Coffee with Harquin

Loving Your Brand

2009-06-09T12:44:00.000-07:00

Five steps to a successful, profitable re-branding effort

By Sherry Bruck
(Reprinted from Independent Banker March 13, 2008)

When it comes to competing with the giants, independent community banks have to put on their thinking caps and use their marketing wits to outsmart their competition and retain their unique community base.

Country Bank, a 20-year-old independently owned community bank with five branches in the New York area, had a recognized logo its executive leaders liked and didn’t want to change, but they but knew a logo alone was not enough to convey the bank’s personal touch, hometown feel and hands-on service. Country Bank had always marketed themselves but didn’t do much past a brochure with a logo on the cover with a list of their services or an ad using the logo at the top with a featured rate. They relied solely on their personal relationships to get business, but with the increased competition Country Bank knew they needed to do more. “We wanted the lifestyle and a personality of Country Bank to be communicated in the marketing materials, says Carolyn Murphy, the bank’s marketing director, “Reminding customers it is a friendly, service oriented place where people wanted to do their local banking.”

Harquin Creative Group, an integrated marketing firm specializing in helping businesses find their unique brand voice and look, was brought in to help. Using Country Bank as the case study, I’ve outlined five steps involved with a successful branding process for other community banks to consider.

1. Audit and Discovery: Who are you and how are you different? Review current materials and interview customers and then staff to gauge their responses to this question. Often your perceptions are not the same as the customers or the branch managers who interact with the public every day. “In reviewing the competition’s materials we found that every bank was using staged or stock photography,” says Murphy. “That finding gave us the first clue for how Country Bank could look different from our competitors.”

2. Strategy: Find your unique position. Establish your brand personality. Next, define the personality traits your bank wants to communicate and stand for. Every business has to figure out what makes it distinctive and then stick to reinforcing those traits. You have to be authentic to who you are.

Country Bank knew it couldn’t always compete on lower fees and higher rates, so it decided all its materials would visually communicate suburban life with close proximity to Manhattan in a friendly, personal and local environment. Out of this crucial step a mood board is created with color samples, design ideas and headline fragments to determine if the visual conveys the right feeling. In Country Bank’s case, the board used many shades of green and an illustration depicting landscape and people doing things.”

Many clients want to skip Steps 1 and 2 thinking they know all about their business and the target market and that they “just need a new Web site.” But without a clear idea of who you are and who you are targeting your marketing, your message will fade into the mass confusion of today’s media.

3. Envision the Brand: The certainty that is you. “With Step 1 and 2 approved, we now knew exactly who we are talking to, what we wanted to say, how we were going to say it and how we [would] look,” says Murphy. “We loved Harquin’s suggestion to use illustration to communicate friendly and local. It felt right and was definitely us.”

In County Bank’s case that meant hiring an illustrator with a folksy, colorful style to depict the lower Hudson geography with snippets of lifestyle inserted (golfers, shoppers, business people), using varying shades of green that correspond to “country.” This provided the initial groundwork for establishing a color palette, font usage and grid layout templates.

4. Propel your Brand: Through any legal means necessary. This is the action step where you finish and execute the marketing plan and the deliverables. It’s where the rubber meets the road and the schedule speeds up considerably. Deliverables such as ads, ATM cards, ATM screens, statement stuffers, window posters, internal counter cards, brochures, product sheets, postcards, coffee mugs, can get done quickly. Everything is executed using the previous steps as with the road map.

5. Make it Stick: Measure the success. This is the step where the bank gets the results from its campaign and where ideas and plans are developed for future improvements.

In the case of Country Bank, its re-branding resulted in measurable changes financially that improved its image to existing clientele. “We saw a marked increase in business deposits, certified deposits and the opening of more bank business accounts,” says Murphy. She adds there was an increased awareness of the local bank, many customers commented favorably on the new look, and there was an increased feeling of pride in the staff.

Every re-branding process doesn’t necessarily mean creating a new logo. But it will always mean researching what your business vision is and who your product is intended for. Putting the time and effort into the initial steps of discovery and strategy will make it easier and more cost-effective to implement your bank’s overall marketing efforts in the long run.

