One of my favourite exchanges from You’ve Got Mail—your basic chick flick with Meg Ryan (pre-Botox) and Tom Hanks, who these days is still just adorably Tom Hanks—goes like this…

JOE/Tom Hanks

It wasn’t personal (This after the big box bookstore he owns contributes to the demise of the small independent bookstore around the corner owned by Kathleen/Meg Ryan)

KATHLEEN

It was business!  What is that supposed to mean anyway?

I am so sick of that.

All it means is it’s not personal to you,

but it’s personal to me, it’s personal to

a lot of people. (she shrugs helplessly)

What’s wrong with personal anyway?

JOE

Nothing.

KATHLEEN

I mean, whatever else anything is,

it ought to begin by being personal.

As a small business owner I gotta say that it is personal for me. And I wonder if possibly the “it’s not personal” crowd need to maintain that stance simply because it would make it too difficult to sleep at night otherwise. Taking your business personally means taking full responsibility for how it interacts with clients, suppliers, employees, fellow business owners, and the community at large.

Is your business a good citizen? Does it support local programs and events? Does it pay suppliers on time? Treat employees with respect? Honour its commitments to clients… delivering on time, and on budget? Do you take responsibility when mistakes are made? And do you remember the small personal things… saying please, thank you, I’m sorry, and really mean it when you say Have a nice day?

We devote too much of our lives to work—often spending more time in the company of employees, clients, suppliers and fellow business owners than we do with family & friends— to not be guided in business by the same principles by which we are guided in life.

It’s all personal and that’s what makes it worth all the time and effort you put into it!

The date for the Qualicum Beach Gala Auction, organized by the local Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club, is fast approaching. This annual fun & glamour-filled event has been raising funds to support local programs and projects that contribute to the betterment of our community for the past 20 years. When the organizers asked if we could track down the themed artwork we had provided for the past few years, I realized that it had actually been more than a few. Blackberry Creative has been providing pro bono design services to the Gala for the past decade…. and we have been very pleased to do so!

One of the joys of pro bono work—along with the feel good of being able to do something constructive to help—is the latitude in style and design that we have been able to explore. As with many charitable events, the production budgets for promoting it are small to non-existent— digital copies for posters, programs etc. being the standard—but the freedom to pretty much go in any design direction we chose is a wonderful opportunity. This year the event is flashing back to the 70s & 80s with an ABBA tribute… hmm, where to find my white platform boots!

Here’s a look back through ten years of Blackberry Creative Gala design…

Where there’s smoke, there’s BBQ!

Today we are giving a shout out to restaurant client Smokin’ George’s BBQ! If you are anywhere near Nanaimo and craving some seriously delicious BBQ ribs, brisket or chicken, this is the place to be. Owner & chef, George Kulai, and partner Lea Ortner, have been in business since last Fall and are doing it up right!

We began working with Smokin’ George’s last Spring, creating a logo for the new Vancouver Island eatery. The pair had put a lot of thought into what they wanted their logo to say to their potential customers, and the flavour they wanted to convey about their business. Most recently they asked us to create two new menus… for takeout and tabletop.

Over the past year, George and Lea made sure that they put into place marketing and promotional tools they could use to support and enhance all the hard work and long hours that they were (and are) putting in, and they have been busy promoting the business from the ground up. A website, Facebook, Twitter, contests and promotions, strategically placed ads on local buses, and George is always ready and willing to be interviewed (check out his appearance on Shaw Cable) sharing his expertise and passion for all things BBQ!

Our job was to create a logo and other materials that honoured their passion and commitment to their customers. And we are proud of our work, but at the end of the day no matter how spiffy a logo is, or how many ads are taken out, or how clever the menu graphics are, what really matters is the food and delivering on your business promise. Smokin’ George’s delivers… they are all about authentic, mouth-watering BBQ! George and Lea are successful because they love what they do, they do it well, and their restaurant patrons walk away happy & satisfied…. and perhaps with some BBQ sauce on their cheek!

Every once in awhile something comes along that is simple, practical and —wait for it— a no brainer! Although I detest that expression, in this case it certainly applies! Finding a way to link elements of a marketing campaign across print and online platforms has been a challenge, but the emergence of QR (quick response) codes is proving to be a quick and easy solution.

