Sinterklaas Parade Volunteers

A side note to all my Northern Dutchess friends. I just spoke with Jeanne Fleming about the Parade. She is very concerned that they don’t have the 200+ people needed to assist with carrying the puppets. The parade, on December 6, will start at the Starr Library. Everyone needs to be there to be assigned a leg or some such “limb” of the gigantic puppets.

One of her assistants will be coordinating the committed puppet walkers. If people are interested AND can commit PLEASE email me (nrobbins@namaro.com) your name & email & how many people can help (first names for them would be helpful too). The details for parade walkers – we need to be at Starr Library no later than 4:30; parade line up is at 5:00 and the roads will be closed off at 5:00. Parking may be problematic, so if you can walk up to the library – all the better. Otherwise, there is parking down by the pool.

So send me your names if you know you can help out. There are many giant puppets waiting for people to help them join in the fun!!!!

Any questions … I’ll be happy to try and find the answers. You can also visit the Sinterklaas website, www.sinterklaasrhinebeck.com.

The power of the peace symbol: It's 50!

Take a peek at a logo that defined a generation and continues to be one of the most important symbols in our world today. It represents the power that a well designed symbol can have. Graphic design at it's best.

The peace symbol is 50. Can you believe it? Check out this great article from the Washington Post.

Namaro Portfolio

LaBranche 75th anniversary brochure
The concept of this brochure was to highlight the significance of 75 years in business, and most importantly, to focus on the future of this firm during the internet boom. To develop this concept visually, we found a map of Wall Street and shots from the New York Stock Exchange floor, both from 75 years ago.

The cover had the beautifully simple map with very small "future" images to tease the viewer. Once opened, the creative twist is revealed: The old trading floor shot is combined with a state of the art and modern stock board. There were several other spreads that had the same twist.

This project was successful for our clients because it secured their image as a leader today and not a dinosaur from yesterday.

Logos that didn't make it. Rate it. Buy it.

With over 20 awards for logo development under our belt, Namaro has established itself as the place to go to get a logo designed. It's one of our favorite projects to work on.

So what happens to the logos that didn't make it? The ones the client didn't pick. They sit on our server hoping one day to be brought back out into the world. Inspired by these orphans' plight, we developed this new section to show creative logos to the world. You can rate them, adopt them, or just comment on them.

If you do want to adopt one, they are available for a very reasonable fee and are adaptable to suit your business. Give us a call and give them a home ;)

The lighter side: The top 10 Thanksgiving disasters to avoid

These are actual stories. Share yours?

1. Don’t forget to take the giblets out before cooking the turkey.

2. Make sure the dogs are locked up and away from the turkey.

3. The turkey should be ‘fully” cooked to avoid giving botulism to everyone.

4. Don’t invite fans from opposing football teams.

5. Don’t forget to water down Grandma's Bourbon.

6. Don’t forget to spike Grandpa's.

7. Don’t eat too much unless you want to be a float in the Macy’s Day Parade.

8. Move the Turducken away from the house—it's a fire hazard like no other.

9. Keep the wine intake to a minimum unless you want to stick your thumb in the pie and pull out a plum and say holy shit am I high?

10. Make sure the apple cider doesn’t go hard or you will have a bunch of very happy children.

Brand repositioning 101: Free outline

Recently I developed this outline to help someone better communicate how to go about repositioning a brand. I hope it's helpful to you and please pass it on. And hey, if you need a new brand, think of Namaro ;)

Simply, brand positioning creates a specific place in the market for your brand and product offerings. It reaches a certain type of consumer or customer and delivers benefits that meet the needs of key target groups. The brand positioning of a company seeks to further distance itself from competitors based on a host of items.

1—Determining the Current Status of the Brand:
• Understand the company and brand
• Explore key issues, opportunities, and challenges
• What differentiates your company and brand from the competition?
• What are the equity drivers of the company and brand?
• What are the historical ways to communicate the company and brand equity to consumers and customers alike?
• Who is the current target customer base?
• What is his/her profile?
• What are the reasons for being a customer?

