How Decorating a Christmas Tree is Like Building a Brand

Hopefully by now, most of you have all of your Christmas decorations up and are in full Holiday mode this final week. If you’re like me, you might have procrastinated juuuuust a little bit in putting your Christmas Tree. As I brought down the lights and ornaments and started to decorate O’ Tannenbaum, I realized how similar the decorating I was doing related to the work we do everyday here at Werkshop.

I noticed that decorating a Christmas had quite a few similarities to building a brand. Each element on the tree represented one of the tools we use to build brand. Here’s what I noticed:

The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer…..

“The best way to spread Christmas Cheer, is singing loud for all to hear.” – Buddy The Elf

If there is one thing that’s true about our team here at The Werkshop it’s that we love this time of year. If you visit our offices this time of year, you’ll likely be welcomed by Holiday music, Christmas Trees on chalk board walls, and the smell of cookies (and / or doughnuts)….

Taking a note from one of our favorite Christmas movies, we wanted to pass along our Christmas Cheer to as many of you as possible. However, after trying to perform “Silent Night” with a  three-part harmony and rounds, we decided that probably wouldn’t bring cheer to anyone.

So, we decided to do something that we are pretty good at — Design. To help you get in the Christmas spirit, we created a Holiday Desktop for you to enjoy this Christmas….

Werkshop Marketing Holiday Desktop Background:

1024×768 | 1280×1024 | 1680×1200 | 1920×1080 | 1920×1200 | 1440×900 | iphone | 2560×1440

A Night out at the Art & Business Council’s “Art WERKS”

Last week, our team had the opportunity to take part in the Art & Business Council of Greater Nashville’s Artworks event. It really was a great chance for us to get out of the office and show off some of our other skills. Check out our artwerk….

So why are we telling you about this? One reason is that we wanted to let you know how great of a time we had at Art Works (if your company wasn’t involved this year, you should definitely join us next year….. especially if you’re artistically gifted). But the second, and probably the most important reason is to congratulate our own Laura Mosley for winning Critic’s Choice 2nd place. Is that worthy of another “passing of the hammer“? We think so.

Thanks again to the Art & Business Council for allowing us to participate. Check out some of the other winners in the press release from ABC:

Arts & Business Council ARTWORKS winners announced

NASHVILLE , TN. – The Mall at Green Hills came alive last night for the Arts & Business Council’s (ABC) ArtWorks, the annual art exhibit and reception inspiring corporate creativity and camaraderie. ArtWorks invited companies to show off their team’s creativity and enter up to ten pieces of original artwork created by their employees. These Nashville businesses then competed to win Critic’s Pick and People’s Choice Awards.

This year, the Nashville restaurant community was added to the mix with the Jack Daniels Paint the Town Jack competition. Nearly 50 restaurants and wine & spirit shoppes, each painted a 34” statue of Jack Daniels for the “Jack” portion of the competition.

The ArtWorks Critic’s Pick judges were Shelley Liles McBurney, Ted Clayton and Walter Knestrick. It was the ArtWorks guests who voted for their favorite company and individual artists to win thePeople’s Choice Awards.

Company winners
Critic’s Pick 1st Place – Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon
Critic’s Pick 2nd Place – Earl Swensson Associates
Critic’s Pick 3rd Place – First Tennessee
Critic’s Pick Honorable Mention – PMC; Zeitlin & Co. Realtors; Jimmy Kelly’s Steakhouse

People’s Choice – Avenue Bank and First Tennessee (It’s a tie!)

Individual Winners
Critic’s Pick 1st Place – Mike Kelly of Jimmy Kelly’s Steakhouse
Critic’s Pick 2nd Place – Laura Moseley of Werkshop Marketing
Critic’s Pick 3rd Place – Jim Breslin of Earl Swensson Associates

People’s Choice 1st Place – Alex Arakalian of Avenue Bank
People’s Choice 2nd Place – Andy Fisher of First Tennessee
People’s Choice 3rd Place – Gregg Boling of GS&F

Nearly 50 statues competed in the Paint the Town Jack portion of the Arts & Business Council’s ArtWorks. Winners in the Paint the Town Jack division were:

Most Creative: Midtown Wine & Spirits
Best Classic Jack: Firefly Grille
Most Outrageous: Cross Corner’s Bar & Grill
The Sweet Honey Award: Mack & Kates/Macke’s

Spirit of America Award: Plantation Fine Wine & Spirits / Gallatin
Spirit of America Award: Frugal MacDoogal Wine & Spirit Warehouse
Spirit of America Award: Nashville Daily Spirits

Honorable Mention: TPAC, Laverte’s Liquor Store, Sunset Grill, and Lanes, Trains & Automobiles
People’s Choice: Cross Corner’s Bar & Grill and Midtown Wine & Spirits

Most of the “Jack” statues will be on display at the stores / restaurants of origin. Painting of six-foot tall Jack Daniel’s statue was done live at the event by the Arts & Business Council’s newly formed ABC Untied, the volunteer and social arm of the Council.