Sherry Bruck is co-founder of Harquin Creative Group, a brand marketing firm in Pelham, N.Y. Reach her at sbruck@harquin.com.

"Which One are You?" campaign launch signs up over 75 mentors in 2 hours

2009-05-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

Just to give you an idea of how great the bbbs "which one are you" launch event went yesterday I've attached a link to the WPIX site that shows Cynthia Graham of Big Brothers Big Sisters Ulster County featured on the morning news show. It was a crazy but amazing day. Started out with pouring rain, driving into a roadblock in Harlem because of polic activity, getting a ticket on 42nd street and getting the Action Hero box up to the tv studio with seconds to spare.

After the live morning show the sun came out and we signed up over 75 applicants to become BIGS within 2 hours. Cablevision shot the entire event, did interviews and more. We had food, music, guys in the boxes and it was a fantastic success. More photos to come later.

http://weblogs.wpix.com/news/local/morningnews/blogs/2009/05/friday_forecaster_cynthia_grah.html

Thank you to Morton's the Steakhouse, Cablevision, and the Marriott for all your help and support. Also thank you all our volunteers.

Thriving in Trying Times

2009-05-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

Effective communications for nonprofit organizations is about much more than just the written word. It involves gaining a true, and deep understanding of people and their passions. It requires careful attention to detail, exceptional writing skills, and a professional approach that uplifts everyone involved. Raymond Rigolioso's recent article of May 16th, 2009 (included here with his permission) displays the deep insight he brings to a sensitive topic we are all experiencing.

You may have noticed that Perspectives has been quiet for several months. The economy, no doubt, has played a major factor. If the Titanic striking the iceberg, the winter and spring saw the ship's demise.

It's hard to gain perspective when your vessel is going down.

And yet, whereas the economic pain is undeniable, not all is doom and gloom. In fact, most Americans of working age remain gainfully employed. Even with an unemployment rate inching toward 9 percent, there's still an enormous amount of economic activity taking place.

Most of us, except for the elderly who lived through the Great Depression, have never experienced such a precipitous and profound economic decline. It is causing a great deal of desperation.

People who remain employed face increasing stress as they are forced to do more with less. And people who are looking for work, or who own businesses and are seeking customers or clients, increasingly find their efforts thwarted.

For most adults in the United States, we take for granted that, if we apply ourselves with diligence, we will and should secure work, clients, or customers within what we consider a reasonable timeframe. If we do not, we assume we have made some misstep, and we take it as a personal failing. This belief is so deeply ingrained in our American psyche that we may not even recognize its presence.

It might be time to temper this self-reliant streak in our outlook. In some instances, it might be causing more suffering than good at this moment.

I've seen the scenario played out many times lately: diligent people with a strong work ethic look for work or business, spend untold hours, and use every tool within their disposal. Their efforts are barely successful, even futile. The result is anger, frustration, depression, anxiety, feeling isolated, and worrying about the future. Their actions and approach seem completely reasonable and responsible, but their expectations are based on a reality that seemed certain—even a given—just a year ago.

In this economy, the rules have changed—at least for the moment. There are forces at work that are much larger than any one of us, and we need to adjust our expectations about what we can individually control. Easy money, easy credit, abundant work, and instant career gratification are less universal at this moment.

This doesn't mean that we should give up looking for work, abandon our responsibilities, or give up on our dreams. But if we are to survive and thrive in these trying times, we must strike a new, more nuanced view of what we can accomplish in a stalled economic climate. It might mean adjusting our expectations of income temporarily. It might mean changing careers. It might mean, on the positive side, exploring dreams that we deferred when we were much busier.

In fact, a downturn can be an extremely fertile time for innovation and creativity. Business and political leaders are taking risks that they never would have considered a year ago, because they have been forced to do so. Entrepreneurs are launching new businesses. They are finding new ways to cater to people's changing needs, values, and tastes. In chaos, there is opportunity.

Consider the following if you are unemployed or underemployed:

- Know that you are not alone! There are many more people in your circumstance than you might realize.

