“So you like Logo Option B. Perfect. We agree that it will work hard for you and is a very nice selection. What are your thoughts on the taglines we presented?”

“Oh, the taglines. Good. Yeah, they were good.”

“Superb. Which specific directions were you liking?”

“Wait, those are those mottos or whatever? I saw the logos and the business card executions. Then a document with a bunch of phrases that I didn’t really read. Was I supposed to read that?”

————————————————————————————–

The above mirrors conversations I’ve found myself having more and more lately. The above is no knock on clients but instead a knock on us for not selling the importance of a strong tagline. I guess because it just makes sense to us. The tagline is one of those things that we just know is important. So, when challenged with why it’s important, it takes a second to step back and actually explain.

So, some thoughts on the importance of a strong tagline and elements of an effective one…

·      Whether a call to action, a slogan approach or just a simple, clean descriptor, framing your brand within a smart tagline is pertinent to long-term consistency in building a brand. It helps establish your voice, position you in the mind of your consumer and helps build a more memorable bit.

·      A tagline should portray a truth – something ownable to the brand. Ideally, your brand can make the claim and no one else can.

·      Your tagline should convey your established visual identity – the tagline should reflect the look and feel of your brand.

·      A tagline should portray a benefit – whether emotional or tangible. You have to give the consumer something to relate to and need to frame your brand in a way that is appealing.

·      The line should be built to endure. A good tagline lasts – think of Nike’s little nugget of brilliance – Just do it. It’s had quite a run.

So, the next time you’re thinking about using a new “phrase” for your “slogan”, think of the ingredients to baking a strong “tagline”. Hopefully, the above will help.

Thanks for reading,

Jon

Introducing search engine optimization (SEO) specialist and Gorilla 76 partner, Lauren Haman. We’ve been working with Lauren for 2 years, utilizing her expertise in SEO to build search-friendly websites from scratch and implement pay-per-click campaigns to assure those sites are found. 

Search engine optimization - it sounds daunting, right? Well, Lauren will tell you otherwise. Here’s what she had to say.

Search engine optimization and marketing campaigns are often seen as luxuries for small businesses, not necessities.  Small business owners can all too quickly reject the need for SEO with reasons like “Our customers already know how to find us” or “Our customers don’t use the web,” and here’s the big one: “It’s not in the budget.”  However, with proper research and planning, any small- or medium-sized business can benefit from search engine optimization just as much as their large-scale competitors.

Why you need it

A vast majority (over 70%) of online consumers begin their search for a product or service with a search engine.  It is true that not all types of businesses can profit directly from SEO.  After all, when was the last time you searched Google to find a gas station?  But consider this, in April 2006, 73% of American adults claimed to use the internet on at least a weekly basis (up from 67% the previous year). 

The ever-expanding market of internet users offers a substantial base for a successful optimization and marketing program, no matter what type of services you offer.  Whether your goal is to generate new customers or to offer additional services to your pre-existing client base, nurturing your online presence is both easy and effective.  A thorough search engine optimization and marketing campaign can offer a substantial return on investment to any small business.

How to get it

A web-savvy marketing firm (like Gorilla 76) can help you determine goals for your website, research, and execute an effective optimization and marketing campaign based around your needs.  Understandably, a small business marketing budget doesn’t always have room for new-fangled, high tech tricks.  Fortunately, a good SEO campaign doesn’t need any!  Fresh content, market research, a bit of know-how, and a strong website structure are all it takes. 

They can also help implement search engine marketing strategies, including Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing, to get the most bang for your advertising dollar.  These CPC (or cost-per-click) programs allow you to bid on specific keywords and display your ads in prominent locations when users search for those phrases.  The average cost per click for an AdWords small business marketing campaign is anywhere from $1 to $4 – just think how that compares to the thousands spent on print advertising to get the same potential customer through the door.  With a modest $300 investment over one month’s time, your website could see hundreds of new visitors.  Every one of those visitors is a new potential customer.

However, as with any marketing campaign, the key is commitment.  Optimization campaigns generally require routine maintenance, statistics tracking, and updated research.  Advertisements for $50 “SEO Quick Fixes” are all too common on the web and are usually scams meant to prey on those who don’t fully understand the dedication that good SEO entails.  Hiring a dedicated marketing firm to assist you through the process is the most effective way to generate the most return on investment. 

Search engine optimization, if done correctly, is an easy way to boost your website production and positively influence your business.  Harnessing the power of the web takes both marketing savvy and internet know-how, and Gorilla 76 has got you covered.

A while back, we had the opportunity to tackle a branding job for a dentist in Granite City, Illinois. Dr. Mark Hewlett was just starting his own practice, a young dentist 29 years old at the time who wanted to set himself apart from the crowd.

