Veal Creative begins creative work for Safe House Denver in Feb. Thank you to SD for applying to our free non-profit 2010 projects.

The Real Age of ‘Real’ Renewable Energy

By David Veal

Cruising through the Google news stories and digging into the groups on linkedin, I finally found something to replace our obsession with online marketing and smart phones. We are living in the dawn of The Real Age of Renewable Energy.

I bet you already knew that for quite some time, thinking in terms of solar panels for the house or turbines that catch water and wind power. But renewables have a different feel to them now. The industry’s brand has slowly been updated. It has money and political clout. It carries the same promise as landing on the moon did a few decades back. It’s for real. And as small businesses, we should be looking for ways to tap into this non-stopable energy surge.

In its natural form, renewable energy is as old as time. Heat from geothermal sources, radiation from the sun, windmills and water wheels. Every culture has learned to harness environmental elements. Then came the century long surge of the non-renewable petroleum based lifestyle. After countless rewards and innovations from oil, kids in the 1970’s were perhaps the first generation to be inundated with messages about the health costs and environmental disasters of poorly managed petroleum by-products.

My first real taste of renewable technology was back in 1980, at Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs. I loved this alternative energy class where we were introduced to passive solar construction among other topics. The instructors gave the feeling of a revolution, hippie enviro-movement. Innovators were geeky science types or geek wannabe’s like myself.

As a result we had what I call a mini surge of anti-pollution-pro-renewable-energy innovations. None of which had staying power in the light of our overwhelming dependence on oil. Solar panels were not efficient enough to pay for themselves, tax write offs were yet to appear, transportation and industrial uses were next to nothing. Aside from a few pioneers who earned write-ups in Popular Mechanics, I never would have been able to find who was doing what.

That was then. This time around, with greater industry coordination, financing, technological advances and the political world confronting climate change, the effort to innovate and proliferate renewable alternatives is a competitive steamroller.

We’re not just talking about making our homes self sustaining energy generators, or electric hybrid vehicles for the mega hit SMART grid. Those are just the tip of the iceberg that I feel will be the foundation for our kids living in a clean world.

1. In the wake of the Copenhagen Climate Summit (which many inaccurately argue meant nothing) there are several countries around the world who walked into meetings committed to being known as the leader in renewable energy. Aside from the United States, you have India and China and others with the land (referencing solar and wind farms), motivation and resources. Hence the latest of several US federal stimulants, this time 2.3 billion in advanced energy manufacturing tax credits awarded to 183 projects.

2. The Bureau of Land Management is on course for approving 31 renewable projects by December 2010 through its fast-track program. Jobs will be generated before, during and after the projects are built. Most are solar in nature, but they include a variety of industries.

3. New technologies are surfacing every week from armies of innovative research sources. I love it when basic chemistry is bought to bear as opposed to the latest and greatest discovery. One example of the less theoretical technologies surfacing last week is a story about a CA company named SolarReserve. They are developing a way of using salt, which retains heat for long periods of time, to increase the efficiency of their solar energy plants. I understand the logic and it’s practical.

Why is this renewable energy surge such a big deal?

The way I see it, any industry that has started to grow and innovate under the radar for decades, like renewable energy has, will effect how you do business in the future. In the 1950’s until the 1970’s computers were like that. A computer was a weird scientists and engineers were using handle a few mega-complex tasks for a few companies and government agencies? As we have lived it, the computer has had an amazing growth spurt in less than a few generations, changing our culture and lifestyle by reaching into every aspect of our lives. Innovation, innovation. Ben Franklin kind of innovation. Juggernaut kind of innovation. Science fiction kind of innovation.

As a graphic designer I will be looking for the industries that renewable energy companies will effect, the needs they will spawn, the cultural change they will introduce into our everyday lives. Take a look at all of those gas stations. When will the fuel pumps be a thing of the past? What will our concerns be when energy is no longer one of them? Mideast politics, the monthly electrical bill, keeping the impoverished warm in winter? What will small business look like just 10 years from now?

Though there may be a thousand holes in my theory about the age of real renewable energy, we may agree we are looking forward to a time when the world transforms from energy glutton to energy balanced. In my heart, I know we’ll get there. It is my hope that the innovation continues to be supported and pays back the companies and the rest of us very soon.

Keeping Touch and Tech in Balance?

