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

Best Practices: Can They Harm Your Company?

Companies that use best practices as benchmarks can be motivated to improve their processes. But as C. K. Prahalad says in the April 2010 issue of Harvard Business Review, benchmarking against best pratices might "allow enterprises to catch up with competitors, but it won't turn them into market leaders. Organizations become winners by spotting big opportunities and inventing next practices."

Prahalad suggests looking at opportunities that are being created by the four billion people in places like China and India who are moving into the organized economy. Unilever and P&G, for example, are rethinking their geographical focus, anticipating that by 2020, 50% of their global revenues will come from poor people in the developing world.

He suggests that companies focus on solving big problems that will fuel big improvements—rather than following the leaders.

Source: HBR April 2010

Client Showcase—LLU Identity

Branding an organization that includes a university, a corporate entity and several hospitals required a flexible system that made clear the relationship between many entities. CMBell Company was asked to help Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center create a clear visual brand that brought together both its past legacy and its future dreams—and linked many individual entities to a strong master brand.

At their request, we updated their seal—which had undergone numerous changes throughout its history—and made it the anchor of their new visual identity. The regal red and grey color palette creates presence and suggests innovation, intensity of purpose and confidence; when combined with a modern layout, the overall look creates an impression of sophistication and strength.

What business are you really in?

The railroads thought they were in the business of running railroads, which kept them from seeing bigger threats and opportunities. In reality, they were in the business of transportation, and it was air travel that posed the biggest threat—not faster or better railroads.

This misguided view of one's true competition is still prevalent today. For example, healthcare at times suffers from a similar myopic viewpoint. Healthcare professionals see themselves as being in the business of saving lives and promoting health. But in fact, at times they are unable to fully promise either. Perhaps it is closer to the truth to say that they are in the business of restoring dignity and instilling hope—as well as offering medical interventions. Imagine how this idea might transform how hospitals deliver care.

Whatever your industry, think hard about what you are really selling. It may lead you to the next big idea—while failing to do so may prevent you from seeing your true competitive threats.

Photo Techniques—Cropping People

When working with images of people, cropping doesn't mean 'chopping' out important bits of context or history. Rather, think of cropping as the act of cutting away unnecessary or unwanted portions of an image to help focus the viewers attention and help tell a story. Here are a few examples of reasons to crop:


Focus Attention
Cropping can help to make the primary focus or center of attention clear. Typical snap shots often lack a focal point, as does this example. Cropping is used to remove unwanted and distracting elements such as the high-rise on the left and cars in the background. Cropping has also eliminated the lamppost coming out of the top of the child's head.



Create Movement
Consider how the viewer's eye moves across an image and allow for that movement. In a portrait of someone looking left to right, allowing space for them to look into brings meaning to the image. In this example, tight, centered cropping might not allow as much movement as a wider cropping would.

For Dynamic Effect

Rethinking the crop can serve to compliment the subject, help reinforce the composition and create a dynamic image. In this example, the original image is centered and ordinary. By cropping close on the face and using the rule of thirds, the tassel creates a strong vertical line and attention is drawn to the subject's eye.

Nearly any photo can be improved with good cropping.

Client Showcase—Hospital Brochure

Flip through the pages of Avista Adventist Hospital's general brochure, and you'll see saturated, vivid photos of people living life to its fullest. Through color, language and images, the piece conveys health—the ultimate promise of healthcare.

So often, healthcare communications are permeated with images of intimidating equipment and patients in situations most of us hope to avoid. By conveying hope, vitality and health, Avista's brochure moves readers to see the powerful possibilities for their own life by making this hospital--with its goal of helping patients thrive--their healthcare provider.

Printing Tip #2—Invest in the Relationship

In printed work, the printing of the job is where the final creative work takes place. The artisans in the print shop will make or break the project. They are essential partners in the process who will stand to contribute to both the creative and financial success of the project. So how does one make sure one is getting the best work for the money? There’s a fine line between balancing quality and price, and those who want to get the best of both worlds must be very savvy in both arenas. Here's the second in our series of tips on printing.

Invest in your relationship.

Quality printing comes from developing a relationship that requires communication and education. At the beginning of a relationship, we talk with our printers about our culture, our expectations, how we resolve differences, and how we define quality. We tour their shop, and ask about their processes. If they seem a likely match for our firm, then we begin the process of working with them over time to acquaint them with how we do business. With each new project, we develop a better understanding of how we can work together. This includes our learning about how we can work with them more effectively, too.

Stay tuned for more printing tips.

Branding Your Corporate Fleet

Novant Health fleet graphics by CMBell Company

If your corporate identity project includes a corporate fleet, here are things to consider:

• Readability from a distance
• Readability at night
• Readability in the mirror

Make sure you test the readability of the message at actual size before you go into production. Only when you see it full size will you know if it will be clearly visible.