- Discover what the downturn is calling you to do. Take a new direction for your career, or simply do the thing you always wanted to do. You have more time now, so dust off that deferred dream! What do you have to lose?

- Create a plan for yourself that balances your need to find work, customers, or clients, with your need to grow, learn, and discover. Find ways to enjoy this lull in commerce.

- Explore industries or areas of the economy that are doing well. How can you position yourself to get into the action?

- Understand that boom-time expectations lead to frustration right now. Accept what you cannot change. Change what you can. And re-examine what the difference is.

- Surround yourself with people who will support you in remaining positive rather than drawing you into fear about the future.

- Take the long view, knowing that all downturns end. Create a vision for yourself of the position you want to be in when the economy picks up.

- Whatever you choose, define for yourself what it means to thrive in these trying times and to take action to make it happen.

Raymond Rigoglioso is a seasoned communications professional with more than 17 years of experience. He has written or edited nearly every type of material that a nonprofit organization produces. He has a gift for “getting” the mission and voice of an organization and conveying it in compelling, persuasive publicity and fundraising publications.
www.rayriggs.net

Spending Your Web Site Dollars Wisely

2009-03-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

Nonprofits need to be fiscally responsible to their donors. But cutting costs shouldn’t come at the expense of communicating effectively. What’s more, in a time of ever-expanding media choices and niched ways to reach your target audience, using marketing dollars wisely is getting tougher. No surprise, then, that the Web site which not too many years ago was considered a frivolous add-on is now the centerpiece of any organization’s communications strategy -- or should be. But Web sites can be costly to set up and maintain, and many organizations try to save money by delegating responsibility for their site to the IT department, an intern, or even a volunteer. In a world in which anyone wanting to learn more about your nonprofit will go online first, that’s a mistake.

A Web site delegated to someone with little or no professional Web design expertise not only is more likely to miss the mark than a professionally designed site -- it may alienate potential donors, volunteers, and your corporate partners. A truly effective site is welcoming, upbeat, and professional. It's persuasive, not patronizing. The same is true of the content on your site. It should be written from your visitors’ perspective, not the organization’s, and should tell them, among other things, how they stand to benefit by giving to, joining, or volunteering for your nonprofit.

“How your Web site is organized, looks, feels, and sounds can mean the difference between impressing a potential donor and turning him or her off,“ says Sherry Bruck, president of Harquin Creative Group, a full-service marketing firm with a history of working with nonprofit clients, including Girl Scouts USA, the March of Dimes, and Aging in America. “Working with a professional who is committed to your project will make the process faster and more efficient, saving valuable time and money for you and your colleagues.”

To help streamline the process, we’ve blocked out the Web development process in five simple steps:

Step 1: Survey the field. Take the time to look at different Web sites, both in and outside your field. Note the sites you like and find easy to use, and think about how they’re organized and designed, as well as the kind of functionality they offer. In addition to the basics (i.e., site-wide search, crisp graphics, e-newsletter/blast option), do they include audio and video, searchable databases, and/or Web 2.0 tools? The functionality of your site – what visitors can do there -- is the single biggest determining factor in what it will cost. Be careful you don’t add bells and whistles – and the attendant costs – you don’t really need.

Step 2: Create a site map. The site map is what Web site designers use to create the “architecture” of a site – the way content on a site is organized and linked together. At this stage, it can take the form of a Word document, a diagram, or even a sketch. Keep it simple and don’t worry too much about how it looks. As always, think about your potential donors, volunteers, and partners first and your organization’s communications goals second. Try to imagine how visitors to the site will look for information. Distribute the site map to stakeholders within your organization and plan on two to three rounds of revisions –- it’s a lot easier to change things at this stage, when time is plentiful and costs are minimal. The site map should be approved by all stakeholders before proceeding to the next step.

Step 3: Compile your copy and image assets. This is an important step –- and one that can be difficult for large organizations in which copy and images are created and controlled by multiple departments. At the same time, many people think that copying and pasting content from existing sources is all they need to do. On the contrary, gathering the information and giving it to a professional copywriter is essential. “The messaging, tone, and voice of your Web site must be consistent,” says Bruck. “This is not the place to cut corners. The attention span of the reader is much shorter on the Web, which means your copy needs to be compelling, relevant, and concise.”