By David Veal

You know I used to write my thoughts, short stories, essays, articles, newsletter columns, business letters, classifieds, and to-do lists on paper. I find that happens less and less these days. My new medium for many of these task is my laptop. It’s a tool, like a pencil, however with it I find my mind works differently in it’s environment. More analytical. Less natural. More constricted. More organized. It’s kind of a double edged sword in that it’s so effective for various things, and so wrong for others.

When I do use paper for these documents, I find I enjoy the look of the words more. I am focused not only on the topic, but on the nature of writing. I suppose it is my upbringing, as many reading this blog would share: the old number two, the pink eraser, skipping lines for corrections, striking out entire paragraphs, the varied tones of black in the graphite, the energetic scratching when you’re on to something, the stoic jotting down of side notes, taking a breather to gather a book, leafing to that page for support of an assertion. My tech is my Webster thesaurus and the data within my studio library.

Some exceptions to using my laptop include composing poems, lyrics and conceptual material. This is by choice. These are always begun with pencil to paper. Not just any paper, lucky paper. I have my sketch pads and my yellow note tablets. If I start lyrics on one tablet, I can’t change to another one until the song is done. If I start a rendering, a series of logo concepts, an identity system’s flow chart, they all have to be in the same sketch book. I finally relented and began pulling some pages from my sketch books to tape on the studio wall for review. It kinda hurts, but it is effective while generating new ideas.

The other tech tool of choice is the phone. That has been the most effective technology, as it contains the touch at it’s highest value. The convenience of discussing topics in real time with the natural emotional tones of the human voice. The laptop and the web are poor necessities in comparison. They keep me in front of people, but also absorb time like a dry sponge, and with a lack of immediate feedback (webinars excluded). There is little touch value from the computer mediums unless it is a personal note via email, or a reply from a friend on the wall of the many social marketing tools I am using.

Touch is undervalued by technology. The touch of the mind to the pencil and paper, the touch of a hand shake, the touch of a thank you letter in the mail, the touch of gift to a relative.

I know the new generations will keep these acts of expression alive, if not as common as I would like. I’m happy in the belief that paper will never die, it will just be used differently. My balance of these two partners in communication, the touch and the tech, is in keeping the heart in both. That voice, that wit, that passion, and that compassion expressed is what keeps everything in balance.

New and Traditional Press Releases: The Effectiveness of Using Both Worlds

By Hayley Hoffman

Public relations is an evolving business which can be hard to keep up with. Managing your twitter, facebook, linked in and other social networking sites, while trying to figure out which methods to send out information and press releases can be overwhelming. You may not be able to determine if you should write a traditional press release to a journalist or simply facebook your information.

The answer is simply both. It is important to get your company name out into the media through traditional press releases, but the consistency of social networking sites and blogs is beneficial as well. This might sound scary but fortunately press releases can work simultaneously.

When you send out press releases via social networking sites and blogs you are immediately reaching your customer. The good news is that these types of press releases can also land you a story in the media. When a journalist needs a story they are going to research the internet and browse through online news releases. If a journalist sees something newsworthy in a blog or company website, they will write about it.

There are a few important things to remember when it comes to new and traditional press releases working together. First, you cannot rely on a journalist to find you on the internet. This is why building relationships is important and sending traditional press releases through email to journalists can still be effective. Also, it is not a journalist’s job to promote your company in the media. This means that your online press releases still have to be newsworthy, well-thought out and well-written.

Sending out online press releases consistently and keeping contact and good relations with journalists can help you be most effective with your company news. Understanding how traditional and new press releases can work together on a consistent basis can make life much less stressful and business easier to manage.

Veal Creative’s New Brand

I’m beginning to integrate the new look into the Veal Creative digital and print marketing tools/material. Should look a lot better on the website by the end of next week. New BC’s are being designed. The blog has the new look going though.

Making Memorable Ad Campaigns

By Hayley Hoffman with Editing by David Veal

One way to increase sales for the fall season is through an effective advertising campaign. Like a classic song, good campaigns will always be remembered. And as with bad songs, bad campaigns are short lived and with any luck, forgotten.

So how do you generate that memorable campaign?

• Set your goals. This may include an increase in sales, promoting a new service or product, connecting your business to a social cause.
• Do your research. Running on gut feelings and past experience isn’t an effective way to spend your energy. Listening to your buyers is.
• Focus on a brand centric theme. Support your underlining company persona, while striking a chord with your market.
• Placement is everything. The options are wide open, so pick the media mix that keeps you in front of your market.
• Don’t be afraid to be creative. A creative campaign gives you the opportunity to shine with a fresh look.

