It seems every time I turn around I’m reading or hearing something about how “everything” is going online or mobile. It appears that if your brand is not online or mobile – in an engaging way – you’re losing out. Well, this may have some truth to it, but that doesn’t mean print solutions aren’t still valid.

Consider this:

• 70% of companies have renewed a relationship with a customer using direct mail
• Consumers receiving a printed catalog are two times more likely to purchase online than those who don’t receive a catalog
• 75% of consumers say they’ve made a purchase as a result of direct mail
• Worried about seeming wasteful? In 2007, 45.2 million tons of paper were recovered from recycling – that’s 57% of all paper and paperboard products

At Go East when we’re working on a project – to be distributed online or  via “old-fashioned” paper – we work hard to balance print and interactive strategies. Campaigns need to be integrated, but not redundant. They need to be impactful and they need to be targeted.

Don’t abandon one for the other or you won’t be able to capitalize on the biggest opportunities!

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As a project manager at Go East, I wear a lot of hats. I say that figuratively, which is a good thing since I hate actually wearing a hat and wearing several hats at once is just plain weird.

Does that sound silly? Of course it is. One of the things I love about Go East is that we can be silly once in awhile. We are encouraged to have fun and keep in touch with the playful part of our brains. Creativity is not limited to art directors and designers; it’s asked of every employee. And as a freelance musician and a person who enjoys the arts, I embrace opportunities to stretch beyond the duties of a traditional project manager.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an avid coffee drinker. There is a mug at the end of my right hand so often, it’s almost like an appendage. It’s literally part of who I am. (ed. Enough with the literal vs. figurative thing — too much.)

Being able to indulge in my over-caffeinated lifestyle at work may be a small thing, but it makes me feel comfortable knowing I can bring that part of my personality to the workplace.

To me, “living the brand” means that I can be myself while staying true to the brand personality of Go East. Some words that come to mind are these: passionate, focused, driven, intelligent, curious, connected. And hats. Lots of silly hats.

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Whether you are interviewing for a job, meeting with a client or, in my case as the business office assistant for Go East, greeting visitors, first impressions can make or break the deal.

Being the first point of contact for visitors and clients, I am also the first impression of the company.

I often wonder, “What does it take to be on the front lines at Go East?”

When I was first offered this job I thought, “What was it about me that stood out? Was it my previous work experience or my personality?” I like to think it was a little bit of both. I know what it’s like to be on the other side of the reception desk. I’ve had both good and bad experiences.

Living the Go East brand takes a person who is passionate about quality customer service. I know how important it is to greet every caller and visitor with a friendly word and smile. It also takes a resourceful person. When a call comes in for someone who is busy I track that person down. If the person requested is not here, I find an appropriate alternative — someone who will be able to assist with meeting the caller’s needs.

That’s why when I walk into a place of business, the first thing I notice is how the receptionist treats me. When I experience good or excellent customer service, I remember it.

I keep these things in mind when I am at the front desk at Go East. I always try to make eye contact, look presentable and be friendly.

Like I’ve always said, “First impressions are key!”

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Living the brand is an ongoing aspect of full brand management. To live the brand is to strengthen it and to make brand management a part of your culture. How do we at Go East recommend you manage and live your brand?

Assess and align areas that are inconsistent with the brand. Look at all the places where your brand touches people externally: memos, email sign-offs, outgoing voice mail messages and information communicated through your social media strategy. Examine processes and procedures and change those that are inconsistent with your brand position. Identify areas where decisions impacting the brand can be improved.

To intensify brand management throughout the organization, establish principles and guidelines for when, where and how to apply the brand. Create accountability for decisions that affect consumers’ perceptions of the brand. Remind your staff about brand principles and ways to reinforce and build the brand so everyone feels responsible and engaged in brand-building activities. For example, everyone at Go East recently created their own statements about how they live the brand. We all wore the statements, like nametags, throughout the day and talked with others about our part in living the brand.

To monitor the results of your efforts, conduct audits of consumer perceptions. It’s the only way to truly know if you are having the impact you are trying to achieve. Are the attributes that your customers identify the ones you want? Share the findings with staff members so they can celebrate the success of their efforts or hone in on areas that need improvement. Constantly refine your indicators of success and measure again.

To make living the brand fun and rewarding, we at Go East recognize employees who are doing an outstanding job of living the brand. We share examples and celebrate successes. We acknowledge “brand moments” formally by thanking individuals for contributions to building the brand.

It is through all of these efforts that, eventually, managing your brand becomes less work and more a way of life.

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When you hear the term “brand building,” what audience comes to mind first? More than likely, you thought of your core audience – your customers. They are, after all, on the receiving end of your company’s brand story. We go to great lengths to build trust and loyalty with this audience. But don’t forget about what’s on the inside — your company’s employees. This internal audience should not be overlooked when it comes to building your brand because they are the ones doing the “building.”