2—What Does the Brand Stand for Today?
• Understand current consumer perceptions and needs of your brand.
• Determine how far to move your brand without alienating customers and loyalty base.
• Identify how to position your brand to attract new users and ultimately convert them into loyal customers.
• Direct-to-consumer interviews "Why do they select your brand?" and "What was the key decision-making element?"
• Identify needs, both unmet and met in industry, determine the delights and dissatisfiers of your brand.

3—Developing the Brand Position Platform: Where Can We Take It Tomorrow to Grow the Brand?
• How far to grow, expand, and stretch the brand?
• Who do we want our brand to be?
• What is its personality?
• How do we want consumers to think and feel about your brand?
• What benefits will it deliver to the consumer?
• How will we promote the brand?
• Carefully review brand to ensure that it maintains the core values and essence of your brand.
• The new brand positioning will be:

1. Ownable: Unique to the brand
2. Leverageable: Important and relevant to the target
3. Sustainable: To other categories in the future
4. Extendable: Partnership marketing and other marketing programs

• 2 components:

1. Strategic: Developing the brand vision: Today, tomorrow and for the future
2. Creative: Review consumer insights with the goal taking your brand where it should go

• Determine four to five key benefits and potential platforms that are agreed upon by the entire group.
• Go back to key consumers and customers with the purpose of checking back with them to validate the new brand positioning.

4—Refining The Brand Positioning and Management Presentation
• Review and refine the new brand positioning and communicate to all function departments in order to align efforts.
• Incorporate all feedback from consumers, customers, vendors and agencies, to ensure achievable positioning vs. aspirational positioning.
• Present new brand positioning to senior management.
• Endorse the new brand positioning.
• Create brand identity manual which provides a clear direction on the new brand positioning to anyone in the company.
• Bring the new brand positioning to life and apply to marketing, and communications.
• Ensure consistent communication of the brand equity across any medium and by any partner.

5 —Design and Deployment:
• Use four to five key benefits and brand position manual to develop concepts for logo creation.
• Engage senior management in concept development.
• Refine logo concepts to 3 choices and apply to sample marketing vehicles.
• Attain feedback from consumers.
• Present 3 logos and feedback to senior management.
• Refine logo concepts to 2 choices.
• Attain feedback from consumers.
• Present 2 logos and feedback to senior management.
• Refine one logo.
• Apply logo to sample marketing vehicles to present to senior management.
• Endorsement from senior management.
• Incorporate logo into brand identity manual.
• Create database of copywriting, photography, etc.
• Create templates for marketing vehicles.
• Layout, production and deployment of brand.

Graphic Traffic: Why a new blog name?

Graphic Traffic better represents what our blog is and what it will be. The new name conveys the concept of information coming together at an intersection and the reader can read (go) wherever they want to.

At this moment in time, business is at a crossroads and stuck in traffic. Graphic Traffic intends on “green lighting” or “red lighting” roads (new information), get you around the jam (solutions) and on to your destination (results).

The next issue of our blog will further develop the concept. If you have an opinion about this, feel free to comment below. We would love to hear from you.

Rapp on this: How long does a copyright last?

Paul Rapp, our resident copyright and trademark lawyer continues to write and we continue to pass the info along. So how long does a copyright last? A repeat article but well worth visiting. See what he has to say.

Great article: Design you can bank on

The American Institute of Graphic Arts always has great articles. This one in particular was interesting to us since we have worked for the financial industry since Namaro Graphic Designs was born in 1989.

In the past 100 years, the corporate identity of banks has changed.

Read, think and let us know your thoughts.

Design you can bank on by Angela Riechers
October 21, 2008

http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/design-you-can-bank-on

Targeted Advertising For Web Printouts: The 'PrinterStitial'

You know those ad pages that come up before you go to the expected content of a page, well they are called "Interstitial web pages". Whether you like them or not, they get a pretty good CTR, 14%.
Well now a company called Format Dynamics, can insert ads into printouts of a web page. It's called "PrinterStitial". For more on this go to: mediapost.com