We've also launched a new Partner Program that enables you to make anywhere from 10-70% on referrals! (Read more about the Partner Program here.)

Here are three of the major things you can expect in BarkBuilder 4.0:

1. Absolute Design Control

You’re no longer limited in what you can accomplish from a design perspective. You can write your own HTML code, drag and drop modules anywhere you want. We’ve even written our own code library so that you can insert tags right into your HTML code (if you so choose). You can create as many templates as you want and have full control of how your site appears on a mobile browser. You can even create specific views for different types of mobile browsers (iPhone, iPad, Android, etc.)

2. Page Specific Module Settings

Control every page and make it look how you want it. You’re no longer limited as you were in 3.0. For example, if you want to create a content page that integrates your Twitter Feed and Blog in the right hand column, you can now do that.

3. Site Structure Changes

You’re no longer limited to having one blog, one events page, one news page, etc. You can create as many pages as you want with as many sections as you want. Drag and drop your entire sitemap in the order you want it, and create specific meta tags (for SEO) and marketing URLs for every page. You can choose to publish sections of your website on different dates, and we even give you a version history so that you can go back and make changes if you post something by accident!

BarkBuilder 4.0 is going to change the landscape of how you create and manage a website. To whet your appetite, we’ve included a few screen shots, below. Enjoy!

BarkBuilder Feature Update - Unlimited Pages!

CRAIG — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 11:17:00 +0000

Bark Communications is pleased to announce a significant upgrade to our platform, BarkBuilder, which improves the user experience at almost every suite level.

Each web suite now allows for UNLIMITED “Additional Pages”!

“Additional Pages” are those that are above and beyond the components already included in the service. Previously, the number of Additional Pages depended on which web suite you selected. Now, Bark offers an unlimited number of Additional Pages with every Suite…even the Yellow (free) suite!

This platform upgrade is part of the coming launch of a larger platform upgrade, scheduled for August.

Stay tuned as we roll out some outstanding updates!

Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 7)

RAY — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 09:44:00 +0000

"If your dog is fat, you're not getting enough exercise" - Unknown

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #030: "Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 7)". The new desktop is part of an 8-week wallpaper series on unleashing your brand.

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 030
Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 7)

Analyzing Site Stats with Google Analytics

CRAIG — Thu, 31 May 2012 12:03:00 +0000

An important step, after obtaining a website, is the ongoing management of the site, its content, and the user’s experience. A helpful tool to accomplish this is Google Analytics.

Google Analytics offers a variety of features through the statistical tracking of the visitors on your website. The following features are available through the service:

Number of hits on the site as a whole
Number of hits on individual pages
Visits by source (direct, search engine, social media)
Visits by country
Time spent on site
Time spent on each page
Visitor paths that display how the user navigates through the site
Site stats through a specific date range that you can choose.

Best of all, Google Analytics is free, and is easily integrated into your BarkBuilder site. (BarkBuilder does include stat tracking, however it is only based on the previous six months).

Leveraging free tools like Google Analytics will help you understand patterns in user behavior, which will then allow you to make ongoing adjustments. The result - you will be more effective in communicating your message.

Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 6)

RAY — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:25:00 +0000

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." - Josh Billings

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #029: "Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 6)". The new desktop is part of an 8-week wallpaper series on unleashing your brand.

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 029
Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 6)

Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 5)

RAY — Tue, 8 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

"If you get to thinking you're a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else's dog around." - Will Rogers

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #028: "Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 5)". The new desktop is part of an 8-week wallpaper series on unleashing your brand.

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 028
Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 5)

Start With The Problem

ANDREW — Thu, 3 May 2012 16:38:00 +0000

Today I was had an old design truth positively reinforced - don't just make a change to a design simply because you are bored with it or you 'had a feeling'.

All too often, changes to a design come off the cuff. They aren't seriously considered and the implications of the change aren't taken into account because we get emotionally attached to the change request.

A good design agency will ask you to back up and answer this question:

Why?