Building your brand from the inside out is only possible if your internal team is given the tools it needs to live the brand. Your team needs to have a complete understanding of your brand’s mission and vision, its promise to your customers and its personality and values. When your internal team fully understands your brand’s essence, it will be empowered to exemplify your brand with your external audiences, whether it be answering the phone, creating a product, selling a service or solving a problem. If your employees have a clear understanding of what it means to live the brand, every activity they engage in concerning your brand will more likely align with your overall brand strategy.

One of our clients, Thinsulate™ Insulation from 3M, recently repositioned its brand with an updated brand platform and fresh identity system. The changes were significant, but the decision makers understood the importance of addressing their internal audience first — a global network of employees. Go East helped them engage their internal audience by creating a variety of materials to communicate the changes. We created a small business card-sized “brand card” to communicate the Thinsulate Insulation story, as well as the essence of the brand platform. The card’s convenient size means that team members can easily carry it with them for quick reference. In addition, we created posters that were placed around the offices to reinforce the new identity and brand messages. We also produced a brand brochure and brand video. While these items initially launched internally, the brochure and video were designed to be shared with external audiences after the launch. Finally, when the reinvigorated brand was presented internally, energy drinks with a custom Thinsulate Insulation branded label were distributed to energize employees as they set about spreading the new brand message and identity.

The materials that were launched to Thinsulate Insulation employees were specifically designed to equip the team with the information and inspiration they needed to successfully build the brand and, more importantly, to live the brand. Today, they’re building their brand from the inside out. Are you?

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You can’t make someone live your brand.

In fact, you can rarely make anyone do anything that will grow your brand. Because brand is so intangible, it’s not something that can be legislated or mandated. Embodying the brand — living it — has got to spontaneously arise out of each member of an organization.

This is a lot to ask.

At Go East, we have a clear brand platform. It has evolved over the years, but the foundation has remained the same. Everyone knows it. It’s written on the walls in brushed metal letters. We have brand cards for reference. It’s part of our review process. Yet, how can we know how people interpret the brand platform? Words are one thing; expression is another.

One of my favorite ways to get a sense of brand is to spontaneously, organically create a brand snapshot by asking people to do something unexpected and new that demonstrates what they really think. Recently, I riffed off of Swiss Miss‘ Conversation Starter Tags for Creative Mornings by asking everyone at Go East to wear a tag about our brand. Once the initial hesitancy passed, something interesting happened. The name tags became honest, instant messaging about our brand and how each of us lives it, because a name tag is an introduction to an individual and an individual makes a brand. Inside jokes abounded, for sure, but even more so, I could see the pride and ownership of the brand and each person’s contribution to it. Simple by design and much cheaper than a brand audit or employee survey, this snapshot gave us a clear picture of the life of the brand today.

Hello, my name is Go East and I’m on brand.

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For those familiar with Go East, you may know of (or even anticipate) our annual holiday card. The card is light-hearted, celebratory and downright fun, but that doesn’t diminish the importance that it has for our brand.

I believe the holiday card has been the single most important marketing touchpoint to our existing clients. It is our way of saying “thank you” for the business, while at the same time showcasing our personality. (more…)

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Does your brand marketing firm help you meet your marketing objectives in an earth-friendly manner? Accomplishing your goals is not difficult and there are lots of different ways to contribute to a healthy environment.

At Go East, we often joke that we are in the business of making paper, given all the printed materials we create. But in all seriousness, we have tried to mitigate that aspect of brand marketing by finding new, more earth-friendly ways to approach projects and, when it makes sense, we try to help our clients do the same.

Here are our top five recommendations for greening your marcomms up. If you work with Go East, you’ve probably heard some of these recommendations before; if not, then take stock. These are just a few simple ways to help make Mother Earth happy:

1. Consider using different materials for product packaging. Just because you’ve always used cellophane, for example, does not mean that this is still the best way. And consider using less packaging or incorporating recyclable materials.
2. Take the time to obtain printing costs for recycled paper using soy inks. The costs may not be as prohibitive as you think.
3. When thinking about the paper and inks you’ll need to print your brochures, remember that glossy materials (coatings and paper) can’t always be recycled.
4. Consider abandoning  ”sales binders” and moving to a digital strategy. (All the trees you’ll save will provide shade for you if it ever warms up! And your sales folks might thank you for cutting down on the amount of paper they have to haul around.)
5. Realize that going green doesn’t have to be all or nothing: not every marketing tactic has to have a “green” angle. Mother Nature — and your customers — will be happy knowing that at the very least you are considering green options when it makes sense.

Overall, talk about your corporation’s eco-policy whenever appropriate — whether that means including a small statement or signature on the back of a literature piece  or outlining your company’s “green” philosophy in greater detail. Today’s consumers really do notice. 

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