Jack Daniels was the lead sponsor of ArtWorks and the Paint the Two Jack portion. Additional sponsors included The Mall at Green Hills, Hoar Construction and Bacon Construction. KraftCPAs was the official accounting firm for ArtWorks.

ArtWorks was co-chaired by Zach Liff and Norah Buikstra.

Sell the “Experience” – A Takeaway from #STORY11

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend STORY Conference in Chicago. It was not only a chance to learn from some of the best “story tellers” in several industries, but also get my fill of deep-dish pizza for the year. As I started to digest both the information and food, there were several marketing ideas that I observed, but one stood out that could benefit businesses both large and small.

Sell the Experience.

In economics, there are two main categories in which the products we sell are filtered, goods and services. However, there is a third category that has been emerging over the past few years…. experience. One thing that stood out at STORY was the overall experience of the event. Not only was the production top-notch, everything they did played into the theatre that was the STORY Conference, the experience. During the breaks they had a rolling candy cart and actors roamed the hallways depicting certain characters (e.g. – The silver lady on the left). Every aspect of the conference intentionally tied back to the overall theme. The creators of STORY didn’t just sell the information you received at the conference; they sold the experience.

There are other companies that sell the experience well. Starbucks isn’t just a place to grab a cup of coffee, it’s a place to meet friends, conduct business meetings or escape reality. Howard Schultz, the founder and CEO of Starbucks, is intentional about making Starbucks the “third place” for all of their customers. TOMS shoes is another great example. Whenever you buy a pair of TOMS, you aren’t just buying shoes; you’re buying the experience of helping a child in need. In the box, they provide a hand-woven bracelet with a note from TOMS Founder, Blake Mycoskie, explaining the significance of both the bracelet and your purchase.

The principle of selling the experience can be applied to your business, too. When someone walks in the front door of your, what do they experience? What can you do to “wow” a customer that purchases your product for the first time?

How can you create a culture around your brand that takes the products or services you provide to the next level?

In a society where people are looking for ways to be entertained or escape the pressures they’re facing, where intangible factors separate most great companies from their competition, creating a buzz-worthy experience for your customers can set your business apart from the rest.

What are some other ways you’ve seen businesses sell “the experience”?

Jenn With Two N’s

All of a sudden, it seems like everyone has a story about “branding.” While it’s a buzzword these days, branding is not a new concept. It happens all around us, in business and our personal lives.

Take, for example, my own experience with branding at the age of 7 as I entered my second grade classroom for the first time. Surrounded by familiar and unfamiliar faces, I looked for my seat. I scanned the nametags on the desks, hoping that mine would be next to my friends. I was surprised to see four seats with my name on them. Which one was mine?

Come to find out, there were several Jennifers in my new class. How was I supposed to be a unique individual with my own personality if I didn’t even have a distinct name? After a few days of confusion, my teacher came up with a solution. Each of the Jennifers would get her own unique version of the name to use — Jennifer, Jenny, Jen and Jenn. I quickly claimed the Jenn with two n’s.

I took pride in my new identity, building on it over the years with my own set of characteristics:  my own voice, my own look. I’m defined by my friends, my reputation, the colors I wear, the music I listen to… even the man I’m married to and the house I live in. I’m pretty sure there is no one exactly like me, all because of these traits I’ve defined over the years.

In other words, I have my own brand. It’s a mix of where I started and who I became — and it’s something I’ll never let go of. Who would have known that my first day of second grade would lead me to my career today?

Well, it took me a few years in the business of building brands to realize that my childhood experience was parallel. Sometimes it takes a little self-reflection for individuals and companies alike to define who they are, determine where they’re coming from and translate this process into a one-of-a-kind brand. The natural evolution of a unique identity can serve as our inspiration for the impression we give the world.

Brainstorming

Like most Creatives I brainstorm for a living, but I had never really broken down or analyzed my brainstorming process until Holly started peppering me with questions about it. Brainstorming to me is all about collaborating, so when we were planning how to structure the Brainstorming DIG on 8/26 I immediately knew that putting together a panel of fellow brainstormers to discuss the topic was definitely the way to go. When I was choosing the panel I treated it like a brainstorming session, pulling together a variety of people who come from different scenarios (in-house and agency) as well as from different head spaces (email, web, media production, print design and marketing strategy) but who participate in the formal and informal act of brainstorming all the time. Thank you to Chris Blanz, Allison Davis and John Hussey for participating!

I guess I would peg my style within any creative project as “strategic/organic” which mainly just means that I always have clear goals in mind and do tons of research but arrive at my solutions in a very organic way. Creating a spark, layering ideas and collaboration are the key. Below are a few of my tips to help you have a productive brainstorming effort:

1. Know your goal. What problem are you trying to solve?
2. Use a group. Keep your group lean and mean and get the right variety. Maybe invite the accountant or someone who comes from a different head space.
3. Write down everything and encourage others to do the same.
4. Make sure there is a moderator who can guide the group (politics and all) through an effective session.
5. Give all participants equal time to share. A good moderator will encourage this to happen.
6. Embrace the ridiculous- even those ideas could lead to an effective solution.

Keep those creative juices flowing.