The same is true of the images on your site. Emphasize quality over quantity. Hire a professional photographer if resources allow, or use images from a good stock photo house if they don’t, and make sure every image on the site is relevant to your message. And be sure to allow enough time to track everything down.

Step 4: Design the look of site. This is the fun part. The hard work of planning, organizing information, writing copy, and finding photos is done and now its time to design how the site will look. Make sure the designer you hire is a professional graphic designer, as Web design (in contrast to Web programming) is more about marketing than it is about information technology.

Step 5: Development and coding. This is the stage at which your programmer or Web developer takes the designed pages and breathes life into them. Once the functional areas of your site have been activated, give yourself a couple of weeks to test everything and check links. Then test and check them again. Only then is your site ready to be launched.

When designing a Web site from scratch, many organizations will weigh the costs and benefits of a customized content management system (CMS). Only you and your colleagues can decide whether the added expense of such a system -– and they tend to be pricey -- is justified. Generally speaking, however, the more content you have and the more you plan to change or update it, the more sense they make.

Another way to cut down on costs is to avoid the latest in bleeding-edge technologies and tools, whether it’s Flash animation, a blog, or multimedia content such as podcasts and videos clips. All of those require specialized skills and/or extra people to create, feed, and maintain them. “Ultimately, you must decide if Web bells and whistles are essential to advancing the mission of your organization,” says Bruck. In other words, just because your nephew can create a YouTube-type video for you, doesn’t mean it’s the right communications vehicle for your target audience.

And that’s what it all comes down to. People’s information-processing habits are changing, and a Web site is one of the most important tools in your marketing and communications toolbox. While your site doesn’t need to be complex, it does need to be professional. So don’t skimp on it or cut corners. The money you save by doing it on the cheap could be dwarfed by the dollars you never receive from potential donors who visited your site and decided to send their support elsewhere.

Proposals and Estimates: Understanding the Difference

2009-03-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

Proposals and estimates. It's surprising how often these terms are confused when you're dealing with creative/marketing agencies. Knowing which is which will improve communications and get you what you need more effectively.

The request
Your boss has just come to you and said, "We need to do marketing! Find out how much it will cost.” Now what do you do? You can't ask agencies for estimates because you don't know what you need to get the job done--brochures? A website? An advertising campaign? And if so, where will you advertise? Where do you start?

You need a plan.
A proposal is a plan just as an architect’s blueprint is a plan. It spells out specifically what marketing materials are needed, their specs, quantities, how they are to be created, a timeline and budget. Just as you'd never go directly to a building contractor and ask him to build you a house without a blueprint, you can't ask an agency for an estimate without first establishing a plan.

Think of a proposal as a blueprint.
Imagine asking an architect to design your new home without first telling him what style you prefer, and answering specific questions like: How many square feet do you envision? How many bedrooms? And most important, what is your construction budget? An architect needs this information upfront in order fulfill your expectations and do their job.

The thought process is the same
Before engaging a firm to create a proposal, ask yourself some crucial questions. The answers will get you started on developing a strong plan. For example:

• What is your project budget?
• What is your timetable?
• What specific deliverables do you imagine needing?
• What quantities of printed materials do you need?
• Who will write the copy?
• Will you need photography?
• Is there a sales force trained to utilize the brochures?
• What do you want to accomplish?

These questions must be answered upfront, otherwise the proposal, like a blueprint will be incomplete and ineffective. Be clear with your agency about your budget goals, just as you would with your architect. While many clients are uncomfortable talking about how much money they have to spend, setting a budget range ensures the proposal will deliver a plan you can afford to execute.

Expect to pay for the proposal.
A good proposal requires opinion, ideas and input from an expert, much as a blueprint requires those from an architect. Asking a creative agency to map out a proposal for free is like requesting an architect to design your house for free. You’ll usually get what you pay for.

