This compact brochure has it all: it's an easy-carry size, matches the website design, and features a handy QR code, useful locator maps and a full list of chamber members. Plus, the clickable pdf version will soon be available for download at concrete-wa.com.

A Chamber of Commerce brochure gets the word out about their vibrant small community.

Concrete in Northwest Washington may be small (pop. less than 800), but it has a lot to offer. Its fun annual events, beautiful mountain setting and visitor-friendly services deserved a hearty shout out. They got it with a website launched in spring of 2011. Next: they needed a matching brochure for newcomers and visitors.

The Right Fit

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: pick the right format for what you have to offer. I’m a big fan of print pieces that, whether cut or folded, end up being about 4″ x 9″. This allows the finished card or brochure to fit in any standard display rack or no. 10 business envelope. Plus the size is easy to carry and economical to print.

For Concrete’s brochure, I chose a 12″ x 9″ trifold format that allows for three panels, front and back. That gave plenty of room for nice-sized photos and helpful information…

The Right Info

Chamber President, Valerie Stafford, wisely opted for less text. Instead, the photos tell the story. Smiling friendly faces and colorful photos of main attractions and events give viewers the right idea.

The back panel is an easily accessible place for contact information and maps. Concrete isn’t far from a main interstate, but it’s just far enough that a regional locator map helps viewers understand where Concrete is in relation to I-5 and major cities. The second larger map gives a good overall layout of the town without having too many hard-to-read details.

A QR code is also on the back. Instead of mobile users trying to type a web address, they can just scan it with their phone (and free app) and go right to concrete-wa.com

The interior of the brochure has plenty of space to provide a complete list of the Chamber members and their contact information. One panel is also dedicated to Concrete’s annual events.

Clickable PDF

Not only were 5,000 brochures printed, but I also generated an interactive pdf. Every members’ email or website address is clickable, and so are all instances of concrete-wa.com. The interactive pdf will soon to be offered on their website. [ View PDF ]

The brochures were a hit when they arrived at the Chamber Offices:

“….[T]hey’re beautiful!”

~ Valerie Stafford, President
Concrete Chamber of Commerce

1. a display piece for the counter
2. a print piece for local visitor centers’ racks
3. a postcard for announcements

Rather than designing and printing three separate pieces, we suggested a single all-purpose piece: a 4″ x 9″ rack card designed as a self-mailer. David liked the idea of getting three uses for the price of one and decided to have InsideOut proceed with the design.

Matching to Existing Visual Branding
Since Wind Rose Cellars is just starting out, there weren’t a lot of existing pieces to match to. We decided to use their new Bravo Rosso wine label as a basis for the rack card design. The label had many elements that David liked and planned on using in future designs. So we used the same aged paper, compass rose illustration, fonts and colors to keep the look of the card consistent with that of the label. Because we had worked with David on the Bravo Rosso label, InsideOut already had all the design elements on file. This allowed us to get started immediately and helped reduce the overall design time.

A Lasting Print Piece
It’s expensive to have a print piece that needs frequent updating and reprinting. To avoid this expense, we kept the information general and didn’t include specifics (such as prices or a full wine list) that would need future revision. It was better to stick to the basics that included:

• a locator map
•  a QR code
• a reference to their Facebook page

The map was drawn simply, avoiding excessive details that make a map too large (there’s not much space on a 4″ x 9″ card) and too confusing to look at.

The QR code points smartphone users straight to the winery’s home page. No need to type out windrosecellars.com—just scan the code and there you are!

For the Facebook address, we sent David easy-to-follow directions that allowed him to set up a Facebook custom URL for free. The custom address is shown on the card with the Facebook icon and /windrosecellars next to it.

On the front of the card, a glossy coating keeps the colors from fading and gives the piece a substantial appearance. On the back, the card was left uncoated for ease of writing.

Self-Mailer Savings
No need to buy envelopes—the self-mailer design makes the piece a mail-able postcard. To prevent problems with delivery, placement of the return address and the vertical line indicating the message and label areas follows Post Office guidelines.

There’s still plenty of space on the back for David to customize the message on the card. He can use desktop-printed labels or handwritten notes to announce events or special deals.

Ready for Display
At the tasting room, the rack card can be put in a vertical display so it takes up less room on precious counter space. Guests can pick up the card to keep as a reference or they can mail it out and share the information with others.

The 4″ x 9″ dimensions are also the correct size for visitor center display racks. Space is at a premium in most visitor centers. They’ll often reject pieces that are too large for their display racks. Also, in often-crowded racks, the top third of the card is usually all that’s visible. With this in mind, the Wind Rose Cellars rack card features the name and main offering (wine tasting) in the must-be-visible top third.