Asking that question is often a revealing process. The project changes from, "Change that button from grey to pink", to, "That button is an important part of our campaign strategy and it's not prominent enough to garner the attention we want for it". Including fresh eyes in solution-finding can reveal options that were never considered before.

The difference is that you start by explaining the problem, not by dictating the solution. We love to help solve those problems. So give us a call if you've got a "Why?" question on your mind today.

Design Trends: Dos and Donts

DEREK — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:02:00 +0000

There is an old saying that says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But what if I want him to stop doing the tricks he knows?

I came across an interesting article the other day that talks about stopping old design tricks that have passed their prime. The article is titled “5 Formerly Cool Design Trends That Aren’t Cool Anymore (So Stop Using Them).”

Reading this article and applying the principles therein will give your designs a shot in the arm and bring them up to speed with current trends. There is a time and place for all styles and techniques but in general, some things just need to be left in the past, as they don’t fit as well into the current culture. They may come back around some day (oh when will slap bracelets be cool again!?), so don’t forget them entirely. But for now they should be boxed up and put in the garage or attic next to your Skip-It and Beanie Baby collection.

Enjoy.

Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 4)

RAY — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:15:00 +0000

"What does a dog do on his day off? He can't lie around - that's his job." - George Carlin

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #027: "Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 4)". The new desktop is part of an 8-week wallpaper series on unleashing your brand.

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 027
Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 4)

Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 3)

RAY — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:23:00 +0000

"My goal in life is to be become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am" - Toby Green

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #026: "Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 3)". The new desktop is part of an 8-week wallpaper series on unleashing your brand.

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 026
Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 3)

Stand Up with Mike Tompkins!

ANDREW — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:01:00 +0000

We're so excited for our friend Mike Tompkins and his latest release called, Stand Up.

The song is a Mike Tompkins original and is being used as the official music video for the movie Bully.

Congrats Mike! Keep up the great work!!!

Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 2)

RAY — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:27:00 +0000

"Money will buy you a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of his tail." - Henry Wheeler Shaw.

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #025: "Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 2)". The new desktop is part of an 8-week wallpaper series on unleashing your brand.

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 025
Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 2)

Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 1)

RAY — Tue, 3 Apr 2012 11:31:00 +0000

"The reason dogs have so many friends is because they wag their tails instead of their tongues." - Unknown.

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #024: "Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 1)".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 024
Unleash Your Brand (Vol. 1)

Bark Inspiration: Imagination

RAY — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:53:00 +0000

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." - Albert Einstein.

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #023: "Imagination".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 023
Imagination

Water Means Life

RAY — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:02:00 +0000

"Water is a precious resource that touches every person on the planet, in one way or another, every single day. However, the world's supply of clean water is under considerable stress due to growing industrialization, increasing demand, and a shrinking supply due to rising levels of biological and chemical contamination. This stress represents a significant threat to world health, our environment, and economies around the globe." – TrojanUV

Bark Communications has been honored to work with TrojanUV for a number of years and today we'd like to commemorate our relationship by launching a Special Edition Bark Inspiration wallpaper entitled "Water Means Life".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration SE. 008
Water Means Life

The Perfect Shot

RAY — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:46:00 +0000

This desktop wallpaper is about the Perfect Shot. That moment on the tee block where you stand in perfect silence, motionless in your concentration. Your back swing is smooth and precise. Then in a controlled manner you unleash all the power you have hearing the whip of the club followed by the ting of the ball making contact with the driver head (The Sound)… for a moment you keep your head down making sure your follow through is perfect. As you raise your head you know you did everything right. You look up to locate your ball and it's right where you want it to be (The Feeling).

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 022
The Perfect Shot

Our Favorite BarkBuilder Sites

RAY — Fri, 9 Mar 2012 11:37:00 +0000

As many of you know, BarkBuilder is a product offered by Bark Communications that allows companies to build their own website. Many of our customers use the templates that we provide, while others decide to go their own route and design something unique for their organization.

Over the last couple of days, we’ve spent some time updating our “Favorites List” of unique BarkBuilder websites that we like. We don’t have time to go through all of our client’s sites, but feel like we’ve come up with a pretty good list.