Next – the estimate
Now that the parameters of the job have been established in your proposal, it's time to obtain price estimates. Specifications for predetermined deliverables are given to prospective agencies to find out what they estimate it will cost in time and materials to produce your job. Much as your architect's blueprint will enable a contractor to give you an accurate price quote, a well thought-out proposal makes it easier and faster to get estimates from agencies for what the work will actually cost. Creative firms benefit by having specific guidelines to work from; you benefit by being able to fairly compare estimates on an "apples-to-apples" basis.

Flexibility is key
Although the proposal is your marketing road map, you must also be open to a change in direction that can make it more effective. As with building a house, unexpected challenges can crop up. What started as a 20-page brochure may need to become a 24-pager to accommodate new product information crucial to your sales force. Remember to leave room in your budget to allow for changes to the plan.

Final Tips
Remember any successful relationship needs synergy. Choose professionals that have experience in your market sector, explain your situation, hopes and concerns, and realistically discuss your budget. Review the firm's portfolio of work, ask about their processes and remember to discuss their case studies! How they answer your questions will speak volumes about whether they are the right agency for you, so you can make your final decision not only on price, but on chemistry with the agency's principals, their philosophy and design style.

A Win/Win Proposition
Knowing and understanding the difference between proposals and estimates will foster greater communication between you and the creative/marketing firm(s) you ultimately choose. The end results will clearly reflect the extra time you've invested in the planning and proposal stages of your projects.

By Sherry Bruck
Sherry Bruck's Bio
Sherry Bruck is President/Creative Director of The Harquin Group, a leading strategic creative firm based in Pelham, New York.

Contact her at sbruck@harquin.com

Estimate vs. Proposal: Know the Difference and Avoid Kill Fees! - PART 2

2009-03-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Returning to the estimate
Whether designing a new house or designing a marketing campaign, the budget (which is very likely to evolve) dictates much of what the end product will look like. The architect’s client has a need: More room for a growing family. The marketing firm’s client has a need: More market share in a crowded industry.

Once a budget, a general set of designs and the most desired features for a dream house have been agreed upon, the architect is going to expect to be retained and compensated for drawing the blueprints and itemizing all of the complexities needed completing the job. This blueprint/proposal is necessary for a contractor to make an educated estimate for pricing out the job. Similarly, it would be impossible for a marketing firm to get accurate prices on the cost of producing various materials without first knowing exactly what all of the components will be. There are advertising campaigns and then there are ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. There are brochures, and then there are elaborate, luxurious PUBLICATIONS that use exquisite papers and other special design components that require the use of specialized, very experienced printers with sophisticated, state-of-the-art equipment. Expecting a design firm to map out all of these details in a proposal for free is like asking an architect to develop blueprints for free.

Avoid a “Kill Fee”
With an estimate, a realistic budget, and an agreed upon set of parameters, you’ll know what to expect in the paid-for proposal and the finished product. You’ll avoid having to pay a “kill fee” for something you didn’t want and have nothing to show for it but lost time, frustration, no estimate, and no proposal. Although, you will still have your “RFP”!

By Sherry Bruck
Read Sherry's Bio

Estimate vs. Proposal: Know the Difference and Avoid Kill Fees! - PART 1

2009-03-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

Estimates and proposals. What’s the difference? A lot more than semantics - a lot of time and money, resulting in a lot of pitches and proposals being submitted in response to “RFPs” resulting in nothing more than a “thanks, but no thanks” response. Let’s clarify the difference to save everyone time and money and to shorten the turnaround time between when a prospective client first requests a proposal and when the job is actually completed.

Estimates can be Given on Specific Assignments
Establish the parameters of the job. The client should begin with a brief interview with prospective vendors to find out what they Estimate it will cost in time and materials to produce a specific end product. For example: Design and print an 8.5” x 11” flyer. The client will provide photos and copy. It needs to be printed in full-color, folded and able to fit into a standard business envelope. Five thousand copies are needed.

Not only does the vendor benefit by having such specific guidelines to work from, so does the prospective client who can now fairly compare proposals and make his or her final decision based on chemistry with the vendor, its design style and the quality of the vendor’s portfolio.

Proposals are More Complex
The prospective client knows just one thing: We need to do marketing! But beyond this, it has no idea what is the best way to go. The first step in putting together a proposal is to determine the client’s budget - or agreeing upon a realistic budget -- as this will dictate the direction that the proposal takes.