Often small businesses can look to mega-corps for inspiration. They succeed when they follow the right steps.

A recent ad campaign by Pepsi is a great example. Reviewed in Renee Alexander’s article “Soda Pops With Humor”, the campaign included a medium mix of television, radio, print, outdoor ads, etc. The ad was set apart by the unique use of humor and specific celebrities to “connect to people in a fun way.” They played on nostalgia to attract younger people to Pepsi, which also tells us you are never too big (or small) to out grow ad campaigns.

Knowing your market is key. Another brand that recently ran an effective ad campaign is Cheerios. They creatively played on fatherhood, using dads in their advertising instead of moms, who usually are found in ads when it comes to pushing household products or groceries. By showing a switch in gender roles, General Mills appealed to both moms and dads in the marketplace. Feedback from a mother’s perspective included that it was refreshing to see a father care for a child in an ad campaign. It was also appealing to dads seeing fatherhood play a bigger role in the ads.

According to Vivian Manning-Schaffel, author of “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” more men are in charge of households now that more women are in the workforce. General Mills was able to turn these statistics into a successful campaign.

Not only were these strong brand building campaigns, but they generated socially integrated press releases. We want to know about Pepsi’s celebrities and the changing landscape for dads recognized by General Mills. Please take a few moments to follow their links below.

For smaller businesses, ad campaigns can be just as successful within their scope of influence. They will not enjoy the same broadcast power of these national brands, however they do not need to.

Using real research (as opposed to a gut feeling from some CEO’s that change from day to day, and you know who you are) is the first step. This helps a great deal for services, like ours, to be both creative and relevant. If you can focus your message successfully, compose your media mix thoughtfully and support your company brand, then your ad campaign may stick for decades! Just like a classic song.

Soda Pops With Humor
http://www.brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=328

Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag
http://www.brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=318

Facing the Change, What We Learn From GM

By David Veal, with contributions by Hayley Hoffman.

Since GM has announced filing for bankruptcy, both GM and The White House are putting an emphasis on restructuring and transition. Although GM will be going through major changes in the near future, they are still maintaining their core values of honoring warranties and protecting employee pensions even throughout this complicated process.

The current changes going on at GM left me thinking about the value of an organization facing transitions to protect its brand. Are there lessons we, as much smaller businesses, can draw from the drama which is unfolding before us. If we were in a restructuring situation, would our current core values and resources stand up to the test of recouping our position (or a favorable portion of that position) in the market?

One aspect of this situation is that critiquing brand messaging is a little different than critiquing the company itself. GM may have the right idea as far as new operations, streamlining the products, opening up to outside analysts. However, it is the brand messaging that will determine if all of that will come to fruition.

Brand messaging involves interaction between the company promotions and you and me and everyone else on the planet. A sweet advertising campaign will do some good for future GM product sales. But they really will rely on the media, our neighbors, independent blogs and other relationship oriented sources to bring back that much needed credibility. One great resource to focus in on are clients.

This is restructuring the brand. That means GM is a company that has fallen from grace. That means their client base, their advocates and best sales force, also feel like they have fallen from grace. If GM can regain the hearts of those people (Example: honoring warranties in the face of closing dealerships), if they can sell them on the few brands GM is keeping, then they can utilize messaging from this very credible group.

Perhaps, more than ever, GM should use the testimonies of current and future clients in their brand messaging. That’s one drop in the bucket. You and I know it’s the media that will make or break GM.

Is GM is a company without a brand right now? No. This situation has not in any sense of the word left GM without resources many of our states would envy.

I like that they have paired down to just four (sub) brands of vehicles. This gives the public at-large a sharper association with their products. GM will just be a smaller player in a huge industry. Which btw, is global. GM sales are still thriving outside the US borders.

So what can smaller companies take from this situation?

1. No one is immune. We all inevitably go through a transition caused by changes in the business environment. Some changes will cause minor disruptions, some changes will evoke major overhauls.

2. We can’t recover from restructuring without the help of others. Play out the scenario and determine if your resources can help you recover financially. What changes to your operations need to be considered? Are there any resources you have yet to discover? Think outside the box.

3. You can never be too strong. Always maximize your resources. That is why we revisit our business plans, or marketing strategies, our operations annually if not quarterly.

4. Know your current customers, reach out to them to build loyal relationships. You never know when you need to ask them to bring in more business during a very difficult time.