Click here to view an updated list of our favorite BarkBuilder sites.

Enjoy!

No Risk, No Reward.

RAY — Mon, 5 Mar 2012 16:29:00 +0000

Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #021: "No Risk, No Reward."

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 021
No Risk, No Reward.

Unstocking Your Photography

ANDREW — Thu, 1 Mar 2012 13:36:00 +0000

So you're looking for a design firm to help you generate that killer brand identity.

Of course, you start with that new logo. Or perhaps it's a revamp on an existing logo. Either way, the design firm does their due diligence, learns about your brand and then goes off to create rough comps of the new logo. After weeks, if not months, of hard work on the part of your team and the design firm, you arrive at the final logo. All aspects of that mark were thought through: you considered the shapes, the elements of the icon, the fonts on the text and the colors to use. Such a small thing required so much time and effort.

And then you used stock photography on your website and print materials.

If it wasn't already clear, there's definitely a deflated tone associated with that last sentence.

Before I get much further into this though, let me make sure that we all understand what stock photography is in the first place. The best definition I've found thus far is as follows: "[Stock photos] are professional photographs of common places, landmarks, nature, events or people that are bought and sold on a royalty-free basis and can be used and reused for commercial design purposes." (http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/stock_photo.html)

Let me be clear, stock photos can be absolutely breathtaking. They are shots that are often taken by absolutely outstanding photographers and as such, their quality can be outstanding. But, no matter how great the images are, at the end of the day, they are still just stock photos - pictures that you have had nothing to do with and likely have nothing to do with you. Yet, as you use them, they become a huge element of your visual brand. That's a challenge if you consider authenticity an important part of effective branding. More-and-more, audiences want to have a relationship with the brands they interact with and those relationships require authenticity.

Of course, many organizations simply can't afford to commission a photographer to shoot a collection of images specific to their organization. But as I say that, I also know that for many of those organizations, it could simply be a matter of never having appreciated the value of commissioned photography and therefore, never having created a budget for it. So what are the things to consider here that might make a budget line for photography worth considering?

1. Stock photos can be used by others. In our history as a brand and web development firm, we see this regularly. Often, one of us at the office will look at a website or a print piece that we come across and recognize portions of a stock photo that they have used or seen used in materials for another firm. That's not a great message for your audience to see. In fact, in some cases, it might even be better to have a lower grade photograph that is authentic, than to purchase a high-quality photo from a stock website that's also going to show up on materials from other organizations as well.

2. Stock photos have limited licenses. Sadly, this is often ignored. But if we were to respect the creative rights and intellectual property of photographers out there, we'd find that these limits can at times be, well, limiting.

3. Commissioned photos are as authentic as it gets. When you send a photographer to shoot images of your work, your product, your service, your people or your customers, you are building a repertoire of images that authentically communicate who you are.

4. "Commissioned" is a great word because you can break it down to "Co" and "Mission", and really, when you hire a good photographer, that's how it ought to be! When you commission a photographer, you work with them to establish the ground rules of what you want shot and how. As a team, along with your design firm who can weigh in on what they need in order to work well with the images, you send the photographer out with all the tools they need in order to turn your mission into powerful images.

5. It's your story, tell it well!

To cement the idea that commissioned photography is valuable, here's a case study from our own client list:

Recently, we've had the opportunity to partner with Camino Global, a non-profit based in Dallas, Texas. In the last couple weeks, we've finalized their new logo and established the look-and-feel for their stationery. Our next steps are to commence the design of their website and print materials. As such, photography became a major issue to consider. After weighing the factors, Camino commissioned a photographer (Brittany Staddon) to go and capture photos of their work. Here's a sneak peek:

I love this shot for a number of reasons. Non-profit work isn't always just about feeding the hungry or providing water to the poor. Kids still play and find ways to imagine as they do. This shot is visually powerful because of that. It gives us a glimpse into the life of a young child playing and imagining. The bright colors not only provide visual impact, but they are indicative of the culture the child is from, as is the sparseness of the walls.