A proposal is much more detailed than an estimate. It requires opinion, ideas and input from an expert on how to proceed. And it should be paid for, just as detailed plans from an architect to design your dream house would be paid for.

The experienced marketing expert will gather as much information as possible before putting together any proposal. His or her plan will map out the details of what he or she believes is needed to implement the plan and why. Similarly, the cost and time it takes to build your dream house would turn into a nightmare without an agreed upon plan. The architect has to start with knowing your budget and your taste in design. Otherwise, she might design the most gorgeous, expensive house she could but not the right house for you.

By Sherry Bruck
Read Sherry's Bio

Web Design Strategy That Works!

2009-03-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

Not so long ago, nonprofits still had the choice of whether to incur the cost of putting up a high-functioning website or not. Those days are gone. Not having a viable website today is equivalent to not having a phone number. The Internet is the information superhighway—the No. 1 way people are going to find you and check out your organization. What they find when they see your website could mean the difference between support and no support. So, when it comes to watching the bottom line, nonprofit professionals need to know that the cost cutting should not come from the website budget.

After all, whose budget is it really? Surprisingly, many professionals still consider a website an IT project because of the mysterious coding process involved. However, it is more of a marketing project because it is your primary communications tool—especially when it comes to getting donors, volunteers and attendees in the much-crowded philanthropy field.

What should a professional, planned website budget include? The primary budget item most people forget to include is brand strategy. Even the smallest organization needs to think strategically because you have only a few seconds to make a good impression on your online visitors. Your mission and vision need to inspire visitors to take some kind of action. That requires thinking about the user first and the organization second.

What will be your strategy for getting what you want? Start out by stepping back and asking yourself two important questions: What do you want your potential donors to think when they come to your site, and what do you want your potential donors to do once they are there? Asking these types of questions force you to think from the visitors’ point of view rather than your own. Many organizations start out with long-winded copy about their mission and history as opposed to copy that motivates the visitor. Anticipating what your donors think, and what action you want them to take, will help pinpoint your strategy.

The communications strategy then leads to the functionality your site must have. Functionality is what your site can do. Do you want visitors to donate online? Then you will need an e-commerce component. Do you want volunteers to sign up with online forms? Then you will need a database. Do you want to create an intense emotional response? Then you might want to consider a video component with music. The functionality list can get quite complex (and expensive) and is the key budget driver. However, remember that until you plan your strategy, you will not know whether spending the money is worth it. For example, creating an intense emotional response may be key to your mission, so strategically it would be foolish to eliminate the video for budgetary reasons. Or, it may be clear that an online database is crucial to the fundraising success of a campaign, but someone will decide not to purchase the necessary software because it is considered too expensive. Yet how expensive is it to not have an effective database? Your online visitors expect ease of use, whether your organization is tax exempt or for profit. They no longer make exceptions for the nonprofits’ lack of funds.

Nonprofit professionals must rethink the budget expenditures for their website. Navigation, functionality, site map—all foreign words to some communications experts—need to be a part of your website lexicon. Even if you are not doing the design or technical work of building the website, you can follow a few simple steps to ensure you get the product that shows off your organization’s valuable work.

1. Do a little browsing online. Look at other websites in your field and see what appeals to you—from the way the site looks and the way it is organized to its functionality. Functionality refers to search functions, flash and any other bells and whistles that will cost more, but will add style and usability.

2. Think strategically. Ask some hard questions. Who are you? What are you? Why should the user care? What do you want? What is your competition? What are the hurdles? How can you make interacting with your organization easy?

3. Create a site map and functionality list. This is the planning stage, and it incorporates your upfront strategy. The site map is your plan for how the website content is organized online. It tracks where all the links will lead and will become your blueprint for writing copy and pulling images together. When planning, think user first and organization second. Can new browsers find contact information on your website in just one click? Can would-be donors find your organization’s campaign goals easily? Also, consider how your calls to action get incorporated into the site.