In the past, collateral materials such as business cards, brochures, print ads etc. would rely on the viewer of these products to take the time to access your online components via entering a website address using their browser of choice. This worked reasonably well, but if you wanted to direct a visitor to a particular page on your site (beyond the standard Home Page) it was difficult to encourage them to continue entering past your basic url with all the back slashes et al.

Send viewers direct with QR codes

For example, what are the chances you will get past the dot ca part, and arrive at our page on websites and multi-media projects, given the following url… blackberrycreative.ca/?page_id=38?

Scanning QR codes leads your customers directly to the page, micro-site, video or other online offering that you want them to see. Which in turn allows you to track how effectively individual elements of your campaign are directing that traffic to what you want them to see & hear. QR codes allow the viewer to access additional and pertinent information and the potential uses are exciting…

• If you are a realtor, a QR code on your sign outside a house you have listed could take potential buyers directly to a video tour or photo gallery of the property, as well as contain as detailed specs.
• Trailhead signage could be augmented with downloadable trail maps, and information on local flora and fauna.
• Gallery exhibits could link to additional biographical information on the artist whose works are being displayed. Museums could add historical details and post mini-lectures for viewing as the visitor passes through an exhibit.
• Wine labels are expensive to produce and vintners might save a little space by directing buyers to full information on pairing the bottle in their hand with an upcoming meal.
• Have fun scanning colleagues name tags at your next conference… and upload their digital business cards.

QR codes allow you to link your potential customers to everything you have to offer. And they increase the value of all the marketing materials you create from rack cards to baseball team t-shirts… imagine the possibilities for your next promotion!

In Slurls: They Called Their Website What? author, and self proclaimed Chief Slurler, Andy Gelman states “In a world without spaces we mentally insert our own.” But those Speed of Art folks remain unbowed, as do the owners of  Pen Island, and Big Al’s bowling alley in Vancouver, Washington. The “powers that be” at Experts Exchange, however, thought the better of their first URL, and eventually added that all important hypen.

Finding just the right URL for your business website can be problematic at the best of times, but strange how letters without those all important spaces indicating words, can lead to trouble online. It is always a good idea to take a step back from your URL brainstorming session to look at your potential choices with fresh eyes. You may know what the name of your company is, but will someone looking at it for the first time see it the same way? That all-important first impression exists whether your potential customers meet you in person, online, or in print.

Even the smallest detail such as your URL communicates something about your organization. At best it is clear, concise and appropriate, and at worst it can raise a red flag about just what you are all about. So unless your goal is to find your company listed on one of those Biggest/Funniest Mistakes in URL Naming websites, take a moment to consider your options, and better yet, pass it along to a few friends and colleagues and ask what they see!

Some designers have all the fun! Take a peek at the text on this product label for Glacéau vitaminwater™

I guess this means no more sweating those little typos… well, as long as the words are in the right order, and the first and last letter rule is followed to the letter—so to speak.

Hmm, let’s try it shall we…

smoe tihngs are jsut fun… po was rdeaing the leabl form a porcudt taht her son was diikrndg cleald glacéau vitaminwater™ No her eeys wree not diiecvng her… tkae a qciuk peek at the ifno on the lbeal! so no mroe sniteawg tshoe prbomeltaic litlte topys, I gsues… spchelclek bgonee! wlel, as lnog as the wrdos are in the rghit oderr  of cusroe and the wlhoe frsit and lsat lteter tinhg is fweollod to the lteter—so to sapek.

Not sure that this phonetic effect is as straight forward as stated on the label—there appear to be some letter combos that we simply must see together in order to make sense of a word—but this an interesting exercise nonetheless. And sorry kids the only reason this actually works is because it is assumed that you already know how to read and spell the words correctly… so keep reading!

Given that my last blog post was from the end of July, you would think Blackberry Creative was busy or something? And we certainly are, but both Po and I—and our respective families—also managed to enjoy some fun on beautiful Vancouver Island this summer, as well as venturing forth to explore. Yes, it was summer road trip season and between us we managed to cover Washington State, Oregon, California, Alberta, Montana and Idaho.

