Memorial Day

"A nation that does not honor it's heros, will not long endure."

—President Abraham Lincoln

Image Source

Client Showcase—Port of Walla Walla Brochure

The Port of Walla Walla turned to CMBell Company to develop their primary promotional brochure used to attract new businesses to the region. This easy-to-browse, colorful piece featured beautiful images of the area and colorful language—all of which made a compelling case for businesses to relocate in eastern Washington's Walla Walla Valley.

Photo Techniques—Color Options

When selecting images, think about whether the image works best in color or grayscale. Here are some guidelines to help you decide which will serve you best:



Grayscale photographs work best when the image exhibits strong textures. For example, wood grain, battered metal and repeated patterns work well. Grayscale photos appear to be and advantage when there's high tonal contrast. If an image lacks color saturation or color contrast, it might be best to run it in grayscale.



An image will work best in color when strong color contrast exists. Examples of colors that contrast well are blue and orange, light green and red or purple and yellow. A photo with strong color contrast does not always have strong tonal contrast, and thus may look better in color than in grayscale.


Some grayscale photos lack enough texture and contrast to make them visually appealing. In such cases, it is possible to colorize them to bring out more detail.

Client Showcase—I Will Brochure

Los Angeles-based White Memorial Medical Center asked CMBell Company to develop a series of communication tools that show how their team lives the hospital’s mission and values. The piece, which accompanies a companion video, features real employees, physicians and board members talking about how the mission and values affect their work at White Memorial. Anyone who has ever been there will know that this topic isn't just talk at this hospital--it permeates the organization. I credit their leadership team for being able to walk the talk, and inspiring their colleagues to do likewise.

Best Global Brands

Want to know what strong brands know? Interbrand ranks global consumer brands by using metrics like financial data, ability to influence demand at point of purchase, and global reach (privately held brands or those limited to the US are not included).

You can see the top 100 brands for 2009 here.

Ten Ways to Be a Better Conversationalist

Anyone can improve their communication by becoming a better conversationalist. Do you know these ten rules of good conversation?

• Tell the truth
• Don't ramble
• Don't interrupt
• Ask questions and listen to the answers
• Don't take advantage of people
• Don't dwell on appearances
• Don't touch taboo topics
• Disagree in a civilized fashion
• Don't be a bore
• Don't gossip

Source: The Art of Civilized Conversation, by Margaret Shepherd and Sharon Hogan. Buy it here.

When the Answer is "No"

If you're in charge of your organization's image, be very particular about what you say “yes” to. Many marketing departments are buried with internal requests for things that are of marginal importance to the organization. While marketing leaders want to be of service to their internal departments, some requests can keep us from doing what is most important for the organization. Whenever we choose to take one action, we are by default choosing not to do another, simply because of the limitations of our time. This can result in lost opportunity.

In the end, we must ask ourselves what are the most important things we can be doing for our organization given our limited time. Working longer hours is not always the answer; we must all learn to make better choices and work smarter.

Client Showcase—Neonatal Intensive Care Radio Spot Sells Dreams

This radio ad for a NICU meets the listener at the heart of their motivations for selecting a hospital—their dreams for their new daughter. Instead of talking about high tech equipment and services, the ad takes the listener on a journey into the future, reminding them that selecting the very best medical care for their newborn can be the beginning of a healthy life together.

Quote of the Day—Excellence

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” —Aristotle