4. Compile images and copy. This can be the longest and most arduous step. A website can be the equivalent of many brochures and it can be overwhelming to track everything down. Most organizations start out by cutting and pasting copy from printed pieces. A writer will need to edit the tone and voice of the copy to keep it consistent and concise. The rule of thumb is to make copy shorter on the Web. This is the stage where gathering and organizing elements from images and copy and tracking down relevant testimonials, etc. is key to creating an informative and appealing site.

5. Design the site. This is where the fun starts. In this step the communications team and IT team work together to create a few design versions of the home page and the other pages of the website called interior pages. All the planning, writing and organization from the previous steps comes together, and you will need to refer back to the site map to make sure that all copy and functionality is accounted for. This is also the time to make changes if need be as the coding hasn’t started and it’s still quite simple to make adjustments.

6. Finish with development and coding. This step is when the site comes to life and the full functionality of the website is activated. You will need to test how everything works and links together—forms, database, flash movies, search functions and more. Expect final testing and proofing to take a few weeks, and then the site is launched live.

Every organization is concerned with keeping costs down, and the quickest way to do that is to opt out of unnecessary functionality such as flash, podcasting, blogs and videos. All these can add planning time and money that may not be entirely necessary to advance your mission. You must decide if the extras really are boosting your fundraising business and avoid taking on these added costs just because you have heard they are must-haves. It is much more effective to have a professionally designed and written website with less functionality than to have a badly designed website with streaming video just because it is the latest technology.

Today’s Internet visitors have high expectations, are impatient and have been barraged with a glut of media messaging. Give your donors ease of use and the information they need to understand your mission easily. The money and time you put into planning and setting up an engaging, professional, well-written website will translate into more donor dollars for your organization in the end.

By Sherry Bruck
Sherry Bruck is creative director of Harquin Creative Group in Pelham, N.Y
Read Sherry's Bio

Monroe College Athletic Branding Success

2009-03-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

Bronx, New York – Smart, Savvy, Strategic, those are the words to describe how Monroe College is syncing up their strategic planning with a new athletic logo to represent their exceptional sports program. The new athletic branding for the Monroe Mustangs was created by Monroe College and their communications partner Harquin Creative Group.

The Monroe Mustangs logo with school colors blue and yellow, emblazoned with the orange spikes around the mascot’s head creates a distinctive look. The Monroe Mustang shows a determined look, symbolizing the energy and aggressiveness fans come to know from the Monroe games.

College athletic teams help to strengthen the Monroe community and promote collegiality. Students, faculty, family, and friends turn out at games led by President Stephen Jerome and appreciate the student/athletes’ commitment to excellence and success. The athletic program that started with one team in 1989; now has 12 athletic teams, all members of the NJCAA: men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball, baseball and men’s and women’s cross country, and indoor and outdoor track and field.

Also, a number of Monroe athletes have also been designated as Academic All-Americans. This year the Lady Mustangs basketball team won their second NJCAA Division III title in the last three years. Monroe’s athletes have gone on to play for Division 1 colleges in the United States and in professional leagues in the United States and abroad. “The athletic logo increases brand recognition for the program,” says Harquin’s Sherry Bruck. We’ve designed a logo and given them the system to market it.”

Monroe College’s Craig Patrick says, “Harquin successfully extended the branding strategy that they developed for our Advertising and Collateral materials into our highly visible Athletic department. We have subsequently used the Athletic branding on our bookstore merchandise that has seen a significant increase in sales since the new mascot and athletic logos were introduced. Students can be seen proudly wearing their new apparel around campus for the first time in years."

The new athletic branding also serves by increasing the prestige of the school. The athletic program attracts students to the school by inspiring school loyalty and giving Monroe students the chance to feel proud of the college and be a part of the college experience. Monroe has taken a great step building their athletic program, making it excellent and given its fan base a recognizable symbol to attach with the athletic programs.

Monroe College is a private, co-educational, nonsectarian institution founded in 1933. Monroe College started as a non-degree vocational school, transitioning to a junior college and has been offering four- year college study since 1997. For more information, go to www.monroecollege.edu.

Harquin Group is a full-service marketing communications company. We use creativity to push brands where they’ve never been before, and it’s been that way since 1992. For more information, visit www.harquin.com.