So the brainstorm began…

Dentist offices…

+ toothbrushes
+ toothpaste
+ happy hygienists
+ shiny teeth
+ smiles everywhere

But more realistically, aren’t these places typically defined by…

+ a waiting room with pink and olive green wallpaper from the 70s
+ three-month-old issues of Better Homes and Gardens
+ a leather dentist chair covered in that crinkly clear plastic wrap
+ the possibility of having to come back next week to get that cavity drilled on
+ and the little plastic bag with a hard toothbrush you’ll toss into the closet for when your friend from Minnesota comes to visit and the airline lost his luggage.

So really, where do you go with a logo for a dentist? The happy dancing toothbrush has been done. You’ve seen it before – probably a number of times. Same goes for the extra shiny smile and glistening front tooth.

Well what about Dr. Hewlett? He’s a young guy, energetic, excited about his practice, is sporting a cool, high-tech, brand new office. How do you match that personality while creating a unique logo in a saturated market?

Our answer came in the form of flipping around a negative. We took some insight from the dentist chair and its typically negative connotations. In a sense, it’s an icon that many of us feared when we were five years old and one we still don’t look forward to seeing. We can relate to the experience of a dentist chair. So we took a less expected approach, literally painting that chair in a warm, welcoming light –and Dr. Hewlett’s personality is brought to life.

The result – an unexpected dentist logo that distinguishes itself from the majority of what’s out there. It’s a graphic that can be associated with Dr. Mark Hewlett, and him alone – something that can build equity in his company, be applied to a storefront sign, as well as his appointment cards and reminder mailers.

The idea is to create something unique and memorable that sets your business (whatever that might be) apart from the crowd. Tell your audience what your business is about and what makes it better from the shop down the street. Now you’ve got the foundation for building a strong brand image.

- Joe
thinker & designer (attempting to be a writer for the last half hour)

Yep, you guessed it – another film-related post. I can’t help it. I see something I like and I immediately want to tell everyone about it, encouraging them to hurry out and see whatever caught my fancy. In this case, it’s the new Batman (The Dark Knight). So…go see it. It’s terrific. The effects are great, storyline solid, villains eerie and new gadgets, well to sound like a teenager, awesome.

With that said, like any business owner, I couldn’t help but think about business while I was sitting in my seat trying to get away for a bit. In my case, it was discovering the strength of the Batman (the actual superhero, not the overall comic) brand. It’s all stuff that’s been in place since the POW! and BOOM! days of old, I just simply failed to realize until recently.

My realization came in the fact that Batman (again – the actual superhero, not the comic) is the perfect metaphor for a strong brand and strong marketing. He’s a culmination of so many important factors: a strong name, a strong logo, always has a finger on pulse of new technology, attentive to PR but not dedicated to it, etc.

But really, I think what should be most noted, is the attention to the Batman brand experience. He’s more than what’s mentioned in the paragraph above. Put simply, Batman’s cool, and he’s such by a perfect orchestration of intrinsic characteristics. Anything Batman puts his name on or uses is easily identified as being part of his brand. I guess the easiest comparison would be the classic Apple computer example. Everything from in-store experience to the actual use of their product feels the same – same with Batman.

He’s modern and edgy yet still leans to the conservative side. Anything he does is going to be strategic and smart. He’s effective and efficient in all of his efforts. He always utilizes the sleekest, most current technologies. All of these things build to create the perception of what we know as Batman.

Your brand is no different. You have a logo, tagline and website – great. But what kind of promotions do you have running? Do they line up with your brand platform? What about your ads? Do they have the same look and feel as other marketing pieces? It’s this idea of consistency and cohesion that makes for a strong and memorable brand – hence a classic “brand” like Batman.

Thanks for reading. And go see The Dark Knight.

Jon

Hey there,

Post something people want.

Cheers,
Larry & Sergey

Yep, that’s it. Let me explain.

The old days

Not long ago, getting noticed online meant loading your site with meta data — arbitrary code that only search engines cared about. Meta data didn’t have to relate to what was actually on the page, and many sites took advantage of that. As a result, search engines lost track of the most relevant sites and instead found the most cunning. Then Google came along and said, “We’re more interested in what’s actually on the page, and how many other sites link to it.” Realizing Google’s success, the remaining search engines followed suit.

So what matters now?

There are still ways to tweak your site for better ranking. But the honest, future-proof approach is to post something people want — something they can only get online; not in a phone book or brochure. Instantly impressed, visitors will make note of your site. They’ll send the link to colleagues. They’ll post it on their blogs. They’ll add it to their profiles. And Google will treat all these links like currency. The more you earn, the higher your site will rank.