———————–
After a few revisions, David approved the piece and 2,500 rack cards were printed. The cards now serve as his primary print marketing piece, promoting his new business in the mail and on display.

Click here to view pdf: Wind Rose Cellars Rack Card

The finished packaging with dark maroon capsule.

Captain’s Walk Winery in Green Bay, Wisconsin wanted a wine label for a rosé to be heavily promoted during the annual Tall Ships Festival. The wine, called ’7 Seas’, needed a look that was eye-catching but in a muted palette that would work with established branding and the wine’s color. The final design is the result of a fruitful collaboration with the InsideOut design staff, the winery’s team and the printer, WS Packaging.

Click here to see a closeup of the finished front and back label.

InsideOut has great print deals on the following items for a limited time only:

20% OFF! ~ Greeting Cards (4″ x 5″ and 4.25″ x 6″)
20% OFF! ~ Postcards (3″ x 4″ and 8″x 5″)
30% OFF! ~ Personalized Notepads (4.25″ x 5.5″, 4″ x 6″, 5.5″ x 8.5″and 8.5″ x 11″)

For discount to apply, final client approval must be received by 4 pm PST 11/30/09. Contact Jim McCauley for details: Email 360-683-5774 x 304

If you don’t want to spend anything on postage, use your email instead. If you choose a pdf card, then it can be emailed now with a later option to have it professionally printed. Or send a card using a professional program which also allows you to track open rates, bounces and collect statistics at the same time you’re saying Merry Christmas!

Right now, InsideOut is offering great deals on postcards, pdf cards and e-cards:

6″ x 4.25″ Postcard
Custom design and printing with full color on both sides ~
500 for $125.00*
1000 for $133.00*

PDF Card
Branded to match the look of your business ~ $100

E-Card
Custom designed to match your branding ~ $70

Contact print@insideout.com or call 1-800-500-8401 ext 304. Just mention “Holiday Special” and get those holiday greetings done!

*Plus shipping and tax.

InsideOut has great print deals on the following items for a limited time only:

20% OFF! ~ Greeting Cards (4″ x 5″ and 4.25″ x 6″)
20% OFF! ~ Postcards (3″ x 4″ and 4″x 4″)
15% OFF! ~ Bookmarks (1.5″ x 7″, 2″ x 8″and 2.75″ x 8.5″)
35% OFF! ~ Personalized Notepads (4.25″ x 5.5″, 4″ x 6″, 5.5″ x 8.5″and 8.5″ x 11″)

For discount to apply, final client approval must be received by 4 pm PST 10/30/09. Contact Jim McCauley for details: Email • 360-683-5774 x 304

New rack card design for The Croff House in Hudson, NY.

The Croff House is a Victorian home with a beautiful and comfortable updated decor. Owners Duncan Calhoun and Russell Gibson worked with InsideOut to create a great web site that captures the contemporary feel of the inn and showcases its luxurious amenities. With the web site completed, it was time to create a print piece that could do the same job in a much smaller space. Again, they turned to InsideOut — this time, for the design of their 4″ x 9″ rack card.

Strong branding with matching marketing pieces:
Print designer Jennifer Lozada transferred the logo, colors, fonts and layout of the web site to the much smaller 4″ x 9″ print format. Rather than cramming the space with text, she let the photos do most of the talking. Open spaces (“white space”) in the layout draw the eye to the most important information. White space is key if you want to convey elegance and sophistication. Even with the “blank” space, text and photos, there was still room for a helpful locator map. Good feedback from the owners helped refine the map, text and photo selections.

The result: The web site and rack card are a match, conveying a consistent message. The owners decided on a quantity of 5,000 cards. InsideOut managed the printing to ensure quality, affordable cost and speed of delivery.

“It’s perfect!!!!” – Duncan

“The rack card looks great.” – Russ

A bookmark is just the start for marketing the Bed and Breakfast Foodies.

“8 Broads in the Kitchen” is a group of eight innkeepers from all across the United States. Their web site offers great recipes as well as insights and experiences from each innkeeper’s local food culture.

The group asked InsideOut’s print department to develop a bookmark to match their web site. InsideOut designed the 2 in. x 8 in. bookmark using the established logo, stripes and colors. The front prominently features the web site address. On the back, there’s a picture of each innkeeper with her contact information.

10,000 bookmarks were printed and have arrived in plenty of time for their joint photo shoot this September. The bookmarks can be tucked into cookbooks, displayed on their own, or attached to any other related marketing materials.