As you look at the subject of this photo, it genuinely feels like she's smiling at you. As a result, the shot is incredibly engaging. You don't just feel like you're viewing a picture, rather, you feel like you're being brought into her world for a moment - you connect.

Good old black-and-white photography. Although we don't have the impact of color on this shot, the absence of it causes you to focus on other things. The use of depth-of-field to make you feel like you are standing just off the shoulder of the person on the left draws you into the image making you feel like you're there.

All those images were taken directly from places where Camino works. That's authentic and effective story-telling and in turn, effective brand-building.

Consider what commissioned photography would mean for your organization and next time you engage a design project, give yourself the best tools to tell your story to your audience.

New Desktop Wallpaper: Fore!

RAY — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:27:00 +0000

Spring time is almost here, and to celebrate Bark Communications is pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #020: "Fore!".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 020
Fore!

Introducing 10 New BarkBuilder Templates!

RAY — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:49:00 +0000

Bark Communications is pleased to announce 10 new templates for BarkBuilder! As usual, all BarkBuilder templates are fully customizable including the ability to change the number of columns, colors, fonts, etc.

Your Superhero:View a Preview

The Right Company:View a Preview

Building Blocks:View a Preview

For Eagle:View a Preview

Our Canvas:View a Preview

Tangled:View a Preview

Building Success:View a Preview

Great Beginnings:View a Preview

Promising Future:View a Preview

Fenced:View a Preview

If you would like to use a simplified version of your home page, edit your template, click the Layout Tab and choose "Hide All Columns (Simplified Home Page)". Resource (Photoshop) files for the new template can be found in the "Download Materials" menu under "Template Resource Files". To change your template at any time, login to your BarkBuilder account and select "Choose My Template".

Note: If you would like to have Bark customize a template specifically for your company, please contact us. We can also assist you with your branding, marketing and communications strategy. View a sample in our portfolio.

Scheduled Maintenance: Monday, February 27

RAY — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:43:00 +0000

Please note that on Monday, February 27th, 2012 between the hours of 1:00am and 6:30am EST, we are going to be upgrading our server infrastructure at some of our facilities, which may result in scheduled downtime.

Please feel free to follow our Twitter account @BarkComm for any updates during that time.

It's a Way of Life (Vol. 3)

RAY — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:42:00 +0000

Continuing along with Bark's "It's a Way of Life" desktop series, we are pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #019: "It's A Way of Life (Vol. 3)".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 019
It's A Way of Life (Vol. 3)

Casual Friday - Every Presentation Ever

ANDREW — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:21:00 +0000

It's a Way of Life (Vol. 2)

RAY — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:46:00 +0000

Continuing along with Bark's "It's a Way of Life" desktop series, we are pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #018: "It's A Way of Life (Vol. 2)".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 018
It's A Way of Life (Vol. 2)

Casual Friday - Social Media Explained

DEREK — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:03:00 +0000

This probably perpetuates a few negative/unfair stereotypes, but it's funny, so...

New Wallpaper: It's a Way of Life

RAY — Mon, 6 Feb 2012 09:52:00 +0000

We are pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #017: "It's A Way of Life".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 017
It's A Way of Life

Casual Friday - The Kobe System

ANDREW — Fri, 3 Feb 2012 06:49:00 +0000

Being Truly "Social"

ANDREW — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:50:00 +0000

You may already know this, but late last year, Facebook removed the ability for users to automatically share their blog on their profile using the "Notes" app.

In their words:

"We want you to connect with your fans in the most effective ways possible. That’s why as of September 30th you’ll no longer be able to automatically import posts from your website to your Page notes. The best way to get people to interact with your content is to give them insight into the links you share on your Wall by adding personal comments and responding to feedback from fans."

In taking this step, Facebook is reinforcing the fact that true social media engagement requires a personal touch. Although convenient, automated posting of your blog isn't truly social - it's broadcasting.

It's a lesson that we've been reminded of and we've made some adjustments as a result. We'd encourage you to do the same!

