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Did you catch the article by Paul Thomasch in yesterday's Globe & Mail, "Execs Stumble In The New Media World"...the one that talked about about Martha Stewart's website? Well, I missed it too, but came across it in a wonderful Logic + Emotion post by the always interesting David Armano.
As with David, this part of the article really grabbed me:
Executives at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia took great pains earlier this year to make certain the company's redesigned website looked flawless before rolling it out to the public.
After all, this is a media company whose magazines, books, products and programs feature ideas about attractive and tasteful lifestyles. Why not a beautiful site?
"That was a big mistake," Wenda Harris Millard, the company's president of media, said this week during a panel discussion at Advertising Week. "We put beauty before utility."
She said the front page, with its video player and jazzy graphics, included only about five links to actual content, "so the things people were looking for couldn't be found."
If you scroll down to yesterday's post, I said this:
Does your website reflect your company or your designer's talents? Don't get carried away with a slick design that doesn't meet your business objectives. Ya, I know, it's great to be cool, but not at the expense of your business, and more importantly, your site visitors.
Ms. Millard's comments are a reminder how easy it is to be lulled by a gorgeous visual. Like a sailor to a siren, we are drawn to beauty. And, yes, your site should be beautiful. But it also needs to give your visitors the info they are looking for, and a reason to come back.
I like David's soundbite, "Content is the next killer app." And, perhaps it goes without saying, but I'd like to see "user-relevant" before David's sentence.
So, if you are thinking of revamping your site, or are a new business getting your very first website... here's the crux of the matter: Know your target market. Not just spouting demographic variables, but really understanding the psychographics as well - lifestyle, behaviour, values, interests, etc.
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I had to snicker to myself as I took a fresh look at a shopping list I had started earlier in the day. It read:
- Dog bones
- Mouthwash
It also got me thinking about the time I had to dash out one morning - when I had opened the fridge, to my horror I found there wasn't enough milk for my morning cuppa Joe. (Nope, I cannot do black coffee.) At the grocery store, the guy in front of me had 4 bags of radishes and a large bottle of Nesquik. It was before 8:00 a.m.
It's funny how things that make complete sense to us could be easily misconstrued or appear odd to outsiders. In fact, several years ago, Bill Keaggy put out a very funny book called "Milks Eggs Vodka: Grocery Lists Lost and Found" which, cleverly enough, was a collection of grocery lists lost and found. The book sprang from his popular website www.grocerylists.org
When it comes to making a website a lot of companies employ the "shopping list" approach. And, sometimes, just like the "dog bones, mouthwash" list, it doesn't make a lot of sense to the general public.
Objective Shopping Lists
Sometimes, companies/marketing departments don't focus in on their "objective shopping list" and instead try to get people to do too many things on a per page basis. Sign-up for our newsletter, buy our product, learn more about our company, see our sale items… you get the picture. When the objective list is short, sweet and to the point, it makes it a better user experience.
"I Say Tomato, You Say Tomato" Shopping Lists
Another common way of impeding usability happens when companies don't speak the same language as their customers. Imagine two shopping lists: the first says "red, round fruit that fits perfectly into the palm of your hand and makes a very tasty pie"; the other list says "apples." Too often companies forget that they are building a site for their customers. Not to say how awesome they are, or to use corporatespeak and babble about "robust solutions" but to plainly and simply speak the same language as their clients.
Here's a shopping list for your site:
- What interests your potential client? What do THEY want to see on your site? Organize your site around your customers' needs.
- Is there a clear objective? Determine the purpose of each page and ensure there is a clear call to action.
- Can people figure out exactly what it is that you do? Using headings. Don't use over-inflated, self-important language. Speak the same language as your customers.
- Can people find what they want - easily and simply? Navigation should be consistent, give each page a unique title, stay away from "mystery meat navigation"
- Does your website reflect your company or your designer's talents? Don't get carried away with a slick design that doesn't meet your business objectives. Ya, I know, it's great to be cool, but not at the expense of your business, and more importantly, your site visitors.
Hey there...
It's no secret, I'm a Feist fan. Even that duet she did with Mocky, featuring the worst rapping in the world! I really adore her voice. However, lately, I've been hearing a little too much of her. Honestly, is there a commercial that DOESN'T feature her music? It's all over the place... the Apple iPod nano commercial, Verizon (below), HBO's summer promos, Lacoste... and while exploring YouTube I found commercials for eBay, and HSBC Direct.
When it comes to musicians selling the rights to their songs for commercial purposes, there are usually two camps:
- Those that think that it introduces the artists to a whole new audience
- Those that feel that it wears away at their "indie" label.
I think musicians today are looking for revenue streams other than tickets and CD sales, and that having your music featured in a commercial doesn't have the negative stigma attached to it that it did even a few years back...
Artists put out CDs for the very purpose of selling music/downloads. It is by its very nature a commercial venture - the business of art, if you will. Personally, I don't really care if artists like Feist, Wilco, The White Stripes, or Devendra Banhart license their songs for commercials. I don't think she is really harming her brand (she did apparently turn down a deal for licensing Mushaboom to McDonalds) it's just a matter of overplay.. But what do you think?