Raster logo issues
The logo on the site was a “raster”. A raster image is like a mosaic made from tiny square “tiles” of data arranged over a very fine grid. When you enlarge the image, it’s like looking at a mosaic close up: you can see the blocky pixels that make up the image.

Raster image of a flower looks like a mosaic of squares up close.

As a result, there’s a limit to how much you can enlarge a raster image. So if, for example, you have a small raster logo on your site, but you need it really huge on a poster… you’re out of luck. Every time you need a bigger logo, you’ll have to pay a designer to re-draw it larger, from scratch, if you want it to look clear and crisp.

Most raster logos created for the web will not work if you need to use them in print. Print requires a much higher resolution than the web. What looks crisp on your computer screen will look either jagged or fuzzy in print.

Another raster logo problem: changing the background. Image on the left is the original. On the right, you can see a whitish outline from cutting the logo out of its original background. Not good.

Vector logo is the standard
Raster logos can work well, as long as you stay within their limitations. But there are good reasons why vector graphics are the standard for logos. Instead of little squares of tile, think of a very thin wire that can be bent into different shapes. If you bend that wire into the shape of a circle, when you look at it up close, you’ll still see the sharply defined edge of the circle. It doesn’t start breaking down into a bunch of little squares.

A vector graphic describes lines as well as shapes and colors consistently and efficiently — no matter how it’s resized. And there’s no issue with separating the image from its background. Any professional designer will be happy to work with your Adobe Illustrator, EPS or Freehand vector logo.

O-Bar-O Logo converted to vector
Susan’s situation was pretty typical. Acquiring a business includes inheriting old branding. Susan decided to get the vector done and avoid future logo hassles. She worked with InsideOut designer, Jim McCauley, to create an updated version of the logo with a few alterations to suit her vision. Jim retained the eroded look of the original but recreated the effect in Adobe Illustrator, a professional vector-based illustration program. Based on Susan’s input, he replaced the compass with evergreen trees. He also incorporated richer, earthy colors and a more western-looking font for the text. The result is a logo that will work visually and technically for years to come.

Original version from the web site has been altered and converted to a vector image.

Live image from Purplehaze Lavender, click to view larger.

Now image you have a wonderful view from your lodging property and you want to show it off to potential guests. A webcam is a must!  Past and future guests will flock to your site to check the weather or just to see what is new from the view.

In the past couple of years we have helped six clients get web cams installed and running and the results have been fantastic.  Below are three examples of how adding a web cam to your site can generate lots of repeat traffic for your site.

Purple Haze Lavender – http://www.purplehazelavender.com
This is one of the best web cam shots I have ever seen. The view is from their drying shed down towards one of their u-pick fields.  This image has helped Purple Haze triple the amount of visitors to their site and we can see from the site stats that most visitors are locals.  With the farm open for u-pick lavender this is the right clientele to be using the camera.

River Haus in the Pines – http://www.riverhausinthepines.com

Live image from River Haus in the Pines (Click to view larger)

This is the first client we helped get a web cam up and running.  Mike was very excited when his camera went live and it has been up and working now for close to three years.  This live web cam image is now posted on the local chamber of commerce and King 5 Televisions web site.  The webcam page of River Haus in the pines site gets more then 500 visitors day.

You may notice that most web cams have an impression on the image with the B&B’s contact information.  So even if the web cam images are linked on the chamber of commerce site or a television web site, it will always have the phone number and web site address of B&B or property where the webcam is located.

Solglimt on the Water – http://www.solglimt.com

Live Image from Solglimt B&B (Click to view larger)

This is our newest client with a live web cam.  Mary and Brian are thrilled with the results so far.  I was told that guests who call to make a reservation are looking right at the camera when they call and that the live image really sold them.

Having the web cam on their site has also created a dozen links to their site, which has helped their search engine ranks greatly.

As you can see adding a web cam to your site is one of the best things you can do for getting more business.  Here are a few tips when buying a camera.

1. Find one that can be branded with your contact information.  We recommend the NetCamMP from StarDot Technologies.

2. Once you have your image online try and get it linked on your local chamber of commerce site or Visitors Bureau and any other major local web site.  The more traffic to your own site the better.

3. Save great looking images you see while checking out your web cam through out the day.  Use these for posting to your blog or build a “Best of” page to show those unique times you have a great shot.

4. Lastly, Google is now linking to WebCams from maps.google.com. This is big.  To get your listed takes about 30 days and you can start by going here: http://www.webcams.travel

If you get a web cam all set up send us a link so we can check it out!