Pharmacist adds ‘sizzle’ to drug rebranding effort

2009-03-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

Anthony Madaio is a pharmacist and generic drug manufacturer in Mount Vernon. When he started his business 30 years ago in the Bronx to supply hospitals and nursing homes with patient-care products for which he saw an unmet need, branding was something his larger, higher-priced competitors did. Madaio focused far more on what came in the package than the package itself.

“Colors didn’t mean too much to me 30 years ago,” he said at his 50,000-square-foot plant on Kingsbridge Road East in Mount Vernon, the city in which his company, Geritrex Corp., has operated for 25 years. “But today with marketing and everything, you just don’t catch people’s attention if it doesn’t look nice. That’s just part of society now.”

A second-generation pharmacist – his father, Frank, helped formulate some Geritrex products and at 88 still works one day a week at a Peekskill drug store – Madaio designed most of the packaging himself, including the company’s logo. “Suddenly I realized that the logo by itself wasn’t enough to catch people’s attention. They needed to see the name (Geritrex) in their face more.”

Madaio and Sherry Bruck, the co-owner and creative director of a design and marketing agency in Pelham, opportunely crossed paths at a meeting of The Alternative Board, a national company that brings small-business owners and CEOs together for peer advice. In Westchester County, they are members of an eight-person board whose monthly meetings rotate among their companies’ offices, where members freely exchange gripes and insights about personnel, finances and other common business matters.

“We advise each other as business owners on things,” said Madaio, whose company has about 40 employees and grosses more than $6 million annually in wholesale sales. “We bring our problems to the meetings and let people make suggestions or beat us up on what we’re doing.”

“Every month I would listen to him talk about his marketing problems,” said Bruck, who with her husband, Fred, started Harquin Creative Group in 1992. The 10-employee company’s diverse clients include Girl Scouts of the U.S.A, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Reader’s Digest, Iona College, Pace University, Sound Shore Medical Center, New Rochelle Downtown Business Improvement District, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Westchester Library System.

Bruck told Madaio he needed “a big-picture plan, a marketing strategy. He basically had been doing everything himself for 30 years,” she said. “It was getting more and more complicated. He was having a harder time marketing his product line.”

Geritrex manufactures about 75 over-the-counter pharmaceuticals and products for skin care, wound care and personal care that are packaged and sold in 130 stock-keeping units to general purchase organizations or GPOs, wholesalers and directly to hospitals and institutions. “It’s a very complex sales system and it’s very difficult to get past the feeding frenzy of prices, those price wars,” said Bruck. “That’s what Tony and his sales people were stuck in – what’s the cheapest, not what’s the best.”

Madaio said 60 of those 75 products are generic versions of original branded products. Geritrex products generally are priced at least 30 percent lower than those of brand-name competitors. But cheaper doesn’t mean they are of inferior quality, he said. “I won’t make a product that isn’t just as good as a brand name” – or better, he said.

Bruck early this year interviewed several pharmaceutical buyers at GPOs before designing rebranding and developing a marketing plan for Geritrex. “We found in the interviews that people felt highly about his product line, but they didn’t know who made it,” she said. The marketing program hatched at Harquin will focus on all three buying tiers and promote both the corporate identity and product brand identity for Geritrex.

Bruck has redesigned 15 packages for her Alternative Board colleague. “He’s rolling them off the assembly line right now,” she said. “It’s going to probably take a good year to complete the whole redesign.”

“We’re ready to rock ’n’ roll,” Madaio said. Yet his company’s product rebranding might be a slower dance than his consultant Bruck would prefer. Operating on a tight budget, Madaio prefers to use up his inventory of old packaging for products rather than wholly discard it for the new and improved look.

“The big companies probably always spent a lot of time on marketing and branding,” Madaio said. “That’s the reason why they charge so much money. They’re selling the sizzle with the steak.”

“Sizzle’s good,” said the recent convert to sizzle. “You’ve got to have a good steak at the same time.”

“As a businessman I have to be concerned about not to put too much sizzle in too fast at the company’s expense. So we’ll go a little more gradual.”