Feist for Verizon
Last night some guy named "Chicken" was voted off the island on the latest Survivor series, Survivor China. (Honestly, anyone whose preferred moniker is "Chicken" deserves to be given the heave-ho. I don't care if you are a chicken farmer from Virginia or not!)
The thing about Survivor is, like every reality show, you have to watch it a few times before you care. The first couple of episodes I'm not really sure who's who, there are usually a few look-alike buff guys that I mistake for each other… Teams are formed, alliances are sniffed out, players vote off people, and all it elicits is a bit of a shrug or a confused me asking, "Who was that again? Was that that the surfer dude or the bartender/model guy?"
It's not until I the story starts to unfold and I get drawn in, attached to particular players, and truly, madly hooked that I really give two whits about who stays and who goes.
That's the power of the story. To be able to go from "Whatev" to having an emotional investment in the characters.
This is why we've seen such a rise in the concept of storytelling in copywriting, and marketing in general. (Story isn't just restricted to words, it's the whole shebang: the look and feel of your sales collaterals, the way your business/store looks…it's every single customer touchpoint.)
Storytelling helps build brand/customer intersections - that common ground that you and your clients share…beliefs, values, assumptions, motivators, etc.
Storytelling helps amplify your authentic voice. As Ira Glass has said, "Everything is more compelling when you talk like a human being, when you talk like yourself." (Be sure to watch his very interesting talk on telling a story.)
Well, a girl's gotta work…so I must dash, but I'll leave you with this…
- What stories are you telling?
- How do your stories connect emotionally with your audience?
- Is your story consistent throughout your organization?
Not so far away from where I live in the country is a property that is rather formidable. Across the long driveway that twists back into the woods, where, presumably there is a house, is a heavy link chain with a sign that says "Private Property." The property is edged with large rocks and boulders and the owner has taken the time to spray paint each and every one with great big neon orange words - "Private" and "Keep Out" are two favourites.
My significant other and I snicker each time we walk by and, with arched eyebrow, inquire, "What do you think he's trying to say? I'm not sure, are you?"
But you know what? There's a good communications lesson to be learned from Mr. Privacy Freak.
- His message was written with a clear, measurable communications objective
- He sets out his position from the get-go
- He messaging is consistent
- He repeats his message to ensure that it is heard
- He is concise, there is no jargon or extraneous word-clutter
The result? He has achieved his desired communications objective of utter privacy. (Or carefully disposed of the bodies of those who dared challenge him…but that's another post…)
Back in 2004, there was the decade-old piece of toast bearing a passing resemblance to the Virgin Mary that sold on eBay for a whopping $28,000. Last year there was Your Name On Toast, an unlikely combination of toast, Sharpies, philanthropy and marketing.
Now for those of you who dream of sipping your morning cup of Joe while burning black and white images on your toast, line-by-line like a dot-matrix printer (and you know who you are!) INSEQ Design, created Zuse. You can check out the movie here: http://www.inseq.net/movie/zuse_themovie.mov In their communications materials, the groovy Austrian design studio declares their products to "have personality, speak to its audience with a strong voice and interact in synergy with the users' emotions." (Wow!)
And across the pond in Sussex, England, the director of the Brighton Science Festival, Richard Robinson, (also a former Splitting Image creator) turned to toast to market the festival. Robinson is creating a Prince Charles sculpture from 1,000 pieces of toast to celebrate 80 years of sliced bread.
Lost for a new marketing medium? Consider toast.
And bringing us back full circle back to our Virgin Mary is Bill Maher…
Is paved with good intentions...
I have a thousand excuses about why I haven't posted for donkeys...but I will spare you the gruesome details and instead focus on being focused.
My apologies!
Recently I was doing some link building for a client and came across a niche directory that had the usual guidelines for admission. This time I noticed something different. The directory warned that sites with large amounts of advertising or "amature design" would not be permitted. While I agreed with the sentiment, the irony did not elude me.
It got me thinking about how we put so much emphasis on the visual, and less on the meat of the matter…the content. Don't get me wrong, the logo, the look and feel of a site, or any marketing materials…these things are all crucial.
Everyone knows that a logo alone is not a brand. But when it comes to logos, there are a series of rules and guidelines that come along with it. The visual logo is a statement of how the company is perceived and it is taken very seriously. There are treatment rules covering correct usage, proper logo variations, reserved areas, minimum sizes, exact CMYK, RBG & Web colours, fonts, and on and on…
But what about the words we use to describe our company? What about our corporate collaterals - are they as consistent?
Many times, no.
Why? I'm not sure exactly. I think it might have to do with the fact that somewhere around high school we realize in art class that some people are just a lot better at it than others. But, writing…unfortunately, is perceived the same way breathing is. We all do it.
(Copywriters, how many times have you heard, "So, I showed it to my insert here: wife, husband, friend, neighbour, etc. and we think you should…"?!)
Each campaign, ad, website, etc., needs to have a cohesive, recognizable voice.
Here's a test: remove the imagery…does the copy still hold up?
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