New Desktop Wallpaper: Feeding Cities

RAY — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:43:00 +0000

We are pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #016: "Feeding Cities".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 016
Feeding Cities

Casual Friday - Tim Horton's Changed!

ANDREW — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:10:00 +0000

Don't Fall Off the Path

BRIAN — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:22:00 +0000

Just recently, I was in a meeting with one of our more advanced clients in regards to understanding the importance of a clearly defined brand and how applying that understanding to the daily rigors of business makes a significant difference to the company's success.

We were discussing how they distribute their product and how they should communicate to their different audiences. As we were walking down each of these paths, I noticed that the brand was no longer the filter through which we were viewing these problems and potential solutions.

I will expand on the communications issue a bit more to illustrate what I mean.

It is my experience that smaller changes and issues seem to be much easier to put through the brand filter (easy being the key factor). When larger issues such as the use of technology to communicate to your customers comes up, many drop their brand filter and start applying filters from those who have nothing to do with their brand and/or business. They look at Seth Godin and say, “if he is successful at reaching thousands of people via his blog, we will start one two”. They look at CNN and say, “their app is so successful, we need one too”.

This is wrong thinking and probably why working through the problem is so frustrating and unclear. It is imperative that ALL decisions are run through the brand filter. This creates a focused and consistent impression in the minds of your customers while saving valuable effort, time and money in planning and execution.

To finish the story I started above, once we realized this diversion and refocused on the brand, the decision became crystal clear. There was no question what we needed to do.

Consensus.

I’m interested to hear what you think about this. Is your brand leading you to incorporate such strategies or is a strong outside force pushing you into an area your brand has no business being?

Image Editing Made Easy!

CRAIG — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:21:00 +0000

We've found a great and easy-to-use image editing program that I want to share with you today. It's called Picnik.

While it does not possess the versatility of Adobe Photoshop (or even come close to its capabilities), it allows you to make modifications to your images that you can then integrate into your website either as a banner or as an image within the content.

There are no downloads required. Modifications can be made online, right through their interface. You can retrieve your images from Flickr, Facebook, Photobucket, Picasa or your computer.

The service is free. However there is a "Premium" version that offers more options and functionality, which we have not explored, and the costs advertised on the site show $25/year.

Repackaging Ideas

ANDREW — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:40:00 +0000

I saw the following video last week and it reminded me of the fact that often, we try to communicate and drive home a message on the basis of repetition alone. However, while repetition is a critical tool in a communicator's kit, if you're repeating a message that just plain doesn't resonate with the audience, you've got a different problem.

Sometimes, what you have to do is repackage the idea.

Enter the video I referenced and a new way of encouraging people to carve out 30 minutes of exercise a day:

New Desktop Wallpaper: Peace of Mind

RAY — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:09:00 +0000

We are pleased to announce Bark Inspiration desktop wallpaper #015: "Peace of Mind".

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers. As usual, all backgrounds are free of charge and can be used on your computer or mobile device.

Bark Inspiration No. 015
Peace of Mind

Casual Friday - A Good Laugh

ANDREW — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:07:00 +0000

New London Lightning Desktop Wallpaper

RAY — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:45:00 +0000

We are pleased to announce a new Bark Inspiration Special Edition desktop wallpaper featuring DeAnthony Bowden, Shawn Daniels and Michael Ray Richardson of the London Lightning basketball team.

Download the new wallpaper here or visit Bark Inspiration for more wallpapers.

Bark Inspiration SE
London Lightning

Embedding Social Media Scripts

CRAIG — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:20:00 +0000

Today, I want to share a new customization feature that is available for those who like to go a little deeper and create/maintain some of their own custom code.

One of our users has uniquely embedded the Wibiya Bar which allows their site visitors to easily share the page they are on through Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Digg, Buzz or email with the click of a button.

The bar is customizable so that you can make it fit the look-and-feel of your web design. Check out the customization options here.

To get your own snippet, visit: www.wibiya.com and sign up for the Wibiya Bar.

Please note that since this is a custom script which is supplied by third-party, we cannot guarantee it's ongoing functionality and compatibility with the platform.