The last three months have zipped by with projects including: editing a fitness manual; the design of the INA Annual featuring reports from nautical archaeology projects being undertaken around the globe; creating another edition of The INA Quarterly magazine; and a fascinating video project for Community Futures (about demographic shift and how it affects rural communities and small business) with Target Multi-media, entitled “Generation Exit.” Have you done your succession planning yet?

Oh, and then there was organizing a fundraiser, Zumba-for-the-Cure, to support the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation…
it’s good to be busy!

How many people do you know who have seen Titanic… and I don’t mean the movie?

Jim Delgado prepares for trip down to Titanic, 2000.

Well, a new expedition to the site, 25 years after its discovery—some 2.5 miles below the ocean surface—is being undertaken by RMS Titanic, Inc. (the Salvor-In-Possession of RMS Titanic and its wreck site). In what is arguably the most technologically advanced scientific expedition to Titanic ever organized, RMS Titanic, Inc. has brought together a team of leading archaeologists, oceanographers and scientists including James P. Delgado, president of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA)… and that is the one person we know who has… and is about to again!

For the past five years, Blackberry Creative has been working with Delgado and INA developing their communications program, including the design & development of a comprehensive website (www.inadiscover.com) that launched last year.

As a child I was enthralled by science and exploration, and could hardly wait for that next National Geographic special to air on TV… the world of Jane Goodall and Jacques Cousteau held me spellbound. Jim and INA have been extraordinary to work with and it is truly a privilege to assist this organization in spreading the word… Titanic just takes it over the top for me!

Always something new here at Blackberry Creative!

One of the best things about our business is the diverse and interesting clients that we work with, and the wide variety of projects we undertake. Among other things over the last few months we have designed logos for a new restaurant (Smokin’ George’s BBQ) that will open soon in Nanaimo, and a mortgage broker based in Parksville-Qualicum; developed a website for renowned underwater archaeologist and President of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, James Delgado; and designed pro bono ads for a local Artisan’s Market. There really is never a dull moment here at Blackberry Creative!

Summer is here at last and it’s time to get out the camera to capture the best of what you and your business can offer the world! Yes, you probably have this year’s ad campaign well underway, and your rack cards and brochures are already gracing info racks at distribution points near and far.

Now is the time to plan for next year! The sun is out, the sky is blue… if you wait until February to think about getting those perfect shots you’ll be kicking yourself… unless of course you operate a ski resort or manufacture snowboards!

If you are a small business with an even smaller marketing budget, professional photography services may be outside your realm, although you might be surprised at what a little trade-barter approach can do for you!

Po Wan of Blackberry Creative, and photographer Cliff Craven, set up a shot for the Qualicum Beach Chamber of Commerce’s “Beauty of Small” campaign

At the very least grab your digital camera, set it to the largest file size allowed and start clicking. Take LOTS of photos… the more you take, the more likely you are to get a useable photo. And the emphasis is on the word useable here, because you simply will not capture the same quality of image that a professional can take for you… and why would you think you could?! There is art, craft, and even science behind beautiful, evocative photos and that is why the work of a professional photographer should be considered as an investment in your business.

But if you are doing it on your own, here are some tips…

Vary the angles, subject matter, and time of day for different light (avoid high noon and aim for morning, or early evening photo shoots).

Include both landscape (wide) and portrait (tall) shots… your rack cards and banner ads will require different formats.

Use a flash for BOTH indoor and outdoor photos. If you are inside get as much additional light as you can into the room…. under a skylight can work quite well.

Getting a shot in-focus requires a steady hand and eagle eyes, so a tripod can be very useful, especially for low light settings such as retail store interiors.

People enjoy looking at other people, so include yourself, your staff or your Aunt Milly in the photos… real people, smiling into the camera lens will help capture your intended audience. Take your time, take charge, and direct your photo shoot. Try different poses and setups and don’t be afraid to experiment!

And next year when you start planning your marketing materials for the upcoming season you will be able to draw from a wide assortment of images, all of them showing you and your business in the best possible light.