The Sequim Chamber of Commerce came to InsideOut for a site re-design after recently updating all of their branding. We were more than happy to put together a custom design utilizing WordPress as the CMS. This new site puts a variety of editing capabilities into the hands of the Chamber of Commerce.

The largest benefit of the new Sequim Chamber site is having ease of access to updated information about Sequim events, latest news and more, just visit their new blog, which is seamlessly connected to the rest of the site, and with any WordPress based site.

Another great advantage with the new Sequim Chamber website are the new features offered to the Chamber Members. Member listings can be found by category, or more specific terms by using the search fields at the top of the website. In addition, members now have a ton of real-estate for showcasing an image on their listing, this has always been an extra feature with an additional fee to the Chamber of Commerce, yet now you have the opportunity to view your business image at a maximum of 400px! It is a great feature, we can’t wait to see more businesses take advantage of it.

Interested in learning more about custom sites built around WordPress? Contact Us.

Consumers have always relied on word of mouth, friends and family to help them make purchasing decisions. Facebook has really taken that method world wide. It has expanded the communications and speed at which people share opinions and advice. Don’t be shy, you have the ability to join in on the conversation. You no longer have to buy the radio spot or the mail coupon and sit by the front door, peering through the blinds hoping someone will stop in. Be proactive, engage and connect with potential clients in ways you were never able to before.

Become an expert about your area

Often times being a local means you have experienced all the local restaurants, hiking trails and parks in your area. Those experiences are priceless and become great content for a blog post. I often look at blogs before I travel just to get feel for some activities and events that may be happening while I’m in town. I always find the greatest adventures from locals and not generic activity websites. This is a great way to create an ongoing conversation with both new and returning customers. Being an expert and providing relevant information goes along way in helping your brand to succeed.

People love to give their opinion

The easiest way to engage your website or Facebook visitors is through polls, surveys, and quizzes. This a great way to get people to come back again and again to participate in what your doing. Remember your brand is an experience and this is cheap and clever way to provide that to your visitors.

Promotions, the next generation

Promotions and giveaways have been at the heart of brand awareness and brand building for many years. Look around your house,you will find that great pen from your dentist or that magnet on the fridge from the dry cleaners down the street. This is not going away but it has changed. You will find that many people are using Facebook to run picture contests, naming contests and other creative promotions. Most of these contests offer a grand prize and not simple trinkets. The nice part to promoting online is that branding occurs during the visit and not two months down the road when you stumble upon a pen in drawer. You can run these promotions “24/7/365″ days a year. You don’t have to wait and rely on your local trade shows or fair booths anymore. The days of buying 10,000 promotional rulers are over, give your customers a chance to win a great prize and brand along the way.

If you would like to read more about the statistics and research that contributed to this article, you can click here to visit Hubspot Marketing Data Box.

In conclusion, remember to get creative, engage, and don’t be shy. Consumers love to be informed, give their opinions and of course win prizes. Get blogging and continue to grow that social network.

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.

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

Some prospective guests prefer going online while others are looking for printed materials. Maine Stay has the complete set to suit both groups.

Maine Stay Inn and Cottages recently had InsideOut design their rack card. They now have the complete set of essential online and print marketing pieces: a search engine-friendly website, a rack card & business card, a blog and an e-newsletter. All the pieces have consistent branding and they work together to target the full range of prospective guests.

Click here to see the case study for Maine Stay’s 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.

Consistent branding looks professional, saves on design time and helps guests and prospects remember you.

Starting with the logo
Maine Stay Inn and Cottages (Kennebunkport, ME) offers modern comforts in their historic home and guest cottages. Innkeepers Judi and Walter Hauer knew their web site needed an update and chose InsideOut for the redesign. But they had no logo or established branding.

After exchanging ideas with Judi, InsideOut designer Jim McCauley created a logo that conveys the accommodations’ traditional yet contemporary appeal. The logo is legible at both large and small sizes. And because it’s a vector-based* electronic file, graphic designers can quickly and easily work with this logo. Beth Logan had no trouble incorporating the new logo into her web site design.

Business cards
With the look and feel established by the logo and web site, designing the business card was a snap. Maine Stay decided to list all the staff with a check box next to each name. In this way, they saved the cost of printing a set of cards for each person. InsideOut created the design and took care of the print management for fuss-free printing and quick delivery.

E-newsletter
The logo and branding also transferred seamlessly to the e-newsletter designed by InsideOut. Now anyone on the Maine Stay team can publish e-newsletters with an easy-to-use template that also provides email list maintenance tools and statistics on open rates, bounce rates, etc. Their branded e-newsletter gives them an excellent way to reach out to guests in a targeted, low-cost way.

Consistent branding counts
By establishing a branded look first, Maine Stay has saved hours of design time. Their marketing materials also express the quality of their accommodations in a consistent way. This consistency makes the brand more memorable and avoids jarring discontinuities: e.g., the web site makes the place look great, but the rack card makes it look so-so. In Maine Stay’s case, prospective guests see the same experience as they go from business card to e-newsletter to web site to blog. A good first impression is backed up by repeating that impression, instilling the brand into viewers’ memories.

*Vector-based logos can be enlarged endlessly with no loss in image quality. Non-vector logos have strict limitations on how much they can be enlarged. Designers also use up valuable time cutting them out from their backgrounds since non-vector logos usually do not have transparent backgrounds.

Rack card and business card designs for Garden House, Key West, FL

Catering to the Key West crowd
Key West is a favorite spring break destination and Garden House has just the right vibe for this fun-loving crowd. Garden House owners John and Connie Manasco worked with InsideOut to create a great website that’s fun and easy-to-use. Next, they needed print pieces for visitors to pick up and keep. They turned to InsideOut to design a rack card and business card that matched their site.

For the rack card, the 4″ x 9″ size was the perfect choice since it fits both standard display racks and no. 10 envelopes. Plus there’s just enough real estate for useful information and photos while still fitting easily into a purse or backback. Using standard sizes for the rack cards and business cards (3.5″ x 2″) also kept print costs much lower than custom dimensions.

Matching the web site for strong branding
With a few adjustments, print designer Jennifer Lozada was able to transfer the horizontal web design to the vertical 4″ x 9″ print format and the small business card size. She kept the tone very casual, using the same sunny beach and ocean colors, cutout photos, fun pattern and handwritten font. Text was kept to a minimum; only the most important information was included. As a result, there was room for a few good photos plus a simple map to help visitors find the inn and to illustrate its convenient central location.

Garden House’s marketing pieces, both online and in print, have the same relaxed party-friendly look. Matching these pieces keeps a consistent picture in prospects’ minds. There’s no jarring difference in quality between the cards and the site.

The result:
John & Connie were happy with the designs and quickly approved them. They selected a quantity of 2500 rack cards and 2500 business cards which gave them an excellent per piece cost on printing. InsideOut oversaw the print management, ensuring high quality printing and fast, no-fuss delivery.