Lost Opportunity

ANDREW — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:05:00 +0000

Last week, at the State Of The City address, the new theme song for London, Ontario (our hometown) was revealed by mayor, Joe Fontana. The song is called 'City of Opportunity' and is performed by long-time local celebrity and political pundit, Jim Chapman and his band, the Incontinentals.

You can listen to it here.

In short, the song is awful and quite frankly, it's nothing short of embarrassing to our city.

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of creating a theme song that will rally Londoners and share the greatness of our city with the world - we need those kinds of communication ideas and strategies.

But the execution of the concept doesn't even come close to that passion. In short, the lyrics are a bullet point list of why London is great with very little nuance or beauty to them. Lines like "river runs through it" try to be creative in harkening back to classic American literature, but do so in a clunky and unconvincing manner. The lyrics stop just shy of listing the corporate tax rates as they encourage listeners to "Imagine a factory where none was before. Imagine an office, imagine a store" - lines that feel as though they were pulled directly from a Dr. Seuss book.

The music is uppity and dated and as such, finds no home as it floats in a space between being anthemic or contemplative, where theme songs need to be if they are going to get picked up and bought into.

So, what do good theme songs sound like? Here's a few:

Tony Bennet, singing "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"
Frank Sinatra singing "New York, New York"
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys singing "Empire State of Mind"
Harry Connick Jr. singing "Do You Know What it Means, to Miss New Orleans"

All of these songs, although very different stylistically, serve to accurately and passionately represent the city they reference. Bennet's contemplative and wistful singing of the lyrics make you want to be in San Francisco. Frank Sinatra's powerful voice draws you into just how great New York is as a city. Jay-Z's punchy rap represents the culture of New York in a way that resonates, especially when coupled with the stunning vocals of Alicia Keys. Then there's Harry Connick singing about his home town of New Orleans with deep and heartfelt passion.

Each of those songs tells a story and conveys the love the artist has for the city they are singing about. It's authentic and it's powerful. In contrast, "City of Opportunity" is forced, lacks nuance and doesn't reflect true passion.

As a result, it's a perfect example of where many communications efforts go wrong - great ideas ending in poor execution.

London is a great city that is indeed full of opportunity. We need to be passionate about communicating that in great ways. This, however, is more like an 'opportunity' lost.

Casual Friday - The Power of Words

ANDREW — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:49:00 +0000

Marketers: We Aren't All Bad

ANDREW — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:03:00 +0000

The other night, I was at an event with a number of people and the group got to talking about how banks are the most sophisticated marketers out there - but the connotation of the word "sophisticated" in that context wasn't to say that banks had complex or intricate marketing systems, but rather, that they are deceptive and misleading. I kept my mouth shut…at first.

You see, while I wouldn't argue with that connotation when it comes to marketing employed by many such institutions, it's not fair or true of all marketers.

Our job…my job…is to help organizations communicate effectively. If you have a great product or service, you're likely awesome at building that product or offering that service, but you might not be so great at communicating it's value to others, so your great offering gets used by no one - even some who might need it badly but don't know it.

That's where I/we come in. My job is to understand who you are and what you do and then help you communicate that to the world, or for most companies, just the part(s) of the world that would find your offering valuable and that's not dishonest.

Nor is seeking to understand what interests people in a given region and then targeting your communications so as to ensure you have the best chance at being heard. If we're good at inter-personal relationships, we all do that already. If we have something to share with another person, it's important to listen first in order to understand the other person, so that when we speak, we maximize the potential to be understood. That too, is not dishonest.

So as the comments flew about the room the other night, with a playful smile on my face and some faked offence in my voice, I threw out a plea that not all of us marketers were bad news. Everyone had a good chuckle when they realized that one of those "evil marketers" was sitting amongst them and that maybe we aren't all bad.

I'd be fine if we stayed in that place. The comfortable place where we know that like money, marketing is amoral - it's what we do with it that makes it good or bad and not all of us are interested in using it badly.

That's a comfortable place for all of us to be. Especially since, at any given time, one of us marketers might be sitting in the room with you.