Freshness

But no one will keep coming back to a site left to rot. Maintaining current content is crucial, not only for retaining visitors, but for attracting search engines as well. All other things being equal, a more recently updated page will rank better.

Design matters here too. Let’s face it, a web layout from 1999 isn’t hard to spot. When it comes to visitors’ impressions, a fresh look is just as important as fresh content. Sometimes that means going all the way back to branding. After all, a contemporary layout with an ancient logo doesn’t do much good.

Execution

As meta data loses traction, page titles and even URLs have grown more important. The more naturally they’re written, the more likely they are to match someone’s search. Search engines also examine navigation hierarchies, how headlines are used, and where information appears in the page. This is where writing, design and code come together to ensure an intuitive, well-indexed, highly visible site.

Empathy

Ultimately, a successful site starts with learning what people want. Sometimes you already know; sometimes you have to hire a company (like Gorilla 76) to help figure it out. Then comes the small matter of making it happen. So far it’s meant tracking volunteer events, surveying impractically large swaths of land, or showcasing dozens of pieces of print work without paying for paper.

I suppose giving people what they want is the essence of marketing, on the web or anywhere else. And it just so happens you’ve found a couple marketing guys who can figure it out and make it happen.

Guest contributor,

Dan Rashid

“If the headline is big enough, it makes the news big enough” – a memorable line delivered by the fictitious newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane in the cinematic masterpiece Citizen Kane. It’s a bold sentiment that can be applied across life’s many platforms. However, I find it’s truth to be particularly relevant when thinking about the role a strong website can play in the small business landscape.

It’s that idea of making your brand look bigger than what it actually is that I find so interesting. It’s a thought that’s always kind of been in the back of my head, but it took a film from 1941 to make it really jump to the front. It’s something that small business owners often face in everyday marketing – you of course know you’re legit; you just have to convince your audience that you’re legit as well.

The way of doing that in today’s digital-centric landscape: a well-designed, well-written, easy-to-use website.

As pointed out by Nicholas Carr in his recent book The Big Switch (which I strongly recommend), companies such as Craigslist and PlentyOfFish serve thousands upon thousands of people on a daily basis. And that makes sense because they’re big companies, right? Not so much.

At the time of Carr’s publication, the companies were 22 employees and 1 employee, respectively speaking. I thought this was pretty amazing considering these are two very well-known, web-based companies. While their sites are not design-focused, their structures were built for usability, making them popular choices for their intended markets. What started small has now evolved into two significant players. I’m sure that’s something you wouldn’t mind as a small business owner.

I guess the takeaway is fairly simple: a strong web presence is getting more and more essential. The web is allowing for a bigger, more impressive “storefront”, giving the smallest companies an equal voice on a national, even global scale.

Thanks for reading (and sorry for the delay in the first post).

The writerly half,

Jon

Introducing Gorilla 76

by Mitch Meyers
former CEO of Zipatoni / current proprietor of Maison de Chanticleer

Before setting out on a small business venture in my retirement, I worked in the wacky world of marketing myself. I started in the field right out of college, working around town in a variety of settings for an array of clients – both good and bad.

In my years in marketing, I’ve been fortunate with great experience. I’ve worked on great brands with great people, learning collectively the importance and true impact of intelligent marketing. It’s more than just good creative and it’s more than just smart thinking – it’s a marriage of both, resulting in brilliant, beautiful work that will help build a well-constructed brand.

These same principles carry over to the realm of small business. The brand may be in its infancy, but the importance of the well-packaged brand is not diminished. In this challenging business environment, that is the first step in creating the foundation for the future.

With that said, I’m excited to announce the official launch of a local, small business brand-building group – Gorilla 76.

I’ve been working with Joe and Jon since the opening of my retail store in 2006. These guys were eager to understand what we were about, and quickly developed a “voice” for our communication materials. Within weeks, we had a framework for the website, a site that really brought the in-store experience to life. They’ve also assisted us with additional marketing materials since our launch.

Don’t be fooled by their youthful looks and exuberance, they bring serious thinking to your project and business. As we finish our second year, I find them suggesting thinking that keeps us re-evaluating our marketing programs.

These guys are definitely a breath of fresh air.

Okay, that’s a lie. We actually drew our name from the guerilla marketing that first inspired our creativity. Simply using guerilla was way too boring, plus there was something interesting about the strong nature of the savage Gorilla. The number, well, we started in the 7th month of 2006.

Yep, we made that up. Our name is actually a play on “guerilla marketing” – not-so-regular solutions to regular marketing challenges. And the 76. Well, it comes from the 7th month of 2006 – that’s when we first decided to take a stab at establishing our own independence.

We jest. We actually wanted to somehow link back to the idea of non-traditional work, or guerilla marketing. We opted for the homonym. As for the number, we started in July of 2006.