5. If you are not an innovative company during this small recession, you need to take this opportunity to become one. When things get tough, innovative companies rise to the top. Innovation can take the form of brand messaging, product/service development, employee education or cross training, and revenue diversification.

Here is how I see it, through all these variables, Yankee fans still love their Yankees. Cadillac owners still drool over natural leather seats (as opposed to the 2012 models which will unfortunately use synthetic suede). Deadheads will still follow The Grateful Dead to the grave. It’s about keeping the foundation of your business consistent when things are at their worst. You will always stay afloat and come out ahead when the environment returns to prosperity.

Controlling The Passion

Should You Develop Your Company Brand and Marketing?

When I skim through topics on brand blogs, discussions groups and forums I see a lot of themes that are repeated. One is the idea that officers/principles should not develop their company brand or marketing (B&M). Meaning that they are so emotionally close to their enterprise that research and implementation of these areas in particular should be independently done. (One blogger mentioned that this is especially true if you are the owner of a company which offers B&M services – touché!)

This theme reflects a conflict of passions.

We, who are in the brand and marketing industries, have our perspective. We only see the companies who have tried and not profited from their internal B&M efforts walk through our doors and ask us for an overhaul. However when we’re online feeling so holy, we need to recognize that many successful companies are lead by people who are very capable of directing their B&M. They just don’t knock on our doors.

As a metaphor: Doctors wish motorcyclists would use their helmets for a good reason. Research indicates that helmets save lives and decrease the damage from some very harsh impacts. They see bikers who miss a turn and land on their craniums. They see the added damage and misery which they might determine was generated by a biker with a misplaced ego. From their perspective they see bikers who know a lot about their passion, but won’t follow a fundamental action that ensures a successful outcome. The biker, I’m sure, sees another variable just as important for a successful ride. That is the freedom of the open road. That freedom for some bikers excludes the use of a helmet.

The question is, has your business suffered few stitches or major surgery? Do you need better B&M habits, or a whole new understanding?

I have had to ask, almost beg, a few of my ‘patients’ to let me do an exam before wasting their money pursuing an untested direction. They say stitch me up with a new business card when I feel that they might actually need a name and tag line first. They say sales are off this month so we have a whole new message to try out, when I feel like they need to support the brand with consistency.

Every situation is so different.

I have been a wrist for hire, following the advertising design instructions of many talented CMO’s. These are both niche industry experts and wonderful communicators. In many cases these people have allowed for my design input. I learn from them and they learn from me. The B&M actions are usually very successful.

There are many examples of business who succeed through tight control of their B&M management when they follow the same disciplined principles we preach: know your competition, listen to your market, construct your messaging from the perspective of your market, focus your messaging on relevant pain points, brand consistently, actively support your market’s community, build smart multiple marketing channels (meaning do what you can actually do – don’t over reach), measure ROI, integrate your message across media, update your customer service, BE OPEN TO CHANGE EARLY when you’re not getting results.

Have a plan.

You also find examples of failures from those who have misunderstood their market in one way or another, but couldn’t see key points of the big picture. Businesses identified their marketing channels but didn’t connect with the buyers. They had a great service but a misleading name. They had enough funding but under invested in the quality of support sales materials. They let their competition lead them instead of creatively leading their market. Talk about frustration. You have the wings but the wrong people are watching you fly.

I think it comes down to: Are you leading your company to success in both projected profits and brand differentiation? If you answer yes, that’s great. You just need an occasional check up.

If you answer no, then have a B&M company evaluate your business from another perspective. Both sides of this conflict of passion should never assume they have all of the answers.

What are your thoughts?

Volunteering to Review High School Artwork

I had an opportunity to volunteer as a judge for the Denver Public School’s 2009 High School Art Exhibit. There were over 100 paintings and drawings. And a lot of mixed media, photographs, ceramics and prints.

Maruca organized the artwork for the show!

David top left with the other judges.

The paintings table.

Event: Improving Your Brand, Improving Your Profits

Wednesday, April 29, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. including

The term ‘Brand’ covers a lot of territory from marketing strategy, to graphic design, to interaction with your customers. Basically to brand your company is to build a relationship with your market.

A strong brand strategy leads to stronger connections with your market, which leads to growth and improved profits.

If you are feeling like the market isn’t responding to your company well these days, this presentation will help.

Visit our blog EVENTS page for more information.