The Benefits of Outdoor Advertising

Outdoor advertising reaches more people with fewer dollars. Out-of-home advertising costs three times less than radio and magazines, seven times less than newspaper and nine times less than network TV. It literally reaches more people more often with fewer dollars than any other form of media. And, more consumers are spending more time with out-of-home advertising than watching TV, reading the paper or listening to the radio.

Not only does it cost less, it:

• Can't be turned off
• Can't be thrown away
• Can't be fast-forwarded
• Can be regionally targeted

Is outdoor part of your advertising mix? Perhaps it should be.

Source

Toyota Recall: A Case Study

When things went south for Toyota this year, they responded with massive advertising. My first reaction was "Where are they getting their advice from?" The TV spots are confessionals—"we're not living up to our own standards or to yours"—planting doubt in minds that may not have had a negative opinion of Toyota.

Is there a time to admit fault? Yes, of course. But does this mean positioning a company as one that has disappointed America? I don't think so. Far better to spend those advertising dollars reminding America of all that is good about Toyota (which after all has an excellent track record when it comes to quality) and how they are responding to the problems with their vehicles. While I'm not objecting to them taking a proactive stance, I don't believe there's ever a time to create more bad news than actually exists.

The Dove Commercial—Nobody's Perfect

Ogilvy & Mather's startling commercial takes us from model to billboard in under 60 seconds. Its an impressive spot from Dove, reminding us that even models don't look like models, and demonstrating the power of Photoshop.

Are you the company theater director?

A wise and wonderful client who spearheads a successful healthcare philanthropy program described her role as theater director—the person who stages experiences between donors and her facility. I love this description and think it describes what good marketers do, too.

"I don't ask for money," she says, describing her refreshing way of viewing of fund raising. Instead, she tells the story and lets it do its work. "I know it's unconventional, yet we don't have enough staff to process all the donations people want to make to our facility."

What experiences are you creating for your customers?

Client Showcase—Pacific EP Direct Mail

The Los Angeles-based Pacific Rim Electrophysiology Research Institute, under the direction of internationally renown Koonlowee Nadamanee, MD, worked with us to create a direct mail package that included his symposium invitation and a brochure promoting this remarkable facility.

Dr. Nadamanee has developed an advanced cardiac electrophysiology procedure (EP) that offers new hope and vitality to patients suffering from EP problems. We also developed the logo for the Institute, which has offices on the campus of White Memorial Medical Center in California, as well as in Hawaii and Thailand.

The American Dream in Transition: What Americans Really Think

In his insightful book, The Way We'll Be, veteran pollster John Zogsby draws on thousands of surveys to reveal four megatrends that are shaping how Americans view the world:

• Living with limits as consumers and citizens
• Embracing diversity of views and ways of life
• Looking inward to find spiritual comfort
• Demanding authenticity from the media, our leaders and institutions

Led by today's 18-29-year-olds, America's first "global" generation, Americans are becoming more internationalist, consensus-oriented and environmentally conscious—and less willing to identify themselves by what they do or how they spend their money.

Leaders and marketers who want to better understand how Americans think and what they believe will find this a valuable read.

When an Ad Campaign Isn't the Answer

Companies sometimes rush to start an advertising campaign when they experience a loss of market share or feel a threat in the marketplace. But before they do so, they should do an assessment of the brand experience to make sure there is parity between the message and the actual experience. Ask:

1. How are first impressions of the brand contributing to the brand promise?
2. What is the experience of those who use the service/product?
3. Is the packaging/facility sending the right message?

A dirty restroom in a hospital can give the impression of low quality care. A poor website can make a company look second-rate. A person who works on the switchboard but isn't knowledgable can suggest company-wide incompetence.

Before you invest in advertising, make sure your customer experience matches your brand promise.

The Word Doctor—Use Shorter Words

Why use a long word when a short one will do?

For example:

Exacerbate = inflame
Fortuitous = lucky
Arrogant = aloof
Imperative = crucial
Administer = give

Too much writing is still plagued with long words that make reading tedious. While it's tempting to think one sounds sophisticated, great writers know that it is the size of the idea—not the words—that impresses.

Fingers in the Sand: The Power of Images

In this moving and remarkable artistic interpretation of how ordinary people were affected by World War II, 24-year-old Kseniya Simonova uses her fingers to draw a series of images on an illuminated sand table. She won the top prize on Ukraine’s Got Talent with her artistic presentation.

The scene morphs from a happy couple holding hands to warplanes appearing, then to a tearful face of a woman whose smile returns with the arrival of a baby. We next see a woman’s wrinkled, sad face turn into a monument to a soldier, and in the final scene, mother and child bid farewell to a man outside.

In Ukraine, the war resulted in one of every four of their citizens being killed—11 million deaths. Simonova’s unusual style show us once again the power of images to move something deep inside of us—to say things that words cannot.