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

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.

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.

New brochure design for the Boys & Girls Clubs Foundation of the Olympic Peninsula puts the focus on helping children.

A foundation helping children
The Boys & Girls Clubs Foundation of the Olympic Peninsula is a nonprofit organization which helps fund the good work of our local Boys & Girls Clubs. To this day, thousands of children in our community have benefited from the opportunities and inspiration provided by the Clubs. Foundation board members (and InsideOut partners) Pat & Jim McCauley were happy to donate InsideOut’s services to design a logo and brochure for this worthy cause.

Logo distills the message
The Foundation focused on potential donors who were planning their finances and seeking opportunities for charitable giving. The board wanted donors to know they were joining in a special endeavor to help local children. After some brainstorming, the board’s members decided to create a club of donors: “The Legacy Society”.

InsideOut designer Jennifer Lozada sketched out a number of logos based on the concepts of “legacy, growth and helping local kids”. The final version exemplifies these ideas with images of helping hands and a bright green sprout.

Communicating the benefits of giving
The next project was the brochure. Brochures would be distributed in local financial planning offices and mailed to potential donors. We decided that an 11″ x 17″ piece folded to 8.5″ x 11″ would give us plenty of room for necessary text and many photos.

Financial planning brochures often use dark conservative colors. To help our brochure stand out, we chose a sunny color which also contributed to our growth theme. The logo with its sprout worked well over the background of an old, established oak. Both the sunshine yellow and the oak also communicated the idea of “local” (the nickname for one of the area towns is “Sunny Sequim” and Garry Oaks are a protected species here.)

The Foundation has many wonderful photos from the local Boys & Girls Clubs. The brochure features these photos very prominently. With all the images of local kids, it’s clear that they are the main reason to give. The text supports this idea by providing potential donors with necessary information about the organizations involved, a reply form, and types of contributions accepted. The brochure makes it clear that the nonprofit Foundation and Clubs are long-standing legitimate contributors to the community, worthy of support.

The result
The Boys & Girls Clubs Foundation of the Olympic Peninsula is delighted with the result. Board Member, Billy Nagler’s comments sum up the board’s reaction:

“I am so impressed! The pictures of the kids are precious… the organization of the whole thing is marvelous, the copy is very very informative and well done. What a piece of work, folks… you can be proud of this.”

Click here to view pdf of entire brochure.

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.

Holly Buchanan opens a post at the FutureNow blog with a pair of seemingly contradictory ideas: that testimonials work very well and that they don’t work at all. Both are true, she argues, because customer praise can be a two-edged sword: If it appears inauthentic or doesn’t offer true insight, it can actually have a negative impact.

According to Buchanan, effective testimonials:

1. Are specific in their commendation. A generic testimonial like “I enjoyed my time at your hotel” won’t grab the attention of a business traveler in the same way as, “I was impressed by the 24-hour concierge service, especially when they found an all-night printer at 3 am.”
2. Address possible objections. You gain credibility when a happy customer explains how her initial skepticism was unfounded. “By addressing and voicing what many perspective customers may be feeling,” says Buchanan, “these testimonials are powerful persuaders.”
3. Are shown in a proper context. The testimonials on your website’s landing page, for instance, will be different from those on product pages or order forms; each should be appropriate for where a customer might be in the sales process.

The Po!nt: Not all testimonials are created equal. “Testimonials hurt you when people don’t think they’re real,” says Buchanan. “Anything that sounds vague or cliché can smack of insincerity.”

Again, this gives greater importance to the authentic reviews that are so important to all the hospitlaity industry. Encourge your guest and customers to write reviews on inn or product because their review will carry more crediability weight than an out of context testimonial.

Old design vs. new business card design for Lookout Point

Business card update for luxury inn
Lookout Point Lakeside Inn (Hot Springs, Arkansas) was nearly out of business cards. Before reprinting them, co-owner Kristie Rosset asked InsideOut to take a look at the card and see if it needed “freshening up.” The original card was easy-to-read, but it didn’t capture the sophistication of Lookout Point. After receiving our feedback, Kristie decided it was time for a redesign.

Making the card a keeper
The key to an elegant design is uncluttered space. To keep the card clean and clear, we did not cram it with text and photos. Instead, we used two of Kristie’s favorite images, one for the front and one for the back. To make it a “keeper”, the card also advertises Lookout Point’s 10% hybrid car driver discount. We incorporated this special offer into the design by making it an icon rather than another line of text on the back. To keep the branding consistent, the business card uses colors, photos and other visual elements common to their web site and postcards.

The result:
The design was approved very quickly and InsideOut took care of the print management to ensure fuss-free printing and delivery. The innkeeper and the assistant innkeeper received 1000 cards each within a week after approval. Lookout Point is very happy with the new design:

“I LOVE the new business card!” Â – Kristie Rosset

Trifold brochure for new Olympic Peninsula marketing strategy

Bridge closure inspires new directions in marketing…
The Hood Canal Bridge is the main eastern access for tourists visiting Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula. This spring, the bridge underwent a much needed retrofit, resulting in a five-week closure. The local tourism organization, Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission (OPTC), took special measures to promote lodging and other tourism-related businesses while the bridge was closed.Â

Among these efforts was a brochure directed to southern markets in Olympia, WA and Portland, OR. OPTC called upon InsideOut to design the piece and implement the online elements of the promotion. With the success of this piece, OPTC may use it as a template for additional pieces targeting markets to the north and east.

Pictures tell the story
There are six distinctive communities on the Peninsula. No amount of text could represent their unique qualities as well as big glossy photographs. It was decided that photos would be the means to tell their story.

In addition to large photos representing all the communities, OPTC also wanted a large map, an events calendar and lists of web sites and visitor centers in a clean uncluttered layout. Budget and distribution via newspaper insert determined a trifold format of 25.5″ x 10.875″ folded down to 8.5″ x 10.875″. How was it all going to fit?

InsideOut decided to concentrate the text on the back panel, a logical and easily accessible place for reference information. (When you’re in a hurry, it’s easier to just flip a brochure over than to open it up.) The rest of the space was now open for large photos with minimal text.

OPTC also wanted to include an incentive that might change with each version of the brochure. The special offer was placed on the back panel and directs readers to the OPTC website where InsideOut created an easy-to-use form that visitors can use to enter the contest.

Result
160,000 brochures were printed and distributed via inserts into major southern newspapers such as the Oregonian and the Olympian. The response to the special offer has been good and OPTC is very happy with the speed and quality of the design.